Superstition

Okay, I am not saying I'm superstitious. Except about one thing, which is the feng shui principle that if the bottom of the stairs in your house directly faces the front door, your money and good fortune will pour out onto the street and you'll become poor. (Or, the chi will come in the front door and rush upstairs, depriving the first floor of chi.) I don't know why I believe that superstition and no others, but whatever. Maybe it was a mini-stroke that affected a tiny cluster of brain cells.

So I don't really believe that receiving a camera to test makes the weather turn bad and stay that way. But...I just think it's funny that the weather has been miserable here ever since the Sony A7III arrived. The morning the deck had a coat of shiny ice on it. The dogs were somewhat flummoxed. Butters pranced fleetly along the walk, attempted to make the turn, and slid right off, then turned around and started sniffing the deck to try to discover why that happened. (Often, sniffing is not the best information-gathering strategy.)

It stands to reason that miserable weather cannot last for a whole month. Especially in mid-April. Then again....

Mike

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Richard Man: "Feng Shui is not necessarily just superstition. It is often based on very sound principles."

Mike replies: I'll say. It's folk-based so it has that peculiar mix of total wigged-out loopiness along with solid, practical, time-cured wisdom. For example, the only book on feng shui I ever read suggested that a single man who wants a woman should get rid of his single bed and get a double bed, complete with a duplicate bedside table and lamp. I did exactly that, and, not long after, my son's mother was in my life. The idea was that if you want something in your life, make a welcoming space for it. It's solidly practical advice.

Gordon Lewis: "For what it's worth, the weather currently sucks in pretty much all of the northern part of the U.S., not just TOP World HQ, so whatever mojo you think might be affecting you must be powerful and pervasive."

Mike replies: You see what I'm up against.

Patrick Perez: "You shouldn't be superstitious. It's bad luck."

Moose: "Last Sunday, you recommended Jay Maisel's It's Not About the F-Stop (and Light, Gesture & Color) Get out your copy: 'There's Nothing To Shoot,' pp. 10–11; 'Bad Light,' pp. 12–13; 'The Gifts Are Always There,' pp. 26–27; 'Be Aware of the Ordinary,' pp. 28–29; 'Try Something Different,' pp. 76–77; 'Try For Pics You've Never Seen,' pp. 78–79.

"Your shot of mounded new snow a few weeks ago is one of the best, to my taste, that you've shown in quite some time. Where are the photos of Butters on ice, of the ice? Which things in your house have you not yet seen photographically? Maisel quotes Haas, 'Above all, never lose your enthusiasm!' Go get'em, Tiger! \;~)> "

Mike replies: I appreciate your good reminders Moose, but this is actually part of the process that I've developed with camera reviewing over the years. I've noticed I consistently tend to be overly influenced by first impressions, so I've learned to put a new camera in amenable or promising situations—"easy" situations—at first to avoid being negatively influenced. As long as the first results don't overly dampen my enthusiasm, I move along to greater familiarity with ease, but sometimes bad first impressions can be a little too tenacious or lasting with me. It's just a personal foible, something I've noticed about my personality or my brain, that I attempt to overcome consciously and deliberately. It's as if it's a way that my thinking needs to be calibrated, you see what I mean?

Tom Fangel: "Niels Bohr had a visitor from a US university. They went to Bohr´s summer cabin north of Copenhagen. As they approached the house the visitor noticed an old horseshoe nailed above the door frame. 'Do You really believe in this kind of superstition?' asked the visitor. 'No, of course not,' answered Bohr, 'But I have heard that it works even if you don't believe in it.'"

William Furniss: "You have really jinxed it now."

gert.weber: "Hi Mike, amateur astronomers have a rule of thumb when they get a new telescope: For every inch of diameter you have to wait one week for a clear nightly sky. Poor guys with new 16-inch telescopes!"

Rick Denney: "Adams had 'Clearing Winter Storm,' But he also had endless complaints about the unrelenting gloominess that was Alaska weather during a rare visit. Which is on my mind—I have a trip to Wrangell and St. Elias National Park booked this year, as a break-in trip for a new 645z. Alaska in July can be glorious...or not. I am bringing a weather-resistant lens in case that’s my only choice."

brian: "Here's a way to make good use of bad weather with the A7III: Set it up to your taste so that when you actually want to use it, both you and the camera will be ready.

"You surely remember the days when you could pick up an unfamiliar camera and use it immediately, without ever consulting the manual. With Sony, at least, those days are gone. The Sony menus are complex but not illogical, and with the combination of a 'Function' menu and a 'My Menu' along with the various customizable buttons and the ability to recall various combinations of settings, it's easy to get what you want when you want it without ever again diving into the main menu sections—but only if you've invested the necessary effort. The 'customizing the camera' section of the online Sony Help Guide is your friend, and it offers a productive way to spend one or more evenings while you wait for better weather.

