Insert evocative title here

Photo of the Week: Yes! We Are Open

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:34:00 +0000

Canon S95 at 1/640sec, f2 and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo was taken at an undisclosed location in Chicago-- it's my most recent submission to Flickr's Guess Where Chicago group. This will likely be a tough one to guess, but I thought I'd let the group have a shot at it. Hint: this is a laundromat.

I see this scene as an apt representation of the U.S. economy in 2012. Sure, we've been kicked around a little. Maybe a couple of windows are broken. Maybe a car has even drove through our storefront! But we're still here. We're still open. C'mon in.

Photo of the Week: Friendly

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/60sec at f3.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Chicago's second significant snowfall of 2012 occurred on Friday night. I took this photo while walking through Uptown. This sign caught my attention because it flashed the words "Mexico" as I was walking by, and I thought-- nothing screams Mexico like a snow storm! I waited a few of minutes but it never delivered that message again. So I captured "friendly" instead.

This photo is an example of what I mentioned in my previous blog entry about white balance: "sometimes you just have to throw your hands in the air and convert everything to black and white."

StormTrain: A tale of two white balances

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:08:00 +0000

Last week I uploaded the following photo to flickr, showing the south end of the Berwyn platform during Chicago's first major snow storm of 2012:

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm, 1/20sec at f4, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

At the time, I debated between that version and the following:

© Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I thought I'd let my blog readers see them both. Of the two shots, I find the first to be more attractive, but the second is closer to what the camera recorded-- it's a more accurate document of the moment. This was at the very tail end of the blue hour, so there really wasn't much blue in the sky-- it was more of a deep, dark purple. I wanted it to be closer to blue, so I adjusted the white balance from 2850k to 2000k when I processed the RAW file:

I also made an adjustment to the orange channel (dropping the white balance that low had turned the orange lights into a soft yellow and I wanted to retain the orange):

If you have a preference between the two, leave a comment and let me know? Note: there is no right and wrong answer. Night photos are tricky to process-- city lights can be a variety of color temperatures, and sodium vapor lights (which are in decline but still prominent in Chicago) often leave the world a garish orange. Whether you like that look or not is quite subjective. For me, it varies from photo to photo. Also, sometimes you just have to throw your hands in the air and convert everything to black and white.

Photo of the Week: Sue!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:48:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ Sigma 10-20mm f4, 1/80sec at f4, ISO1600. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

During the winter I like to catch up on my museum going, and luckily, we have plenty of them in Chicago. This photo was taken in the Field Museum during a visit the week after Christmas. If you've never been there, this is Sue, the Museum's 65 million year old T-Rex skeleton. According to wikipedia she's the worlds "largest, most extensive and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found."

I've seen lots of pictures of Sue and I've seen (and taken) photos of the main room in the Field Museum. What I wanted to do with this shot was combine the two. Thus, I included a good deal of the ceiling, lit blue from the fading light outside, and framed Sue's head between the chandeliers. Originally this was a standard vertical, but I liked it better cropped narrow like this.

This photo got briefly sucked into Flickr's Explore system, and was featured on their Last 7 Days Page. I know this because that page showed up in my stats-- I've never once been able to find one of my own photographs there. Weird.

Beach Ball Mania: 2011 Pitchfork Music Fest Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:47:00 +0000

Due to a lack of snow, I decided to start off the new year by revisiting some photographs from last summer's Pitchfork Music Festival. In particular, I really wanted to work on a set of photos from day two of the fest, taken during an impromptu game of "hey, let's hit the beach ball in the air".

I'm not sure how this started-- how really, do things like this start? Someone is waiting in between bands, gets bored, and then before you know it, 20 to 30 people are scrambling around trying to keep three giant beach balls in the air. What I can tell you is that it was intense, and also a boat load of fun to photograph.

