Soon I will cross into Nevada, a state worth enjoying since it hasn't become overpopulated with retirement McMansions, a la St. George UT. In the spring I migrated north through Nevada's sagebrush flats and recurring north/south mountain ranges. Spring probably is the prettiest season because of the snow on these mountain ranges.
One town grabbed me. [Redacted] was not a mountain boutique town, with overpriced coffee shops and art galleries, and due for real estate development. It was humble, moderately prosperous, and useful. Yes, agriculturally useful. It also had the last real grocery store for a couple hundred miles. What a pleasant surprise this was!
One particular view grabbed me. Perhaps I have not shown this photo before:
It is not an award-winning postcard. The mountain range is too distant because I was using a smartphone, rather than a real camera. And speaking of real cameras I am still watching You Tube videos on cameras but haven't bought a real camera yet.
This view affected me strongly. I was fluttering my eyelashes and on the verge of falling into a swoon [milking the act a little]. Why so? Would a technically superior photo have affected me more?
The mountain range is too far away, optically. But subjectively it impressed me, perhaps because I was camping further north than normal, and it was cold and a little bit scary. I was in the mood to become excited.
It was possible to get closer to the mountain for a better photo, but I didn't want to. It was more fun to think of it as unapproachable, a type of perfection that you can't quite have.
Solid and material snow is sloughing off the mountain, wafting into insubstantial clouds. Ahh, now I realize it had evanesced into an idea, a quote from Shakespeare's Macbeth:
Witches vanish.
Banquo: The Earth hath bubbles, as the Water ha's,
And these are of them: whither are they vanish'd?
Macbeth: Into the Ayre: and what seem'd corporeal,
Melted, as breath into the Winde.
Would they had stay'd
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What is a camera lens? A solid piece of glass that has a mathematical shape -- an idea -- which bends insubstantial rays of light, thereby changing the image you think you see. So is it a material or an idea?
Ah dear, I'll probably go on dreaming up excuses for not buying a real camera, forever.
After you get the camera you'll realize you may need another lens to fully capture what your mind's eye sees. Then you'll get in on the computer and realize you need some new SW or at least think you do. It can be a never ending search. Actually most cameras can take a good photo. Go mirrorless and get a decent zoom. Older zooms are inexpensive but you might have to manual focus with them, but you might like that unless you want to shoot wildlife especially birds, they move so quick. Lots to think about. I've bought used and have had good luck with this as most photographers take good care of their equipment. Your experience may differ.
ReplyDelete"Then you'll get in on the computer and realize you need some new SW or at least think you do." Indeed, I am fearful of getting trapped in a bottomless pit of camera equipment, although I am unlikely to get sucked into the software trap. It seems more fun to take .jpg photos and only give them light editing. I don't want to sit in front of a computer and edit RAW photos forever.
DeleteI will give your idea of an older zoom lens some thought. That might work for me.