Buy Only The Mortgages

Have a look here...

A company took a chance and failed. Isn't this capitalism? Isn't this the basis of our country?

The above article says that we should only buy the mortgages that are at stake and nothing else.

Makes sense to me.

(I will write more after I get a bit more sleep).

The Lord did it

Today the New York Stock Exchanged closed down 777 points.

The Lord must be telling us something.

I think the bail is a really bad idea. So do 200 of the top US economic scholars.

Think about this....

After 9/11, the American Government told us to go out and buy stuff to help lift the economy. We did and now we are in trouble. Big trouble.

I believe Wall Street should be fixing this problem and not the US tax payers. Let Wall Street invest into this problem, and let them try to fix. They caused it, they should fix.

But, think about this:

$700 billion would pay for two million, $350,000 mortgages. Two million homes saved.

So is the US government trying to save Wall Street, or trying to save average, middle class Americans?

Looking for the Canon 5D Mark II

I just went to the B&H website to put myself on their "notify me when product is available" list.

When I clicked on the button, this is what came up...

" Due to unprecedented consumer interest we are unable to add any additional correspondents to this list. Thank you for your understanding."

Yikes.

The big bail out

Things that I have been hearing....

"We are privatizing gains and socializing losses." - Glenn Beck

"This is socialism for the wealthy." - Jake Mendel

And although I can't seem to find it, GW apparently said that he sees nothing wrong with the banks who will receive bail out cash, to continue to pay their CEO's a million dollars a month, or to give them a raise after the bail out.

More details on the new Fuji / Voigtlander

Text on the sheet next to the display:

The GF670 is a highly portable, folding bellows camera that allows extremely high-quality images to be taken using a high-performance lens unit. The camera is equipped with a unique mechanism for switching between two film formats, 6x7 and 6x6 cm.

The GF670 was jointly developed by Fujifilm Corporation and Cosina Co., Ltd. Fujifilm will be responsible for Japan sales, while Cosina will sell the product outside of Japan as the Voigtländer BESSA III.

Official announcements of the release of the product will be made soon.

Technical specifications.

Folding camera with coupled rangefinder
Film choice 120/220 film
6x7 cm (120-10 exp. / 220-20 exp.)
6x6 cm (120-12 exp. / 220-24 exp.)
80 mm/f3.5 (4 groups 6 elements)
Bright frame-type viewfinder
Automatic parallax compensation
Integral LED exposure metering indications
Electronically controlled lens shutter. 4-1/500 sec, B
Exposure control: SPD Sensor
Center-weighted averaging system
Aperture priority AE and manual switchover
Exposure compensation approx 2EV in 1/3EV steps
Film speed: Manual setting, ISO25-3200 (1/3EV step accuracy)
Manual film wind by winding knob
Mechanical-type counter
120/220 (changeable)
6x7/6x6 (changeable)
CR2 (3v) lithium battery

(thanks Ernst Dinkla)

Fujifilm GF670 is the new Voigtlander Bessa III 667

Thank you to Andreas Theil for these photos and info.

The Fuji GF670 will be available outside of Japan and will be known as
The Voigtlander Bessa III 667.

Apparently will be either 6x6 or 6x7 by changing a curtain.
A true dual format camera.

Very cool.

Will be available in the Spring of 2009.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/voigtlander667/

Two turntables and a microphone

I just got home from seeing Beck at the Kiva Auditorium in downtown Albuquerque.

A terrific show by a guy with great music and who loves to perform.

My ears are still ringing and will be for a couple of days.

It was interesting crowd that ranged from high schoolers to people in their 50's . But the one person who pissed me off the most was the 20 something dad with spiked hair who brought his one year old, yes 1 year old, to the show. Even though he had ear protection, a kid that young has no place at a concert. It's just too much. Next time, get a fucking baby sitter you idiot.

Be outraged

This is incredible.

Read this about the $700 Billion bail out.

This bail out says...

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

Is this typical Republican bullshit?

Leica introduces new digital camera - 37 megapixels

Apparently, Leica is going to introduce a new camera at Photokina this week.

It's a digital SLR, not rangefinder that has a 30mm x 45mm sensor, which of course is 56 percent bigger than 24mm x 36mm. It will be 37 megapixels and have 9 lenses to use with it, including leaf shutters.

This camera sits happily between 35mm and medium format. Hopefully it won't cost a small fortune, but it probably will. Also, I hope that don't screw it up as much as they did the M8.

Guest Bed baby

A Saturday afternoon nap in the guest bed room.

A year ago today

A year ago today, my great friend Sam died.

I can't believe it's been a year. We miss him so much. He would have loved to meet Elizabeth and I am sure he would have been at the hospital with us when she was born.

Amelia and I had planned on using his name if we had a boy.

Sam, where ever you are, we miss you buddy.

So I have a baby girl

Little e is now one month old. She's recently gotten "her eyes", meaning she can see and follow us now. She's also starting to smile. Did I mention how cute she is?

Anyway, my good buddy Sam Portera sent me this with a note...
"I did this and so will you." He has a gorgeous 10 year old.

