Camera Test A

Panasonic GH1 "Stress Test" A from Ted Fisher on Vimeo.

My first session with the Panasonic GH1. The goal of the shoot was to find the camera's limits. Everything was shot handheld, seeking out conditions which might prove difficult on this type of hybrid system.

So I shot quite differently than one normally would. Rather than panning smoothly, avoiding shots with extreme or complex detail or aiming for the often-recommended shallow-depth-of-field look, I aimed to make the camera struggle.

I think it performed very well. The next test will include quite varied conditions and a different style of shooting. I'm hoping to do a low-light test as well.

Winter Blunderland

Finished grading about 3 a.m. last night, as the snow started to fall. Today: it's pretty. Until the wind drives it, like tiny flying shurikens, directly into your eyes.

Yesterday ... and Today

What a difference 24 hours can make. Above: iPhone snapshots: yesterday at Bronx Community College and today in the Upper East Side.

Discarded Santa Suit, Upper East Side

Did SantaCon roll up York Avenue, or did someone have a Christmas disaster? I don't know.

Check Back In Two Weeks

Sometimes subway images are an ongoing process. On the left, November 18th. On the right, today.

From The Mailbox

Got a pleasant note from the folks at Olympia Film Festival tonight. It said:

Everyone had a ton of fun with Hoop Springs Eternal. Thanks for letting us show it!

Nice.

Prose On Park Avenue Purple Post

A long while back I was walking to a meeting on Park Avenue when I ended up behind a nice couple. The woman had purple hair, so out of reflex I snapped a photo with my iPhone. There wasn't much to it, just a snap.

Today, again on Park, I found myself behind the same couple. "No need to take a picture," I thought. "I've already got one."

That's when a woman walked toward us, also with purple hair.

So I whipped my phone up near eye level and took the shot.

Advanced Relief On 88th Street

I saw that someone had left a bottle of "Advanced Relief" on the iron gate of the church, and it struck me as a strange thing. You would have to reach up to put something there.

Ten hours later, it was still there. Not moved in the slightest.

I'll look the next time I go past.

Photographer, Upper East Side

I'm generally not a fan of shots taken from behind people. It tends toward the exploitive, and tends to feel unconnected as well. Still, once in a while there's one I think works. Maybe it's the light streaming past.

For some reason, I thought this guy was a tourist. Maybe not. What was he so intent on photographing, up in the sky? I don't know: I snapped this with my iPhone and continued home. I'm usually fairly tuned in, but this time I just never thought to look.

Adobe Photoshop For iPhone

Above: I took a snap of a micro pumpkin patch on 89th Street this evening. It was a great opportunity to test out Adobe's Photoshop for iPhone.

Here's the process: I clicked on the Photoshop icon, and it asked if I wanted to take a photo or use an existing image. I chose the image, then used the crop tool to take out some unneeded detail, turned the saturation slider to plus 10, turned the exposure adjustment up a little, and chose to exit and save. That's it. The photo appeared in my phone's photo library and was ready to post. The original is at left.

It's a very simple app, it's free, and it does the basics. Not bad at all.

Mornington Crescent?

On my other blog, some ranting about the news.

Above: a much less unpleasant snapshot from a subway station. You guess which one.

Carl Schurz Park

I always forget Carl Schurz Park is one block from our apartment. Mrs. New York Portraits and I went for a walk at sundown tonight, through the park and then along East 78th Street. I'm not sure why I like 78th so much, but it feels very neighborhoody to me.

Above: an iPhone snapshot, looking toward the Queensboro Bridge.

Sakura on UES

Chris Corradino has a nice shot of our neighborhood from a Springtime Stroll Through Central Park.

Springish

The last time I took a snap of the Reservoir, it was frozen over. The last time I was there at all involved tossing a hula hoop -- and it was still slush covered and cold. Not so today: it was 60 degrees out, so I took a good run around the water. (It's about 3/4 mile to Central park, then 1.5 miles around the reservoir.)

On the way back, I think I passed Kevin Kline in a makeup chair preparing to shoot a scene. I believe it was him, but I didn't have my glasses and I didn't want to stare.

We Prefer The Term "Background Actor"

Wednesday they're filming a movie on my street. It's called The Extra Man and features Katie Holmes, Paul Dano, John C. Reilly, Cathy Moriarty, and a local fellow named Kevin Kline. If I go outside, I may accidently become an extra.

The location scouts made a good choice, since the plot is: "A man who escorts wealthy widows in New York's Upper East Side takes a young aspiring playwright under his wing."

I'm just hoping they're aware they'll have to face these creatures several times during the day.

Slowly

I think it is fair to say this year has started slowly. Things are moving forward, though, step by step. Above: the Reservoir earlier today, frozen over.

Winter Sports Gone Wrong

Went for a walk around the Reservoir today, and noticed an overwhelming number of cameras. There were very few people out without a camera in hand. Two guys were even trying some sort of photographic biathlon -- running, then stopping to photograph each other every few hundred meters.

iPhone as Pocket Cam

So a long while back -- right after the Webby Awards, actually -- my handy fits-in-my-pocket camera went kablooey. I've shot a lot since then, of course, with my regular cameras, but I haven't purchased a small carry-everywhere. In the meantime, I've tested my iPhone in that role.

Generally, it's awful. Good looking pictures, but too slow a process to get started and too clumsy to get the photo. So if the photo is of something that moves faster than a window, the odds are not on your side.

Above: a window.

Toilets of the Upper East Side

Thursday morning I stepped outside to find a toilet sitting on 89th Street. I stopped and took a photograph. People stared at me. I walked to 87th, where I found two toilets. I stopped and photographed them. People stared at me.

I chose not to look on 85th street.

How's Manhattan Voting?

At Crumbs, one "Obama Rocks" cupcake remains while two trays of "McCain" cupcakes -- sprinkles and all -- sit untouched.