Film is dead, long live film

If you are even the least bit into photography, you have probably heard the news that Canon recently announced that they are no longer going to manufacture film cameras. This follows on the heels of a near identical announcement that Nikon made a few months prior. Is this a clear signal that film based photography is on its way out? Is it only a matter of time before large conglomerate companies like Kodak and Fuji stop manufacturing film? If you are talking about consumer photography, in my opinion, the answer is yes to both questions. The time is fast approaching where less than 5% of the general public will use film cameras as their primary picture taking device. It is clear that John Q. Public likes the instant gratification and cost efficiency of digital cameras. Furthermore, manufacturing film is a highly intensive, high overhead process. It just won't make business sense for most companies to continue to manufacture it.

There are many people, like myself, who believe that film will always be available in the future. It will just be much more expensive to purchase and process. It will only be offered by specialty companies who are willing to fill a niche market; the retro, old school, film based, amateur photographer.   My guess is that the variety of film (film speed, color/B&W, slide/print, etc.) will diminish and there is a possibility that the quality of all remaining film on the market (taken as a whole) may go down.

I see a striking similarity to the digital revolution in the music industry. When the compact disc technology made it to the consumer market, the transition from vinyl records to CDs was quick and dramatic. It didn't take long before most music stores no longer carried vinyl records. However, many years later, there still is a small, but strong niche market of people who still prefer to hear their music on vinyl using their analog, tube amplifiers and their belt driven turntables. Believe it or not, new records of new releases are still being pressed today; just in very limited quantities and I would presume at very high prices.

In 10 – 20 years, film photography will not be same as it is today. But at least for those like myself who still enjoy using film, it will still be there, albiet in a somewhat limited capacity. It gives me a certain pleasure to know that my old Minolta SRT 102 35mm film camera will still continue to receive some sporatic use rather than live out the rest of its days in a dusty basement storage bin.

Barry ‘Big-Head’ Bonds

I'm sure by now you've heard that Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth for the second most career homeruns and all of the constroversy of Barry Bonds' alledged steroid use. First of all, the record that really counts is Henry Aaron's mark of 755 career HR's. Why should we stand up and cheer when someone moves into second place?

So question #1 is: Did Barry Bonds take steroids? Answer: Hell yeah! Have you ever noticed how huge his head is and how his batting helmet barely fits him? It is common knowledge that taking steroids leads to what is called "roid head". Sports Illustrated did a great expose where they showed "before and after" photos of players (including Bonds) where it was obvious that not only do players bulk up to incredible size within a fairly short period of time, but their heads grow abnormally large as well. Add the strong circumstantial evidence from the book The Game of Shadows and my money is on him being guilty as charged.

Question #2: If Barry Bonds passes Aaron's mark, should it really "count"? Answer: Hell no it shouldn't count. Everyone knows that taking steroids will give you more muscle mass and therefore make you stronger. When it comes to hitting home runs a large component of whether the ball goes over the fence or not is bat speed. Stronger players (i.e., those who use steroids) can swing the bat faster and with more power. I agree that hand-eye coordination and pure athleticism are the main determiners as to whether you hit the ball in the first place.  However, it is impossible to determine how many of the homeruns Barry has hit in the past would really have been just fly-outs if Barry was his normal, non-steroid self.

Ben Johnson was disqualified from the gold medal in the 1988 summer olympics for steroid use. Why should Barry Bonds suffer any less fate?

Endless Snow-Summer

While most people around the country are pulling out their bicycles from storage, setting up the barbeque in the backyard, or planning their Memorial Day weekend camping trip, a good number of Oregonians (like myself) are heading up to the mountain for more epic snowboarding or skiing! Why fight the chilly, sand blasting winds on the coast, when you can get that coveted "racoon" tan after one day of skiing under the bright mountain sun?

Mt. Hood Meadows will be open the entire Memorial Day weekend with all major lifts running! They plan on closing the June 2-3 weekend. Timberline is open almost 12 months a year and will close Sept 4 for their annual 2-3 week maintenance period and then they reopen for the new season. Mt. Bachelor will be open the Memorial Day weekend and will then close for the season.

C A R V E I T U P ! ! !

Japanese Tea Garden

I took my Mom to the Portland Japanese Tea Garden this past weekend since she’s Japanese and she likes gardens. I figured it would be a slam dunk experience. The tea garden is well laid out in that there are many mini-gardens that are sheltered from one another and makes it seem like the overall garden is bigger than it really is. There is no one spot where you can see the entire garden in its entirety which I’m sure was planned. There are plenty of small waterfalls, stepping stones and benches for you to contemplate your navel.

If you are into photography, I think it would be a prime location to take portraits in that you can always find the perfect soft lighting and the grounds are so serene.

The only downside is the steep admission price ($8 regular admission, $6.50 for seniors). Thank God my Mom gets the senior discount! I figured for that kind of green, we should have at least gotten some free sushi!