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/2500sec at f4, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/2500sec at f4, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I titled this one "Objects in Space" and it's my personal favorite of set:

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/2500sec at f4, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D7000 w/ 55-200mm Nikkor lens, 1/640sec at f8, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

From a technical standpoint, my strategy behind these photos was pretty simple. I used 3D Tracking Focus to lock focus on one of the beach balls as it flew through the air. I then followed its flight path and waited for something interesting to happen-- either other beach balls crossing past it, or a moment of impact:

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/2500sec at f4, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/5000sec at f2.8, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/5000sec at f2.8, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This last photo was taken after the game had pretty much died down. This kid had been watching from the sidelines and finally saw his moment to strike:

Nikon D7000 w/ 105mm Nikkor Micro lens, 1/2500sec at f4, ISO160. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Chicago Reader Photo Issue

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:04:00 +0000

One of my photographs is featured in the Chicago Reader's fifth annual photo issue this week, along with some other talented photographers. I finally tracked down a print copy today:

I like how they put my photo opposite one of my favorite columns, "Straight Dope":

This year's issue is themed "money" and I made several submissions all with a general recession theme. The photo the Reader chose is titled "hope vs debt" and is actually from January of 2009. I shot this from the Wilson Ave. Red Line L platform:

Nikon D90 w/ Nikkor 50mm (f1.8), 1/80sec at f5, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2009 All Rights Reserved.

You can find the Chicago Reader for free around Chicagoland, or check out their web site for the full selection of photographs.

Best of 2011 in Andy Marfia Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:58:00 +0000

I'm calling my Best of 2011 set complete. I've whittled it down to an eclectic set of 56 photos. All but two are from Chicago-- there's one Wisconsin photograph and one photograph from Toronto. Sadly, I have three days worth of Toronto photos that I never had time to look through and post. Hopefully in 2012!

You can view the full set on flickr, or see it as a slideshow. Thanks to everyone who commented here, on flickr, twitter, or anywhere else in 2011. Your support and encouragement is appreciated.

Also, if you missed my 2011 Flickr Favorites post, I suggest checking that out to see some excellent photography by others in 2011.

Favorites
I thought I'd call attention to four of my personal favorites. This first photo was taken at the demolition of 1230 N. Burling Street, aka: the last of the Cabrini Green high rises. I had to stand on top of a large pile of dirt, lens zoomed to 135mm, to make this composition work:

Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/800sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I titled this next one "21st Century Chicago", and I love the combination of old (the Chicago background) and new (everyone using their smart phones or cameras):

Nikon D7000 w/ 70-300mm lens, 1/800sec f6.3, ISO6400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

One of my first photos taken during the blizzard in February 2011, this was on my commute home that evening:

Nikon D7000 w/16-85mm lens, 1/125sec at f5.6, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Lastly, this photo was taken at the Printers Row Lit Fest. It's a shot through the side window and out the back of a car filled with books:

Nikon D7000 w/ 35mm lens, 1/1000sec at f2, ISO100. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Stats
This may only interest me, but I like to look through my flickr stats at the end of each year. In 2011, I posted exactly 351 photos, which averages out to 6.75 photos per week. This surprised me, as it was considerably more than previous years. I posted 205 photos in 2010, 186 in 2009, and only 178 photos in 2008. Looking through my stream, what's clear is that certain events in 2011 really boosted the stats-- the blizzard in February, the Chicago Pride Parade, and the demolition of Cabrini Green all resulted in a great deal of photos. Also, I just seem to be working on photography more consistently. So three cheers to that!

If you think I missed any photographs, or have a particular one that you like, feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

My 2011 Flickr Favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:19:00 +0000

Every year at this time I like to go through my "Best Of" set on flickr, weed out some of the lesser photos, and finalize it into something reasonably succinct. I'm still going to do that, but I also thought it would be fun to look through all the photos that I faved during the course of the year, to shed light on some of the fantastic photographers who inspired me in 2011.

A couple of notes: 1) This list is in no way conclusive, as I'm sure there are plenty of photos and photographers that I've missed. This merely represents a selection of shots that popped up on my radar long enough for me to hit the "favorite" button, and all of them are by people whom I interact with on flickr. I'm not someone who spends much time looking at the explore photos. 2) All photographs here are copyright their respective authors as indicated below the photo. In instances where the "share" button was active, I'm including the photo here, linked back to flickr. Otherwise, just a link.

