Daily Archives: October 26, 2011

 

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