rmdavis

 

Fuji XE-1 with Helios 44

<p>Canon 30D with 24-70 L, Flexaret with Agfa Scala film</p>

Not exactly a small village, but if you take the ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, and actually get outside the harbour/casino areas, you will find one of the most fascinating cities in Asia. The mix of Iberian and Chinese influences in architecture, food, and culture is truly unique, and the city is not actually that touristy (most everybody goes straight to the gambling).

 

The southernmost island of Macau, Coloane, has a great nature preserve (Hac Sa bay) and a small luso-chinese fishing village.

Sandy Hook is excellent for nature type shots. If you would like cool shots of Manhattan or Jersey City I suggest you drive up to Liberty State Park. From there you have a great view of the battery, which is fantastic for sunrise and sunset. Also, exchange place in Jersey City has a great view of lower Manhattan.

 

http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/74577461_Vc4Pj-M.jpg

Colgate clock in Jersey City at dusk

Pier 17 at night or at dawn, at the old Fulton Fish Market, is an excellent place to get shots of the Brooklyn Bridge with Brooklyn in the background.

I rented a car out of Kalispell last year, and don't remember there being mileage limits on it. Are you sure this is correct? If I recall correctly, Kalispell was the cheapest to fly in to, but this probably changes all the time.

Scrolled through the Kerstens stuff provided by the link. A lot of those photos are fantastic- exceedingly Vermeer like. But a few of them cross a line, I think. When compared with the underage model from Alberta, there is a large measure of eroticism present in some of Kerstens images. Particularly the head on "pimp" photo with the makeup. It's not directly sexually suggestive (at least to me, but then again, I'm not into kids); but it is definitely making use of the elements of sexual provocation found in advertising or pornography. It would certainly be stimulating to a pedophile.

 

Not that this is, in of itself, reason to reject it. We can't judge everything we do by whether or not it negates pedophilic standards, or relates to certain perverts at all. Some folks may have ridiculous fetishes involving shoes and bananas. I'm not therefore a perv if I wear shoes while eating a banana.

 

That being said, I can't help but suspect that there is an unhealthy relationship here. And, if the photos were released for publication before the model came of age and consented to it (and I think this addresses the heart of Emre's question), then it is definitely exploitation. Can you photograph your kids without clothes on? Sure. should every individual have a right to control the level of privacy with which they lived their life? Yes.

 

I personally don't give a damn if my mom posts the picture from the 70's where I'm nekkid on a bear rug, or whatever. And I wouldn't mind even if cheescake shots of me had been taken- because I don't care much about my image or people's perception of me. Frankly, I'm far too lazy to care.

 

But what if I had turned out to be the kind of midwestern corn-fed conservative that we all can't stand here? The ones who don't like public nudity, even when it is art? Do they get to be autonomous individuals as well, or just footstools for the cultural elite?

 

The point is that children don't know yet, with the clarity of judgment that comes from maturity, who they are or what they will become. That's why we don't let them make life altering decisions or indergo stresses that take enormous amounts of maturity to deal with.

 

That's why they can't vote, drink, sign binding contracts, and be drafted into the army and forced to suffer and inflict violence. because they can't fashion informed consent, and they are not prepared to accept and deal with consequences.

 

Now, a photo like Kersten's which is borderline (thanks Eugene, I've been to the Rijksmuseum, and I stil think some of those photos are borderline)and isn't clear cut kiddie porn could be shown, ethically, if the model, as an adult, gave informed consent to it. Because the Adult is then determining the level of openness, in terms of privacy, that they have to the world.

 

Then again, Kerstens is clearly a European. And all Europeans are Pervs. It's a known fact. Praga Khan is from Europe. Ergo.

I have been using the 20d for about 7 months now, and was highly interested in the intro of the 30d. Particularly as to how it drove down prices on the 20d. Frankly, it looks like the 30d has a slight advantage in buffer size (not so important, as I don't shoot sports, and it sound slike you won't either). The bigger LCD doesn't impress me. Given that the price difference is enough to get a decent lens, I would go with the 20d. I don't really see the point of the 30d.

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src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/61164126-M.jpg"></center>

This is a photo from the last mass at the Sacred Heart church in

Jersey City. After more than 120 years, it has been closed due to

declining numbers of congregants. Sadly, we are also losing one of

the finest collections of American stained glass.

 

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src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/60951592-M-1.jpg"></center>

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src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/54261020-M.jpg"></center>

catastrophe

The plot thickens...

The first disaster

another pass

first pass

Sorry, I'll try to post that so it shows.<div></div>

The day started off well, with some beautiful pageantry. Of the three

Matadors, one was rather old and not so ambitious, one was in his

prime and technically quite skilled, and the other was having his

first appearance in a major fiesta brava.

 

However, with the introduction of an extremely smart and vigorous bull

into the arena, things quickly started to go wrong.

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My wife is portuguese, and I lived in Northern Portugal for two years while she finished university (one year in sao pedro da cova, and one in Porto, Boavista).

Obgrido Miguel.

 

Infelizmente, nao temos ricore nos Estados Unidos, entao temos que beber Mokambo. Que Pena.

And another at f8:

 

 

<center><img src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/53915025-M.jpg"></center>

 

100% crop:

 

<center><img src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/53915035-M.jpg"></center>

 

Here are a few from the real world:

 

center><img src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/54249483-M.jpg"></center>

 

 

center><img src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/54249487-M.jpg"></center>

 

 

 

It's nice to go manual again!

I got an adaptor off of the great auction website, and hooked up my

80mm CZ Jena Biometar to my 20d. The camera isn't classic, but the

lens is. For those out there who are interested in doing something

like this, here is a pic of the lens mounted on the body:

<center><img

src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/53915054-M.jpg"></center>

 

Using it is not that difficult. If one sets the mode to Av, then sets

the aperture manually, the cameras metering system will automatically

set shutter speed. This, however, is not always spot perfect. But

close enough to fix in post processing. Or you can set it to M,

select the shutter speed manually, and use a light meter to do your

readings (I do this with my Luna Pro).

 

The lens is quite sharp- although I have heard that CZ Jena had

quality control problems, all the Zeiss Jena lenses that I have

acquired look good. Given that this is a MF lens, and you are

shooting through the center of the glass, so theoretically performance

should exceed that on the MF mount.

 

Here are some sharpness tests:

 

f2.8

 

<center><img

src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/53915025-M.jpg"></center>

 

with a 100% crop:

 

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src="http://justiceiro.smugmug.com/photos/53915028-M.jpg"></center>

I am assuming that the above comment is made in a satirical spirit. Or that the poster has never had the privilidge of attending a Jersey City municipal council meeting.

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