technology | Michael Weening: a few pictures

The New Yorker article Goodbye, Camera is a thought provoking article suggesting that the era of the networked device will displace the need for a camera:

One of the great joys of that walk was the ability to immediately share with family and friends the images as they were captured in the mountains: the golden, early-morning light as it filtered through the cedar forest; a sudden valley vista after a long, upward climb. Each time, I pulled out my iPhone, not the GX1, then shot, edited, and broadcasted the photo within minutes. As I’ve become a more network-focused photographer, I’ve come to love using the smartphone as an editing surface; touch is perfect for photo manipulation. There’s a tactility that is lost when you edit with a mouse on a desktop computer. Perhaps touch feels natural because it’s a return to the chemical-filled days of manually poking and massaging liquid and paper to form an image I had seen in my head. Yet if the advent of digital photography compressed the core processes of the medium, smartphones further squish the full spectrum of photographic storytelling: capture, edit, collate, share, and respond. I saw more and shot more, and returned from the forest with a record of both the small details—light and texture and snippets of life—and the conversations that floated around them on my social networks.

Reading through this quote I was left with a question – is the networked device destroying the camera .. or is it destroying the moment? He spent his time slogging through the mountains, shooting his photos, editing, instagramming and texting instead of .. enjoying the mountain path and the moment. I can just see him doing what I see so often in beautiful travel destinations .. this fellow tripping along, distracted, glancing up from his phone while he types and Facebooks … Seen it 100 times.

Does it enhance the moment? Personally, I don’t think so.

When I am shooting with a camera I am in the moment, observing, enjoying – not thinking about who I am going to share the picture with. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a time for the camera phone, but for me there will always be a time for a camera.

It would be interesting to hear what others think.

2013 11 18 San Francisco_-35

(San Francisco, China Town)

For many years I have wanted the tablet to deliver on one promise – paperless.

Starting with Microsoft’s digital ink (2002) which was rumored to cost hundreds of millions, but due to battery life and screen issues – never took off. Then the iPad came along and whilst it is a good multi-purpose device, the note taking element remains substandard. I have written on this topic a few times.

When I am in a meeting and someone is typing notes into their tablet or laptop, it is distracting – creates a barrier and ultimately, inefficient. Type the note on your phone and you run the risk of looking like you are checking email creating irritation or suspicion.

So, I keep using my Moleskine with the Evernote function (I never sync to Evernote) hoping that one day, someone will invent the capability to properly take notes electronically. Why notes? I like to write notes – it helps me remember, comprehend, think – digest – or something along those lines. Plus, when I am taking notes I am focused, and if I am with a client – that sends a message.

Yes, I have tried different pens on different devices .. Android, iPad with a Wacom pen, but everything is middling and I end up back to pen and paper.

Perhaps the day has finally come and this company has figured out the trick. The solution is like the Kindle, a single purpose, low cost device .. the BoogieBoard 9.7. Bluetooth sync and transfer, $100 price tag, Evernote integration, the right size – light and big enough to write on. Looks like it will go “live” at CES 2014.

Boogie_Board_Sync_9_7_LCD_eWriter___Improv_Electronics