Day: November 25, 2017

This weekend, I amusing my Iphone X camera, I’ve put aside my Canon 5 D, the Monochrome 7 D,  my infrared, and just using the phone. The camera is excellent, and now, with a second portrait lens, the camera photos have more depth and dimension.

This is a good portrait of a dog. Dogs are hard to photograph close up, they don’t like to make eye contact, they are always moving. The Iphone X camera is fast (pretty much the same camera as in the 8) it captures detail, there is an image  stabilizer in the phone to prevent blurring.

The effect is to pull the viewer right to the subject and highlight what is important. Most digital cameras flatten out a portrait because everything is clear, the subject doesn’t always stand out.

Notice how it blurs the background, something any great portrait lens does.

I am having fun noticing people’s reactions to my having bought the phone. Almost everyone mentions the price. My neighbor scoffed at spending that money, yet is planning to buy a $10,000 lens to shoot wildlife without blinking. He thinks I’m mad for spending that much money (more, really, with insurance and Apple Car, a headset and cables and charging pads.)

We all get what is important to us.

I break up the response into four categories.

.Sensible people: Sensible people – my daughter, many friends – research their phones and get what they need, not what is cool or prescient or challenging.  There are things on the phone – face ID, talking Emojis – that they just don’t need and feel they wouldn’t use. An Iphone 8 is a smart decision for them. They are interested in the X and ask questions about it, but are clear and perhaps wise about their own needs.

.Luddites and snobs. They simply jeer at the idea of a new $1,000 phone, they see it as a useless toy and are proud of themselves for not getting one. A friend told me today he would never buy a cellphone at all, he is not the least bit interested in having his head invaded by what he calls techno-crap.  More information than he wants and needs and he is terrified about identity theft. You can tell  a snob from a sensible person, they reflect contempt and dismissal.

This group is proud of their almost political stance against new technologies. I suspect history is not on their side.

.Geeks. They must have everything new, dissect it, argue about it, analyze it. Many won’t like the Iphone X, but all of them will try it, some for years, some for a month or two. They live for new stuff. They’ll spent all year fighting about the notch at the top of the Iphone X, I don’t even notice it.

.Adventurers And Creatives.  I am in this category and there is nothing noble or superior about us, we are just a type. I want to understand what is happening in the world, and I am fascinated by the non-technical implications of technology on politics, creativity and every day life.  These devices are, for better or worse, the primary cultural and informational and social tools of the young. They are important, not just invasive.

It’s not that people who don’t want to spend $1,000 on a cell phone aren’t creative, quite the opposite. A significant part of the creative life is managing one’s life and money, and many creative people do quite well with simpler and cheaper devices. For people like me, this is a creative leap I need to take to keep moving forward with my work.

Artists, writers, musicians not depend on this kind of technology to create and store their work and earn a living. Creative tools have made my life possible, so I need them and care about them. Withou my computer and phone, I would no longer be a writer.

Technology is transforming our world, invading privacy, corrupting politics, causing great stress. It is also connecting people, spawning unprecedented creative freedom, and leading the new information revolution.

I want to understand it, and the Iphone X has the technology of the future in it, I can see it and feel it, even if I don’t understand it. So I see this as a creative tool and adventurer. Everybody does not need one, not everybody ought to get one. Nobody should ever have to apologize for their choices, we all know best what is good for us.

I didn’t hesitate for a moment.

The Iphone 8 is only a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the X, yet people don’t go around saying $800! whenever they see one. The sensible people stick to what they need and can afford. The adventurers go for it. I don’t buy a new Iphone every year, I’ve only had one or two. When barriers are crossed  and great change comes, I want to understand as much of it as I can.

So this is an exciting change for me. More later.

Every Saturday we go to the recycling session with Fate and Gus – Red stays home, he has no interest in begging – and all the way, the two hellions are salivating and whining with joy to see their pals Bob and Crystal.

When we pull in, they are riveted, following Bob’s every move, until he has a second to bring them treats. They are focused, intent. They get two biscuits each, and sometimes, a donut.

Dogs love he or she who feeds them and give them treats. Usually, it is just that easy.

The is the first photo (taken in portrait mode) that I have taken of Maria. I have to take more photos, but I have a hunch I’m going to enjoy taking pictures with the new phone, I loved this portrait of Maria, taken over my left shoulder as she leaned over my chair to help me with something.

The Iphone cameras are getting wonderful, they still don’t have the range of the big Canon or the depth of field and options of the better lenses. But it’s getting closer all the time. Very close.

I de-activated my trusy Iphone 6 today, all of the data (except message archives) has been successfully transmitted. I’m having no problems whatsoever navigating the new apps, opening them, turning the computer on and off.

The Iphone 6 seems slow and sluggish to me compared to the X. I’m excited to be using it.

