They’re working at an unfair advantage
really. Because while the rest of the world
made the switch from Film to Digital ... our
photo artists went one step further:
They continued on to Sorcery.
SSeriously. It’s as if they walk around with
cameras with a “Sorcery” shooting mode
normal photographers either haven’t dis-
covered or haven’t learned how to activate.
(You gotta ögure it must be buried in the
menus somewhere; though it doesn’t seem
to be in the operator’s manual. Maybe you
have to light a candle and remove the lens
cover during a full moon or something.)
Once activated, here’s how I think it works:
TThey raise the camera to one eye and frame
the scene — the same scene you assume
you’re looking at as well — but where your
camera displays, let’s say, a young lady in
blue jeans walking her dog, their camera
reveals something from another time (or
another world!) entirely. Same girl, yes, but
nnoow in Victorian steampunk attire. Same
dog, but now bedecked in øowers and
wearing a hat. Same street — no, not the
same street at all, now it’s another city,
another time altogether.
On other occasions their cameras work
with a curious delay. Camera in hand, our
photographer pauses, seeing something in
the scene before her that no one else does.
But even then she isn’t entirely sure what
iitt iiss øøiicckkeering in and out of existence before
her. She senses there’s something there, so
she raises her camera and captures it ...
They’re working at an unfair advantage
really. Because while the rest of the world
made the switch from Film to Digital ... our
photo artists went one step further:
They continued on to Sorcery.
SSeriously. It’s as if they walk around with
cameras with a “Sorcery” shooting mode
normal photographers either haven’t dis-
covered or haven’t learned how to activate.
(You gotta ögure it must be buried in the
menus somewhere; though it doesn’t seem
to be in the operator’s manual. Maybe you
have to light a candle and remove the lens
cover during a full moon or something.)
Once activated, here’s how I think it works:
TThey raise the camera to one eye and frame
the scene — the same scene you assume
you’re looking at as well — but where your
camera displays, let’s say, a young lady in
blue jeans walking her dog, their camera
reveals something from another time (or
another world!) entirely. Same girl, yes, but
nnoow in Victorian steampunk attire. Same
dog, but now bedecked in øowers and
wearing a hat. Same street — no, not the
same street at all, now it’s another city,
another time altogether.
On other occasions their cameras work
with a curious delay. Camera in hand, our
photographer pauses, seeing something in
the scene before her that no one else does.
But even then she isn’t entirely sure what
iitt iiss øøiicckkeering in and out of existence before
her. She senses there’s something there, so
she raises her camera and captures it ...
But now she needs to get home, import the
image, open it in Photoshop. And only then
will she önd out what world the camera
really opened up before her.
And what worlds these are!
AAs you explore the pages of this magazine,
you’ll come upon one image after another,
captured as if through a wizard’s glass.
The colors are richer there ... the scenes
more vivid and dramatic, mysterious, or
enchanting ... the people more vibrant,
dazzling, bizarre.
TThis or they are just a little more perfect,
a little more beautiful and timeless than
everyday life tends to appear to everyone
else. And that is their charm.
I hope that glimpsing these worlds inspires
you as much as it does me.
AAnd I hope it makes you think a little differ-
ently about that camera of yours. Because
it really is capable of the most extraordinary
things — if you’ll only hold it... just so...
But now she needs to get home, import the
image, open it in Photoshop. And only then
will she önd out what world the camera
really opened up before her.
And what worlds these are!
AAs you explore the pages of this magazine,
you’ll come upon one image after another,
captured as if through a wizard’s glass.
The colors are richer there ... the scenes
more vivid and dramatic, mysterious, or
enchanting ... the people more vibrant,
dazzling, bizarre.
TThis or they are just a little more perfect,
a little more beautiful and timeless than
everyday life tends to appear to everyone
else. And that is their charm.
I hope that glimpsing these worlds inspires
you as much as it does me.
AAnd I hope it makes you think a little differ-
ently about that camera of yours. Because
it really is capable of the most extraordinary
things — if you’ll only hold it... just so...
Image by Ann Wehner
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
