The Predicament Of The Anti-Autumn

 

"To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy."

~Henri Cartier-Bresson

 

The Minds Eye:Writings on Photography And Photographers

 

Desmond Road

Galt, California

May 6th 2022

Minolta

 

 It's spring... the anti-autumn. So, when I find myself in the predicament of spring, I naturally focus my entire attention on all things associated with autumn. I read, and watch, a lot of Stephen King movies and books, and crave pumpkin pie. I think about what's in the shade of the trees on a hillside, and try to consider what is really behind all the tiny noises one hears go bump in the night. I don't like spring, but it can be as delightfully unpredictable as autumn, especially with the weather. The Bay Area is about to experience a storm that is promising rain in the 9 counties, snow in the foothills, and temperatures in the 30's here in the San Joaquin valley. All things fairly similar to autumn. The next few days presents a wonderful chance to do some birding, practice some black and white photography and get to know the new camera better. We were cheated out of autumn last year, so this year I want to be ready with the camera to find as much beauty as possible, even on dark spooky October days. I didn't even finish my leaf gallery last year, which hurt me a lot, that won't be happening this year!

:)

Never Leave Home Without Your Camera!

"Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can."

~Danny Kaye

Is a blurry photograph an artistic misstep? Is the moment you had just been trying to capture, forever lost in some unfocused haze? 10 years ago I would have said YES! It is gone, and there is no use crying over spilled flash bulbs! Tee Hee! Remember flash bulbs? Anyway, what I have learned during that decade is that while there are most certainly rules about 3rds and making sure you put some thought into the conditions you will be shooting in, but probably the most important rule is to always... always... always have your camera with you! My goodness, I have learned a lot about that! I have missed some amazing opportunities, and I have my memories to remind me about those missed opportunities, and how much it hurts to know I let all those moments get away! I am older, and wiser now, so needless to say,  I have at least one camera on me every time I leave the house!

The camera I have with me most often is my small red Kodak, which is a 16 megapixel, with a 5x optical zoom. I just upgraded my cellphone, but I still carry my little HTC Aria with me, as it had a decent camera on it, and I can't bring myself to pack it away! As good as that cell phone camera is, my new HTC VIVID is magnificent! But those are just the little pocket cameras, I also have a Konica Minolta, and a Fuji Finepix which has 14 megapixals and an 18x optical zoom. They are all excellent cameras, but the Fuji does give me trouble from time to time with the focus. It has a great zoom, but it's not always as clear as I would like. It produces a lot of noise, but under the right lighting conditions, it can't be beat!

Last week, I had my trusty Kodak with me, because there was a storm coming through the Bay Area, and I knew that if I got the chance to capture some of the light play going on with the gorgeous colors in the clouds in the late afternoon, I could count on my Kodak! Well, the light began to fade fast, but I just had to try and get just a glimpse of the sky. As hard as I tried, I couldn't quite accomplish a photo that was crystal clear. But I liked the pictures anyway, so I decided to put my photo editing tools to work, and applied different textures to the photo, finally deciding to go with the "flower" texture option. I liked the end result. Take a look at the side by side, and tell me what you think!





So tell me, which one do you think is more pleasing to the eye? Original, or textured? Or maybe you hate both! How do you feel about less than perfect photos, do you always delete blurry images, or do you try to save the photo through editing? Tell me everything!

Mood: Content

~Me :)

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Personally Obsolete

"Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera."

-Yousuf Karsh

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a picture of something in your house you used to use a lot, but now hardly use at all. This could be a piece of obsolete technology, or some equipment for a hobby you no longer pursue, or just something you stopped fiddling with for no good reason at all - the basic idea is simply to highlight something that no longer has that much use for you, for whatever reason.

-John Scalzi (By The Way)

I have always been a shutterbug. For as long as I can remember anyway. Among the different types of cameras I have owned are a Brownie, a pocket 110, a Polaroid One Step, and the beauty in the above photo. That was my very first serious 35mm, a Minolta Maxxum 300si. I have all kinds of interchangeable lenses and specialty items to go along with it, and it was a pretty great camera. I thought I would use that camera forever, but Alan gave me a beautiful digital camera for Christmas 2004, and I have been in love with digital photography ever sense. I like being able to see the photo I have just taken, and know if it is a good shot or not. There's nothing worse then missing a great photo moment. Oh don't get me wrong, I haven't truly given up on the non-digital camera, I do use it from time to time, but in most ways, I prefer my digital. :)

-OndineMonet
Minolta Maxxum 300si
Berkeley, California
September 19th, 2007
Late Afternoon