GerrySiegel

Birds and macros get my pulse racing, Quicken my loins. Tired of thinking deeply or abstracttly. It actually hurts. Next life maybe. For now bring on the elegant ladies. With or without. Just watching Vertigo with Kim Novak in her prime...ahhh. Good photography as well. Color and style and ahhh..

I can't recall how color looked in the forties because I was too young to think about it. Black and White was the majority by far. And reached an apex then. Color had to be splashy and prominent to justify its cost. Amateurs had to look to expensive 35mm and it was ISO 25, a cnallenge. The War Department had a stock of 4X5 Kodachrome but I think it was rare in the commercial world except perhaps for advertising. So the color had to have "punch." The first movies in TC had people painting the rocks and shrubs they say... I chose Kodachrome because my first camera was the Stereo Realist and you did not shoot b and w in stereo. Some of my chromes are very old and still hold up well. And are anything but subtle in vividness. Maybe that was an acquired taste. We go through swings in such matters. ( image: One stereo 23 X24 mm KC chip, circa 1957, someone's grandma,ha cha cha...)

Hollywood Color portraits by John Kobal passes on a story that all UK Kodak processing, films mostly, had a different look than US Kodacrochome. He speculates something about the water in the chemistry but there is a different hue to them. Still most interesting. Kodachrome holds up for longer than one could hope. Real people come to life again.

The last point and shoot style camera I bought was the one that got me interested in Olympus brand. It was the Camedia C 5050. A Kodak CCD with 5 megapixels and a ro0bust metal body. It took three card styles but no SD card which may have been just starting to get common. Such is the history of digital. The Camedia is still holding up but it is dated by today's standards. Meaning that the small cameras have gotten smaller with more punch. And that has to do with the growth of chips and the efficiency of those little batteries. That plus the great quality of screen technology for viewing. i will later on take a photo of the C 5050 and the Lumix SZ 100 side by side. Cameras of equal price but not accounting for inflation the Lumix has more for the buck. And has more inputs and outlets. And WI FI which is kind of amazing when you think of how we communicate these days. Trouble for me is that the full manual is 406 pages. But I don't need to know all the stuff, thank my stars.

gold coral from coast of Maui ring

I do not recall any used item garnering as much as 80% of new value. As for much electronics nowadays, like TVs and DVD players and cel phones, it sometimes is hard to even give them away. We expect Moore's Law to make things smaller and more gadgety. Cameras being computers with a lens or often without a lens. And on line forums tout all the goodies and make an old camera feel like last year's automobile. A seller competes with the discontinued price of a discontinued camera shuffled off by the manufacturer. Tough competition. Lot of orphans do not desrve their fate that I agree. Savvy buyers can do well if they do homework and have timing in mind. So it goes.

final approach to Kahalui Maui in Cessna 172

I have always enjoyed the feel and lush look of Sony point and shoot models. But I decided to try a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot for the season sales. My objective is to have a camera that will be carryable on a belt along with my flip phone. Something with better than the photo capability of the Samsung phone which is barely acceptable from my cultivated taste and does not need a healthy and arduous dose of sharpening and fussing in PS. I decided to go for the pocketable model that is offered at a deep discount with a spare battery and a wheelbarrow of other goodies. Namely the Lumix ZS 100. I guess ZS could stand for super zoom. Well it is as much zoom as I will need anyway. The camera is minute. A real miniature. Came with a belt size case that is light as a feather loaded. Happily the menu is like the a la carte fashion of Panasonic menus. Namely superb. So far I am delighted with the photos and the ease of use. Even with my fat fingers I can manage. With the intelligent mode I can just hand it to my spouse and she has not hesitation to look at the LCD. It throws in, throws it the right word, a small but usable EVF. How the devil they pack so much power of computing on a chip still boggles me.. It is a slippery body one has to decide to hold with finger on the two top sides. Like a creampuff so to speak. I ordered a package of stick on rubberized grip stick ons from Amazon to add to the right front panel. But now I will have a camera that is so small and so light that I can hang it on my belt next to the phone and be ready to shoot the next visit from Santa. And yes there is a wee flash. And a 1" sensor which is pushed to an astonishingly high megabytes like 20 or so..(.gulp, whoda thought?. Some legerdermain them guys got!) 550.00 with a load of extras. Likely about to be discontinued. So are we all eventually :-(

memories of holidays past . our granddaughter Rachel w the tree of life

Do not fail to look at used items that appear sometimes on KEH and eBay. Minolta and Pentaz made some good ones. I use a used Novoflex that has good machining. Even a Manfrotto slider rail is a possibility.

Direct flash is direct flash. A card type bounce reflector gives some softening with little reduction. I bought two plastic ones for my Olympus flash that have a solid rubber band to attach it. Would likely work with other small shoe mounted flashes. Also consider just putting it on a bracket off camera. Brainstorming away as always :-)

We all share a common love of country. We all share a passion for what is enjoyable in photos. I only flatly reject tabloids like our National Enquirer ( which is distorted, vulgar and often truly gross in its main content.) I like to look at awesome landscapes. Stuff for screensaver quality. I read a wide variety of pubs. National Geographic is great for photos. I go for its environmental messaging as well. And its photo essays. I value my Economis subscription which leads me to some insight into other countries and other values. Same for Guardian on line. I often disagree with the flavor of analyses, but does not stop me, meaning never fails to get me thinking and questioning . Or questioning my own viewpoint which is well formed to say the least by now but not un ambivalent... Which means this is the best we can expect from a publication. Or a forum. Or facebook feed.. Vive la difference to coin a phrase. Immersion in another culture or world mindset is tough and getting tougher I see. Missing out on it is worse though. They call it a bubble if you are intrested. That is all I have on the topic of the day. Mahalo and Happy Christmas and Channukah. Aloha as well. :)

Makes me appreciate my big Apple Retina screen all the more Sandy.

Naval Air Station South Weymouth blimp hangar and VP aircraft

a better copy of my father in law the sailor