New York MoMA and Kusama's "Cosmic Nature" at the Bronx Botanical Garden
Gallery of pictures from a trip to NYC in late October 2021, ostensibly to see Kusama’s “Cosmic Nature” at The Bronx Botanical Garden. We have seen the show advertised the last time we were in NYC and made a note to try and visit. Well, October 31, 2021 was the last day of the exhibit. We took the 4 line up from Wall Street in the morning and strolled through The Bronx over the Botanical Garden. The garden and the conservatory especially were beyond mind blowing, while Kusuma’s installations were amusing rather than compelling. I was using my Fujifilm X-T4, XF18-55mm2.8-4 R LM OIS, shot RAW as usual, and processed in Lightroom. My manual focus once again was lacking sharpness, so I finally demoed and then purchased Topaz Labs Sharpen AI….If used appropriately, it is magic. There are also a few 5 shot AE brackets from - to +3 stops rendered in HDR.
Below are a few of the better ones, followed by a link to the entire gallery..
We also had time to visit MoMA, last autumn it was overrun in September as uniqlo sponsored free admission as NYC was reopening….impossible to get in that autumn…as it was, we reserved a ticket slot for 11AM and the line was long but the MoMA staff efficiently processed the queue….but by 130pm you could feel the pressure and heat from too many humans trapped in a box……delightful as MoMA is as boxes go…..One exhibit that stuck with me was the Great Migration series by Jacob Lawrence….the Topaz Sharpen AI really saved my butt since my autofocus was not set properly…..
This is the second time I tried this shot from the entrance balcony on Park Row of a cousins apartments….and I like this one better…..still had to rely on Topaz Sharpen for the smaller details….and Topaz DeNoise, since it was a night shot…..my manual focus was better than the last attempt…I should find the old one and post them side by side…..or not, might be a depressing idea…dreams of progress towards a better future, that is ‘Murica!!! Or at least middle aged denial…..
October 2021 - Second take…..later….Fuji X-T4…and Lightroom
September 2020 - First Take….better light…Fuji X-E3 and CaptureOne
Similarly. the neon sign at my wife’s favorite hand bag store in NYC if not the world, Min and Mon, I have tried over the years to photograph. Neon is VERY hard, at least for me. This years attempt is below, I still think I need to bring the neon UP and the incandescent lamps DOWN…..last years is wan…..
October 2021, Min and Mon, X-T4, XF35mm R WR, 35mm, 1/30 sec, f/16, ISO800, Lightroom, Topaz Sharpen
September 202, Min and Mon, X-E3, XF35mm F2 R WR, 35mm, 1/180 sec, f/2.5, ISO200, CaptureOne
