Digicam Dreams...

This year, I surpassed twenty years of digital photographs to manage. I try to go through my archive fairly regularly in order to keep the total number of files from blowing up. It definitely feels good to toss out the dogs, the duplicates, and the meaningless crap shots. Of course, there are some haircuts that are not worth remembering either. It's interesting, too, which cameras you end up thinking of most fondly as time passes. Way back in 2009, it looks like I was shooting with the Nikon D300 and the Panasonic LX-3. My Nikon FM2N would sit unused on a shelf for a few more years. But how I loved that bloody LX-3! It took pretty decent images, but certainly nothing approaching what the Nikon could do. It seems I have always had a soft spot for these little all-in-one cameras. Kinda still do. My phone is my wallet, my map, my damn life. It is too important to use to make snapshots. It might make sense to start taking photographs with a dedicated camera again. You can pick up a LX-3 for $50 today.

Tasting notes: Panasonic Lumix LX-3, circa 2009.

Digital imaging from the turn of the century

About twice a year I take a day or two to really dig in and verify that my photo archive is in good shape. I spot check some of the individual image files, replace old hard drives, add new capacity, all of that stuff. Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. 

And, of course, I get sucked into the vortex of reliving old memories. It is just part of the process, but maybe the most enjoyable part, if I'm honest. Inevitably, too, I find a hidden gem or three, and then lose more time futzing around to see if I can extract any more quality from the creaky old files by using modern software. Often enough, I can, which is pretty cool.

What is also interesting is that certain cameras and lenses come to the fore as particularly special. In my case, an early favorite was the Canon Powershot G2 from 2001. On the one hand, it is a bit sobering to think that I've been using digital cameras for over twenty years now! On the other hand, it turns out that the 4 megapixel CCD sensor on the G2 was pretty sweet, and the files hold up really well even today. Who knows, the G2 could be a cult vintage digital camera among the cognoscenti.

The image above was taken at Port St. Joseph in the Florida panhandle. It is an amazing place to visit during the cooler months of the year. During the hot and humid summer months, I'd honestly rather be in an air conditioned environment editing my photographs.