Scenes I have seen
Quintessential? Camden. It is a very picturesque town. There are shots. Perhaps I was not feeling the inspiration? Lazy? Who knows? I have been here. Have i? This is no time to be existential. Like the sunset, it is subtle in color. Is there more to say? Some days are like that. Pictures jump out or not.
Balance
Years(decades) have gone by since I took these slides. Perspective. So many choices. So little time. Huh? You got all the time you want. Take as many images as you want. Wide, tele, vertical, horizontal… you can’t even complain you don’t know what you have because the review button is right at hand. Why do I have so many duds? And why am I surprised by my success? I could excuse my lack of ability when I shot slides. I shot. I developed months later. I reviewed. I regretted the shot that got away. Now? Well, the cats don’t pose. So, I either get it or I don’t. Life and time is one way. There are scarce if ever do overs. I have a few pictures that I missed. I just try to keep it fewer. The regret is that I see things and am not technically able to get the image. And I am still surprised by some of the images I capture. I admit that the first 30 years was 100k slides. The past decade is more than 350k. I’m not bragging. I’m amazed that cost and ease has diminished so that I can get many more misses without more guilt. Ha ha, look at the sailors on the yardarms. They do look like they are posing in a circus high wire act. You saw that, right? Or, in this parade everyone stands still while you pass by.
Perspective
The Tour de France is a bicycle race of 2000 miles in three weeks. I have no desire to photograph it. Some people wait/camp along the route for weeks before the bikers pass. Then 100 riders go by at 28 miles an hour and it’s over. Too little bang for your buck. A British royal wedding? I’m not related. So, I would be among millions lining a street for a glimpse. If I lived there overlooking the parade route… My good buddy, Charlie (Bell 47 helicopter), loves the whole picture. Get the whole thing (ship). But, if you include the whole ship (helicopter) with its rotors, you lose detail.
There are times when detail (close-up) is better. It means you were there. You saw the finer details. And the whole (ship) can be discerned from its part. It’s a fine point. And, it’s an opinion. When film was limited, I shot frugally. I did not shoot well. Now that digital is plentiful, I shoot lots. I still don’t always shoot well. More is not more. Nor is more less. I find that I shoot more. I shoot wide angle and telephoto. It takes a second. But, lately I find that zooming in I utilize the camera’s capability to fulfill my vision better. No, Photoshop will not save you if you are lazy. You can crop the hell out of a poor image and get something. How about getting it without thinking you have a ready crutch to fall upon. I like to mix metaphors. Get the point?
An image is two dimensional on the page. Telephoto perspective can crowd what you see by its depth of field. Perspective is something that has many meanings. It all depends on you. Technical or philosophical?
Tall Ships
Sailing vessels paraded along the Hudson River in 1976, 1986, and in 2000. That’s my memory. In 1976 I was a newly minted surgery intern at Albert Einstein Medical School rotating out of the Lincoln Hospital ER. We were 24 hours on, 24 hours off. I started on July 1 – day off. That made July 4th my second day off. I was exhausted. Dead on my feet so to speak. The hours of an intern are severely restricted nowadays. Better or worse? I have an opinion. It doesn’t matter. I managed to drag myself to the Hudson that day with girlfriend and camera. Slide film. I had plenty with me. Someone standing next to me offered/asked to buy film when they ran out. Nothing doing. I needed/brought everything I had. This was historic. It was a once in a lifetime parade. So, of course, it wasn’t. As if NYC ever needed more tourists, they did it (tall ships) again and again. By 2000, I was a better photographer with more sleep and better (different) equipment. I was not on a ship but my lenses reached better. As summer days in NYC go, it was hazy. But I was part of history again that day. I’ve been fortunate that way. I could have been working July 4th, 1976 and missed it all. I wasn’t. I saw it from a front row spot. Lucky me. That year my vacation was the month of August. You had to take it when you were assigned. Lucky me. Nothing left to live for for the rest of the year. We went to Italy on a tour. I remember that too.
Junk
There’s a lot to see during the Tall Ships parade up and down the Hudson River. This was back in 2000. After a while one large sailing vessel seems the same as the others. But here’s something different. That was special.
Sailors Aloft
There’s a lot to see during the Tall Ships parade up and down the Hudson River. This was back in 2000. After a while one large sailing vessel seems the same as the others. But here’s something different. Not too many of the ships were positioning their crew on the yardarms. That was special.
Eagle
The flagship of the Coast Guard sailing fleet is the Eagle. Maybe it’s their only sailing vessel. It’s a training ship. I like the clean graphical lines and the variety of its sails. It makes an appearance when the tall ship celebration converges in New York Harbor periodically. It’s one vessel I recognize instantly.
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