December 2011
1 post
Playing with fire...
catalogliving:
Some people disagree with our choice to leave Gary Jr. at home by himself, but Elaine and I can’t imagine what could go wrong.
A highpoint in my career…
Not only did I (finally) get a photo featured on Catalog Living, but that’s my son playing the role of Gary Jr.
June 2011
3 posts
N.B. - We have links...
A few weeks ago I spent probably too much time fiddling with CSS to add a little delicious.com links widget to the right side of this blog (surely by now I’ve earned one of these). It only shows bookmarks that I have tagged as of interest for this blog and will mostly feature photography and design related sites and pages. I thought I’d give it a little call-out here because, for now,...
4 tags
4 tags
Can I Get a Gray Card, Please?
Anyone who has worked with me in the past few years is probably familiar with my assistant, Matt. A while ago, while re-organizing old archives into a Lightroom catalog I got the clever idea to pull out any light-check, stand-in photos featuring Matt and put them together into a photo book as commemorative thank-you. I’m pleased with the results and the book is a fun look back on our work...
May 2011
2 posts
3 tags
A New Self-Portrait
(click the image to view a larger version of the background photo)
Yesterday I let myself play a little bit and acted on a self-portrait idea that’s been kicking around in my head for a few months. What was supposed to be a quick setup to test the concept ended up producing a final image.
I first got the idea for this picture when I found and signed up for About.me (an online service...
8 tags
Hey, that looks a lot like...
A while ago I posted details about my iMac workstation. Just yesterday I found the Aero for the iMac by Tethertools.
Here’s a quick photo comparison:
I should be clear that I do not accuse or suspect Tethertools of copying my idea. I think this is most likely a clear case of form following function and the Tethertools table is born out of an existing product line.
I have been giving...
November 2010
2 posts
Appropriat(ion)ist Keychain
Not bad Mr. Mann, but let me just fix that image a bit for you…
Like this:
Or, maybe this…
I’ll have my egregious vignetting badge in no time.
merlin:
Appropriatist Keychain
Never understood the appeal of the Giant Fucking Keyring.
It’s like wearing a t-shirt that says, “Let’s both pretend my pecan-sized cocklette is handsome and wide.”
Pecans ain’t wide, beer is...
It's like Cook's Illustrated for Photoshop...
I really enjoy getting Cook’s Illustrated magazine because they describe in detail the process of trial and error that goes into creating a recipe. That insight about how ingredients work or don’t work doesn’t just apply to the related dish, but lends knowledge and insight that informs so many other meals I will prepare.
Which is why I was so happy to discover Julieanne...
August 2010
1 post
Dave Eggers on "selling out" vs. "saying yes"
craightonberman:
Extracted from an email written by Dave Eggers over a decade ago:
austinkleon:
The thing is, I really like saying yes. I like new things, projects, plans, getting people together and doing something, trying something, even when it’s corny or stupid. I am not good at saying no. And I do not get along with people who say no. When you die, and it really could be this afternoon,...
July 2010
1 post
6 tags
Hitting the road. [updated]
This blog has been quiet lately due to a busier than expected summer (whew!). However, today I am packing for an intense 3-day project in western Pennsylvania and will be taking notes for an upcoming post about using the iPad as a photographer’s production tool. Not trying to process photos on it or anything (yet) but expect to use the iPad more as a digital clipboard to keep shot list,...
June 2010
1 post
6 tags
May 2010
1 post
6 tags
New Business Cards...
click image to view larger
I’m very happy with my new business cards - designed by the good and talented people at Alloy Workshop in Charlottesville, Virginia. While there’s a lot of room to speculate on the current and future relevance of the business card in a market that is more and more relying upon digital communication, I still feel that it makes a great anchor point for a...
April 2010
2 posts
7 tags
Repost - How I work now – the iMac stand
Another repost from the old blog…
My previous blog post revisited my old computer setup for location photography – the MiniKit. Now, I’d like to show how I’ve been working since the MiniKit was retired. Pictured below is a fairly new 24″ iMac mounted on an Avenger A122 mini low combo stand using a platform I designed and made myself.
In use this setup is surprisingly...
9 tags
Repost - A Look Back at the Minikit
This is a re-post from my original blog platform which I fairly quickly abandoned in favor of Tumblr. Rather than have it fade away entirely, I’m going to be posting some of the more popular content here…
A few years ago an already old gallery of my computer kit – a Mac Mini and 20-inch Apple Cinema Display mounted in a Pelican case – caught the interest of several Mac and photo...
March 2010
1 post
4 tags
Personal project - the Olio Portrait Series
I have recently completed a series of portraits to help commemorate the one year anniversary of Olio - a creative open forum holding regular events in Charlottesville, VA. I’ll try to update soon with more info, but for now just click the image above to visit a gallery.
February 2010
2 posts
4 tags
8 tags
Old Brass Lens Project - First Test on Mamiya
It’s not very pretty, but I have mounted the old brass lens on my Mamiya 645AFD (to view my introductory post on this project, click here). With a little luck I found a rubber pipe fitting that is just the right size to grab the back of the lens. I then cut a large hole in a body front cap and used a liberal amount of epoxy putty to fasten a piece of PVC pipe to the cap. The pipe fitting and...
December 2009
3 posts
4 tags
5 tags
November 2009
6 posts
4 tags
Old Brass Lens Project - Introductory thoughts
I’ve had this old brass lens sitting around for years and I’m curious to see what kind of image it will make. Just how to put it to good use is a bit of a puzzle. The lens is very simple. Just two elements bookend a fairly rudimentary but clever aperture system. There are three tabs (of which you can see two in the photo above) sticking out of the lens barrel. These tabs each pivot a...
Silver Medal for Tripod Placement
This picture nicely demonstrates a silver medal winning tripod placement. As you can see, each of the three legs rests on a different plane, none of which is the ground, floor, or decking. Obviously, had the three legs also landed on different materials (like stone, wood, dirt, etc.) we’d probably be looking at a gold medal winner. Difficulty points were...
