getting there

Given yesterday's news, I can expect a May or June move date. Not a bad time to move I think.

d&r canal

This will be the last of the 135 posts for now. It was taken along the D&R canal in Princeton, NJ during the fall of last year.

[UPDATE] I just received an email from the consultant helping me with my visa application:

"I just wanted to let you know that [woman-in-France-preparing-the-application] has now received the paperwork and have now applied for your Work Permit today."

135 flowers

Another sample from the 135. This is from last year during the spring, in Madison Square Park across from the Flatiron Building.

135 in a tunnel

Like yesterday, from the 135 in California. My best friend and I had just completed a mini-road trip the day before. We drove in a rented convertible from San Diego to San Francisco. We had intended to take Route 1 up the coast, but by the time we reached it the sun was already down so we instead followed the GPS which took us a different route.

I was thinking about whether or not the invention of the GPS hurts or helps the road trip experience. I suppose some would say that part of the reason to do a road trip is to get a little lost, or to head toward a destination without a set plan of how to actually get there. The GPS takes some of that away. I'm the type of person though, who likes structure and plans. It's much easier for me now to consider doing a road trip having a GPS.

I missed out when my friend did a cross country road trip (sans GPS). This is still something I'd like to do someday, except now I think I'd like to do it on a motorbike. I don't know when I'll ever get to do it though, at least in the states. I've been telling myself that I need to get a bike in France - we'll see how that goes. I guess after I hit the lotto I could take a long vacation and come back to the states and buy a nice touring bike or something.

135

I really like the results that come out of this lens but I can't justify keeping it. I went out to Chelsea yesterday to try and get a photo or two out of it, but the only decent photo I got was from the post yesterday, using the 35. I suppose I'm just not used to the tight angle but in either case I think I could do without it. I have very few good photos form this lens, but the ones I do have I like very much. It's a hard decision. The above two photos help show one of the places where this lens shines. (I can live with the vignetting - I think it adds to the photo anyway). I'll post a couple more examples from this lens later this week.

I've been thinking what my next move in terms of equipment is going to be. I'm almost positive I'll go back to Nikon, if only because it really just feels more natural to me. No knocks against Canon, I just feel like I could never react as fast as I could with the Nikon. And regarding the full-frame vs crop debate - I love the performance of the 5D, but I think by the time I'm ready to make an equipment change, crop sensors will have made significant strides in noise performance. If I could get the noise performance of the 5D in a Nikon D90 body with the Nikon flash system, I think I'd be satisfied (although I could always use a stop or two more iso). I'm getting tired of having equipment too big and heavy for me to actually enjoy - every time I go out I have to make a decision whether or not to bring my camera. I miss my old D80/17-55 combo.

I won't be switching at least until the next cycle of full frame, and then crop cameras. Which I'm assuming won't be until next year at least. Even then, the 5D should last a couple more years from now. Having said that, here's my wish list.

• *Crop sensor in a D90 (or even D300 if I can get it weather sealed) body that can do a clean 1600 and usable 3200iso.


• *24mm fast DX prime


• 17-55


• SB-900 (maybe the 800 instead)

*'s are the things that don't exist. And maybe's:

• 50mm/1.8 (maybe the new 50/1.4 - dunno if I could justify the price, or I would love to see a *DX 55/1.4)


• 35/1.4 DX


• 105/2.8 micro

I recognize that I'm obsessing too much over the equipment, not focusing enough on the actual photography but I can't help it.

And there's also part of me that wants to go back to film. We'll see if I'll have space for a darkroom in my apartment in Paris.

chelsea pier

No, not "those" piers. I have to admit that I got the idea for this photo from my best friend. He took a similar photo with the water overexposed, and I liked the contrast against the old pier fragments. I went walking in this area today with the intention of getting some shot of the highline but I got sidetracked at the water.

Ok I have nothing else to write and I think I'm gonna head into Astoria to get something to eat and chat with C. That is if I can get my lazy ass back out of the apartment. Hopefully tomorrow's post will contain some info on my visa status.

domaine

This is my favorite bar. It's located in Long Island City, just outside of Manhattan, and is affiliated with the French bistro Tournesol a couple of doors down. A few years back, I received an email saying that Tournesol was opening a wine bar - my friend apparently wrote down my email address on one of those "review" cards they sometimes give you at restaurants. We went opening night and got some free wine. My friends and I have since gotten to know the people working at Domaine along with a number of people from Tournesol. So now there's a cheers like quality to the evenings I spend there. I hope to find my little spot like this in France.

The problem with having a night out drinking is that I'm totally useless the next day. I know C is off to the spa and I saw A on his way out this morning. I barely got my laundry to the laundromat and then promptly switched back to my PJ's.

On another note, I've made it the full week with keeping the blog updated. I'm realizing now how much effort actually goes into keeping one of these things updated. Some days, I'm stretching to find something to write, other days I have a lot to write but have trouble organizing thoughts and putting things down. Being in the technical field so long has probably destroyed these parts of my brain. Another problem is choosing what to write. One of the reasons I've always hated blogs, faceMyFriendBook, was because I never liked the idea of advertising personal things to the world. I like to reserve these thoughts for close friends and family. This is a picture-a-day type of blog anyway - the main focus should be on the photos (which means I should stop posting photos taken by other people :-p).

I decided I don't like that sweater vest. Thanks J or C for taking the photo!