Ideas

The Confluence Rule

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At The Online Photographer Mike Johnston comments about an article by Charles Cramer that compares medium format digital to scanned 4×5 film. I think one of Johnston’s comments is especially intriguing:

I have a principle I call “the confluence rule.” What I’ve noticed is that the closer two of anything are to each other, the more people tend to work to discriminate between them, and the more passionate their arguments become about which is “best.” This is backwards, in my opinion. To me, the closer two of anything are to each other–the more confluent they are–the less it matters which one you choose.

By the way, The Online Photographer has become one of my favorite photography blogs recently.

Shows

Photos of 1906 earthquake and fire deliver new perspectives and fresh aftershocks

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From SFGate:

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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News

Last Chance for an Ansel Adams Grove?

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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.

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Photographs: Central California

Fire Road

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CaleroFireRoad2006|01|14: Fire Road. Calero Park. January 14, 2006. © "Copyright G Dan Mitchell". ("sales")
Fire Road. Calero Park. January 16, 2006. Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

This photo is interesting to me in several ways.

First, I like the image… ;-)

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.

Then I tried it in black and white… ;-)

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.