Calm before madness

These photos are from the first week of November up until the election. I spent most of that time in North Carolina, covering the final leg of the Clinton campaign and criss-crossing the state. It was exhausting, but a lot of fun. I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked, I took some, and here are the few that I liked.

This guy was selling Clinton gear for everyone to enjoy.

This guy was selling Clinton gear for everyone to enjoy.

And this was his table of gear.

And this was his table of gear.

I passed this garage, and this car body, on my way to Raleigh.

I passed this garage, and this car body, on my way to Raleigh.

A giant American flag from a Clinton rally.

A giant American flag from a Clinton rally.

On election night, I was at CBS News in New York City. These are a few shots from the green room.

A decorative hat of campaign buttons and stickers. 

A decorative hat of campaign buttons and stickers. 

Frank Luntz, on the phone. 

Frank Luntz, on the phone. 

These next few photos are from the day and night after the election. Looking at their composition and lighting, I think they reflect my mood pretty well.

Walk-in's welcomed. 

Walk-in's welcomed. 

Going down to the subway. 

Going down to the subway. 

I think, if I ever make a print of this photo, I will call it "alone."

I think, if I ever make a print of this photo, I will call it "alone."

Back from the shop

I recently sent an old SLR to a repair shop to be refurbished. It's an Olympus OM-1 that I received from an extremely generous reader. It needed a tune up, and the shop did that and more—replacing old parts and even adding a new focusing screen. As soon as I got the camera back, I loaded up a roll of film (or at least, a half roll) and started shooting. I'm still working on focusing—I've decided I'm bad at focusing everything other than a rangefinder—but I'm mostly pleased with my first set of photos. The initial batch were in black and white. I used Kodak Tri-X, with an orange filter attached when I needed a bit of drama.

These first photos are just snapshots from around Washington D.C.

I shot the rest of the roll while I was visiting Charlottesville, Virginia for a talk. I brought the orange filter along, hence the extremely dramatic photo of Alderman library. It's a bit much as far as effects go, but I wanted to give that filter a spin. This is also my first use of the 24mm lens I bought for the Olympus. It's not the sharpest lens I own, but it has a certain classic character that I like a lot.