55 Simple people, simple lives, simple images

Some images, just like some people, break all the rules. And yet they have that ... ummm ... je ne sais quoi. Or as Philadelphians would say ...they have that, "I got no stinkin clue". This is one of those. The crop is hideous. The subject's outline is mangled by the person behind him. The window glass blurs his fantastic hat. BUT ... his expression is priceless! Woohoo!! He saved my butt! Let's call him Martin Chuzzlewit ... not to be confused with Mr. Pecksniff or the younger Martin C.

I shot a lot of buggies in Lancaster County PA that day. Here's another. These buggies were moving surprisingly fast for only having two horsepower (sic). So fast, in fact, it was difficult to get them sharp and I was trying to be discrete so I used my Sigma 150mm (it's the longest lens I have).

Doesn't everyone resonate with the idea of slower and simpler lives? My wife and I spend a few weekends a year in Lancaster slowing ourselves down. Watching simple folk live simple lives. Not many of them have blogs since ... well ... umm ... they don't use ELECTRICITY!! Ok, that's a fallacy. They use a little bit. But no blogs. No Canon 5D mark II's. No Macbooks or photoshop. No twittering or flickring. They don't buy buggies on Ebay or Craigslist for that matter. Drudge is the stuff that you sweep out of the stalls ... wow! ... I really need to get a life.

We usually go to the same B&B (shout out to the Inn at Twin Linden!!). The gardens are gorgeous and the German / Dutch food is ... well ... fattening fer sure. Deep fried chicken in pure lard ...veggies fresh off the vine ... milk that still moos ... steaks that still give milk (eww) ... yummm, numm, nummm.

Ok, enough rambling. Here's another shot for the road (hehehe). Get it!? The road! Get it!?

Why do you guys read this nonsense!?!!!!

Bye for now and peace,

Glen

49 Canon Mystical Mojo?

Is there a mystical Canon mojo? Are there secret color correction algorithms that have been handed down to Canon engineers by Tibetan monks over thousands of years? Or, in this case, Japanese monks, I suppose. Perhaps, as they were endlessly standing on the tips of bamboo poles perfecting their Kung Fu, they were mentally working out lens correction equations ... like say the five fingered exploding heart technique or, in this case, the 50mm exploding bokeh technique.

I've heard tell many times that Canon has a 'magic'. Initially I lumped it as stiff-necked partisanship and religious zeal since I was already stiff-neck-edly (neckedly!?!) partisan toward Nikon myself. I mean, hey, I spent a TON of $$ on that gear! (disclaimer: engineers define "ton of $$" as anything more than the cost of lunch.)

Before going any further, let me say, Nikon use-ability is brilliant. I find every aspect of the feel and use of the D80 to be intuitive and easy. If Canon has the tao of imagery, Nikon has the zen of useability. Ok, with the sugar comes the vinegar. I also find that the pictures I get from the D80 are just that ... pictures. What does that mean? I have no idea. It doesn't mean anything until you see an image that is much MORE than a picture. They have life. They're strong and don't need any help. With my D80, I have to use PS to resuscitate my pics ... to give them life ... to act as a photo-AED (auto-electronic defribillator). CLEEEAAR!!!!!

Sometimes though, I wonder if it is like looking at your sister? She may be drop-dead gorgeous but you can't see it because ... well ... she's your sister!! If I make a 5D mk II part of my family well ... emmmm ... hmm ... eww

Then there is this weird thing that keeps happening. This little voice in my head that says "AHA!!" every time I see a spectacular image that came from a Canon. I think that is the part of me that can't accept that my photography skills stink so it blames the camera. Not sure. It seems to be pretty consistent and pretty accurate. Could I survive a blind-fold test? Doubtful ... but ... well ... maybe.

I'll ramble on about this more later. Meanwhile, I would LOVE to hear your opinions!

PS - if you don't know what I'm talking about, visit some of my fave photogs like Kathleen Connally, Ami Vitale, Mitchell Kanashkevich ... and on and on. Kathleen does very little PP'ing to her images.

Peace and love,

Glen