David_Cavan

<p>There's actually a term for that now, Arthur. It's called "showrooming" - where people browse in 3D at a store, and then go home to buy it at the best price on the net. Part of the reason Best Buy has been in so much trouble is that they are considered Amazon's showroom for many who want to see the product, and then buy it online. It is a real problem for bricks-and-mortar stores, although some of the larger chains are working to reverse the trend through using data to get people to "reverse showroom" and buy locally after checking on pricing on the net. </p> <p>We have a long-term, and I believe still successful small chain here in Vancouver that has been around since the '60's. I bought a new kit last year, and ended up going to them even though it was a few dollars more. Not a lot, and they were quite aware of what I could pay online, including on their own website. The opportunity to buy from someone across the counter, and come back if there were issues was worth a few dollars.</p>

<p>This is a perfect example of why the patent and litigation system needs to be completely overhauled. "Passive income" for sitting on your butt and collecting money from hard-working professionals is the realm of the government - it's equivalent of a taxation process, with zero added value. And that "added value" concept needs to be interpreted, not the current "hey - that's my idea - give me your money" approach.</p> <p>In Russia shortly after the fall of USSR private enterprise thinking went crazy, to the point where people were patenting items like "a glass container with a single opening", then litigating against companies that made coke bottles. That situation is not that far from where we're at here in North America.</p>

<p>JDM - some consider any discussion of film & digital as a "better than", and the responses go to the dark side. My personal analogy is that I love to ride horses, but the world moved on from that form of transportation. Doesn't make horse-riding any less enjoyable, just more difficult for me personally.</p> <p>What is largely not discussed here is the penetration of photography into everyday life - often described as the democratization of the hobby/craft/profession. In fact it's moved it beyond those things - it's as much a part of personal life for an entire generation as is eating or putting on clothes. That's what ultimately changed the nature of the beast - and that change is nowhere close to complete in my opinion. We've gone from something that was practiced a little bit by a few and a lot by even fewer, to saturation by the vast majority. It's one of the great social revolutions of our time, and I'm kind of sure a lot of photo-netters deny the value of that.</p>

<p>Interesting thought Michael. It almost sounds as if you are asking whether there is art without documentation, or at least without photography. I suspect there is in fact "ART" in this case with the action - you could interpret as negative environmental art, for instance, as a symbol of destroying industrial artifacts in a natural environment. Or something like that, at least. And perhaps there is potential for downstream art as a result of recording the event?</p>

<p>I think the answer is likely "yes", Michael. There's no reason that a gimmick can't be art, of vice-versa. Whether it has value - well that's a personal choice, as with all art.</p>

<p>Joshua Tree National Park is a "for-sure" place that will easily take you a full day. We did that from Palm Springs last January and fully enjoyed the day trip. We just started on one side of the park (at Highway 10), and drove through to Yucca Valley on Highway62 - there's really very few choices in routes. We're back this year for another long weekend in January, and plan to see the Salton Sea area, although I'm also interested in exactly where to go along that route - I've seen some good photos but when I do the google earth thing I'm not sure where those were shot.</p>

<p>Sunrise at Broad Cove, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. We had an amazing morning there - the entire Cabot Trail is an experience everyone should have.</p><div></div>

<p>Some nice photos in that album. You were fortunate to see some of the bigger animals in the National Parks, and those are nice perspectives of Vancouver. Thank you for sharing.</p> <p>You now have the other 95% of Canada as a target for future trips.</p>

<blockquote>If you're among the few who really understand, you already own the label. If not, it's time to get on board with the world's great photographers and shoot with a Leica. Really?</blockquote> <p>Or you can ignore it and get on with your life. No one is forcing you to buy a product. Getting all wound up about an ad campaign is one of the treats of living with first-world problems. Lots more to agonize about than that.</p>

<p>As usual some very inspiring shots this week. Gup - we are just back from a trip (last week) through Nova Scotia and PEI. Not enough time or memory cards for all the shots one could get there. We enjoyed it - I really like your golden hour shot - it captures the feel of the island well.</p> <p>A series of photos taken over the past few years at our home in Virginia, with some Eastern Swallowtails and flowers in the yard resulted in a few I'm happy with. This one is a little blown-out in places, but I like the details.</p><div></div>

