The author taking in the vista on Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake

Category: Personal

My thoughts on various subjects – engage and share your insights. Let’s discuss important topics together in a respectful conversation

  • My New Camera – The Ricoh GR IIIx

    My New Camera – The Ricoh GR IIIx

    I would like to introduce you to my new camera – The Ricoh GR IIIx. A compact, premium camera known for It’s sharp 40mm fixed lens. Designed for street and travel photography, it delivers exceptional image quality in a pocket camera that actually fits into a pocket – or discretely in my dinner plate-size hands.

    I’ve been putting it through its paces over the last week in situations where having a full-size camera is either too bulky for the situation or too conspicuous. This is my first step outside the Nikon family of cameras and I can report having a lot of fun with it. I’m impressed with the performance, so far.

    Nightscape – Downtown Minneapolis

    Making it Yours

    This camera is highly customizable. The user is able to tailor the camera to individual shooting styles, from street photography and quick travel snapshots to deliberate, composed landscapes and portraits.
    Multiple user modes allow instant recall of the pre-designed shooting settings, eliminating the frustration of fumbling through pages of settings while the subject has sauntered away from the scene.
    Also, people react differently to a (seemingly) simple pocket camera than to the sophisticated, serious looking full-size camera.

    Morning Reflections - Downtown Minneapolis
    Morning Reflections – Downtown Minneapolis

    Going Stealth Without Sacrificing Quality

    The combination of discrete portability and shooting style personalization makes the RicohGR IIIx a great addition to my modest stable of cameras. I’ll keep you posted on how this new camera works out for my photography style.

    Note

    The image of Purple Loosestrife on the Yellow River in the previous post, The River that Whispers, was also captured with the Ricoh GR IIIx.

    And as I anticipated, some folks on a Facebook group couldn’t reconcile the fact that something so vile and hated as the highly invasive Purple Loosestrife could, at the same time, be so beautiful. Oh well, I understand.

  • Rest. Review. And Revise

    Rest. Review. And Revise

    Rest

    Rest. Review. And Revise. That’s where I’m at right now with this photo blog. 20 posts are in the books – or the web . I planned to take a break at 12 to evaluate the site but I was having too much fun. This is a time to Rest. Review. And Revise the site.

    Learning WordPress

    Learning WordPress was daunting. It took almost 2 months to publish a half-decent post. Plenty of mistakes were made along the way. I still don’t have a good grasp of templates, patterns, designs, etc. No clue about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Oblivious to intentionally designed site structure, and the importance of external and internal links. This is an area that requires me to rest, review, and revise my approach. There is much more to learn.

    Review and Revise

    I’m learning a lot about SEO from Yoast. Posts are being reviewed and revised as a result. Next is revising the site structure to align with proper SEO configuration. Metadata, what’s that? This process of Rest. Review. And Revise will help tremendously. I’m also changing the writing structure of future posts. Blog writing 101 didn’t exist when I attended school in the 80s.

    Expectations

    Moving ahead, the interested reader can expect a well-written and well-designed post. It will be supported by relevant and high-quality images. I want these posts to be a sparkling gem that shows up in your inbox. I want it to be worth your time to experience. Something that’s not junk mail, ads, invoices, and political detritus.

    My goal is to present 2 posts a week; A weekend magazine style article with artistic, high-quality, supporting images. Topics may include: travel, photography, art, geology, natural science, and other related subjects.

    Another post will come out mid-week. It will be like receiving a Post Card from a friend – Digital instead of Analog. The Post Card will be a single image and a short description. Just like the old days.

    Interact

    To the author of this blog; a like, a comment, a share, or deciding to subscribe is like offering me a two-scoop, Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream on a waffle cone! So please, take a minute or two to rest, review, and interact. It will be greatly appreciated!

    Two scoops of Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream on a waffle cone
    Two scoops of Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream on a waffle cone

— Matsuo Bashō