Old Pong Geezer
Essentially, a storyteller.
It probably started with my Mom's old Remington typewriter, and a role-playing game called Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Written words and hand drawn maps, woven into stories and imagery of high adventure.
Then I got a camera (yes, the old film-kind), and with it came the desire to learn how to tell better stories. A single image, perhaps with a caption that might trigger an emotion. And then a "Camcorder" with a cassette tape to capture moving image, complete with sounds and words that could entertain, teach and bore your friends and family to death. All these things were instant addictions for a desperately creative personality.
However, back in the last century it simply wasn't as much fun. When you pushed that shutter button on the camera, you just committed one of a precious few 12, 24, or 36 chances to get the image right. Sure it was cool (when it worked). Just not as much fun. In my mind there was always this unforgiving barrier that forced me down a very narrow path, mastering only a few things - because everything was so manual, so time-consuming, so expensive - with so many painful steps to produce the desired outcomes. Each task seemed highly specialized and complicated. Each skill required a mastery all its own. You may learn to master your camera, and maybe develop the film. But to get that work shared or published, you'd likely need to find someone else to do it. The opportunities were simply limited to get your work out into the world.
If you were lucky (and skilled enough), you might land a job that tapped into your creative side. For me, it was as an instructor and writer for some technical courses. The process was totally old-school. All the documents were created in black and white, and content culminated with a nice set of overhead projector slides - "transparencies." It was awesome.
Later, (but still well before social media platforms and personal websites), there were some years producing a regional mountain biking magazine. Real physical content on newsprint. It had a crinkle, a smell, and a shelf life. That is when photography really started to become important, as did the writing, the interviewing, the layout, the planning for publishing each addition. It was hard work, with little room for errors. It was rewarding and t was a great experience. But it could've been better. I wanted more.
About OPG
There is more where this came from.
A few word about this site's privacy policy.
I get it - it has become a scary world. OPG hates having to waste space and time on this, but it is important, and probably legal. This brief sections attempt to explain how the website collects, uses and shares personal data and other information that might be obtained by your interaction with this site. Some of the information below is required for certain advertising partners. By trolling around on this site, you consent to any collection, use or sharing of your information and data and agree to the terms of this policy as outlined below. So here it is.
Your Personal Information: If you sign up for Old Pong Geezer's email list, your personally-identified information (PII) will not be share or sold. Only your name and email address is collected and retained. OPG uses this information to notify you of new content, newsworthy events, rare promotions; and most importantly to build community, typically through a newsletter. You may unsubscribe to this flavor of nonsense at any time.
Sensitive Information: With the exception of necessary information to complete shopping or donation transactions, this website (or any correspondence you might receive from Old Pong Geezer) will never collect or ask you to submit sensitive information for any reason. Sensitive information will not be retained by this website owner.
Tailored Advertising: Old Pong Geezer (this website) may use Google AdSense and other third-party vendors and ad networks to serve ads across this site. A list of these vendors and links to their websites are below. You can (and maybe should) visit those websites to opt out of the use of cookies for personalized advertising if possible. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve adds to this website base on their visits to this and other sites on the internet. Visitors may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Ads Settings. OPG REALLY suggests you visit this link . It is a little scary what they know about you. You can also opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info. OPG does not collect any of this stuff on it's own - we just try to run a few ads to help pay the bills.
Current Advertising Vendors/Partners:
- None
(Yeah, that is why OPG doesn't use a mirrorless camera.) :-(
Always Learning, Always Experimenting:
In addition to being a creative outlet, this website is developed and maintained as a learning opportunity and for experimental purposes by D Bourne Consulting. www.dbourne.com
OPG
OPINIONS. PHOTOGRAPHY. GEAR.
CONTENT ON THIS SITE IS SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT © OLD PONG GEEZER 2015-2021
Old Pong Geezer
Sunrise Behind Me. Sacramento, CA 3/25/2018
then came the internet.
It is hard to remember the world before the Internet. Before laptop computers, before cellphones, or WiFi. Before Google. Before YouTube and Facebook and Facetime and OneDrive, and on and on and on. Today's technology is simply amazing.
It is hard to now understand the world I grew up in, before social media. Before all of the cool gadgets and gear that have empowered anyone with the superpower to create and publish from the mind and heart straight to the world.
What we can do now is mind-boggling. All of the stories being told. The tool and techniques I have are still science fiction to me. The phone in my pocket was unimaginable when I was a kid. That I can easily carry in a backpack all of equipment with the power to create essentially a movie, complete with quality sound, aerial shots, Hollywood-like post production, and the ability to quickly publish it to my own "channel" for instantaneous broadcasting is INSANE.
That leads me to gear. Throughout my life I was drawn to technology. The Atari video game console was probably my first crush, but certainly the Walkman, the Apple IIe computer, DOS - then Windows, the Intel 80286 chip, the Compaq Laptop, Lotus 1-2-3, Music on Compact Disc, the Motorola DPC-550, Blockbuster Video! I can only laugh or reminisce about these thing now. But back then - FANTASTIC. And I certainly love it all. There is something fascinating about a consumer product that can take a complicated process and make it simple and utilitarian.
I spend a lot of time learning about all types of gadgets and new technology that were only science fiction when I was a kid. You'll find that awe and admiration in my activities and musings on this website and other social media accounts. Don't judge me.
This Old Pong Geezer website is part of the journey to understand and somehow document these amazing times. These words, recordings, pictures and videos attempt to share what I observe and what I learn along the way. It's the Old Pong Geezer trying to use what the modern world has to offer, to tell a better stories.
10 More Things:
1 - Current Home Base:Sacramento, CA
2 - Facebook:@OldPongGeezer
3 - YouTube:@OldPongGeezer
4 - Instagram:@OldPongGeezer
5 - Twitter:@OldPongGeezer
6 - Game Platform: Xbox
7 - Gamer Tag: Old Pong Geezer (come play)
8 - Favorite Places:Yosemite National Park
and Sandpoint, ID.
9 - My Old "Go-To" Photography Gear:
Canon 80D, DJI Mavic Pro, GoPro Hero7
Samsung Galaxy Note 9