I survived another “Snowmaggedon”

March 16, 2023 by Howard Dale Posted in Black & White, Landscapes Leave a comment

We had another “significant” snow storm the other day. The meteorologists forecasted possibly 5-7 inches of snow. To see how much we actually got take a look at the picture below: nothing! Not even an inch. To be fair it did snow quite a lot, but what little stuck melted almost immediately afterwards. Apparently the snowy part of the storm passed north of us. Until about a year ago I had a house on a lake about 24 miles farther North, and a bit higher. They got about 17 inches of snow! Amazing how such a short distance can make such a big difference.

First picture taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 75mm f1.8 FE. Second picture with an Apple iPhone SE II.

Law Park on a misty, snowy morning

March 8, 2023 by Howard Dale Posted in Black & White, Landscapes Leave a comment

I woke up the other day to a quite misty landscape. We don’t get much of this so it would have been nice to have gone to some woodland to take some pictures. Unfortunately, I had to get to the Historical Society where I do volunteer work so I wouldn’t be able to advantage of the weather conditions. Above: The Pool Pavilion.

However, the Historical Society is located in building, which houses Briarcliff Manor’s library, which is right next to Law Park – named after the founder of Briarcliff Manor: Walter W. Law. So I took a few minutes before going to the Historical Society to take a walk around the park. Here are the results.

Tree reflections in the pond.

Inverted pine tree reflection.

Curved retaining wall.

Lamppost by the pond.

Pond Edge.

Looking across the Pond.

One of Walter Law’s famous lanterns. (See: Around the Neighborhood – Briarcliff Manor’s Stone Lanterns.)

Taken with a Taken with a Sony A7IV and Samyang AF 75mm f1.8 FE

Some Ruins

March 7, 2023 by Howard Dale Posted in Buildings/Structures Leave a comment

Most people in my neighborhood know about the brick wall that runs along Scarborough and Holbrook Roads (see above). They probably drive by it often.

However, not everyone knows why that wall is there. Inside the wall there used to be a mansion owned by wealthy financier, James Speyer (see next picture below). The mansion stood in a 130 acres estate called Waldheim, which featured sprawling farm lands, a nine-hole golf course, gardens, and a lake. It was purchased in 1946 to be subdivided into residential lots. It was landscaped by Olmstead Brothers, founded by John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. the nephew (and adopted son) and son of Frederick Law Olmstead the famous architect of New York’s Central Park.

The Mansion

Aerial view of the estate.

Even fewer people know that the wall is not the only part of the Waldheim estate that remains (See picture below):

I know these ruins well because they stand inside the well known brick wall – in my garden. My house stands on what used to be the Speyer estate. If you look back at the aerial view above you’ll see a star. The location of the star is my best guess as to where my house stands in relation to the former estate.

Iphone Pictures

March 6, 2023 by Howard Dale Posted in People, Photography, Thoughts Leave a comment

In an earlier post (See: A Rant) I took exception to what a photographer I follow on his blog and on YouTube was saying about phone cameras not being “real cameras” and people who use them not being “real photographers. In that post I said:

I love cameras. I collect them and have all kinds: film; digital; point and shoot; professional; 35mm; medium format etc. I tend to use “real” cameras more than iphones, but have been known to use my iphone for mundane documentary pictures, for fast sharing, and when I didn’t have another camera with me. For example, I was once invited to a friend’s house. Her name was Germaine and she was already quite old at the time and was talking about leaving that particular house soon. So I decided I would take some pictures in and around her house as I souvenir for her. I then used the images to make her a photobook. The only camera I had with me was an iphone, and quite an old one (an iphone 5s, which came out in 2013) at that, but the photobook looked great and she really liked it.

However, when I was preparing this post I remembered with great sadness that Germaine had passed away last August at the age of 100. When I first posted about her on the occasion of her 92nd birthday I wrote the following.

Germaine is a fascinating person as can been seen from this extract from the Alsace-New York Newsletter, Spring 2007 celebrating Germaine’s induction as ‘Chevalier dans l’Ordre du Merite’:

“Germain Schneider-Chandelier was born on the 22nd of February 1922, at Leutenheim, Alsace, in the Lowe rRhine, the older daughter of a family of six children, 5 daughters and a son. Her childhood and her adolescence have been marked by the hardship of World War II since as many Alsations, here family had to leave Alsace and take refuge in their particular case, near Limoges in the Center of France.
1945, back to Alsace: a new life is starting. One day, when some of the father’s friends participate in a hunting party on his land, Germain is offered a position as governess of the three children of the Minister Plenipotentiary Arnaud Wapler. For the record it is said that one day, as she was filling in for the cook, Germaine offered to bake a dessert: “A chocolate charlotte”: a cake which changed her destiny. This same year 1954, together with a group of 20 people, Germaine abord the ‘Indochine’ crossed the Atlantic. After 12 days, she landed in Boston when she started to work for the Consul General Mr. Chambon.