Medium Format - Now is the time

If you follow this blog at all, you know that I am film guy who loves the medium format. One twenty film is a beautiful thing. I currently own a Hasselblad 503cw, a Hasselblad Flexbody, 50mm, 60mm, 80mm, and 150mm lenses. I also own a Pentax 67II, a Yashica D, and an Ansco Viking Readyset. I love working with medium format film. I am also lusting after the new Fuji/Voigtlander GF670 camera (check recent posts).

With the massive drop in prices of high quality digital cameras (Canon 5D Mark II for $2699), the prices of very high quality medium format cameras are dropping as well.

Now I will say that I think medium format film will be here for a very long time and have no worries about whether or not I will be able to buy it. Since I have a darkroom in my home, film processing and printing are somewhat easy for me.

Just out of curiousity, I started checking ebay for other medium format gear and frankly, I was quite surprised how low some of the prices are. So I've made a simple little list below so that you can see what kits (body, lens, back, viewfinder) are going for.

Holgas for $40
Yashica D for $150
Bronica ETRS for $350
Pentax 645 for $350
Pentax 67 for $400
Fuji GA645 for $500
Rolleiflex 3.5 for $600
Mamiya RB67 for $600
Mamiya 645 Pro TL for $600
Mamiya 645 AF for $650
Hasselblad 500cm for $750

For $500, you could do really well if you are patient and know exactly what you are looking for what things should sell for. For $750 to $1000, your options are even better with kits that include more than one lens or other accessories. I just took a small sampling of ebay so that you could have an idea. If you are sticking with film until your end (not films end), than $1500 to $2500 will buy a whole lot of high end equipment.

Mamiya 7II with 80mm lens for $1600
Hasselblad 501cm with 80mm lens for $1600
Pentax 67II with AE prism and 105mm lens fr $1600

You get the idea. Then buy a decent scanner for $1000 and you are getting better results than some of the semi-pro digital cameras that are out today.

The New Canon 5D Mark II - what happens now?

In a much anticipated move, Canon announced the new 5D Mark II, a 21 megapixel full frame dyno. Canon Technical Advisor Chuck Westfall tells PDN Magazine "because of the improvements to the sensor and the Digic 4 image processor this is going to be the highest image quality of any EOS digital SLR ever released," and "image quality from the 5D Mark II should even surpass what is offered from Canon's flagship 1Ds Mark III, a camera which costs approximately $5,000 more."

The new 5D Mark II has a retail price of $2699 where as the 1DS Mark III of $7499.

What this new camera will do, market wise, is kill off the 1DS Mark III, force Nikon to reduce the price of the D3 ($5000) and the D700 ($3000), and move the market back to Canon, since there seems to have been a great migration to Nikon because of the amazing low light, high ISO capabilites of the Nikon cameras.

Hopefully the Canon 5D Mark II will have some amazing low light abilities as well, as I will be looking for a high digital SLR in the very near future.

News on the Fuji GF670 - possibly very upsetting

From a Fuji press release for the upcoming Photokina trade show:

"The FUJIFILM GF670 Professional medium-format camera, developed jointly by Fujifilm and Cosina will also be displayed at Photokina 2008 as a reference exhibit (the camera will be marketed under the FUJIFILM brand in Japan only)."

So what does this mean? Does this mean the camera will be available outside of Japan as a Cosina or Voightlander? Or does this mean it will only be sold in Japan?

Shine on You Crazy Diamond

Rick Wright, one of the founding members and keyboard player for Pink Floyd died today after a struggle with cancer.

Read the article here.

I grew up listening to Pink Floyd. Not by choice but my father was an audiophile who always had Pink Floyd playing on the home stereo. As my fathers income grew, so did the size of the speakers he had in the house, which in turn meant the volume got louder and the quality got better. I seem to remember Pink Floyd being the test music for any new stereo equipment. But I definitely remember waking to the song Time, as my father thought it was funny to wake me up to clock chimes blaring out of his Martin-Logans.

In June of 1988, my father bought tickets for my girlfriend and I to see Pink Floyd at Giant Stadium. He was going as well. The show was on Friday, June 3 at 9pm. They had to wait for it to be very dark, or as dark as it could be in Giant Stadium, outside of NYC. It was an amazing outdoor show that I will never forget. A giant round video screen, a burning bed and a flying pink pig. A great show. I still have the ticket stub.

When I went to college in 1987, I was the only guy in the dorm who had all their CD's.

Although I think that Roger Waters is/was the real voice of Pink Floyd, the moody keyboards certainly were part of what made Pink Floyd special. As a band, they were amazing. They seemed to work well together. Rick Wright, David Gilmore, Nick Mason and Roger Waters were incredible.

From wikipedia:
"The band's most successful release, The Dark Side of the Moon spent 741 consecutive weeks (14 years) on the USA-based Billboard 200 album chart, the longest duration of any album in history. Additionally, the album holds the record of spending the highest amount of time on the Billboard charts, staying there for more than 1,500 weeks (almost 29 years). It is the third best-selling album in the world, selling forty million units."

So today, I will introduce my 3 week old daughter to Pink Floyd by playing Dark Side of the Moon for her. I'll keep it nice and low, and I will quietly thank Rick for this amazing music.

