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Imagine you’re a landscape photographer. Now imagine you want to take a shot of the moon with the earth rising over it. Or of a category 5 tornado without being hurt. Or, maybe, you’d love to get a shot of Mars. You can see the issues here right away. Nevermind that man has never BEEN to Mars, even things like shooting amazing natural events here on earth are risky at best. So what’s a person to do? Make it yourself.
Awesome, right? This image was created by Matthew Albanese in his own home. Natural disasters, alien landscapes, anything and everything is up for grabs when he decides to make an image. Crafting these landscapes from anything and everything makes them even more fantastic. The image above was made from tile grout and cotton and then illuminated with light bulbs. Channeling the creative juices of MacGyver himself, Matthew uses his imagination and his kitchen cupboard to create things others could only imagine and just as quickly deem impossible.
As I viewed this images all I could think of was a saying I picked up somewhere: fake it ’till you make it. It seems Matthew took it one step further. He made a fake so great it doesn’t even feel fake. Looks like he made it.
Many posts back I mentioned some work I did for vhcle.com but I didn’t post any images on here. Not that I didn’t want to, but the images weren’t up on their site yet so I didn’t want to jump the gun. The website is about fashion, art, current topics, and anything else that would appeal to the modern individual with an added bonus of presenting articles with a conscious mind towards creative design. My one line description doesn’t do it justice so you should really go check it out issue 1, which just came out. It’s in an awesome digital magazine format which will make it super easy for you to flip back to page 69 (ha!) and check out my images of the Sacramento day trip along with the writing of the very cool Adam Saake.
Please check out my work and all the awesome articles in there. I’d especially like to point you towards the article on and photographs by Andri Tambunan. I know I’ve done this before but he’s in the issue and his work is always worth checking out again and again. Enjoy!
Photographers, either through talent, training, or a combination of both, learn how to manipulate the world to capture the best possible images. There is an understanding of color, spacing, angle, and a dozen other conscious or unconscious decisions that go into the work of any photographer. When an image moves you it will often have something to do with the unique perspective that the shooter has brought to it, not just the subject. This is, of course, how people choose photographers in most situations: because of how that person sees the world.
But not all photographs have these ideas applied to them. Some (crime scene photos come to mind) are still photographs but there isn’t supposed to be anything more there. There isn’t supposed to be anything more then just a physical record of fact. So when I see photographs taken like that, with no thought but to capture what’s directly there, and possibly (or in this case definitely) not taken by the hand of any photographer at all, I can’t help but appreciate the power of the image and how amazing it is that although all those artistic choices are taken out these photographs can still grab me and make me think.
Haiti: Before and After the Quake.
For anyone who may be reading this yet hasn’t heard, a few days ago Haiti was hit with a massive earthquake. Homes, schools, businesses, even the National Palace, have been leveled. While an accurate count of how many people have died because of this event probably won’t be known for a long time, current estimates are standing at several hundred thousand. The pictures at the link above were taken by Google’s Geo-Eye1 satellite. A complicated machine has been able to provide us with a perspective on the devastation that no photographer in the world could have achieved. There is no fancy editing, no Photoshop magic here, nothing. Just the truth in the harshest possible way.
I know that my readership isn’t very high but in case anyone comes across this and wants to help in some way there are great campaigns being launched all over the world. Check out the links below if you’d like to help.
No interesting links today guys. No ramblings on a new technology, a new photographer, or anything like that. Nope. This one is just about me.
I spent today, the first day of 2010, doing just about nothing. I really mean that. I woke up tired and just rode that wave all day. I watched more TV than is healthy, played video games, and just generally vegged out. I didn’t even go running, which I feel guilty about. Now, I’m sure some people would love a day to just do nothing and I’m really happy that I am in a position where I can actually have that. But if I’m being honest I must say this: I hated it. I feel like I wasted this day, overall. I just didn’t get anything accomplished and that knowledge is weighing on me right now.
