Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => iPhone and Mobile Photography => Topic started by: Rob C on September 07, 2024, 12:51:04 pm
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I eventually had to get this thing because my old Samsung, after some years of compatibility, was suddenly no longer able to connect with my daughter's iPhone: she could text me, but could not receive texts from my Samsung. Capitalism at its most cynical, no doubt.
Anyway, after some time, lots of trouble (continuing) getting iPhone stuff to download seamlessly to my Windows 10 desktop and then into the exact folder I want it to enter, I reached the point where I became rather fond of the little unit. That surprised me. The secret, if there is one, is to forget what one thought film or even dslr photography was all about, and start anew with an open mind. That's a liberating experience.
I have discovered that though, for a period, I wanted a camera to replace my mirror-frozen and irreparable D700, that's no longer the case: my still working D200 has sat in its space doing nothing for many months, mainly because eye problems prevented me being able to focus with the right eye. I tried using the left eye, but it has no photographic sense at all. Eventually, I thought to use the iPhone instead. Initially, it left me confused, confused because it seemed to me that the cellphone lens that passes off as a "normal" does not give the same feeling as does an equivalent, far from normal, (28mm?) lens on 135 format cameras. That said, I was to discover that so much imagery really does seem to work very well with that lens in a cellphone context. I seldom employ the super-wide, whatever that is in 135 format terms. As I suggested: start iPhone photography from scratch.
In a nutshell, I no longer have any inclination to used my surviving Nikon - possibly because I don't now have subjects (human) that merit it - and as I no longer intend to print anything again (boxes of dead Hahnemuehle prints inspired that thought), a waste of time and money to be sure, the iPhone is enough to keep the mind active, and an interest in images alive too. Good enough for me. Improvements? Yes; today, I would not have bought the Mini. I would have splashed out and bought a larger iPhone, even if that meant having to buy a new, larger bumbag in which to carry my wallet, cellphone, specs and shopping list.
I started to take it seriously some months ago.
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Rob,
I am sort of on your side. I have an iPhone 12 Pro, everything at 12MP and only x2 max lens. During our last holiday, visiting cities and islands in the Baltic, the vast majority of images were taken with the iPhone. I did have a Fuji body and a 55-200 lens (80 - 300 equivalent), and only used that when I wanted that range lens, in the event rarely. I always take RAW and process in LR Classic as I would from my mirrorless. Airdrop makes transfer to my iMac easy. If I crop or want to print at A3 or A3+ (19" x 13") then I use Super Resolution and I am happy with that. What alerted me to all this was a previous holiday, 9 months ago, when I printed some images at 19x13 and no one could detect which were iPhone and which were mirrorless.
One major advantage for travel is that the phone records GPS locations. In LR I can click on map and see where I took the image, or I can see a map on the phone if I click info in the Photos app. This helps a lot if I need a caption for a print or Blurb. Another plus for me is the way dusk images come out. The way it does long exposures seems to cut down noise and I find that, for 2 or 3 second exposures, I can kept the phone steady enough.
I am quite happy with iPhone full HD videos, and just bring them into iMovie on my iMac
The approaching dilemma is whether I keep one mirrorless and my 100-400 lens and sell everything else.
It's all so easy with something that fits even my jeans pocket.
Of course I will keep my mirrorless and 100-400 leans for wildlife, but for everything else, my iPhone seems to be my go-to now.
For others with different priorities it may be a case of YVMV.
Enjoy your iPhone, Rob.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
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Jonathan,
Yes, ¡t's turning out to be very useful - the lazy man's route into art! ;-)
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Sweat.
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Bravo Rob !
technical, framing, matting.
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Thank you degrub; making my day!
Rob
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RCNPP, Mallorca.
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Yacht Club offices:
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Kilroy's last, big mistake:
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Wow, great images Rob!
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Such a pleasure and inspiration to see your photography again. Bravo!
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Wow, great images Rob!
Thanks!
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Such a pleasure and inspiration to see your photography again. Bravo!
Thanks, Chris -
Feels kinda familiar, but kinda not, all at the same time. Such is life and the inexorable march of time.
Rob ;-)
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Really like that bar scene street capture !
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Thanks degrub, but spending all my spare pennies there buying coffees.
Proof follows:
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Puerto Pollensa beach off-season - the best time:
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Capturing some rays.
Quite the eye for images !
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Thanks, degrub; just as well it's also still enjoyable to do it!
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intriguing image
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Thanks, degrub.
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Sea of Guinness.
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nature was kind that day.
Lovely image
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Thank you, degrub.
I have often thought about the massive rôle of one’s location regarding the kind of imagery that comes out of the camera. I have lived the past 43 years of my life beside the sea, the relatively sheltered Bay of Pollença, in fact, that is nice for “calm” shots, but useless if one wants to introduce dramatic rollers crashing on wide sands: just doesn’t happen anywhere here I can find. We do get nice pix of crashing waves against rocks, but that’s another subject, and quite dangerous. You can be standing on what you think is a dry ledge when a rogue wave can send water right up at you. Happened to me once, with a Pentax 67 II on a huge Gitzo that I still own, but haven’t used in, literally, years. I managed to get in front of the camera in time, but the event scared me witless. I have never gone back there since. The location was Cala San Vicenç in northern Mallorca, the wide open face of the island that has nothing between it and Barcelona. The Med ain’t no fish pond.
Compare that way of life with somebody living in New York, for instance, and as you can guess, any local photographer there is going to come up with totally different images. I often envy such snappers their opportunities, but having said that, I very much doubt that I have the cojones to indulge in confrontational streets snapping. My people photos were always with people who wanted to be photographed because it earned them their crust; very safe (usually!) and quite enjoyable, with an emotional buzz a million miles removed from fear or self-doubts!
Then, of course, there is the little matter of time. What Saul Leiter could do in NY back in the 40s and 50s even he could not do in the later years of his life: neighbourhoods change, and the romantic old structures vanish under concrete and glass. Those old buildings may have been rat-infested, but it doesn't show in photos!
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Through walls, darkly.
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Great eye for compositions !
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Thank you; for me, this kind of picture you find walking: you see it at once or you don’t. For some years I used to wander the streets of Pollença with my Nikon, actively searching for things in this vein. What happened was that I photographed pretty much every damned bit of glass the town had to offer. In the end, I could no longer see anything new, perhaps because I had simply become bored and unable to get the photographic thing up anymore.
Fortunately for me, a little while ago I discovered the iPhone of the day gave me much better snaps than did the truly ancient Samsung. Also, the price of fuel discouraged me from driving to Pollença all the time, and now I look for stuff in Porto Pollença, instead, where I live. I love the sea, gaze at it every day on my walks, but don’t have much of an eye for that kind of photography. Well, I do love shooting it with a 500 mirror lens, but for me, the essence of that lens is simply the bokeh rings produced on backlit water, and that’s pretty much ruled out by the times of day when I walk. On top of that, it requires a model to exist in the area in focus, but they have vanished from my life along with the profession I once enjoyed. Now I need a G&T, but that’s another damned thing long banned me. :-(
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Jaguar XK 150.
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Sweet !
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Sweet !
Yes indeed. I think the good-looking ones ended with the E-Type. I guess it's like the Mustang: right first time. There's a couple of the '64.5/'65 models around here, and they look so much prettier than the fat, overweight things carrying the name today. To me, the greatest insult to the Mustang marque is the electric one. What were they thinking?
Actually, I think Ford has stopped thinking: in the UK the Fiesta and the Focus were best-sellers for years, so what did Ford do? They axed them both. As bad, for the same market, they've just introduced a new Capri, which is nothing like the original UK Capri, which was essentially a smaller cousin of the Mustang. Today, brands mean little, probably because some of the heads in charge are too young to understand heritage. Mercedes is no better: they lost the looks and gravitas when they went all jelly-shaped, and introduced those awful headlights.
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Yeah, energy efficiency requirements hurt design when the shapes all seem to to end up as some sort of teardrop.
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Destruction pending:
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Appetite.
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A repeating problem with my iPhone is that the damned Live Photo off button keeps getting accidentally deactivated, resulting in those silly moving stills, the need for which escapes me. That causes problems that require fixing before Photoshop wants even to look at the files. Another glitch that hits me over and over again is that it moves from Photo (where I want it) to Video or something else, because the fumble to fold back the protective case I bought for it causes my fingers to slide all over the screen. Also, I’m convinced that tripping the shutter button also leads to fingers going where they should not. As for the choice of lenses, I never know which of the two is activated until instinct says oops! Everything is so tiny…
In the real word (mine, that is), the conclusion I have to come to is that far from being a quick tool, it would function better on a tripod because then there would be no rush, and everything could be checked and double-checked. Of course, better yet, those settings should be able to be locked in a menu, not just in the vulnerable manner in which they are. Then, indeed, it would be pretty damned fast and convenient! Set it up once and that’s it, for ever.
