Monday, January 26, 2009

obscured by clouds...

Recently, I purchased a high-end amateur camera (Canon 40D) in order to document some of the work I have done over the years for posterity and to eventually make prints of a select few of them.  After doing some research on different lenses and lighting, f-stop, filters and aperture, I eventually wound up with a whole bunch of supplies that would enable me to take photos at events, portraits, landscapes and a variety of things unrelated to art.

What these flashes and ringlights and gadgets have taught me beyond their practical purpose is that the perfection of the human body in its form and function. Even basic lens are quite large, much larger than the human eye, with many layers of glass and
silent motors necessary to replicate the depth of field produced by the human eye. 

As for the human eye...how does it compare to a lens? Our eyes are not even Canon L quality — poor quality control, or so many people would not need supplemental lenses; bad distortions are common (astigmatism); not even a hood comes with it, you have to buy you some sunglasses for that; and you're stuck using conversion lenses (binoculars, telescopes) to change focal length; and the macro capability is limited and gets worse with age — the postprocessing we have is simply great!


“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world"

~Oscar Wilde

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