There is one thing that is genetic and can be caused by so much more than just age. Factors such as genetics, diabetes, use of steroid medications, hypertension and the use of radioactive thorium in camera lenses made before the 70’s (that’s one funny camera nerd joke right there) have contributed to one of the most odd diagnoses a physician has ever handed me – cataracts. Cue the “old man” jokes.
I’ll just give all you millennials a moment to get all of your “ok, boomer” jokes out of your systems.
This is not the gloomy and bleak sort of post you’re probably imagining. Surgery is a relatively easy and quick affair and a nice perk is that the lens implants have a certain degree of power. For distance, vision is crystal clear and the improved view of color is nothing short of a modern miracle. The best part of the ordeal is that it’s now over with. Both eyes now have clear good lenses in them. The biggest irony? They sat me up to put a patch on my eye and I had a little preview of the new vision. The first thing I saw? The red Leica logo on their equipment.
This begs all sorts of questions – how will such a drastic procedure change photography? The difference in color is dramatic – as if the saturation is turned all the way up to 100% all the time. Distance is razor sharp. Up close vision not so much – like trying to use a plain lens 6 inches away from a bug. I can focus to infinity but no macro eyeballs. Essentially, I have two 50mm lenses with their focus stuck at infinity implanted in my eyeballs. I’ve always thought manual focus is difficult – will this still be true? Will I suddenly be wildly obsessed with color?
Given my most recent order from Amazon, it appears I am embracing both color and the B&W format.
This will be the first time I’ve done black and white in chemistry that isn’t Kodak and my first time doing Kodak Pro Image color. What are your opinions on these two things? Let me hear your comments. Shoot photos, not each other!
And by the way, I am aware that the Fuji film is expired. Cheap and free shipping on amazon!!
Adventures of a Photo Nerd 
One reply to “Evolution”