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LEAH GARCHIK writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: 'I am informed by ADDA DADA , who never misses a party, that the winner of the Hunky Jesus Contest was TWERKING JESUS. And "Why carry your cross when you can ride it?" is what REBECCA ZITO when she spotted a cyclist so accessorized.'
In Wednesday's Leah Garchik column in the San Francisco Chronicle.
www.sfgate.com/entertainment/garchik/article/Dancing-in-t... ............................................................................................SISTER's of PERPETUAL INDULGENCE's 35th Annual HUNKY JESUS & FOXY MARY fun....The best thing about the Sister's show were the Marijuana 4/20 folks who incorrectly wandered into the Sister's party space...They were like "OMG, This is like , OZ, man."
Yes, it was.
Probably because it was the Sister's 35th Anniversary and it was an homage to the Wizard of Oz. The lawn in front of the stage was filled with red-paper poppies. There were several 'Cowardly Lions", many "Glenda the Good Witch", a couple of 'Bad Witches" including one on a bike...a very young 6-year old Judy Garland passing out Giradelli Chocolate, an awesome Scarecrow of indeterminate sex, a few Tin Men (and one obviously Tin Woman), and even a couple of 'munchkins'...yes, real little people. Though, ADDA DADA is happy to report that there were no Flying Monkeys.
THANK YOU to all the beautiful adults who let ADDA take their photos! (Everyone was properly asked & everyone consented.)
(These photos carry copyright protection. Do NOT post them elsewhere! )
============================
THE 'NUDES' ARE PROPERLY MARKED EITHER RESTRICTED OR MODERATE ON ADDA'S SITE! (EVERYONE PHOTOGRAPHED IS OVER 18-YEARS-ONLY!) There is NO stolen PORN on my site!
============================
NOTE: MY photos are NOT to be used or reproduced, COPIED, BLOGGED, USED in any way shape or form. Understand clearly these are my photographs and use of them by anyone is an infringement of my copyrights and personal artistic property!
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
*************************************** ***********
NOTE:
Viewers should be aware that these photos are viewed by a wide variety of folks and inappropriate X & R rated & RUDE comments shall be removed forthwith
i'm too lazy to write up a description =) this will probably come out too saturated for safari users-i sincerely apologize =) but i've been using firefox lately and colors just come out dandy... to un-confuse the confused: the veins are like roads so GPS =)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GPS uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, that enable GPS receivers to determine their location, speed, direction, and time. GPS was developed by the United States Department of Defense. Its official name is NAVSTAR-GPS. Although NAVSTAR-GPS is not an acronym, a few backronyms have been created for it. The GPS satellite constellation is managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. (we are all being watched...)
Similar satellite navigation systems include the Russian GLONASS (incomplete as of 2008), the upcoming European Galileo positioning system, the proposed COMPASS navigation system of China, and IRNSS of India. -thanks, wiki!
I have heard mixed reviews about the Mint Bar, some people say it's an amazing place to visit and some people say that all it offers is fancy over priced bar food. I enjoyed reading this write up about the place (because of the great history of the Mint bar) and I hope you like it too!
"The building that houses the Mint has been a part of Livingston history for more than a hundred years. Moss said the building at the corner of Callender and Main was first known as the Yellowstone Block Hotel, one of several downtown hotels built to accommodate Yellowstone Park tourists and other travelers riding the train, the railroad having been Livingston's economic backbone until the late 1980s, when the town's train terminal closed after the purchase of the Burlington Northern line by Montana Rail Link.
Moss said many of the rail passengers visiting Livingston in the early 1900s were wealthy Easterners headed for the Park, and an Easterner apparently purchased the hotel for a time, according to Moss (the faded words “New York Hotel” can still be seen painted on the north side of the Mint, on the wall above Chadz coffeehouse). Moss said he isn't sure who the owner of the New York Hotel was, or even how long the building had that handle, but by the '20s, the establishment had become the Hefferlin Brothers Mercantile Company.
Moss said that the Hefferlin brothers, William, John, and Orlando, were “an interesting lot” who even dabbled in the guide business in Yellowstone Park for a time. The Hefferlins kept the upstairs section of the mercantile operating as a hotel, and sold goods on the main floor. Staples like flour, coffee, dry goods and clothing, though, weren't all the brothers sold in the mercantile. Prohibition had become law in 1919, and Moss said that the Hefferlins started selling bootleg liquor at their place.
“A bootlegger named Tillie supplied the liquor,” Moss said, referring to Tillie Wallace of Square Butte, in Chouteau County. Tillie was the only woman in Montana prosecuted for running her own moonshine operation during Prohi-bition. Appearing in District Court in Great Falls in 1932, she received a $50 suspended fine and three years probation from a sympathetic judge.
“By the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the mercantile already had an established clientele,” said Moss. That clientele continued to demand alcohol, and the “mercantile” received the first liquor license issued in the state of Montana.
