My Nikon School Experience

I attended Nikon School again this year. This is an all-weekend, two-day photography seminar sponsored by the makers of Nikon cameras; it is available in several cities around the country over the course of any given year. No other camera manufacturer has a program that’s even remotely similar, if my information is correct. The first day, Saturday, is a beginner’s session entitled “Introduction to Digital SLR Photography.” It starts with the basics of ISO, shutter speed and aperture and goes from there, including exposure modes; white balance; lens choice; composition; and framing. The second day is called “Next Steps: Color, Light & Technology.” This day is much more technical, and includes such topics as understanding the qualities of light; how to make the most of RAW format images and maximize a workflow built around them; color management from camera to print; and a demo of Capture NX2 (Nikon’s own photo-editing software). Both days are incredibly packed with information: so much so that the first time I attended the “Next Steps” day, I thought my head was going to explode. Luckily, I keep up with most parts of all topics now, so I don’t walk away so overloaded and exhausted. At the end of the weekend, I’m more energized than anything, so I guess that’s why I keep going back year after year.

Last weekend marked my fifth year in a row attending Nikon School in Berkeley, and perhaps my tenth time overall (honestly, I've lost track). I’ve also attended Nikon Schools offered in Portland and Seattle (two or three times in each of those locations, when I lived in Oregon). Back in the early 2000s when I first started attending, I was still shooting film, as was one of the two instructors (Sam Garica; Bill Durrence was shooting digital.)

Autofocus Speedlight SB-700

An additional topic (not listed above) for the “Next Steps” day is flash photography, with a discussion of fill- and bounce-flash. The presentation includes a live demonstration using multiple Speedlights (the name for Nikon’s line of flashes) in a simulated portrait session. For this part of the seminar, one audience participant is asked to volunteer to sit on stage as their subject.

When it came time for this demo, I thoroughly expected the instructors to choose a female (and certainly someone who doesn’t wear glasses, as that adds an unneeded complication to their work) for this very interesting, but rather-intense part of the show. However, this year, they didn’t ask for volunteers! With no advance warning of what was to come, I was, more-or-less, simply selected to be the subject.

How did this happen? Well, Nick Didlick, along with Reed Hoffmann, were the two instructors this time around and I’ve been Facebook friends with Nick for a couple years now. He knew I was in the audience … right there in the front row, as usual. The flash demo was his topic, and when he started it out, he simply pointed to me and indicated that he’d like me to come up and help. I don’t exactly remember how he asked: I was too stunned. However, I was flattered to be chosen, and, of course, got up on stage. I remember saying, jokingly, something like, “you’ll be sorry.”

© 2012 Nick Didlick

Despite my embarrassment at having every single frame immediately visible on the big screen, I pretty much enjoyed myself. Nick really worked hard, and eventually produced some good shots. (There were lots of bad ones, too, as he quite ably demonstrated what didn’t work so well.)

Amazingly, I had packed my MacBook Air along with me to the seminar. This was the first time I had ever carried a computer in. It certainly came in handy as, during the break, Nick allowed me to download the entire photo shoot onto my machine. I’ve included one of my favorite shots here.

You may want to check out the websites of the five Nikon School instructors: Nick Didlick, Bill Durrence, Reed Hoffmann, Bob Pearson, and Michael Schwartz.

Bottom line: I heartily recommend attending Nikon School if it ever comes to your neighborhood.

[See also: Nikon Acquisition Syndrome.]

Social Media & Whatever Happened to the Class of '65

It was a little over two years ago when I first signed up for Facebook and then wrote about my initial experiences and impressions here. At that time, I admitted I had little idea what was I was doing or what it meant to be so affiliated. However, I also reported that, quite rapidly, as a result of Facebook and Twitter, I felt “less alone” in the world.