Ralph (aka IHP) is one of my oldest flickr contacts. He occasionally visits Chicago, and I'm always happy when he does because it results in photos such as this one:

Copyright 2011 IHP. All Rights Reserved.
Pauldub's photos make me want to visit New York, and this shot is no exception. I especially like how this combines elements of the bridge, skyline, and neighborhood:

Copyright 2011 PaulW. All Rights Reserved.
Sombreros made a comeback in 2011. At least that's what it seemed like in my flickr stream. An excellent shot by Heather Phillips:

Copyright 2011 Heather Phillips. Some Rights Reserved.
Mike Innocenzi (aka: Pantagrapher) writes that "everyone needs at least one ferris wheel shot in their photostream", and I couldn't agree more:

Copyright 2011 Mike Innocenzi. Some Rights Reserved.
There were a lot of photos from Occupy Chicago (and the Occupy movement in general) that I could have chosen, but I really like this one from John Iwanski (aka: Chicago Man):

Copyright 2011 John W. Iwanski. Some Rights Reserved.
I took a ton of photos of the Chicago Pride Parade this year, but none were as cool as this shot by TheeErin:

Copyright 2011 Erin! Nekervis. All Rights Reserved.
The Aqua Building is great for architectural abstracts. This photo, by Bob Segal, has the added benefit of being in the fog:

Copyright 2011 Bob Segal. All Rights Reserved.
If you're not paying attention to the street photography of Jason Martini, then you're not paying attention to street photography in Chicago:

Copyright 2011 Jason Martini. All Rights Reserved.
I love the expression that Tommy6unz captured in this street portrait, and the colors are simply fantastic:

Copyright 2011 TommyTeePhotography. All Rights Reserved.
The Walking Dude is a mysterious and somewhat famous figure in Chicago. I've seen him a couple of times but have never taken a photo that I liked. This one, by Dean Golemis, really captures him well:

Copyright 2011 Dean Golemis. All Rights Reserved.
A simple, yet effective composition by Otto Plunkett, this shot evokes a sense of time and place and is just a pleasure to look at:

Copyright 2011 Otto Plunkett. All Rights Reserved.
Adi (aka Naida Fabi) is the master of square format urban abstracts. This year she did a series of early morning long exposure photos which I really enjoyed. This shot is one of my favorites.
Posted on January 1st, 2011, this photo of a rail junction by John Crouch (aka: The New #2), was one of the first photos that I saw in 2011, and still one of the best.
For my money, this photo by Katherine of Chicago is my favorite of the year. How often do you get to see a car sticking out of a building? Not very often.

Is there a photo in this set that you particularly like? Or maybe you'd like to point out something that I missed. Feel free to leave a comment.

Art Institute: Windows to Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:01:00 +0000

One of my favorite things about the Art Institute of Chicago-- aside from the wonderful artwork, of course-- is the way the museum interacts with the city around it. I've taken photos in the past which show this from the exterior; I thought I'd try a few shots from inside the building on a recent visit:

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/50sec at f4.5, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

The shot above is from the southeast section. It's one of my favorite stairways in the Art Institute, here intermixed with the Santa Fe Building and Michigan Ave. I processed this so the staircase would be predominantly in silhouette, which I think accentuates the basic elements of the scene.

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/640sec at f5.6, ISO800. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This next photo is from the Modern Wing and shows some relatively new high rises in the South Loop.

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/125sec at f5.6, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This third and final shot is from the wing that crosses over the old rail yards, and shows the Aon Center and other buildings to the north. The white line in this picture is a break in the window shades.

Photo of the Week: Dashing Thru the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:22:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/60sec at f4.2, ISO1600. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This is the second year in a row that I've ridden the CTA's Holiday Train, and I continue to think that it's pretty hilarious. I took this photo on the Berwyn platform on a rainy Wednesday evening. I figured the combination of orange (sodium vapor) lights and the train's Christmas lights would make a good combination; that another train happened to be going by in the other direction was a bonus. I would have liked to get a bit more motion blur with this shot, but I also wanted to make sure the platform was in focus-- 1/60sec seemed like a safe compromise.

