You simply must stay here

This past June we went on a mini vacation to Cape Cod. The highlight was staying at the Isaiah Jones  homestead, a wonderful bed and breakfast. This old home has been restored to it's original glory and it provides for a very pleasant experience. But was makes it really special is the attentive owners who  are extremely attentive and kind. Photos of the exquisite breakfast dishes will soon follow. Needless to say we enjoyed our stay. The Isaish Jones Homestead is in Sandwich, Cape Cod.
Just google it for more information.

Paris, je t'aime

Indeed, I love Paris. Here are some odd and end photos of my walking tours in this truly splendid city from where I was absent too long but will soon remedy this situation.

New fast lens from Nikon

 I always found the word prime lens sort of odd. This naturally denotes a non zoom lens that iisn;t too wide or too long. 
At any rate, this wide opening or fast lens will give great shallow depth of field in the FX or full frame sensors.

Nikon  Now Adds a New Fast  Prime Lens; The AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G

Coming on the heels of the announcement of the new D5300 DSLR, Nikon has introduced a very nice AF-S NIKKOR lens; the AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G. This lens is  "bokeh" fanatics, with   that  perfect focal length  for portrait photography. No matter whether you have a FX or DX-format Nikon camera. With a fast f/1.4 maximum aperture, the lens will give excellent performance in difficult lighting. The other features are: Nano Crystal Coating, a 9-blade (round) diaphragm, and a large barrel with 72mm filter diameter. The suggested retail price will be $1699.95,  as much or more than many camera sand Nikon notes that the lens will appear at retailers later this October 2013, we hope.

Break the rules

There are just too many silly rules in photography. Some are valid while others are made in an attempt at making photography difficult and for the initiated. I always take all rules with a grain of salt. My anarchism is showing.
One of these valid rules is to always shoot with the light at your back or on your side. The reasons are obvious. But sometimes break this rule ans see what happens. Shoot contro luce or against the light. It naturally sounds much better when using Italian, the world's most beautiful language. 

These are all from the High Line in Manhattan.

New from Sony / The FF mirrorless A-7 and A-7R

What the Canon Pellix that came out at around 1968, could never have been. These new  full frame cameras from Sony, thanks to electronic and the EVF have realized the mirrorless dream. Naturally, the Achilles heel of the SLR is the bouncing mirror that made slow shutter speeds very hard hand held. Now slower shutter speeds are possible. Of course with digital's new high ISO speeds this may be almost a moot point.



 

Just get close

In the immortal words of Henri Cartier-Bresson: "if you need a telephoto you are too far away." Most people like to have their picture taken if you ask and are nice to them. No long telephoto snipers needed as this type of photography is inane and really invasive to someone's privacy. After all it's just a picture  and not the the end of the world if you miss it. Do not take yourselves too seriously and you will be OK, You may even become better photographers, This is a hat seller in the Meat Packing District of Manhattan.

I love this city

We took a stroll on the High Line on the lower West Side on a very pleasant Columbus Day. The place was teeming with people having a great and relaxing time. Leave it to this city to make something great and this venue is absolutely New York, absolutely wonderful. The camera was the Lumix GX1 with the  Olympus Zuiko 9-24 lens. 

Happy Columbus Day

Have a perfect week

Urban shots

Walking around with the Lumix GX1 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I was attracted by the colors  of the graffiti.