Wallpaper Wednesday
Remember how fast summer went by, soon fall will be gone as well. Go get some fresh air.
Can’t a camera company get a break?
From PDN: Nikon, Canon, and Sony Imaging Factories in Thailand Remain Shut Down From Massive Flooding
The photo industry just can’t catch a break this year. Seven months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami which killed over 10,000 people in Japan and brought camera production to a standstill in some regions, imaging factories in Thailand remain shut down from massive recent flooding across the country.
The Thai flooding, which began in late July from monsoon rains, has affected two thirds of the country and is now bearing down on Bangkok. Over 300 people have died from the flooding.
Camera factories for Nikon and Sony and an inkjet printer factory for Canon in Thailand were still closed as of today. No restart date has been set for any of the flooded factories.
“We are continuing to investigate details of the damage, but are unable at this time to predict how soon operation will be resumed,” Nikon responded to PDN in an email. Nikon said its factory, which is located in Rojana Industrial Park in Central Thailand, produces “a variety of entry-level and mid-level D-SLRs, as well as a number of Nikkor interchangeable lenses.”
Because most DSLRs — both consumer and professional — use many of the same internal parts, it’s conceivable that the Thai flooding could stall Nikon camera launches in the near future, such as the rumored upcoming introduction of a new pro DSLR.
Meanwhile, a Sony factory in Thailand, which is said to produce the new Sony A77 and A65 DSLRs, is also still crippled by the flooding, causing product delays because of transportation problems.
“Operations of our factory in Thailand have been temporarily suspended due to flooding, which will delay overall product supply,” Sony said in an email. “There is only minor damage to the facility, however transportation in /out of the factory is facing constraints. The factory restart date has not yet been determined, as the matter is still under investigation. “
Canon also confirmed with PDN today that its Canon Hi-Tech Thailand Ltd. inkjet factory remains closed and that “no additional plan has been determined.” By Dan Havlik
Wallpaper Wednesday
Happy Wednesday everyone, I’m off to hike the Grand Canyon (with me luck).
Wallpaper Wednesday
Let the headlines read, “Miami Photographer, Kate Benson visits the Grand Canyon”, okay, so maybe it’s not quite as exciting as I’d like to sell it. We hiked 14 miles on day one into the Havasupai Town/reservation. It was my first time on a reservation and it was eye opening. It’s hard to imagine that there is a village of people living 8 miles in the bottom of the Grand Canyon having to helicopter in everything the need and out anything they don’t anymore. Seeing it for myself, the social injustice of life for Native Americans caught me off guard. In a landscape that will knock the wind out of you one couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to be. But not to live. I could spend months down there with the fascinating people. Learning about their lives, photographing them. It’s true what one of the women said to us as we left, “we’re stuck here”. After driving 60 miles from rt 66 (which is already in the middle of the desert) and knowing that these people only get around by walking or riding horses and mules you see that yes, they really are stuck there. But I’ll save the photos of town for later, today I want to show you a stunning image of what could easily be from Africa but exists here in our country. I imagine hippos down at the bottom of the waterfall, wallowing around in the water. Or perhaps the image is more prehistoric and it would be better suited if a pterodactyl flew through the shot. One thing is certain it is hard to believe it exists around mile 9 of our hike, just outside the Havasupai village.
Brain ‘rejects negative thoughts’
“…the brain is picking and choosing which evidence to listen to….there is a very fundamental bias in the brain.”
Optimists are optimistic because their brains are better at processing positive information and ignoring negative information. Pessimists are pessimistic because their brains process the opposite.
Enjoy your Monday 🙂