Dale. Dale comes from Sedona, a place in Arizona famous worldwide for being home to an energy vortex. And in fact, as soon as I see him, I’m immediately attracted by his magnetic energy—he, by my camera.

Greetings. Congratulations on your stand. What are the most precious stones you have here? Yes, it’s a Mamiya. Yes, an analog camera.

Wow, you’re taking a big risk! he says.

Then he tells me that once, he and a friend went into the desert to photograph a thunderstorm all night long. He had a digital camera; his friend used an analog one. Dale shoots, checks the digital screen, and immediately adjusts the settings—resulting in dozens of stunning photos of lightning. His friend’s pictures, however, were unsuccessful: the shutter speed was too long and not a single lightning bolt appeared in any frame.

This is the convenience of digital, he says. Of course, honey—the charm of film is something else.

Dale, grab your most precious minerals. I want you behind your workbench.

Nice camera you have there anyway. I used to have a Pentax. Ah—is that how you take vertical photos? You just rotate the back of the camera?
Yes, it’s a special feature of the Mamiya, I reply.

And now I’d like to see the rock you care about the most.

Wait a moment! He brings me a photograph of a crystal that he took himself. The entire Grand Canyon is reflected inside it. What the hell!

It’s not Photoshop, you know! This is exactly what was there when I took the photo. Do you want to know how I did it? I hid a projector behind the black velvet this gem rests on and projected a slide of the Grand Canyon into it. That way, you only see the landscape inside the crystal, while everything around it remains black. It also shows how transparent—and valuable—this stone is.

Dale, you’re a genius.