Ever since I was a kid, I've loved to travel.So I guess it's I should be happy to find myself a job where I can find myself getting up at 3 a.m. for a last minute photo opportunity.
I had to go through the usual expense and hassle of checking a locked, seventy pound Pelican Case filled with a couple of old-fashioned film cameras; a Linhof 4x5 and a Fuji 6x17. And that was in addition to the Nikon D2x that I carried on to the plane. Both the trip there and back were sold out, but I won the seating lottery assignment on the way down & got assigned to Seat 4A in First Class!
While I still enjoy shooting with film, what I really had fun with though was my little Pentax Optio w10 point & shoot. The film cameras were work cameras, but my little point & shoot digicam was my fun camera. I've been frustrated by the lack of a wide-angle lens on it, even though I really enjoy just about everything else about it- it's waterproof, shoots great 6mp images at up to 3fps, really small, and has a nice jelly cover that provides extra grip and cushioning.
The Pentax Optio line wasn't designed with pro photographers in mind. How I wish it had a Manual Mode! There are 20 other modes, from pet portrait to self-portrait, on the thing, but no Aperture or Shutter Priority. Oh well.
Anyway, I figured out that by setting the focus to manual, I could shoot in burst mode at 3fps, even in low light situations. Which means that in one fell swoop I can shoot the raw files for a digital panoramic mosaic! So here are a few shots. If you want to view them in greater detail, check out my new Flicker Page.
