Spaghetti Tree

Vault Hill, Van Cortlandt Park, NYC. 13 May 2012. (Argoflex E, Kodak Tri-X 400)

Thanks to my bud Willy G, I’m now the proud owner of an Argoflex E twin-lens reflex camera! I was impatient and brought my film to a local lab instead of sending it out for mail-order developing and they scanned the photos cropped as rectangles—quite annoying considering the camera shoots square format. Oh well, the negatives look good and I can always rescan.

I’m just thrilled I got the expose semi-correct as this camera has no meter (I used this print-out paper meter as a guide). Overall I’m very happy with my first foray into medium format and I got more rolls to go!

Blur Bird.

Van Cortlandt Park, 26 Feb. 2012.

East 12th Street

I randomly noticed that there are a lot of very cool things on East 12th street here in NYC. Without further ado (from the west down to the east):

University Stationery, 28 E 12th (at University). A handy, old-school style stationery store for all your fancy notebook (Miquelrius, Rhodia, etc.) and pen/pencil needs (Lamy, Mont Blanc). Yes, there may be a giant, 24-hour Staples a couple blocks north, but go here first and support local business.
University Pita, 21 E 12th (Across the street from above). A nice & greasy falafel/shawarma place with 5 dollar specials everyday between 2 and 5pm. Don’t miss the tiny seating area upstairs. Many times the otherwise disgruntled Middle Eastern staff will cheerfully hand you a falafel ball to snack on while you wait for your order.
Second Hand Rose Music, 48 E 12th (near Broadway). I recently stumbled upon this fun little music store. Super-cluttered (the way record stores should be) and full of great vinyl. I had to exercise some serious self-control to not buy a $60 Sun Ra two-LP set.
Strand Books, 12th and Broadway. The giant, legendary “18 Miles of Books” bookstore. They buy books, too, and my experience selling random books there has been pretty positive cash-wise. Great specials tables on the main floor, but don’t miss the under $5 table in the basement.
Cure Thrift Shop, 111 E 12th (between 3rd & 4th aves). A truly excellent thrift store with books, housewares, and clothing. I snagged a great old camera there that was sold to me half-off because it was a rainy day. Also, proceeds go to the Diabetes Research Institute, so go spend your hard-earned cash & feel good about it.

So take a wander down East 12th & let me know if you know of/found something I left off. Huzzah!

Stranger on the 1 train.

(I think she may have realized I took a photo….)

At the Spring/Break Art Show. 11 March 2012.

Shuttered Gas Station. Bronx, NYC. February(ish), 2012.

Street-view it for ColorVision! If I were a squatter I’d live in there. Seems like more and more places are abandoned and vacant in my neighborhood, kind of lame/scary, but makes for some nice photos.

Some shots from a walk through the woods (well, park) today in my neighborhood.

I used old manual focus lenses on my Canon DSLR with one of those cheapie adapters. The wide angle is a Chinar 28mm 2.8 & the telephoto is this old Nikon 135mm 2.6.

OMFG (it’s there). 10th Ave & Little West 12th Street, NYC. Summer 2011.

Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim, Kodak T-Max 400.

I grabbed a super cheap Nikon F to Canon EOS lens adapter on eBay and used my old Nikon 135mm 2.8 lens on my Canon DSLR today. It’s a little tricky focusing manually without a focusing screen, but you get the hang of it after a while.

This man was advertising bike rentals near Central Park but strangely had no bikes near him. Mysteries.