I photographed the two Coreys in 1987, a few months after The Lost Boys premiered. I was working with a publicist doing PR photos for a nightclub, the Tunnel. It was the first client I had acquired on my own and my first assignment for them.

The two Coreys were 15 and 16, out partying and checking in on a fashion show at the Tunnel.

Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and models. The Tunnel, New York City, 1987.

Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and models. Andre Van Pier Fashion Show, 1987.

I don’t know what they went on to do that night. I called it quits at about 1am but was asked to run the film to the NY Post immediately. I eagerly obliged my new client, happy at the prospect of a published picture but not knowing that the Post was at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge and that the photo editor wasn’t due in until 7am.

*Miles Davis at the Tunnel: Re-Birth of the Cool.

JOBO holds many memories for me. They manufactured home/small-studio processors for film and prints. I didn’t get one until I started shooting 4×5 and was looking for a more consistent, less hands-in-the-chemicals, method of running the film than in trays. The JOBO CPP2 provided the answer. Large, very plastic, somehow it worked in spite of itself. How many hours did I spend in the company of this device? I can’t begin to fathom. For my personal work alone – I might come back from a trip with a couple hundred sheets of 4×5 Tri-x and the JOBO could only run 10 sheets at a time.

JOBO Expert Drum for 4x5 Film

It worked well enough that I ran my 35mm and 120mm b&w in it as well. The roll film module enabled eight or ten rolls to be run by extending the processing tube further and further. With a metal core in it you could use metal reels and in the end it provided a more civilized method than using two 4-reel stainless steel tanks simultaneously (aka – old school.)

I sold my JOBO equipment 4-5 years ago as the switch to digital became complete. While I had no problem parting with it, it’s hard to hear of JOBO’s demise and not think of the countless hours I spent running that device. Lots of whirring as it rotated, the fact that it was all still a very much wet process (the processing drums rested in a temperature controlled basin of water), the setup, the cleanup, and once all was done using the foot pump to pop the lid on the 4×5 expert drum and see the processed film for the first time.

JOBO did try transition to digital with small digital storage devices, digital frames, gps units, and a few other items. None of the new product line seemed to have legs but more importantly none of them provided what JOBO’s processor line had, a niche market to ensure JOBO’s survival.

Film, slow ISO’s (Kodachrome and Tri-X, even Tri-X @ ISO 400 qualifies as slow these days), slower lenses, manual focus, maneuvering to get the film out of the country, a different time. But Burnett makes the case that even though technology has advanced over the interim, people and history remain quite similar.

Additional interview and story at NYT’s Lens blog from last September.

Burnett’s book, 44 Days: Iran and the Remaking of the World, and web site.

Delaware-Raritan Canal, February 27, 2010

Post-sunset, same spot, it was all about the color.

Updike Farmstead on Sunday:

Updike Farmstead, February 28, 2010

Old growth forest, deer tracks.

I brought Bix with me on both outings. On Sunday, there was a large herd of deer watching us. At first they hid in the trees. But then on our way back, the deer, having had enough, darted out across an empty field and back into the woods. I have never seen a herd this large, 2-3 dozen strong. Bix, whose fur is so overgrown he can barely see, missed the action visually but was all too happy to explore the tracks left out in the open.

And now, ladies and gentleman, Mr. Johnny Cash:

Guess Things Happen That Way on iTunes.

I rushed last weekend to complete some more work on the buffer project. I know I’ll continue when the weather gets nicer but I wanted to get some more images while the snow was still around. It seemed having the contrast would make the images more graphic and this past Monday onward the forecast called for warmer weather (40’s) and rain. Surely, the snow would be gone within a few days…

Well, we still have 6″-8″ left and now are due for 10″-16″ more, starting tonight and continuing into Friday.

Washington Road Fields

Washington Road Fields

Harrison Street, Millstone River

Harrison Street, Millstone River

Seminary Drive Fields

I have reworked the five images from the previous buffer posts (here and here) with the new b&w conversion.

Seminary Drive Fields

Seminary Drive Fields

Alexander Road Fields

Alexander Road Fields

Alexander Road Fields

Some equipment and software notes:

• All of the raw images were processed in Aperture 3, some received additional work in Photoshop.
• The b&w conversion was done in Aperture 3. I created a platinum-esque preset which tones the image and alters the tonal curve a bit.
• The top five images are composites made with the Canon TS-E 24mm II lens, in each case combining three images into one.
• I’ve been testing a new tripod head, the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube. It’s a joy to use – simple, very quick, rock solid, and an engineering marvel. Its built-in levels are quite accurate and negate the need to add a bubble level to the camera’s hot shoe. I’ve come to love the fact that it has two pan controls. One at the bottom and one at the top, above the leveling controls. This way you can orient the head with the bottom control first (a rough line up or if the head needs a different orientation relative to the tripod), level the head, and then fine tune the pan with the topmost pan control. Since the head is already level adjusting the top pan won’t throw it out of alignment.

From the release notes:

This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of issues in Aperture 3, including:

• Upgrading libraries from earlier versions of Aperture
• Importing libraries from iPhoto
• Importing photos directly from a camera
• Memory usage when processing heavily-retouched photos
• Face recognition processing
• Adding undetected faces using the Add Missing Face button
• Printing pages containing multiple images
• Printing photos and contact sheets with borders and metadata
• Editing photos using an external editor
• Display of images with Definition and Straighten adjustments applied
• Zooming photos in the Viewer and in the Loupe using keyboard shortcuts
• Accessing Aperture libraries on a network volume
• Selecting and moving pins on the Places map
• Adding and editing custom locations using the Manage My Places window
• Switching between masters when working with RAW+JPEG pairs

The Icicle

The Knight

The Battle

The Unicorn

The Narwhal

The Level

The End

The Red Coat blog post.

Times Square, February 20, 2010

My kids seem obsessed with knowing a person’s age. Somehow, to them, it connotes where the person fits in the world.

Dad, how old is the Naked Cowboy?

Fifteen. [That's my stock answer when it's clear there is absolutely no reason I should know the person's age.]

Yeah, right. Anyway, I don’t think he looks that old. [Which has come to mean relative to my wife and I.]

Hmm…. I’m walking here! I’m walking here!

West Windsor, NJ, February 19, 2010

West Windsor, NJ, February 19, 2010

West Windsor, NJ, February 19, 2010

Click images for larger versions.

The Buffer blog post.