“That was when the place first became the Mint Bar,” said Moss. “And it was like the Wild West in the Mint well into the '60s.” The excitement was generated for the most part by railroad workers who frequented the Mint after shift; the Northern Pacific Credit Union was even conveniently located near the back of the bar. But the NP Credit Union and other Livingston banks were not always open when the railroaders (especially the swing shift) got off work, so the Mint began to take up the slack.
“From the '40s through the early '70s, the Mint had more money on hand than any of the banks in town,” Moss said, “because the Mint was cashing all the railroad checks.”
Cash also found its way to the Mint through gambling.
“The Mint had the biggest poker games in Montana,” said Moss. “People would drive from surrounding states to play cards here…the games would go on for three or four days.” Moss said pots would total upwards of 30 or 40 grand, and that ranches were even lost at the poker table.
“It sounds like it was a pretty wild time,” he said. “I've got nine of those old poker tables in the basement right now.”
Some of those old poker tables may find their way back up from the basement. Moss said the hotel rooms upstairs are also intact, and that they too figure in his plans to restore the Mint to the condition of its bygone days. Moss said he's ready to begin the restoration as soon as he gets permission from the city.
“Basically you'll walk back into the mid-'40s,” he said of his vision for the Mint. “I want to restore the bar to original as much as possible. I want to restore the hotel to a saloon-style hotel—the barkeep gives you your room, and maybe a drink, too.”
Moss said he discusses his ideas for the restoration with the folks who count, the regulars coming to the Mint for many years who’ve now become his friends.
“I really feel it belongs to them,” he said. “I'm just keeping the ball rolling. Bars like this are becoming a lost thing. Livingston needs the Mint…and there's a little bit of Mint history all around town.”" -Pat Hill, The Montana Pioneer
Here is a link to the original article:
www.mtpioneer.com/Aug-mint-bar.htm
Weather it's old murals, old signs, historic brick buildings, or a taste of the old west you are looking for you will find it in Livingston Montana. The feeling of this town is like none other--very historic and unique! Unfortunately (here is the down side to the town) the celebrities and the rich have moved in on the entire area driving up housing and land prices and main street is slowly transforming into a place it has never been--every other store is now an art gallery. There are many sporting goods stores. Gone are many of the original businesses. Most of the restaurants are serving ridiculously over priced fancy food that would never be what you would authentically find in Montana. Livingston is transforming from an amazing old west mountain town to a celebrity filled typical tourist getaway.
HOWEVER this town is really still worth a visit! The feeling of the town is still quite nice and authentic (although that is changing fast). The surrounding landscape is incredibly beautiful, plus, when you turn off the interstate at Livingston you can take highway 89 all the way down to Gardiner--the gate way to Yellowstone!
The history of Livingston is really worth a read:
"Livingston evolved from a trading post on the Yellowstone River called Benson’s Landing which was approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) downstream from present day Livingston. In July 1882 when Northern Pacific Railway contractors arrived the trading post was renamed ‘’Clark City’’ for contractor Heman Clark. The railroad officially reached Clark City on November 22, 1882. At that time, the community moved to its present location upstream from the trading post and was renamed Livingston in honor of a Northern Pacific Railway stockholder and director, Johnston Livingston (1875–81 and 1884–87)[2]. Livingston became the original gateway to Yellowstone National Park, which the NPR began promoting heavily to visitors from the East, by way of a branch running some sixty miles south to first the Cinnabar station and later Gardiner. Livingston was also headquarters for the NPR's Central Division and a good location for railroad shops to service NPR steam trains before their ascent over the Bozeman Pass, the highest point on the line 5,702 feet (1,738 m)[3].
Livingston is situated on the Yellowstone River where it bends from north to east toward Billings, and in proximity to Interstate 90. In 1806 Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on the city's present outskirts on the return trip east, following the descending Yellowstone River. Clark's party rejoined the Lewis party at the confluence with the Missouri River, near Williston, North Dakota.
Though a small city, Livingston is home to a number of popular tourist points. The Livingston Depot, built in 1902 after two predecessors, is a restored rail station that today houses a railroad museum from approximately May through September. The Yellowstone Gateway Museum documents regional history from one of the oldest North American archaeological sites to Wild Western and Yellowstone history. The International Fly Fishing Federation's museum is an extensive introduction to a popular game sport and hosts annual enthusiasts meetings. The city was inhabited for two decades by Calamity Jane and visited by adventurous traveling members of European royalty. Today it is a small art haven, filming location (A River Runs Through It, The Horse Whisperer, Rancho Deluxe, and others), fishing destination, railroad town, and writers' and actors' colony. In 1938, Dan Bailey, an eastern fly-fisherman, established his Dan Bailey's Fly Shop and mail order fly tying business on Park Street where it still resides today[4]. Livingston is also the home of the Fly Fishing Discovery Center, a museum operated by the Federation of Fly Fishers[5]. Actors Peter Fonda, Margot Kidder, as well as Saturday Night Live alumnus Rich Hall, musician Ron Strykert, novelist Walter Kirn, and poet Jim Harrison live in the city. Jimmy Buffett mentions Livingston in multiple songs.
