Art and the Zen of Design

Jan 18, 2010 - Into the world of shadows

It was February of 2002 and the muse and I were wandering through Central Park. It was late in the afternoon and the shadows were getting longer. As we came to one of the many plazas in the park, my eyes were drawn to the play of the shadows over the paving stones. When I pointed the camera downwards, another whole world appeared.

Jan 04, 2010 - Snowbound!

We had two snowstorms last month, here in Northern Virginia. The first, at the beginning of December, was picturesque, with big, fluffy, wet flakes that looked great on the tree branches. It was only four or five inches of snow, and it was gone after a few days.

Dec 12, 2009 - A walk through Warrenton

On a late autumn day, a friend of ours who works in Warrenton invited us to spend an afternoon on a walk through town. It's only a short distance away, so off we went.

Oct 06, 2009 - Partly moony with my Panasonic DMC-FZ35

My little granddaughter Carina loves to read and she loves riddles. Every day, we send her an email with a riddle and a picture. I sent this one last week:

Oct 02, 2009 - My new Panasonic DMC-FZ35 - Part 3 - Video

1. Would you sacrifice some image quality in exchange for something else?

Sep 19, 2009 - Some pictures from my Panasonic DMC-FZ35 - Part 2

Here are some more shots from my Panasonic DMC-FZ35. All were shot as JPEG Fine, at various settings. Some received additional processing in LightZone to bring out their finer qualities, but many are straight from the camera.

Sep 14, 2009 - Happy birthday to muse...

Today is the Artist's Muse's birthday. Happy Birthday, Hobbitt! Here are some flowers for you, and a special birthday greeting at the end.

Sep 09, 2009 - Pixels and parking lots -- The Panasonic FZ35

Imagine that your digital camera's image sensor is a parking lot. All of its little pixels are parking spaces.

Sep 01, 2009 - Some pictures from my Panasonic DMC-FZ35

These are some pictures I took during the first four days with my new DMC-FZ35. All were shot as JPEG Fine, at various settings, and at ISOs ranging from 80 to 1600. Most received some additional processing in LightZone to bring out their finer qualities.

Aug 31, 2009 - My new Panasonic DMC-FZ35 - Part 2

It's been about five days since I got my FZ35, and I'm starting to get a feel for the camera. I've shot some caterpillars to test the macro facility, been on two night walks to test the low-light capabilities, and shot some pictures of my six-year-old granddaughter to test the responsiveness of the camera.

Aug 25, 2009 - My new Panasonic DMC-FZ35 - Part 1

What's new? The FZ35 is pretty much the same as the DMC-FZ28, but with these new features and enhancements. And a few clunkers as well. But first, the good news.

Aug 13, 2009 - On our way to Warrenton

Warrenton is a charming little town in northern Virginia. Its history goes back to before the civil war. Warrenton is friendly and open, with interesting stores and historical landmarks. It has a number of very good restaurants and lots of charm. So we find it a frequent destination from where we live in Haymarket, a distance of about 22 miles, that passes through the beautiful farms in Fauquier County.

Jul 28, 2009 - Evolution of an Iris

This is an example of how Techno-Impressionism works. We start with a photograph of an Iris and see where it leads.

Follow the iris on this interesting voyage.

Jul 19, 2009 - A new feature in Adobe Camera Raw 5.4

I once designed a software product using something I called "cryptoware." The idea was that the current release already contained all the features for the upcoming releases, but didn't tell how to access them. The upgrades consisted of telling people how to access the hidden features.

Jul 16, 2009 - A tribute to the Apollo 11 astronauts

Forty years ago today, man left for the first landing on the moon and I was there to witness it.

Jul 15, 2009 - The pole dancer - Variations on a theme

I live on an old road. There are things in its one-mile length that go back to the Revolutionary War. The utility poles, while not quite that old, were weathered and in need of replacement. So the local power company replaced them with newer, taller poles, with the power lines strung along the very top of each pole.

