A thought on HDR and an Announcement

I am not a fan of HDR at all and feel that, generally speaking, it was originally devised as a solution for the lack of dynamic range available in digital imaging as opposed to film. I think this photograph made under ordinary circumstances, albeit at the right time of day, demonstrates that HDR isn't really necessary unless you're really going for an otherworldly effect or to highlight a particular portion of the image, which is of course what some people use it for though I tend to think that many people do not use it for that purpose.

It's easy to see the tonal range of an image if you can look at it in black and white. The more tonal values of gray you can identify between black and white (up to 30), the greater the tonal range of your photograph. I'm pleased with this image because I captured a large tonal scale without losing details in the white or getting a milky black.


The announcement I wanted to make, for those of you who still visit (and I can't say enough how much I appreciate that you do since I haven't been here for months), is that I'm currently working on a complete redesign of the site, which will be relocated to a different address when ready. I'm very excited to be doing this with the very talented Peter Bagi, and can't wait for it to be ready. It may take a while and it will end up being a completely new start, since the site will be more than a blog in many ways, but I think it's worth the work and the wait.

Gifts of Chocolate

I was delighted to finally be able to taste the famed Mast Bros' chocolate when a friend sent me some chocolate samples from New York.
The chocolate wrappers and the general presentation of the four bars -this is how she sent the bars to me- was so lovely that I thought I had to photograph it before digging in.

I didn't know the other chocolate brand, Chocolat Moderne, but it turns out that while the Mast Bros. are doing a fabulous job of marketing the philosophy and method behind their artisanal chocolate fabrication, I was extremely disappointed in both bars I tried; I actually didn't eat either bar beyond the first taste. I found the Chocolat Moderne, on the other hand, to be both proper and intriguing chocolate in terms of the flavors.

Neal's Yard Dairy

I've practically forgotten I have a blog it seems, although I keep taking photographs.

We never miss an opportunity to stop at Neal's Yard Dairy when we're at the Borough Market. And really, how can you not go into a place with huge cheese wheels like these outside. I actually framed this photograph so that you could see the man sitting across the road reflected in the glass. I love reflections. And cheese.

The employees were very kind to let me take photographs but they also seemed a bit shy, so I tried to be as quick and non-intrusive with my camera as possible.

It's a great place to take photographs actually, I could have spent hours in there but of course there wasn't time, and they'd probably have gotten sick of me very quickly.

I could try all these cheeses easily, I'd just need a bit of time and a good bottle of wine would be welcome as well.

Anyone else like Neal's Yard Dairy? I especially love the clotted cream butter they sell, although they don't actually make it.

Belgravia [Bell-Gray-V-Ah]

If you don't see any people in these, it's because people are seldom out on the street in Belgravia. I think of it as a hole in the space-time continuum...

In the time it takes to make a hot chocolate...

...you can run around and take pictures of a chocolate shop. Sometimes, like here, they're studiedly corrugated chic.



By the way, Bonne fête du quatorze Juillet les copains!