Dreams Take Flight

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Dreams take flight

Ah, to be a child again.    

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I think the answer to that question says alot about a social unit.

An Astronaut, a Firefighter, Police Officer or Doctor?

Some kids may say "President of the United States" but I'm willing to bet no children will say "A politician."

How many children, for that matter, say that they wish to be a Democrat or Republican when they grow up?

It is a shame, really.. that we adults get so wrapped into the everyone-looses, no-compromise partisanship currently in play.  I would encourage my children otherwise.  Paraphrasing Einstein, Arts & Sciences are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but arts and sciences are something for eternity.

Me?  I wanted to be an inventor.   Maybe it could still happen. :)

The De-Evolutionary Ladder

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The De-Evolutionary Ladder
I ended up working in Orange Beach today, working from The Stargazer.  It's my thinking spot.
The Wharf Marina was all a-buzz with activity, cleaners and various maintenance people running about.  In prep for great weather and the upcoming boat show..

I found it rather amusing as I took my dingy, by dock cart, to the car, a guy, presumably a boat-service worker of some fashion, sat near the dock burning a bowl-pipe of  weed.  

Right out in the open, for all to see. I admire the moxy but question the judgement...

Speaking of...judgement.. have you ever noticed that the internet is all full of adults acting like bickering grade-schoolers?  Nothing has underlined this more than the events surrounding my decision to invest in a full-frame DSLR.

I started out in research mode.   Considering the D4, D3x, D800, D700, Canon 5DMk2 and the 5Dmk3.
The forums and posts and blogs about these very different cameras are filled with slews of people being rude to one-another.  Paraphrased...

"36 megapixels is too much for anyone.  Only 4 frames per second???? Like GOSH! That's terri-bad, I'll take a D4 any day!!"
"16.2 Megapixels for a D4??!   In my day we shot with a VGA CMOS, up hill - in the snow -- and LIKED IT, I say!"
"D4?  Pukesville man.   Canon totally roxors and you Nikon people are smelly ape-beings for liking that junktastic weaksauce."

.....

Amazing how every discussion about the strengths of one camera would always turn very one sided.    Some know-it-all would jump in with absolutisms like "You CAN'T be a serious sports-wedding-bowling-league-hotdog-eating-contest photographer without a 6 fps body, $12k in lenses and 6 alien bees." or "Only 16 megapixels...  GOSH!  My Windows Phone has a better camera than that and has instagram!!  I needz 128 megapixels for squirrel portraits or for photos collected around the nation of biblical figures' faces occurring in random objects for my upcoming photoblog "Jesus Toast."

Amidst my work-day today, it occurred to me. "Oh yeah, my D800 preorder had a shipping date for today, I'll check that.."   The check let me to NikonRumors.com, this post:  http://nikonrumors.com/2012/03/19/nikon-d800-to-start-shipping-this-week.aspx/

I like that site and respect it as a journalistic source but the comment threads show more schoolyard numbskulls..

Droves and droves of, 

"OMG, LOL I just about peed my pants with excitement waiting for this camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
to the pouty-pants posters:

"Grumble Grumble.  Frowny Face.   There's no way I'm getting the camera tomorrow.      If amazon doesn't deliver tomorrow,  I'm canceling my order!!!!  That'll show em''' those... evil ... japanese capitalists, HA!!"
Sure.. getting new gear is exciting.  Learning and using new gear is even more exciting.  But, do we all have to turn into pre-adolescent weenies in the wake of, or anticipation of, a product release?

If you create mental images of the people behind the keyboards, typing the things we read..  when I read these comments I see little Bobby Baker, in the lunchroom, shooting spitballs as little Suzie Richards.  Suzie acuses
Bobby of having cooties and Bobby calls her something witty like "Puke face."

...and I just.. can't for the life of me...  Envision Bobby and Suzie as career-level pro-or-semi-pro's with the expendable income to support a $4k+ camera setup.
..they must have been skimming off their lunch money for a long time..

