My Blog

Visiting ProFusion Expo

Artistic Ideas, Expertise, Gear, Photography

Earlier this month, I ventured into that den of iniquity – the largest photo and video trade show in Canada, called Profusion Expo. It is hosted by retail vendor Vistek here in Toronto. It brings together vendors of all the major camera and video brands, and includes a myriad of special presentations from their ambassadors along with the opportunity to put hands on their latest equipment.

The retail marketplace has changed big-time for this market since Covid. Products are not refreshed as often, and when they are, the new releases are not available everywhere for customers to see and touch before buying. Anything I’ve bought in the last few years has been online or as a “pre-order”, sight unseen. One reason for my going to the show this year was to see what I could not see elsewhere. It did not disappoint.

Continue reading “Visiting ProFusion Expo” →

Why is Astrophotography So Popular Now?

astrophotography, Expertise, My Community, Photography, Tools

If you check the sales numbers of the top camera manufacturers worldwide over the last 15 years, you will see that sales have dropped by more than 90%. The market for traditional camera sales has clearly bottomed out, with most of us relying on our cellphones now to capture those memorable daytime visual experiences.

In contrast, the market for astrophotography is exploding, particularly in the 30-40 year age groups. Inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic, sales have skyrocketed. While still technically a niche subject, the number of companies now that offer specialized astrophotography equipment, along with the number of companies that will design and build a custom home observatory for you, is growing by leaps and bounds. There are also star parties around the world each year where enthusiasts gather to share experiences and ideas. YouTube searches for astrophotography confirm the growing interest, although there is a strange unexplained dip between 2018 and 2020.

My last blog post talked about a move away from technology to more analogue options, especially for young folk. This bucks that trend bigtime. Why?

Continue reading “Why is Astrophotography So Popular Now?” →

What’s Up with Retro?

Gear, Interesting Stuff, Life, Photography

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?” →

How Perfect is Perfect?

Artistic Ideas, Life, Photography

One odd thing I’ve run into in both daytime and astrophotography is the hunt for the perfect image. The number of photographers who mention it, speak about their quest for it, show their edits for it and either feel rewarded or insulted if others don’t share their views has always puzzled me.

The definition of perfect of course takes many forms. Here are a few examples.

Continue reading “How Perfect is Perfect?” →

My Next Trip

Life, Photography, travel

Over the past few months, I’ve had a number of experiences that have shaped how I will be approaching travel in the future.

Seniors are definitely great travelers. It’s what the retirement brochures say you will be doing with your time once you retire – visiting family far away, visiting places you have never seen before, having adventures with like-minded souls and meeting new friends. All hyped up to help you comfortably transition from filling your days with work to filling your days with ???

But I’ve never been a big traveler. There are a number of reasons for that, but mostly because I’m a solo traveler – no regular companion. A number of reasons for that too, but I digress. I was determined to add more travel to my retirement plans and have only modestly achieved that goal. Some trips have been with family, some have been with friends, some have been with groups having a common interest and some have been on my own. I’ve enjoyed some more than others but have learned something from each one.

In the past few months, I’ve looked into 5 separate trips, each one offering something different. Two are now booked, another will likely be booked by the new year, one is complete and the other, well, didn’t happen. Here’s what I’ve learned about me and my travel interests at this stage of my life.

Continue reading “My Next Trip” →

A Fantastic Month

astrophotography, My Community, Photography

Summer is coming to a close here in Canada. The evenings are darker and the mornings are just a bit cooler (although this past week we had a literal heat dome for 2 days where you would just start to sweat taking one step outside). But I have had a fantastic month and wanted to share it.

Continue reading “A Fantastic Month” →

Changing Priorities

Artistic Ideas, Videos

I love to write. I love to read. Have been that way since I was a kid. I would much rather read a well-written article than watch pretty much any show, video or online short. But sometimes, priorities change. I’ve decided to give a more concerted try to YouTube – to learn how to create visual media that will be informative and more entertaining. I’ve dabbled in it for several years, but am now stepping up my game.

Continue reading “Changing Priorities” →

Image-ination

Artistic Ideas, Photography

I went for a walk in the neighbourhood the other evening. It was a beautiful evening and I had to get out, if only to feel the late day sun and smell the air. Late spring air smells lovely.

I found myself stopping at various points along the way: watching a neighbourhood baseball game, greeting a neighbour out with his family, watching some kids skateboarding on the oval. And something unusual happened. I started taking pictures, without a camera.

Continue reading “Image-ination” →

Family Moments

Life, Photography

Early spring for my family is filled with birthdays, including mine. This year, the eldest sibling in our family reached 70 years of age. Who would have thought that day would come! Seems we were all just in our twenties, let loose on the world to make a difference.

My brother turned 70 and we gathered the extended family at a restaurant to celebrate. Mid-way, my sister suggested, and my niece’s husband took, a group portrait of all us old ones (I was going to use another word…) and that resulting image has now been shared with everyone through multiple printed copies. (Not shared here for privacy reasons.)

I realized as I printed the photos that we don’t have many family moments like these in pictures. A sad reality of growing up in a household where food and clothing were the priorities and a camera was a luxury we could not afford. But you don’t get a second chance at these. So I have a few thoughts on this subject.

Continue reading “Family Moments” →

Discovering Young Talent

Life, My Community, Photography

It’s a sad reality for each generation that we tend to gravitate either to the familiar – people we know – or to the contemporary – people who are like us. That means same generation, maybe the same values, maybe the same challenges, maybe the same likes and dislikes.

It’s certainly somewhat true for me and something I have to work hard to avoid as I get older. Even in this age of endless social media, I now tend to seek and follow people who are closer in age to me than to the grandbabies in the family. It’s not because they share the same likes and dislikes, but more because they share the same challenges of age, mobility and have somewhat similar general life experiences as me (didn’t grow up in the Internet age).

I think it’s important to recognize these trends in us and maybe from time to time to step away from them. Here’s a couple ways I’ve done that.

Continue reading “Discovering Young Talent” →