Sunset over the Colorado Front Range
Well Fujifilm did it again. Yesterday they announced the new Fujifilm X-T30. Of course this is the perfect camera for me and in a price range I can afford. And, we know it will make me a better photographer. 🙂 So, in my mind is a debate on whether to sell one of my grandchildren, my car or my condo, rob a bank, take out a second mortgage, buy another lottery ticket, and other insane ideas.
But, getting back to reality and sanity, I have to admit my Fujifilm X-E1 and my X-T10 are good cameras, functioning well, take excellent images (in spite of my sometimes ineptitude) and are paid for. So, the need to upgrade to this camera is not as much a priority as other pressing priorities in my photography and life. The truth is my next purchase needs to be upgrading my laptop. I’ve been talking about this for some time. It is 10 years old. This past week my laptop shutdown and rebooted and seems to runs slower each week. But the primary justification for a upgrading my laptop is knowing it will make me a better photographer by improving my post-processing skills. 🙂
So my insanity tells me to be a better photographer, with an empty wallet, I really should just buy both. Sigh! GAS
Driving to Loveland this past weekend I saw a potential image of a horse standing along a fence, back-lit with the morning sunrise. However, I was on my way to meet my sister so I did not take the time and stop. A photo opportunity missed?
As I drove on I wondered how many photo opportunities I’ve had presented to me and missed because I did not take the time. It asks the question, “Why do I not take the time?” A few reasons are sloth, apathy, indolence but primarily due to the importance I place on the plans I’ve made. Any of these reasons may cause the gift of an image to be missed. This has me thinking I need to stop and take the time whenever an opportunity for an image appears.
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange
As Eric and walked through the Behavioral Science Building on our way for coffee I noticed this apple sitting on the desk of a couple young girls. I found it intriguing so I asked if I could take a photo and was given permission. I took only one as I was in a hurry and didn’t want to disturb the two girls, after all finals are next week. I was even more intrigued by the image once I loaded it on my computer. Those are are not teeth marks but she seems to have used some tool like a scoop. Eric, as are many who do not have a camera hanging around their neck, commented how he would not have noticed the apple.
I took my youngest daughter to an appointment in Old Town last week then we went to lunch. I sat outside at one of the tables to enjoy a latte and get in some writing. This time I intentionally set the camera to the Toy setting. 🙂
The term comes from the Japanese word boke the “blur quality”. The Japanese term boke is also used in the sense of a mental haze or senility. The term bokashi is related, meaning intentional blurring or gradation.
The English spelling bokeh was popularized in 1997 in Photo Techniques magazine, when Mike Johnston, the editor at the time, commissioned three papers on the topic for the March/April 1997 issue; he altered the spelling to suggest the correct pronunciation to English speakers, saying “it is properly pronounced with bo as in bone and ke as in Kenneth, with equal stress on either syllable”.
Took a walk this past Sunday along the Red Fox Meadows nature trail. Mostly cloudy day but so enjoyable and much needed time in nature to clear the thinking. It also provides the exercise my body and spirit need. I find it fascinating when scenes appear that catch my attention and become an image for me. I feel like a child discovering something new. Processed this image with one of the presets in Silver EFEX Pro. Made a tone curve adjustment then posted it.
“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond…” Wendell Barry