Shine on you crazy diamond...

In broad daylight

About 30 minutes ago, there was a loud crash outside my house. Kind of like a car crash. I went outside to find my neighbor standing in her driveway, saying she had just been robbed.

Two young women, came out from the side of her house, and ran over her new garden and landscaping with their truck in their attempt to escape. Luckily, she got their license plate number.

I went into the house with her to find the back window broken. Below the window was all of her luggage, jammed with her valuables that these two thieving bitches collected in order to leave with. Her brand new 24 inch iMac was also sitting below the window. It appears they left with nothing.

I just wrote about two women coming to my house looking for money. See here. One of the cops told me to call them immediately the next time someone comes to the house. Yes I will.

I am so fucking mad right now. I can't believe it. In broad daylight.

Seven years ago today

I was waking up for art class at UNM when I heard the clock radio turn on and Tom Brokaw speaking.

My country has never been the same, and not for the better.

previous post

previous post

time to cut the grass

up and running

Both phones now have service and seem to be running fine. The Yahoo "push" is quite nice. This means I get all of my yahoo email now on my iphone.

I stayed up most of the night configuring my phone since little e was awake and messing about.

When this phone is working right, it is amazing. A great little machine. But plan on spending a fair amount of time getting it turned on and configured.

All is well otherwise. Fraction is getting a lot of attention and a lot of traffic so Josh and I are very pleased. Go visit it.

iphone continued...

Both phones have gone active. Both need to have their firmware updated. My phone shows two bars of service while amelia's phone shows five bars, while sitting side by side.

If you are planning on buying one of these pphones, make sure you have plenty of time to set it up and to deal with potential issues.

3 hours after the iphone

So now we are home with two phone that are not working. Apparently AT&T had a problem with bad SIM cards. It will be "sometime tonight" before they can be activated. Awesome.

Sony's full frame camera

Looks interesting. 24 megapixel and full frame

Watch out Canon and Nikon

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/9739.html

The Sony DSLR-A900 body will be available in November 2008 for about $3000.

iPhone Phun

I am writing from the Apple Store in Albuquerque.  I've been here for nearly two hours trying to get two iPhones activated.  Some problems with Apple's activation.

Luckily, Amelia and Elizabeth have both been patient.

Lots of iFun.

my little e

my little e

Fraction Magazine - Third Issue

Fraction released the third issue today.

This issue features the photographic work of:

Donna Ferrato
Bill Schwab
John Mann
Holly Lynton
Samuel Portera

There is also a book review by Melanie McWhorter
and a show review by Carrie Cooper

Be sure to check our blog for all the latest news
and current call for entries.

To view, please visit www.fractionmag.com/

Couch time

Sleeping is getting a bit better.

Busy, photographically speaking

Suddenly, things are picking up for me and my work, just when my time becomes a bit limited.

This November, I have work at a big show at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. The show is called Through the Lens and is going to be a major event in Santa Fe. My work is also included in a hardcover book that accompanies the show.

Then in January 2009, I will have two photographs in a show at the new School of Arts and Design, also in Santa Fe. I've also just been asked to take part in The Galisteo Basin Photography Project, which has some very important photographers, including Greg MacGregor, Norman Mauskopf, and Debbie Fleming Caffery. It's an honor to be invited. There will be a show of the work at Photo-Eye in January 2009.

I was asked to be one third of a three man show here in ABQ, sometime in the spring of 2009. The other two photographers are Kirk Gittings and Alan Rumme, both of whose work I admire.

So, things look good.

So in touch with the American people

Unemployment is at a 5 year high.

The housing market is tanking. (credit card debt will be the next crisis)

The dollar is at an all time low.

But Cindy McCain spent $313,000 on an outfit for the RNC. (read more here)

The McCain's are so in touch with the American people.

Knock knock, got any cash? Panhandling Continues.

I wrote a couple of entries not long ago about the problem of panhandling in Albuquerque. One of the entries was about people coming to my door.

Well, in the last few days, I've had two different, young women come and knock on my door, looking for any disposable cash. A few days ago, it was a black woman with a suitcase in tow. I answered the door, told her I had no cash, and sent her on her way.

Today, a young white woman, knocked on the door. She claimed to live on the next street over and said she had just taken her baby home from the hospital and now was $16 short for her medications. Again, I told her I had no cash and sent her on her way. A fair amount of guilt hit me as I have a newborn now at home and felt I should do something.

My problem with this, as it was before, is the approach, here at my home. I don't like strangers coming to my house. I just don't. But to make matters worse, both times these strangers appeared, I was pitching all of the merits of living in the Duke City to my father, who is considering moving here from NY. Both times, he was a bit put off. I don't blame him.

I plan on putting up two "NO SOLICITATION" signs on my property. One by the front door and one by the side walk so that everyone will be able to see them. Next will be a sign that says I don't care about your problem, your issue, your politics, please go away.

Elizabeth and Minou

A little quiet time together.

A different kind of nap on the couch

This is a Stephen Shore photograph of his friends, Michael and Sandy Marsh.

A different kind of nap on the couch.