Its economy is booming, the unemployment rate is well below the national and state average. A small proportion of its workforce commutes to Bozeman, the destination resort Chico Hot Springs some twenty-five miles south, and various campsites and ranches in the high-value area of Paradise Valley. Recently, the city has invested much time and money into creating attractions and accommodations for tourists visiting during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial years. It has a sister-city relationship with Naganohara, Japan."- Wikipedia
For more information on Livingston Montana visit their website!
I was lucky to visit this wonderful little school just outside of Himeji, Japan. There were only around 50 students at this primary school, and this little girl was writing out the words to one of my favourite little Japanese songs. Can you guys guess what it is?
LEAH GARCHIK writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: 'I am informed by ADDA DADA , who never misses a party, that the winner of the Hunky Jesus Contest was TWERKING JESUS. And "Why carry your cross when you can ride it?" is what REBECCA ZITO when she spotted a cyclist so accessorized.'
In Wednesday's Leah Garchik column in the San Francisco Chronicle.
www.sfgate.com/entertainment/garchik/article/Dancing-in-t... ............................................................................................SISTER's of PERPETUAL INDULGENCE's 35th Annual HUNKY JESUS & FOXY MARY fun....The best thing about the Sister's show were the Marijuana 4/20 folks who incorrectly wandered into the Sister's party space...They were like "OMG, This is like , OZ, man."
Yes, it was.
Probably because it was the Sister's 35th Anniversary and it was an homage to the Wizard of Oz. The lawn in front of the stage was filled with red-paper poppies. There were several 'Cowardly Lions", many "Glenda the Good Witch", a couple of 'Bad Witches" including one on a bike...a very young 6-year old Judy Garland passing out Giradelli Chocolate, an awesome Scarecrow of indeterminate sex, a few Tin Men (and one obviously Tin Woman), and even a couple of 'munchkins'...yes, real little people. Though, ADDA DADA is happy to report that there were no Flying Monkeys.
THANK YOU to all the beautiful adults who let ADDA take their photos! (Everyone was properly asked & everyone consented.)
(These photos carry copyright protection. Do NOT post them elsewhere! )
============================
THE 'NUDES' ARE PROPERLY MARKED EITHER RESTRICTED OR MODERATE ON ADDA'S SITE! (EVERYONE PHOTOGRAPHED IS OVER 18-YEARS-ONLY!) There is NO stolen PORN on my site!
============================
NOTE: MY photos are NOT to be used or reproduced, COPIED, BLOGGED, USED in any way shape or form. Understand clearly these are my photographs and use of them by anyone is an infringement of my copyrights and personal artistic property!
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
*************************************** ***********
NOTE:
Viewers should be aware that these photos are viewed by a wide variety of folks and inappropriate X & R rated & RUDE comments shall be removed forthwith
LEAH GARCHIK writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: 'I am informed by ADDA DADA , who never misses a party, that the winner of the Hunky Jesus Contest was TWERKING JESUS. And "Why carry your cross when you can ride it?" is what REBECCA ZITO when she spotted a cyclist so accessorized.'
In Wednesday's Leah Garchik column in the San Francisco Chronicle.
www.sfgate.com/entertainment/garchik/article/Dancing-in-t... ............................................................................................SISTER's of PERPETUAL INDULGENCE's 35th Annual HUNKY JESUS & FOXY MARY fun....The best thing about the Sister's show were the Marijuana 4/20 folks who incorrectly wandered into the Sister's party space...They were like "OMG, This is like , OZ, man."
Yes, it was.
Probably because it was the Sister's 35th Anniversary and it was an homage to the Wizard of Oz. The lawn in front of the stage was filled with red-paper poppies. There were several 'Cowardly Lions", many "Glenda the Good Witch", a couple of 'Bad Witches" including one on a bike...a very young 6-year old Judy Garland passing out Giradelli Chocolate, an awesome Scarecrow of indeterminate sex, a few Tin Men (and one obviously Tin Woman), and even a couple of 'munchkins'...yes, real little people. Though, ADDA DADA is happy to report that there were no Flying Monkeys.
THANK YOU to all the beautiful adults who let ADDA take their photos! (Everyone was properly asked & everyone consented.)
(These photos carry copyright protection. Do NOT post them elsewhere! )
============================
THE 'NUDES' ARE PROPERLY MARKED EITHER RESTRICTED OR MODERATE ON ADDA'S SITE! (EVERYONE PHOTOGRAPHED IS OVER 18-YEARS-ONLY!) There is NO stolen PORN on my site!