Jul 12, 2009 - Restoring lost highlight detail in JPEG images

One of the favorite claims of people who prefer to work with raw image files rather than JPEG image files is that they have greater ability in fixing a bad image during the "raw development" process on the computer.

Jul 08, 2009 - A short course in photography in ten easy lessons

0. Photography is about tradeoffs. For every gain, there is at least one sacrifice, with few exceptions.

Jul 01, 2009 - Kodachrome memories

With the switch to digital, and with its limited appeal except for professional photographers, Kodak has announced the end of Kodachrome. It was a special process, originally processed only by Kodak. But it yielded outstanding color transparencies with bright colors and high sharpness.

Jun 20, 2009 - A walk in the woods on my birthday

It was my birthday last week and we decided to celebrate by taking a walk in the woods. From our front door, we walked all the way to the little bridge over Chestnut Lick, about two miles each way. It took about an hour and a half and these pictures are the result. All were shot on my Panasonic DMC-FZ18 in JPEG Fine and processed in LightZone 3.2.

Jun 16, 2009 - Mythbusters - More raw vs JPEG myths

You've got to accentuate the positive

Jun 06, 2009 - Restoring lost shadow detail in JPEG images

There are many myths surrounding the supposed superiority of raw shooting over working with JPEGs. If this were about text, raw would win hands down, since there are many more articles about how raw is better than JPEG. Unfortunately, it's about images, not words, and there is very little in the way of images to support the many claims of the raw shooters.

May 22, 2009 - Action!!

There's this dog that we see sometimes when we're out for a walk. He's in front of one of the houses we pass, and whenever someone walks by, he runs back and forth, barking and yelping. Doesn't seem very dangerous. I think he barks just to get your attention so you'll watch him running back and forth.

Apr 22, 2009 - Expose for the highlights, develop for the shadows

Getting the right exposure is the oldest problem in photography and although modern auto-exposure systems bring you a lot closer, there are still lots of situations where they fail. In these cases, modern digital cameras offer some secret weapons that can save the day. These tools are the LCD finder or Electronic viewfinder, and spot metering -- the ability to measure the exposure for just a small part of the image.

Apr 04, 2009 - Something new -- Interchangeable cameras

Fifty years ago, I went to California to photograph TV shows for NBC. In 1959, I shot most of the newspaper ads for the fall TV season. What got me this freelance assignment was my use of 35mm cameras and available light shooting. While Life and other magazines were already into this, it was new for NBC, where most of the shots were being done with Rolleiflexes and Speed Graphics, with all the pictures carefully posed and lit. Using 35mm cameras, with their interchangeable lenses, along with high-speed film, I was able to shoot during rehearsals, which gave the pictures a more realistic look.

Apr 01, 2009 - Honey, I shrunk the newspaper - The "Nano" NY Times

It's finally come to this. The august "Gray Lady," the venerable New York Times, today announced its new "Nano" edition. "We shrunk everything else," Sully Oxburger, the Times' publisher-in-chief explained. "First, we shrunk the number of pages, then the number of sections, then our offices, then our staff, and finally our printing facilities. Then one day I saw the new Ipod Nano, and I the idea just came to me."

Mar 17, 2009 - Mistaking evolution for revolution

On November 7, 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed. Ten seconds before the actual collapse, a pigeon landed on one of the bridge's towers. As the bridge started to disintegrate, the pigeon flew away screaming, "Ohmigod, I've killed it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The next day, the pigeon flew over a newsstand where the papers said the collapse was due to poor design and the high winds in the Tacoma Narrows strait. "Wait a minute," the pigeon cried indignantly, "I did it."

Mar 12, 2009 - Some pictures from the artist's muse

Most of the posts on this blog feature pictures by the artist, but it turns out that the artist's muse is also a pretty good photographer. So, without further ado, I'd like to present some of the muse's most recent work.

