I’d Like A “Do Over”

For me March has been awful. In fact, I don’t want a “do over” after all, I’ll take a “move on” instead.

When You Start Playing Strobist All The World’s A Light Modifier
Over the weekend I took the first step at becoming a “strobist” — one who creates photos using small strobe flashes. I’m now about two-thirds through reading Joe McNally’s book “The Hot Shoe Diaries” and it has already inspired me to play with lighting. The photo you saw yesterday and the one below are the result of my (admittedly primitive) start.

Yesterday’s “big” activity was taking a trip to Home Depot in search of items I could use to modify light.

Camera gear is expensive and some times it’s very expensive so if you can apply a little DIY you can save a lot of money.

I’ve identified the framing material to build a 3′ x 6′ diffuser (total cost ~$4) and all I need to do now is locate some bedding material that will act like a diffusion panel and figure out how I am going to attach it to the frame.

While in Home Depot I also picked up a couple of pieces of sheet metal exhaust fittings that I am trying to coerce into fitting nicely onto the flash head. Last night’s efforts failed mightily, but that won’t stop me from continuing to play.

The goal? To learn, and to create a look that is my own.
Knowledge + Creativity = Uniqueness

ITP Flickr Pic
Bitter? Me? Bitter?

Perhaps a wee little bit.

Okay, something positive… You know what thrills me about this shot? The room wasn’t dark, I created the darkness through the use of shutter speed and creative lighting. I made the shot what it is and that thrills me.

Sweet Tomatoes : Another Playground Night
Only slightly hungry, in the Perimeter Mall area, and having a desire to go to Home Depot, there was really only one logical dinner option — Sweet Tomatoes.

The last time I visited this Sweet Tomatoes it was overrun with small children. Last night I walked in to a much quieter scene. However, the place was still overrun with children. As I ate it seemed as if more children were arriving and with that the volume began to rise. And so went my final dinner at that Sweet Tomatoes. Don’t get me wrong, I like kids. However, it’s not only the bad food that keeps me from going to Chuck E. Cheese.

Buy One, Get Three Free
Actually, you won’t need to buy anything to get the following downloads FREE from Amazon:

• Anti Records Sampler
• Sup Pop Records Sampler
• Secretly Canadian Records 2008/2009 Sampler

Amazon actually has samplers of different musical genres available as well. Check them out, it won’t cost you anything.

If you are looking to purchase music today, then I’ll go ahead an recommend Gomez‘ latest disc called “A New Tide” which is released as of today.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh
Current Music – listening to the CBC Radio-3 podcast from SxSW
Website Of The Day – My records indicate that I’ve never selected David Hobby’s Strobist site as a Website Of The Day. Problem rectified.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 2.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 28 (28)
Vegetarian Days – 8, Carnivorous Days – 22
Marta Rides – 0

March Goals
– Complete all necessary work on my kitchen
– Lose no fewer than one pound
– Run no fewer than 30 miles
– Completely read Softbox Lighting Techniques for Professional Photographers, and Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas

2009 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]