20 October 2008

Monday Musings…
I can think of NO better way to kick off my SECOND "600" posts (if the world is still here, after the election that is), than to bring some GOOD news for a change.
And we're not just touting the fact that Crude Oil has dropped to FIFTY BUCKS A BARREL!
For those that don’t get the Fort Wayne J/G on Sundays, there was a fantastic article about two of our local bloggers (and unsung heroes of our streets).
Links to BOTH of their blogs is on my list on the left.
Officer Everett White (FWPD) and Firefighter Eric Fetcho (SWACFD) were featured in a story that spoke to their mutual love of photography.
Here’s the link to the article:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081019/LOCAL07/810190409/1002/LOCAL

It mainly features Everett, but Eric has apparently caught the “shutter” bug as well (pun intended).
Between these two young men, there is a LOT of good picture taking being done around the area as well as across the nation (Everett in Utah, Eric in Boston).
Having been bitten by the bug myself decades ago, I speak from experience when I say that it does become a passion.
My particular passion was taking pictures (slides) of trains. Didn’t matter what kind, as long as I could get outside, hike a bit and find a nice little area where I could get some pictures of diesel or electric hardware. My only regret is that I wasn’t born EARLIER, to get some of those great steam engines rolling along our rails.
I would get together with my rail fan buddies, and we’d all trek out (sometimes as far north as New England) for a day of “photo ops”.
There was an experimental “turbo” train that ran from NYC to Hartford, and I was fortunate enough to get some pictures of that.
Even when I was working on “the job”, I took my reliable SLR camera (at the ready) along with me, just in case I spotted some rare trolley or inter-urban rail car. I know of a few film developers back in Philly that managed to retire EARLY, thanks to me...LOL!
I dabbled in still life too, and some pictures of animals (pets not included).
I was even “drafted” to be the photographer at my Navy buddy’s Dad’s 75th birthday party.
Had I to do it all over again, I wouldn’t trade one single minute of it…BUT… I would have bought more film.
A shame there's not too much call forslide shows these days.
Makes me wish we had DIGITAL technology back then…that would have saved a lot of money when it came top “bracketing a shot” to make sure the exposure was correct during a shoot. Now I KNOW why they used to call it EKTACHROME”….accent on the EK (as in ECK) part.
I already mentioned to Everett that he should make a book out of all his pictures.
And, as I found out, You are your own worse critic.
Everett sees himself as merely an “amateur”. Well, buddy, even Ansel Adams had to be an amateur at some point in HIS life. I’d have to say that both of you passed being an AMATEUR a long time ago…
You just have to believe it.
As did I.
And that's the difficult part...but the journey is self-fulfilling.
Sadly, I never followed up on it as Everett and Eric have, but I still like to dabble with all the new “stuff” out there (that I can afford) such as you readers have seen here (photoshop is too much fun), and I like to toy around with forced perspective shots (things in the mirror might appear larger).
I will say that both Everett and Eric have a LOT more time to explore their hobby, enjoy the opportunities for those “special” shots when they present themselves, but above all…
…Have fun understanding life in a way that not all that many of us are privy to, simply because we’re too busy doing something else.
Move over Ansel…
Go get ‘em, guys!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey thanks for the nice words bobby!

(fyi, im on Southwest Fire, not fwfd)

Bob G. said...

Sorry about the slip-up...will correct it ASAP.

And you DESERVE it, Eric...both of you do.

Carry On.

Anonymous said...

a good friend of mine does railroading as a hobby. i am shocked that so many people that i have been running into really do this too. but here is his site to connect to the railroad site.


http://adayandalifeinfortwayne.blogspot.com/

his railroad site is pretty small and his other web page opens up your mind more to whom i am.