If you'd like to catch the Holiday Train, there are still a few days left on the schedule, including a couple of days next week that have yet to be announced. Bring a camera and plan to eat a candy cane or two.

Photo of the Week: Santa Speedo Run

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/16-85mm lens, 1/320sec at f5, ISO100. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Andersonville - Chicago | Saturday, December 10, 2011

Although I've successfully avoided any Holiday themed photography until now (nothing against the holidays-- I've just been slow to get in the mood), I couldn't resist stopping by Clark St. in Andersonville today to photograph the Santa Speedo Run. I figured it would be fun to photograph and it was. I almost missed it-- it started a bit earlier than scheduled and I was shopping in Alamo Shoes at the time. Someone began shouting "the Santas are coming, the Santas are coming!" and then half naked Santas could be seen parading past the store. I quickly popped outside to take a few photos. I used the awning outside Alamo (cropped out of the photo above) as a shield against the sun, since otherwise light flare would have ruined the photo.

Photo of the Week: Fallow

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:42:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

An undeveloped tract of land in Chicago's China Town. In the background is the CTA's Orange Line and a relatively new housing development. I've titled this one "fallow", which is a word usually used to describe farmland that's left unused for a period of time, as a means of rejuvenating the soil. I thought that was fitting here, except the crops in this case are homes that haven't been built, likely due to the housing market collapse in 2008.

This photo was featured on Gapers Block on 11/23/11.

Photo of the Week: Advance Scout

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm, 1/100sec at f10, ISO100. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo is another shot from Ping Tom Park in Chicago's China Town. The overpass in this shot is 18th street, which bisects the park, rising above and then crossing the Chicago River.

I like photos that leave the viewer with a question. In this case it's a pretty simple one-- why is that baby stroller sitting there by itself? Is it abandoned? Where is its occupant and owner? The likely answer is that he or she is just out of the frame. Or, perhaps this is an advance scout, as part of some weaponized robotic baby stroller invasion force? Hey, anything's possible.

Photo(s) of the week: CTA Abstracts

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 06:19:00 +0000

Canon S95 at 85mm, 1/80sec, f4.5, and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Canon S95 at 85mm, 1/100sec, f4.5, and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I'm putting these two photos together, though they were actually shot several weeks apart. The first one, taken this week while I was waiting for the Red Line to leave Howard, likely represents the last sunset I will see for a while. (At least during the work week-- on Sunday we move our clocks back an hour, plunging my 5pm commute into darkness). The second photo shows a mix of reflections as my train passes the Granville station. I'm pretty sure the man in this shot knew he was being photographed, even though the camera was pointed out the window-- human beings have a sixth sense for that-- but he didn't seem to mind.

Photo of the Week: the only way is down

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 55-200mm lens, 1/500sec, f10 and ISO100. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This week's photo is of Wabash and Wacker Drive, as seen from the 24th floor rooftop of the MDA Apartments during Open House Chicago. You can find a few more shots from this location on my flickr stream.

You shouldn't need to be a CEO to matter in politics

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:39:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8 lens, 1/1600sec, f1.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

The photo above was taken during a visit to the Occupy Chicago protests on Sunday, October 16th. I was down in the loop for Open House Chicago, and made a detour to take these photographs. It was a fairly sparse crowd on this particular afternoon, with no more than 75-- highly enthusiastic-- people holding signs and congregating at Jackson and Lasalle. I like this photo because it's both a portrait and a candid-- the man with the sign noticed me and was smiling for the camera, where as the "security" guy seems to be looking off at who knows what.

I don't intend this post to be a discussion of the merits of Occupy Chicago or the Occupy movement at large. There are other places for that. This is a photography blog, and my job as a photographer is to document interesting things happening in my city. This certainly qualifies. That said, I support everyone's right to peacefully protest their government, regardless of ideology. I believe the ability to do so is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy.

