bark abstract #4
So here I sit, another Saturday morning, coffee cup in hand and dog yanking on my pant leg. Life is good. Last year was pretty quiet for me as far as blogging and photography go. This is one of a small handful of photos that I made all year… I’ll just call it my best of 2012. Mostly I’ve been dealing with other priorities and pondering where to take things from here. I’ve been simplifying, making a few changes, and a few decisions.
First of all is the matter of my other blog, buzztail. I’d been doing that one for almost seven years. It’s been mostly inactive lately, but always nagging at the back of my mind so I decided to retire it. Nothing lasts forever, blogs included, and to my mind buzztail ran it’s course. I’m keeping the name and domain so it’s possible that I’ll start it up again someday in a different form, but I have no plans for that. For now it’s history, and it’s a relief. If I want to pass along any timely information on environmental issues I can do it on twitter. If I do any writing on wilderness I can use other avenues to publish. Like ebooks. For now, this is my only blog, and I can concentrate on it and my photography.
Speaking of which… I had been playing with film again recently. I used film for years, I still love it, and had thought of switching back to using it rather than digital. But no. It’s not really the way to go. The quality of digital images and the immediacy of it were the deciding factors… whether I go out and shoot one photograph or a hundred, I can load them into the computer and work with them right away. No need to finish a roll of film, bring it in to a lab and wait a few days to get the negs and scans back, and pay about thirty bucks to boot. It’s simply not worth it to me.
Like most photographers do, I pondered upgrading to a new camera. Recent innovations in mirrorless technology intrigued me and I looked into a few of those cameras, particularly the Sony NEX-6 and NEX-7, the Olympus OM-D, and the Fujifilm X100. There are several good camera stores here in LA and I was able to handle a few and see what I thought of them. Long story short, I don’t really like any of them. I like an eye level viewfinder, it’s just what I’m used to, and though these have them it’s obvious you’re looking at an electronic version of what’s in front of you rather than seeing it directly like you do with a mirrored SLR. To my notion the images in the viewfinder looked artificial and were a bit jerky and annoying. A minor annoyance, true, but enough to make me realize I still prefer a DSLR to a mirrorless camera, in which case I have no need to replace what I already have. I don’t need to upgrade my equipment… just my vision and skills. So — no new cameras for me at this point. That too is a relief.
As it stands I have a good camera, a good computer, and a good printer. None are top of the line, but they’re all good. Now my job will be to get good enough to make the most of them.
With that, I’d better go play with the dog before she takes my pant leg off to the knee.
Keep in touch…
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8 Responses to blogs and cameras and stuff
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for your bookshelf
Ansel Adams: Letters, 1916 - 1984
The Daybooks of Edward Weston; Two Volumes in One: I. Mexico, II. California
Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History: The Story of the Legendary Photo Agency
Dialogue with Photography: Interviews by Paul Hill and Thomas Cooper
Beginning GIMP: From Novice to Professional
Focus: Memoirs of a Life in Photography
Witness in Our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers
I hate to see Buzztail go. Did you erase the content? Couldn’t you just keep it as a library? At the same time, I do understand you wanting to simplify and narrow your focus. That’s what I’m doing these days. I like what you wrote here about upgrading your vision rather than equipment. We could all take heed to this.
You know, I’ve thought about shutting buzztail down for a long time but have been reluctant to do it. I finally realized after about 2 or 3 years of doing little with it that it was little more than extra weight I’ve been dragging around, so I pulled the plug.
Actually it’s all still there… I haven’t erased anything. I just locked it behind Private WP. I can go through it and keep the posts I think are worth keeping and use them somewhere if I want. Who knows… maybe I’ll even start it back up again someday, though I don’t foresee that.
There’s a lot of great vision in this post–I think you sound at peace, which is good. Buzztail…well, I’m sorry I couldn’t contribute more; although I never said it outright, I think one blog is all I really have time for. I do think it was (is?) a great project though. It will be good to receive your action alerts via Twitter if nothing else.
As far as equipment goes, I’m probably something of a gearhead, but I decided that I’m content with all my gear as well, and that makes me happy. I’m not particularly wanting for anything right now.
Lovely image…I can see why you like it so much. I hope 2013 brings some new inspiration.
I appreciate the contributions you did make… you added some class to a dying blog.
It’s not like you were under any commitment. I trust that you still have the posts you sent to buzztail in the archives of your blog, but if you need me to I can send them back to you. I haven’t deleted anything yet, and probably won’t for some time. You can still sign in if you have any reason to.
One blog is plenty to keep up with. I’ve struggled with this one lately too… it’s going through a bit of a slack period. I’m tempted at times to pull the plug on it too and just walk away. Not likely though. I might be quiet here for awhile but I’ll get it back on it’s feet.
As far as the image goes, I’m a bit ambivalent about it. I like it, but it’s not one that really excites me a whole lot. Not a greatest hit by any means, but the best I did last year. Oh well…
New Starts…. sounds like you’re ready. Enjoy the ride PJ!
Will do… it always feels good to unload the excess baggage…
Thanks for dropping by Derrick. Always good to hear from you.
I wonder how most people have the time to keep up blogs, social media sites, etc, etc – let alone two blogs! I suppose sleep is just an option these days?
You know, I ran them both side by side for about 3 or 4 years on blogspot domains, and in fact buzztail was my main blog and this one was more of a sideline.
Three years ago I switched to self-hosted WordPress for both and this one started to gain some ground and buzztail dwindled away. I never gave it enough attention after that and it never recovered.
I don’t think it’s that difficult to run two blogs if you commit to doing it. I think it’s that social media crap that sucks up your time. I could run them both if I really wanted to, but that’s the bottom line… I don’t want to. My decision is of course subject to change any time I choose.