Time has marched on, and I believe I have a much better handle on the whole social-media scene now than I did then. Over the last couple years, I’ve tweeted and Facebooked (yes, I used that as a verb) much more than anything else I’ve done online, including posting essays here. My level of online activity really hasn’t diminished at all … it just changed direction. The biggest reason, I suppose, is that Facebook and Twitter are much more interactive: there is simply more two-way communication with other people than there ever was with this blog. A lot of the time, this site has been like a very long (and sometimes boring) lecture; Twitter and Facebook have the capacity to be more conversation-like.

Not everyone is with me here, though … as I am repeatedly reminded. There are tons of people my age who remain as uninterested in online social networking as I once was, and totally stay away from such activity. In fact, I may be the oldest person among my (as of today) 657 followers on Twitter and my 107 friends on Facebook. Earlier this year, I learned that just 7% of all Facebook users are in the 55-65 age bracket (see graph).

So, it would appear that my level of online activity just might put me in the top few percent, or even fraction of one percent, of my contemporaries in terms of social-media savvy.

Apparently, I’m not alone in recognizing my relative uniqueness.

Last weekend was the 45-year reunion of my high school class (in Rice Lake, Wisconsin). I did not attend the gathering because of its rather inconvenient timing (this was the first time we’ve ever held a reunion other than in the summer months). However, I still happened to play a part in the events of last Saturday evening. During the MC’d program after dinner, it was proposed that a class website be set up as we all do the five-year countdown toward our 50th (gasp!) reunion in 2015. One former classmate suggested that the best person for the job would be ME, and, by acclamation, I was elected to make such magic happen.

Hence, being so honored (?), I wrote a few emails, tried to figure out what the heck the expectations were, and just generally spent some time figuring out what we (that is, I) might do.

My decision, supported by those I’ve consulted with, was to construct a group for us all on Facebook, using their just-released (four days ago) “new groups” feature. It is now up and running. (I don’t waste time: give me an assignment, and I do it!) Two days ago I sent out an email to everyone (who submitted an email address to our reunion organizers) announcing the availability of the new group (with some simple instructions about joining Facebook). Right now, we have thirteen members. (I think we have about 200 surviving classmates at this time.)

So, now there’s a small core of us waiting to see how many former classmates will join us in this social network. (I think it would be nice, perhaps amazing, if this experiment actually works!) 

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Soundtrack Suggestion

When I think back on all the crap I’ve learned in high school
It’s a wonder I can think at all…

(“Kodachrome” – Simon & Garfunkel)

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Update on October 11, 2010:

I should acknowledge…

Of course, the title of this entry is somewhat a rip-off of the title of the 1976 book What Really Happened to the Class of ’65? by Michael Medved and David Wallechinsky.

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My Online Life

So, what have I been doing with my time? As you can tell from my absence here: certainly not blogging.

Perhaps I’ve given up my online life altogether?

Hardly.

I continue to be seduced by Apple’s new iPad, but, to date, I haven’t touched one. (I’m staying totally away from any Apple Store for now!) I am intrigued that I could add this trendy gadget to my collection of toys, namely my MacBook Pro and iPhone, and have them all synched together through MobileMe. It would be the TechnoMonk thing to do, after all.

Just so you know: what I have been doing is completely re-building my web presence at jimarnold.us. I published the new look a couple of days ago, and I would dearly love to take advantage of your proof-reading skills. I invite you to take a look. Let me know what you think.

Back to Mac

I recently had a conversation with a colleague over lunch that included the topic of “what did you do during Christmas break?” She asked first, so I told of my experience. Then, I listened to her describe her trip to Zurich, and Munich, and good times with her sister and two adult children. Quite the holiday, it sounded like.

Of course, I had had nothing like that to report. I stayed at home. And worked on my computer conversion. Yep, that would be me: TechnoMonk. Hunched over a computer his entire vacation.

Really, my time off didn’t resemble anything like a European getaway, but it was a big deal for me. I now am back in the world of Macintosh. Finally.

