Bob Crum

Are you keeping your New Year's resolutions? As customary, I made one perfunctory annual resolution, one that I know I can keep: I resolve not to make any New Year's resolutions! See, I win all year.

A slice of Yogiism: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” said Yogi Berra. At the outset of 2020, I am confronted with a fork in the Focus on Photography road.

Photography is dead, proclaim the prognosticators. Some readers boldly suggest that I give more credence to phonetography because the majority of my column's 2,496,390 readers are 'phonetographers' . That might be true. Until recently, my cellphone was an ancient LG G3. A Samsung Galaxy S10+ replaced it and the S10 camera continues to surprise me. So, what to do?

New technology entails a learning curve. Oh joy! If I press this and click on that-uh, not what I expected. I quickly realized that making a photo with the S10 is dramatically different than my Canon 7D2. The S10 has a few interesting camera 'modes', but no knobs and dials! Nevertheless, what the S10+ does it does remarkably well, to my astonishment.

Camera modes include food, night, panorama, pro, live focus, standard photo, video, live focus video, super slow-mo, slow motion and hyper-lapse (time-lapse). Food mode? Great. Imagine a picture of one of my gorgeous hard-boiled eggs as photo of the week. Digital noise is minimized in 'night' mode. Oh yeah, mermaid boudoir phonetography by, ahem, candlelight! Pro mode permits the capture of both RAW and jpegs. Viva la RAW! Video mode is self-explanatory, but there's also 'live focus video' mode which initiates both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses to capture the subject and background separately, resulting in photos with near subjects in focus and the background out of focus. Sounds like 'auto bokeh'! My Canon 7D2 doesn't have that! Hmm.

Pro mode permits considerably more control over the picture-making process. I can adjust ISO, aperture, shutter speed, color temp (white balance), tint, contrast, saturation, highlights and shadows. All adjustments performed with on-phone sliders. But I want KNOBS & DIALS! Samsung says that these adjustments typically made during post-processing but can now be done in-camera. Yeah, sure, I'll see. BTW, Samsung, you forgot bracketing--maybe next iteration.

While the camera performs remarkably well, it has the same problem I have shooting videos with a dSLR camera: Form factor. Because of its physical design (form factor), making adjustments on the cellphone (and dSLR camera) while shooting video is cumbersome. Though the S10 (and my Canon 7D2) are capable of recording fantabulous video clips, they aren't the best tools in the shed for the task. The better tool for shooting video is a camcorder, in my opinion.

Regardless, this S10+ cellphone exhibits promise, so I will give due diligence and spend some time photographing with this marvel of technology. I'll practice until I'm proficient with this 'pricey' device. And I will either capture some fantabulous photos or, with a dash of melancholy, gingerly toss it into the Ventura Harbor. Stay tuned.

I used the S10+ to make the honey bee photo of the week. I saw the bee flitting from one flower to another so I grabbed by S10+ and quickly made several photos in the default 'standard' mode. Because I'm so used to my Canon camera's viewfinder, handling the S10+ while trying to pan and get it to focus on the fast-flying bee was a challenge, and frustrating. Out of several photos, I particularly like this one of the bee getting buzzed at the Nectar Bar.

Next, in-camera photo editors? Is anyone interested?

Send comments, suggestions or questions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

Shawn Ducreay, 20, of Lakewood.

A Lakewood man has been arrested in connection with a commercial burglary that occurred in Fillmore.

On September 21, 2019, deputies responded to a burglary investigation at a restaurant located in the 600 block of Ventura Street. Deputies learned that a suspect smashed the glass front door and entered the business. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and fled the scene. Deputies summoned the help of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigators (CSI).CSI Technicians were able to collect vital DNA evidence at the scene. The evidence was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). CODIS is a database which allows crime laboratories within the United States to share and compare DNA information with one another.

The DNA samples collected at the restaurant linked Shawn Ducreay to the crime. Investigators conducted an extensive background check on Ducreay and learned he was staying in the city of Lakewood. On December 20th, 2019, investigators located Ducreay in his vehicle and he was taken into custody.

