Bob Crum

A reader and accomplished photographer recently sent me very interesting email. Thanks Phil. One topic was phonetography! Hold on! My reaction was not what you might expect. Truth be told, his message caused me to pause. Actually made me stop and give phonetography more consideration then previous short shrift. Recapitulation is stimulating. Sometimes.

“I have some opinions about the whole smartphone debate you are writing about but that's an in-depth discussion for later,” Phil wrote. Uh Oh!

“I think your basic premise is correct,” he continued. “But I have run into some notable exceptions. I have made 17 x 22 pigment based archival prints of images shot by an art director. He has a great eye, but he also must have had special filters for his iPhone, because the quality was incredible.”

He added that “they both knew how to shoot correctly with the iPhone so what I got from them were full resolution files that didn't need upscaling. These were jpegs, BTW, not camera RAW. However, I did take all the images into Photoshop for retouching and color/contrast adjustments for prints.”

Jpegs? Shocking!

Let's again briefly review RAW vs jpegs and why I've been advocating RAW image capture. RAW is image data directly from the sensor without camera processing. Jpegs are images processed in camera (compressed) and the photo parameters baked in. Of course, jpeg images can be edited afterward but except for Photoshop 'smart objects' editing modifies image pixels and can't be undone. This is destructive editing. Post processing RAW images is non-destructive editing because editing does not modify pixels directly... editing is just modifying the image data instructions. The original remains unaffected. Make an editing mistake or don't like how the editing is proceeding press the reset button. Poof! All better. Begin anew.

Phil continued: “I believe there are now smartphones that have camera RAW. That might be a waste for a lot of iPhoneographers, but for some people, it's a great tool. I believe smartphones can actually increase creativity for some people. It really depends on what kind of photography one wants to do.”

An astute observation. I acknowledge that many phonetographers have no desire or need to post process their jpeg snapshots and that's fine. I don't. Shoot, email it, or post on social media and done. More importantly, however, even phonetography can be 'creative'. (hint)

To that end, Alex Tsepko, CEO of Skylum Software recently penned: “The power of photography (and phonetography) as art is that it serves to enhance the way we see the world. Try taking a photo of the same object every day. What you’ll find is, by spending time studying this object — a person, or a building, or a budding tree — you’ll find new looks, styles, and angles that accentuate it in different, more interesting ways. This kind of practice has a way of activating your brain and stimulating your inner creativity that makes life more interesting. Another thing you’ll learn by familiarizing yourself with photography as art is that it’s not about what you capture in an image, so much as what sort of emotion your images reveal and evoke.”

Snapshots work because sometimes there's only time to record a moment. However, for creative photography, pause a second and ask yourself what are you attempting to capture to share. Will the photo tell a story? More about a photographers eye another time.

Photo of the week is the infamous “F” up on the hill...in bright lights! Awesome! Have you noticed?

Happy photoing. Send your comments, questions and/or suggestions to photography@earthlink.net

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

As people throughout the county celebrate the Independence Day holiday in the coming week, the sheriff’s office would like to remind residents and visitors to the area that all fireworks are illegal to possess or use throughout Ventura County. The exception is in the city of Fillmore, which allows only designated “Safe and Sane” fireworks to be purchased and used within the city limits.

With the dry conditions and recent impacts from wildfires, the use of fireworks poses an extreme fire danger in our communities. Deputies will be actively enforcing laws pertaining to the possession or use of illegal fireworks. Depending on the type or amount of fireworks, violators could be subject to citation or arrest.

Another problem that occurs on Independence Day is the use of firearms for celebratory purposes. The discharge of any firearm or BB device in a grossly negligent manner is a misdemeanor in the state of California and is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.

Residents can report firework violations in sheriff’s jurisdictions by calling our communications center at (805) 654-9511, or 9-1-1 in an emergency situation.

Prepared by: Sgt. Eric Buschow
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

Ventura County Department of Public Health

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is reminding Californians about the importance of safe food handling to prevent foodborne illness while enjoying picnics, barbecues and other outdoor activities during the summer season. Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter are bacteria most commonly recognized for causing foodborne illness in the United States each year. Most of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two, but some cases are more serious. However, there are some easy and effective steps you can take to help lessen your chance of contracting a foodborne illness. “You can protect yourself, your family and your friends from foodborne illness by following simple safety tips for properly preparing and handling food,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith.