What does this have to do with anything? Well, throughout the day I kept thinking about my photography. What I’ve done, what I’m currently working on, and what I want to do in the future. The bottom line that I came to was that I’m not doing enough. Nowhere near enough. I’m slacking, and I hate it, but so far I haven’t been pushing myself to do more. So, here and now, I’m going to make a small outline. Just some things that I want to work harder on. IF you have to, I suppose you could call these new years resolutions. That’s a big if, and no one is forcing you to. So, without further ado, may I present to you:
Looking Forward: 2010
(applause! Wooooo!! YAY!)
1. I will do much more to pull myself out of debt. This seems like something most people want to do right now considering the state of the economy but in thinking about my future I started to see how important it is for my photo work. Not too long ago I worked out a business plan for myself and one of the items in there was a rough estimate of how much it would take me to really get going. It was a lot. I said, “Okay, it’s a lot, but I’ll work on paying things down and it’ll all work out.” Well it hasn’t. I’m not doing enough. I will do more. It’s time to budget EVERYTHING. *tears* The good times, as they say, are over. As Blink 182 once put it: well I guess this is growing up.
2. I will go to many, many more Second Saturday events. I’m not sure how many people out there know what that means, so in a nutshell, Second Saturdays are held in downtown Sacramento (and other cities I’ve heard) on a monthly basis. On those evenings the galleries typically change all their shows, people are all around, there is music in the air and a lot of interesting things to be found. It’s like a block party out there on a good night, especially during the warmer months. I have never once gone out there and not been inspired to shoot. I’ve witnessed new photographic work, paintings, sculptures, interpretive dance (which was a bit weird), even live art shows with people creating pieces right there on the street. It’s just so amazing to be surrounded by people from all walks of life who appreciate art. It fills me with a desire to be better and do more. I want that.
3. Shoot. Shoot shoot shoot. Shoot for nothing. Shoot for practice. Shoot even if it’s just to test something out and then delete it. Shoot if I’m getting paid, of course. Just press the shutter. One of my professors in college, who due to my terrible memory will remain nameless, once commented on how low the requirements were in some of the classes. How few photographs we actually had to produce during the semester. If he had his way (oh! It was a male! That I remember!) we would be producing three or four times the requirement. I’ve found that with few exceptions if I don’t have a specific event to shoot for I don’t touch my cameras. Not that I don’t have ideas for things I want to create or that I want to practice, I just don’t get off my ass. That ends now.
4. Organize the last 7 years of my life. That is, roughly, how long I’ve been shooting. Between college work and everything that has come afterwards I think I’m up to two external hard drives, my laptop hard drive, my old desktop hard drive, several backup discs, and at least one thumb drive. I think. I’m pretty sure. This simply will not do.
5. Finish writing a short story. Writing is something I’ve done on and off for a while. I guess it was inevitable considering how much I’ve read in my life that I would at some point think, “hey, I bet I can do that!” Well, I’ve tried, and it quickly became clear how wide the gap between “doing it” and “doing it well” really is. Regardless, I want to really create something I’m proud of this year. I’ve mentioned before how so many different things inspire me and influence my photography. The reason for this, I suppose, is that even if something isn’t photo related many things expand my creativity and that’s the source of my best work. Writing is just one more way to do that very thing.
6. Revamp this here blog. This one. Right here. The thing you’re reading. It can be better. When I started this site I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had just scratched the surface of blogging and while I in no way regret my decision to start it how I did I’ve learned a lot that I want to implement. There will be a 2.0 version in the near future. It’s going to be awesome.
7. Enter some photo contests. This one is really related to #3 above but since I’ve already resolved to do that I should at least put a little competition into it. I imagine it will push me to be my best, even more so that is, and if by some chance I manage to win something along the way I wouldn’t turn it down. Especially if it’s a great cash prize, which would do much to help me achieve #1.
8. Have fun with my photos! Now, don’t yell at me, I know this more than any other sounds like a, “well duh you dumb ass” thing to say. But when photography stops being fun for me is the day I stop doing it. I hope that day never comes.
Seriously, what happened today? I got up at my usual time of 5:30 am and, possibly too much information, used the bathroom. It’s a thing I do. Daily. Anyways, from there I should have gone down to the garage to run. That didn’t happen. I just sprawled out in bed and only sort of half slept. And so it began.
