My heart stopped thinking that bottlers are shameless in the quest to expand their market reach”. 😉 “Just outside the gates of Ubud Monkey Forest“, which is in Indoensia, “this monkey stole a water bottle […]
Author: Joe Wilcox
The ‘Cesarean is Safer’ Lie
So I’m sitting at McDonald’s with my 93 year-old father-in-law, who likes to eat from the all-day breakfast menu for lunch. Behind him, across the aisle, sit three elderly gents who don’t look to be quite as old but nevertheless it’s a 70-plus group. They gather daily apparently.
One man announces that he can’t make lunch tomorrow. “My daughter is having a baby”. When, another geezer asks. “At 9:30 in the morning” is the answer. “How do you know?” I could answer that one, and the reason why. I lean forward and listen with greater focus. “She’s having a Cesarean”, the man answers. What he says next chills my bones and inflames my anger: The doctor says that the procedure is “safer” than natural childbirth.
Flickr a Day 326: ‘City of Love’
Paris is known by many names, and surely “City of Love” is one of them—hence, today’s self-title. Reiner Girsch captured the sweet moment around April 9, 2015, when the photo uploaded to Flickr (he joined […]
Flickr a Day 325: ‘Photoception’
Last month, Alex Holyoake crossed the English Channel to explore Paris. “The sights and views the city has to offer are fantastic”, he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city that can offer such breathtaking views and shots. Unfortunately the constant travelling that we did and the infernal stairs we had to climb took our breath away too”.
During the exploration, Alex shot self-titled “Photoception” on Oct. 12, 2015, using Canon EOS 600D and EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 640, 1/50 sec, 50mm. The photo takes the Day for clever composition and beautiful bokeh.
Reporting Accuracy Starts with Responsible Sourcing
If you’re a blogger or journalist and read nothing else this week, make it New York Times story “Paris Attacks Give Rise to Fakes and Misinformation“. The Nov. 16, 2015 postmortem shows why, why, why I constantly harp about responsible sourcing. The Internet is not a reliable news source. You must corroborate and should, never, never, never second source anything you can’t confirm independently, or, in the case of breaking events, you can trust reliably.
I’ve been bitching on this blog since posting, in May 2010, “The Difference Between Blogging and Journalism“; September 2011 followup: “Single Sourcing is the Source of News Evil“. Or you can refer to the chapter on sourcing from my ebook Responsible Reporting: A Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers.
Flickr a Day 324: ‘The Day After’
The world feels different today, which is November 17th when I prepare this post for you. Russia confirms that a terrorist bomb felled Flight 9268, while Western forces increase air strikes against the Islamic State […]
Flickr a Day 323: ‘L’accordéoniste’
We continue seven days of Paris street photography, with the fourth, self-titled “L’accordéoniste”, or “Accordionist”. Sylvain Courant describes: “Joueur d’orgue de barbarie sur les grands boulevards” (“Barrel organ player on the big boulevards”.) Sylvain shot our […]
Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR lens
I retract regrets stated two days ago about parting with the Fujifilm X100T. Today I had chance to use the Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR lens attached to the X-T1. Wow, the 53mm film-equivalent glass swipes away my major complaints compared to using the smaller camera.
For starters: The aperture ring offers tactile response. You can feel the click between stops, which are unmistakably visible at a glance. When the San Diego sunlight is to too bright for me to easily see numbers in the electronic viewfinder, the ring reveals the aperture by touch. Click. Click.
Flickr a Day 322: ‘Paris est Amour’
Our Paris parade of street photography continues—my small way of showing solidarity with a nation mourning, following Friday the 13th’s terrorist attacks. Stéphane Toumayan extends a photographic meme flourishing across Flickr and other social sites: […]
‘Paris, I Love You’
I haven’t quite abandoned Tidal, despite bassy boom when using my new Sennheiser Momentum 2 headphones. Lossless listening is otherwise enjoyable; the problem starts with the cans and ends with the music streaming service not providing a graphic equalizer. I understand there being no EQ, if the point is high-fidelity that fairly accurately represents the original recording. That said, I really need to throttle back bass, or my ears ache. Aging sucks.
Tidal’s playlists are consistently fresh and superbly curated. Today’s delight: “Paris Je T’aime“, or “Paris, I Love You”, which timing isn’t coincidental, following Friday the 13th terrorist attacks that killed 129 around the city. “Memoria”, by Indochine, is the 22-track playlist’s standout.
Flickr a Day 321: ‘Paris 13/11/15’
Few pics posted Creative Commons capture so aptly the dire sentiment searing parents and their children following Friday the 13th’s devastating terrorist attacks on the streets of Paris. Simply self-titled “Paris 13/11/15”, Sabrina Neveu captions: “Quel monde s’offre […]
What I Miss About the Fuji X100T
Not long after buying the Fujifilm X-T1 in July I sold my beloved X100T. At the time, it didn’t make much economic sense to keep both. Some decisions, no matter their practically, we regret. I miss the X100T’s simplicity, portability, and manageability.
The X-T1’s appeal is full manual control, including ISO, and interchangeable lens. But for me, the fixed-lens camera’s aperture ring is a killer feature. In the bright San Diego, I often find even X-T1’s excellent electronic viewfinder is difficult to read. I typically shoot aperture priority, but consistently can’t read the setting. The X100T offers tactile clicks from a ring which numerals are clearly etched into the metal. Then there is benefit of the optical viewfinder, which works well for me outdoors.