============================
NOTE: MY photos are NOT to be used or reproduced, COPIED, BLOGGED, USED in any way shape or form. Understand clearly these are my photographs and use of them by anyone is an infringement of my copyrights and personal artistic property!
© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
*************************************** ***********
NOTE:
Viewers should be aware that these photos are viewed by a wide variety of folks and inappropriate X & R rated & RUDE comments shall be removed forthwith
I found an interesting text editor for Mac OS X. I've been trying Write Room.
It is good to reduce emvironmental entropy, that is a philosophy of the PoIC :)
Ref. : @blog, Write Room : An electric typewriter
"he de buscar la forma
de escribir
sin rompera nada
sin herir a nadie"
"I have to find a way
write
not gonna break anything
without hurting anyone "
(Fotografía y prosa: Emili Bermúdez)
Stefania Visconti attrice, modella, artista www.stefaniavisconti.com per info e collaborazioni artistiche stefyvisconti@libero.it
STEFANIA VISCONTI is an Italian transgendered actress, model, chameleon-like performer, and activist. She is available for a variety of arts and entertainment projects, including theatrical performances, long and short films, TV programs, photo shootings, live performances. She is willing to travel anywhere in Italy and abroad. For further information, write to viscontistefy@libero.it. You will find other links to some of her personal pages below
write your message to the new president elect and post in this group A Message for Obama
he does have a flickr account, Barack Obama, so you never know - he might read it one day (he does after all have 2 months until he starts his new job)
Sony RX1 User Report.
I hesitate to write about gear. Tools are tools and the bitter truth is that a great craftsman rises above his tools to create a masterpiece whereas most of us try to improve our abominations by buying better or faster hammers to hit the same nails at the same awkward angles.
The internet is fairly flooded with reviews of this tiny marvel, and it isn’t my intention to compete with those articles. If you’re looking for a full-scale review of every feature or a down-to-Earth accounting of the RX1’s strengths and weaknesses, I recommend starting here.
Instead, I’d like to provide you with a flavor of how I’ve used the camera over the last six months. In short, this is a user report. To save yourself a few thousand words: I love the thing. As we go through this article, you’ll see this is a purpose built camera. The RX1 is not for everyone, but we will get to that and on the way, I’ll share a handful of images that I made with the camera.
It should be obvious to anyone reading this that I write this independently and have absolutely no relationship with Sony (other than having exchanged a large pile of cash for this camera at a retail outlet).
Before we get to anything else, I want to clear the air about two things: Price and Features
The Price
First things first: the price. The $2800+ cost of this camera is the elephant in the room and, given I purchased the thing, you may consider me a poor critic. That in mind, I want to offer you three thoughts:
Consumer goods cost what they cost, in the absence of a competitor (the Fuji X100s being the only one worth mention) there is no comparison and you simply have to decide for yourself if you are willing to pay or not.
Normalize the price per sensor area for all 35mm f/2 lens and camera alternatives and you’ll find the RX1 is an amazing value.
You are paying for the ability to take photographs, plain and simple. Ask yourself, “what are these photographs worth to me?”
In my case, #3 is very important. I have used the RX1 to take hundreds of photographs of my family that are immensely important to me. Moreover, I have made photographs (many appearing on this page) that are moving or beautiful and only happened because I had the RX1 in my bag or my pocket. Yes, of course I could have made these or very similar photographs with another camera, but that is immaterial.
35mm by 24mm by 35mm f/2
The killer feature of this camera is simple: it is a wafer of silicon 35mm by 24mm paired to a brilliantly, ridiculously, undeniably sharp, contrasty and bokehlicious 35mm f/2 Carl Zeiss lens. Image quality is king here and all other things take a back seat. This means the following: image quality is as good or better than your DSLR, but battery life, focus speed, and responsiveness are likely not as good as your DSLR. I say likely because, if you have an entry-level DSLR, the RX1 is comparable on these dimensions. If you want to change lenses, if you want an integrated viewfinder, if you want blindingly fast phase-detect autofocus then shoot with a DSLR. If you want the absolute best image quality in the smallest size possible, you’ve got it in the RX1.
While we are on the subject of interchangeable lenses and viewfinders...
I have an interchangeable lens DSLR and I love the thing. It’s basically a medium format camera in a 35mm camera body. It’s a powerhouse and it is the first camera I reach for when the goal is photography. For a long time, however, I’ve found myself in situations where photography was not the first goal, but where I nevertheless wanted to have a camera. I’m around the table with friends or at the park with my son and the DSLR is too big, too bulky, too intimidating. It comes between you and life. In this realm, mirrorless, interchangeable lens cameras seem to be king, but they have a major flaw: they are, for all intents and purposes, just little DSLRs.
