Sunday, March 06, 2005
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Busy Saturday, Part One.
Off to a good start today - got up early and started on some laundry. Made a run by McDonald's for a sausage egg McMuffin and stopped my the post office to empty out my box. Got my new checks in... I was on my last book. That was quick service as I just ordered the new ones on Wednesday I think.
Practiced a little more with my camera using Kelsey as my subject. She follows "sit" and "lie down" instructions pretty well. "Stay" is another story. Regardless, I was able to get the shots I was wanting. Worked with them a little on my computer then got back to domestic chores like dusting and washing dishes.
Charity called to say she woke up with a stuffy nose and was concerned about how she sounded. We're just recording a scratch track for her today so how she sounds isn't important. Isn't it funny how that works? The scratch track is so that we can distribute it to the other band folks participating in this experiment and each one come up with their respective parts - drums, bass, lear/rhythm guitar, keyboard, etc. Should be cool. I'll be sure and take a few shots of the extravaganza.
Tonight I've got the TVAF (Tennessee Valley Advertising Federation) ADDY awards to attend. Our agency picked up four or five awards for our work. That should be a fun time as well. I plan on taking photos there too, but I'm not sure which camera I'm going to bring. Probably leaning towards my Olympus.
Practiced a little more with my camera using Kelsey as my subject. She follows "sit" and "lie down" instructions pretty well. "Stay" is another story. Regardless, I was able to get the shots I was wanting. Worked with them a little on my computer then got back to domestic chores like dusting and washing dishes.
Charity called to say she woke up with a stuffy nose and was concerned about how she sounded. We're just recording a scratch track for her today so how she sounds isn't important. Isn't it funny how that works? The scratch track is so that we can distribute it to the other band folks participating in this experiment and each one come up with their respective parts - drums, bass, lear/rhythm guitar, keyboard, etc. Should be cool. I'll be sure and take a few shots of the extravaganza.
Tonight I've got the TVAF (Tennessee Valley Advertising Federation) ADDY awards to attend. Our agency picked up four or five awards for our work. That should be a fun time as well. I plan on taking photos there too, but I'm not sure which camera I'm going to bring. Probably leaning towards my Olympus.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Long week.
It's been a long week for me. Again, it's been productive so I don't feel like I've wasted my time.
Today, Lesa and I grabbed a quick lunch then went over to Rhodes Ferry park to take some pics next to the river. She wanted me to show her how I was going about getting some of the shots I had shown her. Mainly I sat and explained how the aperture and depth-of-field are related. I framed up a few shots for her then had her look through the camera to see what I was seeing and how I did it. I also showed her how a bunch of functions on her camera worked such as exposure lock and how to manually select a focus point. It was a good time. I told her it was amazing the kind of stuff you can find in the manual...
When we got back to the office, we took a look at our shots. They were okay but could have been better. After work, we went back over to the same spot and took more shots. Our evening shots turned out pretty good I think.
Switching gears, the Formula 1 season has started up again!!! Woot! First race is this Sunday in Melbourne. I was watching the first qualifying session this evening just taking in all the new cars and some of the new drivers. Glad to see things getting underway.
While on the subject of racing, Brian, Bill and John are down in Sebring, FL with weekend to race the #20 car in an endurance race there. Last I heard, the car was performing well and they're looking forward to the race. Best of luck guys!
Today, Lesa and I grabbed a quick lunch then went over to Rhodes Ferry park to take some pics next to the river. She wanted me to show her how I was going about getting some of the shots I had shown her. Mainly I sat and explained how the aperture and depth-of-field are related. I framed up a few shots for her then had her look through the camera to see what I was seeing and how I did it. I also showed her how a bunch of functions on her camera worked such as exposure lock and how to manually select a focus point. It was a good time. I told her it was amazing the kind of stuff you can find in the manual...
When we got back to the office, we took a look at our shots. They were okay but could have been better. After work, we went back over to the same spot and took more shots. Our evening shots turned out pretty good I think.
Switching gears, the Formula 1 season has started up again!!! Woot! First race is this Sunday in Melbourne. I was watching the first qualifying session this evening just taking in all the new cars and some of the new drivers. Glad to see things getting underway.
While on the subject of racing, Brian, Bill and John are down in Sebring, FL with weekend to race the #20 car in an endurance race there. Last I heard, the car was performing well and they're looking forward to the race. Best of luck guys!
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Wednesday? Already?
Life seems to be going much faster for me as I get older. When you're a kid, it seems like you're not maturing fast enough. Now I'm like "whoa!". Tonight after work, I brought a few things over to my tailor to alter. I hadn't seen her in probably 10 years and she was shocked to see me. She was very complimentary but did enquire about me not being married yet. Sigh. Anyway, I had a few things that needed buttons sewn back on, 2 of which were coats, one which was leather. She re-attached all my buttons while we caught up over the last decade. When I worked in the mall those many years ago, she was the one I sent my customers to in addition to having her take care of my personal things as well. I couldn't believe how long it had been.
When I finally made it home for good, I went out and played with Kelsey. I brought out the super large tennis ball and we had fun playing catch. I really dig my dog.
