You Are Beautiful (Redux)
You Are Beautiful - 2006
Sunlight streaming through a second floor window creating shadows on the staircase wall. Capturing this image through the front window creating a frame of reflections.
Communication Breakdown
Communication - 09/2006
Seconds later, he was happy as a clam.
Nathan tries very hard to communicate his needs to us. I try very hard to communicate through photography. It strikes me that our lives are not that dissimilar.
Very often with my photography, I know exactly /what/ I want to do. I can see the image in my head. But, like Nathan, I cannot achieve my goal. Either I don't know how to translate the image from my head to my hands and camera, or the result is what I did "see," but not close to what I wanted to communicate.
The advantage that Nathan has is that he has these entities in his life that, somehow, figure out what is wrong, and correct it. Whether it is something as simple as a change of view or something as complex as providing an environment to lull him to sleep. We are Doing It (tm). Sometimes not very well, but overall we are Parents.
I have no photographic Parents to teach or guide me. Most of what I've done so far has been self-taught. I did take 2 courses at Harper College, during which time I felt myself growing by leaps and bounds, but since then I've been solo.
And what I may need is what Nathan is already using: observation. I need to learn by observing, in this case, by becoming more familiar with the history of photography and, in particular, the images produced. What I need are lots and lots of photography books. Not how-to guides, but anthologies and collections. I need to be inspired but I also need repetition. Nathan learns by observing the same phenomena over and over and then replicating. I don't need to necessarily replicate those that have come before me, but I certainly need a mental database of images from which to draw.
Nathan, on the other hand, is learning new and exciting things daily. Most recently I observed him deliberately and with much concentration, stroking the same section of blanket over and over again. It may seem like a silly thing to do, but going from random Danger-Danger-Will-Robinson style arm-flailing to precision directional movement is a Big Change.
Forward-looking
While Nathan really enjoys being held on our shoulders, facing backwards, this only works when the one holding is walking around. And while I would like to think I'm slowly getting stronger as he gains weight, I still can't walk around with him forever.
Nathan has introduced his own solution to the problem: he discovered that sitting in someone's arms looking forward is just as enjoyable as looking back over their shoulder. And so, sitting with him on our laps, facing out, is both interesting to him and a relief on our arms and backs.
This wouldn't be possible, however, without him being able to hold his head up. And while he's certainly still wobbly on top, every day he gets a little better. To that end, I feel more and more "safe" holding him. It's less like cradling a newborn and more like just holding a baby.
It's a wonderful feeling, to see him holding his head up and looking around. I think I will start calling him Zem. I think that's what Zem looked like when he lifted himself out of the swamp to see where Marvin dedicated that bridge...
Music
A recent walk through the River North area of Chicago took me through a lot of new construction. I spied this scene and was reminded of notes on sheet music.
Photokina – 2006 – part 2
Enough has happened since my last post to warrant an update I think.
Pentax
Pentax has announced the K10D. A 10MP feature-rich DSLR at a sub-$1000 price point. This camera is, for the money, an amazing piece of equipment.
- 10MP CCD not developed by Sony.
- Anti-Dust using high-frequency vibration (user selectable) and anti-static coatings
- CCD-shift based Shake Reduction mechanism. On-body image stabilization means every lens you put on the camera "becomes" image stabilized.
- 22-bit A/D converter. First in the industry as far as I know. However, what the body does with this information remains to be seen. RAW files have traditionally been 12-bit and JPG files are, by definition, 8-bit.
- DNG support! Another first in the industry, Pentax has added support for the standardized RAW format "DNG" first created by Adobe.
- Weather-sealing. The camera body contains a host of weather-sealing keeping out dust and water from the body.
- A ton of new program modes. Not to be confused with "scene" modes, these new program modes offer a ton of control over ISO and Aperture/Shutter combinations
- DDR2-SDRAM. High-volume, high-speed data throughput. A first in the DSLR world.
