Over the course of the last few days, I’ve resumed the series. This one was particularly difficult, but I’m pleased with the result. So here it is. Thanks, E. Wong.

I had originally planned to do all three using three different lenses, but that got foiled when I sprained my ankle trying to climb some rocks for a better view… Since I couldn’t climb any higher, I had to swap out my 50mm f/1.4D and shoot the 24-70mm at 40mm. Totally possible though–one day when I’m feeling particularly athletic, I’ll go back and try it again.

The first pic is of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn side (DUMBO). The second is on the bridge and is of the North Tower. The third is from South Street Sea Port and is of the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg Bridge (the BMW Trifecta). Pics were taken over the course of three days. Top and bottom are with the 24-70mm f/2.8G. Middle one is with the 20mm f/2.8D.

Title for the photo comes from the Decemberist song Myla Goldberg… See below:

The (beautifully) handwritten check. It’s all in the details…

Salmon cornet.

Started with Oysters and Pearls — Sayayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island reek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Cavier

Fluffy, croissant-esque bread with six imported salts. And, of course, their famous butter that comes from a lady with six eight cows (one named Keller).

Terrine of Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras – Field Rhubarb, Freddy Guy’s Hazelnuts, Celery Branch Ribbons, Greek Yogurt, Petite Mint and Aged Balsamic Vinegar with Toasted Brioche. (Side story of the night: when your brioche gets a little cold, they replace it with hot brioche–pretty awesome.)

Chatham Bay Cod “En Croute” – Per Se Chorizo, Pea Tendril Raviolo and Cilantro Shoots with Toasted Almond Butter

Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster Mitts – Young Artichokes, Green Garlic, Petite Parsley and Heirloom Carrots with Barigoule Emulsion.

Four Story Hills Farm’s Supreme De Poularde – Brown Butter “Pain Perdu,” Oregon Morel Mushrooms, Wilted Dandelion Greens and Fava Bean Tapenade with Blis Maple Syrup Jus.

Snake River Farm’s Calotte De Beuf – Moelle Confit, Broccolini Tempura, Hakurei Turnips and Braised Spring Onion with Bordelaise Vinaigrette.

Degustation of Hoosick Falls Spring Lamb – Asperges en Deux Facons, Compressed French Breakfast Radishes and Frisee Lettuce with Sauce Gribiche.

Monte Enebro – Croustillant de Pignons de Pin, Roquette Leaves and Red Beet Essence with Sour Cherry Pate de Fruit.

Guava Sorbet – Black Sesame Nougatine and Kiwano Melon with Whipped Green Tea.

Swiss Roll – Chocolate Roulade, Manjari Chocolate Cremex and Chocolate-Covered Banana with Glace a la Creme Fraiche.

Lemon Gingersnaps – Jamaican Gingerbread and Meyer Lemon Marshmallow with Pain d’Epices Ice Cream.

Special Requested Dessert – Coffee and Donuts.

Another little something extra. Vanilla bean creme brulee.

Another something. Yogurt Pot de Cremeux with Hibiscus Jam (we think).

The post-dinner kitchen tour. Immaculate. Unbelievably immaculate.

Ok. A bit about the restaurant.

• It is one of only six three star restaurants in the US.
• They have an in-house florist who does the centerpieces and flowers.
• There is a webcam that goes to Thomas Keller’s other three star restaurant in California (The French Laundry) located in the kitchen–the webcam is mechanized and can zoom, pan, and tilt via remote control.
• There are lots of little nods to French Laundry. For example, blue (nonfunctional) doors at the entrance are identical to those at FL. Also, lamp shades have laundry symbols on them.
• Their most expensive wine is $18,000.
• It’s all about you at this place. We requested a kitchen tour and an off-menu dessert and got both. We also requested paper menus to keep–it comes in its own little folder.
• They start you off with some salmon cornets and gruyere gourgeres–traditional Thomas Keller starters.
• The skyscrapper where Per Se is located, Time Warner Building, subsidizes their rent and also houses Masa–another three star restaurant.
• Thomas Keller’s motto is “product and execution” and he obviously excels at both.

Here it is. I officially have 2/5 Thomas Keller restaurants under my belt. Well on my way to getting all of them before the end of the summer.

Lately, I’ve been trying to avoid bringing out the 24-70mm f/2.8G as much as possible. It’s big and heavy and intimidating… and honestly, I think I’m over zooms. There’s just a magical quality to photos taken with primes. Anyways, my advice to you: if you aren’t shooting with a prime yet, you need to start now.

Also, if you’re going to a tourist hot spot, use the people to add something. Oh, and if you’re particularly lazy (like me) and don’t want to walk all the way over to get a close shot, use foreground framing. Makes you look artsy instead of lazy.

Finally, it just needs to be stated: DC is overrated. In the last year, I’ve gone to DC, Boston, Philly, Rome, Dubai, Cape Town, Durban, San Diego, San Francisco, Paris, LA, and various other cities and I’ve got to say that somehow DC always leaves me feeling dirty inside. Now, whenever I lament that fact that I’m in Boston or New York, I’ll just think to myself, “Hey, it could be worse–you could be in DC.”

I know New York. I need New York. I know I need unique New York.

