Photography
The Hope Diamond - Blog post updated to explain that the Hope Diamond in Washington, DC is the single most viewed object in the world after the Mona Lisa.
I added Washington, DC based photojournalist Al Drago to my list of Photographers Worth Exploring. Suggestions are welcome.
Just added Jenn Mangino to my list of Photographers Worth Exploring. All her images are in black and white and are wonderfully minimalist. Jenn is also on Glass. She shoots Sony and Fuji. Jenn’s images make me feel calm and peaceful. Jenn explains:
It’s still a mystery to me how pointing glass towards light can capture moments with the power to transcend paper and provoke hope.
That’s the magic and the endless pursuit of photography.
Photographer Bud James switches from Canon to Fuji and ultimately Leica in search of a lighter kit.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Lens Corrections
Canon Europe explains the ins and outs of in-camera lens corrections:
Once you enable Distortion Correction, the edges of the image may be cropped slightly. However, the angle of view that is listed in a lens’s specifications and MTF chart is always based on the digitally corrected image. This means there’s no need to worry that you’re losing several degrees of the viewing angle from the uncorrected image, as this is taken into account in the lens design.
I always wondered if the corrections reduce the size of the image compared to the advertised focal length. The answer is that Canon delivers the full size they claim in their marketing.
I am ok with this. In the days of film, digital lens corrections were not available. Digital lens corrections make smaller and lighter lenses possible while still getting an excellent image.
Ukraine: Marking Three Years of War
Ukrainian activists and supporters gathered on February 22, 2025 at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally to mark three years of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Leica Quality Issues?
Photographer Marcus Puschmann writing on his blog entitled Streets of Nuremberg:
I will leave Leica behind. For good.
I have been a passionate photographer for years, and in that time, I have used cameras from various brands—Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus—without ever experiencing this level of unreliability and poor service. Those cameras have been true workhorses, tools I could count on no matter the conditions. I never had to worry about them suddenly failing in the middle of a vacation, a client shoot, or an important moment. I never had to brace myself for a repair saga that dragged on for months, only to be met with corporate gaslighting.
Leica likes to present itself as a brand of excellence, a brand built on heritage, craftsmanship, and a close relationship with its customers. My experience has been the exact opposite. What I’ve encountered is a company that refuses to take responsibility for repeated hardware failures, treats its customers with skepticism rather than support, and hides behind technical jargon instead of standing behind the reliability of its products.
Photos of Pittsburgh
These websites display many interesting photographs of Pittsburgh:
It’s not clear who is behind these useful websites.
A cold and cloudy Sunday morning in Washington
Candid Photography
The great majority of my works are candid, meaning I don’t ask people for the photo nor do I tell them that I took their photo. I do this because I want to keep the moment pure as I saw it. The moment a person knows they are being photographed, they either get self-conscious or their behavior becomes more exaggerated than normal human behavior allows. It’s all about capturing that ‘unguarded moment’ and trying to make the people in the photos look as true to that moment as possible.
Also on Flickr
‘A Touch of Magic’
My goal is to document the ordinary moments of life that we too often take for granted that are simply part of the human condition. I try to capture not only the authenticity of the ordinary moment, but the precise moment when the ordinary has a touch of magic associated with it.
If I knew what the photograph was going to look like, I wouldn’t bother taking it. It’s the voyage of discovery that fascinates me.
Why Photograph?
Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.
— Anonymous
Source: Sam Benari.
Constantine Manos - A Great Street Photographer
Constantine Manos (1934-) is among the great street photographers of his time. I was a student in one of his workshops in Maine and learned so much about composition. He offered his students candid and fair critiques. Manos was born in Columbia, South Carolina of Greek immigrant parents. This video does a nice job of summarizing his work.
Fifteen very useful tips from Christian Möhrle for using Lightroom masks.
John Howard Payne's Memorial Stone, Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C. (2024)
John Howard Payne (June 9, 1791 – April 10, 1852) was an American actor, poet, playwright, and author who had nearly two decades of a theatrical career and success in London. He is today most remembered as the creator of “Home! Sweet Home!”, a song he wrote in 1822 that became widely popular in the United States and the English-speaking world. Its popularity was revived during the American Civil War, as troops on both sides embraced it. Payne died in Tunis in 1852 and was buried there in St. George’s Protestant Cemetery. Philanthropist W. W. Corcoran of Washington, D.C., arranged for Payne’s reinterment in his last home city. (He was the founder of the Corcoran Gallery.)
A memorial service marked the reinterment of Payne’s remains at Oak Hill Cemetery in the Georgetown neighborhood. (Corcoran had founded this cemetery, where many Civil War veterans were buried.) The memorial service was held on the 91st anniversary of Payne’s birth and was attended by President Chester A. Arthur, members of his cabinet, the State Department, and the Supreme Court; the Marine Band, and a crowd of 2,000-3,000 that included numerous literary and other prominent people. Organizers arranged for a full choir to sing “Home, Sweet Home.”
(Source: Wikipedia)