See dpreview.com for a hands-on preview.
Canon
Having already released the 400D (the replacement for the 350D) and a couple point and shoots, Canon surprisingly released 4 more with a new image processing chip: Digic III. That the 400D did not include the Digic III goes a long way in detailing Canon's approach to segmenting the market space. Digic III will also enable support for DDR2-SDRAM.
The newly added point and shoot offerings are a range of entry-level and prosumer models. However, Canon is clearly indicating that the most advanced features (like RAW format) will require the consumer to purchase a DSLR. Point and shoots, even ones with other advanced features, are still point and shoots.
- Canon G7. Canon once said that the G-series was an evolutionary dead-end. The margins were too thin and the price too close (in some cases exceeding) to their DSLR line. They've released the G7 with a mixed-bag of new features: Digic III, Image Stabilization, High-ISO (1600), longer zoom (6x). However, they've eliminated the RAW mode, abandoned the rotating LCD, and dropped the fast f/2.0 lens for a f/2.8. They have kept the hot-shoe for an external flash. The 10MP sensor is the same as the one included in the A640, so one has to wonder, what is the point? Are the features of the G7 that really worth the more than $200 price difference between the two? Any user smart enough to know how to best use an external flash with this camera would be looking for something with RAW for maximum control of image quality.
- Canon SD800 IS. To me, the most interesting of the Digic III cameras, simply because Canon did not abandon the wide-angle zoom lens. This camera features a 28-105mm Image Stabilized lens, replacing the larger S80 (which did not have IS). If I were to choose a new digital point and shoot and were willing to give up the rotating LCD, I would look very closely at this one. I can't wait for the reviews.
- Canon SD900 and SD40. The new top-of-the-line SD-series from Canon features the same 10MP sensor as the A640 and G7 is the SD900. Like the SD550 it replaces, it does not feature any Image Stabilization. The SD40 is their smallest point and shoot and is more accessory than camera. Both feature the new Digic III image processor.
Olympus
A new DSLR has been announced: The E-400.
As was expected, the 4/3-sized sensor has been upped to 10MP. But completely unexpected is that the camera is NOT going to be offered for sale in North America. No word yet as to why or if perhaps the release to the US will simply come later. This is a confusing move on the part of Olympus. Perhaps they're feeling the pressure from Sony and Pentax making strong moves into the DSLR market.
Nathan – his second month
Photos from Nathan's second month are online. I've slowly been adding them and there's still his second month portrait that Heather took to add, but (given our schedule lately) it'll be a while before that makes it online.
http://www.bernhard.us/photos/nathan-second-month
Bathtime
Counterfeit Sandisk Compact Flash Cards
Recently a flood of conterfeit Sandisk CF cards (Mostly Ultra II) have shown up in the marketplace. Ebay and fly-by-night web-shops are the biggest sources of these cards.
Many of the cards are well below the specified storage values (Cards advertised as 2GB actually are 1GB, etc.) The cards will often fail very quickly and take any images stored inside with them.
So, if you're in the market for CF cards and are looking at Sandisk, make sure you buy from someone like Amazon.com, B&H, or a local brick-and-mortar.
Adding wrinkles to the brain
It's amazing to watch Nathan go through a range of emotions. He can flip from upset, to happy, to upset in nano-seconds.
Last night, he was having some fussiness while I was walking around with him on my shoulder. I switched him to a cradle-hold and started singing a silly song about "walking the baby." When my face caught his eye, the crying stopped and he produced the biggest smile. I kissed his cheek and continued to sing.
But seconds later, the smile turned again to a sad cry. He was hungry, and I suspect that while he knew I provide something that is "good," it was clearly not what he needed.
Contented - 08/18/2006
well fed
Backyard Growth - 2006
We had two stumps cut down and ground out when we had the trees trimmed earlier this year. Mushrooms love rotting wood, and this area is the mushroom equivalent of heaven.