1954: beginning as a Professional Caterer: Germaine makes the decision of living in New York City. With an early established professional experience, Germaine is self-employed. First she works from home, as a caterer for individuals and families from whom she organizes weeding, luncheons, dinners, cocktail parties…Later she works for big companies such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Hermes. She is now “The Caterer” of New York high society.

1962: Germain meets Marcel Chandelier. This event will change their life together. Marcel Chandelier, who came over in 1958 is “Maitre Cuisinier de France”. Together they join their talents and create “La Maison Germaine”. Marcel and Germaine officially open “Germaine Catering” a great ultra-professional kitchen, located at 39-09 33rd street, Long Island City, Queens.

1964: A great new York wedding”: This time, it is the wedding of Germaine Schneider and Marcel Chandelier. The union of a same passion for excellence, which made of Germaine Catering a name synonymous of the French quality and know-how.

Even after Marcel Chandelier’s passing, Germaine will continue to work with the diplomatic community in New York City, the great political personalities: Golda Meir, the Kennedy family, Jacqueline Kennedy, Hilary Clinton, for the release of her book, the American Ballet Theater, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Botanical Garden.

The New York Daily News referred to her in June 1979 as the “Most legendary caterer in New York”.

Germaine is a remarkable person. She’s still incredibly sharp and physically active and could easily pass for someone 20 or even 30 years younger. At last week’s garden club meeting she came down a series of very steep steps better than many of her juniors. She also says what she thinks, which can be quite a shock until you get to know her. At first I was afraid to bring anything I had prepared to the garden club meeting if she was going to be there, but I eventually did and even got a few positive comments – high praise indeed. She’s offered to teach me some cooking techniques.

The photobook I created is long gone. I only made one copy and I gave that to her. Moreover, the service that produced the book is no longer around so I can’t order another one. I do, however, still have the pictures

I rather like the pictures and hope that they illustrate the point that you can use an Iphone and still be a “real” photographer. I also hope that they function as a fitting memorial to a remarkable person.

All pictures taken with an Iphone 5s except for the first, which was taken with a Sony Nex 5N and some kind of adapted vintage manual focus lens. I no longer remember which one and of course I have no EXIF data to help me.

A rant

March 6, 2023 by Howard Dale Posted in Photography, Thoughts Leave a comment

Before I get into this post let me tell you a bit about me and my photography. I’ve been taking pictures for over 40 years, initially exclusively using film (there wasn’t anything else when I started). I’m something of a geek and working in IT for some time makes me comfortable with technology. So when digital photography came on the scene I was an early adopter. I had never collected anything until around 2011 when I decided to collect old film cameras, which I continue to do.

I enjoy the convenience of digital photography and I enjoy processing my images using Lightroom/Photoshop (something I never learned how to do with film photography). But I also enjoy the way film photography makes me slow down and think more about each individual photograph. I’m a fan of photobooks and like to see my images in print. I also print individual photographs, often to give to friends since I don’t have a lot of wall space on which to display them. I’m also into social media and like to share my pictures with friends and family. I’m English and my family is all over the world and social media is by far the easiest way to stay in touch with them.

In summary I like both digital and film photography and think both have their place. I write this to show that I don’t have a bias for or against either.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. There’s a guy whose blog I follow. He’s a long time professional photographer. He writes well and generally I enjoy his posts. He also has a YouTube channel that I also enjoy but somewhat less. Frankly it’s a little boring. He merely sits in front of a camera and talks for about 15 minutes. I don’t think he realizes that nowadays people expect a little more sophistication in the videos they watch.

Of late he has often tended to go off on rants of his own. The gist of these tirades seems to me to be as follows:

1. Film photography is superior to digital photography.
2. Because of their years of experience professional photographers are superior to amateurs
3. Real cameras are better than iphones.
4. If you don’t print you’re not a real photographer.
5. Instantly sharing posts in social media is bad.
6. “Excellence” in photography is getting lost in “good enough”.
7. You are likely to lose your digital photographs whereas prints have a much longer life.

