Tools of the Trade

I'm taking a moment during this dark and rainy night to give another little behind-the-scenes look at how this blog is made. On a recent weekend I gathered together my cameras that I use to take photos for this blog. The Fuji S5000 was retired as soon as I purchased the Nikon D40 in 2008, and the Nikon DSLR remains my primary camera for taking pictures of bottles of wine. The Minolta has not been used in years but I often take the lens off to do microphotography. That's more about an enthusiasm for science than anything wine or food related.

The little pocket Canon camera has been my go-to when either convenience or social courtesy has not permitted me to drag around the big Nikon and the additional telephoto lens.

When it comes to taking notes, I still do pen and paper using whatever will fit in my pocket. I've made custom notebooks before, used moleskines or other commercially bound journals, and many times just write in the free space of pre-printed tasting sheets. While traveling, I rely on my 2009-era MacBook, and most photo editing and seated writing occurs on my 2012 MacMini with the huge screen.

But last month I added another tool to my belt. My parents gave me an iPhone for my birthday (which was used to take the above photo, though captions were of course done in Photoshop). I'm using a white iPhone 5c, and the photos from the past two blog posts were taken with it. They're not the best pictures I've taken, but I'm still getting used to it. However, it's convenient to have one device that takes decent photos, allows you to take notes, and even publish to Facebook/Twitter/Blogger/etc. Oh, and even make a phone call when needed.

I'm not going to get rid of the Nikon, because I rely too much on specific shutter speed and f-stops and other settings. And the laptop is far too useful for many other applications, so I'm hanging on to it. I'll find a good home for the little Canon, and will continue to find apps and workflows that allow for the use of the iPhone in public settings where I don't feel like dragging around twenty pounds of electronics.

At the end of the day, I'm sure I'm still going to keep scribbling notes on envelopes and scraps of paper, and most of my pictures will still be taken with the Nikon and edited on the MacMini. But I'm forcing myself to use the iPhone for all of its amazing capabilities, and hope to provide more dynamic coverage outside of my kitchen in the future.