A couple of additional photos:

Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8 lens, 1/1600sec, f1.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f1.8 lens, 1/3200sec, f1.8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Open House Chicago: Santa Fe Building

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:15:00 +0000

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 and Sigma 10-20mm lens. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Last weekend I attended Open House Chicago, an event hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation which allowed unique access to a variety of historic buildings free of charge. The photos above were taken in one of the buildings I visited on Saturday-- the Santa Fe Building on Michigan and Jackson.

When I heard about Open House Chicago, one of the first things that I read on their web site was the description of the Goettsch Partners office on the 17th floor:

"Enjoy sweeping views of the city: lakefront, Grant Park, and the Loop through the building's unique porthole windows on the seventeenth floor at the Santa Fe building."

Oh, I thought, I'm definitely going to take some photos of that! Here's a shot of the exterior to provide context:

Photo courtesy the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

If you're unfamiliar with the Santa Fe Building, it was built in 1904 by Frederick P. Dinkelberg of D. H. Burnham & Company. It was originally known as The Railway Exchange Building due to its proximity to the rail yards east of Michigan Ave. Aside from simply being an attractive building across from Grant Park, the Santa Fe is significant because Daniel Burnham reportedly made the 1909 Plan of Chicago in a penthouse office that sits on the northeast corner of the roof-- sadly, our tour for Open House Chicago did not include the penthouse.

More info on the Santa Fe: Wikipedia, Chicago Architecture Info, Encyclopedia of Chicago.

I'll be posting additional photos from Open House Chicago, here and on my flickr stream, over the next few weeks... or months... depending how quickly I get to them.

Photo of the Week: Grass Train

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:55:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens (at 42mm), 1/640sec at f5 and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I have a ton of photos to look through and (hopefully) post online this week, but before I do that, I wanted to call attention to this shot of an Orange Line train zipping along Ping Tom Park in Chicago's China town. I don't think there's an exact "Andy Marfia style" at this point, but this comes pretty darn close. A unique view of the city: abstract, but not fully abstract. Slightly right brained. One of my flickr friends commented that this is "more like a passing thought than an actual train." I like that.

Photo of the Week: OreoVille

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Canon S95 at 1/80sec, f3.2 and ISO80. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

As readers of this blog may have noticed in the past: I love a good reflection photo. I especially love reflection photos that combine one or more different elements-- sort of a double exposure without having to do a double exposure. In this shot, I'm looking into a Walgreens, with parts of Clark St reflecting in the background.

Update 10/18/11: This photo is featured on Gapers Block today:

2011 Chicago Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:43:00 +0000

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 and either 16-85mm or 70-300mm Nikkor lenses. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

The photos above were taken along Adams street, near Ashland, as the Chicago Marathon passed through the West Loop on Sunday. There are three ways to see the marathon: by mass transit, bike, or car. Mass transit is by far the most recommended option, as the Red Line allows you to see the start, various points on the north and south side, and the finish of the race. The downside is time: the trains are often quite crowded, and slow. You really have to make a day of it.

Seeing the marathon by car is generally not recommended, however, this western section of the race is an exception. It's lightly populated and relatively easy to park, and assuming you're coming from the north, south or west, you can get to it without having to worry about road closures. I had less than 2 hours to kill on Sunday so riding around on the L wasn't an option. These were all taken in about a 45 minute span.

Photo of the Week: Sky Tentacles

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:29:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ Sigma 10-20mm lens, 1/2500sec at f8, ISO400. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

This is the north end of the elevated Thorndale platform. The CTA has recently added new security cameras to many of its stations, seen here dangling off an existing light fixture. I don't particularly mind the added security while waiting for a train, though it has definitely upped the creepiness factor.

As you can probably guess, it wasn't long after taking this photo that we were engulfed in rain, a brief though heavy storm. I have to admit, I'm not particularly a fan of the fall. Given the choice between 50 degrees and 70 degrees, I will choose 70 degrees every single time. But the change of seasons does create some interesting weather patterns, and as a photographer, I can't really complain about that.

R.I.P. R.E.M.

