Photography Wisdom
last update: 10/21 @ 17:15

A wise man, Bob Martindale, once told me (I don’t know who he heard it from or if it originated from him), the best camera is the one you have with you.

He was, at that time, a TV news photographer (maybe even back in the pre-video days of 16mm film).

The point being, if you don’t have your camera when a great, cool, interesting, momentous scene presents itself, the camera does you no good, no matter how well made it may be.

I was reminded of that recently and unconsciously at a happy hour gathering of former AARP WSO-ians. Yonas pulled out his camera to capture some cool afternoon shadows on the buildings around us.

And I was reminded even more recently, and consciously, this afternoon when I thought this was kind of a cool self portrait. Not as cool as Jake’s from WSO days: his face at the end of a Diet Coke bottle.

So, by way of illustration, the self portrait would be pretty hard for me to get with my “real” camera and its (D)SLR viewfinder. But with my cell phone (or most any cell phone camera), or — admittedly a mirrorless “real” camera, it’s much easier to see the screen as you’re composing an awkward shot.

On the other hand, this bird from our last day in the Galapagos would have been hard or impossible for me to get (I think) with a phone camera — that viewfinder, with a long lens, made all the difference.

In both cases, the technical details of the image or image capture are less important (at least in my mind) than having a camera with the features you need when you need it.

This last example is a not very good scan (sorry about that) of a 4X5 chrome I took years ago along the Potomac River. It required a lens swing to get the pilings in focus from front to back (which knocked much of the rest of the image out of focus — though a bit of the far shore is in the same plain and also in focus). I’ve seen advertisements for tilt/swing lenses for 35mm-like cameras, but don’t have one. That flexibility comes built in to a 4X5 rail camera.

So no way (before AI, at least) to get something like that from a phone camera.

But I’m still happy to have a camera I can and do carry with me almost all the time — that will often be the best camera (even though my 4X5 has cool extra feature and can capture way more detail).

Yellow and Blue
last update: 12/27 @ 14:07

Nice day for a walk around Alexandria.

And I liked the way the Cherry Blossom’s wheel looked framed within the back deck of one of the Potomac Water Taxis.

I guess it was the variety of yellows and oranges that drew my attention.

I happened to bring my “real” camera, so these are not cellphone photos. I wish I’d thought to try to use that as well to compare the two.

On the way back up Cameron Street, I liked the neighborhood’s endorsement of their Scottish heritage.

I stayed in for the Scottish Walk this year, but Sarah was out to represent the SFA. One of this years we’ll catch up with the McNaughton clan.

Fall
last update: 10/30 @ 17:52

A very smart person said something like the best camera is the one you have when you need or want to take a picture.

Sitting on the porch on a beautiful afternoon (perhaps too warm for late October, but I’m not complaining), I thought I’d try to capture some of those fall colors.

And I was too lazy to get out my Pentax. I think my aging Pixel phone did an admirable job. (Even if I really don’t know how to tell it what to focus on.)

It may not be as spectacular as Robert’s views of Mt. Ranier, but it’s not shabby either.

Perseids and Northern Lights?
last update: 08/12 @ 12:56

Perseids?

Check — I saw a few. (You’ll likely need to click for the bigger version of these photos.)

Not as many as we saw in Friendship Maine years ago. And nothing as spectacular as the one we saw break apart in the sky that night.

It was supposed to be a clean night.

But wasn’t really.

And there was a chance to see the Northern Lights even from around here.

I did see this faint reddish glow and it didn’t stay the whole time I was there — so not just more light pollution.

But the clouds are likely playing trick on me here. I’m sure that’s not the amazing Aurora Borealis I hope to see some time. But I did wonder while I was there if that might be a hint…

I would not have felt comfortable heading up to Skyline Drive that late on a Sunday if I had to go to work the next day. So, yes, I’m liking this retirement thing :)

Another blast from the past
last update: 08/07 @ 13:53

From the Legacy Box scans Sarah gave me for Christmas this year: Steve and Helen on the Reventazón River in December 1991! A few more photos in the vacations section.

With the free time I have now, I’ve got one more substantial project to post from those scans.

Continued Christmas fun
last update: 05/04 @ 15:51

Sarah’s Christmas present, a Legacy Box, has been a great, fun distraction lately.

I’ve updated my page here with a film I made at Evergreeen and the news stories I put together when I was trying to get a job with KGW in Portland. The dub from professional Beta to VHS to digital file shows, but it’s been a really fun stroll down memory lane.

We also have home movies in a format we can watch now (our VHS player is no more). And, when I work out the few images that did not scan well with LegacyBox, I hope to add my slideshow from the fantastic, private permit Grand Canyon trip in 1993 or 1994.

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