I went to work. That sucked. I was just in a “blargh…” mood all day, which wasn’t helped by my phone call interactions. It was just person after person who didn’t believe what I was telling them (aka: the truth), didn’t understand instructions given in the simplest terms possible, and pretty much hated the fact that they had to talk to me. It adds up people, please, be nice to strangers on the phone.
But wait! There’s more! Craptastic! I got home and the funk continued. Not the cool funk as foretold in the epic tales of Old Greg. It was the terrible funk that rained on my face and joy all day and continued to do so when I got home. I finished editing a photograph I was pretty excited about that required some creative Photoshop work. And, of course, it looked terrible. There was just no getting around it. I know that it’s foolish to think every idea I have will turn out perfectly and be hailed as the greatest photography thing to exist since ever, but still, to fail yet again, at photography, today…just…ugh.
I’m beyond done with this day. Thanks for listening. <3
Dear Reader,
As the graduation date of one of my good friends approaches (it’s tomorrow, actually, WOOOO!!!) I can’t help but think of my own. We didn’t really know what to do that day as we bounced around in the back halls of Arco Arena. College being what it is, I didn’t know most of the faces I saw back there, but eventually I recognized one. And another. And another. And I started to smile. While the other groups gathered around had various things with them, from cell phones to flowers, there was my group with the only thing they really wanted on this day: cameras. Point and shoots, SLRs, even an old film camera one guy had strapped under his robe so he could whip out and take a crowd shot, that is just how we rolled. There were my fellow photography nerds crowded around and excited to finally be walking those last few steps and be done with schooling.
Fools, all of us, to ever believe we would be done with schooling.
There is ALWAYS more to learn and some of the best things I know how to do I figured out after I left the campus. Once it was just me and my camera I started to experiment more and more. Without the pressure of shooting for a specific class along with doing reading for Professor So and So and doing a paper for Professor What’s Her Face, who totally gave me an A btw, I was left to explore more of what I wanted. But when that wasn’t enough I went in search of better resources. A whole new kind of classroom.
Dear Reader, let Nikon show you the way.
It’s not the only resource out there. Hell, maybe it’s not the best either, I don’t know. What I do know is that I shoot Nikon and love it. Through their site (and their actual Nikon School if you want to throw down some dough) they regularly throw up tips, tricks, and techniques so anyone can become a better shooter. I don’t care if you threw down the cash for your own SLR or have nothing more than a cell phone camera, everyone can do something more with whatever you may have at hand.
So go forth, be bold and embark on a new learning experience. Grab a hold of the Canon you’ve had for years or the pretty pink Fuji you got for your birthday and head on over to the site. Don’t sorry, they won’t crash your computer if you’re not using a Nikon, it can be your little secret. Get some digital learning with your digital medium and we can get all digitally together. I’ll be there along with you, taking furious notes like a freshman all over again, because I’ve heard the cheering of the crowd and felt the graduation cap on my head already. I walked with my fellow students and was given the kudos for a job well done. Then the cap came off, the arena was emptied, and I walked out into the real world. And here, for me and for anyone else interested, the learning never stops.
WELCOME!
Does the title sound like something regular? Like something that has happened before? Every Thursday, perhaps? Well, it’s not. This is the VERY FIRST Nerdy Thing Thursday! Inspired by some other great blogs out there that have regular postings with a theme (I’m looking at you Ex Hot Girl) I decided to stick to my idea of letting you, Good Reader, into my life and my mind. If I’m ever going to realize the dreams of being a photographer it will be on my terms. Now where are those terms….hold on…right here. OK, the terms, “you will not do everything you’re ‘supposed’ to do as a provider of a service. You have a personality and you will let people see it. This personality influences everything you do and considering the artistic nature of photography your influences DO change your art.” Those aren’t all of the terms of course, but that is the relevant part. What’s that? You want to hear ALL the terms. Well then, sit, Dear Reader, and let me enlighten you.
J/K. No one wants to hear them all. That’s not why we’re here anyways. ONWARD.
What makes a nerdy thing? Anything I want! Anything funny, interesting, and/or generally amusing. Anything dealing with science, technology, comics, video games, art, etc. Basically, I’m a nerd, so by extension things I like become nerdy things.