As I mentioned above, I have an interchangeable lens system, why would I want another, smaller one? Clearly, I am not alone in feeling this way, as the market has produced a number of what I would call “professional point and shoots.” Here we are talking about the Fuji X100/X100s, Sigma DPm-series and the RX100 and RX1.
Design is about making choices
When the Fuji X100 came out, I was intrigued. Here was a cheap(er), baby Leica M. Quiet, small, unobtrusive. Had I waited to buy until the X100s had come out, perhaps this would be a different report. Perhaps, but probably not. I remember thinking to myself as I was looking at the X100, “I wish there was a digital Rollei 35, something with a fixed 28mm or 35mm lens that would fit in a coat pocket or a small bag.” Now of course, there is.
So, for those of you who said, “I would buy the RX1 if it had interchangeable lenses or an integrated viewfinder or faster autofocus,” I say the following: This is a purpose built camera. You would not want it as an interchangeable system, it can’t compete with DSLR speed. A viewfinder would make the thing bigger and ruin the magic ratio of body to sensor size—further, there is a 3-inch LCD viewfinder on the back! Autofocus is super fast, you just don’t realize it because the bar has been raised impossibly high by ultra-sonic magnet focusing rings on professional DSLR lenses. There’s a fantastic balance at work here between image quality and size—great tools are about the total experience, not about one or the other specification.
In short, design is about making choices. I think Sony has made some good ones with the RX1.
In use
So I’ve just written 1,000 words of a user report without, you know, reporting on use. In many ways the images on the page are my user report. These photographs, more than my words, should give you a flavor of what the RX1 is about. But, for the sake of variety, I intend to tell you a bit about the how and the why of shooting with the RX1.
Snapshots
As a beginning enthusiast, I often sneered at the idea of a snapshot. As I’ve matured, I’ve come to appreciate what a pocket camera and a snapshot can offer. The RX1 is the ultimate photographer’s snapshot camera.
I’ll pause here to properly define snapshot as a photograph taken quickly with a handheld camera.
To quote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” So it is with photography. Beautiful photographs happen at the decisive moment—and to paraphrase Henri Cartier-Bresson further—the world is newly made and falling to pieces every instant. I think it is no coincidence that each revolution in the steady march of photography from the tortuously slow chemistry of tin-type and daguerreotype through 120 and 35mm formats to the hyper-sensitive CMOS of today has engendered new categories and concepts of photography.
Photography is a reflexive, reactionary activity. I see beautiful light or the unusual in an every day event and my reaction is a desire to make a photograph. It’s a bit like breathing and has been since I was a kid.
Rather than sneer at snapshots, nowadays I seek them out; and when I seek them out, I do so with the Sony RX1 in my hand.
How I shoot with the RX1
Despite much bluster from commenters on other reviews as to the price point and the purpose-built nature of this camera (see above), the RX1 is incredibly flexible. Have a peek at some of the linked reviews and you’ll see handheld portraits, long exposures, images taken with off-camera flash, etc.
Yet, I mentioned earlier that I reach for the D800 when photography is the primary goal and so the RX1 has become for me a handheld camera—something I use almost exclusively at f/2 (people, objects, shallow DoF) or f/8 (landscapes in abundant light, abstracts). The Auto-ISO setting allows the camera to choose in the range from ISO 50 and 6400 to reach a proper exposure at a given aperture with a 1/80 s shutter speed. I have found this shutter speed ensures a sharp image every time (although photographers with more jittery grips may wish there was the ability to select a different default shutter speed). This strategy works because the RX1 has a delightfully clicky exposure compensation dial just under your right thumb—allowing for fine adjustment to the camera’s metering decision.
So then, if you find me out with the RX1, you’re likely to see me on aperture priority, f/2 and auto ISO. Indeed, many of the photographs on this page were taken in that mode (including lots of the landscape shots!).
Working within constraints.
The RX1 is a wonderful camera to have when you have to work within constraints. When I say this, I mean it is great for photography within two different classes of constraints: 1) physical constraints of time and space and 2) intellectual/artistic constraints.
To speak to the first, as I said earlier, many of the photographs on this page were made possible by having a camera with me at a time that I otherwise would not have been lugging around a camera. For example, some of the images from the Grand Canyon you see were made in a pinch on my way to a Christmas dinner with my family. I didn’t have the larger camera with me and I just had a minute to make the image. Truth be told, these images could have been made with my cell phone, but that I could wring such great image quality out of something not much larger than my cell phone is just gravy. Be it jacket pocket, small bag, bike bag, saddle bag, even fannie pack—you have space for this camera anywhere you go.
Earlier I alluded to the obtrusiveness of a large camera. If you want to travel lightly and make photographs without announcing your presence, it’s easier to use a smaller camera. Here the RX1 excels. Moreover, the camera’s leaf shutter is virtually silent, so you can snap away without announcing your intention. In every sense, this camera is meant to work within physical constraints.
