civilized ku # 5160 / diptych # 226 ~ been there but can't go back again

Adirondack Garage ~ Old Forge, NY - in the Adirondack Park (embiggenable) • iPhone

my homemade Irish soda bread ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Back from yet another road trip. Made some pictures and will post same.

I also met (in my hotel bar) and spent the better part of 3 hours with a supporting-herself working photographer (local to the area I was visiting). It was a very enjoyable encounter but it did instigate a bit of sadness which resulted from the fact that she had never seen a camera like my Oly EP-5 (with optical viewfinder).

That fact was not sadness inducing in and of itself. Rather, it was the fact that she had probably never had the experieince - being 30 years old - of visiting a stand alone sole proprietor camera store. That is, a place where a customer can see, handle and converse about (with an informed sales person with whom one might build a long term professional relationship) a wide range of camera makes and models. And, if in fact she has never had that experience, chances are slim and none that she ever will.

And, no, a visit to B&H is not the same experience as visiting a small stand alone camera store. Taking away nothing from B&H's fantastic inventory and commitment to superior friendly customer service, one could hardly describe the experieince as intimate. It's more like walking about in Times Square - lots of hustle and bustle, congestion and noise.

And here's the interesting and joy inspiring moment (certainly for me and I think likewise) that resulted from this bit of my encounter with my new picture making acquaintance ... she was so enamored(?) with the Oly that she asked to hold it and then fiddle with it and then - after a very brief explanation of how to operate it - commence to making pictures (of me and my good friend) with it.

Exactly the kind of experience she might have had in a traditional "old timey" camera store.