Watching the learning curve
I have a personal liking for the Arthur C. Clarke quote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic” because it is applicable to so many situations. Or maybe I live in a magical world. Something like that. Perhaps technology is omnipresent, here in the opening days of the twenty-first century.
One of the older forms of technology in my “life experience” has been photography, the wet and stinky kind that involves red lights and clocks that run backwards. I have enough hours logged in front of a sink to allow me some sort of merit badge. The whole shift to a digital existence has left me on the fringe; willing to practice but not partake. A catechumen. I have spent years explaining file formats and compression choices to my co-workers.
Now (since last evening, really) I am ready to take on a RAW world. Our new camera is safely clutched between the hands of my significant other, and I have listened throughout the day to cries of “Cool!” and “Hot!” that have nothing to do with our new thermostats. I have been watching the learning curve as she attempts to memorize the small bible of instructions (two volumes) that came with our newest toy. A very cool toy, that awaits the arrival of an appendage lens from the depths of internet commerce. A very cool toy that has already proved its ability to trigger my twin Metz heads, creating a very white image on the viewscreen. Those Metz heads are over three decades old, so this proves that technological advances are never far from their foundations, even in our new digital universe. Light is.
My turn will come. In a few days. Or weeks. She has a very solid clutching technique. The camera will not fall anytime soon. And I am a patient soul.
