Kevin's Watch

The camera introduces its own distortions. I have no problem with "tweaked" pictures. But I'm way too lazy to do that myself.

OH OH, let me clarify. I wasn't saying that Lurch was bad for tweaking. I love his images very much. I was just pimping my camera and saying that he might not need to tweak the images if he had a canon. I apologize if I sounded disdainful or mean or that I was dissing Lurch in any way. That was NEVER my intention. Also, Malik, you were saying you had a crappy camera but the clarity of your pics is really good. What are you shooting with?

AAH!..okay, I see the need to clarify a few things. I currently own a Canon A710 powershot and a A720 powershot. These are my digital cameras. I currently own a Nikon 35mm SLR film camera. I have owned Pentax, Minolta and even a Hasselblad at various points in my life. I am considering a step up to the " rebel" level with the digital cameras,,but that puts me in the accessory game all over again. The sheer simplicity , ease of operation, lite weight thus carrying ability of these powershot type cameras makes it difficult for me to just go get a SLR digital camera. What is sacrificed as far as quality in these powershot type cameras can be adjusted for in Image Processing software. Also,, taking pictures of clouds and sunsets and sunrises,,really is pushing the envelope for any camera. Clouds and atmospherics are not razor sharp, not clearly defined and not manifested best in the best of lighting conditions. Low lite levels, murky conditions, are the norm.

As with any human expression, there are various schools of thought. Photography is no exception. There are technical purists . Their displayed photos are full frame, not cropped, not "edited" in any way. Their belief is that the " foto" is created in the camera.,not in the lab or Image Processor. Their fotos usually have the border of the negative included in the Photograph to prove their purity. Studio photography is all about controlling everything, inorder to get the intended " vision" recorded To me,, while they are noble in their perspective, it seems to be a parameter unnecessary, or nonsequitor for outside the studio( or outside the box) photography. I see photography as a blank canvas and how I fill in the blank canvas, how I " paint" ,,needs to be free and exploring as possible. I have vision of what I am trying to capture, what I am after, but that isn't locked in because the subject isn't " locked in". I try to look at the picture after taken,, and " see" all the possibilities. Cloud and sun rise and set shots are just the Beginning of the creation process,,just the " raw" ingredients. Because they are not well defined, not sharp, constantly changing shape and color,,there is an unknown always waiting to be found. Each picture is a " journey."

The problem is..after shooting a bunch of sunsets..now you have to shoot..oh..say,, two visitors at the Grand Canyon. The Objective, technical skills have to be brought back to use inorder to capture what is meant to be conveyed. Thelma and Louise can attest to my prodding to..stand side ways, face up, move over here, a little bit further,, etc etc. Yes, there is still room for candid fotos.. but even in them I like to get the lighting and composition as correct as possible.

Somewhere in all this,,is the concept or habit or ability or willingness,, to " see" ...to always, or always be on the alert, to see a moment worth or in need of, being recorded. Perfect conditions are seldom present, yet we can use flash, composition, shutter speed, f stop, focus, to help get what we want. There is a " price' for the quality one wants. Matching camera to ones needs is only a part of it.

The biggest " plus" of a digital SLR over these powershot type cameras is not only in the sharpness and color correctiveness,,but in the blow up ability of any prints. 8X10 is the biggest I dare go with the powershot fotos.5x7 is the norm. I've seen 16x 14 of SLR digital cameras pics that still looked pretty darn good. So, I don't intend to sell my fotos. They are my " fun". Overall, what I post here,,is just to show what is possible inside and outside the camera...

No matter how you see " photography"..to get better at it, just take zillions more pictures. Every subject deserves a hundred different angles and or perspectives. The digital revolution has made it alot less expensive to take a zillion fotos and learn from our mistakes..a lot less expensive to develop our " eye" on the world,,a lot less expensive to put our personal stamp on how we see the world.

I'l end all this babbling with

Explore

I haven't posted in a while. Here's some recent ones:

Oh Jaz, I love the color on those.
Awesome!

Jaz..i am going to assume a Thread of thought thru your display of fotos there.,,,perhaps a visual poem. Ending it with your son in your shadow , the expression on his face,,yea, wraps it all together. Very nice work there.

A little group of fotos i call..

WHITE WATER

A Gallery of shots of the same Hills I call

Fun With A Line




Okay,,now the Fun Begins....

ack!

...twisty, curvy in my head!

I could accept them fine...
...if I hadn't seen the natural shots first.

Now that's surrealism...

Menolly..fascinating it is how the body reacts to a dislocation perceived by the mind..Its only discomboobulating the first time. You'll get use to it.,,hehe heee..Heck, if I had been wearing earplugs they would have blown out of my ears when I flipped the first one there.

Jenn, my camera is a Samsung S85, I think. I didn't buy it--it was a gift. I think it runs around $200. It's not a bad point-and-shooter, but I'm consistently disappointed with the results. Of course, that could be user error. It has a manual setting, but I don't know how to use that.

I took a camping trip to Mammoth Cave National Park this weekend. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous. We got there at the peak of fall colors, and the temperature was warm in the sun, cool in the shade. Beautiful. Here's some pics:

Damn, that takes fine images for a cheapie camera, Malik. I especially like the one of the sun through the trees and the last one of the cave wall. Something about the energy of the wall formation is compelling. Like them all though. Nice work.

Nothing wrong with that camera!..Thanks for the Autumn and the cave shots..great for Halloween time! The first thing that popped into my head on the last shot was..Starbucks Double Latte Frappachino Supremo Gran de Lux Exemplar 2nd To Nun Royal Creme de la Creme Phist Te Goomps....or Reeses PeanutButter Cup on a Hot day in Phoenix.....Malik,,nice shots there,, liked the shot from underneath the tree there, shooting up thru the leaves, nice catch!..thanks again.

I agree, superb shots through the sunlit leaves by Malik!

Lurch, that "Fun With A Line" is the most arresting group of photos I've seen from you yet. Bravo! Oh, and btw, I enjoyed that essay on photography.

Me, I just try to go by a well-worn adage: the best camera is the one you have with you when the photographic opportunity strikes.

Fall glory is well behind us now, but here are more pics from early October:


Canada geese: "we're outta here!"



A trio for Lyr: revenge of the bench!

Gnarled Oak!...i really like the lines of a gnarled oak...It looks like it got blasted by lightning or wind. Poor gnarled oak. Nasty lightning and wind.

matrix, I am stuck between the feeling ellicted by the empty benches and surroundings,,,and my want for something to be on the benches or in the surroundings. Of course the frame of reference is full,,but just not with anything human, except the effort that created the surroundings and of course the benches. So, i ask myself, does anything " human" really need to be in these shots,,when everything in the shot is by human design, as in a well created and groomed park..? There seems to be an answer in your fotos to the question,,if a tree got hit by lightning and nobody was around to hear it,, was there a boom and crack? Your fotos suggest the question is being asked in the wrong direction. The question should be directed to the trees.

More pics from last week's camping trip.

Campfire smoke







Malik Jr's shirt reads: Stop the madness. Homework kills trees. (Tree holding sign, "No more homework.")

A dragon



Star Destroyers

*bows deeply to Malik*

Wonderful pictures! I especially like the park bench ones!

We had a bad storm the other day and it pretty much blew all of the pretty leaves off of the trees.

A gallery of this morning's sunrise over Phoenix(Nov9,6:45 to 7:00 a.m.). All fotos were taken from roof top, cropped and either minimally or not at all " edited" in any other way.

View From A Roof Top of A Garish Phoenician Sunrise






Another Early Riser


The Curtain Rises on Another Day