[click to image to enlarge]

Ok, so strictly speaking upstate NY is not included in the tri-state area according to wikipedia, but it is a convenient phrase. I was over in the Rock Gym looking for something to photograph when I noticed a guy was staring me down. Generally speaking this is because I am carrying a camera and not because I am so awesome to observe. Sure enough, "Joe" introduced himself and while his buddies climbed the boulders, he and I talked Nikon.

As it turns out Joe is into photography and climbing (which I can appreciate) and he is in town with a few guys from NY for the weekend exploring the wilds of Rhode Island. When I overhead them talking about climbing in the woods nearby I had to invite myself along. I love shooting in Lincoln Woods, outdoor light is so much more forgiving and interesting than indoor light.

So, I managed to not get the group lost in the 5 minutes from the gym to the woods, and soon we were amongst the rocks and trees. Without fail, I run into a top notch scientist clinging to a rock when I go out there. This time, it was a German professor (his nationality, not specialty) from MIT. I didn't post his photo just 'cause he took off before I established a rapport and I don't want to start posting too many random photos of people I don't know.

I also met a guy named Kyle from NJ (who was wearing a NY Giants cap). Saddened, I realized I was surrounded by Yankees and Giants fans. I put aside my inner disdain and poked around here and there shooting.

I need to get out shooting film more. Pretty much if you are really mediocre at photography, film will let you know. It makes me really work each time I am out. It is too easy to set the camera to A (for awesome) or P (for Pro) and "set it and forget it." [Edit: I think these modes are the curse of automatic cameras for many aspiring photogs]. I wanted to really work and get it right in the camera. I had a total of 60 exposures to work with, in Tri-X, and three lenses: a 105 f2.5 (world class), a 50mm f1.4mm (pretty good), and a 12-24mm f4 DX (~17mm+ for film). Ideally I wanted to be shooting as large an aperture as possible, but lighting (and I had a flash for fill) wouldn't always permit it. The 1/250th sync max kept me from throwing the background out on a number of shots. But, in the end I got what I was looking for.

I wanted to get some portraits. There are things in each photo I may work differently if I were to do it over, but I enjoyed being out shooting. Whenever I am out with film it is a bit of a pop-quiz. Every shot costs money and you don't have an infinite number. So, what are you trying to say with each image? I know I didn't catch the most outrageous climbing pictures, but that wasn't really my goal. Instead I think I caught some moments of real people doing what they do.

Many thanks to Zack, Brian, Brent, Joe (hah! I think I got that right) and Kyle.