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A repeating problem with my iPhone is that the damned Live Photo off button keeps getting accidentally deactivated …
Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings > Live Photo
set to ON - this will retain your last LP setting
… resulting in those silly moving stills, the need for which escapes me.
Those silly moving stills are useful (for some) to catch that ‘decisive moment’.
Two exceedingly simple ways to deal with them:
1/ Edit > Live Photo symbol > select KEY frame.
Menu > Duplicate image as still .
Delete original.
Even simpler,
2/ download LivePhotoCleaner (freebie)
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/live-photo-cleaner/id1536545732
As above, select KEY frame on each individual shot(s).
Open LivePhotoCleaner - select which LP shot(s) you want to purge,
deletes the selected live photos leaving you with just the [key frame] still.
(Operating system iOS 18.0.1)
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Thank you, Manoli!
I have adopted your first suggestion, and testing it out, it seems to be working just fine!
You will have gathered that I am not one for working my way through electronic menus!
;-)
Rob
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Rob,
Take it from me, you need the cleaner app too - if for nothing else when you return home and realise you’ve accidentally shot a bunch of ‘live photos’. One click and you’ll remove all the excess and be left with your single still shots.
It’s so much simpler to try it rather than write about it …
M
Edit:
Here’s a test:
Go out and shoot 10 or so LivePhotos,
On yr return, don’t edit anything, just launch the app.
It’ll auto select all your LP shots (you can refine the selection)
Hit ‘clean’ - watch what happens, you’ll just be left with a bunch of stills
… LivePhoto blues banished!
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Thanks again, Manoli; the app is now installed. I hope this belt 'n' braces attack works! Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I saw anyone wearing braces. Perhaps I need a trip to Austria. ;-)
Ciao -
Rob
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Top Lady?
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Game over.
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Great tones and framing !
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Thanks, degrub - the new structure, to replace the old marina control building, is taking forever to construct. It had better be on some sort of fixed price contract, or the club will probably go tits up before too long. On the other hand, with a massive waiting list for membership and an about £ 25,000 hit to join, I expect they will survive.
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Another from the destruction phase.
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The last day in the sea.
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Diagnosis: poor.
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She's seen a better day, lovely lady.
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She was; unfortunately, she sank at her moorings and had to be "levitated" by divers. I'm told the owner vanished to avoid the bills. However, this might just be fishy
tail tale.
However there is justice in this world - or more probably in the next.
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One-way street.
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One-way street.
The end, maybe?
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The end, maybe?
Sadly, but the beginning of horrors to come:
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A wider perspective on the interesting borderland between life and death.
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Cover you eyes, children:
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I didn't notice the "vulture" at first but it adds to this dramatic shot. The sky is beautiful.
Well done, Rob.
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Thanks, francois, it’s a sad little series.
She’d weathered several winters moored out in the bay, but I guess that like all of us, it took that last damned straw to sink her. She lay in diving mode for several months until the powers that be decided to pay for frogmen and flotation balloons to raise her, after which her rapid destruction on dry land was inevitable.
This kind of photographic gig is where I would have enjoyed the company of those unobtainium-built Q cameras more than of the silly iPhone!
Rob
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Closer to eternity:
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That's really the last breath before the end :(
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That's really the last breath before the end :(
Wanna bet?
;-)
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Ashes to ashes.
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Resurrection.
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Resurrection.
That place looks like nothing happened…
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That place looks like nothing happened…
There was this final step to tread:
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lawdy, lawdy....... 8) ::)
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lawdy, lawdy....... 8) ::)
Amen, brother!
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Closed.
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In their collective, commercial wisdom, they are about to cancel all this and go woke:
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In their collective, commercial wisdom, they are about to cancel all this and go woke:
I can't really understand the move. The "athletic" jaguar is so elegant…
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I can't really understand the move. The "athletic" jaguar is so elegant…
It’s said that God moves in mysterious ways; perhaps these people think themselves up there, too. Suicidal. Maybe they can, instead, use one of those electricity warning signs that are stuck on the fences of distribution systems?
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I can't really understand the move. The "athletic" jaguar is so elegant…
a bit of a Disney character...
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a bit of a Disney character...
Perhaps, but as integral a part of the history of the marque as the prancing horse is of both Ferrari and Ford’s Mustang. Madness - or even politically correct delusions of some kind of imaginary - but oh so smug - “niceness”.
I hope it backfires and bites them (Jaguar) in the ass.
Rob
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Mallorca getting cold:
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really nice framing and capture !
cold keeps the tourists at bay at least.
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Thank you; the gales of the past two days are doing their best about the tourists, not that there are many now. The visitors’ quay at the yacht club is deserted too. The boat season used to run from April thru September, but global warming kept quite a few boats on until the end of October. Not a good sign. The worst tourists are the bike people: many disregard traffic regulations and make the country roads a nightmare. There are white lines on the borders of the roads, and bikes are meant to stay to the right of them. Many do, but when you get a bunch of them, they go two or even three abreast, making overtaking very dodgy. They bring in so much tourism money now that new traffic rules demand you overtake them by staying a metre-and-a-half away, which can take your car across the centre line and into oncoming traffic. The result: long tailbacks of angry cars.
There is room for everybody: following a few rules would keep the peace all round. Clearly, too much to ask.
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Things you hallucinate on Arabo coffee as you sit outside Juanito's Bar.
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Rainy day at Juanito's; smokers have to sit outside.
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Nice !
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Nice !
Thanks; it's surprising how people are willing to put themselves into very cold, uncomfortable positions just for a ciggie.
There's an old, clearly penniless guy who hangs around to pick up cigarette butts outside this bar. He masks it by bending down, dropping a bit of paper towel beside the thing, and then picking them both up in a single motion. I felt inclined to go inside and buy him a pack from the machine but didn't follow through on that intention for two reasons: firstly, I didn't want to embarrass him, and for him to have to acknowledge to himself that his disguise didn't work, and secondly, I realised that if I did it once, it could easily become the expected thing. Hey ho.
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From the same bar.
I drink a lot of coffee, sometimes.
If I eventually get the forthcoming iPhone 17 (Trump permitting) with improved longer lens, perhaps I can make portraits without getting off my ass! That would be nice.
Rob
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nice cotton boll clouds !
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nice cotton boll clouds !
Yes, we do get some short-lived cloud formations that look interesting. As much as I’ve taken to liking the iPhone camera, one disadvantage that I find is my eyesight: trying to use my finger to slide down the exposure level isn’t simple to do because it all looks too small for me to use accurately without putting on my glasses. I can see the picture change, but using the slider itself is hit or miss - I can hardly see it in some lights, and I wonder if I’m changing focus, instead. Just as well the DOF is so great!
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Washing day.
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Canopies, canopies and yet more canopies...
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That one turned my eyes inside out at first. Well done.
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You gotta watch that - damaged eyes are tough to fix! But I take it as a compliment. Of course I would!
;-) Rob.
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No need to buy: already found relative poverty by myself!
This little iPhone is really growing on me; so convenient and totally free of having to commit to a "photo walk", which is like golf: ruins a good stroll.
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stellar !
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stellar !
Thanks - all that carbon fibre doesn’t do too much for light playing around, but hey, if Santa came knockin’ on my door, I could accept that minor glitch and have lots of fun until the tank runs dry.
I wonder why it is that cars are such powerful lust objects for the male mind? No, I don't think it has anything at all to do with the length of anything. There’s just something so intrinsically desirable about design and promise wrapped up in cars and boats: both are equally tempting, particularly when out of reach. ;-(
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i think it is the illusion of power that many aspire to. One reason the Ford Mustang was such a chick magnet but not such a performance car. It just looked fast. Now a Shelby Cobra, yeah..... ;)
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I used to love the early 3 Series Coupés. Everything has lost its way.
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Just when I had spent two years convincing myself it was all about the iPhone, this:
"Not only do the goalposts move, but the reasons you make art were never about the goalposts in the first place."
Rachel Rossin.
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Lovely little boat! Is she still running on steam?
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That’s a very good question. Unfortunately, I would be inclined to think it runs on diesel, romance long dead. But hey, that’s the kind of wistful romance that made a widely unromantic nation such as the UK vote for Brexit.
To the downright crazy: ARES Yachts have unveiled their “historically inspired 50.55 metre yacht, designed by Bannenberg & Rowell. Drawing from the legendary Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, this sleek vessel combines military heritage with modern luxury.”
