Serres Bay HO Scale Diorama

Created a logo and posted a new article and photo series at SerresBay.com for an HO Scale diorama currently in progress. Since the diorama is taking so long to complete, I decided to take some photos of the construction in the interim.

The Elusive Tunisian Cat

Finally got around to posting on Cat Senate the short story to go along with the photos I took last summer of feral cats in Tunisia. Not quite the Hans Sylvester success I envisioned the collection to be, but not a bad start. I will be sure to be properly equipped with a digital SLR and an arsenal of lenses next trip.

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LDF Snow Ops

Snowy conditions and a highly detailed McFarlane action figure in the appropriate gear make for an ideal late night photo shoot. See Pics

Kutcher-Stupid

The purpose of signing a celebrity spokesperson in commercials is twofold: to enhance the brand or product’s image and to increase name recognition of the brand through an association with said celebrity.

With those two goals in mind, I am at a loss why Nikon is using Ashton Kutcher to promote its line of cameras, specifically the COOLPIX series and higher end D60. In the D60 Wedding Commercial, a clumsy Kutcher is portrayed as capturing great shots despite his alleged lack of photography skills or professional gravitas; the message appears to be that anyone regardless of skill or intelligence can take great pictures with the D60. While the Kutcher-Stupid storyline is very effective in making this point, I wonder if Nikon is misjudging who the target audience is for its digital SLR line of cameras? The D60 SLR can range in price from $299 to over $1000 depending on the type of lenses and accessories purchased for the camera, so I doubt that Ashton-amorous teenie-bop girls is the correct demographic to be targeting.

Being in the market myself for a higher end camera, I find the silly and vapid tone of the Ashton commercials to be a detriment to the Nikon brand. Personally, I am not a fan of Ashton and would rather not have an association between the camera and a male Kutcher Barbie. While I will still consider the D60 for my next camera, I will most likely purchase a Canon model price, features and variety of lens kits being equal.