"Taking the position" - from the Montreal F1 race this year.<div></div>

<p>A place to go, with a subject would be a good plan.</p>

<p>This is actually a very interesting topic for me, Michael. Photography is the glue that holds together the rest of my non-work interests (sports, travel, auto-racing, diving, children & grandchildren, building our dream home among those other interests). JDM von Weinburg posted recently that it is his "aide-memoire", and that's certainly a part of the attraction. Some form of camera is always around for us, and anything and everything can become a "take a picture" moment. As we've got older and have more time to spare I've attempted to make the photographs of higher quality, but the most important thing is to have a photo of the moment. And Jeff Spirer is right that its about the camera you have with you, not necessarily the best one, but the handy one. Along the way I've really stopped considering it a "hobby" I think - it's now just part of who we are.</p>

<p>Thank you C Watson - that's a great find. I'm old enough to have these photos trigger memories since many of the areas in Montana, just across the border from where I grew up in Canada, looked not much different in the early '50's. There's some proof in there about the value of photography as a historical teaching tool, and I'm very glad that this project was someone's passion.</p>

<p>Wow. Just wow. This thread is eating its own tail, I think.</p>

<p>We joined a club last year - its the first time we've ever belonged to a photography club and we are really enjoying the experience, especially the guest speakers. And now that you've asked your question it caused me to decide what I enjoyed about those monthly presentations. I think it's what is suggested above - that is, why do you shoot what you do, and how does a specific shot support that? It doesn't always have to be wildly theoretical or artistic - some of the best explanations are about how the light worked for that photo. </p> <p>I will bet that it causes you to consider your photography and how you explain it to others, which is not a bad thing.</p>

<p>"by the time I get up in the morning my batteries will be charged.." Good one Harry. </p>

<p>My job is to make sure that devices are charged when needed - phones, cameras, laptops, computers, flashlights, and the list goes on. Same problems as you have Michael - where do we plug all this stuff in. I've got a few favorite plug-ins around the house, but occasionally have to fight for them. You know the drill.</p> <p>We're renovating our home, and one of the features we're adding is a rechargeable closet in the main entrance. Apparently it's become quite a common request for architects to deal with.</p>

<p>Due to the low cost of cards and disk we shoot by default at highest JPEG resolution, with RAW turned on. It's easy to downsize for various purposes once photos are downloaded, but even then the original sizes are kept and downsized shots are handled as additional copies. At $100 for 2tb drives it makes sense for us to do that.</p> <p>The exception is if we're shooting action, such as auto racing. If I'm going to turn the camera to multiple shots per second (e.g. following cars through a corner for 20+ shots, or shooting a hockey play) I'll turn off RAW, and very occasionally if I know the shots are just for posting on-line I'll set the resolution down one step. Otherwise it makes sense to me to have the highest resolution available for any cropping or adjustments.</p>

<p>I can share the cactus spines experience - more than once. I rarely wear shorts out into the desert for that region. I had a spine from a saguaro end up all the way through my hiking boots once - it took a pair of pliers to get it out.</p> <p>Perhaps the worst outcome though was a case of Lymes disease in 2006, probably contracted while crawling around the wood of northern Virginia where we were living at the time. Fortunately self-diagnosed quickly enough that there were no long-term effects, but we were much more careful after that about friends and family reporting any symptoms. </p>

<p>+1 for Howard. If I like the result it was worth it. If others like it, well, that's a nice thing but not critical to continued enjoyment.</p>

<p>The most beautiful camera is the one in my hand when a photo absolutely must be shot. Otherwise for me it's like comparing which hammer is prettiest. It's a tool.</p>

<p>There are components of my approach to photography in all of the above answers (including taking photos of where my car is with my cellphone so I know where to find it later, Sanford). Initially photography was about "I was here"; it evolved to "this is my family and here's where we went"; and it's now more about "I'd like to make this a really good photograph". I've used photos to document my hobbies and trips, but over the years the quality of that documentation has become more important to me. I'm here on photo.net a lot; and I browse other sites to get ideas and read critiques. Since moving back to Vancouver we've become active in a local photography club that actually focuses on photographs, and that's helping me understand better what is considered a good photo. What I produce is important to me, and I recognize that it may not be important to others. A few prints sold but I haven't gone out of my way to do that - otherwise it's purely for my enjoyment, and to share with friends and family. </p> <p>Two of the most satisfying aspects of photography over the past few years have been creation and digitization of a complete library of family photographs back into the 1800's; and using that material to write a book about my mother's life on her 90th birthday last year. A copy of that is now in the library of her small town in Saskatchewan; and everyone in my family has a copy as well. Having that role in the family is due to my interest in photography, and I think that's cool</p>