Monthly Archives: October 2011

It has often been said that someone is looking through “Rose Colored glasses!”   Meaning they’re seeing a rosier picture of the world than it might actually be.  Maybe life is better if seen through a better prism!  I was really dreading this trip to New York, but it has been far more positive than I would ever thought possible!  I’ve had great conversations with wonderful photography friends.  Two very unhealthy burgers, (yes I went back again tonight to confirm that Shake Shack really was that good, and it was!)  The work in the NPS VIP Suite was not as bad as it has been and we did get to visit with some great customers.  Tomorrow, Sherelene will join me for Friday and Saturday night in New York.  We have tickets for the Jersey Boys, will stay over Saturday night in the Ritz Carlton on Central Park.  We are even predicted to possibly getting snow Saturday night!   I had bought a copy of Home Alone 2 which was filmed next door to where we will be staying, the Plaza.  Should make for a great weekend, even if I have to work the show during the days.

 

I guess I have to say that my churches prayers for me having to go to New York has worked out great.  It is, after all, about the people in our lives and I’ve had a great time with the ones here.  I miss Bill Pekala, Mark Suban, Mark Kettenhofen and Brian Aho, all assigned in other countries at the moment.  Pekala and Suban in London in prep for the Olympics, and Kettenhofen and Aho in Mexico at a big photo event.  I really missed seeing them, but I’m sure an opportunity will arise soon.

 

Thanks Father for a great job, that lands me in places with great friends……..even, if it is, New York City……

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

You knew it would happen, the question is always when and where.  Tonight, in New York, right off Times Square, I can’t believe I’m saying this, a new champion was crowned, Shake Shack!  This place did everything right and the result was an incredible, juicy, perfectly seasoned cheeseburger! Now I try to be careful to not let the company at dinner to influence the over all score and I love few Nikon friends more than Paul Van Allen!  Just catching a burger with him makes it infinitely better, but being the consummate professional cheeseburger connoisseur, I forced my self to really concentrate just on the burger!  Aren’t you glad you have me out here to serve and guide you through burger land!!!  O.K.  the burger was simply the best ever, I’m awarding it a 4.87 pickle scale score, and  that’s two tenths of point higher than Milt’s or Fava’s!   That is a tremendous score.  Now the down side was it was a big crowded place with not much more ambiance than a McDonalds, but hey it’s about the burger.  The fries were average and I probably docked them points for going on and on in their advertising about how they were cooked in the safest, heart healthy oil, give me a break, the burger alone could kill you! But the facts are the facts, this was the best burger ever, period end of sentence.  You know I don’t want my favorite burger to be in New York so you guys out there get busy, and find us some more great burgers.  By the way a sweet young lady that worked there made the experience even better, what a great personality she had!

 

 

Paul Van Allen himself was kind enough to demonstrate how to stuff your face with a big greasy burger, what a man!  A word about Paul;  Paul has been one of my best friends before I went to work for Nikon and a joy to work with in the company.  He is a extremely talented photographer, trainer, speaker, and representative for Nikon.  Paul was the first person I called to help me put the close-up class together for Kelby Training.  Paul has been a faithful friend for years and I love these chances to catch a meal with  him, that he recommended this place just pushes his stock even higher…..

 

Well, I love Milt’s and Fava’s and I will go see them again soon and give them a chance to wrestle the crown back from Shake Shack, but for tonight a new champion wears the belt, and mine is tighter….

 

I went out to shoot some for New York scenes today, hope you enjoy them.

 

 

Enjoy and blessings from a full and satisfied pilgrim……..

 

Photo Note:  All images Nikon Coolpix P7100.

