andy cogbill .com

Took a ride uptown today to — among many other places — Central Park, where I sat down and people-watched for a good half hour. After feeling thoroughly uninspired all morning, I turned around to look at the “beach” and snapped this photo. I’m pretty happy with the result; there’s nothing like good irony in a picture.

I also went to the B&H Photo store where I got very depressed. It’s a three-story store (I think) that takes up about a quarter of the block and the whole thing was more crowded than Disneyland. Honestly, I didn’t realize so many people in the world required Photo/Video gear — let alone just in New York. I think pretty much every country and culture was represented in that store and I just got completely overwhelmed. I mean, when there’s thirty customer service reps just for SLR systems, you know you’re in over your head.

Anyway, I decided to try out the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens (it was amazing, by the way), so I waited in line at the SLR counter and some guy whom I could hardly understand over the din of the store offered to “help” me. I told him what I wanted to try and he said okay or something and typed a few things into the computer then stepped back and looked around casually, as if he were taking a break or something. Now, I didn’t really understand what he said because of all the noise and his accent and this was before I had noticed the system of conveyor belts that criss-crossed the store’s ceiling so I just kind of waited and looked at him and he looked at me and smiled and then, a minute or so later, he pulled out a box as if from nowhere and started opening it and it was my lens! I couldn’t believe it. It was just so factory-like… But I tried the lens out and it looks so good on my D70, plus I took a few sample shots and looking at them now I realize that it’s even sharper than my 50mm macro (hard to believe, I know) and it’s a f/1.4 50mm equivalent. I really, really want to own this lens. It’s too bad it’s almost $500. I can’t really justify that when I can only take one photo in an afternoon of wandering around NYC.

I think the solution is that I need to eat something. I haven’t eaten anything since last night, and it’s almost dinner time now. I think my body is rebelling.