Trust me: that boat owes zero to the poor old Spitfire or to any branch of the fighting services. But, I bet you that possible boat owner members of that Brexit club will agree with the advertising blurb and see it as yet another reason for backing Brexit. Yep, snatching defeat from the jaws of success is a very patriotic thing to do. ;-)
To end on a positive note: I went to the chiropodist today and had her cut away a corn growing on the side of my little toe: magical release to be walking back, painlessly, to the car park. It was a semi-religious experience, what with all that fondling of my feet; it was so good I even got her to work on the other foot that had been giving me no problems at all. Carpe diem.
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Canopies, canopies and yet more canopies...
Rob, I-phone or not, though seeing this collection, stay with it.
Good job.
BC
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Rob, I-phone or not, though seeing this collection, stay with it.
Good job.
BC
Thanks, BC; it’s nice to be able to have an invisible, weightless camera in my little Case Logic bag, something that requires no planning or malice aforethought just in case something might suddenly look worth shooting. I realised that part of my resentment, my unwillingness to pack a camera actually boiled down to that depressing sense of defeat that I used to get if I returned home without anything to show for the effort. Using the iPhone takes away that damned challenge: if I use it, I use it, if not, I don't notice.
The other thing that helped was deep-diving into Moriyama: I realised, from soaking up his books, that I didn’t really have to find an amazing subject at all, that the most mundane thing in the world could be turned into something very else if treated differently, the standard concept of photographic tonal qualities turned on its head, resulting in something unexpected.
I like cars, and summer usually brings out some interesting machines down at the yacht club. Here’s hoping there are more this year. I also like the idea of taking tiny bits of posters and messing about with them; at first, I felt a bit doubtful about copyright etc. but as the intention is to use the bits of original as nothing but basic starting points, and as no commerce is involved, I decided that no, I wasn’t copying somebody else, but simply using the original as starting line in a different race.
Rob.
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Oh well, I suppose I should be happy that I didn't bite.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=tony+chelsea+northrup+youtube+iphone+16b+pro+camera&mid=2024E43AEE6B585B87D62024E43AEE6B585B87D6&FORM=VIRE
;-(
Rob
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Summer holiday resort - as I kinda like to see it, on and off.
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Nice ! You've always had a good eye !
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Thanks - I had forgotten about this frame, and only discovered it again looking for something else!
Funny thing: if digital had been all there was back in the 50s, I might well have never given photography a second glance - corny as it sounds today, that first wet print coming up did it for me.
Yet, today, though I do miss the old glossy prints, the ease of doing silly things to a file does hold its own interest for me; that, of course, is why I found myself getting into Daidochromes mode. Better still, as I don’t print anymore, it costs nothing to play other than the electricity.
Rob
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When I was young, I sometimes enjoyed being just a little - all in life is relative - under the influence, so to speak, of various daughters of the ubiquitous French, Italian or Spanish grape.
Today, much older and medically incapable of surviving such temptresses, I confess to finding that mythical quantum of solace in "amateur" photography, under the influence of Mr Moriyama taught me that in matters of the soul, it's what brings you pleasure that counts, and not what others expect you to do and find delightful.
I therefore confess to the enjoyment of spending lots of time playing with non-essentials such as changing perfect iPhone rules of focus, when duty tells me I should, instead, be industriously varnishing terrace shutters already neglected last year. Guilt, guilt, who needs it. ;-(
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i like.
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No need to buy: already found relative poverty by myself!
This little iPhone is really growing on me; so convenient and totally free of having to commit to a "photo walk", which is like golf: ruins a good stroll.
I just bought one... second hand;
An iPhone 13 mini! Best smallest alternatve ...
under 700€ there is no new and no small iPhone anymore..
Not for photography- i have small nikon J5 for that
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I just bought one... second hand;
An iPhone 13 mini! Best smallest alternatve ...
under 700€ there is no new and no small iPhone anymore..
Not for photography- i have small nikon J5 for that
Enjoy it! ;-)
Rob
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Ten.
Anniversary window; a local shrink - or similar occupation. In a way, it sort of makes sense.
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Just my luck.
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Salvage.
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from 20,000 Leagues under ... ?
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Actually, just looking at it again, I was surprised to discover it has eyes and the suggestion of a nose. Having seen them, I can’t unsee them. Such is life.
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They say that sooner or later there's a Ferrari in your life. They are leaving it kinda late, don't you think?
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They say that sooner or later there's a Ferrari in your life. They are leaving it kinda late, don't you think?
Yes, it's late for me too. I don't even that that happening in a distant future.
Nicely shot, by the way!
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Truth is, for me, ‘twas never on the cards. Just as well: I used to get highly pissed off at the slightest of scratches on the cars that I could afford. For a brief period I had a Fiat X1/9 that I bought at the onset of my first male midlife crisis. I sometimes borrowed my wife’s sensible car if I had to transport something, and she hated the Fiat because it psychologically forced her to seek out the most distant, isolated slots at supermarket parking lots. She’d get mad that somebody would inevitably decide to park right up next to her. For a small exterior, it had a surprisingly Tardis-like generous people and trunk space. It would have been an ideal fit today for my solitary life - assuming it (the Fiat) hadn’t morphed into a handful of Italian rust. Actually, that should read Russian rust, because it was a disastrous deal between the two governments that led to the importation of rotten Soviet steel into Italy. So badly did it affect the Italian car market, that they had to withdraw the Lancia brand completely out of Britain. I wanted to trade my X1/9 for an MGB GT, but the dealers wouldn’t do a deal. In the event, I had to return to the Fiat dealership and that’s when I got myself the Alfa Romeo, less than a year before we decided to quit the UK for Spain. Luckily, I managed to get an excellent private sale to a chap who’d just returned from a life in South Africa, where he’d owned the same Alfa model. Two happy guys! That F1/9 should have had the Alfa Boxer engine… it would then have had wings.
All that history from an iPhone snap! Never happen with a Nikon or Canon. ;-)
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Same for me… Driving such expensive vehicles would only torture me. Between theft, scratches, accidents, speeding tickets, maintenance costs, etc… it would hurt me more than necessary. My previous car lasted more than 26 years!
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Wandering back to iPhones. I am wondering about a new compact ILC vs waiting for the iPhone 17pro in September. I photograph wildlife and have a perfectly good body and 100-400 lens, so this would be to use for portraits, travel and events. There is the old one about an iPhone is in your pocket that comes into my deliberations.
Attached is a bee backing out of an agapanthus flower in our garden. It was taken as RAW with my iPhone 12pro on x2 and I tapped the screen over the bee to focus. All very quick which I had to be. The bee was going about its business moving from flower to flower, so there was no way I could fiddle around much with settings. No way could I use a tripod.
Of course it not high quality. I processed it in LR, using super res and cropping. LR had already come up with RAW details button not being available for this image. I just used the normal sliders, inc a little texture, clarity and dehaze plus a little sharpening.
The ease of being able to 'grab the moment' is very attractive. I am more and more convinced that the iPhone is an essential bit of kit for me, not for everything but for more than I thought. Times are a'changing for me.
Jonathan
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Attached is a bee backing out of an agapanthus flower in our garden. It was taken as RAW with my iPhone 12pro on x2 and I tapped the screen over the bee to focus. . . . Of course it not high quality. I processed it in LR, using super res and cropping. LR had already come up with RAW details button not being available for this image. I just used the normal sliders, inc a little texture, clarity and dehaze plus a little sharpening.
You might want to download and try Adobe's Project Indigo camera app (https://research.adobe.com/articles/indigo/indigo.html). Adobe claims its computational preprocessing techniques produce more natural-looking "raw" captures than Apple's native ones. That often seems to be true, in my experience—although it depends on the characteristics of the subject, at least to some extent. Neither Apple's ProRAW files nor Indigo's versions actually contain raw camera sensor RGB matrix data—there are other application programs for the iPhone that can do that—but without some computational fiddling the genuinely raw files emitted by the tiny sensors in cellphones tend to be rather awful starting points.
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Thanks Chris for your comment about Project Indigo. Yes, I have it, and have posted about it in a topic in this part of the Forum. I understand it takes multiple images and renders them into one. In this case the bee was moving around as it shuffled backwards out of the flowerhead, so I am not sure how Indigo would have coped. The iPhone exposure was 1/120sec.
I am sure the computational processes in mobile phone cameras will evolve, just as LR keeps evolving. Competition between manufacturers should ensure that.
Jonathan
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Cancer Rays.
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Special treat for plate-conscious UKeans.
Mercedes AMG C 63
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So autumn arrived this morning...
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light from the furnace below is glowing sweetly pulling us in ;)
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light from the furnace below is glowing sweetly pulling us in ;)
Yep, summer's furnace has - with a modicum of luck - given way to sweet Lady Autumn, whose clouded skies now ignite my juices again after a period of total spiritual wipeout. There is nothing as exhausting as this now overheated Mediterranean, where local temperatures have been, on average, about 8°C above normal. Global warming? To expand upon who and what I hold responsible I'd need to go to the Coffee Corner, but haven't the heart for it.
