Soft Roses

Soft Roses (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

Last weekend, my Nokia phonecam was destroyed in an unfortunate avalanche that took place in my coat pocket while I was out shoveling snow. It took nice sharp pictures, and I struggled this week to find a comparable replacement. I now have a Blackberry Pearl, and the model available isn't as high resolution as my Nokia and is trickier to use, though it has a zoom and some other great features. But after looking at options all week, I decided that it is the best choice I can get with my carrier, so I decided to keep it. I recently got a great new digital camera, as small as a cell phone, that I can use for high resolution. (With a back-up battery and a case with a clip, the digital camera will have the same portability and spontaneity as a phonecam.) And I will use the Blackberry to get those nice soft images that I grew to love when I had my very first (very low res) phonecam. The image of roses posted here began with a photograph that I took with my new Blackberry Pearl while I was still trying to decide what to do. I was at BJ's Wholesale Club, saw roses on display, and took some pictures to try out the camera. I took the photo without zoom and worked hard to hold the camera still (which isn't easy because the shutter control is a trackball). Later, I transferred the photo into the computer, cropped it, and adjusted the contrast a bit to get this image. This picture of wholesale warehouse roses, taken with a phonecam that I was about to return, helped me to decide because it reminded me that what I have to work with matters a lot less than how I think about what I have, and what I choose to do with it.