Re: Giving up on giving it up ...

[J R FOX jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

--- mhchoate  wrote:

> I might try harder to
> wean myself from XyWrite. But to heck with it. The
> things I've got working
> in it are just too good to give up. Nothing else
> does it for me -- both for
> my work (indexing books) and also for some personal
> stuff. (I've tried
> other things with disappointing results.)

(Also picking up on what Flash just said about
maintaining an ancient VW):

There is the tool, or vehicle, or device . . . and
then there is the user and what he or she may have
invested in developing a polished skill set that puts
it to best advantage. Many years ago, a cousin of
mine was a professional photographer, shooting
(mostly) ads, but also some covers for major
magazines. The companies buying one or dual-page ads
to showcase their products were far more than
demanding about every tiny detail. They would send
stylists (for the precise look of whatever it was),
and nervous account execs to look over every shoulder
and perhaps micro-manage things.

My cousin usually used full Hasselblad rigs, which at
the time were among the most expensive 35mm. (or was
it even a larger frame ?) gear on earth. On one
occasion, however, when the client did not know, he
shot a major ad page using a very old Kodak Brownie
camera, which could have turned up in some pawn shop
for chump change. Why ? For the challenge of pulling
it off. He did, the results were great, and the
client was never the wiser. It was, simply, a matter
of the skill and knowledge of the photographer.

This is not even an appropriate comparison though,
because -- in this scenario -- Xy would be more like
one of the great vintage Leicas.


 Jordan