Ciao - Rob
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With boats as with babies, the first step towards one is the cheapest, however much you spent on dinner.
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You might check out Julie London's Coffee.
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A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish.
"Swinging on a Star" Composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke.
Apropos of nothing much: the Big Dee Irwin & Little Eva version was one of my favourite driving songs then, and probably still would be today.
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Well, the iPhone 17 Pro is in the telephone shop, and price not as high as might have been imagined; maybe sanction don’t apply here.
However, having had a last-minute check on what’s what and how I may benefit from it, deeper due diligence informs me that my combination of Windows 10 and PS CS2 conspire against the new iPhone HEIF files being accepted, and unless the files I want to download are JPEGS at capture, nothin’ much new is in the deal for me. In other words, I get a longer lens, but that’s where the benefits kinda tail off. Hardly seems worth the bother. I certainly have no intention of changing my computer or version of PS that, together, give me all I need for my Nikon and current iPhone. Probably just as well; I’d still be me and limited to my imagination and location options - a bout of GAS would have won the day!
That’s tonight, but as the movie said: tomorrow is another day. ;-)
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... deeper due diligence informs me that my combination of Windows 10 and PS CS2 conspire against the new iPhone HEIF files being accepted, and unless the files I want to download are JPEGS at capture...
Er, no.
Camera > Settings > File Format
You have 2 choices,
High Efficiency (HEIF) or Most Compatible (JPG)
Alternatively, there are a 'million' HEIF > JPG converters on the iOS App Store to choose from.
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Also, bear in mind that Adobe have an app, Project Indigo, discussed previously in this thread (and others). That gives you 12MP files, mostly off the main sensor (the one with the bigger pixels) and can reach to 150mm tele equivalent. iPhone 17 series coming soon. Computational photography at work ...
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Er, no.
Camera > Settings > File Format
You have 2 choices,
High Efficiency (HEIF) or Most Compatible (JPG)
Alternatively, there are a 'million' HEIF > JPG converters on the iOS App Store to choose from.
Yes, that's what I'm told, but the "Most Compatible" setting in the camera, as far as I can gather from the information, delivers a JPEG file only, because that's accessible to almost everything, including the computer/PS versions that I have. I understand that it bypasses the more sophisticated available files completely, suggesting to me that you lose the clever stuff done to the other types of file.
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Rob,
HEIF is typically 10-bit colour v the 8-bit of JPEG,equates to over a billion colours v 16.8 million and offers a better compression algorithm. Neither of them affect the Apple or Adobe black box workflow.
If you're still concerned, Apple ProRAW (a DNG, 12MP or 24MP file) uses the relatively new jpeg XL (jxl) format. I'm told the lossy version is indistinguishable from the other two. As always, YMMV.
Yes, that's what I'm told, but the "Most Compatible" setting in the camera, as far as I can gather from the information, delivers a JPEG file only, because that's accessible to almost everything, including the computer/PS versions that I have. I understand that it bypasses the more sophisticated available files completely, suggesting to me that you lose the clever stuff done to the other types of file.
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Hi Manoli,
Well, we shall find out how much better off I'm gonna be in a while - hopefully, a short one!
I went to the official shop after posting my previous post, bit the bullet, and ordered the new 17 Pro. Unfortunately, though they have demo ones, you have to order...
Thanks again for coming to the rescue with all the above information,
Rob
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I went to the official shop after posting my previous post, bit the bullet, and ordered the new 17 Pro. Unfortunately, though they have demo ones, you have to order...
Rob,
Congratulations!
Perhaps soon time for a new iPhone 17 thread ?
M
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Rob,
Congratulations!
Perhaps soon time for a new iPhone 17 thread ?
M
Indeed, but when it happens (God alone knows how long the queue), expect it to concentrate on the long lens which, after all’s boiled down, is the motivation for trading away from this 13 Mini that has been so much pleasure to use, and has kept me active in photography.
Rob
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Also, bear in mind that Adobe have an app, Project Indigo, discussed previously in this thread (and others).
I've posted a table created by generative AI software that compares the "raw" files emitted by this app and Apple's ProRaw format in a separate thread.
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Reflections on life...
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Certainly not buyer’s regret regarding the awaited 17 Pro, but late last night, too early for bed, but tool late to begin watching anything with a plot, I returned to my website and had a look at some old Nikon (D200 and D700) pictures.
After a long time shooting nothing but iPhone, I was really quite impressed with just how much tonality was visible from using those two old cameras, particularly in conjunction with my Nikkor 2.8/105 Micro lens. Sweet stuff; what a shame one gets too screwed up, mentally as well as physically, to enjoy those things for ever.
So yeah, thank God for the cellphone alternative.
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Just can't stay away from these things; years ago it was looking at those unobtanium yachts that boke my heart during my daily wandering around the port. Today, so glad I couldn't afford them! It strikes me, though, that I've just switched fantasies from boats to wheels. Anyway, dreaming keep's the blood flowing through the brain, which, ultimately, is no bad deal.
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. . . years ago it was looking at those unobtanium yachts that boke my heart during my daily wandering around the port.
For me, it's the ever-elusive private jet: freedom from the tyranny of the airlines! Anyone know a Gulf State ruler who is itching to donate one to a worthy recipient?
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"unobtanium yachts that boke my heart"
The excitement even killed my spelling.
The problem with yachts, as I discovered from friends who had them, yes, plural, at the same time, is that you are very much at the mercy of the skipper. If he doesn't feel like leaving port, he finds a mechanical or electronic reason why it's imperative you stay put. Who can argue?
I also learned that when you get old, time comes that you are physically unable to get from the tender to the main boat. That means always being in a marina before you get onto or off it, and if the boat's got a deep enough draft, you often can't do that. For me, it's actinic keratosis that would eventually kill me with all that bouncing - and unavoidable - sunlight. I suppose the lesson for the day has to be this: if God had intended we live the aquatic life He'd have made us fish.
;-(
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Having a dull weather spell... lots of too heavy rain forecast.
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Big wheels have little wheels at their heels to bite 'em.
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Probably quite good - unless your cardio has told you otherwise.
After my first heart event, I was told to take but a single glass of red with lunch. That was twenty-something years ago; the story was that red contains anti-oxidants (?) that are good for the system. A few months ago, I was advised that if I felt inclined to do without that glass, so much the better. Well, I gave up on it, and substituted 00 beer. Never a beer drinker, despite such a company being a very important client in the day, so no idea, really, if it tastes the same as the real deal or not. Anyway, I've kinda rejected that with food, settling for water instead. That said, I can recommend 00 whilst sitting at a tiny table on the pavement outside the local bar on a hot, sunny day. It helps one drift away into that state of being there, but not really thinking much about being there - perfect time for the occasional cellphone snap.
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Quite a statement by the Mayor with two enforcers !
Like !
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Quite a statement by the Mayor with two enforcers !
Like !
Thanks!
Yep, pick no fights with those cats!
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Now this is why I wanted a longer lens in my awaited iPhone!
No snap's worth the hassle of getting run over. Robert Capa might have said this, though I doubt that he ever did.
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Well, what a difference a morning makes!
I popped into the telephone company’s shop to see how my iPhone 17 Pro order was doing, and in the process, discovered that the deal I thought that I had signed when buying my now venerable iPhone 13 Mini was not the deal I’d imagined that I had signed. Instead of having finished paying for it months and months ago, it transpires that there are six months yet to go! The rate (and thus total price I thought I was paying), was a starting point for some period that was finite, before reverting to some other rate after that. As the darn thing was on offer, and I had the brochure in my hands, I had congratulated myself on obtaining a good price. Years later, I obviously no longer have that brochure nor any leg upon which to stand.
To add salt to the wound, the hundred euros trade-in offer I had turns out not to be that, but a fee that I have to pay to end the contract! Were that so, why did she want to examine my current phone before making her “offer”? You wouldn’t believe it. To make matters worse, the girl dealing with me today insisted that my acceptance for the new phone had been for payment over three years, that longer was not possible, whereas I had said four. She then called across to the other girl in the office, the one who had made the 17 deal with me, who confirmed that yes, it was four years. I had also been told that if I died before completing the payments, the phone needed only to be returned and no further payments would fall upon my kids’ heads. I no longer believe a word of it. I cancelled the entire deal and walked away.
My conclusion is simply that if I still think I need a longer iPhone lens when this old contract does expire, then no more contracts, just do it at list price in one payment and be out of the shifting sands once and for bloody all.
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Well, what a difference a morning makes!
