“Murder is My Business” – Photos by Weegee

A great article on one of my all-time favorite photographers, Arthur Felig – better known as Weegee…

Steps away from the sanitized, commercialized and pacified Times Square is a portal to a sinister urban past, where two-bit hoods lay sprawled in pools of blood with stogies clenched in their lifeless jaws, watched over by the police and the curious alike. It’s a world of men with guns and hats who played their final hands under elevated tracks and tenements that have long since vanished.

via “Murder is My Business” – Photos by Weegee at I.C.P. – NYTimes.com.

NYC Trip – Vivian Maier Exhibit at the Howard Greenberg Gallery

2 Bits, by Tony Juliano

 

Made a trip to the “Big Apple” (pre  - New Years Eve), to see the Vivian Maier exhibit at the Howard Greenberg Gallery.  The showing was awesome, albeit a little brief.   I love her work, and the story behind it is amazing.

Also managed to squeeze in a stop at The Jewish Museum for an exhibit entitled -  ”The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936-1951“.  Yet another great story in the history of photography in the United States.  I would love it if an organization would exist like this today.  Wonderful showing, definitely worth the trip.

Took a few street shots along the way, you can see all the images in the set  by clicking on the photo above…

 

A 15 Minute Exercise To Help You Improve Your Photography in 2012

Here’s a little exercise for you to do today. It will only take 15 minutes. It’s all about slowing down and thinking about the shots that you’re taking.

via A 15 Minute Exercise To Help You Improve Your Photography in 2012.

In Memoriam: Madeleine de Sinety, Documenter of Rural Life, 77

Another great artist leaves us.  It’s been quite a year for the passing of legends.

The photographic archive created by Madeleine de Sinéty demonstrates that through intense observation and an intimate connection with the subject, photographs can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.  De Sinéty, who for more than two decades documented daily life in a single farming village in Brittany, died December 22 at her home in Rangeley, Maine. The cause of death was breast cancer, the Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine, reports. She was 77.

via In Memoriam: Madeleine de Sinety, Documenter of Rural Life, 77.

Find Your Stolen Camera or Protect It First With GadgetTrak’s CameraTrace

This looks like a great service, well worth the 10 bucks per year.

If you got a digital camera for the holidays, or already own one, take a moment and write down the serial number. That way GadgetTrak’s new CameraTrace service can help you recover it if it’s ever stolen. Launching today, for a one-time fee of $10 CameraTrace lets you register your camera’s serial number. If you later report it lost or stolen, you’ll be notified by email if anyone else tries to upload photos from it. You can also search CameraTrace’s serial number database of 5 billion photos for free. Both tools could help you track down unauthorized uploaders and get your gear back. Camera thieves beware, there’s a new sheriff in town.

via Find Your Stolen Camera or Protect It First With GadgetTrak’s CameraTrace | TechCrunch.

Fujifilm patents hybrid organic/CMOS sensor

 

A compelling, albeit very technical, read. I disagree about the merits, and think Fuji is on to something here…

Fujifilm has been granted a patent for an innovative organic-hybrid sensor technology. However, while interesting, it may not offer a compelling advantage over existing designs, according to sensor technologist Professor Eric Fossum. The company has recently been granted a patent for its work on a sensor that uses an organic (carbon-chemistry-based) material on top of silicon circuitry. Speculation about Fujifilm’s forthcoming mirrorless camera has latched onto a technical paper the company published in late 2009, but both Fossum and the company say the work shows more promise for small-scale sensors.

via Fujifilm patents hybrid organic/CMOS sensor: Digital Photography Review.

On the Telephone with Santa – 1947


As usual, spectacular photography from the archives at LIFE magazine…

“This little girl is talking to Santa Claus,” LIFE magazine announced in a 1947 story about some marvelous holiday subterfuge devised by New York’s famed toy store, FAO Schwarz, “and so may any other girl or boy who telephones Murray Hill 8-2205 in New York between now and Christmas.” The gambit involved a phone system whereby children could dial that number (MU8-2205) — and speak directly to Santa himself. Here, LIFE.com presents photos from that article — as well as some other “Awww”-inspiring pictures that never ran in the magazine

See all the images, via LIFE.

The Big Legacy Of Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris, Photographer

A great photographer from the past, overlooked and under-appreciated…

Charles “Teenie” Harris didn’t need to wander far during his life as a photographer. His hometown of Pittsburgh supplied enough images to sustain a career. For more than four decades, Harris was one of the principal photographers for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the nation’s pre-eminent black newspapers.

