Just watched a video by Thomas Heaton, one of my favourite landscape photographers, about his 10 years on YouTube and what it has meant to his life.
Well, that got me thinking. 10 years ago, I retired from working for a living for a salary. It was actually in June of this year, but I didn’t stop to dwell on it then. Year ends are usually time for reflection, so I think it’s time for mine.
Continue reading “10 Years”Can’t believe it’s that season again – when we all struggle with trying to decide what to buy for those who are closest to us. We want to celebrate their importance to us and to celebrate how we feel about them. Apart from dealing with the commerciality of the season, this end goal is really, really hard because it means so much.
Gift giving seems to go through a variety of transitions over our lives. We go through phases of gift giving – initially, we give gifts that say something cute to a new friend or romantic interest but may just be a trinket or token; we then move to gifts that are trendy because everyone wants one; eventually, we indulge in financially more expensive gifts that say “you deserve this” and then, when we and our loved ones have all the stuff we need, ultimately, we look for gifts that are more personal, less commercial, perhaps even made with the hands of the gift giver.
At this stage of my life, I’ve come full circle around gift giving. Most of my family and friends have as well. What to do for those who really don’t need more stuff? Here are a few ideas.
Continue reading “Gift Giving – 2024 Edition”I watched a piece recently in which a 20-something YouTuber extoled the virtues of a fixed lens, limited function camera that has been sold out since its release – the Fuji X100VI. His message was a simple one – it makes photography fun again. He is a professional photographer and it seems none of his other higher end Canon mirrorless cameras were fun any longer.
I saw something similar in my recent short career working in a camera store – young people in their teens or twenties with old film cameras they had found in the attic or purchased at a thrift store. They wanted to buy film and/or get a quick lesson on how to use them. In those cases, they often did not know anything about photography, but wanted to learn using these cameras, not something more advanced. When asked about the appeal of these devices to them, the answer was – I’m told they are fun.
I have only one question for both – why?
Continue reading “What’s Up with Retro?”For some odd reason, over the past couple of weeks, several of the landscape photographers I follow have posted videos about their YouTube experiences. Some have been active for years, others for just a couple. But all are reconsidering what the effort to produce content ultimately means to them and whether/how they should continue.
Most have noticed a slowing in the growth of their channel in both views and followers. Some of that appears to be a legitimate change in audience interests. But some of it also seems to be the ever present YouTube algorithm, which chooses how and how often a video is presented for viewing.
I rely on YouTube for my artistic “fix” and also for more mundane activities such as home repairs. So this change is troubling to me. What does it mean?
Continue reading “Is YouTube Dying?”I live near Toronto, Canada. On April 8 of 2024, my city will be just on the fringes of a total solar eclipse, with 99.8% of the sun plunged into temporary darkness. Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Rochester, New York, will be in the direct path of the eclipse. Might be doing a drive across the border. 
The eclipse is expected to last almost 2-1/2 hours, with “totality” lasting about 4 minutes from 3:18 to 3:22 p.m. local time. NASA has a full web page dedicated to the eclipse at: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/.
Photographers and astrophotographers everywhere are making preparations to capture the eclipse. Some have elaborate plans to drive to, fly to and/or camp out in areas where they “know” there will be no clouds. They have multiple setups with long lenses, wide lenses, telescopes, video and still photography planned. There are whole collections of people from astronomy clubs, photography clubs and those just out for an adventure that are planning to camp out. Regardless of how you plan to experience the eclipse, if you do plan to capture it, there are some things you need to know.
Continue reading “Photographing the Solar Eclipse”It’s that time of year when we stress out about getting gifts for the people in our lives that already have everything. Seniors (and I am one) are particularly hard to buy for because of three main things:
So, what do you get for the senior photographer in your life? Family, take note:
Continue reading “Gifts for the Senior Photographer”
Perhaps the most puzzling trend I have seen in photography since I became immersed in it in 2014 is the rising popularity of film photography. The digital revolution essentially killed the still film photography industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Storefronts and labs closed, film production ceased, makers like Kodak essentially went out of business. But things have changed bigtime. There have always been the stalwarts that preferentially choose this medium. The puzzle is around young photographers or average non-photographer folk who now select this as their preferred way of presenting their creations. I have some thoughts on why this might be happening.
Continue reading “Film Rises Again”Missed my regular post date a couple weeks ago. It’s been a crappy July so far. Long story short – I’m recovering from a non-Covid illness that floored me as much as Covid likely would. Just getting on my feet again. After close to three weeks.
And to top it off, the Internet provider I use had a massive country-wide outage recently that took everything down. Lasted only a day, but you realize exactly how dependent you are on them and on it when it is not there. That’s today’s piece: why are we so dependent?
Continue reading “You Are Offline!”I seem to be full of metaphors today: “one door closes, another opens”. Or “Nina has left the building”. Or “The End” followed by a mike drop.
Three years ago I said yes to a volunteer role with my local camera club. That role had the lofty title of Program and Education Director. Having worked in corporate Canada for 35 years, I knew a Director was a big deal and that taking it on meant a serious commitment of ideas, time and energy. Three years later, one pandemic later (hopefully) and more than 35 club meetings and events later, I can honestly say that was true. I ended my stay in that role today, turning it over to another club member who I hope will enjoy it as much as I did.
Continue reading “One Door Closes…”I work at a camera store. Have been for the past 5 months. I love talking with customers about their photography interests and options. So many different experiences, so many peculiar situations. Everything from those who have accidentally attached an accessory incorrectly and can’t detach it to those who have a peculiar photographic need such as surveillance in their role as a private investigator.
Continue reading “But I Can Get It Cheaper on Amazon”Fine Art, Architecture, Landscape and Event Photography
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