Feb 18, 2009 - Photography becomes art -- Daibutsu Buddha at Kamakura

It was June of 1965 and I was in Japan. Kamakura is a famous old city and was easily accessible from where I was staying in Yokohama. Wandering around the city, I came across the famous Daibutsu Buddha of Kamakura. This bronze figure stands about 44 feet tall and weighs about 93 tons. The photo at the top of the page shows what the statue looks like to the average tourist. Massive.

Feb 13, 2009 - Happy House-i-versary

It was exactly five years ago -- Friday the thirteenth, 2004 -- when we moved into our new old house in Northern Virginia. Since that time, we've made a lot of changes to the house, and it has made a lot of changes in us, so it works out even.

Feb 09, 2009 - 25 random things about the artist's muse

Feb 05, 2009 - It happened at the Met

As I've said before, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is my favorite museum It's the world's greatest museum. It has everything. I've haven't visited it since we moved from New York to Virginia about five years ago, and it's the one thing about New York that I really miss.

Dec 05, 2008 - Some pictures and some settings - Part 4 - DMC-FZ28

In this fourth (and final) installment of thoughts about the settings for the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 we'll take a look at the camera's quick-access (Q.MENU) system. (Although the FZ18 had a similar menu, there are a number of changes on the FZ28.) As I previously said, this discussion is just about my own feelings about how the controls should be set. It's not a replacement for the camera's printed manual.

Nov 30, 2008 - Some pictures and some settings - Part 3 - DMC-FZ28

In this third installment of thoughts about the settings for the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 we'll take a look at the camera's main menu system. The are two sets of Menus -- Recording (REC) and SETUP. The SETUP menus adjust things like what you see in the viewfinder, and what sort of noises the camera makes, and that's what we'll look at in this entry. You access these menus by pressing the Menu/SET button on the back of the camera. Then press the left button, the down button, and then the right button. And now you're in the SETUP menu.

Nov 24, 2008 - Some pictures and some settings - Part 2 - DMC-FZ28

In this second installment of thoughts about the settings for the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 we'll take a look at the camera's main menu system. The are two sets of Menus -- Recording (REC) and SETUP. The Recording menus adjust things like ISO and contrast, that may change from picture to picture and that's what we'll look at in this entry. You access these menus by pressing the Menu/SET button on the back of the camera. The four surrounding buttons are used to navigate the menus.

Nov 17, 2008 - Some pictures and some settings - Panasonic DMC-FZ28

The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 is a far more complex camera than its predecessor, the DMC-FZ18. It has more modes, more menu options, and many new features and capabilities to be explored. So in this entry, I'm going to start listing some of the features and settings that I've been using. While these features are particular to the FZ28, there are similar settings on other cameras of this breed.

Nov 12, 2008 - Noiseography -- A new photographic technique

Noiseography is a brand new photographic technique. It works by separating out the digital noise in an image and then working to create an image using just the noise. The steps used in creating a Noiseograph are shown below.

Oct 28, 2008 - Shooting infrared with the Panasonic DMC-FZ28

I've received a number of inquiries about the infrared capabilities of the Panasonic DMC-FZ28, prompted no doubt by the inclusion of an infrared panorama in one of my posting of pictures from this camera.

Oct 16, 2008 - You're never too young

My granddaughter Carina was not yet three years old when I gave her my Panasonic DMC-FZ5 to see if she could handle the camera. At just 12 ounces it was light enough, and it was easy for her to grip and aim, using the LCD monitor on the back of the camera. Although she tended to point the camera downwards at first, she soon got the hang of it.

Sep 16, 2008 - One month with the Panasonic DMC-FZ28

It's just one month since I opened the box containing my new DMC-FZ28. Since then, I've taken about 3500 pictures with it. With my original FZ18, with its 18X zoom, I was able to extend the reach of the things I could photograph. The new FZ28 extends this even further with improved image quality at the higher ISO settings, enabling me to do the same sort of available light photography I did fifty years ago with my original 35mm cameras and high speed film.

