Meetup The Official Unofficial PA/NJ Meetup Photo and Story Thread

john m flores said:
What a total disappointment. With the name "Serious Compacts", I was expecting some serious brow frowning discussions about the zeitgeist of photography, perhaps even a dash of schadenfreude. DiLorenzo's was closed for lunch, so tomato pies were off the menu. And it was clear from the get-go that this gathering wasn't going to be "serious", and after the generous tray(s) of appetizers shared by John (Entropic Remains), it was clear that none of us were going to walk away "compact."

Things started in earnest as Jay (Jloden) immediately threw down about a million dollars of camera gear on the table - RX1, X100s, GH3 with 12-35 F2.8 and screamed, "take that b*tches!" Ok, he didn't say that, but that's what he's going to say in the movie version of the day. I thought I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but it was actually my credit card, quivering in nervous anticipation. Around that time, Steve (Biro) sauntered in, walking in slow motion with dramatic music and cars exploding behind him (more special effects for the movie) and we all got into some serious gear fondling, in public no less. As an owner of a GH1 and GH2, the GH3 is in another class altogether in terms of build, and with the 12-35mm F2.8 looks like a serious piece of kit. The X100s was quite nice too (although Jay wasn't in love with the AF), and the RX1 was like holding a baby Ferrari. I didn't hold it too long though because I just knew that I'd start stroking it, calling it "My Precious" and losing my hair.


* The names above have not been changed. We're all guilty.
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John, I can't wait for the big screen version!
 
jloden said:
Btw, really nice shots and processing John, those came out nice!
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I haven't finished my commenting, lol. I had quite a week and I was pretty tired yesterday afternoon, lol. All that socializing (and too much food!!!) just takes it out of me...

I love your shots but all the b/w treatements really struck me. The "guy getting his hair pulled" and the onlooker you did reall work. I haven't even looked at some of those shots yet of mine -- I just wanted to get you shooting it up.

I think I was dreaming of GH3's last night, lol.
 
john m flores said:
What a total disappointment. With the name "Serious Compacts", I was expecting some serious brow frowning discussions about the zeitgeist of photography, perhaps even a dash of schadenfreude. DiLorenzo's was closed for lunch, so tomato pies were off the menu. And it was clear from the get-go that this gathering wasn't going to be "serious", and after the generous tray(s) of appetizers shared by John (Entropic Remains), it was clear that none of us were going to walk away "compact."

Things started in earnest as Jay (Jloden) immediately threw down about a million dollars of camera gear on the table - RX1, X100s, GH3 with 12-35 F2.8 and screamed, "take that b*tches!" Ok, he didn't say that, but that's what he's going to say in the movie version of the day. I thought I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but it was actually my credit card, quivering in nervous anticipation. Around that time, Steve (Biro) sauntered in, walking in slow motion with dramatic music and cars exploding behind him (more special effects for the movie) and we all got into some serious gear fondling, in public no less. As an owner of a GH1 and GH2, the GH3 is in another class altogether in terms of build, and with the 12-35mm F2.8 looks like a serious piece of kit. The X100s was quite nice too (although Jay wasn't in love with the AF), and the RX1 was like holding a baby Ferrari. I didn't hold it too long though because I just knew that I'd start stroking it, calling it "My Precious" and losing my hair.

Faster than you can say, "huge trays of appetizers" we're all talking about cameras we've owned, cameras we've bought on impulse, how tolerant our significant others are of the endless packages from the man in brown shorts, and cameras we want. John brought along his M43 kit - G5 with Panny 7-14 (right?) and the silver OM-D with the Oly 75 1.8 mounted. Damn, that thing looks like something James Bond would use, and I'm not talking about the weedy 80s Roger Moore Bond but the proper hairy-chested Sean Connery. I could see Bond with his silver Aston Martin in Monaco, leggy French spy in the passenger seat, and the silver OM-D in the ThinkTank Retrospective bag in the boot. Poor Steve didn't bring any cameras into the restaurant, but he told us of his OM-D envy, and reminded us that he's got a deposit down on the Ricoh GR; I've put out a Craigslist ad for a hitman in the Central Jersey area.

Generous John regaled the table with some seriously funny tales of youthful and not-so-youthful adventures, including some great urbex tales. He's got a pretty good English and Russian accents if you need that. And throughout this all, John's sister Sheila (she of the Grounds for Sculpture comp passes!) sat there with a look that was half "these guys are speaking Klingon" and half "I think that i need a new camera. Or four." Collectively, we've probably owned more gear than HCB and the other Magnum photographers did. Were HCB alive today, he might have mugged JLoden in the parking lot.

To bring us down from the GAS stratosphere, I threw the diminutive Pentax Q on the table and there was a lot of furrowing of brows as it was fondled. If you could put thought bubbles above everyone's head, you'd see the words "Honey, I Shrunk the Camera". I've seen this look before; people expect a toy at that size, but when the feel the magnesium shell and the photographers controls, their head's need a moment to wrap around a new paradigm.

A not-so-serious time was had by all!

P.S. - Sheila handed out some flyers for an upcoming show at the Roebling Museum in Roebling NJ. July 27. If you've never been to the Roebling Museum, it's a neat space with some great history. There are likely to be some great photo ops.

I didn't make it Grounds for Sculpture, but here are my lunch shots.

