San Diego-based Nathan Rupert should be among the photographers featured, starting Day 189, for Comic-Con 2015. But his body of work is too grand to be so narrowly defined. That said, choosing one from among […]
Flickr a Day 186: ‘Sitting on a Bench’
As an American, even one who is unusually informed, my understanding of the crisis in Greece is shallow at best. But I grasp enough to know that today’s historic referendum could fundamentally change the country’s role in the Euro zone or even topple the government. Yesterday, I spent several hours looking for the right image to represent the vote, finally giving up.
The Day goes to self-titled “Sitting on a Bench”, which Spyros Papaspyropoulos shot in Crete on March 4, 2013, using the Sony NEX-6 and E 35mm F1.8 OSS lens. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 100, 1/1250 sec, 35mm. In 2015, he shoots with the Ricoh GR and Fujifilm X-Pro1.
Buy or Die
That is the title I gave this photo half-decade ago captured on July 24, 2010, during my second San Diego Comic-Con. In the six years attended so far, Leica X1 is unmatched for the photos produced. […]
Flickr a Day 185: ‘The American’
Happy Fourth of July and celebration of what would become the United States some 239 years later. Caroline Castillo captured self-titled “The American” on Aug. 27, 2006, using Canon PowerShot S2 IS. Vitals: f/3.2, 1/60 […]
Flickr a Day 184: ‘Brilliant Emerald (Somatochlora Metallica)’
If dragonflies, damselflies, and butterflies are you thing—as they are mine, being a bug lover— Paul Ritchie gives glorious, intimate views of them. The Day goes to self-titled “Brilliant Emerald (Somatochlora Metallica)”, which he shot […]
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Early 2015) Review
Reviewing most any MacBook Pro is a pointless exercise, because this year’s model isn’t much different from the previous—or the one before. That’s why I typically buy refurbished rather than new. But I broke with that practice last month, after a sudden electrical calamity laid my wife’s laptop to rest. Fried and died it is. With Apple releasing new versions of iOS and OS X and launching a streaming music service, a summer sojourn seemed opportune. I lent my beloved the Chromebook Pixel LS and purchased a new MBP. She will never give up the Google laptop, BTW.
I wouldn’t call myself super satisfied with MacBook Pro, which feels slower than the last one used, which packed 2.6GHz Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 512GB SSD. Current: 2.7GHz Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. The 2015 model has newer-gen Intel chip compared to the 2013 refurb. Could the difference be speedier storage? Perhaps it’s subjective recall, coming from the Pixel, which feels fast, with its 2.4GHz i7 microprocessor and 16GB memory. I have long asserted that Google’s target market is the MacBook Pro buyer, and that’s a recurrent theme you’ll find if reading further.
Flickr a Day 183: ‘Photo Bomber’
Yesterday, someone barging into the shot, made it. Today, the interrupter takes away while adding more. Self-titled “Photo Bomber” is more literal, given that’s a plane rising. Risto Kuulasmaa is right to keep this pic, […]
I Should Thank the President
We are solid citizens again, with health insurance in place for the first time since May 1, 2009. Last November, I shared about “My Uninsured Life“. Now that circumstances changed, update is warranted, even if brief. Our coverage started as of Midnight today. We are among those Americans subsidized through Obamacare.
Our monthly family premium is a paltry $101 and some change per month for HMO plan with $500 annual individual deductible. The subsidy rewards the insurer with another $1,100 during the same time period. Someone please explain to me how such a gap doesn’t somehow reflect increased healthcare costs. What the frak?
Flickr a Day 182: ‘Tongue and Street’
We begin the second half of the year with a treat—two, really; shot and shooter. San Diego, Calif.-based Wayne S. Grazio is a former Navy photographer; post-military career “volunteering for worldwide non-profit imaging assignments”. He explains: “I freelance as a hobby and occasionally take on client’s assignments and imaging projects for volunteer organizations”. His art extends behind the camera: He has a “passion for digital manipulation and learning advanced techniques in Photoshop, Lightroom, and third party plug-ins”.
Wayne shot self-titled “Tongue and Street” on June 12, 2015, using the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. The compact’s built-in lens packs whopping 4.3-215mm focal range, which benefits he maximizes in his travels. Vitals: f/4, ISO 400, 1/250 sec, 4.3mm. Yes, he shot this one wide.
Flickr a Day 181: ‘Inner Ring Drop’
We end the first half of the year with something not seen in this series until today. Joe Dyer is a high-speed photographer—taking “natural, mostly birds, and studio shots of liquids glass and other props”, […]
Why iPhone Matters
Happy Birthday! iPhone is 8 years-old today. Oh my, it seems so much longer because so much has changed. Think back. Eight years ago, there was no Android. YouTube was but 18 months available to the public, and Facebook or Twitter only about a year. There was no market for tablets, or smartwatches.
The iPhone marks everything right about the Steve Jobs era of risk-taking design. More changes: He is gone from this world and some of that other-worldly innovation with him. In 2007, the smartphone was a decade-old slow seller that few people owned. Now it’s everywhere! Apple deserves credit for the transformation, whether or not anyone wants to give it.
Flickr a Day 180: ‘Strolling in Venice’
Someone please explain how we come to yet another photographer whose first name is Stefano (see Days 24, 67, and 68 for the others). “Photography for me is about escaping from my technical mind and […]