- The Decemberists

My time is slowly ending here and despite all the things I hate about New York, I’m really going to miss it. So here’s the first in a series dedicated to the city I hate to love…

PS – MoMA has gotten crazy with their enforcement of the “No Photography” exhibits.

There’s a saltwater film on the jar of your ashes. I threw them to sea, but a gust blew them backwards and the sting in my eyes that you then inflicted was par for the course–just as when you were living.

Death Cab For Cutie

We finally caught the mouse in our apartment. Despite all the trouble the little guy caused us, I did feel a little sad inside.

Farewell, little guy.

1. I got engaged.
2. I saw the inauguration of President Obama.
3. I authored my first published paper.
4. I won the Steinhardt Dean’s Grant for Graduate Student Research…
5. …Which allowed me to use NYU money to donate to charities via The COCOA Experiment.
6. And I got three other academic awards…
7. …Which allowed me to spend the summer in Cape Town, South Africa (and Dubai, Rome, Cinque Terre, Paris, and London for that matter).
8. I am officially one class away from my master’s.
9. I traveled over 70,000 miles.
10. Got to level 69 with a kill ratio of 1.46 in Modern Warfare 2 in a little over 2 days of game time. (Oh yes, this does deserve a space on this list.)

In 2010:

1. I’m getting married.
2. I’m finishing my master’s.
3. I’m publishing (at least) two more papers.
4. I’m moving to Boston.
5. I’m either taking the plunge into being a real adult with a real job or remaining a perpetual student in a doctoral program.
6. I’m (probably) going to Ghana.
7. And hopefully more…

Here’s to the unknowns, adventures, and promises fulfilled in 2010. To friends who stuck around. To friends I have yet to meet. To everyone who kept me sane. To my five jobs that kept me busy. To Korean fried chicken. To airplane food, those tiny disposable pillows, and safe travels. To visitors who helped me remember why I loved California. To random phone calls. If next year is half as good and exciting as this one, I’ve got a lot to look forward to.

Cheers.

Decided to take the camera out to brave the New York winter… I’m not going to lie–I didn’t get very far. I took about 25 shots within 3 minutes and then left. Still, these turned out ok.

The bokeh on the 85 f/1.4 will never cease to impress me. Below are a few shots at various apertures–it handles itself well all the way through f/8. You don’t get the ugly discoloration or the hard borders. At f/1.4, you find irregular shaped bokeh on the edges, but you’ll get that with any “old” design lens (and most modern lenses). f/2 is still my favorite aperture in terms of bokeh and sharpness.

Anyways… Merry Christmas, people.

All because of you, I haven’t slept in so long. When I do, I dream of drowning in the ocean.

- Rise Against

This is how I feel at the end of every single semester.

NIKON D700 and 85.0 mm f/1.4 shooting f/2.8, 1/250 s, ISO 400 at 85 mm. Taken at 2009:12:08 23:09:06

Just one more week of finals… Hit the break for setup shot.

Lit by an SB600, camera left, 1/4 power flash, shot through my ghetto cereal box softbox. Remotely triggered via on camera flash. Two sheets of folded paper to reflect the light back.

So here’s how we do this:

1) It’s all about controlling flash strength. Sure, I could have pushed my flash closer or kept the shutter open a little bit longer, but I did each for a reason. First, by setting the shutter speed to the max, I can more easily turn the background (and table) black. I’m essentially blacking out the ambient light so my flash is the only thing lighting the scene. Next, I “chimp” my flash until I find the perfect distance for the proper amount of reflection in the table and light fall off–don’t want too much light to wrap around or to accidentally light the brown curtain (since we want it to be black).

2) Once you’ve got those factors set, it’s all about your aperture. You’ve set your shutter speed and flash distance so all you have left to play with is aperture, ISO, and flash power. Find the appropriate depth of field you want.

3) Now set the flash to the appropriate power using a reasonable ISO. Sure, I could have added 2 more stops (full power) of flash and dropped my ISO to 100, but what’s the point? The noise difference between the two is minimal, I’d rather save my flash battery and not have to wait as long for it to recycle. Conversely, I could have bumped up my flash AND bumped up my ISO to increase the depth of field, but that’s just not the feeling I was going for.

4) Once that’s all done, soften your shadows. You can use anything here… a couple folded index cards, a couple folded sheets of paper, a white t-shirt, it doesn’t matter, but you will probably want to soften them up at least a little. It just gives everything a nicer feel and a bit more depth.

Like magic. See how ghetto my setup is? Really, you don’t need fancy equipment. Nothing some cardboard, tape, and tissue paper can’t fix here…

This year, I’m thankful for OReyes–my TiVo-master, fellow-procrastinator, always-up-for-Korean-friend-chicken, always-forgets-to-put-away-her-personal-items, rat-hunting, Facebook-photo-tagging, made-me-awesome-cupcakes-in-a-cone-for-my-birthday roommate.

Thanks for the birthday Cupcakes in a Cone. A month late, but hey… it’s the thought, right?

Delicious.

(I realize the last one is a bit–juvenile. Especially for somebody turned 26 on that day, but c’mon… I still giggle on the inside.)

It’s New York–concrete jungle where dreams are made of–there’s nothing you can’t do.

NIKON D700 and 50.0 mm f/1.4 shooting f/1.4, 1/60 s, ISO 1600 at 50 mm. Taken at 2009:10:24 23:29:44

And a couple random ones from Chinatown.