Category: Media

Photo by Joe Wilcox
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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. 

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News Media by Joe Wilcox
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credit: Roger H. Goun

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. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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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. 

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Living by Joe Wilcox
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‘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. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Flickr a Day 320: ‘Demonstration Against the Notre Dame des Landes Airport’

We follow up yesterday’s street protest pic with another: Self-titled “Demonstration Against the Notre Dame des Landes Airport”, which Philippe Leroyer captured on Feb. 22, 2014 in Nantes, France. You did not misread—and identify major reason why the photo takes the Day. The raging flames feel wrong given what looks like a war zone but is not. The pic’s composition is excellent and is more dramatic in black and white (see the color companion for comparison).

The violent clash captured by Philippe, a photojournalist, is but one in a series of tense encounters. The airport remains in the news more than 20 months later as a family faces eviction from the home for refusing to vacate lands designated for the facility. 

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Society by Joe Wilcox
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SDCC 2016 Preregistration Success!

At 9:35 a.m., I completed buying a full pass to Comic-Con 2016, four minutes after moving from the Waiting Room to the purchase queue. The pulp-media cultural event costs more every year. I paid $220 this year and $245 for next, which works out to $40 each for Preview Night and Sunday (Family Day) and $55 apiece for the others.

SDCC 2016 is the second year I pay to attend. Comic-Con International did not recertify my press status for 2015. I have submitted fresh verification documentation but took advantage of preregistration rather than wait. My concern is not attending rather than paying. Press certification’s major benefit is assured attendance. But there’s no guarantee that my media status will be approved. 

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