I bought my first Macintosh (my first computer, actually), a Mac Plus, in early 1986. (It had ONE WHOLE MEGABYTE of RAM!) The agency where I was working at the time had purchased a Mac, and from the very first moment I touched it, I said “I have to have one of these!” Of course, I had no idea how I could make that happen. That was 25 years ago and, although I was employed full-time, I wasn’t exactly getting rich being a counselor. And while the Mac was an “insanely great” machine, it was also insanely expensive. However, I was not to be denied. About ten days after I first played with that magical machine, I owned one. I had to borrow the money, but it simply was not a thing I was going to live without.

I was a fanatic about owning a Macintosh. Being a “Mac person” became part of my identity. I found myself doing rather crazy things like joining the local Macintosh User Group (CMUG), and even, for a time, serving as a board member of that organization. I still had that Mac when I moved from Oregon to Indiana in 1990, ultimately replacing it with another Mac (the latest and greatest, the first of the Power Macs). I remember that, when I finally got rid of the Mac Plus, a friend remarked that I’d gone, computer-wise, from a clunky Volkswagen to a shiny-new Mercedes overnight.

So, again, in 1994, I had this whole other beautiful Macintosh machine to spend endless hours with. I wrote my dissertation on that second machine, and ultimately moved it back to Oregon with me in 1995.

However, the organization where I was employed, from 1995 to 2004, was almost entirely a PC environment. I had bargained a Mac for my office when I arrived in 1995, but by 1997, I was pretty fed up with being out of synch, computer-platform-wise, with everyone around me, and I capitulated. I asked for a PC at work, and bought a PC for home.

I told people, “I joined the rest of the world.”

Hence, I was out there in the Windows wilderness from 1997 to 2009. During the fall of 2009, I was planning to replace my 2004 Windows XP Dell with a Windows 7 Dell, when it just seemed good sense for me to head back to Mac. I was influenced by my friends, Facebook and otherwise, and, of course, by those delightful Mac commercials.

So, during the last few months, I researched the latest Mac models and finally ordered a 15” MacBook Pro, with practically all the bells and whistles that one can have…and I use it, on the desktop, with a new 24” Dell UltraSharp monitor (that I had purchased before deciding on the Mac). The whole process has been somewhat tedious, but fun at times too. It’s taken a few weeks to where the whole “conversion” is complete.

That’s how I spent my winter break: re-entering the world of Macintosh. And, oh baby, am I glad to be back!

Boys and Their Toys

Given the intensity of my life lately, especially the high-stakes medical testing I’ve had to endure (see the previous post, including its two updates), I thought I’d offer up some news today of a much lighter nature:

I have a new cell phone.

Big deal, eh?

Well, of course, it’s not just ANY cell phone I’m talkin’ about here. I discarded my old Motorola Razr for the latest, greatest, new-generation iPhone from Apple: the 3GS. It became available last Friday, June 19, and I was one of the first to own one (along with a reported one million others in the first three days of its release). I reserved it online and went to the local Apple store that morning to pick it up. When I arrived, I was ushered directly into the inner sanctum, despite the incredibly long line of sad souls who didn’t have the foresight to make arrangements in advance. (After I met my iPhone specialist, it only took two hours of my life, along with several hundred dollars, to make this all happen.)

Basically, here’s what I did: I bribed myself. For scheduling the prostate biopsy, having to actually go through with it, and needing to cancel a scheduled vacation to Santa Fe, I thought I earned, and deserved, a treat. So I chose the iPhone. (And, of course, the name of the device is a total misnomer since only one of the things it does is serve as a cell phone. I’m sure I could get it to serve me breakfast in bed, if only I could find the right “app.”)

So, during the last few days, I have been learning how to use this marvelous piece of technology...which is really a computer that I can clip to my belt. If you email me these days, there’s a good chance, I’ll even reply to you from my “phone.”

Right now, life is good. I am cancer free and I have an incredible new toy. Plus, in a couple of weeks, I'll be totally escaping reality and roaming around the Oregon Country Fair.