Sep 15, 2008 - A trip to Berryville - Panasonic DMC-FZ28

Last Saturday, The Hobbitt and I decided it was time for a road trip. We checked the map and decided to visit Berryville, a town established way back in the 1700s. This would be our first trip there. We went up the Two James Highway, then west on the John Mosby Highway, northwest up the Snickersville Turnpike, then west again on the Harry Byrd Highway, finally arriving in historic Berryville.

Sep 14, 2008 - It's the Hobbitt's birthday

The Hobbitt is also The Artist's Muse, my companion and my best friend for almost 40 years.

Sep 11, 2008 - On September 11th

On September 11, 2001, I was at home in Queens and the Hobbitt was in Manhattan. My son was in Washington DC. Just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, she called me and told me to turn on the TV. Luckily, we had cable, as the loss of the TV antenna on the WTC took out broadcast TV in the entire NYC area. The Hobbitt didn't make it home that night, but went to stay at my mother's apartment on West 66th St.

Sep 08, 2008 - Shooting Tri-X with the Panasonic DMC-FZ28

Kodak introduced Tri-X film in the 1950s and I probably used it for the first time around 1957. It was usable at 400 ASA (now ISO) and could easily be pushed to 800 and higher. It was a very forgiving black and white film and was certainly the most popular one for available light photography.

Sep 04, 2008 - A shot in the dark - Panasonic DMC-FZ28

Many years ago (before you were born), photographers practiced something called "available light photography." It started in the 1930s when Dr. Erich Salomon used a small camera called an Ermanox, with glass plates, but sporting an F1.8 lens, to shoot pictures of the dignitaries of his time using just the available light. This allowed him to work unobtrusively, capturing his subjects in a new kind of photographic realism.

Aug 29, 2008 - Sunset and the far-up lens -- Panasonic DMC-FZ18

Aug 27, 2008 - Further musings on the Panasonic DMC-FZ28

Some great features may not be so great The DMC-FZ28, as well as the FZ18 have a feature that sounds just great. It's called AUTO POWER LCD, and it automatically brightens the LCD monitor screen in bright light to keep it from washing out. Great feature, right? Not so fast. It's okay if you set your camera on full auto and just point and shoot.

Aug 24, 2008 - Customizing your camera for high-ISO photography

My Minolta A2 was the first digital camera that I owned that offered customizable settings. You could take your favorite settings for a particular situation and have the camera remember them. The Panasonic DMC-FZ18 had a CUSTOM setting on the mode dial that brought up a menu so you could choose one of three sets of custom settings.

Aug 23, 2008 - Panasonic DMC-FZ28 vs DMC-FZ18 at high ISO

It all started innocently enough with speculation about the DMC-FZ28's image quality at the higher ISO settings. Traditionally, small cameras like the FZ28 work fine at ISO settings of 100 or 200, but the pictures get really noisy at any higher setting. The FZ18 was good at the lower settings, but started to show noise at 200 and above.

Aug 22, 2008 - Some musings about the Panasonic DMC-FZ28

Why I bought the DMC-FZ28 As an artist, I tend to get bored doing the same thing for any length of time. That's probably why my pictures have so many different styles. Boredom. One way to alleviate the problem is with something new. A new piece of equipment, a new place to take pictures, or something to change my bored attitude. This is what Picasso did, and I have the feeling that he got bored doing the same thing. When Picasso faced boredom, one of his cures was to get a new woman to serve as his inspiration. I can't afford a new woman so I got a new camera. (And besides, The Artist's Muse still inspires me after more than forty years.) Take that, Picasso

Aug 20, 2008 - Hummers, SUVs, DSLRs, and my DMC-FZ28

When I was at the air show last Sunday, I was amazed at how many "serious" photographers were sporting DSLRs with huge lenses. I assume that most were amateurs, as this sort of event doesn't normally draw magazine or newspaper coverage. And there was I, with my humble Panasonic DMC-FZ28.