An Open Letter to the Electronics Industry

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Apple..InyourMarketsGettingYourCustomers

Dear Electronics Industry, (sans Apple)

I love you.   You know that.   We've had some good times, you and I.  Remember those long walks with the Walkman?  Those first days of moving from VHS to DVD…   Those dreamy nights with you, me and my family…  on the couch, eating popcorn and enjoying your services. 

I feel that we've grown close enough that I can tell you anything - and in a way, that's what makes this so hard.  If I had a friend partaking in a dangerous addiction or plagued by unhealthy habits, I'd have to step in - to intervene.  To help.

That's why I'm writing you today.

I have good news and bad news.  

Decorum dictates that bad news goes first, so here goes:  You suck at customer satisfaction, especially where repairs or service are concerned.   

Nikon, about 2 years ago I had a camera from you with some "first-batch" issues.   Autofocus would focus at an incorrect distance and required some tweaking.  The autofocus ring on the camera was also loose, causing the camera to drop into manual focus, often inopportunely.

The issue was prolific.   Forums abound with others sharing the same problem.   Entire websites dedicated to it, in fact.   So, I called you for a warranty repair.   Even though you had made the repair 1,000's of times, you had no ability to provide me with a time and materials estimate.   Your answer?   Mail the camera to me and I'll see.

This was, of course, after dozens of back-and-fourth, "try this, send me samples" through your ticket system.

I did mail, at considerable personal expense, the camera to you for repair.   Nearly a month later you returned it, without warning.  At least the issue was repaired.   At least the warranty was honored.

What's that -- SONY?  You think you are better?  Oh, no.  I recently scratched the LCD on my SLT-A77 camera.  I could work around the issue but my annoying tendency to try to keep everything I own, "as new" stepped in.    

I contacted your support department and expressed that I would like to have the LCD replaced.   That I understood such a repair would not be covered by the warranty.  How long would such a repair take?  How much would it cost?

Your answer.. "Send it to us, we'll have to see."

Three days after overnighting the package, I receive a poorly formatted automated email around midnight stating you've received my package.  The email includes a phone number and an "Event ID."

I call the number… Here is my call.

Traverse the automated call system… (For Consumer electronics dial…  for Alpha DSLR's dial… please hold)… (5 minutes, no hold music, no clicks.. just silence.)

Sony Repair Dude.. "Hello?"

Me.."Hi, my name is Bill Dodd and I have a camera in for Service.  I'd like to check the status of that please."

Sony Repair Dude.."What is your ticket number?"

Me.."Would that be my "event ID"? 

Sony Repair Dude.."Sure."

Me.."0079…."

Sony Repair Dude.."Please wait while I look it up."

5 more minutes.. no hold music.. just silence..

Sony Repair Dude.."Found you.  Bill Dodd, right?"

Me.."yep."  thought:  (..isn't that what I said?)

Sony Repair Dude.."how may I help you?"

Me.."Looking for status of the repair or estimate, please."

Sony Repair Dude.."You would like to know the status of your repair?"

Me.."Yes, Please."

Sony Repair Dude.."Please wait while I look it up…"

(7 minutes.. just silence)

Sony Repair Dude.."Hello?"

Me.."yes?"

Sony Repair Dude.."You wanted the status of the repair?"

Me.."Yes, please."

Sony Repair Dude.."Hold please."

(4 minutes…)

Sony Repair Dude.."Hello?"

Me.."Yes?"

Sony Repair Dude.."You were looking for the status of the repair for your camera?"

Me.."Yes please.  "

Sony Repair Dude.."It is In Production."

Me.."So.. no part problems… you have the LCD in stock, you are fixing it under warranty?"

Sony Repair Dude.."So far.."

Me.."Can I know when to expect the repair to be complete?"

Sony Repair Dude.."7-12 business days."

Me.."from… what date?"

Sony Repair Dude.."excuse me?"

Me.."7-12 days from today or 7-12 days from receipt."

Sony Repair Dude.."yes."

Me.."Yes?  Which one is it?  "

Sony Repair Dude.."7-12 business days."

