Pictures I have missed

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I’ve missed a lot of good (or at least interesting pictures), many of them because I didn’t have a camera with me at the time. This happens less frequently now that I have the Sony RX-100 (model 1), which is so small that I can easily carry it around anywhere. This is one that I missed.

We went to see a new production of “A Chorus Line” in 2008. We’d seen it before (I’d seen it in the original production around 1975). The (relatively minor but important) role of Zach was played by Mario Lopez who my wife was familiar with from “Dancing with the Stars” and who was considered “hot” at that time (maybe still is for all I know). So off we went.

As we were waiting on line to go into the theater a lot of people were taking pictures of themselves in front of a poster of Mr. Lopez – a poster very much like the one above (The picture isn’t mine). As the line moved the people taking the picture disappeared and a single, slightly lonely looking gentleman was left in front of the poster using his cell phone. It was the now late (he passed away in 2012), great Marvin Hamlisch who wrote the lyrics for “A Chorus Line”, and is one of only 10 people to win three or more Oscars in a single night. He also won two Golden Globes and is one of only two people to have also won in addition a Pulitzer Prize. Everyone knew who Mario Lopez was, but nobody seemed to recognize Mr. Hamlisch.

Of course I didn’t have a camera with me and the opportunity was lost. Apparently some well know photographer (I believe it was Chase Jarvis) was once asked what the best camera was. He replied “The best camera is the one you have with you”. How true!

Green Benches

by Posted in Landscapes, Things Leave a comment
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Taken at Greenwich Point Park, Old Greenwich, Connecticut – around 7:00 am and the light was wonderful. This is one of the relatively few times I’ve been able to get up early enough to take advantage of such great light. Sometimes when I’ve gotten up very early it’s turned out to be a total waste of time because I haven’t done my research well enough. I’ve checked the direction of the sun, but haven’t taken into account that I live in the Hudson valley and there are lots of hills which often cause locations to fall into deep shadow early in the morning. On this occasion I was by the sea as the sun was rising with nothing at all to disrupt it. The light was low and surprisingly warm. I always thought that morning light was a lot cooler than evening light, but this light looks pretty warm to me. It was well worth the effort of getting up early!

Taken in November, 2011 with a Sony NEX 5N and 18-55mm kit lens. It wasn’t long after I got the camera and maybe the fact that I had a shiny, new toy was enough to make me get up so early. Many of the pictures I took around this time are JPGs so I seem not to have been shooting in RAW at that point. Looking back over my pictures I see that I don’t start shooting RAW until almost three months later! I don’t remember exactly why I decided to change – probably for the usual reason: more flexibility in post processing. I quite enjoy post processing so having to process the RAW files would not have been a problem for me.

New York Central Locomotive

by Posted in Black & White, Things Leave a comment
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The museum’s web site provides the following information:

As built, this was an E-7 diesel-electric demonstrator unit which was labeled “The Train of Tomorrow”, a four-car domed streamliner. This train made two visits to Connecticut – once in November 1948 and again in April 1949. In 1964, it was converted to an E-8 by the Union Pacific (UP) which ran it for passenger service between Chicago and the West Coast. In May, 1971, they sold it to AMTRAK which, in 1974, replaced the two 1200 hp ‘567’ engines installed by UP with two 1300-hp ‘645’ V-12 prime mover engines making it an E-9A unit with 2600-hp. AMTRAK first used it for service out of Boston and then out of Virginia on the AutoTrain run to Florida. It is said to have made the last run when AutoTrain was suspended. Before AMTRAK resumed that service 417 was sent to the boneyard in New Haven where it was rescued by the Connecticut Valley RR Club. Desiring to show the colors of something like it that ran in New England they thought of New York Central’s Boston to Albany run which was once an E-8. They chose Number 4096 as it is the next number after the last E-series the New York Central ran (although this engine never ran as NYC).

Taken in June, 2013 with a Sony Nex 5N and 18-55mm kit lens at the Railway Museum in Danbury, Connecticut.

Spider in a Train Station Window

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When I was working I took the train every day from Scarborough Station in Westchester County to Grand Central Terminal. The platform is right on the Hudson, separated from it by a number of windows. Before they renovated the station a few years ago the windows were covered with spider webs. Here’s one of the spiders. After the renovation the spiders seem to have disappeared.

A 2010 vintage shot taken with a Panasonic Lumix ZS-3.