Isolation Photo Project, Day 36

Inspired by Ritchie Roesch's post on aspect ratios and his Agfa Optima Film simulation recipe and the 100% cloud cover over the area today (and probably tomorrow), I drove into downtown Princeton to see what had changed in the last two weeks since I had visited.

I parked on Nassau Street and walked up the steps to the publicly accessible garden, Betsey Stockton Garden, between Firestone Library and Nassau Street.

According to Princeton University:

Stockton was an enslaved person in the Maclean House home of Princeton President Ashbel Green who, upon gaining her freedom, became a missionary and then served the Princeton community as a founder of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church and as a teacher and founder of the first school in Princeton for children of colour. She is commemorated in a stained-glass window in the church her former students presented.

I don’t usually shoot square images, but I experimented with various compositions while walking around the Firestone Library.

So that you know, the square images below are captured using the 1:1 ratio on my Fujifilm X-T2. My goal was to shoot using the Agfa Optima Film simulation recipe and the SOOC JPEGs for this post. However, I could not get the Agfa Optima Film simulation recipe to work under lighting conditions. I looked at the JPEG images but didn’t like the result. They didn’t feel right compared to the example images on Ritchie’s website. I scrapped all the JPEGs but kept the square format. I applied an Adobe Lightroom Preset that I created to give my photographs a cinematic look.

Stairs to Betsey Stockton Garden at Firestone Library, Princeton University
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Firestone Library, Princeton University
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April, 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Firestone Library, Princeton University
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April, 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Firestone Library, Princeton University
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April, 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Bicycles in a rack at Firestone Library, Princeton University
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Firestone Library, Princeton University
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April, 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Firestone Library, Nassau Street
Firestone Library, Princeton University | Monday 27 April, 2020 | Day 36 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/8.0 | ISO 400
Submitted as part of the 100DaysToOffload project.

Bradley Beach

The clouds are mostly gone and we can feel the sun. Finally!

After lunch at FINS Tropical Cuisine, we drove on 2nd Avenue toward Bradley Beach. We parked on Ocean Avenue and crossed the street to enter the beach.

One thing I don’t like about New Jersey is that one must pay to access the beach. It just feels wrong. The rationale is that the beach must be cleaned and maintained, and the fees help with the cost of that. Ok, fine, but it also pays for the salaries of people like this woman pictured who collect the beach access fees. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to install a turnstile? In states like California, the beach is public access and are a part of the state parks system. New Jersey could do the same and ensure that ALL New Jersey residents, not just the ones who can afford the $9 fee. Some beaches in New Jersey are free. Belmar and Avon-on-the-Sea, and Bradley Beach are not among them.

beach scene
Lawn | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm | 1200 sec at f/16 | ISO 200
seagull
beach rat | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 55 mm | 1240 sec at f/16 | ISO 200

The clouds were mostly gone, and we could feel the sunlight. Finally!

Bhavna
Bhavna, Bradley Beach | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 55 mm | 1/1400 sec at f/4.0 | ISO 200

It’s a beach scene.

chairs | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 55 mm | 13500 sec at f/4.0 | ISO 200

We set up our beach chairs and sat down to enjoy the smell and sound of the ocean, the warmth of sunlight on our skins, and the salty sea breeze.

treasure hunter | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 55 mm | 13200 sec at f/4.0 | ISO 200
peace | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 32.1 mm | 13200 sec at f/4.0 | ISO 200

The day didn’t start on a good note, but it turned out better than I expected. I had a few hours to chat with my family and forget about work. My only regret is that we didn’t do this earlier in the summer and that our daughter, Kiran, could not join us.

beach scene
Hat | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 55 mm | 13200 sec at f/4.0 | ISO 200
The Bradley Beach Trio?
The Bradley Beach Trio? | Tuesday 21 August, 2018 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 33.2 mm | 1800 sec at f/5.6 | ISO 200