Me.."Thank you."

Sony Repair Dude.."Can I help you with anything else today?"

Me.."You could answer my question."

Sony Repair Dude.."What question, sir?"

Me.."Will the camera be repaired within 7-12 days from today or 7-12 days starting the date you received it 7 days ago?"

Sony Repair Dude.."It will usually take 7-12 business days."

Me.."Thanks for your time, have a great day."

Sony Repair Dude.."Anything else I can help you with, sir?"

Me.."Nope, I've had enough -- thanks!"

…

If this call was monitored for the sake of improving customer service, some people need to be fired, like today.  

Now, the good news!  The solution to your problem has already been implemented.. by Apple.  Just copy them and it will all work itself out. 

1 month ago, my Macbook pro freezes.  Dead hard drive.   I recover the data manually and then go to Apple's support site.   I enter my serial number, it tells me I have 3 days left in warranty and has an option to "call me."

I enter my number and the site tells me to expect a call in two minutes.   It was 1 minute.

The rep asked me what the problem is, asks me the steps I've tried and agrees the hard drive, is indeed broken.   Has time and materials costs on hand and assures me my situation is covered under warranty.    Because no Apple store is near me, they send out a pre-paid Fedex overnight box with stupid-simple boxing instructions.

I return the notebook.

A day later, I receive a nice email stating the laptop has been received and is in queue for repair.   A day later I receive a repair status update saying the notebook is repaired.  A day after that, Fedex rings my door with a repaired notebook.

Regardless of how you personally feel about Apple.  If you like them or hate them.. if you can't stand macs or if you think iPhones are dumbed down phones.  If you love macs and think the iPhone is the only premier phone offering… it doesn't matter… You have to admit.. based on stock price, consumer satisfaction, cash on hand and mindshare, Apple is KILLING these other electronics retailers at their own game.

I can't help but think this example customer service difference is part of that…

Whether you ship software or silicon, build houses or mow grass, make portraits or cheeseburgers… a customer service experience is an opportunity.  It is an opportunity to cultivate a relationship to your customer, gather feedback and exceed expectations. 

Building awesome, shiny widgets isn't enough.   If these other manufacters are to succeed against the likes of Apple, they will have to adopt new levels of quality across all disciplines, especially those customer-facing.  The current initiatives for promoting quality in a company ARE NOT WORKING.   Apple isn't pushing Six Sigma.   Apple isn't following Disney guidelines and practices.   Apple doesn't follow.  They lead.  Right now, Apple is leading us all to expect more from companies and they do it by promoting ownership and responsibility at the individual level within their company.  Quality isn't learned. Quality is practiced.  Quality is woven through the organization.  This is the legacy that Steve Jobs left, not just for Apple to follow but for all of us to embrace.

I still love my Nikon and Sony cameras.   I love my Android phone and Samsung TV.   But, God help Nikon & Sony if Apple ever decides to make a real camera and help the rest if they ever decide to make TVs…  Apple has the fundamentals DOWN.  Design, supply chain, fulfillment, retail and support.   If they enter your market and decide to compete against you, they will eat your lunch.

Learn and adapt now or we consumers will truly have few options in the future. 

Epic Weather Returns

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DSC_7299_300_301_tonemapped

It seems like we didn't even have a winter, here on the Gulf Coast. 
Sure, the grass died and leaves fell. We had a few cool nights.

But, it never got cold and stayed that way. I never bothered to winterize anything and at the end of the season, I hopped on the lawnmower and turned the key, it started right up.
Not even cold enough to zap a battery charge?

With one 80 degree weekend down and another around the corner.. it looks like it's going to be a pretty season here on the Gulf Coast!

What is Art?

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What is Art?

There is this theme in Software technology that is often picked up by Hollywood.  The idea of free information exchange.   Tron, Hackers, Sneakers, Antitrust.   All the movies that take place in the "computer universe" seem to wrestle with this notion.

A free thinking protagonist struggles to arrest the intellectual property from an antagonist with unlimited resources, often a government agency or multi-billion dollar corporation.