When I finally made it home for good, I went out and played with Kelsey. I brought out the super large tennis ball and we had fun playing catch. I really dig my dog.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Wacky weather
It was time to bust out the heavy coat, ear thingys, gloves and scarf again today as winter once again made it's presence known. Thinking ahead, I put some thermal underwear on because if I get cold... I ain't happy. I was comfortable all day so that was a smart choice.
I stayed busy ALL day long at the office. Whew! Got plenty accomplished on my list but had to push some things over to tomorrow as I ran out of time. Had an impromptu photo shoot today where I had to get a face and shoulders shot of a girl with a particular expression on her face. I used the studio strobes we had to take the shots since they were still set up from when I used them last week. Had a little trouble getting the exposure right but I got a few usable shots. It's just for a comp though so the quality is sufficient. If and when I have to re-take it, I'll get it right. I did have a blonde moment with the flash power supply... I had flipped the switch on that turns on the model lights but neglected to press the button that arms the flash modules. Subsequently I was checking all sorts of connections, troubleshooting my camera, etc. when Kay asks "Did you turn it on?". Hmmm... the model lights are on so, ahhhh... I forgot the button. It was an honest mistake but Kay took advantage of it. Of course she's the person that moves her windows around on her screen to where she can't "grab" the edges to move it around anymore and I have to get it all back working for her again.
Me, Lesa, Kent and Luke went for sushi at lunch. It was cold in there but luckily, my "parts" were warm due to the attire choice I mentioned earlier. I ate a LOT of food: 10 pieces of sashimi, bowl of rice and terriyaki chicken. Eating a lot at a Japanese restaurant usually means you're going to be paying a lot. In my case it was $29 with tip. Luke hit $25 I think.
Had a cup of ramen noodles for dinner.
I think I'm going to get stuff done around the house tonight. Got to wash jeans, clean off the kitchen table and finally get my drum studio back in order. There's stuff all over the place in there from last week's head-changing extravaganza.
I stayed busy ALL day long at the office. Whew! Got plenty accomplished on my list but had to push some things over to tomorrow as I ran out of time. Had an impromptu photo shoot today where I had to get a face and shoulders shot of a girl with a particular expression on her face. I used the studio strobes we had to take the shots since they were still set up from when I used them last week. Had a little trouble getting the exposure right but I got a few usable shots. It's just for a comp though so the quality is sufficient. If and when I have to re-take it, I'll get it right. I did have a blonde moment with the flash power supply... I had flipped the switch on that turns on the model lights but neglected to press the button that arms the flash modules. Subsequently I was checking all sorts of connections, troubleshooting my camera, etc. when Kay asks "Did you turn it on?". Hmmm... the model lights are on so, ahhhh... I forgot the button. It was an honest mistake but Kay took advantage of it. Of course she's the person that moves her windows around on her screen to where she can't "grab" the edges to move it around anymore and I have to get it all back working for her again.
Me, Lesa, Kent and Luke went for sushi at lunch. It was cold in there but luckily, my "parts" were warm due to the attire choice I mentioned earlier. I ate a LOT of food: 10 pieces of sashimi, bowl of rice and terriyaki chicken. Eating a lot at a Japanese restaurant usually means you're going to be paying a lot. In my case it was $29 with tip. Luke hit $25 I think.
Had a cup of ramen noodles for dinner.
I think I'm going to get stuff done around the house tonight. Got to wash jeans, clean off the kitchen table and finally get my drum studio back in order. There's stuff all over the place in there from last week's head-changing extravaganza.
Monday, February 28, 2005
It's Monday again.
Busy day today for me. I hit the ground running and made my list for the day. One by one I checked off each task and the list got shorter. I was in Huntsville most of the afternoon meeting with a potential new client. Looks like we've got a lot of potential there, I'll just have to sit down and figure out how much work will need to be done to get my proposed solution for them done RIGHT. That'll keep me busy for a day... probably tomorrow.
Me and my sis went to the Taste of the Valley event tonight. Most of the local restaurants were there serving samples of the best items off their menus. I ran into several friends and business associates there. When I got home, I got an idea to try taking a few photos using a picture light as the source light and try out my new lens. For you more photgraphically inclined... it's a 50mm/1.4 lens - a FAST one. I wanted something I could use in low light and also something with a large aperture as I'm going through a shallow depth-of-field phase right now that shows in a lot of my shots. Anyway, I'm thrilled with the results I'm getting after only having used it a few times. I'll have to play around with it a bit more to find out what works best with it. The shots I took of my sis were with the aperture wide open. I've read that this particular lens is sharpest around 1 to 2 stops up from what I was using. We'll see.
It got cold again. Crap.
Me and my sis went to the Taste of the Valley event tonight. Most of the local restaurants were there serving samples of the best items off their menus. I ran into several friends and business associates there. When I got home, I got an idea to try taking a few photos using a picture light as the source light and try out my new lens. For you more photgraphically inclined... it's a 50mm/1.4 lens - a FAST one. I wanted something I could use in low light and also something with a large aperture as I'm going through a shallow depth-of-field phase right now that shows in a lot of my shots. Anyway, I'm thrilled with the results I'm getting after only having used it a few times. I'll have to play around with it a bit more to find out what works best with it. The shots I took of my sis were with the aperture wide open. I've read that this particular lens is sharpest around 1 to 2 stops up from what I was using. We'll see.
It got cold again. Crap.
