Thats what I'm talkin' bout
Baaam, I finally saw
myself in the ticker.
I do manage to get quite a few percentage of Editor's
choices when I submit, so I know they are there. And
I'll admit to having spent a few random seconds here
and there clicking thru to see if my work would show
up before coming to my senses and doing something
useful...
Well boy howdy! It just did it again as I write this.
Sweet. Sorry for the horn tooting...
Lovely.
I'm in the process of uploading 40 new images as we
speak as well.
This weekend I'm off with the boy scouts for a bike
trip, then a kick-a-thon for my boy's soccer team
before heading to Seattle to watch the Brasil
national soccer team play Canada's national soccer
team. Which to cheer for? Actually kinda hard for
this ex-pat Canadian who lived in Brasil for a few
years. And yes, that is with an "s" and not a "z"...
Hey, it did it again. Sheesh! This one is my most
popular image on Photoshelter Collection.
I'm on a roll! So with
that, have a great weekend.
P.S. I reported that my nephew was just diagnosed
with Lukemia and I'm happy to report that he's doing
well and has a great prognosis. Huzzah!
P.S.S (camera phone) pictures from my road biking
summit yesterday...
Link-O-Rama
1. The Inside Lightroom blog has a great tip for how to speed up your editing process in Lightroom - and this is one that I inadvertently discovered recently - and now use all the time.
2. Strobist has a set of DVDs now
available - everyone is talking about this. Great
idea. $140 isn't a bad price for what you get.
3. Zack Arias (a blog I've been
pretty into lately) also has a lighting DVD for
sale. Looks good as well - not priced yet though.
4. Scott Kelby has an interesting
proposal for Lightroom and Photoshop development.
And now for something
complete different...
1. DIYBike. I'm building one.
Yeah, with all my spare time. Ugh.
2. Weezer has a new single from an upcoming album.
Its been on a "one song" rotation all afternoon.
Pork and Beans. Sweet. Man, I
love Weezer. Geek Rock, uh, Rocks.
3. I'm getting old. I missed an internet thing. I
finally learned what a Rickroll is - someone inserts
this into an email link or
other public event. Funny! Love the dancing in the
prision-chique denim Rick. I wonder if he knows
about this phenomenon. Yes, I just Rick Rolled
you, but in a very obvious and non-threatening
way. Baaaaam!
As an aside, its been an interesting week. I've
gotten the flu and wasted a whole sunny Memorial Day,
my 8 year old nephew was diagnosed
with Leukemia and I finally managed to get out on
the road bike for a 63 mile jaunt up to Snoqualmie Pass and
back in less than 4 hours. It was cooooooold up
there in the fog and it took awhile to get feeling
back in my toes. And I flat with less than 5
minutes to home. Ugh.
I'll leave you with a picture...
Cheers!
Memorial Day
For our team, the tournament was a tough slog. We were in the top division, up against all A teams - including the state champions. We did manage to one win and two were fairly well contested, but it is obvious that this season is early in its making.
I shot a bunch of pictures of the game and posted them on my Smugmug account for the parents. What I actually enjoy more than that is the out-takes from the sidelines.
Here are a few from the weekend...
I'm going to be starting
up a new project soon, so stay tuned.
In the LIghtroom world, fellow Adobeite Rick Miller
is doing an online seminar for Lightroom 2.0 this
Friday.
More info here...
Cheers.
Cornell Capa - RIP
He covered presidential bids (Kennedy, Stevenson), Israel's 6-day war, the Peron regime in Argentina, and many other important events in world history.
If you are not familiar with his work, the NY Times has a great slideshow online (which includes one still from his ballet work).
A famous quote that resonates:
"‘There are two things I wanted to do. I wanted to show the things that needed to be corrected. And I wanted to show the things that needed to be appreciated.’ ”
On a related front, I referenced the World Press Photo awards yesterday, but you really should listen to Platon's story of his winning portrait of Putin.
Finally, a picture of my son, asleep after a hard morning of playing...
I'm off to a Soccer
tournament this weekend - its going to be a rough go
as we're up against the state champions for our first
game.
Cheers!
Ballet Shoot
Here are a few images from that shoot...