One of the treatises behind nesting dolls in ancient cultures was that a person is actually a community of "individuals" -- each very different and often contending for control.  

Since I've found myself exploring this "artistic" side of photography, it has led me to, for the first time, count myself, at least partly, as an artist.  This is at odds with my engineer self.

Recently, I went with a friend to pick up a piece of art he bid on during the a recent Arts Festival.  It was a hand-blown glass figure and he was thrilled to get it.   While he was picking up his new acquisition, I meandered the gallery appreciating the displays from a multitude of art forms along the walls.

For the first time, in my life, it occurred to me that some of my work could in fact qualify to be displayed in such a way, so I inquired as to what that process was like.

The work is submitted, then juried by a panel of judges in that specific art form.

Cool. Whatever, I may make a few prints and have a go at it.

But, as we drove off I thought a lot about what constitutes art.  On the extreme edges there are successful and sought-after artists creating paintings and incorporating their own DNA.   Taking their labors and "blood, sweat and tears" concept to a whole new meaning.

On the more boring end of things there are people like me.   Weekenders armed with a camera and a touch too many hours behind the computer.  Sculptors, painters, poets and writers.  Musicians & Dancers.  They .. could .. all be art.

More so, what qualifies a person to be the "judge" of anthers' art?   

I see art in the soft curve of an full sail and the hard lines of a Kimber 1911 Pistol.   I also see art in the gentle slopes of dunes and rolling arches of waves. 

I wish the world of art was a bit more like the free-reign hackers of those movies.. All information being equal and open to be consumed by others.. No judges. No contest.

I hope that the zeal of emerging photographers, designers, painters, musicians and other artists aren't easily squashed by the likes of a "juror."   Having received a healthy dose of coldly-worded rejection letters from Stock Photography aggregators and other "judges" for my art form, I hope that others are as thick-skinned as I can be.

If you enjoy doing it..  Judges and Jurors be damned.  It's your art.

Seeking Definition

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Seeking Definition

 As he sat, at sunset beside a pier in Fairhope, Alabama, he reflected on his life.  He graduated High School "middle" of his class, just another kid destined to work in the train yards.  He fought a few tours in the war, yet those experiences didn't define him.


He settled down with a pretty young lady from his home town in Indiana and they were married.   A good looking couple, they bought a modest home near the River.  He did work in the train yards in the region.  He worked hard and saved what he could.   Yet, his career didn't define him, either.

They had three children, who, in turn, grew up to give them 5 grandchildren.   He and his wife loved their son and daughters and loved the grandchildren.

They vacationed in Florida, often in an RV.  Family would come and they would drink beer, shuck oysters and cook on an open fire.

As his grandchildren started to creep into adulthood the affects of time on his body could be felt.  His hands, rough from a lifetime of back-breaking work and his eyes, still the sharp reflections of his thoughtful 18-year old self.   One morning, he lost his wife to old age.   The loss was more than he could tolerate and the memory of her absence sting'd in the day-to-day moments to turn to recollection.  The pain of her loss didn't define him either.
He watched as his kids began to age, his grandchildren began to marry.   He took parts in the joy of their marriages and helped with the road bumps still being encountered by his own children.    Yet, fatherhood, did not define him.

He struggled with diagnosis codes and Dr visits, hospital stays and financial planning.   His health and strength began to leave him.   One daughter estranged.  One son, took time nearly every day to come visit and talk with him.  
Grandchildren began to act as caretakers and the visits… began to feel less frequent from the family in whole.  Work schedules, school schedules, daycare and Dr's visits of their own… The man's children had developed their own lives.   

They still visited.   They loved him, appreciated him and showed it. 

But, in the time between visits, his own failing health began to become more and more unbearable.   The thought of growing infirm and weak and worse -- the thought of being a burden on his family wore so heavy on his mind, that one afternoon, he laid in bed with his .38 and took his own life.

