We often jokingly say that something will happen “as sure as the sun’s gonna rise tomorrow.” It’s comforting for humans to turn to nature to find consistency and reassurance that things are normal. Every year, either on December 21 or December 22, the part of the world I live in experiences Winter Solstice. It’s a time for celebration, as witnessed by many cultures from the ancient Romans (Saturnalia) to the Hopi Indians (Soyalangwul).
The problem with most photo backpacks is that they’re perfect for carrying cameras, lenses and a ton of small accessories, but perfectly awful when it’s time to pack anything larger. Yes, I know—some models will accommodate a notebook PC. But many of those require the mouse and AC adapter to share space with camera accessories.
A short time ago I was shooting with a Tamron 18-270mm zoom lens on a Canon EOS 40D and discovered something very surprising. When I reviewed the images of some leaves that were backlit against a bright sky I didn’t see any DPF. You know what DPF is, of course: Dreaded Purple Fringe. It usually inhabits the contrasty edges that separate highlight and shadow areas in some digital images. I’d upload an example, but I know you have plenty of your own.
On Thanksgiving morning I left home before eight and drove my Jeep 20 miles to photograph a farm I’ve been shooting for the past 15 years. Sometimes it’s hard to keep a relationship fresh and exciting for such a long period of time, but like an exciting woman, this subject reveals something new to me every time we meet.
To the best of my knowledge, there is only one word in the English language that lacks a vowel: rhythm. Rhythm is something I sure don’t have, but cameras do.
It’s really scary when I think of it this way, but my career in the photo industry spans parts of four decades. I started as a junior salesman at Minolta Corporation in 1975 and left as the vice president of marketing for the camera division 29 years later. Minolta is gone and the Konica interlopers are out of the camera business. Many of my friends in Japan are now designing and marketing cameras for Sony, having moved there when Minolta sold off all of their camera patents and other intellectual property. Other former colleagues here in the US are now selling Panasonic, Fujifilm and Samsung products. I am doing what I have done long if not well: writing.
The year was 1975 and Minolta Corporation introduced the SR-T 201 as an upgrade to the popular SR-T 101. They hired me that same year. The SR-T line disappeared a short time later, but it was another 30 years before I was discontinued. I’ve witnessed quite a few changes in the photo industry—to say the least—and throughout it all my love for photography has never diminished. I love to talk about and write about photography, but more than that I love take pictures—and that’s what this blog is all about.