“The road is long, boy. Lined with uncertainties of all kinds. I have no idea of what I’ve done with my life. So many people I’ve met, with some, I fell in love, some I detested, I know not why.. After 65 years of life, I feel like a looser, big time.” The man was speaking more to himself than to Adrian. He was drunk, Adrian was sure, for he reeked of alcohol. He pressed hard on the accelerator, keen to drop him off at 4th street, and cursed himself for having offered to give him a lift. Adrian kept mum with his eyes on the road. The man rumbled on, disparaging himself more and more. Adrian pulled over with a sigh of relief. “This is where I turn right, Mr. Griffin. You can take the straight road.” The man gaped at him for a second and said, “Oh, thanks boy. Allen, right?” “Adrian.” came the curt reply. The man shuffled his huge form outside with a lot of difficulty, and Adrian did fell a bit sorry for the chap. He seemed wealthy, his expensive-looking tweed said as much, so did the Rolex at his wrist. When he stood at the pavement, looking around as though he was lost, his shoes untied, buttons undone and his expression hapless, Adrian sighed and got out of the car, held him by his arm and brought him back to the car and took him home. The man needed help, and Adrian was not going to let him get mugged.
Mr. Griffin, obeyed with not a bit of revolt. He followed Adrian like a puppy. Once home, Adrian made him a hot cup of tea and offered him a sandwich. He put him to rest in his couch and went to the balcony for a smoke. Mr. Griffin, thought Adrian, whoever he was, was in a really bad state of mind and was in need of help. He stood there, he knew not how long, and went to sleep in a couch there. He awoke when he heard movements in the living room and saw Mr. Griffin walking towards him. “This is very kind of you, son. Thank you so much. I…could’ve gotten myself killed, in the state I was in.” He looked around, his face flushed, he was in a state of such high embarrassment. “I, uh, I’ll leave, right away. Sorry, for all the mess.” He took a few quick strides towards the door. Once there, he took out a piece of paper, scribbled a few lines, and left without a backward glance. The note read thus: “Such kindness will never go unreturned. I will be honoured to have you for dinner at my house.” Below was an address at Rotherfield, near East Sussex.
This was why Adrian was sitting with his brand new Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 digital camera, by the window of a chug-chugging train to Tunbridge Wells. Rotherfield was 6 miles from there, and Adrian decided to visit the place, he had never been there. The invitation was not the only reason he was heading there, he wanted to visit the English countryside, it was quite sometime since he did some serious traveling and he thought he would spend the weekend there. The DMC-G1 was his choice for this trip and he was exploring the 12.1Megapixel camera. He smiled, thinking of the new kid at Evan’s. He was in his early teens, all too eager with his new job. “The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is perfect for your trip sir.” he had started. “It is easy to grip, for it is built such that hands of an average size can use it with ease. It measures about 124×83.6×45.2mm, the body weighs 385g and the lens a decent 195g. Look, it’s so comfortable to handle…..” Adrian had given him a huge tip, he liked his sincerity.
Coming back to the camera, Adrian felt that it was a cross between a DSLR and a compact digital camera, as it had the features of both. It had interchangeable lenses and point-and-shoot ability, that is what Adrian liked about it – it was not a DSLR camera since it did not have a mirror system, but had certain features of a DSLR. It had a 14-45mm lens kit to go with it and was powered by a Li-Ion battery. But the view outside pulled his eyes like magnets to scrapes of iron. Rolls and rolls of pastures, a solitary cow grazing with her head bent low, a hidden creek that sparkled as it caught the sun, a shepherd boy laying with his arms stretched wide, a herd of hop-skipping sheep, what a sight that was! When the train stopped at Tunbridge Wells, Adrian disembarked with his mind and body so full of peace.
He reached Rotherfield sooner than he expected and it was time for his G1 to start its job. It had continuous AF, single AF and manual focus systems, of which he used the manual focus to get some shots of his first impressions. It gave him several choices for manual exposure and combined with the shutter speed of 60sec to 1/4000sec, the shots came out very well. He decided to first find a good place to eat and took several shots on the lookout. The on screen Quick Menu was comfortable, for it provided access to several settings from a centralised location. He found the 76mm flip-and-twist LCD interesting and also felt that the electronic viewfinder provided 100% coverage along with 1.4x magnification. Thus he walked on and finally settled for a meal at Joey n Jenny’s. He drank and ate along with the villagers of Rotherfield, what a cheerful lot they were! He feasted on authentic mash and sausages and drank ale from a cask!
