Ray's photowalks are always a lot of fun and great opportunity to catch-up with old friends, and to form new friendships. This edition of NEWLK was no different.
All in Film
Thanksgiving à Paris
Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant. -Honoré de Balzac
High (Up) in N.Y.C.
Sometimes you have to be spontaneous and just go for it without thinking about it for too long. That's exactly how I felt about a week ago (Saturday 8/27). "It" in this case was booking a spot on a door-less New York City helicopter ride with FlyNYON.
Harzer Schmallspurbahnen
"Warum in die Ferne schweifen? Sieh, das Gute liegt so nah." - Based on "Erinnerung" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Hamburg
For me, no visit to Germany is complete without a visit to Hamburg. Whilst I was not born in Hamburg, it is my favorite city in Germany and one of the few places that I make absolutely sure I stop by whenever I fly back home to Germany. When asked by friends or strangers which places to visit in Germany, Hamburg is at the top of my list of recommendations.
Concours d'Elegance
First held in 1996 the Greenwich Concours D'Elegance is an annual event that takes place in Greenwich, Connecticut. The event kicks off Friday afternoon with a car parade down Greenwich Avenue, and is followed by the Concours Americana and Concours International on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at the Roger Sherman Baldwin Park.
Chi-city
My last trip to London was only three weeks in the rear-view mirror before it was time again to pack my bags and head to Chicago for a long weekend getaway.
Londinium MMXVI
London has always had a special place in my heart.
N.Y.C. - 042316
First weekend in ages without any work or particular plans. What better way to spend a sunny spring day than riding through NYC on my bike and explore? Here are a couple of snapshots I took this weekend in Brooklyn.
We Own The Night
A few snapshots taken from the observation deck at the Empire State Building earlier in the month. All photos were taken with the Leica MP, Zeiss Sonnar and Kodak Tri-X 400.
Berlin
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner".
President John F. Kennedy - June 26, 1963
NYC Graffiti Walk
“Graffiti is art and if art is a crime, please God, forgive me”
— George Lee Quiñones
Random night on Tri-X
A few random snapshots taken on a November evening in and around Grand Central Terminal.
Camera: Leica MP
Lens: Zeiss Sonnar T*1,5/50
Film: Kodak Tri-x metered at 400
Processing: XTOL, pushed one stop
Scan: Pakon
Shhhh... please do not disturb!
It never fails, right after Labor Day temperatures drop in the tri-state area. Gone are the warm and cozy days of summer. The drop is not extreme, but enough to remind you that the cold fall and winter days are fast approaching, waiting around the corner. The same applies to traffic, gone are the days of easy commutes into NYC. The streets are jammed again with stressed drivers, school buses, and stop-and-go traffic due to stalled cars, construction or accidents. Leaving only ten minutes later than usual makes all the difference. Luckily sunshine, endless beaches, sanity and relaxation are only a short flight away.
Cinestill + Bleach
Bleach bypass, as the name suggests, is simply skipping the bleach step when developing color film using C-41 chemicals. Skipping the bleach step results in higher silver retention in the film, essentially muting the colors and increasing the grain and contrast. Similar to imposing a black and white image on the color image. Results vary depending on the film stock.
I thought I should give it a try using a roll (Cinestill 800T) that I shot in New York City on a September afternoon recently. Here is a summary of my workflow, as well as a few examples...
A Day Trip to Great Captain Island
Great Captain Island is a small, ~17 acres, and beautiful island right off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut on the Long Island Sound. It’s a sanctuary because there are no cars or stores, just pure nature and it is entirely surrounded by water.
Roadtrip
Inspired by Johnny Patience's Death Valley blog post back in April I jumped on the opportunity of a short trip to Las Vegas at the end of July. I am not into gambling at all, so I planned a couple of short roadtrips to places "relatively" close to Las Vegas. In total I only spent, hold your breath, a full $1 on gambling. I figured, rather than blowing my money at the casino it would be more fun to rent a car and head out to explore nature and some of the state parks. Las Vegas for me is a "been there, done that, don't need to do it again" place. I can see why people like it, but it is not for me.
Coney Island
Coney Island, home of the (in)famous Cyclone roller-coaster and annual world famous Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. Difficult to imagine, but this past Memorial Day was the first time that I ventured out there for a visit. I had seen and heard about it many times on TV, in photos, and read about it in the newspaper, but never had the urge to visit. When my mum came for a visit we decided to head out there. She has seen the majority of NYC and I wanted to show her something new. It was well worth it.
One World Trade Center
We remember
We rebuild
We come back stronger
– President Obama (Message left on One World Trade Center steel beam)
Oetztal Alps
Eight long years, that’s how long it has been since my last snowboarding trip. Eight years ago I lived in Amsterdam and flew down to Switzerland for a long weekend for some snowboarding fun. I lived in Zurich the year before, so knew the area quite well. On one of the morning runs down the hill I had a pretty bad fall and injured my left leg. I kept going for the rest of the day which turned out not to be smart and ended in the emergency room. Fast forward a couple more years, to about 2008, and I slipped in front of the house on ice and broke the same leg/ankle in three different places. Needless to say, it took quite some time to heal and some more time before I could put real pressure on my ankle again and do things such as cycling or running.