As Wallace Stegner long ago pointed out, Europe’s cathedrals are man made. Ours were made by nature. The Cathedral Group, Grand Teton National Park, a few weeks ago, alas. This view from the Horse Trail coming down from Cascade Canyon never gets old. Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph.
We can attest that we saw deer and antelope playing. Above the Yellowstone. Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph.
Yep, he’s heard it’s a good ‘un, and is making his way to the record store, a long way away. Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph. Above the Yellowstone River. Mountain goat, in case you are wondering.
When Nik Software was bought by Google, we worried there would be no more investment in new products from what we believe is the best of the Lightroom plug-ins. And in fact, since that purchase — and since the various plug-ins such as Silver Efex Pro and Viveza are no longer available a la carte, but must be purchased as “Google Nik Collection” — there have been no announced upgrades of the best individual products. Recently, though, they released Analog Efex Pro, which is clearly aimed at photographers that wish to get in on the Instagram fun, even as they use their DSLRs or other “good” cameras, not their iPhones, to take pictures.
We recently read an essay about how modern-day Leica photographers take little advantage of the great lenses and sharp processing inside the digital Ms, because they are too busy reducing their images through software to mimic the look of film from the 1960s. There may be something to this. And it may be wrong to do — using your brand new Porsche to travel the Go-Cart track. But then again, sometimes it’s quite fun. Well done, Nik.
The MacArthur Boulevard Parade in NW Washington, D.C. would certainly not — to much of Red State America — represent the nation as a whole. To us, it was a remarkably apt depiction of America circa 2014 in all of its glory, from the tackiness of the purple dog to the self-parody of the plutocrats, but particularly the joy of the Bolivian immigrants celebrating their new home. Here are seven pictures that sum it up.
Leica Monochrom, 50mm Noctilux, f/0.95.
Readers of Tulip Frenzy know we have given long study to the photography of Saul Leiter, but if there is a living photographer whose work in color we most marvel at, it is likely Alex Webb. What do we admire most about Alex Webb? Well, he is able to compose images where there are numerous stories being told in the construct of a single shot. This doesn’t even qualify as emulation, but it does give us a sense of how, with a wide-angle lens, one can have multiple planes of interest in a given composition. This gives us hope. Leica M, 35mm Summilux Asph FLE.
Leica M, 35mm Summilux Asph FLE.
Yesterday was Washington D.C.’s Capital Pride Parade, one of the longest-running gay pride events in the U.S. For a photographer, it was a “target-rich environment.” We’ll be posting more in the days ahead. For now, here are some images to give you a sense of the evening — the golden light, the happiness of the participants, what a scene it was. All images Leica M, 35mm Summilux Asph FLE.
Leica M, 50mm APO-Summicron-Asph
A declaration of love, spontaneously captured on camera by a flaneur sauntering by, camera in hand. It was sweet, a moment of genuine emotion on a beautiful evening.
Tulip Frenzy 