Bob Crum

The menace COVID-19 is taking a toll on my psyche. Others must feel likewise. It's frustrating that there isn't a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. It's as if the virus is lurking everywhere, ready to ravage any human within striking distance. It's hoped that a resolution is found sooner than later.

Thank you writers! So many emails bombarded me that I need shields like those of the Nebulon-B Frigate! Twelve percent (I did the math) of my 2,692,585 readers appear to be incorrigible. So many to reform but try I must. By the way, phonetographers, you might find reading the legals more interesting. Just a thought.

One issue in particular (SOOC), has raged since the dawn of the digital photography age. Petapixel penned that many photographers seem to get some sort of “pure as the driven snow” feeling from posting the acronym “SOOC” (Straight Out Of the Camera) next to their digital pics. Yep, the same-old same-old "SOOC" is back! Ugh!

Why do I protest? I don't object to the principal. I object to the ignorance of the majority who don't know what "get it right in the camera" really means! They tout that their photo is special because they got it right in the camera, meaning that they didn't have to post-process. That sounds reasonably innocuous so, what's my problem? Well, let's see.

Any photographer, with any digital camera in "Auto" mode, can usually get it right (exposure) in the camera. And post the photo on social media with the acronym "SOOC" insinuating: "Look, people, NO post-processing!" Get the smelling salts; I'm getting nauseous.

When a photographer creates a photo by programming ISO, aperture and shutter speed for the desired effect, 'properly' composes the image, and captures the photo in focus and didn't require any post-processing, I'll respect his declaration: SOOC. But, not even that photographer can legitimately proclaim that his photo wasn't processed. Oh how I love to nitpick.

The photo straight out of the camera was processed by the camera's internal computer according to algorithms programmed by the camera's engineers. The photo is a jpeg that has been compressed considerably, meaning half the original pixels were discarded. So, pure as the driven snow it is not. More importantly, just because a jpeg SOOC of the camera wasn't post-processed doesn't mean that it's a photo that's as good as it could be! It's not!

Getting off "auto" mode and shooting manual mode is often intimidating for many photography neophytes. To help you understand the ISO, shutter speed and aperture relationships, I found the following perfect analogy from "cambridgeincolour.com".

"Achieving the correct exposure is a lot like collecting rain in a bucket. While the rate of rainfall is uncontrollable, three factors remain under your control: the bucket's width, the duration you leave it in the rain, and the quantity of rain you want to collect. You just need to ensure you don't collect too little ("underexposed"), but that you also don't collect too much ("overexposed"). The key is that there are many different combinations of width, time and quantity that will achieve this. For example, for the same quantity of water, you can get away with less time in the rain if you pick a bucket that's really wide. Alternatively, for the same duration left in the rain, a really narrow bucket can be used as long as you plan on getting by with less water.

In photography, the exposure settings of aperture, shutter speed and ISO speed are analogous to the width, time and quantity discussed above. Furthermore, just as the rate of rainfall was beyond your control above, so too is natural light for a photographer." Now, grab your 'bucket' and go photoing!

Photo of the week is from my archives: Canyonlands National Park as seen from a Dead Horse State Park vista, Utah.

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

This event is closed to the public. Do Not Attend. Please watch the live stream from home. Thank You.
Watch Live June 4th, 6pm on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dIROP_M2-s8

This event is closed to the public. Do Not Attend. Please watch the live stream from home. Thank You.
Watch Live June 3rd, 6pm on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lJ8BwwoeDoc

At 6:30pm on Tuesday evening, May 26, 2020, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to a check the well being call of a person reporting that someone was trying to kill her in the 600 block of Fillmore Street near 2nd Street in Fillmore.

As more information came in, a son had allegedly threatened his mother with a knife. The son had reportedly been drinking, and shown a knife to his mother he wanted to assault her with, according to radio traffic.

At 6:40pm, Sheriff's deputies who had arrived to the scene requested that Ventura County Fire Department and AMR paramedics respond for a stabbing victim with lacerations to the neck.

A second victim with a laceration to the hand was also being reported as being found. Both victims were being transported to the hospital. Their conditions were not available. Information on if a suspect had been found or arrested was not available.

Crime Scene Investigations and major crimes detectives were responding to further the investigation. The street was taped off in the area. No further information was available at this time.

Courtesy Safety for Citizens Facebook Page.

Jan Marholin.

The Santa Clara Valley Boys and Girls Club would like to thank SoCalGas for donating $5,000 for new IPADS. SCVBGC CEO Jan Marholin stated, “I personally want to thank Sarita Figueroa and Maria Ventura from SoCalGas for helping us acquire this grant for our youth. So much of the work we do is now driven by IPADS.” Courtesy SCV Boys & Girls Club.

