Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Camera Phone, "Photos on the Go"

Kernersville & Winston Salem, NC - April 2006

Every photographer should have access to a camera at all times. When I was recently hired onto my job I was asked whether I wanted the BlackBerry 7520 or the Motorola i870. Hmmm...I'll take the one with the 1.3MP built in camera. Without further ado, here are some random images I have been taking along the way here in N. Carolina on my i870. (Post production includes histogram adjustments, color curves, and mild saturation to make up for lesser than desirable image quality from the phone.)

Enjoy.


Here is my brother's house, which is also my current residence. If you happened to be taking a swig of something to drink right now, chances are you'd spit all over the monitor if I told you what he paid for this house about 2.5 years ago. (Think 1 bedroom/1 bath condo in Tampa, FL.) His house is a 3br/2.5ba, 1900 sq ft, 2 car garage home here in Kernersville.




This is an active barn with attached stable. There weren't any horses out when I drove by and took this photo. This stable is not necessarily located out in the sticks either. If you exit my brother's neighborhood, you would see this plot of property just across the street.



If you were to ask any local where the best "greasy spoon" restaurant in town was, they would send you to "Bill & Leah's." On my 2nd week of work some co-workers invited me out to lunch and took me there. Mmmm....chili cheese dog w/ onions, a bacon cheeseburger "all the way", twice fried crispy fries, and a large Pepsi to wash it all down. Someone call an ambulance.


My brother's friends get together every weekend. It's about as consistent as watching the group from the television show "Friends." One of his good buddies, Bill, also happens to have an interest in photography. We were out on his deck taking photos of the moon. So, I decided to test the "spotlight" feature on my phone for an illuminated photo.


I saw this "Discount Salvage Store" on my way to see my new house being built. My curiosity piqued and I had to check it out. I walked in and was a bit confused at what they were selling. The best description I can give of the store is that it's a cross between "Big Lots" and a thrift store. You can pick of flashcubes for your 1970's Polaroid in this place. They are marked as "Special - $1.99"



What exactly is this tree staring at? Creepy huh. I also recently was invited to golf for the first time up here. As we were packing the car to leave the course, I spotted this tree. Or rather, the tree spotted me.



Porch sitting is a nice past time up here - if you're old or hung over I guess. My brother has two white rocking chairs on his front porch. The weather is nice up here this time of year. I have already fallen asleep in one of these chairs on an early Saturday morning.



This is my brother's (and wife's) dog Petey. Petey is pound rescue and is a mixture of a Shitzu (sp?) and a Rat Terrier (or some kind of Terrier). Petey and I play hide and seek almost everyday when I get home from work. The best is when the lights are out and I scare the bejeezus out of him. He whimpers loudly and then comes around trying to nip me in the butt afterwards. He's a good dog.

HEY FLORIDA - THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. You see this beautiful 2 story, 3br/2.5 bath, 2 car garage home with 1900sq. ft. and a fireplace? It can be yours for $165,000!!! Kernersville is growing - FAST. There is a brand new Target opening just up the street, a new stadium seating movie theatre, shopping plaza, and grocery store opening within the "Kernersville" city limits. Nevermind neighboring Greensboro and Winston Salem which are also growing rapidly. My neighborhood has sold ALL of its lots. Centex homes currently has about 11 new neighborhoods currently under development. Need I say more? If you can't buy new, buy a huge pre-built home for UNDER $100,000! Don't miss your opportunity! Ok, I've said my peace.

I hope you've enjoyed my camera phone photo essay. It's a decent little phone that gets the job done. I will be collecting more images along the way and posting them right here.

NEWSFLASH - It might be too early to spill the beans, and maybe I'm placing a jinx on myself for announcing this, but I have a prospective opportunity to photograph for a startup magazine right here in N. Carolina! More on that as I learn more. Heck, I have to start shooting more!

- E

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent and informative snippets. That camera looks like it takes great pictures for a phone!

This post has made me hungry for "Bill & Leah's"!!!

EugenioC said...

The original versions of these photos will reveal the quality of the phone. They required some post production work to get them looking "normal." I guess that removes the charm of a cell phone camera. The challenge of working with inferior equipment - for some odd reason - makes this hobby *that* much more enjoyable! LOL!

Mary Ann Mattox said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mary Ann Mattox said...

Eugene - I read your blog everyday during my lunch hour and want to apologize for not posting as much as I should! This particular post needs all kinds o' responses though.
1. It's pretty wonderful that you already have family and friends in town - that makes it easier, yes?

2. WOW and thanks for the pics and prices of the homes there. It looks perfect and the homes look quite large [and it looks like they actually have yards there - perfect for a family].

3. Go for it, regarding that possible opportunity with that startup mag. You will have SO much fun with that and it will be great experience as well as a resume-booster.

P.S. Thank you so much for your recent email to me about my NYC pics. It was really inspiring. You are an excellent writer, by the way - you could probably take pics AND write for this startup mag.