Okay, a Nature Preserve. Where I went 16 years ago to practice and learn how to make photographs with the gear I had. Same as I did today with some new to me gear.
And try out ideas that I had no idea of the result. Knowing that a Digital Negative was just the beginning. Plus a good sweaty workout on about a mile of forest trail, humping 25 lbs of gear. A very good day.
Had some new to me gear to get used to. On a gorgeous Fall preview day at a favorite place, Bond Park in Cary. There were Moms & Dads & Kids with Ice Cream. And Sunfish Sailing Lessons. And Mallard Ducks.
The lens I wanted to use, DHL is inexplicably holding nearby after arriving from Nagoya, Japan last Friday, until next Tuesday. So I used the lens I got for portraits. Made with a Pentax 645Z & FA 645 150MM f2.8
Last time I attended was 2018, event coverage for “Cary Citizen”. Today, in gorgeous Fall preview weather, I found some old friends. And some old friends found me. Vitamins for the heart.
Selling & moving forces a lot of decisions. My mental task list for the next week is full. Meanwhile, nutrition and sleep are still required. So are the tasks necessary to complete the transaction. An upside of my age is understanding the necessity of balance.
If you landed here, surfing for any of my “Brooke Meyer” URLs, it’s not a mistake. Sunset my 14 year old event site today. It was time. The “About” page explains.
I can find any photograph that was published there, if you can tell me something about it.
It was an excuse to get outdoors on a sunny, early spring day. Like today!
A car show. I think it was Don Bulluck Chevy in Rocky Mount. And I remember making this photograph. Had taught myself to be semi-competent with Manual Exposure! Probably, 2010.
And I remember this was in a Chevy Nova II. So ridiculously overpowered. The craft and care it took to build was clear for all to see.
With some hours before the irresistible hoopla of the Super Bowl and desirous of no more examples of inhumanity in the global news, I surfed over to a camera forum dedicated to the brand I used in all my work.
A poster asked for help with the abysmal results he got from a newly purchased, expensive camera featuring the latest auto focus automation – in this case for birds (it’s always birds). It hit a nerve about a relatively recent eBay sale and the fallacious belief that automation will trump understanding and skill.
I made this 13 years ago, with #3 of 12 DSLRs I’ve used since. Hardly current technology.
The technique is straightforward. Reassign Focus from the Shutter button to a button on the back of the camera aka “Back Button Focus” – it’s free! Yes, it does require (horrors) reading a page of the manual. Or watch a You Tube video.
Set the focus function to “Continuous” (mfrs call it different names but it’s still a Rose). Leave it with a single center point . Then point at what you want in focus while holding the rear button with your thumb and track it. Mash the shutter button when you see what you want. Disclaimer: 60 to 80 K of Dancer images per year may result in a callous on your thumb.
Static subject, on a tripod? Just release the back button. Or change the focus mode to “Single”.
Back to eBay. I honestly listed a “Bargain” condition camera body with the real shutter count, some 6OK shy of the mfr. rating. A guy bought it and two hours after he picked it up, e-mailed me it was no good, couldn’t focus on birds in flight. I had set it to mfr defaults. But I’m pretty sure he didn’t read any of the manual.
I immediately refunded his purchase, realizing any explanation was pointless. He did return it. Kept it and another copy, as my retirement gear. Haven’t experienced any issues.
As for the birds, this from camera either #6 or #7 (always kept two of the same model), in 2014
Jane Austen completed “Pride and Prejudice” in 1812. Last Sunday, I made this portrait of a modern devotee.
The J.C. Raulston Arboretum served as “Derbyshire”. It was the very first time I could “see”and abandoned what I’d planned.
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