Jim Amidon — Since the day our office got the new Canon camera lens I’ve used to shoot sports this fall, I couldn’t wait for the colors of autumn to arrive. Finally, I thought, I’d have a lens and camera that could do justice to the gorgeous palette of colors nature gives us on the Wabash campus.
Nope, not even close. Even the super-duper lens that has transformed our sports photography isn’t capable of what the naked eye can capture. The subtle shades of yellows, golds, greens, pinks, and reds from a single maple tree don’t boast the same delicacy on screen as they do in my mind.
Gazing out my Kane House window I marvel at the maple tree that stands along Wabash Avenue; those brilliant colors standing out against a deeply blue sky. My camera turns the sky whitish-grey and blows out the Federalist backdrop of the Arnold House. My eyes, though, see the scene clearly; I can pick out four or five shades of red on a single leaf.
We photographers — oh how we love our toys. For us, the camera and lens can preserve moments forever; can capture the momentum-turning play in a football game or the instant a student makes an intellectual discovery in class. But our cameras and lenses — no matter how intricate or expensive — are not capable of paying tribute to the gorgeous hues of fall at Wabash College.