I just love how she looks
in blue.
On the wider photographic front, here are a few links
from the past few days that I found worth perusing:
- APE interviews Michael Norseng - Director of Photography at Esquire
- Two new online photography magazines: Fraction & Purpose (Via Conscientious)
- Check out the World Press Photo Winners
Thats it for today. Cheers...
Back Home
Rushed home last Friday to see my son's soccer game and spend some quality time in the backyard - the garden needed planting and I always manage to put it off until its almost too late. Done. Planted corn, tomatoes, peas, beets, lettuce, zucchini, summer squash, spinach, Kale and Collards. Mmmm.
I've switched to a mostly plant-based diet - no red meat, chicken or pork. A bit of salmon or other fish now and then. I'm also cutting out milk and going way down on dairy (cheese being the hardest). I make veggie smoothies for lunch and they are awesome - I just throw whatever I have into the blender with some OJ and some mixed frozen berries.
We also subscribe to a CSA - a local farm fills a box of veggies and fruit every week and we collect it in Fall City. Very cool, very local and awesome. The genesis for this dietary adventure? The China Study and The Omnivore's Dilemma - both books are good reads and provide much, ahem, food for thought.
No more industrial agriculture for this man. I'm really trying to wean the kids as well, but that is proving a bit harder.
Here are a few more pictures from last week's Moab Trip.
One Thing *Not* to do in Moab
We rode Flat Pass (a grueling ride south of Moab) and then shuttled up to north and rode a big chunk of the Sovereign Trail again (rode it yesterday for the first time, I have not stopped smiling since). A bunch of buddies from Seattle arrived late last night and this was our chance to hook up with them for a big ride. We had some mechanicals (broken crank, broken chain, torn tire - all happening to the same guy) but things went well and no real injuries (a few spectacular crashes but nothing dangerous - thank goodness).
Tomorrow we ride Porcupine Rim again. What a way to go out. I head for home that evening, sunburned, wind-whipped, with chapped lips and a big grin. Man I love the biking.
Oh, the thing not to do? Leave your camera on the top of the car and drive off after the ride. Next thing I see - said camera falling off the back end of the car at 60 mph - luckily it was just my Panasonic LX2 point/shoot and not one of my other cameras.
And it survived. Or so it appears. It was in a small digi-pouch, which seemed to take the brunt of the fall. The camera still turns on, focuses and things look normal, other than a small ding where it hit the tarmac. Guess I'll have to put it thru some tests.
That and it might just provide the excuse to get the Canon G9...
In Moab this Week
We've been riding all the great trails. Yesterday was Porcupine Rim (*****) (see video of Porcupine Rim) and today we spent hours on Sovereign (*****)(see a video of Sovereign), the latter which has replaced the former as my all time favorite trail. What a ride. It has great climbs, great descents and loads of beautiful, swoopy singletrack that just makes you grin. My bro-in-law commented on my perma-grin after one long section of particularly pleasing trai.
I did, of course, manage to put a huge ding in my bike. Fell backwards off a small ledge and, while I managed to stay upright, put a nice little nick on my Elllsworth Moment - argh. Them's the prices you pay for riding in a place that is all dirt, rock and sand.
Wouldn't be anywhere else in the world. Man, did I mention I love Moab?
Yeehaw...
* the videos are just gleaned from YouTube. But they
give you a good idea of the experience. Just factor
in speed and potential broken things...
Funnin' Around
Of course, that only encouraged the studio denizens to get silly on me. To good ends, I might add...
In what can only be
considered as an ode to a long-ago decade (you know,
the one I grew up in, the one they were not even
alive for) they hammed it up with all the silliness
they could muster. Still working on the official
picts for the night, but these two struck me as quite
fun.
I was also in the studio to shoot pictures of my
daughter for stock. Got a few hundred exposures and
and my daughter (and model) informed me she wasn't
feeling so good. Time to pack it all up and try again
another time. In looking back at the images, there is
still some great images for the intended target. I'll
be working on those next.
As an aside, I'll be out of town next week, riding
mountain bikes with "da boyz" in southern Utah. Look
forward to big hit bikes, sun (hopefully) and lots of
smiling men enjoying "not work". Here In fact, here I
am, last October "not working".
