Autumn in Portra

Timeless

Was it yesterday, or yesteryear?

Kolor me Krazy

Sometimes even an old dyed-in-the-wool black & white film shooter has to accept the fact that we still live in a world of color. Most of what I've been shooting in film these past few years has been B & W. Sure, the Kodachrome project has brought me back to reality. Although that will all be nearly over with by this time next year, as the film has now gone out of production forever, and the last remaining lab to develop this film will halt the service in December of 2010.

Lately, I've been experimenting with a stash of free color film that Kodak sent me last month. Free film is always a great excuse to pull out the half-exposed roll of Tri-X sitting in my Leica M3. And this color film especially, Kodak Portra 160VC, is perfect for this time of year. The autumn leaves have arrived. Here's a few pictures I took yesterday at Brown Deer Park. The afternoon was overcast, even with some light rain showers during my shoot. But these are the conditions that can be a delight to the photographer, bringing nice saturation to an already beautiful time of year.

Color Copies

Another Kodachrome, shot with the Leica M3 and Elmar 50/2.8.

That 50 year-old Leica M3

My 50 year-old Leica M3 and Elmar 50/2.8 loaded with Kodachrome.

Ecstasy

I don't often think of Zoomer as an old dog, but he is. He will be 10 years old on January 18, 2010, and the average life expectancy of a greyhound is 9-14 years. He still seems like my baby though, and in many ways he is. But the two or three years have snuck up on us both rather quickly. And as I fell into my 50s, Zoomer slipped into old age. And now, with his body dealing with the added stress that the amputation and the consequences it brings, it's clear that he is slowing down.

Just a little over a year ago, Zoomer could run after crazed squirrels with wild-eyed abandon. He still wants to, but now it is my job to keep him safe, and not to let himself go too far in his excitement. His stamina has been shortened to not much more than a walk around the yard. But their is no question, he still loves life and the simple pleasures of being a dog. Pleasures like chewing on a favorite stick. Pure canine ecstasy.

A little more behind the ear, please!

Sometimes I just sit outside in our front yard with Zoomer. I bring out my lawn chair and his blanket, and we sit and "talk". I often talk to Zoomer about how our Creator answered our prayers and gave him more days. Zoomer has had a rough year, adjusting to getting around with one missing leg, and dealing with the extra pains and strains that the extra stress puts on his body. Add to all this, the difficulty of just getting old. But through all that, he still seems to love life, and greets me with a full-blown tag-wagging every time I walk through the door.

He still loves to bark at strange dogs or people who appear to be intruders in the confines of his world, as they do nothing more than casually walk by our house on their innocent evening stroll. Little do they know, he has no real desire to hurt anyone. All he wants to do is meet them, to be able to sniff them, get a little scratch behind the ear, and say, "There, now you are my friend." It seems that all through his life, all Zoomer has wanted to do is to meet people and make friends. And through this, he has helped me do the same through the people we have met together.

He has truly been this man's best friend.

Of Sounds and Time

Sand Dunes

This past Sunday during the Labor Day weekend, my wife and I took a drive up to Kohler-Andre State Park, just south of Sheboygan, WI. Here's a couple pictures from our walk along the sand dunes that run along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

More of the Dells

An old retiree

Seen in a storefront window in downtown Wisconsin Dells, WI.
Shot with a Leica MP, 35/2 Summicron ASPH, and Kodachrome 64 film.

More Kodachromes from Madison Farmers Market

Kodachrome in Madison, WI

Here's one from my Kodachrome project. A street musician playing around Madison's Capital Square, taken this past spring.

Free Kodak film!

When it comes to Leica, I'm mostly a film shooter. I do have a Panasonic LX2 that I occasionally use, and it sports the Leica name on its lens (whatever that means). But this post is really nothing more than about some film I just received form Kodak...some free film!

It's part of a Kodak flickr group expired film give-away to promote Ektar. The first 400 people to respond to the offer received 10 rolls of expired Kodak color film, and one roll of fresh Ektar film. This is what my friendly UPS driver delivered today!

Time to load up the Leicas!

Practicing lines

Shot with a Leica MP, 50/f1.4 Summilux lens, and Kodak BW400CN film @ EI 200.

Glorious

The piece we sang was called "Glorious".
And my wife was too. :)

Oh, that legendary Leica glow!

The latest pictures of Zoomer (aka: Captain Z), taken with my Leica MP, 50/1.4 Summilux (pre-asph) lens, and Kodak BW400CN film. I have used the Leica Summilux lens more than any other over the past year. I am constantly amazed at the beautiful way it renders portraits. It has a type of "old world" feel with it's subtle vignetting and the famous Leica glow.

The first two pictures I took after giving Zoomer his daily massage. This is to help his rear leg and back from getting tight. His body gets a lot more stress in this area since the amputation, and helps him from getting painful cramps.



This one my wife took when she came home and saw us lazing around after the massage/bonding session. I would say she does quite fine shooting that manual rangefinder Leica. :)

The Promise of Living

My wife (left) and her friend sing, "The Promise of Living", from the opera The Tender Land by Aaron Copland.

Verdi's Quartet

This was my first time singing opera!

From left to right:
Femi, Mike, yours truly, and Byron.

Eastbrook Orchestra Concert 2009

The orchestra concerts that I mentioned last week ran for two nights, with our performances in two different venues. Wednesday night, we performed at Milwaukee's Washington Park bandshell. I hadn't lined up a photographer for that location, but I did have two at work for the next evening at another, newer bandshell. Fortunately, one of them was also at the first night, but unfortunately I had spotted him after my part in the program was over. But he will be dropping off a CD for me, so I'm hoping to see some of the first night's performance on it also.

Washinton Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the renowned landscape architect who designed and supervised the creation of New York’s Central Park. I believe the park was created around 1892, and the bandshell was built about 1938. During it's heyday, the concerts held here were heavily attended and hosted legends such as Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. But that was a different era, and for a long time, the bandshell stood vacant and stood in a state of sad decay. Several years ago work began to restore this beautiful gem.

And this is what it looks like today. It was an incredible place to sing, with acoustics that could easily be described as heavenly. The evening was truly perfect. The temperature was not too hot. And the air was still, allowing the sound to come through clean and clear. The experience was a LOT of fun, and I felt so priviledged not only to sing in this venue, but also to be able to sing with the level of singers I did. It was truly an evening I will never forget for the rest of my life.