People who lived through the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake will recall the jumpy, weak-kneed feeling that haunted them until denial set in again. They should prepare to experience that sensation once more, though faintly, when they see “1906 Earthquake: A Disaster in Pictures” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and “After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire” at the Legion of Honor.
I’m currently reading Simon Winchester’s book on the 1906 quake, A Crack in the Edge of the World, I live 50 miles south of San Francisco, I have learned to recognize the many (many!) signs of California’s earthquake-affected geography, and I do remember the jumpy, weak-kneed feeling that I experienced during the 1989 quake.
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From SFGate: Parcels near 2 of his homes about to be sold
A coalition of neighbors who live in the sprawling homes that surround the land, along with environmentalists and Adams admirers has formed in hopes of preserving the property and one day turning it into the Ansel Adams Grove — a place where visitors could stroll, see the homes, be surrounded by the nature that inspired Adams and visit a monument that pays tribute to the native San Franciscan who many have no idea ever stepped foot in the city.
“Nobody knows he’s from San Francisco,” said Tom McAfee, a neighbor who is leading the charge to have the land preserved as open space. “There’s no memorial anywhere. There’s no designation … most people figure he was probably born in Yosemite or New Mexico.”
But their dream to dedicate the land to Adams may be just that.
Second, it is an example of how the best subjects can often be the closest and seemingly mundane subjects. This spot is on a fire trail that I frequently hike across on my way to some other place. It is not exactly what you would think of as a “destination.”
Third, the picture was almost an afterthought when I shot it. I had spent some serious time with camera on tripod a few minutes earlier trying (but not really succeeding) to get an image of a bird on top of an old snag. Then I had spent additional time trying and failing to find an image in a lower grove of oaks. Finally I figured, what the heck, might as well hike to the ridge before I go back to the car. As I turned around to descend, I thought this looked somewhat interesting so I took a few handheld shots imagining that it might make an OK color image.
Konica Minolta today has announced their intention to stop the manufacture of film and digital cameras, as well colour film and paper, by March 31, 2006. [Rob Galbraith DPI]
Probably inevitable, given the difficulties of transitioning to a filmless, digital world; Minolta’s initially smaller market share; and the head start of Canon (huge) and Nikon (pretty big) – but still sad news.
The first decent camera I purchased was the old Minolta SRT-101, a fine camera back in the days of film. Since then – and even quite recently – Minolta came out with some equipment that was arguably better than the competition. Although I don’t own one and, in fact I purchased a competing product a while back, the A2 is a great example. This 8 megapixel digicam is small, has good optics for this type of camera, and included a novel image stabilization system that moved the sensor rather than lens elements. This system made it into their DSLR line, but it was probably too late by then.
(Update: I see in another article that KM sold some assets to Sony for use in SLR cameras. This creates some hope that the good features of the KM cameras may live on in offerings from Sony.)
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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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