"Just as an example: Sony's new 'Highlight' exposure mode used with +1.7 or +2 EV dialed in works well as an 'expose to the right' system for raw files, but that's not at all obvious when you unbox the camera."

Comments

[Peter Baglole]

April flurries bring more worries.

[Joe]

On the other hand, my kids make fun of me: "Another damned cloudless, sunny day!"

[bruce alan greene]

Bad weather is the best time to photograph! It may not be pleasant, but the results should be interesting!!!

[hugh crawford]

Yeah I know the feeling. April 14 1982 I got an excellent deal on a Chevy convertible on account of the top stuck in the open position because the fabric had been eaten by wild animals. April 15 1982, received a foot of snow.

But isn’t overcast snow an excellent test of the ability to render subtle tonality? Lucky you!

[wts]

Bad weather = interesting photos.

[Dave Levingston]

I often say that if you want to take photos that don't look like everyone else's photos, wait until the weather is so bad that people say it's too bad to go out and take photos. Then go out and take photos.

Just sayin'

[Matt O'Brien]

Not sure if these were posted already. Browser appears to hang.

A good time to do some table top photography. It is much more challenging than first perceptions of this genre. Also a good way to get to know a new camera and its menu system.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28412635@N08/39516234900/in/contacts/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28412635@N08/38532430316/in/dateposted/

[Eolake]

Yes, that’s what I said four weeks ago...

[Bryce Lee]

Southern Ontario, atrocious weather: wet snow, followed by freezing rain (that was Friday April 13 (note the day & date)) to Saturday. Saturday more snow, more rain all while the temperature hovered above and just below freezing. Sunday more of the same, heavy rain, then more freezing rain, and advisories to stay off the roads. Monday, suspect schools will be closed as a snow day, maybe Tuesday the world shall be slowly returning to whatever is labelled normal.
Maybe then Mike can go play with his new sample camera, without sliding or falling while doing so....

[John Krumm]

Well, I just got a new used lens that looks great and appears to take very good cat photos, but of course now we have what looks like a nasty blizzard, so I can't test it outdoors. And our stairs face the front door as well. I don't know if our battery powered arm waving money cat makes up for that or not.

Can this superstition cancel out another?

[Bill OBrien]

MIKE, GO TAKE PICTURES, weather will always be there, you might be missing the best picture you could ever take. God will be upset, he is sending you this great weather and pictures and you are want something different.

Get with it Mike, do some testing, indoors or out.

Bill

[Bill Mitchell]

Think of Adams' "Clearing winter storm" and plan/pray for that kind of weather, so the sun will come out.

[Michael Perini]

Mike,
There IS no weather that is bad for Photography.
It's just that some weather provides more abundant excuses for not photographing.
m

[Rod Thompson]

I often think that a good camera for me is one that makes bad days good. I found that with Fuji (which I dont now use). They had the ability to make poor light interesting, where my Olympus tends to do a better job with good light. I toyed with a good day/bad day kit, but felt it was impractical (ridiculous).

[Marco Venturini Autieri]

we all know that in good light even an iPhone is great. So... who needs good weather to test a camera?

[Bill Duncan]

It started Friday the 13th here.. You can plan ahead for similar Fridays with information here:
http://billduncan.org/friday-the-13th-one-liner/

lol, ok, anyway, hope the weather improves there soon (and here, just to your north)..

[JOHN GILLOOLY]

Great fortune I'd say! Any camera can take pretty picture on a beautiful day.

[Ernie Van Veen]

It's not just cameras. New motorcycles and bicycles have the same effect on the weather.

[Peter Barnes]

"Often, sniffing is not the best information-gathering strategy". Try telling that to a dog.

[longviewer]

Happens out west too: my wife's new little micro43 body is here, and we've already passed the normal April rainfall plus an inch!

[Frank]

Is this only a good weather camera, Mike? Only good at iso 100/200? I would say: 'Put on your raincoat, and test the damn thing!'

[Bob Stothfang]

This phenomenon also applies to astronomical telescopes...Whenever a person gets a new telescope they are anxious to have it acquire its "First Light". The weather is guaranteed to be at least overcast or worse for at least two weeks commencing on the day it is delivered.

[Roger Engle]

The bad weather will give you a chance to read the amazingly big instruction manual that comes with the camera. If you have a spare 30 seconds.

[subroto mukerji]

Maybe you ought to ride out the bad weather by playing with it indoors doing still lifes, dog portraits or just indoor shots of your upstairs office, taking white balance readings and using different exposure combinations. Since it's weather-proofed, you could even step outside and take a few pictures -- they say bad weather is a photographer's best friend!