Aug 18, 2008 - Panasonic DMC-FZ28 -- At the Flying Circus

There's a local airfield, about thirty miles from our house, called The Flying Circus Aerodrome. They have regular shows featuring vintage aircraft, but yesterday they had their once-a-year hot air balloon event. It was a great chance to get out of the house and an opportunity to try out my new DMC-FZ28.

Aug 17, 2008 - Panasonic DMC-FZ28 -- The journey begins

"We shape our tools and thereafter they shape us." - various attributions

Aug 15, 2008 - Farewell, my Panasonic DMC-FZ18

It looks like this is the end of the road for me and my DMC-FZ18. Did it break? No. Did it fail to live up to my expectations? Nope. It's just that its successor has just arrived. There's a brand new DMC-FZ28, sitting still in its shipping box, on a table in my studio. Time to move on.

Aug 12, 2008 - More about the settings for the DMC-FZ18

In the last episode, I wrote about the Panasonic DMC-FZ18's main menu structure, but I omitted all of the items that you could access through the camera's "quick access" menu that you reach by pressing in on the joystick on the back of the camera. Time to explore those settings.

Aug 08, 2008 - Dealing with the modes and settings of the DMC-FZ18

The fact that this post has been such a long time coming is as much a tribute to my inertia as it is to the complexity and richness of the features and settings on the Panasonic DMC-FZ18. Although the settings here are for a specific camera -- the DMC-FZ18 -- most cameras of this type have similar settings.

Jul 25, 2008 - Photography becomes art - Bird on a wire

Jul 17, 2008 - The artist's muse at sunset -- DMC-FZ18

These pictures were taken with my trusty Panasonic DMC-FZ18, on two different nights. Post-processing was done with LightZone 3.

Jul 07, 2008 - Do you need fancy equipment?

One of the nice things about the revolution in digital photography is that it has made it much easier to digitize an art collection, in terms of both cost and time.

Jul 04, 2008 - Now here's my plan

In my last post, I explained why tracking cookies are the work of the devil. They put things on your machine without your knowledge or consent, give no benefit, and can slow down any web site that uses them. To make things worse, the sites that are putting these cookies on your machine are using this information to generate revenue through advertising. You get nothing.

Jul 01, 2008 - Good cookie, bad cookie

I'm going to use an analogy to explain my thoughts on this subject.

Jun 28, 2008 - But seriously, folks...

Serious crime continues to drop, but...

Jun 26, 2008 - Post-processing Mr. Squirrel

Jun 16, 2008 - A museum of one's own

I think that the foremost aspiration of any artist is that their work will be remembered and will be available to be seen. The pinnacle of this is for an artist to have their own museum. Imagine, a whole building dedicated to just your works of art. And, of course, your name is in great big letters across the front of the building. Since it's your museum, you can say just which works will be shown and how they'll be arranged for display.

Jun 11, 2008 - We need new words to describe what's happening

Are we in a recession?

Jun 01, 2008 - Going over to the dark side

As the regular readers of these pages (both of you) have probably noticed, this blog has undergone a major revision. In doing this, there were two goals -- to give a better platform to display the art, and to simplify the page and make it easier to use.

May 10, 2008 - Shooting the moon

The Olympus C-2100UZ was my first digital camera, way back in 2001. And, as my first digital, it was wow! -- 10X zoom lens. optical image stabilizer, and a whopping 2.1 megapixels. One of the first subjects I tried was the moon. After all, I had a lens equivalent to a 380mm lens on a 35mm camera and, with the image stabilizer, shooting the moon became a reality. I turned on spot metering to get the correct exposure and the result was a picture of the moon where you could actually identify some of the features. Wow, indeed.

