| Red River Zoo |
[Feb. 13th, 2012|02:04 pm] |
Every summer, I stop by the Red River Zoo and take shots that they use in their marketing for the next year. This year, due to my move to Minnesota, processing those photos took a LOT longer than usual and I just finished this weekend. The set is here.
( Highlights ) |
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| LinkyPost - Irradiated Japan |
[Dec. 28th, 2011|11:57 am] |
ETA Server is having problems. Try this link or go to http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ and browse from there.
This set of photos from the Boston Globe's Big Picture feature shows Japan's nuclear exclusion zone. It may well be one of the most powerful set of images I've seen in quite some time. The photos of the disaster and immediate aftermath were powerful, but this set captures a sense of desolation and ruin that the "in the moment" images did not. When you add to this, the knowledge that the animals captured on film and many of the people will likely be dead soon, and in a very unpleasant manner.
I have great admiration for Leo Hoshi and Kei Asanuma who are likely giving their lives to make the inevitable passing of strangers' pets somewhat less painful.
I am also oddly jealous of David Guttenfelder, the photographer who captured all of these images. I have a phobia about radiation poisoning, but to have the opportunity to explore that area and collect images like that... it's a one in a lifetime event.
A life changing, heartbreaking once in a lifetime event. |
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| LinkyPost - Millipedes |
[Dec. 23rd, 2011|10:23 am] |
This is a link about millipede border security.
Comments are for wild theories on the political nuances of millipede society and how and why they enforce their border security. |
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| Huh |
[Dec. 3rd, 2011|09:50 am] |
Remember years ago when I did the How To Ship A Tiger To Canada piece? Well, it just got picked up as "front page" material on Instructables and comments and messages are rolling in.
I've been joking for a while now about how everything I do becomes popular five years later... but now I seem to have proof. |
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| Photo technical note |
[Nov. 29th, 2011|09:08 am] |
I don't generally post technical stuff about photography (but that may be changing... we'll see). However, I wanted to point out this post from Emily Knudsen. I love her food photography, so I've started following her blog. This point, though, is about a particular flower photo.
A lot of photo books talk about using a long lens to "narrow the angle of view" and "to foreshorten the image", but this is the best illustration I've seen of what that means.
Look at the first photo in the montage (top left). Now look at the setup shot (bottom right, one up from the bottom). See how far away she is to get that photo? See how she's using a long lens?
Now look at the first photo again. See how there's just enough background to provide context and not look boringly white or overly busy? That's because the angle of view was narrowed by distance and the long lens, so there's less stuff behind the flowers. It also means that it's easier to pick an appropriate background. (This bit is tricky in zoo photography, by the way.) Also, see how the image seems to form itself into planes? You have the flowers in the foreground, the chairback in the mid-ground (sorta, it's angled) and the out of focus background. The fact that the flowers don't look very three dimensional is the foreshortening effect. If a longer lens had been used, it would look even flatter. If a shorter lens had been used, they'd look deeper, bushier and more out-of-control.
I just thought this was a really good illustration of a concept I had trouble with when I was just getting started in this hobby. |
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| Milwaukee Zoo |
[Nov. 1st, 2011|08:20 pm] |
What with the new job and the move and various stuff, I've not been processing photos as quickly as I'd like. In an effort to turn that around, I took a few minutes and did a rough crop and adjust of two photos I liked from the Milwaukee Zoo. Here they are. Hope you like them. (I think I might be getting better with the camera.)
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| just 'cause |
[Oct. 8th, 2011|07:52 am] |
For weeks now, the lack of a coherent message from #OccupyWallstreet has been driving me nuts. Last night, I figured it out. Here you go. |
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| A public gripe. |
[Mar. 28th, 2011|12:50 pm] |
Really LiveJournal?
Was it necessary to place an ad on my paid LJ account telling me that if I take the two weeks trial of the paid account, I can avoid ads?
Really? |
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