I popped into the telephone company’s shop to see how my iPhone 17 Pro order was doing, and in the process, discovered that the deal I thought that I had signed when buying my now venerable iPhone 13 Mini was not the deal I’d imagined that I had signed. Instead of having finished paying for it months and months ago, it transpires that there are six months yet to go! The rate (and thus total price I thought I was paying), was a starting point for some period that was finite, before reverting to some other rate after that. As the darn thing was on offer, and I had the brochure in my hands, I had congratulated myself on obtaining a good price. Years later, I obviously no longer have that brochure nor any leg upon which to stand.
To add salt to the wound, the hundred euros trade-in offer I had turns out not to be that, but a fee that I have to pay to end the contract! Were that so, why did she want to examine my current phone before making her “offer”? You wouldn’t believe it. To make matters worse, the girl dealing with me today insisted that my acceptance for the new phone had been for payment over three years, that longer was not possible, whereas I had said four. She then called across to the other girl in the office, the one who had made the 17 deal with me, who confirmed that yes, it was four years. I had also been told that if I died before completing the payments, the phone needed only to be returned and no further payments would fall upon my kids’ heads. I no longer believe a word of it. I cancelled the entire deal and walked away.
My conclusion is simply that if I still think I need a longer iPhone lens when this old contract does expire, then no more contracts, just do it at list price in one payment and be out of the shifting sands once and for bloody all.
Bummer.
Monochrome version of the GR IV (https://www.dpreview.com/news/5713137605/ricoh-gr-iv-monochrome-hdf-variants/2)
At a similar size and price to your intended iphone, I would have thought this would be right up your strasse, Rob.
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Thanks for the link, Keith.
https://www.youtube.com/@SamuelStreetlife
This guy's a GR ambassador and quite a good video maker. I have watched his productions for some years, and he appears to know his stuff. Over time, I have developed the distinct notion that the GR cameras are quite prone to build quality issues. Living here in the remote north, the loss of my erstwhile Kodak-introduced wholesaler means getting professional attention has vanished.
I include here a snap I worked on this morning, and I did quite a lot of adjusting of the colour sliders when converting to B/W... I'd hate to lose that ability via a mono sensor.
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Well, what a difference a morning makes!
[...]
You're getting screwed.
The Apple Cash price is £1099 (€1,339).
The Apple monthly payment price is £45.79 (€55.79) over 24 months at 0% APR.
Prices in brackets are from Apple Italia, which should be identical in Spain.
Always buy direct from Apple, (almost) never from a telco.
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You're getting screwed.
The Apple Cash price is £1099 (€1,339).
The Apple monthly payment price is £45.79 (€55.79) over 24 months at 0% APR.
Prices in brackets are from Apple Italia, which should be identical in Spain.
Always buy direct from Apple, (almost) never from a telco.
You know, that feeling of getting ripped off became quite palpable during the last session at the shop. Nope, it wasn’t something that got lost in translation; the reality that the two assistants had different ideas of what was possible was not reassuring in the least.
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Just 'cos this intrigues me, checked on Apple.es and sure enough it's marginally even more economical than Italy. €1,319 cash buy, €54.96 24 monthly payments, 0% apr.
Fortunate to escape that entanglement plus, it won't be worth much. but your iPhone mini should be somewhere between 100 - 150 euros part exchange, depending on condition.
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Just 'cos this intrigues me, checked on Apple.es and sure enough it's marginally even more economical than Italy. €1,319 cash buy, €54.96 24 monthly payments, 0% apr.
Fortunate to escape that entanglement plus, it won't be worth much. but your iPhone mini should be somewhere between 100 - 150 euros part exchange, depending on condition.
Thanks very much Manoli, but when I eventually get the new one, I intend to keep the 13 Mini too, just in case the new one gets robbed. The bloody day that that woman stole my watch, right out there on the street, has left a deep scar - or simply an awareness of how mentally slow and vulnerable old folks really are. I would hate to have to be buying two new phones!
Rob
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A conch is quite amazing in its natural state; why paint one?
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. . . when I eventually get the new one, I intend to keep the 13 Mini too, just in case the new one gets robbed.
It’s certainly useful to have a spare phone as a back-up (think spare camera), but maintaining two cellular plans can be expensive. Another option would be to buy an inexpensive "burner" phone with a prepaid cellular plan.
Apple's hardware products are fairly well-protected from theft if (but only if) you turn on the "Find My" option, which allows the company's servers to monitor the device's location. That allows a user to easily disable the device remotely—either from another Apple device or from Apple's website—in the event an iPhone (iPad, etc.) is lost or stolen. After this feature was introduced in 2013, officials in San Francisco (-40%), New York (-25%), and London (-~50%) reported sharp reductions in cellular phone theft.
Current Apple products also offer biometric authentication, which uses facial recognition or a fingerprint as credentials to unlock the device. This probably has reduced the frequency of "passcode surfing" thefts—although I haven't been able to find any credible statistics about the change in incidence. (You still need to have an alphanumeric password or numeric passcode as a back-up authentication method. This will automatically be required at intervals under certain circumstances: e.g., after device restarts or long intervals when the device has not been in use.)
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It’s certainly useful to have a spare phone as a back-up (think spare camera), but maintaining two cellular plans can be expensive.
Chris,
I’m sure Rob will post his own reply, but would just point out that it’s not necessary to ‘connect’ an old or backup iPhone, just remove the SIM card or wipe the eSIM. They work as excellent ‘B’ cams or Wi-Fi devices - just no telephony.
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Thanks, Chris and Manoli.
Yes, I do know that the old 'phone can be used as just camera, without any paid "plan" with the telephone company.
Regarding the several techniques to render a stolen unit les than instantly viable to the thief or a new buyer, the point remains that I would still be paying for the stolen item. If I did not keep the old one, then I'd have to buy a new one, and thus pay for two!
The telephone company offers an insurance plan, but it's very expensive. I guess they expect to have to shell out quite often. :-)
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When working I used to have specialist insurance that covered virtually all my equipment against all risks and losses but it was eye-wateringly expensive.
These days all of our cameras and camera related equipment, laptops, tablets and phones are covered by our contents insurance in and away from the home. The desktops, monitors and printers are covered in the home only, unsurprisingly.
My agent used to tell me he was covered for everything including the cat's arse exploding.
Nothing beats peace of mind!
;-)
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When working I used to have specialist insurance that covered virtually all my equipment against all risks and losses but it was eye-wateringly expensive.
These days all of our cameras and camera related equipment, laptops, tablets and phones are covered by our contents insurance in and away from the home. The desktops, monitors and printers are covered in the home only, unsurprisingly.
My agent used to tell me he was covered for everything including the cat's arse exploding.
Nothing beats peace of mind!
;-)
I used to take out special insurance before every trip. In all those years, I was fortunate to have to make only one claim: thanks to British Airways, our first Bahamian trip presented me with the delightful surprise of a pretty Rowi tripod being turned into a duopod: one of the legs was broken in half. Quite how they managed a stunt like that is yet another of those things never quite explained. The insurance also covered us for bad weather, film damage or loss etc. etc.
I had my original Nikkor 500mm reflex along, intending to make quite a lot of use of it. In the event, it was used - if memory and surviving trannies serve - in only one location: even two stable legs weren’t enough for me to frame, focus and keep the thing steady enough for a Kodachrome 64 exposure with a fixed-aperture f8. Digital, today, would have permitted much higher shutter speeds. I did buy another 500 years later, after I’d returned to Nikon, realising my adventures in 6x7 had come too late in stock photography history. The Nikon was perfect for holiday brochure work, whereas 120 was not convenient, and for that market, too expensive to run.
Sometimes, thinking of those times, I am convinced I had a guardian angel covering my back.
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He with a spare never has a care. Alternatively, overcompensation can be a bit awkward at times.
Just noticed: as a thumbnail, I'm reminded of three horse bending down to have a drink. Sea horses? White horses?
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All this mechanical engineering effort because we can't normally walk on the ocean.
" " " " " so that we can rush over the ocean.
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Rare event.
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The temptation to mess with the furniture was huge; I held my instincts in check. As you know, one mustn't bruise the scene. ;-)
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splendid Rob !
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Sadly my OCD would have kicked in and I would have missed the shot.
;-)
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splendid Rob !
Thank you, degrub, I like found stuff a lot.
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Sadly my OCD would have kicked in and I would have missed the shot.
;-)
If that chair had moved by itself, what with black cats on the lap etc., I'd have been toast. Oh the deadly excitement of the unexpected!
I realise, now and again, that though I have reading glasses, I'm very reluctant to put them on when it comes to shooting snaps; it's bad enough removing the sunglasses and letting them dangle around my neck. I also realise that a cellphone wouldn't really be the instrument for action stuff, not any more than I would be the photographer for such, with any camera.