 

 

 

 

I don’t often recommend books, I have hundreds and while I’ve enjoyed them all, I find that over time they seldom add a great deal to my approach to the art!  Today I purchased one though (for my iPad), that I can give a resounding recommendation to.  Bruce Barnbaum has been one of my favorite Black & White photographers for many years, his work is right up there with Ansel Adams, and John Sexton.  His new book;  The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression is a foundational work in learning to see and interpret your world.  In Bruce’s book he reveals some of the most important concepts to help you and I grasp what we see, why we enterpret the way we do, and how to convery it to others in the final image or print.   The wonderful Black & White examples alone are worth the price of the book.  Here is a link to order the book and explore Bruce’s work!  The Photoshop processing tips are also well worth the price.  This book has been reprinted many times, and for good reason……..

 

http://www.barnbaum.com/barnbaum/Art_of_Photography.html

 

Just for the record I love all of Tony Sweet’s books as well, and one that has been long discontinued but can be found on Amazon:  Developing the Creative Edge in Photography by Bert Eifer.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Tony+Sweet&x=12&y=15

 

 

 

 

Have you ever stuck your toe in the water and wasn’t sure if you wanted to get in?  What did you do?  I’ll bet a few times you just took a giant leap! Well this is my first night in New York, and the way I deal with the onslaught of so many folks is just go out to Times Square and dive in with the rest, and just walk around.  Carrying a camera is a must, tonight I used the P7100 which fit in my jacket pocket and just enjoyed some street shooting.  This is New York so don’t be shocked, trust me I am not showing you some of what I could have shot and didn’t.

 

It’s a lot like an article I read in U.S.A. Today on the plane flying up.  It was about the newly released book on the late Steve Jobs. The book is a very close look at the man, the myth, and the legend, and he was all the above.  He was a visionary of what people wanted in their technology and saw things we didn’t even know we needed, no question he was brilliant.  He was also extremely eccentric.  After reading the article I feel two things; I’m amazed at how much he accomplished in his field, and I feel extremely sorry for him.  With all he did, and amassed, he missed the centrally most important thing in life, a fundamental acceptance of faith as the central point of life.  In one of his last interviews he said, “The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than on living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it.  I think different religions are different doors to the same house.  Sometimes, I think the house exists, and sometimes, I don’t.  It’s a great mystery.”  I pray that Steve decided he did believe and did something about it before he lost his earthly life to cancer.  He was right about the focus needing to be on Jesus, I just wish he had stayed with that central truth.

 

I’m not judging Steve Jobs, I love him, I love what he did for us, and I want him to have what he deserves, and I hope that is eternity in that house he wasn’t sure of in the interview.  When I was a younger man I was so dedicated to my profession that I didn’t spend the quality time with my children that I should have and now I wish so much that I had.  Thank God I woke up in time to have many quality years with them and come to be a better father and later a good friend with Scott, Wesley, and Catherine.  Steve said in this book that he agreed to the  40 interviews, something he had never done, because he wanted his children to understand why he was absent so often.  I don’t want my life to end with the need for a book to do that.  Forgive me, but no matter what you accomplish in life, if it takes away from that fundamental duty, one that can’t be set aside, no matter how gifted you are, or how much you are accomplishing, you’ve missed the most important thing!  I can say that from the perspective of a man that did make that mistake, and saw how much damage it was going to cause.

 

Once again I’m not judging Steve Jobs, I’m just saying that some things in life are more important than Macs, iPods, iPhones, and iPads. Being a husband, father, friend, and a man with a handle on Who God is, and why Faith in Him is a vital matter.  I never met Steve Jobs, but if I had and he would have given me the opportunity, I would have told him this, “Steve, you’ve accomplished so much, I know you are pleased with what you’ve done, and you should be!  I want you to have the joy that you’ve brought to so many others, and peace and security too! Not the security that comes from money but the security from knowing He loves you and will never leave you!”

 

In the story it said that Steve’s father put him up for adoption, the life long pain of that must have been terrible, so much so that he never had a relationship with his birth father again.  His heavenly father never abandoned him though and was waiting for him until the very end, I pray they made amends………..

 

the pilgrim