To be a tourist

The Tourist (1/125 at f/1.4, 85mm at ISO 200)

I’m currently writing this from the comfy seat of an Amtrak train making its way to Washington DC for my very first visit to our Nation’s Capitol.  I’m hoping the weather turns out to be a little better than what I experienced in NYC.   Regardless of being wet, I had a great time photographing Central Park, The MET, and Times Square.  Yep, I was proud to be a tourist..;)  As I suspected, three days is just too short of  a trip to do NYC justice.  I think I could have spent three days in Central Park alone if given the opportunity.    There are so many wonderful landmarks to visit, that I think you would need 2-3 weeks to capture everything with a camera.   That being said,  I did manage to visit the one NYC landmark  that’s been on  my list for quite some time—B&H Photo Video’s Superstore. I figured I helped build the store (or at least pay a portion of their monthly rent) with my addiction for photography equipment, so I might as well visit the Batdorff wing ;)    Frankly, the whole experience ended up being  underwhelming, but very entertaining.   I’ve never seen so many systems in place for handling customers…it truly was managed chaos.   Long story short–it’s off the list.

On the gear side of things I do want to mention I had the opportunity to pick up a focusing screen prior to my departure last week.   Focusing screens are available on certain models of Canons/Nikons, but for the record I’m loving mine.  I had a lot of reservation about buying a  focusing screen, especially after reading several installation horror stories.  But, I’m here to tell you it’s easy and this is coming from a guy that has fingers as dexterous as sausages.  Keep in mind,  I never managed to build a model plane without getting the glue all over.  The installation was a breeze and the focus screen just seems to lend that extra hand when you’re trying to line things up.  Just click HERE to check out the screen I bought.

In other news, Matt Brandon wrote an interesting review of a model release software for the  iPhone or iTouch.  If “on the fly” model releases plague you from time to time, then check out Matt’s review HERE.  I really appreciate guys like Matt that take the time to break things like this down for us.

That’s it for now.  I hope everyone keeps dry.  I’ll report more from DC in the coming days.  John

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 9:15 am. It is filed under General, Travel and tagged with , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

11 Responses to “To be a tourist”

  1. Mac Sokulski says:
    March 31, 2010 at 10:06 am

    Thanks John for this. I heard the B&H is an experience, almost from another world. The biggest thanks for the link to the Model Release software for the iphone…. something I was looking for. Will be trying it out this saturday.

    • John says:
      April 1, 2010 at 11:28 pm

      Mac,

      I downloaded the software myself….I’m curious to know what you think of it..John

      • mac Sokulski says:
        April 2, 2010 at 1:40 am

        I actually got Easy Release. The reason for it was that it allows for your own text as a release. The process of the release is very simple step by step process, and the final PDF it creates can include your own logo plus all your own info. After the model signs the release the pdf can be emailed easily to the model and yourself. Very nicely implemented and really easy to use.

  2. mark says:
    March 31, 2010 at 10:28 am

    Happy to hear you enjoyed the NYC. I get in quite a bit on business and it seems as though there’s a photo opp at every turn. Enjoy DC too…been a while since I’ve been there. The last time, I just HAD to go see the is big white house that everyone always talks about….

  3. Ed says:
    March 31, 2010 at 11:06 am

    Hopefully next time you are in NYC I’ll be in town too if you want a guide or photowalking partner. Looking forward to more of your images form here!

  4. workinprogress101 says:
    March 31, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    I always wanted to visit there and adorama

  5. PEGGY sIGCHA says:
    April 11, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    i live in Brooklyn, NY John. If you need a tour guide I’m also available. I did D.C. in a weekend and that’s because everything is pretty much in close distance to each other. I can not imagine being a tourist to NY. its huge! Chinatown, Yankee Stadium, Arthur Ave, Coney Island, City Island…the list goes on. But the bet part of trevling to all the boroughs.. you get to taste the foods along the way.