Beautiful images from water-damaged digital camera

[Derleth]

It’s like impressionism, 'cept different. Seriously, there are some wonderful images came out of that Nikon Coolpix 990, which had a fateful dip into a lake:

“I was just heartsick when the camera went into the water,” Eaves said in his soft Tennessee twang. “The door on the end of the camera popped open, the flashcard (which stores the recorded images in the camera) came out, so everything filled up with pond water.”

After retrieving his gear he wiped it off, as best he could, with his handkerchief. In minutes the camera’s lens, viewfinder, monitor and flash lens were clouded over.

His $800 Nikon sloshed when he shook it.

Lesser men would have rent their garment and cursed the Gods above.

After five days of trying everything but mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the lens and viewfinders cleared. He popped in four new batteries, slid the once-wet Sandisk flashcard into place and turned the camera on.

“It fired up like it knew where it was going,” the excited former Korean War photographer said.

But when he looked at his Coolpix monitor, the colors were streaked, halos magically appeared, and every time he moved the camera the colors would change. When he photographed a subject, no two photos were alike.

“This is like someone handing you a camera before the first-ever picture was taken. You have no idea what the light will do and it’s the same light that Moses read the Ten Commandments by,” Eaves said almost reverently.

As the retired safety engineer says, everything the camera sees is real it only interprets things differently. Realism is out the window, or out of his camera anyway.

This might spark a new trend in digital camera design. It certainly would have caused an uproar in the early Impressionist school.

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

Very cool!

I want the coffee cup one…

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

When showing this to Mrs. Dewgrrl, she said she’d seen the same images recently, and produced a copy of the special edition National Geographic Guide to Digital Photography that we bought a few days ago.

This link takes you to a page where you can see the cover and buy it. It says on the cover that it should be “displayed” until July 24, 2006, so I assume it will be available at your local bookstore until then.

The last page of the magazine has a summary of Eaves’ story and two of the same photos from the story in the OP, but also an AMAZING shot of a dog’s face. Really really amazing.

[Derleth]

@honeydewgrrl

Very cool!

I want the coffee cup one…

The flower one is my personal favorite.

[FlyingRamenMonster]

To tell the truth, they don’t look that great to me. Just broken.

[Anastasaeon]

I like them. They’re neat. I especially like the bottom one, with the tree.

[Tikki]

I like the coffee cup one too and the chair. Sent the link off to my Dad who is complaining that his current camera isn’t taking sharp enough pictures (Hint, hint. Father’s Day is coming.) though they seem sharp enough to me.

We are very near a lake. Maybe a bath would improve the current camera’s point of view.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

Impressive, & all the more so, because I have lived in the Chattanooga TN area, where he does a lot of shooting.

Here is a link to his Website Gallery, with many more photos.

http://farrelleaves.com/eaves_gallery.html

[Don_t_Panic]

@Derleth

“You have no idea what the light will do and it’s the same light that Moses read the Ten Commandments by,” Eaves said almost reverently.

Now I’m puzzled. What is he talking about? Light is light. It’s also the same light that I read my Playboy collection by. Or, if he means that the actual photons are the same ones, then, well, no, that’s nonsense. Is he somehow suggesting that when Moses read the Ten Commandments, they appeared to him as if he had been popping acid all afternoon? And what does Moses have to do with this anyway?

[Zebra]

They are nice, but, I plan on keeping my camera nice and dry.

[Seren]

@FlyingRamenMonster

To tell the truth, they don’t look that great to me. Just broken.

Aside from the tree one at the bottom, I completely agree.