Photography

200 Miles

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Wall art in Claremore, Oklahoma

You would be surprised what there is to see in this great country within 200 miles of where any of us live. I don’t care what state or town

Will Rogers

Sayonara, Sonya

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I hardly knew you, but you just weren’t enough for me to consider keeping you on. I had high hopes for a modern, lightweight, mirrorless camera but your interface and outdated, unsupported features that made you so appealing to me just wasn’t cutting it. The software was not supported for MacBook nor the bluetooth/wifi connectivity.

Low light shooting in Manual mode produced way too much noise and grain that I thought I was working with a Nokia 600 camera phone from the early 2000’s. I shouldn’t have to rely on your Scene modes that does the work for me. No thanks.

The good news is I still have Nadia, my ever faithful companion.

After Polacon

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I spent last weekend in Dallas/Denton Texas at the 10th annual Polacon hosted by the Instant Film Society. Good people down there and it felt great to get out and explore new towns while doing photowalks too.

Max

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I know, I know. I recently mentioned that I was content with the iPhone 12 but you know what? Those camera upgrades on the 13 Pro Max were just too tempting.

I looked at upgrading the iPhone 12 to the as-yet-to-be-released 13 next week. You know what? I am content. My current is that good. It’ll be good for at least 3-4 more years.

Me, in my post about Contentment

Contentment

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Satisfaction and technology for me is rare. When it comes to gadgets, I long to have the latest and greatest, especially with a personal computer, or camera. For far too long though, I’ve had to make do with the minimum, the cheapest, the hodge-lodge collection of gadgets. These were frustrating to me as I had to discover workarounds to overcome my lofty expectations.

Recently, I’ve decided to purchase top shelf devices that would meet my performance, productivity and aesthetic needs. These devices need to be designed to look great, have modern tech specs, last a long time and create joy (thanks Marie Kondo.)

Over the past year I sold off my old gear and slowly upgraded to what I wanted. A refurbished MacBook Air from 2015 for a 2021 MacBook Pro. An iPhone 8 to the new iPhone 12 Pro. Apple this and that, Nikon to Sony camera etc etc. All upgraded and designed to last. All bought and paid for upfront.

I looked at upgrading the iPhone 12 to the as-yet-to-be-released 13 next week. You know what? I am content. My current is that good. It’ll be good for at least 3-4 more years.

I am finally happy where I am and don’t feel the need to move to something else anytime soon.

It is liberating not to have to think about my computer setup anymore and just use my computer setup. Things can always be better, and I can guarantee new things will be coming that will make all of my devices feel obsolete.

But that doesn’t mean that they are no longer useful or can no longer make me happy as they have always done. The most significant benefit of being content with my computer is that most times, I don’t think about it anymore; I just use it. Worrying or contemplating what else I could get that is better no longer crosses my mind.

But contentment is something I will continue to strive for. As for now though, I am there. Finally.

Sonya

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Say hello to Sonya, the Sony Alpha 6000 mirrorless digital camera. I just ordered her and she’ll arrive next week. This is my next, my first camera upgrade away from the bulkier, heavier, older DSLR’s. There are at least six advantages to mirrorless over DSLR:

  • Faster shooting speed
  • Better video quality (4k vs 1080HD)
  • Image stabilization
  • Faster auto focus speed
  • Electric viewfinders
  • Smaller size

Included is a 16-50mm lens for portraits and street photography images. And then there is the 55-210mm lenses good for landscape and travel.

This means of course that my darling Nadia, the Nikon D90 DSLR will be going away to a good home soon. She’s up for sale now. But enough about the past, I am looking to the future of photography and the Sony is it.