Less the Gear in My Hands, Than the Gears in My Head

It has been raining most of the day with the temperature around the mid-60's. This is January in the mid-Atlantic? But more to the point, I have had a cold that began on the weekend and still feel like ........ So I decided to sit down and reorganize some old Aperture libraries. The rumor mill says Apple will be releasing 4.0 sometime soon and I want to be ready.

As I was looking at files that go back to 2002-03, I began to be surprised at the image quality. These were all shot pre-Nikon D100 and with a little shirt pocket Olympus. Most of the files hover around 1 MB. Sure they are noisy by today's standards and non have the dynamic range of today's cameras, but they seemed, to me at least, to have a directness and reality that I miss in some of my more recent images. Wave a Nikon D3 with an 85mm F1.4 or my 70-200mm F2.8 at people and they react as if you are from ICE or the IRS. This was one reason, I had decided to get a Panasonic GX1 to shoot some images of the people who keep these beach resorts going - some of whom really do have to worry about ICE.

Who knows, maybe this is just the cold medicine talking. Or it may be my jealousy at those of my friends who are already in line the to pick-up the latest Nikon, the D4, or a 36 MB Nikon D800 that is said to be about to be released. I still lust for the perfect photo bag, but less and less for the newest high end camera. If I could get those gears in the head turning, the gear in the hands are more than adequate. I hope you enjoy these images. All were from the March/April 2003 after the "end of major combat operations" in Iraq. There was then a hope and optimism on the streets of Baghdad that I hope you can see in these snaps. This evaporated too all quickly by the summer and my camera was replaced by a Glock.

Black and White Wednesday -- Charleston Plays the Blues

Wordless Monday

Thoughts turn to Spring and that means Charleston is on my mind

The days are getting longer and warmer - not that the mid-Atlantic has seen much of Winter so far - and the birds are active and clearly have finding mates and nests on their mind. Certainly February and March can still hold nasty surprises - the dreaded wintry mix. My mind, however, races ahead drawn by memories of the sweet smells of Spring and the riot of colors that will supplant this brown landscape.
And while there are many places near that will be drenched with the reds, pinks and yellows of Spring blooms, few have the history, architecture, and proximity to the sea - and yes food and drink - that pulls one back again to Charleston. Why go again? A silly question, asked mostly by those  who have never been, or those who are so young that they fail to realize that true passion is not aroused in an inital encounter, but grows with the anticipation of rediscovery of familiar sights and explorations of still unknown depths. Charleston both decays and continues to evolve with an intensity in Spring that cannot fail to awaken even the most jaded of visitors. There may be no more Kodachrome, or even a Kodak, but Charleston endures and challenges one to try to capture some of its essense on a chip even if there is no more film.

What's It Like Living on the Delaware Coast

A frequent question I get from friends living in Washington when they hear I have moved to Ocean View, Delaware is "What's it like living on the Delaware coast?". Quickly followed by "Don't you miss your old haunts and the great food in the Washington area?" I am not sure what they mean by "old haunts" maybe the Tysons Corner Apple Store or Ace Camera. I do miss these, but it is an absence that is saving me money! No temtation to order a Nikon D4 or pick-up a MacBook Air. Nor do I miss the traffic.

On the other hand, they are way off the mark about the food choices at the Delaware shore. Sure there are loads of places to get beach fries or popcorn, but there are a lot of places for drink and food that are up to Washington standards. For example,

Come on Down!!

Black and White Wednesday

Add Your Own Story

Some photos tell a story, others invite the viewer to imagine their own story. This one, I hope, draws the viewer in to add their own story.