I'm giddy with anticipation...
Cheers!
Shooting Stock
It began innocently enough - a way to familiarize myself with the process this group of photographers go thru to prepare and submit images. But as I've grown my stock collection, I've found that it has become a part of what I do as a photographer. I've added it to the repertoire, as it were.
Furthermore, I've quite enjoyed the process - editing specifically for stock, adding metadata, uploading, submitting and finally getting those images live. It is a time consuming process (as expected) and hopefully one that will bear some fruit going forward. I've been contributing to two big sites so far: Alamy and Photoshelter Collection. I have the largest set on the latter, and I've just added a link to said photos in the sidebar:
Initially, shooting stock was a very different way of thinking. I find that I'll shoot somethings differently knowing it will be directed to stock rather than the more traditional fine art world I've worked in for years. That isn't necessarily bad, and as with most things, its teaching me something new that I can use. Good things come to those who take the time to immerse themselves and learn.
Today I was reviewing the big hit search terms on one site and realized I'm in a unique position to fill one specific niche that is in high demand: dance/dancers/stretching. I've been shooting dance for the past couple of years, and I'm going to spend some time in the next week or so to do a couple of shoots (in studio) specifically targeting this area. Of course, I'll be using my daughter as a model - she's such a joy to work with - one can't ask for a better young model.
Better yet, she exudes a love of dance in her every move. Lovely.
Stay tuned.
Have a great day.
The Bun
BTw, I love having the lights and backdrop always up ready to use in my office. A few quick shots with the Leica and Canon f1.2 and she was gone.
The stiches are healing
quite nicely (see yesterday's blog) and I'm well on
my way to a permanent scar on my forehead. Very
hardcore. I'll tell people I was in a knife fight.
Unless they know me, and then they'll just laugh.
Have a great day...
On a Roll
Had some kids visit, so we stuck up the seamless and shot a few pictures.
Julianne Kost has some
great new tutorials on her website for Lightroom
(both 1.4.1 and the 2.0 beta):
For those of you have have not attended any of
Julianne's sessions at the various conferences, she's
highly entertaining and does a great job of getting
the info across in a way that people seem to just
love. Highly recommended. Go Julianne!
Also, the Lightroom 2 Beta has two expiration dates.
If you are a current 1.0 owner, its longer. There is
a chance to extend it if you know a 1.0 owner.
Read more here on how to extend it
on the Lightroom Journal
Have a good day.
Portraits
Canon Delivers
As I've mentioned several times here, I've had lots
of issues with my Canon gear. I bought into the Canon
system after using consumer Nikon gear for years. I
needed a fast body with AF for some work I do.
Immediately things bugged me. So, in the first month
I sent several lenses and bodies back. I took loads
of pictures and then winced when they were brought
into Lightroom. I finally got really angry and
ordered a D300, thinking that maybe Nikon could make
me happier.
I mentioned this to a good friend and fellow Canon
shooter, and he suggested that before I do this
crazy switch dance, that I give Canon the chance
to make it right. So I did. I called, they were
great to work with and I sent my stuff in.
Well, they arrived back at my house about 8 days
after sending them in.
Things look much better. The 24-70L lens had a faulty
mechanical chassis (whatever that is) replaced. The
70-200L needed adjustment as it was back focusing.
The 40D also needed some adjustment - AF was off on
occasion. You're telling me. Like 98% of the time.
I was anxious as I took the camera out and mounted
the lenses. A few test shots showed promise.
The only lingering issue in my mind:
I bought three Canon products. All three were faulty.
Anyone who has taken a basic stats class will
recognize the probability there. And yet they still
managed to place three faulty items into my hands.
100% crap rate. Boy does that suck or what.
One has to question the kind of QA do they have at
Canon? I will have to admit that the service was
*almost* great, but I am still out $75 just to
ship/insure it. Thats $75 I had to spend to get
decent Canon gear.
Kinda makes me angry - but having a camera/lens combo
that focuses makes me feel a bit better.
Of course, the much-maligned Leica M8 with my
collection of old lenses (ranging from 10 to 50 years
in age) has never had problems. Ironic.
Interesting.