19 Sep Photokina 2016
Here it comes, folks. The biennial German trade fair, Photo Kina, for all things photographic. Clatter down off the fire-step into the dugout and hunker down...
September 2016
16 Sep One Day With Ken Duncan OAM…
And that one day is going to be Friday, the 7th of October. He's going to be at the Pan Pacific Hotel - 207 Adelaide Terrace, holding a one-day seminar to help Western Australians understand their digital cameras and - to paraphrase his own advertising - to make something very simple out of something that might have seemed hard work.Ken's a landscape person - Oh, Boy, is he a landscape person - and the landscapes he has captured are the wide views of Australia. Limited edition prints, published books, calendars, cards, DVD's, and even jigsaw puzzles. He is an honourable jigsaw maker - he gives you ALL the pieces in the box...
14 Sep Freeing The Bird From The Nest
Awwww. that sounds so romantic, doesn't it. This should be a meme on Facebook with tiny bluebirds and hearts...
14 Sep The Photographic Slipstream – Weblog Columns Of The Past
I have just been reviewing this weblog column for the past 6 years. I did it by means of the historical record over on the right-hand side of the page - and I've come to some conclusions about it:a. I really did write a lot of columns, didn't I?b. Some of them were pretty naff, weren't they?c. A great deal of the product promotion is irrelevant now - goods overtaken by other goods and fallen into the disused portion of our camera bags.d. The people promotion still holds up - mainly because the people we introduced as professional or enthusiast photographers really can do the business well.e. Nothing lasts forever. Not only do cameras and lenses wear out and computer programs fall into disuse, but whole businesses can disappear. There's a couple of postings that feature other camera stores that have since shut.f. I noticed the postings introducing the new look for the shop - the grey paint job. The paint job is holding up pretty darn well - evidently the painters did a good job and selected good paints....
13 Sep One Owner – Never Raced Or Rolled …
I wouldn't be selling it except I'm going overseas...
12 Sep Resistance Is Futile – Surrender To The Fujifilm Selfie Machine
If thou hast a duck face, prepare to make it - the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 SelfieMachine is upon us and no restroom in the land is safe. There will be selfies everywhere.Not that there aren't right now, but this little camera makes them differently - It is easy to hold, easy to line up, and easy to make a permanent record for whoever is with you at the time.The concept of the instant picture is as old as I am, and I'm starting to turn brown in patches and faded at the edges. But you need not worry - the Fujifilm instant film in the Instax Mini packs is full-coloured and self-sealing. It will develop right in your hand in 90 seconds and remain pretty near the same for ever after.The Instax Mini 70 pushes out credit-card size photos from 10-sheet packs. While all the chemistry is sealed inside the packs themselves, the camera draws power for flash and processing from 2 of the CR 2 lithium batteries in the handle. Don't worry - you get a couple to...
10 Sep Saturday Morning In Western Australia
Can you all remember Saturday morning in Western Australia in the 1960's? If you were keen you got up at 7:30 and had a hasty breakfast and headed out to the shops ready for them to open. At 9:00 it was, as they say in the riot control training films, on.From Fremantle to Wanneroo and as far east as the Greenmount hill, the entire world came out and tried to cram themselves into the shops to get what they needed for the coming week. You took life chances in Boans in the city and basically you could only visit one side of Albany Highway in Victoria Park because there was no way short of 1:00 that you were going to get to the other; choose right or left and be satisfied with it.Then at the stroke of 1:00 PM the entire town shut up with a clang, and everyone vanished into football stadia, pubs, or dark lounge rooms. The only sound up Murray Street was crickets and the rustle of tumbleweeds...
09 Sep Heckuva Lens Hood On A Heckuva Lens
If this month's selection of items to review seems a little biased toward Fujifilm equipment you must understand that the selection process for the weblog column is a precise one. I run through the storeroom with a hessian bag and a big stick one step ahead of the warehouse staff. As I go I bang the shelves with the stick and scoop up whatever falls off in the bag - then run for it. This is what gets investigated. Occasionally a box topples slowly and hits the storeroom staff chasing me instead of falling into the bag. Kinetic science is still a new thing...
08 Sep At The Risk Of Seeming Paranoid…
Have you ever seen the look on your face when you need to appear in a family photo and don't have a tripod to prop up your camera? What do you do? You pick the least important of the rellies to take a picture of the group. You set it carefully for them and caution them not to change anything...
06 Sep Tell Us Which Camera To Use
"Hey, Mister. Tell us which camera to use."That's right. You've got it...