Apr 24, 2008 - Happy Anniversary, Hobbitt

This is a tribute to the Hobbitt. The Hobbitt is an all-purpose person -- best friend, partner, wife, muse, lover, sous chef -- all that and more, for lo, these may years, and it's all still brand new.

Mar 28, 2008 - The view from my window - DMC-FZ18

One of the biggest differences between living in the country and living in New York City is what you see from your window. In our little house in Queens, you might see a patch of the sky, but mostly you see your neighbors' houses. From our house in Northern Virginia, the view is quite different. You see the sky, the mountain in the distance, and you get a full view of the sunrise and the sunset.

Mar 15, 2008 - My favorite museum

I've visited lots of museums. All the way from the world's smallest Picasso museum (Buitrago del Lozoya) to the giant Louvre Museum (Paris). And lots more in between. But there is only one museum that can be called "The Museum" and that's the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Feb 14, 2008 - A toast to the artist's muse

Most artists are not lucky enough to have their very own muse. Not only do I have my own personal muse, but we have been together for almost 40 years.

Feb 07, 2008 - The DMC-FZ18, a sunset, and a glass of beer

The superzoom cameras like the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 don't get no respect. They're overshadowed by the big fancy DSLRs. And while the bigger, fancier cameras have lots of features, the little guys like the DMC-FZ18 have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Jan 07, 2008 - Remembering Herbert Keppler

Herbert Keppler passed away last week. Sad news for all of the photography world and sadder still for those of us who knew him and worked with him. Burt (never Herb) was the editor and publisher of Modern Photography Magazine and went to Popular Photography when Modern folded.

Jan 04, 2008 - Shooting abstracts with the Panasonic DMC-FZ18

It's January 4th and the thermometer says it's 15 degrees outside this morning. Time to find something to do indoors. And time for something completely different. How about shooting some abstract pictures with my DMC-FZ18?

Dec 11, 2007 - Fixing a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 problem

So there I am with my brand new DMC-FZ18, all ready to go. I turn the camera on and get a nasty message in the viewfinder. REMOVE LENS CAP AND PRESS > BUTTON. Whoa! Can't turn the camera on with the lens cap attached? I follow orders and the camera is on, but the lens protrudes from the camera, looking rather exposed to the hard knocks of the real world. And when the lens is at full telephoto, it sticks way out.

Dec 07, 2007 - More pictures from my Panasonic DMC-FZ18

I'm a snapshooter.

Dec 02, 2007 - The journey of a thousand Melvins

Last year, while working on my one-year journal, I made one entry with a picture of of my old friend, Melvin Sokolsky. It was an interesting image, done by reducing the original picture from bitmapped to PostScript where it became a series of objects. I added a red outline around each shape to create an unusual effect.

Nov 10, 2007 - Stairway to the stars -- Extreme post processing

Photography becomes art when it becomes unphotographic.

Nov 02, 2007 - DMC-FZ18 - Raw vs JPEG - The JPEG Manifesto

Doctor: I've given you a very thorough checkup, Mr. Jones. The best thing for you would be to give up drinking, smoking, and sex. Yes, Mr. Jones, that would be the best thing.

Oct 31, 2007 - Chromatic aberration and the DMC-FZ18

Virtual: Something that you think you have, but you don't.

Oct 29, 2007 - Raw vs JPEG, the DMC-FZ18, and a mystery

Question: What's the difference between photography and the Olympic diving event?

Oct 25, 2007 - Some pictures from my Kodak P880 - Part 2

The Kodak EasyShare P880 is a very interesting camera. Now out of production, there are still a few floating around in the back of some camera stores, as a refurbished camera from Kodak, or on Ebay.

Oct 18, 2007 - Some pictures from my Panasonic DMC-FZ18

To be continued...

Oct 13, 2007 - Some pictures from my Kodak P880 - Part 1

I really love my Kodak Easyshare P880. It's a shame that Kodak stopped making them. It comes with a razor-sharp wide angle lens (24mm equivalent), and a slightly larger image sensor that makes the most of it's 8.1 megapixels.

