Camera Basics

Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 9, 1999

TOMMY WILLIAMS / L’Observateur / May 9, 1999

With the recent events that occurred in Oklahoma earlier this week, it really brings home the reality that mankind is powerless against the awesome strength of nature. And, if you were in the vicinity of Central Avenue in ReserveTuesday afternoon, the message from Mother Nature was stated just a little bit clearer, “She’s one bad Mama!” In addition to working for L’Observateur, I also work part time for Leo’s Auto Repair Shop as a mechanic. Due to nothing more then just a hard rain, I had tomove one of the vehicles that was parked midway through one of the shop’s doors to prevent water from entering the shop. Seconds after seeing my nephew,Leo Williams, close the shop door in front of me (I was still in the car) the wind speeds climbed from 5 mph to 45 plus mph, accompanied by golf ball-size hail.

In having eye-witnessed other tornadoes that have traveled down Central Avenue before, I feared that this was going to be a repeat of the Oklahoma disaster.

These recent events bring to mind that hurricane season is just around the corner, and it’s important to properly record and catalog your personal belongings.

If you’re going to use photographs as a method of recording your personal belongings, a manual focus 35mm camera will probably be your best choice because they normally provide greater detail when photographing smaller objects, such as jewelry. Automatic point and shoot cameras would besufficient for photographing large areas and objects, such as the outside of your home, car, boat or computer. I do not recommended them for smaller objectsbecause automatic point and shoot cameras have greater minimum focusing distance than manual focus 35mm cameras, which is normally about 3 to 5 feet, too great a distance for photographing small items. Photographs are an easy wayto provide yourself with a visual inventory of personal belongings, but they are difficult to keep organized when adding new items.

On the other hand, videos may prove to be a better choice over photographs.

Most, if not all video cameras have a macro lens setting for extremely close-up recording, great for small items like jewelry. Video cameras are also equippedwith a wide angle lens which would easily accommodate larger objects like your home or car. Videos are easier to keep organized because you can designateone specific video tape as “home inventory” and continue to add new items to the inventory tape as you purchase them. Photographs of personal belongingswhen mixed in with other family photos can become a hassle to maintain and organize.

Although I realize that this article in part covers old territory, I feel that this information is important enough to be re-introduced to the readers yearly in hope that just a few more of them get the picture. With the busy daily schedulesthat we all live, creating an accurate inventory of your personal belongings is a project that can take days or even weeks to properly complete. Doing yourhomework now may better help you deal with disaster later.Back to Top

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