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     First, sorry about the quality. We all know by now how picky people are about you taking large SLR cameras in, and they are hard to hide. That leaves me with my powershot and grain.      Anyway, it was an amazing show. Jakob Dylan is a really nice guy too. IF you ever get the chance to meet him, I highly recommend it. They played a lengthy set that ended with "Three Marlenas" (A Wallflowers song from back in the day, and personal favorite), bantered a lot, sang to a baby, and so on. It is clear they were having a great time playing, and that always makes me feel good about being there. He also played a good cross-section of music from the new album "Women and Country" and his last album, "Seeing Things".

     So, My camera's protection renewal form was due today. That means that two years ago today, I got my first serious digital camera and started down the path I am on now. Two years ago, my serious love of photography started to grow at an amazing rate. Anyway, this is the second photo I attempted for this post. For the first, I stacked all my 48 cameras I own. On top of the heap, was the 40D.      What changed my mind was that today, for a job interview I might get selected for, I needed to get my passport. I thought it was a fitting coincidence that I needed to do that today, on what I consider the anniversary of the start of my career. The photo is a representation of my past and future. The photowipes, and negatives are from my darkroom days. The passport was my great grandfathers to get into this country, and the camel picture is a long story. I will come back to it.      Anyway, I suggest looking back through the arch...

This is the first photo idea I had for the two year mark...

I went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox earlier, and had the entire theater to myself (until right before the movie started when a whole two other people came in). They weren't playing trailers or anything so I amused myself with photography. In post I turned the brightness way up and moved the midtones. Since I shot this with my happy-snap camera, it looks real grainy. I found this effect fitting....

I wanted to introduce everyone to my new colleague/toy the Canon 50mm 1.4 Lens. It is seen here attached to my Canon 40D. This is my christmas present from my dad this year, and since these things can be really hard to find, I ordered it when I saw Roberts Imaging had them in stock. I really wanted it for a road-trip I am going on next month. I haven't shot with it yet, because the weather has been really crappy. I'm sure when I finally use it, I will post a photo. It is suppose to be an incredible lens and a must have. We will see when I finally do a review. That will come with my first shots though. It is joining my 85 1.8, 24-135 3.5-5.6, and my 75-300 4.5-5.6 in my carry-all camera bag.

Coney Island has always fascinated me. It has been involved with some of the most memorable scenes in movies/music for me. "The Warriors," "Requium for a Dream,"  "Grand Theft Auto IV." There are also good Lou Reed and Amy Correia songs. Despite this love, when I was in New York City for a few days, Coney Island was not on my agenda of places to hit. We were trying to get as much stuff in as possible, and through random wanderings and not paying a great amount of attention, we ended up in a subway car we thought was going to the Statue of Liberty... The car we got in was going no where, because it was at the end of the line. However, as we soon learned, it was the express to Coney Island. We eventually decided to stay on the train and visit Coney Island. It was fun. We had foreign drinks and walked the beach. There was also the Jennifer Connelly pier to visit, and just everything was made absurd by the fact it was cold, gray, and March in New York. Everyth...

Getting to go to Les Halles was a big deal for me, and the start of an epic evening in my eyes (it was followed up by a Cabaret and spider-man). I am a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain, and he is executive chef here, we won't go into what that means. Before going, I stopped at the Virgin store in Time Square, and got a Ramones T-shirt to wear. While we were there, I got a cookbook autographed by Bourdain, and ordered a thing I call the Slaughterhouse (pictured above on the cutting board with all the various meets and chips), as well as some Escargot. All the food was amazing, as was the atmosphere. The most amazing thing is that the restaurant is in no way about Bourdain.

Time Square, often seen as the poster child for what is possibly the most famous city in the world. This was my first stop in the city (only because our hotel was right in the center of it. It is probably one of my least favorite spots in the city because it is crowded with pushy tourists. Yeah, it has lights. Who cares? I was happy to see the Virgin Store though... which was closing. We got a lot of great stuff there for dirt cheap though. Also, I got my first dirty water hot dog there. The thing is, I hate hot dogs. I love those though. There was also a Peruvian Flute Band, and it made me think of South Park. These are my memories of Time Square.