New York May NYC Meet-Up: New Uptown Location

slowbicycle said:
looks like fun was had by all! i was sorry to not have made it this time. the june meet-up can't come soon enough.

hey Cal, that sure is a mint Mamiya 6 you got there! glad that you are bonding with it well. seeing these photos, i remember you from that first meet-up back in january, was it? i was one of the other asian dudes, carrying my trusty R-D1. btw, who brought an R-D1 this time?

oh and that Linhof Technika sure is beaut!

dunstan
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Now I remember you and your camera. That January Meet-Up was a classic.

I checked out your flicker. Seems like your 75/3.5 gets as much use as your 50/4.0. Ist tat true?

I'm on the fence for a 75 because I already have a great Rolleiflex. Seems like the Mamiya M6 glass is ultra high contrast and extreame sharpness.

The RD-1 was Cristian's. Now I wanna see a big Linhof (4x5).

Cal
 
amateriat said:
Yeah, that was rather scary-sounding, like Nessie on high-test!


- Barrett
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For you guys that did not attend the May NYC Meet-UP: The Jeep Scrambler was a big art project when I worked at the fourth largest military contractor in the U.S. (a company that use to be called Grumman Aerospace).

The FBI should of known better, and possibly they should not have granted me a secrete security clearance, an artist in an aerospace company should of been a big red flag and just doesn't make any sense, especially one that has very-very bad boundries.

I kinda exploited the expertise and manufacturing capabilities to create a suicide machine using "German engineering." This conversation was spun off the savage engineering displayed off Cristian's Linhof.

Wrap around bumpers made from four inch square extruded mil spec aerospace aluminum were created by a friend at work who was a welder for body armor. Part of the culture back then was this thing called "G-jobs" and there were stories of log splitters made from surplus hydrolic actuators from F-14's. Of course this had nothing to do with making the company any money and was totally for personal/individual use. The culture was "G-jobs" were just one of the benefits of employment.

So I kinda made a Humvee before they mage Humvees, a spackle job that used as much aerospace hardware as possible. My gas lines are braided aircraft hydrolic lines. AN mil spec hardware secures a 350 horse power Chevy Corvette engine. Like Doctor Frankenstein I created a monster that incorporated a Ford nine inch rear end with Lincoln Continental disc brakes; a half ton suspension on a quarter ton vehicle; with dual 2 1/2 inch flowmaster exhaust. Under full accelleration my Jeep sounds like a Nascar on a straightaway, but even at idle there is this deep throaty tone that is so manly.

I think John's favorite part of the story was when I was mean to an engineer I didn't like and somehow tricked him into going for a ride to get some lunch. I got the idea when I inquired why this engineer I didn't like drove two Volvo's. I was told he had been traumatized and almost killed in a car accident, but I took him for a joy ride that I'm sure he will not forget anyway. I guess you can say I just plain mean, but it really was the part of me that I can't control, the artistic part that made me do it.

Coming back into the secured compound the road has a severe crown that often broke chin spoilers or caused car suspensions to bottom, leaving the general area littered with small parts of cars.

I was explaining to my frightened passenger about the 20% speedometer error due to the large oversized tires. " Even thougth the guage says 45 miles per hour we are really doing almost 55," I said. I looked over and saw him holding the grab bar on the dash with his left hand and his right hand hlding the doorhandle in a death grip. "We're in a school zone," he cried, but I was mean and couldn't help but laugh. "So..." I said.

When we hit the crown of the road that was like one huge speed bump the Jeep became suddenly airborn. At 55 mph one is traveling at eighty feet a second, and for about a second we had no contact with the ground. The Jeep was probably only about a foot or two in the air; but when we hit the ground, I hit the brakes hard, and there was this loud screach like when an airplane hits the runway upon landing.

Gypsy, the Jeep, squated like a BMW testing the ABS, but somehow I also scared the guard who hunkered down in the guard booth. When I came to a complete stop; the guard, an old man, came out all pissed off; but his expression suddenly changed when he saw me laughing hysterically. He looked over at my passenger, got the joke, and joined in with the laughing.

