gordon_lukesh1

<p>We took our Jeep Liberty thru MV w/o any problem. Some folks in rentals that all look like the Ford Taurus, had to be careful. The south rim of Canyon de Chelley is the prettier, in our opinion. If you have the option, always go when school is back in session! Also, in the fall, the Native Americans lower their prices to buy food. You don't even have to haggle, just walk up to a $20 piece of pottery and they will say "You can have that for $10".</p>

<p>What should I expect to spend for a good web site development (by another person)? Hourly, fixed price, maintanence? I envision a site that shows several "galleries" each with photos having common themes such as "landscape" or "architecture" and links to appropriate sites such as art galleries, museums...<br>

Anyone have experience in getting one developed?</p>

<p>Having worked with lasers and optics for decades, I would call the engineering quite easy, I really just wanted to know if someone made one!</p>

<p>I politely think many missed the "point". I want a camera that simultaneously takes a dig and film shot. This is not rocket science in optics. But with such a camera a pro could preview photos but then use film and paper for the rest.</p>

<p>Head from Denver straight to Laramie, but you need not go all the way. At the WY/CO border is a beautiful isolated church, Virginia Dale, I think. Check out<br>

vistablackandwhiteoftaos.com<br>

Look for Susan's work. I'd love to see an early AM shot of that beauty!<br>

If you have a full day, head on to Laramie and search out Snowy Range Pass. It goes to about 11,000ft but with no high B/P drop offs.</p>

<p>I was watching "Make Me a Top Model" recently, and it occurred to me that the photographer wants to see the shot "now" but might want a film version later. As a person who has worked with optical systems (lasers), beam splitters are commonplace. With a good sized camera it should be possible to "split" the incoming light, with half going on to a sensor and half on to film for later use.<br>

Does such a camera exist?<br>

If not, the copyright and patents are mine:)</p>

<p>I was in Kihei, Maui, a couple years ago and a honeymoon couple asked me to take their picture. Because Kihei near the Four Seasons faces west, and the sun was still a width above the water, I had them block the actual sun and their pocket digital flashed and filled them in. They were very happy.</p>

<p>B&H is first class but I learned very early on not to ask for advice! I called and worked my was thru the menu down to B&W Film. A somewhat gruff voice came on and I said I needed advice and he said "What film do you want?" Know what you want when you call!<br>

I bought a Leica M6 body from them, used and rated 9+. I have never found anything wrong with it!</p>

Leica M6 w/21mm lens, hand held.<div></div>

<p>Try Ansel Adams' "Examples". It is available in soft cover.</p>

<p>We have a 135 for our M6 bodies and on Red Square it attracts attention so we always carry our pocket Canon digital to settle folks down. Tripods are a no-no in many places, this wasn't just a Russian thing.</p>

<p>What is PN's guideline on posting a web? I often do something like www<dot>blahblah<dot>com but I am still worried I may be breaking the rules.</p>

<p>TIA</p>

<p>My general rule, and I have established this by copyright study, is that a scene at a public event of a crowd is fine, but be really careful with individuals or families. In Africa, many people believe that when you take their photo you are stealing part of their soul! OK, so they charge a buck...</p>

<p>My suggestion based on a dozen visits is Paris. I have never been disappointed and always search out unusual places there. My girlfriend got a great picture of "The Wall of Peace" maybe 0.75km from the Eiffel Tower. This monument has "Peace" in 32 languages, but the day she took the picture was shortly after a Palestine/Israel riot, and the wall but badly broken. She actually shot me through the glass.</p>

<p>I took a shot up in Montmartre. I was trying to get the geometry of the cobblestones as the sun set. When I shot with my M6 in B&W, a black cat ran across. This was not staged and I had no idea until I had the film developed back home whether I got the cat. When I picked up the negatives the person who did them said quietly "You got the cat!" If you look at our web site<br>

www<dot>vistablackandwhiteoftaos<dot>com<br>

you will find it. It is a full negative, which is in a safe deposit box at our bank.</p>

