Scary sculpture on a building in Manhattan

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Taken in March, 2012 with a Panasonic Lumix ZS-7. This architectural feature is fairly high up on a building in Manhattan. For all its failings (smeary images, green cast, over-aggressive noise control – many of them fairly typical of small sensor compact cameras) the ZS-7 has one great advantage: its 25-300mm zoom range. Although it was often fairly hard to hold it steady at the 300mm end and the image on the screen was usually quite jerky, the long zoom range often came in handy. I was just about to say that this was true in the case of this picture when I thought to check only to discover that it was taken at only 63mm (35mm equivalent). I guess it wasn’t as high up as I thought.

Engine Company 39, Ladder Company 16, FDNY

by Posted in Buildings/Structures, Still Life Leave a comment
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I took this picture back in March, 2012. I don’t really remember why, but I suspect it was because of the contrast between the ceramic jar (or whatever it is) and the bell. They looked kind of incongruous together. Looking at it today I realized that I didn’t really know what is was and I’d forgotten where it was. After a bit of “googling” I tracked it down to a display window at a fire station house around 136 East 67th Street in Manhattan, NY City. I must have seen the station house at the time – it has two large, bright red doors so I could hardly have missed it. In fact I’m surprised that I don’t have a picture of the facade. The display is right at the edge of the station house and I suspect that I didn’t even realize that it was part of it when I took the picture.

So as the title of this post suggests this is Engine Company 39, Ladder Company 16, FDNY. It’s now a historic landmark. The proceedings of the Historic Landmarks Commission can be found here. They provie a lot more information including the following summary:

Fire Engine Company 39 and Ladder Company 16 Station House is an outstanding example of late nineteenth century civic architecture. Built in 1884-86, the six-story Romanesque Revival structure was designed by N. LeBrun & Son for the headquarters of the New York Fire Department and to provide fire protection in a neighborhood that was experiencing considerable growth and change. Between 1879 and 1894 LeBrun was closely associated with the department, designing more than 40 buildings. Unlike many modest mid-block firehouses, the East 67th Street building served multiple functions, providing space for two fire companies, the offices of the Commissioners, and various departmental bureaux. Restored in 1992, the East 67th Street building provides a superb centerpiece in one of New York’s best-preserved rows of nineteenth century public architecture

There’s also a photographic connection to this company. See Lasting Image Of 9/11 An Inspiration To Engine 39 & Ladder 16 In Manhattan. As the article states:

A photo showing two of New York City’s bravest that died on that day hangs in the firehouse on East 67th Street. The scene is repeated, etched on the front doors and forever in the hearts of the firefighters who work there today.

…

Rattazzi has worked there for 13 years. On Sept. 11, 2001, he raced to the World Trade Center with Lt. Raymond Murphy and Firefighter Robert Curatolo. He snapped the picture just after the first tower collapsed.

“We’re in the middle of West Street walking south. I’m probably 15 feet behind them. I was just pointing at the steel in street and, fortunately, they came out,” Rattazzi said.

Rattazzi pointed out where Murphy was in the picture, in the lower corner, and that only Curatolo’s shoulder was visible.

DuBois: “This is literally the last time you saw these guys?”

Rattazzi: “Yes.”

In the chaos after the collapse the men separated. While Rattazzi assisted an injured firefighter Murphy and Curatolo headed into the rubble to find other victims.

But minutes later, as the North Tower collapsed, both men were lost. Rattazzi was the only man to make it back that day.

Wilting Flowers

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These wilting roses were in a vase on our dining room table and since I didn’t plan to go out that day (it was gloomy, cold and I was feeling lazy) I decided to take some pictures. It turned out to be more difficult than I thought.

I was using a legacy Canon FD 100mm f4 macro lens on my NEX-5n. I think it’s the only lens that goes to f32! Trying to fill the frame I had to get quite close and even at f32 the depth of field was very narrow. I took quite a few pictures. The first few managed to get the nearer flower in focus, but the more distant one was out of focus. The next batch were the opposite: the rear flower was in focus but the other was not. Fiddling with the focus I managed to produce this picture, which looking at it again fails because neither flower is really in focus.

The other thing this lens pointed out is the amount of dust on the NEX sensor. I usually find I’m shooting around f5.6-f8 and I’ve noticed in the past that if I go up to f16 I see a couple of spots, usually in flat bright areas like the sky. This time I was using a lens at f32 and boy did I see a lot of dust spots. I really have to do something about cleaning the sensor!