I have a new camera phone, the LG Lotus. When I looked at the properties of one of the pictures I took using the phone (to see if it stored any EXIF data in the file), I found this: Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2010
Owner of a Camera Phone
Due to changes in work policies (they no longer provide cell phones to critical employees, just a reimbursement) I was finally able to get a cell phone with a built in camera. My new phone is the fabulous LG Lotus. So far, I’ve been very pleased with it, and I’m very picky about my cell phone.
In addition to all kinds of nifty whiz bang features like a QWERTY keyboard, and MP3 playback, it also has a camera phone.
Continuing to exercise
When last I wrote about exercising, I was contemplating joining the exercise facility at my employer. I joined shortly after that post, and for the most part haven’t returned to our local YMCA since. I’ve found it just way too easy to squeeze a workout in during the day, in between meetings, instead of eating lunch with co-workers. I also had big dreams of what frequent weight lifting would do for my appearance.
Going for a drive in the fog
Last night, my wife pointed out that there was a thick blanket of fog all over town. I had been inside playing games with the kids, so I hadn’t really noticed. But after she pointed it out, I started thinking about all the cool “atmospheric” photos I might be able to make.
Around 12:30AM, I loaded the camera gear into the car and headed out to see what I could find. My first stop was a near by train track, hoping to find some signal lights. No such luck–no lights in the area, and fog too thick to be safe wandering up and down the tracks. As I was driving away from the tracks, I noticed that stop lights where casting a nice tunnel of light, so I went to a nearby intersection that I imagined would be picturesque. Only there wasn’t any fog in that neighborhood.
At that point I was on High street, so I figured there would be lots of interesting lights and signs as I drove down through campus and Short North. The fog continued to be patchy, such that areas with interesting lights didn’t have fog, and foggy areas didn’t have interesting lights.
Finally I made it to the south end of Short North where there was just enough fog that I figured I could make a few shots. I found a parking spot and went to pull out my camera and tripod. Except that the tripod wasn’t there. I had grabbed my “light bag” which normally has two light stands, two umbrellas, and the tripod. For whatever reason the tripod wasn’t in there, and I hadn’t double checked before I left.
I was so frustrated at myself that I compounded the first mistake with another–I didn’t even try to make a shot without the tripod. This, to me, is the bigger mistake. I know how to hold a camera in a steady stance up to 1/10 second. I know how to brace a camera against a light pole that probably could have gotten me 1/4 second. And we’re talking foggy, so the grain of ISO 1600 wouldn’t have been a problem. Would 1600 + 1/4 been enough to capture a dark, moody, atmospheric shot in an urban bar district? Almost certainly.
So I returned home after an hour of driving in the fog with nothing to show for my efforts.
I did not make this shot. But I should have.
The caption is my lesson for last night:
Forgot to take my tripod and had to use our car for support.