The grandchildren who found him were forever marked by the sight.   I was at work, 600 miles away when I received word of his passing from this Earth.   I remember what I was doing and I remember the longer-than-usual trip back to Indiana.

All of us remember him in our own way.   

Is that what defines his life?    
I remember, the strong and experienced, hard-handed and soft-eyed man, sitting beside the water and I thought of him, when I captured this photo of a stranger in Fairhope.

 

Join us Saturday, 3/24 for a Spring Photo Walk

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springHasSpring

Epic Weather is here and Spring has certainly sprung on the Gulf Coast.  Come join us for a photo walk at Historic Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama from 9:30am to 12:30pm CST on Saturday March 24, 2012. Organized by the Eastern Shore Camera Club and led by Flickrite, all-around nice guy and nature photography Extraordinaire, Brody J.

It'll be "loose and fun".  Stay with the group or do your own thing, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for photographic goodness along the nature trails and the Mobile Bay Delta.
Event page on the face space intarwebs:  http://www.facebook.com/events/206787166090018/

I'll definitely be there.   You don't need a high dollar camera to attend..  I may or may not have a camera with me.  I'm at the mercy of Sony's Laredo Repair Center and Amazon.com.    If no camera materializes this week, I'll just use a Camera Phone or iPad.

Speaking of iPad..  Being camera-less, I stepped out and snapped this with the iPad.   Looks as if they have the camera significantly improved in this iteration!

A Portait of Nothing In Particular..

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DSC08220_1_2_tonemapped
One morning, I was "still up" from a night of programming things.   Decided brisk, cool morning sunset was more inviting than my pillow and made it down to Gulf Shores for some solitude and camera time.

On the way back home, I decided to pop into this small nature trail I've always noticed but never stopped to traverse.    The trail wasn't as large as I thought but I snapped this shot towards Lake Shelby... A shot of nothing in particular but I liked the leading lines generated by the trees leading back to the condos..

 

Planes.. on the wall.. Planes.. on the ceiling..

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Planes on the Wall, Planes on the Ceiling

One of my remaining hobbies.. is to fly R/C aircraft.  I've built some pretty elaborate models, flown them, crashed them, rebuilt them....  Rinse, repeat.     A few years ago, however, I discovered the joy of impact-foam.

There are these very highly capable planes made of impact-resistant-styrofoam that come nearly completely ready to fly and for a fraction of the cost of the planes I used to fly.    What is most enjoyable about this route is that a person can spend the time flying - not building. 

As a result, I'm a pretty good R/C pilot.  Helis & planes, this "new" generation of moderately cheap R/C models allows a person the luxury to focus on flying skills instead of gluing skills.   

Given this hobby, I've always wanted a proper space to tinker and display aircraft that I've learned to fly.   I imagine this small 1 - car enclosed garage with some planes dangling from the celing or hanging from the walls.   I have no such proper location at this time but.. one day!

This is probably why I like the Naval Aviation Museum so much.   If I can find wonder in 2 or 3 floam flyers hanging from a shed ceiling, imagine the kid-wide-eyedness of seeing this place with their hundreds of actual aircraft on display :)

 

State of..Our.. Affairs

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Small house, big yard

Anybody want to buy a small house with a big yard?   http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/19280-Hughen-St_Robertsdale_AL_36567_M74582-95619

I've been thinking about my dad lately.. Election season, maybe..

Dad was the kind of man who voted down party lines.  The thing is, it was always the opposite party of whoever was mutually agreed to currently control the power in this country.  He voted for President Bush (43) in his first term and voted against him in the second term.  He voted for President Obama but quickly turned to hate him, as he hated every sitting president.

I think dad did what an increasing number of Americans do.   He transposed any dissatisfaction in his current state of affairs onto the sitting Government.  "I am sick all of the time and poor, therefor the Government is bad."

|Don't get me wrong, I have my own opinons on the screwed up nature of Healthcare, Wellfare Programs, Economy and a host of Social issues...  

But I don't vote down party lines. 

Maybe the reason I was thinking of Dad wasn't the incessant barrage of robo-calls we've received this week but perhaps it was the decision to sell my house, pictured here. 