Oct 09, 2007 - DMC-FZ18 - Don't be afraid of the dark

Here's another episode in the ongoing saga of shooting in "Medium" -- working in JPEG, while getting most of the benefits of Raw format.

Oct 04, 2007 - Shooting in "Medium" - DMC-FZ18 - The right exposure

This is a continuation of the series about shooting in "Medium.," a term I made up for shooting in JPEG format, but still getting many of the advantages of shooting in Raw format. This episode is about getting the right exposure.

Oct 02, 2007 - Shooting in "Medium" and the Panasonic DMC-FZ18

The FZ18's ability to save files in Raw format has caused a lot of buzz in the online forums.

Sep 30, 2007 - In-use review -- Panasonic DMC-FZ18 - Part 2

The Olympus C2100UZ (affectionately referred to as the "UZI") was my first camera that had an image-stabilization system. It was an "optical image stabilizer" that moved one of the elements in the lens to compensate for camera shake. For the previous 45-odd years that I had been taking pictures, shooting hand-held at slow shutter speeds was a test of my ability to act as a human tripod.

Sep 27, 2007 - In-use review -- Panasonic DMC-FZ18 - Part 1

Always looking for the latest and the greatest, I have a new camera -- a Panasonic DMC-FZ18. So new, in fact, that most stores don't even have it in stock as yet. I got mine at the local Costco, which has a special bundle that throws in a 1GB memory card and a case, all for about twenty bucks off the list price. The only downside is that Costco doesn't offer extended warranties for digital cameras.

Sep 24, 2007 - Photography becomes art - Fantasy at Ida Lee

One day last winter, the Hobbitt and I took a drive up to Ida Lee Park. It's in Leesburg, about twenty miles north of us. On a winter's day, there's not much to photograph. All that I came away with was this shot of some trees, reflected in the water, with a cloudless sky behind them.

Sep 16, 2007 - A note of thanks to an old friend

I first met Melvin Sokolsky about fifty years ago. I was about eighteen and wanted to become a photographer, so I figured I could learn the craft if I worked for another photographer. I was Melvin's first assistant and though I didn't know that much, he thought that I had promise and kept me on.

Sep 10, 2007 - Photography becomes art - The chefs at Little Washington

The Hobbitt and I were getting a little house-happy a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to take a road trip. The destination we picked was Washington, Virginia, home of the famous "Inn at Little Washington." It was only about an hour's drive from our house, along the splendid, scenic roads of northern Virginia.

Sep 08, 2007 - My new old camera - the Kodak Easyshare P880

I recently got another new/old camera -- a Kodak Easyshare P880.

Jul 06, 2007 - Photography becomes art - Variations on a theme

In this exercise, I'm going to start with one picture, then go down a number of different paths to see what sort of variations I can produce. The starting point is a picture taken in the Greek and Roman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Jun 30, 2007 - Doing the impossible - Part 4 - The final result

Here are some additional notes about the computer-controlled zoom lens used to shoot the opening scene of The Godfather.

Jun 28, 2007 - Doing the impossible - Part 3 - The solutions

Here are some of the solutions to the puzzles that were involved in the design and building of the computer-controlled zoom lens used to shoot the opening scene of The Godfather.

Jun 26, 2007 - Doing the impossible - Part 2 - The challenges

Here are some of the design and philosophy issues that were involved in the design and building of the computer-controlled zoom lens used to shoot the opening scene of The Godfather.

Jun 24, 2007 - Doing the impossible - Part 1 - The Godfather

This story begins about 40 years ago. I was recently out of the army and I'd been making a living writing for photo magazines and designing gadgets to be used in making TV commercials. I had an idea for building a computer-controlled zoom lens that would be used in shooting movies and commercials. I had no engineering background, but I convinced a small group to finance the idea. Two years later, I was nominated for an Academy Award, and the next year my lens was used to shoot the opening scene of The Godfather.