The Year in Pictures

Great series of photo’s form Boston.com, worth a look at some excellent photo-journalism…

The Year in Pictures: Part I
Any “best of” list must surely be subjective. This one is no different. Choosing the best photographs of the year is an enormously difficult task, with many terrific photographs slipping through the cracks. But with major news events as a guide, and with single images I fell in love with throughout the year forcing their way into the edit, I look at my favorite pictures from the first four months of the year. Two main stories dominated headlines in the first part of the year: the Japan earthquake and tsunami, and the rising of the Arab Spring. The protests in the Middle East would spread to Greece, Spain, and eventually inspire the Occupy movement in Western nations. Other stories included a historic wave of tornados in the U.S., a Royal wedding in London, and the creation of the world’s newest nation in South Sudan. Images from the rest of the year will follow in posts later this week. — Lane Turner (36 photos total)

via The Year in Pictures: Part I – The Big Picture – Boston.com.

Yard Sale Bonanza – Nikon FA

Wow!  Had a great find today while running around doing some errands for my “real” job.

While driving around, I happened upon a garage sale and decided to browse for a few minutes.  Just as I was about to get back in my car and drive away, I saw it…

The metallic hue of a what appeared to be a late 1970′s era Nikon film SLR.  Closer examination revealed this model was a Nikon FA with a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 AIS lens attached.

I asked the seller if it was functional, but she replied: “I have no idea, it was my father’s and he passed away about ten years ago”.  I was not really too familiar with this particular camera, but I inquired about the selling price and was told I could have it for $35.

Well, I pulled out my cell phone and did a quick search, finding that, even in mediocre condition, it should sell for quite a bit more.  And here is the thing, it looked to be in near pristine condition.  There were two barely visible scuffs on the vulcanite, plus the diopter ring and flash coupler plug were missing, but aside from this, it was in great shape.  No scratches on the base plate or top, the batteries were dead but this model can be operated manually and mechanically everything seemed perfect.  The attached lens was perfect, no scratches or fungus anywhere to be seen.  It even came with the original manual – a little dog eared – but complete none the less.

I offered her $25, and to my great surprise, she accepted readily – awesome!

After work I headed over to my local camera shop (New York Camera – no, they are not in NYC, but are located suburban Philly – go figure…).  Anyway, I purchased a couple of LR44 batteries and a diopter ring and flash coupler plug from their used inventory (these little “trinkets” actually cost me slightly more than the camera and lens!), and installed everything.  To my amazement, everything worked fine, the camera meters correctly and the shutter is good, it all seems to operate as smoothly as the day it was manufactured. They even had a used FA for sale in the store, and it was priced at $299 – body only!!

As it turns out, this was a pretty ground-breaking model for Nikon in it’s day.  The FA was the first Nikon to offer full matrix metering (it also has center-weighted capability) and Program mode.  It was a pretty expensive camera when it was released, selling for almost as much as Nikon’s flagship F3 at the time.

Here’s a bit of info from Wikipedia…

After many years of conservative designs, the Nikon FA was intended to be Nippon Kogaku’s technological blockbuster, surpassing such worthies as the Canon A-1 (released 1978) and the Olympus OM-4 (1983) then pummeling Nikon sales. Nikon Inc. (USA)’s brochure referred to it as “THE TECHNOCAMERA”. The FA did have one very rare and conservative feature for an electronically controlled camera. Nippon Kogaku’s philosophy that a camera must always work when called upon resulted in the FA’s backup ability to operate without batteries – albeit in a very limited fashion: completely manual mechanical control with two shutter speeds (1/250th second, marked M250, or Bulb) and without the light meter.

The FA was initially in high demand, despite its very high price – selling at barely 10% lower than the professional level Nikon F3HP - because many Nikon owners were eagerly awaiting such a technology leader. Unfortunately, early production teething problems with all of the sophisticated electronics meant that Nippon Kogaku could not meet the demand.

Here’s a link to Ken Rockwell’s review of this wonderful find.

Needless to say, I’m ecstatic, it’s a very nice early Christmas present, that’s for sure!  I don’t know whether I will keep it long-term or sell it for a nice profit, but I can’t wait to run some rolls of film through this baby.