Old Clippings

I stumbled across a box of newspaper clippings from my high school basketball days. 

What odd timing. I say this because I've been photographing basketball all season for the Santa Rosa yearbook. So to compare the photos I'm taking now to those of me from the past is quite an experience.

For one thing, mine today are better. They should be. We have so many advantages now that reporters couldn't even dream of in the past. Last night I shot at ISO 3200, f/1.8, at 1/400th of a second. 

When I was a reporter in those olden days, I shot Tri-X film, pushed to ASA 800 in Acufine developer. Maybe I could muster 1/125th of a second in those dank high school gyms. And I can tell you, I wasn't firing off 9 frames a second like I am with my OM-D E-M5.

Yes, I was both a player and a reporter in those days. Basketball was fun; journalism was my future. The local newspaper nicknamed me "Million Moves." As you can guess, it was somewhat tongue in cheek. At 6'7" in high school, I had a knack for getting to the basket. I was my team's leading scorer my senior year, an All League selection, and team MVP.

But it wasn't always pretty.

Come to think of it, it's still not that pretty. In many senses, I'm still that gangly teenager trying to score a bucket for my team. I don't think I would have thought about all of this had it not been for those preserved newspaper clippings.

Thanks Dad.

-Derrick

New Gig

One of the things that differentiates my job from those who have salaried positions, is that I have many jobs that fall under the heading of: self employed.

(My father really struggles with this concept. Every time I see him, he asks, "So, what is it you do again?")

My basic business plan is to replace the jobs I don't like with better ones. And in that spirit, I'm thrilled to be working with c't Digital Photography Magazine. (You might want to read the backgrounder on them that I posted on The Digital Story.)

This publishing group is based in Hannover, Germany. My title is Associate Editor. And the focus of my work is to create content for their North American audience. As with most of my other gigs, I'll be spending a lot of time online at their Facebook page and on Twitter. We're also working on a new web site and upgrading the blog.

I'm pretty comfortable with the German approach to business. I have friends in Germany and have spent many extended visits there. Boinx Software was the first sponsor of The Digital Story.

But what's really cool about this are the new people and experiences. New things to write about. New stories to tell.

Now, I just have to figure out how to explain this to my father.

-Derrick

The Superlow: An Unofficial American Holiday

What a snoozer.

I've seen some bad Superbowls in my day. But yesterday's thumping of the Denver Broncos was certainly a low point. 

Even the commercials were uninspiring.

Many refer to the Superbowl and an unofficial American holiday. After yesterday, I might be onboard with that.

• You spend holidays with friends and family: check
• You indulge in food and beverage that you'd normally avoid: check
• By the end of the day you're often exhausted and weary of the endeavor: check

So add the Superbowl to the list of crazy things we do during the Winter in an attempt to lift our spirits. 

Thank goodness it's behind us for another year.

-Derrick

WiFi Saves the Day

Camera WiFi is a technology that's going to stick.

It will join the honorary list of great ideas that include programmed exposure, dedicated flash, and image stabilization. 

We needed a breakthrough. We were in a new feature slump. Built-in GPS is too hard to use.  And face detection is too weird. 

Meanwhile, smartphones were selling like beers at a ball game. 

But camera WiFi... The magic of this technology is that it works with your mobile device. That's the key to its success. Thanks to camera WiFi, I can pull my iPhone out of my pocket and control my camera, download pictures, and even geo-tag images that are already on my camera. 

And because the current generation of mobile apps are so well designed, it's easy to use. 

Yes, smartphones will continue to intoxicate a certain part of the photography sector.  But thanks to camera WiFi, enthusiasts and professionals will use their mobile devices with their cameras, and not instead.

-Derrick

Is Retro a Craze?

I don't think so.

Camera design has been top of mind the last few days because of recent announcements by Fujifilm (the X-T1) and Olympus (the E-M10). Both cameras extend the classic look of photography's SLR heyday.

Some think I shouldn't get to excited about this.

After all, we know that hemlines go up and down, and suit ties expand and contract. But photography is different. (Raise your hand if you like Black & White prints.) The camera buying public isn't slave to collusion by a handful of controlling manufacturers. If you choose an Olympus OM-D over a Canon Rebel, it's because you like it.

I carry three cameras in my bang-around bag: the Olympus OM-D, Fujifilm X-20. and the Canon S110. Sometimes when I'm working and spot the OM-D or the X-20 perched on a table, I think to myself, "Wow, that's a sharp looking camera."

My take on this is that classic industrial design is different than fashion. It's not a craze.

It just looks good.

-Derrick