The Bay was like a mirror yesterday, with some people rowing little boats. It reminded me of Rouken Glen Park, which I used to walk twice a day exercising our dog, only there, the boats had eventually been removed courtesy H&Safety fears. Oy vey. What would those guys say about tiny rent-a-boats out in the open sea!
Anyway, I took a snap and sent it off to my daughter who, though she now lives in the city, used to enjoy that park with us as a child. I realised that the pic had missed the point: the boats were so small in the image as to make the comparison with boats in a lake impossible to grasp. Nope, a wide-called-a-normal isn't the answer to everything. That missing longer lens would have saved the day. ;-(
(Do you see how I'm trying to conserve my interest in still getting that goddam Mk 17 one day when the telephone company finally lets go of my balls?)
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Again, a longer lens would have been nice. ;-(
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Just as it was. The framing from near to far helps the image, imo. The size of the boat relative to the distant island and clouds is about perfect, i think. The use of high key grabs my eye and pulls me into the boat.
Telephoto would have compressed the image to something else. Maybe that is what you intended, though.
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Just as it was. The framing from near to far helps the image, imo. The size of the boat relative to the distant island and clouds is about perfect, i think. The use of high key grabs my eye and pulls me into the boat.
Telephoto would have compressed the image to something else. Maybe that is what you intended, though.
No, I didn't intend that simply because I knew I didn’t have the tools to try it out. What I did have, though, was/is the need to keep my weak sense of GAS just breathing on the edge of extinction.
The annoying thing, though, is that I watched that boat drive out of the marina entrance before thinking what the hell, another boat won’t hurt me, but by then it had gone just that bit further out before getting into the high reflection zone. It’s the kind of light and angle that would suit my use of the 500mm reflex lens very well. An odd lens; in my use of it, it only works well with a water background. If you use anything else as background with a defined shape, the beautiful rings become something quite hideous. There are some pix that demonstrate this clearly on the Internet. The late Arnaud de Rosnay, Vogue snapper, has some photos of either Marisa Berenson or Penelope Tree standing in the middle of an avenue: the model looks cool, but the greenery is terrible.
Regarding my snap, though: as with everything, one has to take it on its own ground. ;-)
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[quote author=Rob C link=topic=143905.msg1267758#msg1267758 date=176173152
(Do you see how I'm trying to conserve my interest in still getting that goddam Mk 17 one day when the telephone company finally lets go of my balls?)
[/quote]
At least you won't have to physically change lenses in the field: always hated that.
Yet another reason I get on so well with my little carry-around, that and the fact it forces me to use my legs more these days.
How we grasp at silver linings.
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[quote author=Rob C link=topic=143905.msg1267758#msg1267758 date=176173152
(Do you see how I'm trying to conserve my interest in still getting that goddam Mk 17 one day when the telephone company finally lets go of my balls?)
How we grasp at silver linings.
On that discipline, I unashamedly consider myself a true master!
;-(
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where there is silver, there is gold ! ;)
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Wish I could find as many nice cars; I know where there is a few, but private collection access is a bugger and needs cultivating, which is beyond my dedication so to do.
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Cow in shades.
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bueno !
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olé!
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degrub and Keith -
¡Muchas gracias!
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Sweet smell of old stubs.
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What's in a name...
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The biplane wars.
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Nice catch !
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Thanks! I had to get up from lunch to catch this one. All of life on a verandah.
;-)
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Not rain clouds; Calima, aka Saharan dust.
Bad for the respìratory system.
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Sinking feeling.
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The Bay of Pollença, Mallorca.
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Nice !
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Thanks, I’m getting quite some mileage from this yacht club location. Today, though, it's been pouring, and as cold as it gets - or so I feel - but numerical, it’ll be a lot colder before spring shows its pretty face again!
Rob
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Storm, as in gathering.
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Interesting shot. Just curious, do you know what that rack is used for ?
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Interesting shot. Just curious, do you know what that rack is used for ?
Yes, they stack various types of small hulls or boards on it for transportation, sometimes, or just temporary storage.
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Went to an event last night alongside several thousand others. We were there for a couple of hours, everyone shooting images and video on fones (sic). Didn't see another camera.
Felt like a stranger in a strange world.
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I wish that I had been more realistic in my own life, especially at the end of the career. If I’d accepted that I’d had a good run, achieved many of my objectives, and had just settled back and enjoyed life with Ann at the level I could, then I would have saved one helluva lot of money swapping from one goddam film format to another and then back and forth again, just trying to find the best route via which to make better use of my time in stock. Interesting just how easily photography giveth then taketh back that which it gave, without one really noticing until too late.
Yep, with nothing but the Internet as visual window, an iPhone is more than enough; very much more than enough.
Time has left many whales beached. I saw a video today, an interview with Anna Wintour, about her moving aside - and above? - as editor of the Vogues. Not a whale, but I saw a lot of racing to avoid confronting reality. At least, that’s what I thought that I saw.
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That sinking feeling that something's not quite right.
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ahhhhh, my life in a dingy ! ;)
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ahhhhh, my life in a dingy ! ;)
If I have nothing more pressing to do, then it becomes all too easy to share that sentiment you’ve just expressed! Frankly, avoiding those empty moments is why photography takes up so much of my time.
Watching yet another video about Tatsuo Suzuki makes me wish I lived in Tokyo: so much activity, so many people rushing from here to there… absolutely the opposite of where I live. I think he must be the photographer I most admire in the genre of street: it doesn’t matter that some of it is made using models, because at the end of it all, what matters the most is the chemistry that makes the finished image. Just being able to put it all together is success enough. Fuji must have been nuts. Oh well, many of us are.
All that said, Tokyo might be fun for a month, but from a permanent perspective, I kinda wish it had been possible to settle in Rome during the 50s/60s: all those movies being made; the Via Veneto alive and swinging every night with stars being naughty or just imprudent. What a city it was. It even gave my website its name.
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did some of my best bay fishing in a dingy ! ;D ;)
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Bad for your eyes, darling.
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From a time when cars were designed to allow you to park, years before parking aids became a tacit admission of design flaws.
Just to prove, as it were, that things can improve without getting any better.
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Like it a lot !
Full manual steering to boot !
Do you know what the conical object is on the hood ?
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Like it a lot !
Full manual steering to boot !
Do you know what the conical object is on the hood ?
Yes, it's the external rear view mirror.
We used to drill a hole on each wing, rustproof it and put in the mirror, hoping we had the right distance. There was also a normal mirror inside the cabin, of course. If you could find extra long, three-section Motorola aerials, finding a way of attaching them to the rear of the car was cool, too, and only one had to be connected to the radio. We all wanted fishtails, but British cars weren't made that way... you can blame it all on Hollywood and Rock & Roll. Wannabe ain't nuttin' new!
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Yes, it's the external rear view mirror.
We used to drill a hole on each wing, rustproof it and put in the mirror, hoping we had the right distance. There was also a normal mirror inside the cabin, of course. If you could find extra long, three-section Motorola aerials, finding a way of attaching them to the rear of the car was cool, too, and only one had to be connected to the radio. We all wanted fishtails, but British cars weren't made that way... you can blame it all on Hollywood and Rock & Roll. Wannabe ain't nuttin' new!
I must have been about 11 years old, playing football on the green outside our house with my mates when we were gobsmacked by what we thought was an American car coming up the road. Imagine my excitement when it turned into my driveway and out popped my mum and dad. As it turned out not American car at all, but a Vauxhall Cresta in pink over white with wings. Sadly it rusted away within a few years.
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I must have been about 11 years old, playing football on the green outside our house with my mates when we were gobsmacked by what we thought was an American car coming up the road. Imagine my excitement when it turned into my driveway and out popped my mum and dad. As it turned out not American car at all, but a Vauxhall Cresta in pink over white with wings. Sadly it rusted away within a few years.
Remember them well, and the Velox too; also transatlantic in hope, the Ford Zodiac and Zephyr… Don’t mention rust! Within three years of buying my brand, spanking new ‘74 Humber Sceptre (vinyl roof!), I was painting the sills black. My first proper car was a ‘59 Ford Popular (mini version of the Consul) and surprisingly, was of very thick metal and never gave me rust, even after five years. That went for an Imp, bought because Ann’s mum had one of the very first of them (people raced them at Ingliston), and it came as a bit of a shock to discover that Rootes, in their wisdom, had detuned the Coventry Climax engines that had made them so attractive in the first place. Oh well, at least one could transport a roll of Colorama background paper in them.
I remember that one of the versions of Sunbeam had a tiny suggestion of fins, but I’m not sure of the year.
