Dale. Dale comes from Sedona, a place in Arizona famous all around the globe for being home to an energy vortex, and in fact, as soon as I see him, I am immediately attracted by his magnetic energy, he by my camera.
Greetings. Congratulations on his 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, and then tells me that once, he and a friend went into the desert to photograph a thunderstorm for an entire night. He went with a digital camera, an analog one for his friend. Dale shoots, checks the digital screen and immediately adjusts the settings on the camera resulting in dozens of stunning photos of lightning. The pictures of his friend, however, were not successful: the shutter speed was too long and it was impossible to see a single lightning bolt even in one picture. This is the convenience of digital, he says! Of course, honey, the charm of the film is something else...
Dale, grab your most precious minerals—I want you there, behind your workbench.
Nice camera you have there anyway, I used to have a Pentax. Ah, is that what you do to take vertical photos? You just rotate the back of the camera? Yes, it is a special feature of the Mamiya, I reply.
![]()
Greetings. Congratulations on his 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, and then tells me that once, he and a friend went into the desert to photograph a thunderstorm for an entire night. He went with a digital camera, an analog one for his friend. Dale shoots, checks the digital screen and immediately adjusts the settings on the camera resulting in dozens of stunning photos of lightning. The pictures of his friend, however, were not successful: the shutter speed was too long and it was impossible to see a single lightning bolt even in one picture. This is the convenience of digital, he says! Of course, honey, the charm of the film is something else...
Dale, grab your most precious minerals—I want you there, behind your workbench.
Nice camera you have there anyway, I used to have a Pentax. Ah, is that what you do to take vertical photos? You just rotate the back of the camera? Yes, it is a special feature of the Mamiya, I reply.
And now I’d like to see the rock you care the most about.
Wait a moment. He brings me a photo of a crystal that he photographed himself. The entire Grand Canyon is reflected inside. What the heck!
It’s not Photoshop, you know! This is exactly what was there when I took this photo. Now do you want to know how I did it? You see, 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 can only see the landscape inside the crystal while everything around remains black! It also shows how transparent and valuable this stone is.
Dale, you’re a genius.