Jun 20, 2007 - All the (art) news that's fit to print

A couple of days ago, my son asked me where I go to get the latest news about the art world. I suspect that he expected me to name some cutting-edge, art-oriented web site, but I didn't. I responded that I go the New York Times, "the newspaper of record," which has better coverage of the art world than any other source I know of.

Jun 18, 2007 - The museum becomes art - #1

Today we're at the metropolitan Museum in new York City. It's one of my favorite places and it's probably the most important museum in the world. Unfortunately, I don't live in new York anymore.

Jun 15, 2007 - Photography becomes art - Making an angel

Here we are in Rome, at the Castel Sant'Angelo. Not as popular as the Vatican or St. Peter's basilica, but quite interesting in its history, which goes back quite a ways.

May 30, 2007 - Some theories about the Sony DSC-H9

The Sony DSC-H9 has been out for about five weeks and it seems to be a real love-it-or-hate-it camera. Discussions on the Internet forums have been, at times, quite heated, verging on flame wars. Fortunately, the camera forums are peopled by folks who believe in tact and discretion. Things quieted down a bit after the "professional" reviews were published.

May 22, 2007 - How to test a camera

Forty-five years ago, I wrote camera reviews for Modern Photography Magazine. Testing a camera was a lot harder in those days, as our equipment was quite limited. It placed heavy demands on the experience and skill of the people doing the testing.

May 21, 2007 - Hitting the wall

"Who put eight mushy megapixels in that itty-bitty sensor?"

May 19, 2007 - Extreme post-processing - Working with infrared

Here is the original image. A picture of a tapestry at the Vatican in Rome. It was shot with a Sony DSC-F707 in "Nightshot" infrared mode. The result is overall green, somewhat underexposed. Sort of what you might see with night-vision binoculars. There is some color hiding in here if you look for it.

May 17, 2007 - Everything old is new again

If you've been reading here recently, you've been following the details of my romance with the Sony DSC-H9 camera. The bad news is that it ended in divorce due to irreconcilable differences -- It had poor image quality and there were a number of design flaws that made me question Sony's judgment.

May 15, 2007 - Some further thoughts on the Sony DSC-H9

These remarks are in response to some of the comments that I received about my earlier posts evaluating the Sony DSC-H9.

May 14, 2007 - Farewell, my DSC-H9 - a mini review

It was like a bad marriage. I really tried to make it work but, in the end, I couldn't. The divorce from my Sony DSC-H9 was made final yesterday. There was a settlement (more about this later) and we parted amicably.

May 11, 2007 - Learning to live with the Sony DSC-H9

It's always interesting, sometimes challenging, learning to work with a new piece of equipment, and the Sony's new DSC-h9 camera is no different. There are some new things, some annoying things, and some downright challenging things. Here are a few that I've worked out.

May 08, 2007 - Possibilities

The problems that I ran into with the Sony DSC-H9 fall into two broad categories:

May 05, 2007 - Some thoughts about cameras - The Sony DSC-H9

Normally, I write about computer system design issues. But this entry will be my thoughts about a new camera that I've been using. Cameras are systems, too, with many design issues and tradeoffs.

Apr 09, 2007 - Blogging 2.0 - A new interface

Most blogs resemble the format of a printed newspaper. Articles strung one after another into a long vertical strip. If an article is too long, there's a "continued on page.." sort of link to the rest of the post. If there were comments, there would be a link to this area as well.

Mar 29, 2007 - A funny thing happened on my way to the blog

I spent three weeks playing with the more popular blogging programs before giving up.

Mar 28, 2007 - In the beginning...

What you are reading here marks the latest iteration in a journey that began over fifty years ago. During that time, I have had two pursuits -- building things and creating art. There will be all sorts of interesting stories in the entries that follow.