Lurking in random places / ReadyLoads gone

Lurking in random places

The model and I decided that we didn't want to see if somebody was going to chase us off the hill for shooting, so we decided to bolt after we saw a security car. I hadn't seen any "keep out" signs, but I also didn't want a confrontation.

As we left, she asked me "Would they have tried to take your camera?"

I told her that, contrary to what you might see on TV, they generally cannot take your film or your camera or your memory card. I pointed out that I am a fairly large white guy and she was a small Asian woman and my biggest worry was that they'd decide I was up to no good.

Now, the law of the land has historically had a fairly large distinction between public and private areas. I can be kicked out of somebody's house for no good reason. I can do many things in my own house that I would not be allowed to out in public. And photography, in a public setting, is protected where there are very few practical exceptions, most of which come in later when you want to sell a picture for use on a product label or something like that because trying to get permission out of every single bystander in Times Square that happens to be in your shot is simply inconvenient.

Photography and permission do not always get along. If I am driving along and see a beautiful sunset, it's going to be gone before I look up who owns a piece of land and ask them permission. A green flash is only visible for a few seconds, and only on rare occasions. Street photographers create art from taking pictures of random people outdoors and rarely ask permission.

I can see exactly why the protagonists of heist films always rely on photography and videography. You have to show that, even though the anti-heros of the heist film are criminals, that they worked very hard for their ill gotten gains. This builds audience sympathy.

Bruce Schneier is able to speak about this further with much more authority than I can.

The roller aerial monopod

Put your camera on the end of a boom to get aerial views without renting a helicopter or crane. This looks like an awfully cool project.

Readyloads are gone

Kodak's readyload system, that lets you not have to deal with bulky 4x5 film holders and instead load paper envelopes... that also cost twice as much as bare film for film holders and people never liked nearly as much as Fuji's quickload system... has been discontinued entirely.

Just like last time, where a bunch of films in 220 format were discontinued and the 120 rolls were left alone and single packs of 120 film were discontinued in favor of 5 roll pro packs, it looks like Kodak's trying to reduce stocking concerns while not actually getting rid of any films. Because they are really running out of emulsion types to discontinue.

So, right now, I'm in the process of importing all of the content on this version of the site into the new site. Except that I've got a trip this weekend and a trip next weekend, so it's not going to be done right away.