With the US cars, I liked the fins on the ‘59 Coup de Ville best, and also the very different, more horizontal cat’s eyes that graced one of the Chevrolet Impalas. They more or less grew out sideways from the centreline of the trunk. Ann and I were in Amalfi (during our ‘57 Rome holiday) and I remember leaning over a small harbour railing with one of the Chrysler fin tails parked nearby, in the care of an African American. I was so envious! It was emotionally a very mixed trip: Roman camera shops all had stacks of Rolleiflexes for sale at low prices, but even those I couldn’t afford at the time. I tried to get my mother, who was living in Rome at the time, to spring for one, but she was too smart for me! Just as well: I can imagine the tragedy awaiting me and the camera at UK customs! You couldn’t find them new in the UK because there were post-war quotas… in reality, I wouldn’t have been able to buy one even if they had been available. ;-(
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Ever see the Studebaker Hawk ?
Grandmother had a '58 V8 and loved to pile all the grandkids in the back seat and go screaming across the swamps of Louisiana on those long bridges.
https://studebakermuseum.org/1958-studebaker-hawks/
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We are currently binge watching the whole seven series of Madmen and loving every moment of it, particularly the fashion, the women and the cars. By the time I started in advertising in the 70s much had changed, the agencies were inhabited by long haired cool dudes like me!
;-)
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Ever see the Studebaker Hawk ?
Grandmother had a '58 V8 and loved to pile all the grandkids in the back seat and go screaming across the swamps of Louisiana on those long bridges.
https://studebakermuseum.org/1958-studebaker-hawks/
No, Studebaker wasn't such a common US brand during my years as kid in a post-war India. My recollection of the brand is that the cars looked as if they could be driven from the front and also the back; a sort of two-way look. I had to spend some years in a boarding school about 8000 ft up in the Nilgiris, and I remember that somebody we thought was the governor of that part of India was chauffeured around in a Lincoln Capri in what, to me now, seems to have been painted in metallic red. It must have been between ‘49 and ‘52, as I was liberated and left that school the following year, so not sure metallics had arrived yet.
Another fairly common car at that time was the DeSoto; the belief, shared by us car kids but probably wrongly, was that it was a Chrysler brand only sold as export. There were some Hudson Hornets around (similar to the much later Jaguar Mk 10: pregnant cigars, both) but mostly Fords and Chevrolets, with a few big Buick Eights for added flavour. Pontiacs all had about seven chrome bands going down the middle of the hood… they looked heavy, even then. The British cars there were all pre-war models; it was very difficult to get new ones in the UK for quite some time after that event. I suppose the thing to remember about India in those days, just before and after Independence in ‘47, is that it was a country of massive extremes of wealth and poverty. I guess that the wealthy Indians preferred large Americana; new Rolls-Royces were hard to source, but lots of old ones existed.
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I wonder if this symbol has surpassed the old Kodak or Coke ones in the recognizable stakes?
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Nicely framed !
See a lot of them in my rear view mirror these days.
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Nicely framed !
See a lot of them in my rear view mirror these days.
I once passed a Lamborghini on the road whilst driving my then Escort. That Lambo? A tractor.
;-)
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I once passed a Lamborghini on the road whilst driving my then Escort. That Lambo? A tractor.
Driven by Jeremy Clarkson (https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/machinery/jeremy-clarkson-buys-vast-lamborghini-tractor/)?
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I once passed a Lamborghini on the road whilst driving my then Escort. That Lambo? A tractor.
;-)
A photo would be priceless ! ;D
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Driven by Jeremy Clarkson (https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/machinery/jeremy-clarkson-buys-vast-lamborghini-tractor/)?
My kids tried to get me to watch the show, but I just couldn’t stand him. Funny thing: there are two Clarksons; the bright one I enjoyed in the Sunday Times many year ago, and the waste of space one who was a dominant third of the tv car show. I guess he is smart: understands the audience very well.
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Just in time.
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New year, new series.
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New year, new series...and may God bless her and all who sail in her!
;-)
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A very good start to a better year !
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Indeed, and to regained sanity in high places!
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Civilizations crumble for less.
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Planning laws?
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Possibly a matter of perspective, Keith.
Don't you just love those delicate cellphone wides?
;-)
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Synthesis.
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Nicely done !
reverb pedal full on !
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Nicely done !
reverb pedal full on !
It would be a sin not to rejoice when serendipity comes knockin’… ;-)
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Sant Antoni in Mallorca.
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Very nice, indeed.
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Thank you, Keith. I wish I was physically and mentally up to going out late at night. I think the problem to be more a state of mind than physical. The evening saw Mallorca given over to bonfires and free snacks etc., but the cold and dislike for driving at night saw to that, as far as I was concerned.
The country is currently in mourning for the victims of two high-speed trains that were derailed; tonight’s news suggests it might have been due to weakened rails due to recent heavy storms, the line having been checked this month. The last carriage or two of one went off the line and onto the line going in the opposite direction. Just seconds later, the other one came along and hit the derailed carriages at great speed. Tonight there’s been the suggestion that the second train didn’t so much hit those carriages, but a bogey from it that was sent flying into a river. Part of one of the trains was sent down into a deep ditch, making rescue and access more difficult. I think the toll stands at 42 dead and 1 still unaccounted for, which doesn’t bode good for the family.
“Harry” has shown how stupid planning permission can be, with front-line apartment blocks damaged when hit by the exploding sea. Expensive properties by virtue of location, but in the wrong place for peace of mind!
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Used to be a time I would shoot pix for winter holiday brochures for Mallorca.
For quite a few years the hotels and airlines have remained closed during winter. Not for want of travellers, but because they make so much money in summer that they can afford to stay closed all winter long, from about the end of October until April. My conclusion, rightly or wrongly, is that they charge so much money in summer that they can ignore the wannabe traveller in winter, and so somebody, somewhere, is being screwed all summer long.
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Thank you, Keith. I wish I was physically and mentally up to going out late at night. I think the problem to be more a state of mind than physical. The evening saw Mallorca given over to bonfires and free snacks etc., but the cold and dislike for driving at night saw to that, as far as I was concerned.
The country is currently in mourning for the victims of two high-speed trains that were derailed; tonight’s news suggests it might have been due to weakened rails due to recent heavy storms, the line having been checked this month. The last carriage or two of one went off the line and onto the line going in the opposite direction. Just seconds later, the other one came along and hit the derailed carriages at great speed. Tonight there’s been the suggestion that the second train didn’t so much hit those carriages, but a bogey from it that was sent flying into a river. Part of one of the trains was sent down into a deep ditch, making rescue and access more difficult. I think the toll stands at 42 dead and 1 still unaccounted for, which doesn’t bode good for the family.
“Harry” has shown how stupid planning permission can be, with front-line apartment blocks damaged when hit by the exploding sea. Expensive properties by virtue of location, but in the wrong place for peace of mind!
Perfectly understandable, Rob. Nighttime driving is not something I enjoy and avoid if possible.
My heart goes out to those involved in those terrible train crashes. V's cousin was killed in a train crash in the UK An appalling waste of innocent lives.
Batten down those hatches and stay safe!
Keith
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Only the bare bones are left...
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Perfectly understandable, Rob. Nighttime driving is not something I enjoy and avoid if possible.
My heart goes out to those involved in those terrible train crashes. V's cousin was killed in a train crash in the UK An appalling waste of innocent lives.
Batten down those hatches and stay safe!
Keith
There was one little ray of joy that came out of the tragedy of the recent Spanish train crash: one of the passengers who was hurt but able to walk, was interviewed yesterday, in tears, because her big pet dog had run off after the crash. Today, he was found and dog and girl were reunited. Dammit, I was close to tears myself seeing the change in her face and attitude; she couldn’t stop thanking the folks who’d mounted a search and discovered the animal. Having had dogs, I know just how she must feel having it back, safe and sound.
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There was one little ray of joy that came out of the tragedy of the recent Spanish train crash: one of the passengers who was hurt but able to walk, was interviewed yesterday, in tears, because her big pet dog had run off after the crash. Today, he was found and dog and girl were reunited. Dammit, I was close to tears myself seeing the change in her face and attitude; she couldn’t stop thanking the folks who’d mounted a search and discovered the animal. Having had dogs, I know just how she must feel having it back, safe and sound.
Three Spanish train accidents in one week! Yes maybe it is time for some stricter safety regulations...
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Three Spanish train accidents in one week! Yes maybe it is time for some stricter safety regulations...
It used to be just the UK that suffered from the "wrong kind of leaves" on the tracks, but now, with climate change, Spain gets too much of the wrong kind of rain...
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Latest news on the Spanish train crash suggests that a rail parted and developed a gap, with both its manufacture and recent welding under suspicion. It appears that every single section/length of rail carries its own DNA markings, indicating manufacturer, composition of metal etc. i had no idea. Examination of wheels of the train in the crash, as well as those of other trains that had recently used that portion of rail, reveal damage marks consistent with deterioration and ultimate breaking of the rail.
It seems the young lady reunited with her lost pooch has become a social media event, and even made the tv in the USA.