[Benjamin Marks]

You knew that bad bass line was coming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFuCYNx-1g

Actually had the 45 of this one. . .

[Terry Letton]

I don’t know about that Mike my stairs and front door are not in any sense aligned. But the money seems to slide out anyway!!

[Gijs Langelaan]

Never be superstitious: it brings bad luck!

[MikeR]

Weather radar says that you are experiencing the same system that we have here in SE PA: heavy rain and thunder.

Anyway ... feng shui ...

Firstly, I think the practice has more to do with making the person aware of their surroundings, and of disrupting influences on their thinking. That being said, it is helpful to have some sort of mental map to use when evaluating where you live.

Sketch your house's floor plan. Orient the drawing so that your primary entrance door is at the bottom of the page. Superimpose a tic-tac-do grid upon it. Your entrance door will be in one of the three boxes along the bottom. And here's a way to evaluate what's happening or could happen or what you should think of for each of the 9 boxes:
http://www.gowithharmony.com/home-bagua.html

You can get into a lot of woo-woo sites online, and wind up with a house that looks like a Chinese restaurant. When my wife and I moved into our present home 18 years ago, we brought in someone who has a more practical approach, emphasizing a livable design coupled with feng shui guidelines. We were fortunate that she lived in this area then, though she no longer does. Here's her book:
https://www.amazon.com/Enlightened-Design-Helen-Berliner/dp/1570623341/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1523890166&sr=8-4&keywords=feng+shui+helen&dpID=51MCpUzAngL&preST=_SX258_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

It's worked for us. We haven't gone bankrupt, and we're still together. (35th anniversary today).

[Robert Hansen]

Hey Mike
You don't live in Vancouver, BC. We have been building another ark since early March. There were a couple of days where the sun teased us but just as quickly went back to it's game of hide and seek. My gortex rain jacket has seen steady use this year.
My rhododendrons and azaleas are starting to bloom but the rain is ruining the blossoms almost as fast as they open.
At least I don't have to shovel it.
I am waiting until your weather improves so I can get an honest opinion of the A7iii - not a hyped one.
Bob

[Manuel]

I have a black cat, which I rescued from 4 months of captivity in the city kennel. I was shocked to learn most of the cats that remained unadopted in the kennel were black: people reject them out of superstition.
I also have a niece who was born on a Friday 13. Instead of fearing she'd set my house on fire, I offered her a disposable film camera for her 6th birthday. You should see her face! (Or rather, you shouldn't: she was merrier shooting with it than with a smartphone.) I won't blame it on the date if the pictures aren't up to the best standards, but if it happens I'll offer her a recording of Monk's 'Friday the 13th" next year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxJ0VRZyzVU

[Craig C. - Minneapolis]

Mike,

If you think the weather sucks in upstate NY, take a look at what happened to MN and Wisconsin over the weekend.

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul got between 13 - 20 inches of snow between Saturday morning and Sunday evening.

[bob]

Suspect, Bad weather breeds Great photography, go get wet and see if Sony likes you.

[JG]

The idea was that if you want something in your life, make a welcoming space for it. It's solidly practical advice.

If you make a suitable space, they will come? I can't help but think there must be more to it than that.

Because if not, then I'm going to enlarge the closet that holds my camera gear and also build myself a four-car garage!

[Dick Drake]

Well, you could check the weather sealing!!

[Ken Tanaka]

The Sony A73 is already one of the most “reviewed” cameras in amateur photo history. There simply are no discoveries left to be made on it. Just take the thing out in whatever weather you have and jot your impressions. Bad weather makes for good photography.

[Richard Man]

"Mike replies: I'll say. It's folk-based so it has that peculiar mix of total wigged-out loopiness along with solid, practical, time-cured wisdom."

If I may continue: actually it is based on solid, practical, time cured wisdom that are based on certain axioms (that would make "westerners" head spin), but largely waterdown and corrupted so the common folks can easily understand.

For example, I am sure you can think of a dozen reasons why it is practical not to have the front door open up to stair: if you actually do drop something, it may roll out the door, or hit someone coming in or going out etc.

[Richard Parkin]

Your description of feng shui and beds sounds remarkably like a “cargo cult” to me. I wouldn’t say you are superstitious but you do seem to believe in magic :-(

[James]

Bad weather? What? Take a look at the cover of the last book you recommended. (William Neil)
Get out and practice.
Yellowstone in Winter - sub zero - I took 2,000 pics in 4 days. (a couple were keepers ;-) )
Antarctica I took 400 a day minimum.