I cut my photographic teeth on film and I will always have an affection for it. There is a sense that one is playing within the rules when he uses film. That same feeling is here in the RX1. I never thought I’d say this about a camera, but I often like the JPEG images this thing produces more than I like what I can push with a RAW. Don’t get me wrong, for a landscape or a cityscape, the RAW processed carefully is FAR, FAR better than a JPEG.
But when I am taking snapshots or photos of friends and family, I find the JPEGs the camera produces (I’m shooting in RAW + JPEG) so beautiful. The camera’s computer corrects for the lens distortion and provides the perfect balance of contrast and saturation. The JPEG engine can be further tweaked to increase the amount of contrast, saturation or dynamic range optimization (shadow boost) used in writing those files. Add in the ability to rapidly compensate exposure or activate various creative modes and you’ve got this feeling you’re shooting film again. Instant, ultra-sensitive and customizable film.
Pro Tip: Focusing
Almost all cameras come shipped with what I consider to be the worst of the worst focus configurations. Even the Nikon D800 came to my hands set to focus when the shutter button was halfway depressed. This mode will ruin almost any photograph. Why? Because it requires you to perform legerdemain to place the autofocus point, depress the shutter halfway, recompose and press the shutter fully. In addition to the chance of accidentally refocusing after composing or missing the shot—this method absolutely ensures that one must focus before every single photograph. Absolutely impossible for action or portraiture.
Sensibly, most professional or prosumer cameras come with an AF-ON button near where the shooter’s right thumb rests. This separates the task of focusing and exposing, allowing the photographer to quickly focus and to capture the image even if focus is slightly off at the focus point. For portraits, kids, action, etc the camera has to have a hair-trigger. It has to be responsive. Manufacturer’s: stop shipping your cameras with this ham-fisted autofocus arrangement.
Now, the RX1 does not have an AF-ON button, but it does have an AEL button whose function can be changed to “MF/AF Control Hold” in the menu. Further, other buttons on the rear of the camera can also be programmed to toggle between AF and MF modes. What this all means is that you can work around the RX1’s buttons to make it’s focus work like a DSLR’s. (For those of you who are RX1 shooters, set the front switch to MF, the right control wheel button to MF/AF Toggle and the AEL button to MF/AF Control Hold and voila!) The end result is that, when powered on the camera is in manual focus mode, but the autofocus can be activated by pressing AEL, no matter what, however, the shutter is tripped by the shutter release. Want to switch to AF mode? Just push a button and you’re back to the standard modality.
Carrying.
I keep mine in a small, neoprene pouch with a semi-hard LCD cover and a circular polarizing filter on the front—perfect for buttoning up and throwing into a bag on my way out of the house. I have a soft release screwed into the threaded shutter release and a custom, red twill strap to replace the horrible plastic strap Sony provided. I plan to gaffer tape the top and the orange ring around the lens. Who knows, I may find an old Voigtlander optical viewfinder in future as well.
Sony RX1 User Report.
I hesitate to write about gear. Tools are tools and the bitter truth is that a great craftsman rises above his tools to create a masterpiece whereas most of us try to improve our abominations by buying better or faster hammers to hit the same nails at the same awkward angles.
The internet is fairly flooded with reviews of this tiny marvel, and it isn’t my intention to compete with those articles. If you’re looking for a full-scale review of every feature or a down-to-Earth accounting of the RX1’s strengths and weaknesses, I recommend starting here.
Instead, I’d like to provide you with a flavor of how I’ve used the camera over the last six months. In short, this is a user report. To save yourself a few thousand words: I love the thing. As we go through this article, you’ll see this is a purpose built camera. The RX1 is not for everyone, but we will get to that and on the way, I’ll share a handful of images that I made with the camera.
It should be obvious to anyone reading this that I write this independently and have absolutely no relationship with Sony (other than having exchanged a large pile of cash for this camera at a retail outlet).
Before we get to anything else, I want to clear the air about two things: Price and Features
The Price
First things first: the price. The $2800+ cost of this camera is the elephant in the room and, given I purchased the thing, you may consider me a poor critic. That in mind, I want to offer you three thoughts:
Consumer goods cost what they cost, in the absence of a competitor (the Fuji X100s being the only one worth mention) there is no comparison and you simply have to decide for yourself if you are willing to pay or not.
Normalize the price per sensor area for all 35mm f/2 lens and camera alternatives and you’ll find the RX1 is an amazing value.
You are paying for the ability to take photographs, plain and simple. Ask yourself, “what are these photographs worth to me?”
In my case, #3 is very important. I have used the RX1 to take hundreds of photographs of my family that are immensely important to me. Moreover, I have made photographs (many appearing on this page) that are moving or beautiful and only happened because I had the RX1 in my bag or my pocket. Yes, of course I could have made these or very similar photographs with another camera, but that is immaterial.