Pictured above and below are two murals, cast your vote! The mural above honors Fillmore Citrus and Fruit association, and the mural below honors Fillmore’s great agricultural heritage. Images Courtesy Nova Storage, Fillmore.
Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Nova Storage Fillmore

Nova storage calls on the community and invites you to take part in the artwork choosing for a new mural.

On March 21, 2020 Nova Storage Fillmore put the final touches on the first mural that currently adorns the front wall of our building. The mural honors the historic Fillmore Citrus and Fruit Association, who once occupied this very building.

As we prepare for a second one, Nova storage needs your help in deciding what image is next to be used in the new mural honoring Fillmore’s great agricultural heritage.

We value our community and your opinion plays an important role in the development of this mural. We would appreciate you taking the time to choose your favorite image on our online poll, this should only take a couple minutes of your time, and would be very valuable to our team.

To participate in this online poll, please visit: facebook.com/novastorage/

Let us take care of your self-storage and or parking needs! Log on to NovaStorage.com or visit our facility at 455 A ST. Fillmore, CA 93015

Vitalant, the nation’s largest nonprofit, independent blood collector, serving the local community in the Central Coast, has declared a critical shortage of blood as supplies have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Shelter-in-place orders led to 762 blood drives canceled since early March alone, resulting in a loss of 25,194 uncollected blood donations. That, coupled with a resumption of surgeries and other medical procedures as stay-at-home restrictions were lifted, has caused a 25% increase in the need for blood during the past several weeks.

All blood types are critically needed right now, with an especially high need for type O, A-negative and B-negative red blood cells. In addition, platelets are always needed by patients for cancer treatments, surgeries and emergencies. Because of its short shelf life—only 5 days—the supply of platelets must be continually replenished.

Donors are strongly urged to give blood as soon as possible by going online to vitalant.org or calling 877-258-4825 (877-25-VITAL).

“We strive to maintain a 4-day supply of blood just to provide what patients need, and currently we’re at less than half that for certain blood types,” said Dr. Ralph Vassallo, Chief Medical Officer at Vitalant. “It’s absolutely vital—a matter of life or death for some—to have enough blood collected and readily available on hospital shelves when patients need it.”
In the Central Coast, Vitalant must collect over 4,284 blood donations per month to meet patients’ transfusion needs. Every two seconds, someone needs blood. Vitalant urgently needs donors to make an appointment today to ensure a stable blood supply.

Vitalant recently released its Because of You, Life Doesn’t Stop campaign, calling on all donors to take action now and give blood or convalescent plasma to meet immediate and ongoing needs. Recovered COVID-19 patients have immune-boosting antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in their plasma, which can be given to patients currently fighting COVID-19.

“The public responded when thousands of blood drives were canceled—more than 100,000 units of blood lost—at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Cliff Numark, Chief of Marketing. “We are in the aftermath and we need to let people know that without donating blood today, life could stop for hospital patients.”

The U.S. Surgeon General and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have designated blood donation as an essential activity, encouraging healthy and eligible donors to continue to donate even amidst COVID-19 response measures. From coast to coast, all Vitalant centers continue to deploy strict precautionary measures to ensure the safety of donors, patients and staff, including:

• Taking donors’ temperatures upon check-in (staff self-monitor their temperatures)

• Requiring face masks or cloth-based face coverings (donors and staff)

• Disinfecting donor-touched and other high-touch areas often and after every donation

• Ensuring social distancing to keep donors and staff safe.

For more information on donating blood, view the PSA. To join the larger conversation about blood and plasma donations visit: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and use the hashtag #VitalToLife.

Insights, messaging and creative donated by LRW Group Companies including LRW, T3 and Karma Agency. Additional data provided by LRW partner LUCID.

About Vitalant
Vitalant (“Vye-TAL-ent”) is the nation’s second largest community blood service provider, supplying comprehensive transfusion medicine services for nearly 1,000 hospitals and health care partners for patients in need across 40 states. Vitalant inspires local communities to serve the needs of others and transform lives through the selfless act of donating blood. Every day, almost 5,000 blood donations are needed to meet the needs of people throughout the country, and Vitalant’s 800,000 donors supply 1.8 million donations a year. In addition to blood products, Vitalant offers customers transfusion services, medical consulting, quality guidance, ongoing education, research and more. For more information and to schedule a donation, visit vitalant.org or call 877-258-4825 (877-25-VITAL). Join the conversation about impacting the lives of others on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.