Ducreay was booked into the Pre-Trail Detention Facility for PC 459-Burglary. He remains in custody on $10,000.00 bail and has a court hearing on January 6th, 2020.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Forensic Sciences Bureau (FSB) played an integral role throughout the investigation. FSB is a full-service laboratory responding to all law enforcement agencies in Ventura County. The 31 full-time forensic scientists and 8 support staff of the FSB analyze approximately 8,000 cases per year.

Nature of Incident: Burglary Suspect Apprehended
Police Use DNA to Help Arrest Fillmore Burglary Suspect
Report Number: 19-148862
Location: 600 Block of West Ventura Street Fillmore
Date & Time: September 21, 2019 3:30 am
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Investigative Bureau/ Sheriff’s Crime Lab/ Gang
Unit (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(A) Shawn Ducreay, 20, of Lakewood
Prepared by: Sergeant Vince Alvarez
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

Pictured is newly appointed Fillmore Middle School Principal Trina Tafoya

December 13, 2019

Dear Fillmore Unified District Community,
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of changes in leadership taking place at Fillmore Middle School, Sierra High School, and Heritage Valley Independent Study. The changes will take effect on Monday, January 6, 2020.

Fillmore Middle School:
New Principal
- Ms. Trina Tafoya will be the new Principal of Fillmore Middle School. Ms. Tafoya is a professional educator who has worked at the secondary level with experiences as a classroom teacher, Teacher on Special Assignment, Assistant Principal, and Principal. She is currently in her second year as Principal of Sierra High School and brings with her a wealth of experience in advocating for the academic success of all students.
Departure of Assistant Principal, Alicia Pane
- Alicia Pane has served our District with distinction as an accomplished Teacher on Special Assignment and most recently as an Assistant Principal at Fillmore Middle School. Mrs. Pane will be leaving Fillmore Unified du to a full family move to the East Coast. We wish her safe travels and continues success.
Education Services
- Assistant Superintendent Micheline G. Miglis will resume her full-time duties as the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services. She will provide ongoing support to
Fillmore Middle School and all Fillmore Unified schools in her role as Assistant Superintendent. Thank you Ms. Miglis for your work in leading Fillmore Middle School.

Sierra High School and Heritage Valley Independent Study:
Mr. Pablo Leanos returns as Principle of Sierra High School and Heritage Valley Independent Study. Mr. Leanos is a professional educator who has worked at the middle and high school levels with experiences as a classroom teacher, counselor, site administrator, and Principal on Special Assignment.

Congratulations to our leaders on their new roles and opportunities. Each of our school leaders have demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting all students and work tirelessly to promote academic success. Thank you in advance for your continued support of Fillmore Unified Schools.

Sincerely,
Adrian E. Palazuelos, Ph.D

On Sunday, December 29th at 4:20pm California Highway Patrol responded to a crash reported on Highway 150 in Ojai, also known as Ojai-Santa Paula Road. A motorcyclist was riding a 2017 Harley-Davidson westbound on Highway 150 and for reasons still under investigation, lost control of the bike and went off the road, hitting a mailbox and tree before coming to a stop. The rider was pronounced dead at the scene. On Monday, December 30th the rider was identified as Austin Reed, 20, of Fillmore. Cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Fillmore’s Margaret’s Concina closed back in March of 2017 after 40 years of service to the community. On Wednesday, December 25th the following was posted on the Margaret’s Cocina Drive - In Facebook page: “Happy Holiday to everyone. Been a while since we have posted anything on here. Just wanted to say that it’s been a few years now that we closed but after a long wait, we were just notified by the Ventura County Health Dept. that we have been approved for our blueprint plans to reopen; now we’re just waiting on the City of Fillmore to approve these plans to pass. Hoping for positive thought for the next approval of plans to pass, then we can start construction…Hoping to re-open Fall of 2020.”