After that heavenly meal from yesteryear, Adrian decided to walk along the quite lanes and take some shots of the woodlands and meadows of the English countryside. With no one but the wind singing in his ears, Adrian was spell-bound by the pristine beauty of the countryside that he wondered if he time-traveled to the past. A thin sheet of mist, played behind the trees, and Adrian decided it was time for his camera to play. His Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 came with live-view, which was an asset, and the Intelligent Auto Mode made things so simple. Once in this mode, the G1 was on its own, choosing the precise scene mode from Macro, Portrait, Landscape, Night Scenery and Night Portrait, and also ISO speed. Not just that, this mode also turned on the quick auto-focus, image stabilization and face detection. This mode was so brilliant that it also included Intelligent Exposure, so that when Adrian shot at a landscape that was in the shadows, the under exposed areas were exposed, adding brilliance to the image.
Though an experienced photographer himself, Adrian let the Intelligent Auto Mode of his camera do most of the work. He then saw an exotic bird, oh how beautiful it looked! He focused it and took one stunner of a shot just as it spread its wings – the AF Tracking gave him a hand with this shot, which tracked the moving bird and kept it in focus. The Film Mode was yet another interesting feature, using which Adrian took shots choosing from 6 different colour options and 3 monochrome types. He played with this for a while, the LCD clearly reflecting the options that he chose. All the shooting and focusing and walking made him tired and Adrian decided to visit the village for a drink, thinking of the smooth ale he drank that morning.
The path criss-crossed several fields and meadows, with shepherds and cattle walking lazily, at peace with the world. How he wished he was one among those snow-white lambs, with not a care in the world! Dreaming this way and that, stopping at an elegant church, all Adrian could think of was how he spent his life locked up in a concrete world of computers and television, when there was a totally magical part of the world, waiting with its arms spread wide. He took some shots of the church with his G1. Using the 23 focus points and selecting from metering options such as spot, multi and centreweighted, the historic church was caught with such magnificence. In the bright condition, Adrian discovered that his camera could focus and shoot in just 0.4 seconds.
The sun sinked lower in the orange-tinged sky and Adrian took out the address of Mr. Griffin’s from his pocket. He debated whether he should visit him or not, and finally ended up standing in front of the most beautiful mansion he had ever seen. It was huge, constructed with the finest of architecture. The brass door knocker looked quite intimidating and Adrian thought he would return back when the door opened.
Mr. Griffin stood there in his expensive tweed, smiling. “Come in, come is son! Am I glad you came.” Dinner was an elaborate affair, served by three butlers, atleast one of whom, thought Adrian was named Cadbury! They ate in silence, after which Mr. Griffin invited Adrian for a walk in his vineyard. (He had his own vineyard!)
“I must look like a spoiled snob, eh?”asked Mr. Griffin. Breaking the silence. “Not at all, sir. You are very kind.” “Not as kind as you, son” Adrian remained silent, and the conversation shifted to more mundane matters. When it was time to leave, Mr. Griffin offered to drop Adrian at the village, for which he refused. “I shall walk, sir, this place is so very beautiful.” From the very beginning, Adrian felt that Mr. Griffin wanted to tell him something, but kept refraining himself.
Finally, he said, “I have everything that a man would desire, son. I have earned enough for the next three generations. I have over 20 butlers to serve me, wear the top brands, drive the best car in the world. But, I’m not happy. No, not a bit.” To this, Adrian did not know what to say, for he was no philosopher. But he spoke what his heart told him to. “Take a walk around the solitary lanes, Mr. Griffin, there is peace there, talk to the shepherd boy, laugh with him. Drink at the village pub, fall in love, it’s not too late. Come out, Mr. Griffin, life is more beautiful than you think.” Mr. Griffin smiled, a tear peeked from his eye.
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