nick's site

using this technique for creating “mini-worlds,” i created a “we are the world” of a family panoramic shot from the arkansas family reunion trip.

i went w/ greg saturday on a portfolio-building model shoot to help out. set up lights, reflectors, assist the models and whatnot. i didn’t plan on spending much time behind the camera, i hanged out and learned.

greg undoubtedly got some great shots (linked once he processes them.) when i wasn’t busy holding reflectors, moving fans, lights, or drinking coffee, i saw only one shot/perspective that was missed. i asked for the camera and took one picture.

jeff pointed out that MPcon, a lan we’re involved with, made it to u of m dearborn’s front page news article. in the news article is a picture that i took. yay!

the image they chose still contains the EXIF data which still includes a link to my site. they didn’t strip it out.

Camera Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D50
Image Date: 2006:06:17 23:32:21
Flash Used: No
Exposure Time: 0.025 s (1/40)
Aperture: f/0.0
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Center Weight
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Comment: agitated.net

according to jeff, the article went out in a press release, the detroit freepress has the article here.

we went to a campground on lake huron for amanda’s birthday. here’s how it went down

it wasn’t the dreamcruse per-say, but the dreamcruise afterbirth. i took more pictures., they’re below the “more/section” as to not take up page space. people on dialup should cry. i also wrote my first photoshop action to save images for the web, but my way. 😈
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My coworker Sunita asked me to take pictures of her husband, children, and herself this weekend. Amanda had a chance to try on two Indian outfits and I got to take pictures of her in one. sometime soon will be another shoot w/ the more traditional ‘saree’ gowns the women wear.

(blog image sizes are messed up, *cough*some people*cough* complained about them being too wide. click the images to see the “album”)

the 50mm f1.4 is a lot of fun. this shoot made me realize i could really benefit from a speedlight.� i could also benefit from attention to detail.� in the future, i will check for things like wiley hair and wayward necklaces.

parting thoughts from a respected member of a photography forum i frequent:

…Tolerance is a word we all are familiar with, but applying this in practice is shown to be more difficult. If you are tolerant this means you sometimes will encounter stuff you don’t like. That is not the end of the world, you could just ignore it and continue with something else. However, it was a strange experience to see that a group hailing from the acclaimed Land of Freedom should be the first to show intolerance and put an end to freedom of opinion for others. So we are no longer free to follow our own creativity.

This brings me to ponder what “photography” entails. For me photography is the visual expression of the human mind. It is not a process of acquiring the newest gear, it is a process of being introvert and really getting to know yourself. What you really should do is analysing your own feelings and attitudes. Pictures don’t come as an unpredictable event in a random process. We press the shutter because in a split second our mind receives a signal of recognition from what our eyes communicate to the brain. All we need to do is to filter the chain of events to isolate these signals, and then go on to understand why we respond to them. Much of this process can be done even without a camera present since it’s basically is an analysis of our perceptions and mind sets. It is a pursuit of the intellectual sides of our mind. This thought process knows no barriers.

Thus, we respond in visual terms to stimuli exerted by the creative processes of our own mind. Photography will encompass all aspects of humanity and the nature around us, of which we are but a small and insignificant part. There will be bright and dark sides, beauty and horror, sunshine and nightmare. All of this are elements of photography. When your creativity is stifled by censorship, your photography will falter or change into the harmlessness of instant memory recall, nothing added, nothing removed, nothing personal, no expressions and no works of art. If this is photography for you, please feel free to continue with it. For me it is time to go on with more meaningful activities…

i “wrapped” the odometer of my camera tonight, 10,000 pictures since the beginning of may. 😈

here’s some shots i snapped last night while waiting for ‘scripts at wallgreens. my lens doesn’t focus that fast, i’m new to panning, and i’m horrible about holding the camera still after 6 cups of coffee. 😆 some turned out ok though.

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zooming out or zooming in with your subject while the shutter is open has an interesting effect.� note: only possible on cameras with manual zoom.