35mm by 24mm by 35mm f/2
The killer feature of this camera is simple: it is a wafer of silicon 35mm by 24mm paired to a brilliantly, ridiculously, undeniably sharp, contrasty and bokehlicious 35mm f/2 Carl Zeiss lens. Image quality is king here and all other things take a back seat. This means the following: image quality is as good or better than your DSLR, but battery life, focus speed, and responsiveness are likely not as good as your DSLR. I say likely because, if you have an entry-level DSLR, the RX1 is comparable on these dimensions. If you want to change lenses, if you want an integrated viewfinder, if you want blindingly fast phase-detect autofocus then shoot with a DSLR. If you want the absolute best image quality in the smallest size possible, you’ve got it in the RX1.
While we are on the subject of interchangeable lenses and viewfinders...
I have an interchangeable lens DSLR and I love the thing. It’s basically a medium format camera in a 35mm camera body. It’s a powerhouse and it is the first camera I reach for when the goal is photography. For a long time, however, I’ve found myself in situations where photography was not the first goal, but where I nevertheless wanted to have a camera. I’m around the table with friends or at the park with my son and the DSLR is too big, too bulky, too intimidating. It comes between you and life. In this realm, mirrorless, interchangeable lens cameras seem to be king, but they have a major flaw: they are, for all intents and purposes, just little DSLRs.
As I mentioned above, I have an interchangeable lens system, why would I want another, smaller one? Clearly, I am not alone in feeling this way, as the market has produced a number of what I would call “professional point and shoots.” Here we are talking about the Fuji X100/X100s, Sigma DPm-series and the RX100 and RX1.
Design is about making choices
When the Fuji X100 came out, I was intrigued. Here was a cheap(er), baby Leica M. Quiet, small, unobtrusive. Had I waited to buy until the X100s had come out, perhaps this would be a different report. Perhaps, but probably not. I remember thinking to myself as I was looking at the X100, “I wish there was a digital Rollei 35, something with a fixed 28mm or 35mm lens that would fit in a coat pocket or a small bag.” Now of course, there is.
So, for those of you who said, “I would buy the RX1 if it had interchangeable lenses or an integrated viewfinder or faster autofocus,” I say the following: This is a purpose built camera. You would not want it as an interchangeable system, it can’t compete with DSLR speed. A viewfinder would make the thing bigger and ruin the magic ratio of body to sensor size—further, there is a 3-inch LCD viewfinder on the back! Autofocus is super fast, you just don’t realize it because the bar has been raised impossibly high by ultra-sonic magnet focusing rings on professional DSLR lenses. There’s a fantastic balance at work here between image quality and size—great tools are about the total experience, not about one or the other specification.
In short, design is about making choices. I think Sony has made some good ones with the RX1.
In use
So I’ve just written 1,000 words of a user report without, you know, reporting on use. In many ways the images on the page are my user report. These photographs, more than my words, should give you a flavor of what the RX1 is about. But, for the sake of variety, I intend to tell you a bit about the how and the why of shooting with the RX1.
Snapshots
As a beginning enthusiast, I often sneered at the idea of a snapshot. As I’ve matured, I’ve come to appreciate what a pocket camera and a snapshot can offer. The RX1 is the ultimate photographer’s snapshot camera.
I’ll pause here to properly define snapshot as a photograph taken quickly with a handheld camera.
To quote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” So it is with photography. Beautiful photographs happen at the decisive moment—and to paraphrase Henri Cartier-Bresson further—the world is newly made and falling to pieces every instant. I think it is no coincidence that each revolution in the steady march of photography from the tortuously slow chemistry of tin-type and daguerreotype through 120 and 35mm formats to the hyper-sensitive CMOS of today has engendered new categories and concepts of photography.
Photography is a reflexive, reactionary activity. I see beautiful light or the unusual in an every day event and my reaction is a desire to make a photograph. It’s a bit like breathing and has been since I was a kid.
Rather than sneer at snapshots, nowadays I seek them out; and when I seek them out, I do so with the Sony RX1 in my hand.
How I shoot with the RX1
Despite much bluster from commenters on other reviews as to the price point and the purpose-built nature of this camera (see above), the RX1 is incredibly flexible. Have a peek at some of the linked reviews and you’ll see handheld portraits, long exposures, images taken with off-camera flash, etc.
Yet, I mentioned earlier that I reach for the D800 when photography is the primary goal and so the RX1 has become for me a handheld camera—something I use almost exclusively at f/2 (people, objects, shallow DoF) or f/8 (landscapes in abundant light, abstracts). The Auto-ISO setting allows the camera to choose in the range from ISO 50 and 6400 to reach a proper exposure at a given aperture with a 1/80 s shutter speed. I have found this shutter speed ensures a sharp image every time (although photographers with more jittery grips may wish there was the ability to select a different default shutter speed). This strategy works because the RX1 has a delightfully clicky exposure compensation dial just under your right thumb—allowing for fine adjustment to the camera’s metering decision.