At the May Meet-Up, I said that the guard came out of the guard booth with his gun drawn, but this likely was an exaggeration, I am unsure if the guards had guns at that time; but, if they did, this guard was likely ready to draw his weapon. Next, the guard pointed to my passenger; and, then made the gesture of cleaning a dump out of his pants, before he waved me in, still laughing.

The engineer remained as white a a refrigerated corpse. He couldn't speak for a while, and I could'nt stop laughing.

I still own this Jeep and it is in storage in Brooklyn near the Williamsburg Bridge. John desperately wants to go for a joy ride, but first I need a new transfere case.

Cal
 
haha, that's a great story Cal! i think we will have to do a meet-up/photo shoot involving this jeep of yours sometime... it would've been cool to have seen and heard this thing prowling the streets back when i was living in the 'burg.

and i do use the 75mm often, partly because it gives the mamiya 6 it's most compact form factor, but also because it is tack sharp. i purchased the 50mm separately from adorama and, unfortunately, have yet to see the results that are deserving of its reputation. hopefully i just need to use it more...

oh, and even though you have a rolleiflex as well, it is a whole other shooting experience. i should know, hehe.:D
 
slowbicycle said:
haha, that's a great story Cal! i think we will have to do a meet-up/photo shoot involving this jeep of yours sometime... it would've been cool to have seen and heard this thing prowling the streets back when i was living in the 'burg. .:D
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Lived there three years ago for about four years. Had a loft right in front of the abandoned Domino sugar refinery. The only people for three blocks were the other seven units in my building.

How long ago were you living there? Which area. I lived in the more ghetto Southside. The hood has changed a lot over the past three years. Back when I lived there it wasn't quite conquered by yuppies.

Hmmm. Now I need a 75/3.5. Now I live in Queens like you, but again in a real authentic run down nieghborhood. Even have rats in my backyard. LOL. Madhattan is too civilized for a wild man like me I guess.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
How long ago were you living there? Which area. I lived in the more ghetto Southside. The hood has changed a lot over the past three years. Back when I lived there it wasn't quite conquered by yuppies.

Cal
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i moved to woodside last year. spent about 3 years in williamsburg, also on the southside. but you are right, things had cleaned up by then, and even more so now...

oh i remember going to the Dominos Sugar Factory "Open House" back in '08 and getting some decent shots. should still be on my flickr. there was also this classic car garage on kent, i forget which block. but there would oftentimes be something parked on the street, preferably british - an mgb gt, even an e-type once.
 
slowbicycle said:
i'm at the 52st stop on the 7. but you must be near sripraphai, right?:D
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I'm just down the way from 52nd, on Queens Blvd by 58th (building behinds Staples).

Sripraphai is all right, but there's a new Thai shabu place called Suki Suki that I'm really digging. There's also a smaller Thai place called Rumphool (by 58th and Roosevelt) that is fantastic.

We should get a beer some time.
 
jsrockit said:
Cal looking like a big shot! :D
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Bragging: That's the shirt I learned to make at FIT, and I recieved an A. Probably the most expensive shirt that you can imagine if you include the price of a JUKI industrial sewing machine and the tuition for the couse. In the fall I'm registered for a men's taloring course where I will learn how to make men's dress pants. I've been told I clean up good; but, when I look in the mirror I don't recognize myself. LOL. What a poser.

More Bragging: I got dressed up like a rich guy for the last class and wore a Paul Smith blue blazer with some hip Paul Smith "Runway pants. " Kinda looked like a tall skinny fashion model, and this amazing looking SE Asian girl around half my age says, "You look like an Asian version of James Bond."

"What does this mean," I said to John (AKA jsrocket) at the May NYC Meet-Up, and John says, "It means you already have a girlfiend." Nature is cruel. Ever see an Asian with smokey grey eyes? Don't tell my girlfriend: Boy this girl is pretty. I guess I like dressing up and feeling like James Bond.

Jeff thanks for the shot.

So... I'm back from Cape Cod from a short vacation and a beach wedding (not mine, I live in sin). Shot only medium format and now have lots of film to develope. Seems like the Rollieflex was used the most. The Mamiya was too wide, but is great for NYC street and urban landscape.

I need to start a new thread for the June Meet-Up. Ran into Jeff at MOMA BTW. Seems like the Meet-Ups are spreading.

Cal
 
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