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I submitted a paper; my magnum opus. Two and a half years of blood, sweat, tears, and LOTS of cursing. Fingers crossed! Tonight, I pack for a conference in San Francisco. Life might not be so bad after all......

I really wish I hadn't just watched that.

When I posted this originally, I forgot to include my notes on it. It's Midtown Manhattan (durr) in 1939, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt. It shows a profound knowledge of architectural photography as well as great skill in composition, exposure and printing. You can see just a tiny bit of shadow in the upper right corner which is the result of the image circle provided by the lens failing to cover the entirety of the film frame. This is a result of pretty substantial lens shifting in order to produce correct perspective. Notice how the skyscrapers appear to be standing bolt upright and not falling over backwards? That is the result of careful adjustment with a 1930s large format technical camera (or as it was known at the time, 'a camera.') Eisenstaedt had quite a career as a photographer, and he's really not known for his architectural work. He photographed the moment Hilter and Mussolini met for the first time: That historical moment would the make a name for any photographer, but it's still not Eisenstaedt's most famous frame. That'd be his iconic V-J Day photo: Even people who know nothing of history or photography recognize this shot. Old Alfred was born in the end of 1898 and lived until 1995, spending his later years in my stomping ground: Martha's Vineyard. Tisbury, MA, 1969. This is to say nothing of his glamour shots in the 50s (Marilyn Monroe, etc) and countless other works. His final photographic subject was the Clinton family, vacationing on the Vineyard in 1994: If I live to be twice as old as Alfred, I'll never been 1/10th the photographer he was, but it's good to have icons like him as a source for inspiration.

Saw the preview and knew I shouldn't watch it