So then, if you find me out with the RX1, you’re likely to see me on aperture priority, f/2 and auto ISO. Indeed, many of the photographs on this page were taken in that mode (including lots of the landscape shots!).
Working within constraints.
The RX1 is a wonderful camera to have when you have to work within constraints. When I say this, I mean it is great for photography within two different classes of constraints: 1) physical constraints of time and space and 2) intellectual/artistic constraints.
To speak to the first, as I said earlier, many of the photographs on this page were made possible by having a camera with me at a time that I otherwise would not have been lugging around a camera. For example, some of the images from the Grand Canyon you see were made in a pinch on my way to a Christmas dinner with my family. I didn’t have the larger camera with me and I just had a minute to make the image. Truth be told, these images could have been made with my cell phone, but that I could wring such great image quality out of something not much larger than my cell phone is just gravy. Be it jacket pocket, small bag, bike bag, saddle bag, even fannie pack—you have space for this camera anywhere you go.
Earlier I alluded to the obtrusiveness of a large camera. If you want to travel lightly and make photographs without announcing your presence, it’s easier to use a smaller camera. Here the RX1 excels. Moreover, the camera’s leaf shutter is virtually silent, so you can snap away without announcing your intention. In every sense, this camera is meant to work within physical constraints.
I cut my photographic teeth on film and I will always have an affection for it. There is a sense that one is playing within the rules when he uses film. That same feeling is here in the RX1. I never thought I’d say this about a camera, but I often like the JPEG images this thing produces more than I like what I can push with a RAW. Don’t get me wrong, for a landscape or a cityscape, the RAW processed carefully is FAR, FAR better than a JPEG.
But when I am taking snapshots or photos of friends and family, I find the JPEGs the camera produces (I’m shooting in RAW + JPEG) so beautiful. The camera’s computer corrects for the lens distortion and provides the perfect balance of contrast and saturation. The JPEG engine can be further tweaked to increase the amount of contrast, saturation or dynamic range optimization (shadow boost) used in writing those files. Add in the ability to rapidly compensate exposure or activate various creative modes and you’ve got this feeling you’re shooting film again. Instant, ultra-sensitive and customizable film.
Pro Tip: Focusing
Almost all cameras come shipped with what I consider to be the worst of the worst focus configurations. Even the Nikon D800 came to my hands set to focus when the shutter button was halfway depressed. This mode will ruin almost any photograph. Why? Because it requires you to perform legerdemain to place the autofocus point, depress the shutter halfway, recompose and press the shutter fully. In addition to the chance of accidentally refocusing after composing or missing the shot—this method absolutely ensures that one must focus before every single photograph. Absolutely impossible for action or portraiture.
Sensibly, most professional or prosumer cameras come with an AF-ON button near where the shooter’s right thumb rests. This separates the task of focusing and exposing, allowing the photographer to quickly focus and to capture the image even if focus is slightly off at the focus point. For portraits, kids, action, etc the camera has to have a hair-trigger. It has to be responsive. Manufacturer’s: stop shipping your cameras with this ham-fisted autofocus arrangement.
Now, the RX1 does not have an AF-ON button, but it does have an AEL button whose function can be changed to “MF/AF Control Hold” in the menu. Further, other buttons on the rear of the camera can also be programmed to toggle between AF and MF modes. What this all means is that you can work around the RX1’s buttons to make it’s focus work like a DSLR’s. (For those of you who are RX1 shooters, set the front switch to MF, the right control wheel button to MF/AF Toggle and the AEL button to MF/AF Control Hold and voila!) The end result is that, when powered on the camera is in manual focus mode, but the autofocus can be activated by pressing AEL, no matter what, however, the shutter is tripped by the shutter release. Want to switch to AF mode? Just push a button and you’re back to the standard modality.
Carrying.
I keep mine in a small, neoprene pouch with a semi-hard LCD cover and a circular polarizing filter on the front—perfect for buttoning up and throwing into a bag on my way out of the house. I have a soft release screwed into the threaded shutter release and a custom, red twill strap to replace the horrible plastic strap Sony provided. I plan to gaffer tape the top and the orange ring around the lens. Who knows, I may find an old Voigtlander optical viewfinder in future as well.
Fried rice balls! Omnomnom!
Made with white rice, spinach, egg, tapioca poweder, and yogurt... I think. It's been a while since I took the photo and I didn't use or write down a recipe.
Still, for being an afternoon experiment, they were a hit. I had to keep the family back from these ones with a whip and a chair till I could finish the pictures.
Setup was a single light bounced off two large reflectors to soften it up.