Just enjoyed a delicious stir fry with veggies picked from our own garden. Okay, it was just a green pepper from the one potted pepper plant on our back step but it couldn’t have been more fresh or tasty thanks to the creative efforts of God and Linda. I’d show you a picture but it recently dawned on me that I’ve perhaps been photographically illustrating these blogs to the point of copping out; making it nearly unnecessary to write much of anything. I’ve always believed that as the late Eric Severeid once said, “A well chosen word is worth a thousand pictures.”
Speaking of pictures, I’m really puzzled about why so many people are enamored with “Instagram.” I really don’t know much about it other than it’s an app for smart phones that, unfortunately, allows you to use a bunch of different filters to “artistically” alter the original image; giving a perfectly good digital photograph an old timey look or screw around with the color. One of my favorite writers is Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist and noted blogger, James Lileks. He’s also a pretty fair photographer. Here’s how he feels about “Instagram”; feelings that echo my own.
“Nostalgia may be experienced legitimately. It should never be manufactured. This isn’t even about using the filters that crappify the image. It takes something contemporary and makes it look as if it’s old, which it cannot possibly be. The only reason it sums up some vague sense of nostalgia is because you’ve been told that’s what old photos looked like. They didn’t look like that at first. In fact they were quite colorful, and didn’t look as if they’d been dipped in urine for a week.”
I’m sure some of my Facebook friends who are fascinated by “Instagram” will take exception to my assessment of the feature but I have personal reasons for never wanting to revert back to old technology when it comes to taking pictures. (I’ll explain in a minute.) In the late fifties early sixties, people..including me..were absolutely amazed when Polaroid introduced a process in which film was actually developed right in the camera; 10 seconds for black and white..color in a minute. Polaroid was a big advertiser on “live” programs like the Tonight Show with both Jack Paar and Steve Allen. Below are several examples of live commercials. It runs 22 minutes so when you’ve grown weary of them..click the pause button and read on.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_PTucFMQI4[/youtube]
But, you paid dearly for the luxury of instant photos; over 75 bucks plus the cost of film. And, to be honest, the quality never lived up to the convenience; a lesson I learned after our first daughter was born in 1965. We wanted baby pictures, of course, but instead of going with the tried and true Kodak brand, I bought a cheap new version of a Polaroid called the “Swinger.” It was twenty bucks, made of plastic and only took wallet sized black and white pictures. So, as a result of my cheapness..while other young parents were getting beautiful Kodachrome images of their children, me and my Swinger were capturing those precious once-in-a-lifetime shots with crap quality like this:
Suzan asleep in her crib. Isn’t that a great shot? The Swinger camera ruined a lot of memories for millions.
I wouldn’t be surprised if “Instagram” offers a Polaroid Swinger filter and some of you will be tempted to actually use it. I just hope you’re not taking pictures of your kids when you do.
Well, here I am talking about my perceived problems with posting too many pictures and yet I recall promising a couple shots of our weekend at Aberdeen’s Arts in the Park in which I rejoined Mogen’s Heroes for six shows..even dusting off my drums which have been tucked away in a corner of the garage for ages. All of the following photos are courtesy of John’s Nikon digital camera with a big lens. I appreciate the discretion used by John’s lovely wife, Sue in avoiding full body shots of yours truly.
A fine day and a fine turnout at Aberdeen’s arts in the park. That’s Denny Gale on Guitar and John Mogen on Keyboard.
The weather was perfect but the park was a little slanty. L to R: Linda, Me, Karen Gale, Sue Mogen, Denny Gale.
The girls ducked for cover during a brief shower.
Linda and I are off to Minnesota this weekend to celebrate anniversaries and a birthday with our pals, Denny and Joan. Then, I gotta lose 50 pounds before our Alaska trip next month.
“My cup runneth over.” (Dave Dedrick)