Transformational Technology

This is a photo I took of Ethan working on an iPad during his sister, Evie's, baptism gala and there is much that I could say about the photo or about the event. But I want to talk about difference between adults and children when it comes to iPads.Give an iPad to a child (or an adult who has never touched a "regular" computer) and they adapt very quickly. It turns out that the fingers of the hand are pretty facile and intuitive tools. Even a caveman would probably agree with that.But give an iPad to an adult with years of normal computer use and they will say, "Can I plug in a mouse?" or "How do I hook up a keyboard?" Quite honestly, keyboards and mice aren't the least bit "natural" or intuitive. In fact, the QWERTY keyboard layout was invented in the 1878 and designed in such a way that keys wouldn't jam together if a person typed too quickly.Keyboards, mice, desktops and folders were integrated into desktop computers because computer engineers wanted to make the transition from a traditional office to an office centered on computer workstations less threatening. Microsoft even threw in Paper Clip Man in MS Word to give a human face to the New Machine.The iPad, and other tools like it, are changing all of that. In fact, I've read that Jobs wouldn't allow USB ports in iPads because he didn't want it to be driven by peripherals. He wanted to push "touch" and the human hand as the most logical peripherals. Beyond that, you don't have to worry about saving documents. Computer folders are very 20th century.I think the iPad is the prototype for the next generation of computers - no mice, no hard drives, no DVD drives, no folders and no desktop. And certainly no Paper Clip Man. A keyboard? No doubt there will be one for people like me, who at least in this way, are stuck in the 19th century.But now that I think of it, Apple has given us another glimpse of the future of computer input: Siri, which is voice recognition with a friendly attitude. But beyond that, it is intelligent voice recognition - Siri gets to know us and knows what we mean even when we don't say it. Wow!

Tiny Shoes

There are always details in an event that get ignored and I certainly missed these amazing shoes. They were part of Evelyn's D's baptism outfit but were generally hidden by her gown. It wasn't until I was prowling around Derek and Alecia's house looking for photo opportunities that I found them.See more of Evie's baptism day here.

Triplicate

One of the good things about this blog is that it forces me to go back to my old photos and find things that I've forgotten about. This photo is one of them. I took this of my son Jon at the Santa Ana airport in California. I used my iPhone 4 and an app called Photosynth, which I had just discovered.Photosynth lets you do panoramic photos. Actually, its strong suit is that it lets you do 360 photos. Go to the Photosynth web site to see some amazing examples.

Princess Bride

This is Katie, of course. This was one of my warm-up photos in the bridal shoot we did. There's nothing about this that says "bride" but I like the portrait anyway.The lighting here is very simple - she is sitting in the opening of the doorway leading to our deck, which, in the late afternoon, is in shadow but which is open to perfect, soft ambient skylight. One of my many assistants was holding a white reflector below the frame of this photo. (I don't actually have many assistants but Katie had a retinue, including a sister, a cousin and her mother.)The light was beautiful and so was Katie.

Saturday School

In the school I teach at, Saturday School was a form of punishment to students who had misbehaved. But at KIPP Minnesota, where my son Brian teaches, things are different. Once and a while, if the 9 hour weekdays in school aren't enough, they work on Saturday.

It's not about punishment; it's about excellence. What a concept . . . .

What I See When I See You

Of course, when I look at my wife, I see more than the Caribbean, white sand and the inviting shade of a palapa. I see much of my past, my present and my future. But in this photo I see the Caribbean, white sand and a palapa.(Confession: I created this post in part so I could say nice things about my wife. And I wanted to be able to use the word "palapa.")

More of My Favorite People

I have pictured others in my "inner circle" on this blog and suggested they were favorite people of mine. How can I not show these three and not say the same? My MIL, my youngest son and my wife on a visit to see Jon in Alaska a couple years ago. As I've said before, I'm a lucky guy.

Four Amigos

Here's my stream of consciousness: foot prints in frost (yesterday's post) makes me think of foot prints in the sand. Foot prints in the sand make me think of Mexico. Mexico makes me think of family trips. Family trips reminds me of photo I took of the Four Cousins in Mexico a few years ago: Matt, Brian, Jon and Derek. So where do I go from here in the stream? Check back tomorrow.

Brian & Katie In Mexico

Here are two of my favorite people in one of my favorite places. I'm a lucky guy to have the opportunities I have!

The Snowy Dog

People are crazy about their pets and I was certainly guilty of being crazy about our Springer Spaniel, Polly. She seemed to love life and everyone she met. Polly is long-gone now but I come across photos of her every once and a while - I had forgotten I had this one.

Flesh and Blood

My oldest son, Brian, is pictured in this blog more often than Jon is. And, because Jon sent me a flattering email about my blog photos earlier today, I thought I would reward him by posting a photo I took of him 10 years ago somewhere in Italy. He has a better sense of style than I do and he gets his looks from his mother, fortunately. He's a pretty good photographer, though. Maybe he got that from me?

The Journalist

When Deb and I travel to Europe, I generally create the itinerary and take care of all the details before we leave: plane and train tickets, hotels and auto rentals. Once there, when we aren't on a train or plane, I drive.So "What does Deb do?" you ask. Aside from giving me constant advice and helping me keep track of lenses, chargers and ipods, she participates in our "travel democracy." Nobody leads and nobody follows. Instead we jointly decide what we will see and do on any given day. It works well.Beyond, that, I would say that Deb is the left brain and I'm the right. She writes about our travels and I picture them. This photo, of course, is evidence of our symbiosis.For those who might wonder, in this shot, we are on a train going from Berlin to Dresden, Germany. I am taking a picture of Deb writing in her journal while a blurry women in the background reads a book.Why did I convert the photo to black and white? It looks more "journalistic."