12.24.2020

That weird feeling of looking into the gear cabinet and realizing that you've accumulated four Canon Powershot G series cameras. Along with a smattering of batteries. Time to take one mobile.

Here's a sticker on the plaza at the theater. 
The county has raised the Covid alert level to it's highest. 
The theatre was forced to shutter the rest of the holiday performances 
they were doing outside to comply. I hope 2021 is a year of 
recovery and happiness. 

Point and shoot cameras. Endlessly maligned. Now almost almost extinct. But why? And when did every photograph have to be taken with a full frame, state of the art, Uber-camera? I do my fair share of hauling around big cameras and bigger lenses but there is always a time and place for a small, efficient and highly portable camera as well. 

I have to confess that I have a soft spot in my heart for many of the PowerShot cameras that Canon has made, dating all the way back to the 4 megapixel G2 introduced back in the early digital ages. I find them to be the spiritual continuation of the most wonderful camera I ever owned; the Canonet QL 17. A wonderful film camera with a great 40mm f1.7 lens. Outfitted with a 36 exposure roll of Tri-X I always felt that camera was an extension of my own vision and not a separate tool.

Today, after trying to like a new digital camera for the better part of the week, I took a break and went out for a Christmas Eve walk around Austin with a "vintage" G16. Marvelous. And easy and competent. I felt like a beginner with a cheat sheet...























It's been a really nice evening. Belinda made au gratin potatoes and I grilled ribeye steaks. We made a salad of broccoli, kale and cabbage with a sprinkling of mixed nuts and dried cherries. Belinda made a chocolate torte. A good friend dropped by a bottle of Stag's Leap Cab. It was all delicious. Then we capped off the evening watching our favorite holiday movie, "Love Actually." It gets better every year.

Even on the years that are otherwise crappy. 

I hope you are happy, well, safe, in love, rich and beautiful. Even if you can check just a few of the blanks you'll be doing fine. The only important one is to be in love. Actually.

10 comments:

Chris Beloin said...

Merry Christmas Kirk -

Thanks to your advise, I've been using two Canon G-16's for my bike photography and walks. A fire truck distributor approached me about using some of my on-scene rescue photos from a G-16 night adventure commercially. It's a great little camera you can take anywhere.


There are more recent versions from Canon, but many don't shoot raw, and none have the magic the G-16 seems to have. Tamarac had those wonderful little camera bags on sale for $9.00 recently, so the camera rests nicely in those.

rdrowe said...

Merry Christmas Kirk, hope you Belinda and Ben have a great time. Blessings, R

Unknown said...

Greetings of the Season to you and the family.
2021 will be a good year. Progress, though not always easy,
will be needed on many fronts to escape our current morass.

I find my Lumix P&S quite good. Shoots in raw format, has a small
evf and a lens covering wide to moderate tele. Very useful in a package
that runs rings around any cellphone camera. Its video is good enough for
what I need.

No, a good point and shoot should not be relegated to the trash heap of digital camera
history.

MikeR said...

Just wishing you a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Cameras can wait for a little while.

Frank Grygier said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

rob/smalltalk productions said...

"Love Actually" is also my family's fav Xmas movie.

We will soon order some takeout Chinese food (have to keep the local place in business) and watch.

My wife and two adult daughters have outvoted my pick ("It's a Wonderful Life") for years though I secretly watch the Capra movie (any Capra movie) any time I want.

Frankly, with all that has gone on in 2020, I am very thankful for your return to blogging.

Everyone-please stay well.

Thumbs up.

Rob
Smalltalk Productions/NYC

Kirk, Photographer/Writer said...

It's been a Wonderfully mellow day here. I wish all of you a sweet and happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Thanks for being here. You have my gratitude.

Jon Maxim said...

Glad to see you are having a great day Kirk and I want to say thank you for my Christmas present - you know, the one you give me almost every day and sometimes several times a day. Now that's a Santa Claus!

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to you too, and your family. May the New Year bring you a resolution to all of your "transition questions" and a great sense of fulfillment.

Jon

P.S. Love Actually is actually my favorite movie (not just for Christmas)or is it Chariots of Fire? Anyway, one of the top two.

Jon Maxim said...

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crsantin said...

Merry Christmas Kirk. We've had a nice quiet day up here in the Toronto, Canada area. We had a snowstorm last night and today has been all about relaxing and eating good food and enjoying a couple of cold craft beers. We have a lot to be grateful for.