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:27:00 +0000

Canon A590, 1/60sec f3.5 and ISO800. © Andy Marfia 2008 All Rights Reserved.

R.E.M has officially disbanded. I'm a few days late to this news, but it's been a busy week and this has just now set it. REM has been around for 31 years, released 15 studio albums, and sold 30 million records. Not a bad career! The photo above (which I'll admit is just an "okay" shot) was from a show in 2008 when they were touring for Accelerate. This was an excellent show as Accelerate was one of their better late-career albums, and they also played a ton of material from their older records such as "Life's Rich Pageant" and "Document". It's the only time that I've seen them live and it was well worth the cost of the ticket.

Two of my favorite REM songs:

Nikon causes internet tantrum with Mirrorless ‘1′ System

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Nikon has announced their first interchangeable lens, mirrorless camera system today. The company is calling it the Nikon 1 System. At launch it will feature two cameras, the J1 and the V1, and four lenses. The biggest difference between the two is that the V1 has an electronic viewfinder, where as the J1 does not. Both will feature 10mp sensors which are larger than the sensors in compact cameras, but considerably smaller than Nikon's DSLR sensors or the sensors in other mirrorless cameras made by Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, or Samsumg.

I find these intriguing cameras, but I appear to be fairly alone on this. At least, that's the impression I get looking through the overwhelmingly negative comments at DPReview and other photography web sites. The sensor is too small! Image quality is going to suffer! It doesn't compete with other mirrorless cameras! Mostly, what these complaints boil down to is, "Nikon hasn't made the camera I wanted them to make". What they have made, instead, is a camera that's targeted at users of compact cameras, instead of the enthusiasts who read photography blogs. This may be a poor strategy by Nikon, but it doesn't mean the cameras are junk.

Lost in the uproar is the fact that these have pretty decent image quality-- check out the sample photos on Nikon's web site-- the autofocus is supposed to be wickedly fast, and the video features are much more robust than most of us probably need.

On the downside: the price is much too high (at $649 and $899), and the lens lineup (thus far) leaves a lot to be desired. There's room for improvement, to be sure, but this is an interesting product and I look forward to seeing what Nikon does with it in the future.

Further reading:

* For detailed specifications, check out Nikon's Web Site.
* Thom Hogan has a similar reaction to mine, and he's always worth reading when it comes to Nikon equipment.
* Of course, Amazon already has these available for pre-order.

Photo of the Week: Mars Cheese Castle

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:52:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/800sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Here's what I've learned in the past week: everyone loves the Mars Cheese Castle. Or, at least, everyone in Chicago who ventures into Wisconsin from time to time (which is pretty much everyone in Chicago). Whether on Facebook or Flickr, posts about my recent visit to the Cheese Castle have been a hit. This place really hits people in that soft and gooey spot.

If you're unfamiliar with the Castle, it's a 60+ year old establishment off I94, near the city of Kenosha. They sell cheese (duh!) but also have a great wine and beer selection, a bakery, a gift shop, a bar, and my favorite part: a semi-fast food counter that makes an excellent corned beef sandwich. They recently moved to a new building (you can see both the old and new on my flickr stream), but thankfully kept the retro sign that's pictured above.

More info: the Mars Cheese Castle web site.
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the recent move.

Photo of the Week: Now Vs Old

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Marfia) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:19:00 +0000

Nikon D7000 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/500sec at f8, ISO200. © Andy Marfia 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Depending on your point of view, I'm either a really fun person to take a road trip with, or insufferably annoying. You see, I'm one of those people who likes to stop, spontaneously, when I see things that interest me. Road signs, historical markers, abandoned dinosaur themed mini golf courses*-- I eat this stuff up. Now, this doesn't mean that I stop for everything-- I understand the value of making time, as well-- but ideally, I think you should experience the places you're driving through, not just drive through them.

Anyway, the photo above was taken somewhere in Northern Wisconsin along highway 45, while on a recent vacation. I noticed this on the way up, laughed, and then made a point to stop and take a photo on my way home a few days later.

* We actually passed this outside Oshkosh, but I didn't get any photos. Next time.