I can hear Dad's voice in my head, powered by an amalgamation of knowledge collected from Talk Radio, Both Cable News Networks, editorials and Sound Off he would formulate the opinion at this moment, that I am indeed insane for trying to sell my house at the bottom of the market.

He'd always have a fun and colorful way of expressing to me the lack of wisdom in my decisions.  Something like... "You would have to be a god-$@%d fool to try to sell your house in this market.."  
I never shied away from those chats..  Whether or not he was correct in his judgement, I always valued the input and enjoyed the colorful delivery.

I could also hear him say, "You are blankity - blanking crazy for posting photos of your house, with an address, online." 

Dad, if someone wants to come try to steal my 4 year old TV with weird colors (and are willing to risk life to do so..) .. I could always use the target practice.  ;)

I guess.. maybe I inherited some of his colorful delivery...  
good!

 

It's a Small World..

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Small World
It truly is a small world.

My little family has long since outgrown the small house we bought when I was 18.
As we work to fix that house up and enter this dismal housing market, we have been pondering the potential of a move.  The adventurer in me would love to move…  elsewhere…   over seas, to some other country.    No time of year reminds me of the allure of being an expatriate like the circus of election season.  I digress..

l’m certain those distant shores will never been called home.  Remaining family and friends that are dear as family provide adequate anchor.   Besides, there are certainly worse places in which to call hone.
Speaking of it being a small world.    I moved here, around  ’92, from the small town of Borden, Indiana.   I attended elementary and middle school at the school some of you may have seen on the  news recently, the tornado ravished town of Henryville, Indiana.

My memories of Indiana have faded over the years.   I make it back infrequently enough to be counted as a bad brother, cousin, nephew.   You know how it is.  Life gets in the way.   It is always “that next project at work..”    or “that next field trip…” and when we do finally take a vacation, there often seem to be more alluring places to visit than the Ohio Valley.

Still, seeing my old home town on the news this week has provoked some poignant thoughts.  With thoughts turned to the loss of life and utter destruction, my heart reaches out to the people affected by this tragedy.  

Moments like these remind us that what happens in one part of our world, affects us at home.   We are, after all, neighbors.   

 

Lytro Embargo, Lifted

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Since some time in December, I've been participating in Lytro's Professional Shooter Program.  During this time, I've been fortunate enough to carry a Lytro Light Field Camera with me, at all times.  My programmer obligations have kept me busy in February but I wanted to take some time to share with you my early experiences with the Lytro Light Field Camera.

The Layman's idea behind the light field camera is that the Lytro not only captures light in the manner of a typical digital sensor but also collects direction, intensity and other information.   The Lytro camera very cleverly combines this information into the concept of a Living image --- an image that allows you to interact with it at a later time.

While the technology will, at some point support 3D imaging through parallax recombination and lord-only-knows whatever awesome capabilities, the current iteration of features are more geared to "snap, now - focus later" implementations.

Here is an example image, taken with a Lytro pre-release camera @ Barrancas Nat'l Cemetary

Here is an example image, taken with the Lytro at Orange Beach R/C Hobbies & Powersports

 

This technology is going to be the bomb..

 

Food for thought..

One day, Light Field Technology will be incorporated for video.  High end DSLRs... even smartphones... No more shutter lag and with the right sensor, no more blur. 

To the point.. 

Make no mistake.  Light field technology, will indeed remake the digital imaging landscape.   The offering, now available from Lytro.com is certainly an impressive freshman effort.   The camera is well built with a very nice style.  The battery lasts forever.   The controls are clever.  The software is well done, solid and easily understood.   The screen quality leaves a bit to be desired.  The image resolution isn't massive and low-light performance is somewhat limited.  These few limitations are understandable, however -- at this price point.

If you are an early adopter and photography enthusiast, give these cameras a serious look.   They mark signs of things to come! The full gallery of my initial shots can be seen on Lytro's site, here:

https://pictures.lytro.com/graffitivisuals/stories/1760