Of course everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, but I’m forced to conclude that what he’s really saying is that only professionals can call themselves photographers and although the rest of us may take photographs we should not call ourselves photographers. He seems to look down on people who just take pictures for fun and share them on social media. Of course for decades people have been taking snapshots. It’s just that because of the nature of film photography you couldn’t take as many pictures and sharing them was much more difficult).

Needless to say I don’t agree. So in response to the above points.

1. Film photography is superior to digital photography. I don’t believe one is superior to the other. They both have their place.

2. Because of their years of experience professional photographers are superior to amateurs. I would like to remind everyone that amateur originally meant “someone who does something for the love of it rather than for money”. Somehow the word has now come to mean “a person who is incompetent or inept at a particular activity. I’ve come across many “amateurs” whose work is better than some professionals. Moreover, I sometimes wonder if when someone says they have 40 years of experience they really mean that they have one year of experience 40 times.

3. Real cameras are better than iphones. I love cameras. I collect them and have all kinds: film; digital; point and shoot; professional; 35mm; medium format etc. I tend to use “real” cameras more than iphones, but have been known to use my iphone for mundane documentary pictures, for fast sharing, and when I didn’t have another camera with me. For example, I was once invited to a friend’s house. Her name was Germaine and she was already quite old at the time and was talking about leaving that particular house soon. So I decided I would take some pictures in and around her house as I souvenir for her. I then used the images to make her a photobook. The only camera I had with me was an iphone, and quite an old one (an iphone 5s, which came out in 2013) at that, but the photobook looked great and she really liked it.

4. If you don’t print you’re not a real photographer. I like to see my photographs in print, but I can understand why people don’t print: it’s hard to get it right (particularly if you want to print in color) and what do you do with the print once you have it. Unless you’re willing to go to more trouble framing it and putting on a wall you’ll probably end up putting it in an album, or in a box and forgetting about it.

5. Instantly sharing posts via social media is bad. If I’m reading him correctly he’s not so much against sharing on social media. It’s the sharing it straight away that gives him problems. He provides a recent example of someone taking a picture of him, posting it on social media and than showing it to him right away. His argument seems to be that he was there when the picture was taken and so doesn’t need to see it right away. I don’t see why this is such a problem. Maybe the person taking the picture (who I apparently can’t call a photographer) wants to know if you like the picture wants to know whether or not you like it so that he/she can try another if you don’t.

6. “Excellence” in photography is getting lost in “good enough”. I can see what he’s saying, but I think his views are seen through the lens of a professional (i.e. commercial photographer). He seems to do a lot of portrait and wedding photography so I’m sure he’s lost a lot of income because Uncle Joe with his limited photographic knowledge and high end digital camera can deliver images that, while nowhere near as good as a professional might make, are “good enough” and cost a fraction of what a professional would charge. They might even be better in some ways: more dynamic, more interesting, more spontaneous etc. Most of the professional wedding pictures I’ve seen are formulaic and not particularly interesting.

7. You are likely to lose your digital photographs whereas prints have a much longer life. I can backup thousands of digital images in a few hours. I can them take them off-site so they are protected from fires, theft etc. Try doing that with several hundred albums and associated negatives. Of course many (myself included) don’t take the trouble to make these backups, but that’s not a reason to criticize digital photography as a whole.

I’ve seen some of this gentleman’s work. He has a website, a blog, an Instagram presence, a YouTube channel, he’s an active Twitter user, and is also on Facebook. Clearly he’s comfortable with technology so I guess it’s just that he’s somewhat averse to digital photograph in general, phone cameras in particular and the whole digital environment which allows easy creation and distribution of large numbers of photographs. I can certainly relate to that.

Unfortunately this seems to translate into a rather supercilious attitude to those who don’t see things the way he does. It’s the “I’m a real photographer because I use real cameras, and print the results, sharing the prints circumspectly – you use an iphone, don’t print and share a lot of crap with all and sundry so you’re not even worthy of calling yourself a photographer” that I take exception too.

He seems like a nice guy: hard working and devoted to his art/craft; a concerned person involved with a number of worthy causes. His photographs are what I would expect from a professional photograph: competent but not particularly awe inspiring. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a much better photographer than I am, my photographs being mediocre at best. However, I collect photobooks by and about famous photographers and I believe I know a truly great photograph when I see it.

I just wish he would just cool it with the superior attitude. I could even live with this if he didn’t choose to push it down my throat at every opportunity. It makes me avoid his blog and his YouTube channel, which is a pity because I agree with much of what he’s and thoroughly enjoy many of his posts/videos.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II