8708415567_5c54714d53_b.jpg

(Not so) Serious Compact NJ/PA gathering by john m flores, on Flickr

8709538868_b014933b13_b.jpg

(Not so) Serious Compact NJ/PA gathering by john m flores, on Flickr

8708416033_18c440cc49_b.jpg

(Not so) Serious Compact NJ/PA gathering by john m flores, on Flickr

* The names above have not been changed. We're all guilty.
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John, I love your writing! That was great! Photos of the meal are about the best any of us took in some ways -- you really got some fantastic portraits out of it.

Seriously, do you write for that motorcycle travel mag or just take photos? You should be writing too, that was awesome!

Oh, one minor correction: It's Entropic REMNANTS not Remains, lol. I think you had too much calamari...
 
If you saw some of the exhibits, you know some of them can be quite realistic from any reasonable viewing distance. Sculptor J. Seward Johnson -- the founder of the park -- is responsible for most of those. Some though are obvious as they are reproductions of famous paintings right down to the brush strokes.

The problem with this is two fold: you may think an exhibit is just people resting and miss it; or you may think real people resting are just an exhibit.

We did have such an event at least once where some motionless folks were approached by one of us and they they saw them move and self-consciously moved away. Who was that? Jay, Steve?
 
Fantastic photos and anecdotes, fellas, keep 'em coming! :D

I think anyone who looks at these photos thinks, "damn, I wanna shoot with these people!" Looks like a great time.
 
entropic remnants said:
If you saw some of the exhibits, you know some of them can be quite realistic from any reasonable viewing distance. Sculptor J. Seward Johnson -- the founder of the park -- is responsible for most of those. Some though are obvious as they are reproductions of famous paintings right down to the brush strokes.

The problem with this is two fold: you may think an exhibit is just people resting and miss it; or you may think real people resting are just an exhibit.

We did have such an event at least once where some motionless folks were approached by one of us and they they saw them move and self-consciously moved away. Who was that? Jay, Steve?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure this happened to each one of us. Anyone who lives in the region and han't spent an afternoon there should make it a point to visit. It's the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.

As I said in the original meetup string, this turned out to be a fabulous day, despite the fact that most of us were actually pretty tired at the end of a long week. It was terrific how quickly we all just "clicked" and could talk and laugh so much with people we had never met before. And, again, special props to Sheila for putting up with the rest of us and getting us on the Grounds for free.

Some things I took away from the day:

1) I met some new people and made some new friends.

2) I was introduced to the Grounds for Sculpture, which I heretofore had taken for granted.

3) I decided I must resubscribe to Road Runner magazine.

4) I learned (and saw) that the Fuji X100s still has issues with low-light AF.

5) I decided that I need to work on getting an Olympus OM-D (or possibly its replacement if it has hybrid AF).

6) I decided that I need to lose weight.

7) I learned not to try to get into DiLorenzo's before 4pm on a Saturday.
 
entropic remnants said:
John, I love your writing! That was great! Photos of the meal are about the best any of us took in some ways -- you really got some fantastic portraits out of it.

Seriously, do you write for that motorcycle travel mag or just take photos? You should be writing too, that was awesome!

Oh, one minor correction: It's Entropic REMNANTS not Remains, lol. I think you had too much calamari...
Click to expand...

Thanks John. Yes, I do the photography and writing for the stories. I've been really lucky, as RoadRUNNER has given me a public venue with which to hone my skills in both areas. In the last year or so I think that I've found my writing "voice".

Remnants
Remnants
Remnants
 
Biro said:
I'm pretty sure this happened to each one of us. Anyone who lives in the region and han't spent an afternoon there should make it a point to visit. It's the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.

As I said in the original meetup string, this turned out to be a fabulous day, despite the fact that most of us were actually pretty tired at the end of a long week. It was terrific how quickly we all just "clicked" and could talk and laugh so much with people we had never met before. And, again, special props to Sheila for putting up with the rest of us and getting us on the Grounds for free.

Some things I took away from the day:

1) I met some new people and made some new friends.

2) I was introduced to the Grounds for Sculpture, which I heretofore had taken for granted.

3) I decided I must resubscribe to Road Runner magazine.

4) I learned (and saw) that the Fuji X100s still has issues with low-light AF.

5) I decided that I need to work on getting an Olympus OM-D (or possibly its replacement if it has hybrid AF).

6) I decided that I need to lose weight.

7) I learned not to try to get into DiLorenzo's before 4pm on a Saturday.
Click to expand...

Yes, but compared to me (with regard to #6) you are positively slim! :D Especially when I slouch as I am wont to do.
 
entropic remnants said:
If you saw some of the exhibits, you know some of them can be quite realistic from any reasonable viewing distance. Sculptor J. Seward Johnson -- the founder of the park -- is responsible for most of those. Some though are obvious as they are reproductions of famous paintings right down to the brush strokes.

The problem with this is two fold: you may think an exhibit is just people resting and miss it; or you may think real people resting are just an exhibit.

We did have such an event at least once where some motionless folks were approached by one of us and they they saw them move and self-consciously moved away. Who was that? Jay, Steve?
Click to expand...

As Steve said, I think all of us had that happen at least once, but one of them got me really good because it was 2 people leaning against each other motionless. Looked incredibly similar to some of the lifelike sculpture pieces so when one of them moved my brain did a somersault for a second :D

Penfan2010 said:
Beautiful set, Jay, especially the last one.
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Thanks! Needless to say, it was worth the U-turn and I'm glad I stopped!

Luke said:
you guys must have nice cameras, those photos are really good ;)
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:rolleyes: Hahaha... nice!
 

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