Today I bring you one of my favorite webcomics. Breaking from the typical comic mold, this site relies on photography instead of illustration. Sometimes they are thought-provoking. Other times, they can be pretty damn funny (as long as you’re into dark humor!) Still other times they can be downright weird. Always cool, always interesting, always a great sinkhole waste of valuable time, Dear Reader, I give you: A Softer World.
The fact that this comic uses photography was the first thing that really made me pay attention to it. The images aren’t always in focus, or, really, good. I understand that there are many people out there who have a specific vision of photography, who might say that pictures always need to be crisp and clear and use great lighting to display a person/object/landscape/bomb/sword/treasure chest/ca….wait…nevermind. That’s what happens when I’m trying to think and write while listening to Pawn Stars. Terrible writing aside, I think you get my point. To anyone who thinks that I invite them to see just how powerful A Softer World is. The meaning of the text is completely changed by the images and the emotion of the images are equally changed by the text. These images can convey wonder, wisdom, loneliness, humor, and dozens of other feelings without ever showing you a “clean” subject. Give it a shot and be amazed. AMAZED.
(It’s amazing)
Thanks to a posting by my friend Andri on Facebook I was introduced to Grooveshark. While I could go on at great length about this website I assure you that I won’t (you lucky dogs you!) The reason I mention it at all is because this wonderful site, which allows me to stream almost any song I can think of, was blasting wonderful melodies into my brain meat while I sat in my cubicle at work today and I suddenly thought, “I wonder if there are Disney songs on here…” Lo and behold, there were! From the opening vocals of Circle of Life from The Lion King to the amazing harmony of A Whole New World (from Aladdin, for those of you who are LAME and don’t know) I was instantly transported. Certain Disney movies were staples of my childhood. I take an odd bit of pride in being able to recite almost all of Aladdin and the vast majority (like, 90%!) of The Lion King from memory. Every line, every song, every random sound and motion of the characters, all of it. Sure, it’s not Shakespeare on the London stage, but it’s pretty damn close! Especially to us Americans. These movies helped define my childhood, which was pretty hardxcore (yes, spelled just like that) and was filled with enough issues as to make me cherish the great parts I did have.
This whole experience got me thinking about life and how interesting our brains are. You say you want time travel? You say you want the wonders of steam punk or Star Trek in our time? Look no further then that gray matter you have stuffed in your skull! Unless you’re a zombie and an eager monster has had his way with your lunch box of a head that is. But, that aside, time travel is real! We are all carrying around triggers in our heads that can and will take us back. Smells, sounds, people, songs, you don’t really know what will set you off until you’ve experienced it and once you do you will want to hold on to it. I felt this when I heard those songs and I was instantly calmer, smiling, singing like an idiot, and happy. I was a sorry sight for sure: a grown man doing paperwork while listening to “kids” music, but I was HAPPY with my memories. This got me thinking of other things which could cause this same reaction and I could not help but think of what I am doing personally. Photography, in its most basic form, captures a piece of time. Maybe an image I shoot won’t mean anything to anyone, not even me, but imagine pictures from your wedding. For those of you who are married this won’t be hard, for all you single folk, just play along and stay with me here. Those images, carefully crafted, are a window into your past. The look on a bridesmaid’s face could take you right back to that moment. It could remind you of a quirk you had forgotten about that wonderful person you chose to have you there on your special day. The sight of your family, of all your friends, gathered there and captured perfectly could (dare I say, SHOULD) bring up all the happy memories of that wonderful day. Your memories, though useful, are crowded over with the latest project from work, the chores yet to be done, the disgust you’re carrying for the latest tween sensation (*ahem* I’m looking at you Twilight fanatics), all things which get in the way of really feeling the strong emotions from that day. But when you’re confronted with your wedding album, with all those images, it can take you right back to it. That’s the power of great wedding photographs. They can make you smile, laugh, feel an almost dizzying sense of joy from deep within yourself that you had forgotten even existed. Anything that precious should be seen for what it is. Something so important it’s worth striving for, holding on to, and yes, even singing about.
PS: I’ve actually read all the Twilight books. The first movie was crap, but I want to see New Moon. Yes, I feel dirty admitting it.
MORE STUFF! Just because I mentioned it above, if you want to see some fantastic examples of steam punk and appreciate an amazing photographer at the same time just click right here!