Following these four “C’s” can prevent foodborne illnesses:

Chill:
* Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Bacteria can grow in foods kept in the temperature “danger zone” (41°F-135°F) / (5 °C-58 °C) for an extended period of time.
* Refrigerate leftovers to less than 41°F / 5 °C as soon as possible, but definitely within two hours.
* Use shallow pans and loosely cover while in the refrigerator to allow warm air to escape and facilitate cooling.
* Select cold foods at the grocery store last and put them away first when you get home to keep them cold.
* Refrigerated foods packaged in hermetically sealed or vacuum packaged containers should always be stored in the refrigerator. Storing these types of vacuum packaged products at room temperature could allow the production of Botulism toxin.
* Follow package instructions, especially when it comes to keeping foodsrefrigerated.
* Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator or in a microwave immediately prior tocooking. Never thaw frozen foods on the counter.

Clean:
* Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before andafter handling food. Humming “happy birthday” twice while washing hands is agood way to ensure you are washing long enough.
* Scrub cutting boards with hot, soapy water after preparing each item and beforemoving on to the next food. If your cutting board has deep grooves or cut marks,which make it difficult to clean, consider replacing it.
* Wash and thoroughly rinse utensils and cutting boards with soap and water.
Thoroughly cleaning them with a bleach solution (made of one tablespoon ofunscented liquid bleach diluted in one gallon of water) will provide effectivesanitation action.
* Cover any cuts or skin abrasions on your hands to avoid contaminating the food.
* Keep pets and household chemicals away from food preparation areas.
Prevent Cross Contamination:
* Keep raw and cooked foods separate.
* Use separate cutting boards and knives for chopping ready-to-eat produce andraw meats.
* Never rinse raw poultry because it spreads germs around the kitchen sink, whichcan serve as a source of contamination for other foods.
* Discard used marinades.
* Use clean utensils and plates to remove cooked foods from grills and pans. Never place cooked foods back into the dish that held the raw or uncookedfoods.
* Separate raw and uncooked meats from ready-to-eat items when shopping at thegrocery store. Place raw meats in disposable, plastic bags away from otherfoods.
* If you use reusable shopping bags for groceries, designate specific bags formeats to avoid cross-contamination. Wash and dry bags as they become soiled.
* Store bags used for groceries at home in a manner which protects them fromother sources of contamination such as pets, children, and chemicals.
* Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator in water-tight containers to prevent juicesfrom leaking onto ready-to-eat and cooked foods.

Cook:
* Use an accurate thermometer to measure the final internal temperature of meatand meat products. Color is an inaccurate way to determine if meat is sufficientlycooked.
* Measure the temperature in the thickest part of the food, ensuring thethermometer does not touch bone or the cooking pan which can give you aninaccurate reading.
* Wash thermometers after each use.
* Wait until foods are completely cooked before taste testing.
* When using a microwave to cook or reheat food, be sure to rotate or stir the foodto facilitate thorough heating.
* Additionally, some labels recommend a “resting time” for the food after cookingbefore it should be served. Those instructions should be followed in order toallow the heat to evenly distribute.
Visit CDPH’s Cooking Raw Meats webpage for additional information.
www.cdph.ca.gov

Soina Castillo, 44, Fillmore.

On 06/19/2018, Detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s West County Narcotic’s Street Team concluded a month long narcotic investigation into Fillmore resident Sonia Castillo who was involved in the sales of methamphetamine to residents of Ventura County. The West County Street Team was assisted by deputies from the Fillmore Police Department.

At approximately 3:00 p.m., detectives executed a narcotic search warrant at Castillo’s residence located in the 1100 Block of El Paseo Street after Castillo had been arrested during a traffic stop for possessing methamphetamine for sales. During the search of the residence, detectives located and seized approximately 14 ounces of methamphetamine along with paraphernalia indicative of narcotics sales, and a large sum of cash deemed to be narcotic proceeds.

Castillo was booked at the Ventura County Main Jail for two counts of possessing methamphetamine for sales. Her bail was set at $100,000 and her next scheduled court appearance is set for 6/21/18 at 1:30 pm.

The West County Street Narcotics Street Team is comprised of narcotic detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the Oxnard Police Department, and the Port Hueneme Police Department.

Prepared by: Detective Sergeant Guy Moody
Approved by: Captain Robert Thomas