Here we are, days before Christmas, and you’re thinking about last-minute stocking stuffers. I’ve got an eclectic selection of things I would want to get or give for December 25th. Some of them will demand rushing online to take advantage of last-minute shipping offers. Others require no shipping at all, like music subscription services. Confession: Some items will require a larger stocking but no wrapping.
I present the list alphabetically, and in no order of preference.
What’s missing makes the photographic art of John Meadows so commanding. Color for one. Digital for another. The modern is absent, too. If you look at portraits from one-hundred years ago and earlier, the subjects often don’t smile; typically there’s a seriousness to their facial expressions and bodily postures. The look, feel, and mood is similar; most any of his captures could easily be mistaken for a picture from the 1910s.
But John is a modern shooter blending past and present techniques. “As time goes on, I find myself moving more and more drawn back to film-based photography and historic processes such as Cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown”, he says. “However, I will take advantage of certain digital technology, so even when stating with a film negative my workflow tends to be hybrid”.
The eclectic photostream of Bill Dickinson is nothing short of charming. You don’t know what to expect next—and wouldn’t want to. He shot self-titled “Venus and the Moon” on Dec. 7, 2015, using Nikon D810 and 150-600mm […]
We wrap three days focused on the Foveon sensor with Sigma’s original professional compact—the DP1. I owned the camera, which requires finesse for its clunky controls, slow response, and noisy low-light photos. But color, contrast, […]
Sigma compacts are lean on extras, including video capture, and they demand patience—taking time to thoughtfully compose each shot. They can be point-and-shoots, but they aren’t meant to be. Rather, in competent hands, they produce spectacular IQ (e.g. image quality).
Ben Keough is spot on in his review of the Sigma DP3 Merrill, which Jay Hsu used to capture our selection: “The software deficiencies are all variations on a single theme: If a feature doesn’t help you take an unadulterated still image, the DP3 doesn’t have it. No picture effects, no scene modes, no panoramas, no collages, no dynamic range compensation, and no HDR capture”. The camera is no frills and slow to focus. Oh, but the IQ!
As Christmas comes closer, it’s time to think about rewarding your ears, or someone else’s, with exceptional audio experience—headphones that I would ask Santa to bring for myself or deliver to another. If big, booming bass is your thing, read no further. Buy Beats, Sony, or another brand boasting barreling lows that shake your skull as well as eardrums.
My picks deliver broader audio range, each with warmer mids and highs and amazing detail, depending somewhat on the source of your content. Highly compressed AAC or MP3 tracks lack lots, but these cans will get a little more fidelity from them. CD or lossless source might change how you listen to music forever.
We begin the first of three days ode to the Foveon sensor, which produces a distinct and unmistakable color signature. Inside Sigma compacts, with their fixed prime lenses, the result: Super sharp photos that are […]
The worst of the worst of the worst of the best—picking a single pic from the photostream of Heather Buckley is more challenging than all the other tough cases combined. I could choose any and […]
My father-in-law turned 94 this week. He still lives independently, and we help by being close-by (in an apartment on the next block). He doesn’t get around as easily as he used to; cane is […]
Whoa, here’s a composite that you don’t want to experience in this life or the next. Sam Breach shot self-titled “The Death of Me” on March 23, 2013, using Canon EOS 5D Mark III and EF […]
Forget science fiction fantasies about suddenly stopping the present, or traveling back to the past. Some street photographers are masters of time. They capture a moment, preserve it, and expose within magnificent drama. Thus describes […]
Ho. Ho. Ho. Google gives early Christmas presents this holiday, by focusing on ways that families (or roomies) can better share that which is contextually precious: music, photos, online, payments, and videos. But Big G also trails Apple, which already offers its customers many of the same benefits.
Fresh today: Google Photos Shared Albums, which applies collaborative concepts that Apps users should find familiar. “People receiving the shared album can join to add their own photos and videos, and also get notifications when new pics are added”, according to the official announcement. “You can even save photos and videos from a shared album to your Google Photos library, so that you can hold onto them even if you weren’t the one holding the camera”.