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March 2018

21 Mar

Posted at 08:54h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Especially when they are armed with a mirror-less camera and a macro lens. The ability of a close-focusing optic like the Fujinon XF60mm  f 1:2.4 R Macro to show flaws and errors that otherwise slide by the human eye is one of its most disconcerting and endearing qualities. If you are going to be humbled, this the sort of lens that will do it. I found this out when I tried out a new home studio setup here in my old darkroom. There was a bench top free with nearby electric power and enough space on the floor beside it to put up a small Cullmann tripod. I am currently illustrating scale model building for one of my other weblog columns ( note at the bottom if you are interested...

19 Mar

Posted at 08:17h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Sometimes I go into Camera Electronic and ask what's new - and sometimes they tell me. So far it has not taught me a lesson, because I keep on asking. New is not necessarily good or bad - it is just new. A fresh page in the big book of photography - a book that we get to write ourselves. In some cases I end up wishing the pages had been stuck together. Like today. I discussed a question of professional responsibility with one of the staff members - a person who is very responsible indeed. I was sympathetic because I remember being in a responsible position for forty years myself, and it frequently was a pain. Not on account of what I could or would do, but on what other parties wanted to stick onto me. I had a statutory board and a coroner at the top of the professional mountain, looking down at me, and it was no fun. A bit different in business, as there was generally only the final line of money to deal with - money desired, lost,...

15 Mar

Posted at 10:01h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Unless it's someone at the beer garden who wants you to clear the table and bring them another, this sort of call is more trouble than it's worth. It's generally said in a semi-agressive way - whether the speaker is known to you or not. It demands that you are impressed and appreciative of whoever has just shouted it out based upon the fact that they are worth seeing. It's also often based upon that first pitcher of beer. Failure to comply can be dangerous, but shooting the picture can be trouble too. In the old days the shouter would generally forget all about you once they had posed and grinned or made a rude sign or whatever - now they demand to see the screen on the back of the camera to see how great they look. If they are not pleased they demand another and another. The real horror is when they demand the images be sent to their mobile phone account so they can plaster them onto social media. unfortunately camera makers are making this all too possible these...

13 Mar

Posted at 08:03h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

The heading image of this column is as dull a picture as you could want - a silver and black box on a cardboard carton. It has none of the snap and pizazz of a new camera or lens - none of the technical wizardry of a new studio strobe light. It's not even hand-stitched or bespoke. And you can get it right now instead of pre-ordering it or subscribing to Kickstarter...

12 Mar

Posted at 08:36h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

We've all seen those diagrams on social media that look like scientific flow charts but in the end lead you to either espouse some political viewpoint or eat chocolate and drink wine. Every box you enter has a decision you need to make that leads to another box. But eventually they all lead to the politics, chocolate, or wine. The people who do all three at the same time are generally asking for trouble...