Focus Locus
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Sadly, the OP and FM member who began this thread has been reported by the media, if not already convicted by the media, of being involved in a plot to shoot more than just photos... while working in the headquarters of DHS.
Long time FM'rs and RG'rs might remember Jonathan Wienke, who was very active on the forums 10 years ago, and particularly vocal in debating the practice of center point focus and recompose, writing long and complex treatises to illustrate the benefits of using peripheral focus points instead... before he suddenly left photography to rejoin the military in his late 30's when the maximum age limit was raised during the early years of the war in Iraq.
It is interesting comparing the incendiary news reports of today, as well as the comments made immediately following the news articles by random people who clearly only have the innuendo and sensationalized slant of the news report to go on... with my own memories of this FM'r. Quite a different picture, in fact.
And this made me wonder how many long time members here remember jonwienke... and how your picture of him, based on your interactions and memories, differs or aligns with the portrait of him now painted in the news.
The facts are he served in the Air Force (prior to joining FM), and in the US Army as well as the NRO and DHS (after leaving FM). I remember that he liked computers, cameras, guns, and knives... like a lot of American males. Earlier this month, he was selected for random screening, where his employer found 3 out of the 4 things he liked on his person.
In an apparent attempt to convince a judge that a search was warrantable on his house, the agent investigating jonwienke listed several [I]potential[/I] crimes as justification for the warrant, including attempt and conspiracy to assassinate, kidnap or assault a member of the executive branch of the government, false impersonation of a federal officer and possession of a firearm in a federal facility.
If I were a judge, this list of suspicions certainly would convince me that a search of his house may indeed be warranted, because he shouldn't have brought a gun to work. However, there is a big difference between justifiable probable cause to seek more evidence in order to protect others from harm... versus actually finding such proof that those potential crimes were imminent or intended.
He could have just had an elevated sense of personal paranoia requiring personal protection, or, the "I'm a federal agent" psychology that inflates the imaginations of desk bound analysts to covert operatives in the clandestine division. Those are just two of many other plausible, even if stupid, reasons why he had what he had on his person when he was searched. However, the practical conviction of sinister conspiracy issued by the media reports that is now forever uneraseable from Jonathan Wienke's history, and immediately accessible to all. That would be rather sad, if the only thing he was guilty of is being a self protectionist zealot.
This issue really hits close to home in several aspects. As a community of photographers, some of us work in this same brutally crucifying media. Some of us work in advertising, spending hoards of time honing the details of a single image to say just the right thing for the client... and may find it interesting how jonwienke's own selfies and images are being reinterpreted by commenters after ingesting the media story line that accompanies the photo that was lifted off his Facebook page.
And some of us may have read or even engaged in forum posts with jonwienke, and encountered nothing remotely suggestive of the current nature of suspicions. I do remember he was opinionated... but around here, who isn't?
What do you remember about this member?
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