<p>There is a small Leica store in the Bastille area. We bought our 21mm there several years ago. On the wall was a signed and framed check to the store from Cartier-Bresson. Unknown to us, he lived to about 96! The store is tiny but probably has US$1M in stock.</p>

<p>Tamara:<br>

Look for my thread "To Tamara..." in this travel section. I couldn't find this thread yesterday!<br>

Gordon</p>

<p>Get of copy of "Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle. Very funny and true.</p>

<p>Tamara:<br>

Can't find your thread but here's a few suggestions about Snowy Range Pass.<br>

Search for Grand Encampment to Walden CO and rt 14 to Ft Collins. Also, try to find Cache de Poudre River.<br>

Please also look at www<dot>vistablackandwhiteoftaos<dot>com. My girlfriend has a beautiful photo of the Virginia Dale Church on the CO/WY border.<br>

Contact us via e-mail.<br>

Regards,<br>

Gordon</p>

<p>Find the Picasso Museum in Place des Vosges!</p>

<p>When you go south thru Espanola, look for the street opposite the MacDonalds. About 100 yards up that street (which is also the south end of the "High Road" try El Paragua for wonderful Mexican food, best huevos rancheros I have had in NM. Los Arcos on the main N-S road is good as well.</p>

<p>We have a Leica pocket zoom film camera with an excellent lens for such a small camera. B&H may have some used ones. I bought a Leica M6 from B&H, used, and rated 9+ on their 1-10 scale plus "original box". I could never find anything wrong with the M6!</p>

<p>We stayed in a small hotel in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, east of Nice. We were headed to Toulouse for a conference but had been quite stressed with work, so we went near Nice, up to Eze (stay there if you want to blow your IRA!), into Monaco. One day we left mid-morning and drove up the infamous "Princess Grace Highway" with turns so tight I had to stop the car. Drove into Italy and found a beach resort, soon to close because it was September. I finished two of their last beers while my girlfriend had a double expresso. Drove back on the Grand Corniche and down into Beaulieu on the Grace road (this is where she died, perhaps after a stroke). We noted as we left Monaco there were quite a few police out and thought maybe Ranier was in town.<br>

We walked in the lobby (actually a Best Western!) and the entire staff were camped in front of the TV.<br>

It was 9/11 and with the time change just one of the towers had collapsed. The staff were incredibly nice, not the stereotype that many have of the French. I called my brother and tried my sister who lived on upper Manhattan. I called old friends who had family in NYC - all were safe.<br>

We forced ourselves to walk down to the water and have seafood. The conference did happen in Toulouse but we were two of six Americans who got there. We flew to Paris, a true white knuckle flight, and found the people there also very friendly, as they always are.<br>

I would go back to the area in a second. The Picasso Museum in Antibes (I think) is stunning.</p>

<p>Don't miss Musee Rodin! You will see The Thinker, Balzac (my fav) and the Gates of Hell. The 7 acre gardens have tons of studies and the inside has many of his classics such as The Kiss. Great place to buy a museum card as the crowds are small. We often buy one and have it delivered to our hotel when we arrive.<br>

Find Poulaine, the famous bakery, just south of St Germaine. We actually got a tour of the downstair inferno!<br>

The Musee D'Orsay is worth it all for one room with maybe US$1B in Van Gogh.</p>

<p>While my girlfriend and I shoot B&W with two Leica M6 and three lenses that we share, we also carry a small Canon "point and shoot" for both back up and to quell the police. We found this very handy on Red Square when the 135mm lens attracted the guards' attention. Pulling the Canon out rates you as "tourist". </p>

<p>After Sand Dunes, head south to Taos from Fort Garland. Right after you cross the CO/NM line, you are in Costilla. Turn left at the Shell station (the only one on the road). Good bathrooms and foods. Head in to Costilla and search out Valle Vidal (vital valley), about 100,000 acres "donated" by Pennzoil in a tax settlement. Continue on to Cimarron and pass the Ted Turner's 250,000 acres. From Cimarron, head west to Eagle Nest and up of Palo Flechado Pass to Taos. The head to Santa Fe.</p>