The Face ID works beautifully and instantly, it opens the phone so quickly I think it’s not working sometimes. The animated Emoji’s have no real function other than to show the power and potential of  new technologies, they actually absorb my facial characteristics into the face of an animal character.

Clearly, the 6, 7 and eight series are excellent devices aimed at utilitarian people.

The IPhone X is a phone for people in the mood to take a leap into tomorrow. It’s a preview of the new world coming in many ways. It’s a good choice for some people, not for others, and you know who you are.

It is definitely the right choice for me, at least so far. I’m enchanted with it, even as I just begin to learn  how it works.

It is more fun than I would have imagined. And it is, as advertised, making me think and better understand the future. As an older man, I need to keep my mind open, I don’t wish to hide from the present, I want to see it and know something about it, for my life, for my writing.

The animated Emoji’s are not just for fun. They reflect an important technology for the future. Come and see my first,  The Chicken Emoji

All the geek hysteria about the terrifying experience of losing a home button seems like some hysterical bs to me. Even young geeks can be old farts.  I am no geek, I was zipping through the phone in minutes. The only problems I have had are the usual start-up problems, when nothing initially works as quickly as it is supposed to work.

I see some online posts about people returning their Iphone X’s because they have to use two fingers to execute some functions. Really? That’s too much for 25 year old IT whizzes to handle? It doesn’t bother me a bit.

I want to be able to communicate with my daughter and granddaughter on their terms, not just my own. I want to see their Instagram photos and text messages, that is their language. I can cluck about the old days, and make sure i don’t miss all of the new ones. For me, that is the real significance of the new phone.

This phone is so advanced it sometimes gives off the vibe of a sentient bing. I feel ti is listening to me.

This is also the wonder of this phone, it seems to have a mind of its own, repairing itself, adjusting itself to being used, and getting me to adjust my own expectations and experiences. it seems to evolve somewhat on its own. Just when I kid ready to call Apple Support, the problems seems to go away.

If you use SIRI as an assistant, as I do, and a keeper of the calendar, it’s nice to be able to just say her name from anywhere and have her pop right up.

She is getting smarter and more intuitive.

The phone camera is impressive, it is a $4,000 camera in conventional terms. As I said, it doesn’t have the range and depth of the better lenses, but it is more than good enough, as my first portrait suggests.I have a feeling that’s how I am apt to use it in my photography.

I am loving the speed of the phone, and last night, I watched my first video, a feature on Netflix. I’m giving the Ipad to a friend, I just don’t need it anymore. The Iphone X will be the death of it for most people.

The color was gorgeous and clear and the notch at the top did not bother me at all. The color is ground breaking, I have not seen anything like it.

This is the phone of the future. It will take a bit of getting used to, by which I mean several hours. It does introduce new technologies – the Face Id, the Emoji’s, the new rich and detailed screen, and it is expensive.

I have also been watching Maria’s new 8 Plus, it is a wonderful phone, it does almost all of the things the X does, but as I said, it is not a phone of the future, but of the present. If you are responsible and sane and just want a great smartphone, it is terrific.

The Iphone X is something special, I’ve only had it for less than a day, these are just first impressions. It is fun, I am loving it this morning. More later. Most phones were just phones to me, the Iphone X seems to have something of a voice and a personality. I’m getting to know  him/her/it, I might just have to name it.

I’ll continue daily updates for a while or as they erupt, and if you have any non-technical questions, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]. I know there are many people like me fussing over this decision. I hope I can be helpful.

On Black Friday, we went shopping in a hospice thrift shop in Brattleboro, Vt. Thrift stores are the only place Maria ever shops, and she hit gold at this one, she actually bought $25 worth of funky and colorful fabric for her quilts.

This was an all-time record for money spent shopping in a single trip for her. While waiting for her, I met this outstanding young man who decided to go to the hospice thrift shop rather than a mall, we hit it off right away.

He was delighted at having found this old hi-fit system for $20, he said he was launching a hi-fit revolution, a return to the rich and deeper pre-digital sound of music. He was thrilled with his purchase, he said it was vastly superior to buying an Ipad or Iphone.

He said there was nothing at Best Buy worth driving too for him, he and his friends all did their Black Friday shopping at the hospice store. His pals were all standing around him, happy about his discovery. It was as if he had stumbled across the Hope Diamond.

Sure, he said, he’d love to have  his picture taken.

Digital musical sound was too harsh and shallow for him, he said, he had no interest in Best Buy.

I loved seeing this divergent ides about shopping and Thanksgiving. While millions of people we storming malls, we were in a crowd thrift shop. I bought Maria a $7 inlaid bracelet, and between the three of us, we spent about $50 and felt fortunate to have found some wondrous bargains.

My young friend could not wait to go home and put this system together. His revolution was  underway. People like that change the world.  I hope had had the best holiday.