Harper’s Ferry

Another High Dynamic Range experiment.

Canal lock at Harper's Ferry

Nikon’s D90: future think

A lot is being made of Nikon’s new D90, out in September. Besides all its up-to-date still camera features (many from the pro-level bodies), it offers movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound, a first in a digital SLR.

While the camera is exciting, especially at its price point ($999 body only, $1299 with 18-105VR lens), it really makes me think about this:

if Nikon can build a still camera that takes high quality video, with limitations, how soon before someone comes out with a real, hi-def, interchangeable lens video camera at this same price point? One with a 24x16mm, 12 megapixel sensor? That takes Nikon lenses?

Pushing around the media

Even high-profile TV folks can get pushed around by the police for trying to do their jobs. “Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.”

Watch the reporter being arrested on video. The cop literally pushes him out into and across the street from a public sidewalk, then brings in several other officers to cuff this one guy.

Yet more your right to photograph

Scary post here at Minnesota Public radio, leading up to the Republican National Convention. (side note: has anyone heard stories like this prior to the DNC?) From moderate harassment (show me your ID) to damaging equipment and erasing cards, I’m wondering if photographers should go out with a wingman to cover them with concealed video if harassed by security. It’s sad to think that posting to Youtube is the only way to make these things go away.

The McDonald’s standard for failure

I’m getting a little tired of everyone talking about Charleston being a dying city, especially when no one seems to offer a definition other than losing population. As a former Charlestonian, I have my own reasons for living in Saint Albans, and given the option, I’d live even further out. But I don’t think even losing population necessarily means a city is dying, it just means people choose to work there and not live there.

So when Don Surber posted his editorial Charleston, like West Virginia, prefers its failure, and said “Not many cities own the distinction of having a McDonald’s restaurant fail – in its downtown,” I had to respond in the Comments, and I’ll repost that here.

You make it sound like having the McDonald’s downtown close was a bad thing. I’m pretty sure the MickeyD’s at Town Center, at Patrick Plaza, the two in Kanawha City and the one at Southridge are all doing great business.

The funny thing is, we used to think of McDonald’s as a kid’s fast food joint, but as I travel I see the playgrounds disappearing, and more retired and elderly hanging out having breakfast clubs at these restaurants.

So maybe that’s why the one downtown failed. There’s no old folks to go to it, and there’s no kids who hang out downtown. That must mean the people downtown are young professionals with busy, upscale, non-MickeyD lives. We certainly don’t want THOSE people in our downtown!

Personally, I think not having a McDonald’s on the primary corner of the downtown area (Quarrier and Capitol) is an admirable thing. McDonald’s isn’t what draws a creative class to town, it’s places like Taylor Books and the Clay Center and multiple ethnic restaurants right in your downtown business district.

Man in a Box

Man in a box

Happy 100th Birthday, Henri Cartier-Bresson

Nice post today about Cartier-Bresson at Just a Modern Guy.

More links:

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Afterimage Gallery
Magnum Photos
Portraits
Wikipedia

Behind the Gare St. Lazare, Paris, by Henri Cartier-Bresson

A famous “decisive moment.”

fishing

Fishing at Bluestone Dam

Sweet Rose Motel, Hinton

Sweet Rose Motel

Clarksburg WV

I like architecture!

Clarksburg Federal Center

Empire National Bank

Empire National Bank

Yeah, I know they’re not “architecturally correct” views. Hard cheese, they’re cool buildings!