I-95 Wildlife

An aggressive seagull gives me the stink-eye and a squawk to warn me to stay away from the bit of bagel that I dropped for him. Some gratitude.

To take a photo like this, you have to get down... literally get down, as in lie down on your stomach. To the delight of some and the puzzlement of others who were going in and out of the Cheasapeake House rest stop on I-95.

My Leica M3 (!)

Canon A570IS

With the assistance of a very kind benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, I now have my first Leica. It's a 1959 vintage M3 in excellent condition with a 1959 vintage 50mm f2.8 Elmar. The Elmar is collapsible, which makes the entire kit more compact for carrying. I've always been intrigued by the idea of owning and using a Leica that is as old as I am, and this one is around the right age. This one is most definitely a keeper, forever.

There is lots of information on the Web about the Leica M Series, so I won't bore you with all the details here. The M3 was the first of the M series and a real icon in the 35mm camera world.

The last time I had an opportunity to experience a M Series camera was when I borrowed Martin's M2 w/35mm Summicron many years ago. At that time, I was seriously considering buying one, but in the end, I decided that I could not justify the expense. So I ended up buying and using a number of different rangefinder cameras, many of which I still have today. [Correction, I had an opportunity to handle a couple of M's over the last year or two, including shooting a few frames on Ted's M4 while we were on an outing. Even after those pleasant experiences, I STILL couldn't justify buying into the Leica system because of the cost, and probably my own stubbornness.]

I'm thankful that the previous owner of this M3 took care of it well. It only has a few nicks and scratches here and there, but otherwise is in fine shape. I found a chrome Leitz UV filter for the lens, and I put a Domke "Gripper" strap on it. After handling and dry firing my M3 for a bit, I find that even for a 50 year old camera, it feels extremely well built. This is one solid and substantial hunk of metal! All the knobs, levers, and mechanical bits seem to be engineered, made, and fitted with incredible precision and smoothness. Any description of a Leica would not be complete without a mention of the quietness of the shutter. The shutter click is an almost imperceptable, short "click" or "snick", and that's in a quiet room. Out and about in the real world, the shutter would certainly be unnoticeable by most people.

I'll be using this camera a lot as soon as the weather clears up around here. The forecast is for more rain for another week. I just got my new order of film in yesterday, so I'm ready. What do you think my first roll through the M3 should be, color (Fuji Superia 400) or B&W (Kodak 400CN) and why?

--Warren

Blue Screen

My fabulous students from the Adult Hebrew class I teach generously gave me an Amazon gift certificate last month, and what I ordered with that gift arrived tonight - this nifty Dolica Tripod and Ball Head

So having this nice new tripod to play with, I thought I'd try it out with a self-portrait. The ball head made precise positioning of my Canon XSi DSLR much easier than with my cheapinski "Best Buy Special" tripod. I used a wireless remote control to trigger the camera for what turned out to be a six-second exposure. The resulting image didn't show any camera shake, so I'm happy (of course, there was no wind and no tractor-trailers passing by in my family room...)

It's a very nice tripod for the money - lightweight, of course, but the ball-head is very secure, the legs are individually adjustable for angle at the "hip," and the center column is reversable for down-low shooting... features not often seen at this price point.

SF Skyline from Muni Pier, Ver. 2

Nikon D100, Nikkor 28mm f2.8

A slightly different composition from the first one.

--Warren

Queen Of Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day!

SF Skyline from Muni Pier

Nikon D100, Nikkor 28mm f2.8

I only had a few moments to compose this before the light changed (around sunset).

--Warren

Municipal Pier Sunset

Nikon D100, Nikkor 28mm f2.8

Sunset reflecting off a safety fence at the municipal fishing pier at Aquatic Park. That's Alcatraz in the background.

--Warren

Sold Out!

Nikon D100, Nikkor 28mm f2.8

This is the source for the best focaccia bread in the Bay Area. You'll often see this sign outside of Liguria Bakery in North Beach. Focaccia is all they make and once they sell out for the day, they're done!

--Warren

Little Drummer Boy

"When you see red, shoot it!"

Someone told me that a few years ago, and I've found it's usually good advice.

So the Chinese New Year Parade was a great opportunity, as red is considered a propitious color, and red was all over the place. The reddest group at all was this group of young musicians and their red drums. I loved it!

By the way, when I was a kid, Little Drummer Boy (the song, that is,) scared the crap out of me. As a seven-year-old in 1957, I couldn't understand the words over my Uncle Heniek's crackly old radio, and they wouldn't have made sense to me back then anyway. But that ominous, dirge-y music!

I like this Little Drummer Boy much better.

You know what weekend it is....... Dont forget! :)

The flowers are actually in a little tin cup but the reflection of the flash makes it look like they're in a tiny little vase, depending on your monitor I guess.

Anyways, happy valentine's day everyone!

Pt. Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove

Nikon D100, Nikkor 28mm f2.8

This was our first visit (Nov. 2008) to Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove. Built in 1855, this is the oldest operational lighthouse in the Western United States. We arrived too late in the afternoon to go inside, but the late afternoon light was nice for pictures.

--Warren

Kitty in a Berkeley book store

This photo was taken in a Berkeley independent bookstore. I purchased some 2009 calendars at 66% off, and the lady behind the counter said she didn't mind if I snapped some photos of the cat. This photo was taken with a Fuji F30 at 1/4 second, f2.8, ISO 200, at ~42mm 35mm focal length equivalent.

Proud Flag Bearer

Happy New Year, my friends!

Today I finally did what any sane person should do on Chinese New Year - I went to the nearest Chinatown to watch the New Year parade. This one was in DC, and I went with Shutterbug Excursions, the local photo group to which I belong.

Naturally, we all had a great time. I'll post some more photos soon, but I wanted to get this one up first.

This fellow's determined gaze and the proud way he is holding the flagstaff reminded me of the propaganda posters during the Mao era. Of course, it was just a fluke of the moment I pressed the shutter that he happened to look up like this. I didn't notice the poster-like expression until I reviewed my shots on the subway heading home (the full image is here.)