I didn't sleep well or much last night. As a result, I've felt tired all day, lacking in energy and desire, useless, though there were certainly chores aplenty that needed doing. The best I managed was to run a few necessary errands late this afternoon.
I got home intending to put on some music, have a bite to eat, kick back by the fire, and read awhile before turning in early. The day had been pretty enough, if a bit on the chilly side. Sunny, a bright blue sky with puffy white clouds. Now twilight was fast claiming the land. Soon my riverbank world would be in deep shadow—and not long after that, full dark.
Then I looked up and saw the waxing half moon all tangled up in the high top of the big sycamore tree at the end of the drive. That could make a picture, I thought—an idea which meant I'd have to go inside, dig out my camera, return and make the shot.
Thirty feet each way, and, oh, maybe thirty seconds of very slight effort. Hummm…
At which point I remembered my iPhone's camera. A device which resided in my shirt pocket. Sometimes the lazy road is a road worth taking.
11 comments:
Cell phone cameras are a marvel. Certainly makes for capturing that perfect shot, when you are too far (ahem) from your abode to retrieve the big camera.
Hope you are caught up on sleep now. Amazing, isn't it, how this body machine needs rest?
KGMom…
Today's cell-phone cameras are just incredible…which is the reason point-and-shoot cameras are about to become a thing of the past. They still don't rival "professional" cameras, and probably never will, because whether you're shooting digital or film, other factors being equal, the larger the recording area (sensor or emulsion) the better the potential reproduction quality. That will always be true. However, cell-phone cameras have reached the point where their images are more than acceptable for many uses. Most important, the old newsman's dictum of "f.8 and be there!" holds. (Meaning you have to shoot, even if your settings are wrong since maybe they can be fixed later…and it doesn't matter what fancy gear you have, if you aren't in the right place at the right moment, you're not going to get the shot.)
Cell-phone cameras are almost always with us, and more and more of those once-in-a-lifetime, magic-moment shots will thus get recorded.
Griz: Like you, I find a cellphone ideal for point-and-shoot opportunities. And it saves me from lugging the good camera around when I'm simply doing outside chores. I've been able to snap more than a few images that I would have missed entirely had I needed to go back inside to fetch a camera first.
HI GRIZZ beautiful picture, cell phone or otherwise. Winter is closing in, the trees almost naked, like a woman in waiting for the passion of the inevitable - a still desire fulfilled and its hold is fierce, some times calm, powerful, mysterious, purposeful and all consuming. Yes.
I hope your tired self perks up soon as you take hold of the passion of Winter, give in to being vulnerable to its intent and surrender to the quiet storm over powering you, over powering us all.
Love Gail
peace......
Carolyn…
I've taken photos with other cell phones, over the years. But this is the first cell phone I've used more often, even come to rely on it…though I still forget about it half the time when I see something I'd like to photograph. (Old dogs, new tricks.)
What's really neat about the iPhone's camera is it's setting for HDR (High Dynamic Range) situations, which is so common outdoors. And it does a pretty fair job of getting them right—or at least greatly improved over just a "straight" exposure.
Handy, if occasionally infuriating, devices, these modern cell phones.
Gail…
Well, that's certainly an, uh, interesting take on the slow onset of our seasonal change from autumn to winter. ;-)
I'm sort of rested up, but we unloaded and stacked firewood today, so a bit sore. More sassy/cranky than perky. Given all the stuff yet to get done around here, I'd say the chances of me being in tip-top shape sleep and energy wise is pretty poor for some time to come…like maybe around the middle of February.
Nice image, but it would have been better if you had used your "real" camera, as you have acknowledged, Grizz. On the other hand, if you'd gone to get your "real" camera, the lighting may have changed and you might have lost the shot altogether.
I've got a crappy old flip-phone with a lousy camera so I don't even bother with it. After I was mightily disappointed by the phone's camera on my first few tries, I haven't used it since. I guess one day I'll upgrade to a smartphone with a decent camera, but, for now, I'm too thrifty to make the conversion.
HI GRIZZ - I was well in to a nice glass of pinot noir when I wrote that comment!! And it showed! Oh my....
Love Gail
peace....
Scott…
Yup, I could have made a much better image if I'd taken the time and made the effort—little as required of either. There's no denying that fact. This shot is over exposed…it was nearly as bright out as it appears. I'd have exposed for the moon, and saturated the colors of twilight more.
But a surprisingly good result for such a lazy approach.
Gail…
No explanation, and certainly no apology needed. I was quite amused.
Scott…
Up until a few months ago, I—we, as Myladylove and I usually try and have the same phone—had crappy old flip phones, too—and were quite happy being communication Luddites. Of course, as you say, their cameras were pretty useless.
Then my phone's battery died. A new one, from Batteries Plus cost $35. That fixed that…until my whole phone locked up about six weeks later. There was no fixing that affordably. We looked at new 3G phones. Selection was very limited and awful, they were klunky and mostly the same models as had been out for years. After much searching, we found a way of getting a great deal from an independent Verizon (our preferred carrier) seller—an iPhone 5 for each of us, unlimited calling and text, and four time the data package as Verizon offered through their company stores, for just a few dollars more per month than we were already paying. I mean like under $10 additional! It's the best phone I've ever had, by far, and I use it for everything. Neither of us would ever want to give up a smartphone and go back to old-style 3G. Sooner or later, we knew we'd have to make the switch, anyway—and we're both glad we got forced into doing it sooner.
Hey, we bought our first flat-screen HD TV for Christmas last year. I bought a Roku box, began streaming free digital using my Amazon Prime account, stuck up one of those flat HD antennas (about the size and shape of a mouse pad) on the wall for the network broadcast channels, dropped cable, and now we watch what we want when we want and save about $150 a month. Trying to figure out how to do all the above stuff was tough, given that your average 6-year old is unquestionably more tech-savvy…but I finally managed. I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes (not always, but SOMETIMES) new technology is not only better, but can also save you real money. For what it's worth, from an Irishman who often tends to squeeze thrifty until it gasps. :-)
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