Kathy pointed this scene out to me the other day at my brother’s house. I was too lazy to get my camera out of the car but used my phone to make a few photos. The attraction was the one cushion that was up, the other one down and the shadows they made.
I just bought myself a new toy tool. It’s hard to believe it was over a year ago, but I had written in March 2022 about having rented the Peak Design Travel Tripod. I liked it a lot but couldn’t justify spending $600 (at the time – it’s now $650) on a part-time tripod. And I wasn’t sure it was good enough to be an only tripod, so I had lots of excuses to not buy one.
There aren’t too many cases where I really want a compact, highly portable tripod. I had a Gitzo, that while wasn’t designed for travel was sort of portable – it would fit in a large suitcase with the center column detached, but just barely. My only tripod lately has my big and beefy RRS TVC-33 with the matching BH-55 ballhead. An excellent and steady base, but really overkill for my relatively light Fuji equipment. While it is great for car travel, it’s just a little too tough to jam into a suitcase. It was just the thing when I was shooting with the big-a$$ Canon equipment. Of course a too-big tripod to a photographer is sort of like a too-big diamond to a lovely partner. No such thing, right? But I had been looking for a suitable travel candidate, albeit not too hard. I had done a little research and identified a few likely candidates, but the ones I thought would do the job were still a little pricey for comfort.
A couple of days ago I saw a post on a Fuji Rumors site that B&H was having a MEGA DEAL ZONE – 100s OF DEALS TOO GOOD TO LAST! sale. Included in the sale was a “Benro MeFoto GlobeTrotter Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod Kit” on sale for $175, marked down from $365. The ad indicated that it was $300 off, which is a bit overstated, but it is still half the regular price. It was one of the “finalists” that I had on my Wish List, the price was too good to pass up, so I pulled the trigger.
FedEx delivered the package on Thursday, and while I haven’t had a chance to use it extensively, my initial impression is that it is quite a worthy tripod. The build quality appears to be excellent, and I have to say that it appears quite sturdy. Compared to the RRS model I have to wonder why they are so expensive in comparison. The specs indicate that it is designed to hold 26 pounds. I don’t know about that, but even my heaviest lens won’t come close to testing it. I won’t know how good until I have a chance to use it IRL (‘In Real Life’ as the kids say) but I have an opportunity coming up that should let me put it through its paces.
At a restaurant last week, I overheard a Loud Talker telling his tablemates about some conquest or other, and he used “like” repeatedly. How many “likes” does it take to make a sentence? Like, literally, dozens!
Literally is another overused word. Literally.
One of our neighbors was recently talking about her new Infusion stove. Ummm, Induction?
When our neighborhood has a function involving food, the signs and flyers sometimes say “BYOB Your Own Beverage.”
A woman I used to work with said she went to “Evolution Church.” I think she meant “Elevation Church” and I don’t think they discuss Evolution there.
I worked with a woman who did marketing for a bank, and she talked about their “Veritable Rate Loans.”
A boss of mine would email me to find out what I was working on, asking “What’s in your que?”
When we’re getting ready to go on a cruise, we check out various forums and message boards to get information about the ship, the cruise line or some of the policies. People often ask questions about the “Dinning Room.” They sometimes ask about “Making Whoppie” (but hopefully not in the dinning room) but I wouldn’t know about that. 😉
As in Murphy’s Law….
Kathy & I returned Sunday from a few days in Bardstown, Kentucky. We met our friends Jim & Lisa there, and spent a few days exploring distilleries and horse country.
This morning we needed to go to the grocery store. As we are in the beginning stages of what looks to be a week long monsoon, we went prepared. Raincoats and umbrellas, leaving the sunglasses at home. As it turned out, no rain, and the sun was peeking through the clouds as we left the store. Perfect!
When we returned home I decided to leave the car in the driveway, hoping for a “free car wash” to dispel the layer of dust we had accumulated over the week. Several hours later, no rain. Finally we got a nice heavy shower, just enough to wash off the loose crud. Good for a few more days!
Our grandson Edison visited recently, and one of the books he was reading described two characters on skateboards crashing into each other as a real “Kodak moment.” Edison looked up at Kathy and said “I don’t even know what that means!” Another idiom bites the dust!
The Grammarist describes a Kodak moment:
“A Kodak moment is a moment in time that is so precious because of its sentimental value or its beauty, one wishes to preserve it on film. For instance, a baby’s first steps may be considered a Kodak moment.”
And further:
“The expression Kodak moment came from a popular advertising campaign for the American Kodak cameras in the latter half of the twentieth century, produced by Eastman Kodak. Kodak cameras such as the Brownie and Instamatic cameras were reasonably priced and easy to use, so even the most inexperienced or busy people could operate them.”
I suppose if I were a Twitter-er I could post a comment about it there, but since I’m not, I’ll post it here. I love a good headline, especially in this era of meaningless “clickbait” headlines. This one is pretty tough to beat:
Clichés to Avoid Like the Plague
I kinda don’t even care what the article is about. But I love the headline!
One evening a few weeks ago, Kathy & I were sitting at the kitchen table after dinner, likely finishing some wine before venturing off the do the dishes. The sun had recently set, and the sky was crystal clear. As we sat there, one of us (I’ll give Kathy the credit) said something about how interesting our neighbor’s tree looked against the sky. I sat there, looked at it and at some point said “I’m going to get my camera.”
It took me just a few minutes to drag out the camera and tripod, attach the L-bracket and set it up on the patio. There was no wind, so I didn’t have to worry about movement, and I made a couple dozen frames. They aren’t technically perfect – I could have used a little more depth of field – but they do have a bit of a zen-like look to them.
It’s another lesson in being willing to make a photograph when it presents itself, even if it is right outside our window.
Just being lazy. I’m most of the way through the photos from our last trip, but trying to get them all done before I start posting. In case anyone wondered about me, here is a quick post to confirm I’m still around! 🙂
This New York Times article has been shared on a number of forums already, but I thought I would add it here for anyone who might have missed it. Further discussion of the pros and cons of our “selfie society” is pointless and tiresome, but as photographers the history, as well as the ideas, in this story have special meaning. If we take the time and spend the money to go to a special place, let’s be sure to look at and take pictures of that place, and not just take pictures of ourselves!
“I keep thinking of what it might be like if we all took the time to photograph such commonplace miracles. What it would be like if all the people with cameras in their pockets transformed themselves into documentary photographers — like Dorothea Lange, like Baldwin Lee — to make a collective record of a truth about the world that most people haven’t yet troubled themselves to see?”
NYT: You’re Pointing Your Camera The Wrong Way
We had dinner with neighbors last night, and during our conversation we talked about the past year. My comment was that “my weight went up, my investments went down. Let’s hope that trend reverses in 2023.
Best wishes, good health and safe travels to all. Happy New Year!