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Pretty little girl.
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really nicely done. Italian ?
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German; BMW of some kind or another.
I enjoy snapping cars, but the lenses on this iPhone 13 Mini are both too wide for the job. Equally, the cars are usually found in the yacht club parking spaces, and even in winter, when there are hardly any attractive cars around, people still tend to park too close and restrict the angles I can shoot at without getting too much unwanted detail in the shots.
Thanks for the kind remark - appreciated. ;-)
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Relativity.
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interesting juxtaposition
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interesting juxtaposition
I guess it’s the payoff to “working the scene”.
I took two other shots of the Mini on it own, but only when I could see how impossible it was to show how tiny the thing is without a human beside it to give a sense of scale, did the carts become useful. By that time my head had gone back to the year those tiny cars had been introduced, and the differences in the realities of life in Britain and in the States. From the age of eight until I was about sixteen I lived in India. Our cars had been V8 Fords and almost everything else new on those chaotic streets came from Detroit. The culture shock of going back to a 1953 Britain was immense. I guess I never did get back to feeling I honestly belonged anymore, and that, of itself, made waving goodbye in order to go and live in Spain very much easier than it might have been for somebody who had never left before. Of course, being a photographer was the passport that made it possible, just as the changes in (my) professional photography had become the driver. How little control we eventually have over the course of our own lives…
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Life and/or death decision: should I go left or should I go right?
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car roulette ;)
Nice !
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Life and/or death decision: should I go left or should I go right?
'The Road Not Taken', Robert Frost
Jonathan :)
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car roulette ;)
Nice !
Thanks - don’t put any money on it, though!
;-)
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'The Road Not Taken', Robert Frost
Jonathan :)
Indeed, and you’d have to be a cyclist to take the left turning. Of course, left or right, white lines or not, they are a law unto themselves. According to the local press, we can expect a large growth in the number of Canadian cyclists coming over this year to try out the island. Let’s hope that the increase in all prices, due to the Iranian war, doesn’t mean they are mistaken for Americans. It’s easy to put all people with similar accents under a simple, nationalistic banner, individual beliefs ignored. I am always surprised how any international event seems to affect prices, even when any connection between event and price seems more than a little opaque.
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For Pablo.
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Iberian Afternoon.
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Dusty old lady.
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Sahara calling card
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Indeed; calima is the local name for it, and it crucifies the Canary Islands more than most other non-African areas. I always hope it doesn't come calling when I have a washing hanging out. Mallorca does get it, but fortunately not as frequently.
I have only been to the Canaries once that I can remember: it was during March one year, and the model didn’t want to go into the water because it was so cold. My worry was the constantly flying sand, not best friends with 500CM cameras. It had been quite unnecessary to use 120 film, but the printer (joint client along with the drinks company), wasn’t happy for me to use my normal Kodachrome and Nikon sauce. Such is life.
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Just an aside: this snap had me making quite a bit of use of colour filters during the b/w conversion; I’m pretty convinced that for me to own just a mono camera today would prove to be an expensive misjudgement.
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Reminds me of Jazz on a Summer's Day from Bert Stern.
All I need is the music and some party chat and laughter sounds in the background. Memories are made of this. He was one of my favourite photographers, and his headshot of BB is magnificent.
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+1 :)
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From the Signage series.
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Anybody else less than motivated by the new, curve-challenged, slab-sided design of pleasure craft? They invariably remind me of those old ferro-cement boats...
From the Signage series.
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Lord have mercy ! i thought that idea had gone....We have one of the big ones from WWII rusting away next to the ship channel.
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Funny about life: in 1965 a cellphone camera would have been a fantasy; in 2026 the tables have turned and the Mustang is my fantasy.
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German horsepower.
Unfortunately, those horses often choose to graze in unphotogenic areas. ;-(
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splendid image of an autobahn maven !
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Thank you; the yacht club sometimes hosts amazing metal, but like all parked cars, you have to snap ‘em where you find ‘em.
I saw a McLaren parked beside the boats once, but that was before I began to use the cellphone camera, and so it’s just memory. The Mercedes shot was made outside the local supermarket - in a no parking zone. But hey, what they gonna do?
I know of two collections, not a million miles away, but the problem remains the same: no control of where the cars sit.
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From Japan.
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Old little iPhone or not, I think it does metallic paints quite well.
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It does indeed.
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Purple haze on sunny/hazy day.
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My little X1/9 had a targa top system, too.
It was surprisingly good - for its size - on luggage space, as well. Today's small sports numbers mostly don't offer a spare tyre nor any room for luggage, neatly defeating the romantic idea of them as long-distance, romantic holiday cars.
Oh well, I'm neither romantic anymore nor looking for holidays anywhere. Home looks good enough, if I can survive it! ;-)
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and now for the elegant red haired lady to complete the kit !
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and now for the elegant red haired lady to complete the kit !
In this heat, anything in red is too much!
;-)
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The little mighty M
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Splendid !
And without a scale reference, it is hard to tell if this is the "hot wheels" version or full size.
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In the flesh, it's a chunkier model than the previous one; I'm not so sure that BMW is still doing the right thing with design. I feel that to be the case with most car companies these days, but BMW especially appears to have abandoned the classic, shiny kidney grille of yore and espoused black-painted things that you have to be very near to see that they actually exist. Audi, too, has gone for almost invisible intersecting black circles in place of brightwork.
Ford's electric Mustang should never have been made under that name: it looks nothing like a Mustang, and would have been better sold as simply another Ford. Instead, the Mustang name is being diluted.
In Britain, we never had a Mustang (we do now) but we did have a Capri (nothing like the Lincoln Capri) that could have been seen as the poor Brits' Mustang... the sin there, in Britain - Europe, was to reuse the Capri name and stick it onto a featureless EV.
Usually, after my obligatory morning walk, I sit outside a local bar and watch the world go past. It has become very hard to distinguish one SUV from any other. Suddenly, the little town is full of Chinese versions of the Range Rover... is anybody else here old enough to remember the days when cars had personality? Maybe we need to screw Trump and all go to Cuba - or get Slobodan to repost some of his classic cars pix.
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personality and the weekend tune up under the shade tree for us green grass mechanics !
Italian cars had the most attention. Never would hold the valve settings for long.
The Triumph TR4 (or maybe 4A, i forget) was great - just dismount the engine and set it on the kitchen table for a complete overhaul. Great fun over a couple beers.
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Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
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More German horses.
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always liked that long front end.
Looked like speed...
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The last car that I can remember driving comfortably, from a vision point of view, was my old Humber Sceptre ‘74/‘75 model. I remember it as allowing me to see all four corners. Since then, the actual location of the corners of all subsequent cars has forever remained a mystery. That cars now come with bleeping parking sensors is simply an admission of design failure. I believe that some new cars don’t have regular mirrors, but rely totally on cameras. Mirrors already offer a different, unreal sense of perspective and distance; a screen is even less connected to visual reality and depth perception. How easy it is to screw more profit from the must-have-the-latest-toy brigade… a properly located set of front and rear cameras is a good idea for parking purposes, but keeping an eye on city traffic, especially cyclists trying to sneak up to and through gaps between your vehicle and another, doesn't appear to be an endeavour best served by a flat screen.
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Another mighty midget.
Not sure why they seem to be in relatively dark colours; perhaps a ploy to foil snappers.
Nobody loves us. ;-(
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dark colors - intimidation, military, police, etc.
It is a real thing in the US.
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dark colors - intimidation, military, police, etc.
It is a real thing in the US.
Starting at around 45 thousand euros, one helluva price for a tiny car! It gets worse: it's electric!
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Anniversary Issue. Pretty in a yellowish/beige/cream confection.
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Last of the Supras, as far as I can tell. BMW engine derivative, and Japanese construction bringing the fight to Italy.
Such shining love and dedication, when all the rest of the visible cars are covered in Sahara dust.
The best I can muster these days is a wash of the windows in order to see where I'm going and, perhaps, a little history of where I think I've just been.
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Breakout - for Genie.
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i like the composition !
Wonder who the heraldry was for or was it just decoration.
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The thing hanging on the right is an old bed-warming pan. It’s basically a brass box, a couple of inches deep, fitted with a decorated hinged lid and a long handle. They used to be filled with ashes and the glowing remains of heating fires, and then slid between the sheets in baronial bedrooms to keep master and mistress warm of a night. There was no home insurance back then, so you could do those things. Nowadays, the problem is Shakespearean: to polish or not to polish, that is the question.
If you can find a copy, I recommend reading Forever Amber. It was clearly jealousy that led to the anti-Royalist fever of the Charles 1 and Charles II century. No way somebody was gonna have a good time unless everybody else was gonna enjoy it too! Plus ça change plus c’est la même chose… ;-)