While my updates on this site may be sporadic and not always on the topic of photography there is always more going on in the background. More reading, more studying, more list making, and more planning, all in the name of my future in photography. There is also a lot of frustration, confusion, worry, and me generally wondering “WTF!?”
I previously wrote about a great book called the Photographer’s Market Guide to Building Your Photography Business. I liked the book the first time I wrote about it and I like it even more now.
What I most definitely do NOT like is how the more I learn the longer this path feels. This isn’t a yellow brick road I’m walking down, this sucker is lined with cash. Cash that I do not have. Whereas so many people my age spent all their credit buying random electronics and clothes while not worrying about the consequences I spent mine on camera gear, paper, film, and tuition. Sounds pretty reasonable doesn’t it? Well, it wasn’t. “What’s this? More film for one class and memory cards for another? SURE! WHY NOT!? I don’t really need to print all 300 of these photos but I’m going to do it anyways because I want to see how pretty they are! YAY ME!!!” Little by little my wasteful spending built up, hidden behind the thin veil of necessity. And now here it is, biting me in the ass. To get this photo venture off the ground in a real way I need money. To get this money I need to be out of debt. A debt that I really dug myself into finishing the photo degree which I wanted so I could make money from my images. Hell of a circle isn’t it?
I’m not giving up; this post isn’t about that at all. I just want to look back on these words in the future and know that without a doubt this was when one of the big realities of what I’m trying to do hit me. Here, in debt, with the national economy falling apart, with everyone I know hurting for cash, I was spending hours researching, reading, planning for and working towards something which will never get where I want without funding. It sounds a bit stupid, I’ll admit. But where’s the joy in life if you don’t do something stupid every now and then? 
Imagine, if you will, an ape. A big ol’ husky ape. With powerful legs, defined arms, a vicious looking slobbery smile, and a crazy pee-in-his-pants laugh. I know apes don’t wear pants, but just let that go. This beast is laughing at me because he represents something I’ve had to fight with my whole life. That’s right folks, tattooed across his chest in the old English style loved by many of my people is the word “Fitness”. Whereas many people had a great time as kids when they could eat whatever they wanted and run around like insane jack rabbits and never give a thought to any given ounce on them I never experienced that. I was a husky kid (which is just a nice way of saying fat) and I maintained an above average weight from the get go.
Over the last few years I’ve worked hard to get it down. I did the Atkins diet to great success and have recently been able to maintain a weight that isn’t terribly fluffy. Now now, before anyone writes anything, I’m not maintaining it by continuing the Atkins lifestyle. I’ve heard all the talk about why it’s “bad” and this isn’t the time or place for THAT debate. Anyways, perhaps you’re wondering if there is a point to all this. Well yes, true believers, there is. I discovered when I shot my very first solo wedding that photography can, and in my case, will, be a very physical thing. Besides the fact that I’m on my feet for hours at a time I don’t hold back when I see a hurdle between me and getting the shot I want. Photography is my own little war. The twist of the lens to my camera body gives a satisfying “click!” which is not entirely different from the cocking of a gun. I’ve had to run from one location ( or trench, if you will) to another. I sweat, I move, I jump up on sturdy items and I’ve dropped flat to the ground on more than one occasion. My camera is my weapon. A perfect image is my spoil of war. It’s a damn workout doing what I do and I’m happy with that. I’m sure other photographers might read this and think I’m crazy or that I’m lying but anyone who has seen me shoot and seen the sweat on my brow knows that I’ve worked for my shots.
So, with all this in mind, I need to run. Run more, that is. I’ve been running for a while and I’ve found that it’s the only exercise that I can do regularly and enjoy. The issue with this is that this great ape called Fitness is hiding behind a wall I’ve aptly named “Lazy Ass.” As important, for myself and for my work, as being fit is I’ve always had a lazy streak that is hard to overcome. But I’ve gotten pretty far towards this goal and I will reach it eventually. This is my newest promise to myself that I WILL do better, I WILL run more, I will be more flexible a year from now then I have ever been in years past. So laugh all you want ape. You smelly beacon of my better future. You…wait…beacon. Sounds like…bacon. Mmmm….bacon. Oh this is going to be difficult…
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