The most dangerous thing I could do....

...Is love. It has nearly destroyed me a few times yet I continue to put myself out there. 

http://www.diezcuriosidades.com/2012/10/razon-vs-corazon-y-el-enamoramiento.html

Im in a good place

When you look at someone you care about.....

...what do your eyes say?

C&G

The other side

Mail from the past.

A New Journey

Darkroom Dreams

Mangroves

Point of Rocks

Pictures Go Figgure

                      

Revisiting 

The past's future is today.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to shoot the Indy Race in St. Petersburg. It was a challenge to get the pan and shoot technique down but over all I'm happy with the results. 

Marines parachuting in at the start of the race.

Coast Guard fly by.

Winners Celebration

Am Ferrari Challenge

Like the popular song says "Now you're just somebody that I used to know" I will keep the good memories and excuse myself from making any further negative ones. And though I'll think of you I guess, until the day I die, I think I miss you less and less as every day goes by. ~S.T.~

Life is good, adventures are plentiful, and I'm alive. Not much more I could ask for.

Late night noise.

Your incessant noise from the past infiltrates my hard to come by dreams. Ill wake up in a start only to realize it is all for naught. Night after night the same thing.

0500 Friend

"But it looks so cute"

I simply do not understand the purpose of adding "vintage" looking filters to current photos. Maybe it is the way photography was taught to me that makes me despise such things. Some of the photos I see are beautiful in their own right before destroying the data by adding such nonsense as scratches, blurs, washed out filters, adding faux polaroid borders, etc. Its really a problem in the mobile market with apps such as instagram. At most our mobile cameras are now 8mp and after adding the vomit that is "editing" to make it look like a 1970's scanned polaroid that resolution is severely compromised along with the integrity of the original data.

Not all that long ago we were using film thats resolution was close to 12 megapixels then digital cameras came out and we saw a monumental decline in quality (0.3mp) but it was accepted because there was no need to buy film anymore and its just so darn convenient. Now we are starting to leave point and shoot cameras and (even more disappointing) our DSLRs at home and opting for the tiny chipped camera in our phones. Im guilty of this too but carrying an iphone around opposed to a 7lb monster in most cases just makes sense. In the past I would often catch flack from my significant other for bringing my SLR everywhere. Although I can only imagine how awkward it was for her walking around with the tourist. Big camera, out of state college shirt, and cargos.  

Why spend excessive amounts of money on a camera and/or lenses only to DESTROY the data that is in the original files. Too often I see in comments how wonderful the bokeh of this or that lens looks. What happened to the goal of taking a photo for everything to be sharp and in focus good color and contrast, trees not coming out of peoples heads, and holding the frackin camera straight.

Think about the future when you come back to look at these photos with eighteen layers of filters on them and realize this faux-nostalgia that was trying to be created was just a fad. These photos are the best you are ever going to take. They record the nights out, birthday parties, graduations, your best friends from childhood college or onward. They capture the best and worst times you have ever had. In twenty years when you look back at them smiling at the memories you will wonder why the fuck you thought adding a faux Polaroid border or changing the hue to green was a good idea.

Preserve memories as you remember seeing them. Your future self will thank you.

Old technology

Using my old original droid as a mini note taking blogging machine! NEAT!

Portraits?

This past weekend I shot a portrait session for a fitness trainer. I have not had the opportunity to shoot very many people or work with models. I think I can honestly say that at this particular outing I actually got comfortable. Directing the subject was far less strained and I wasn't always second guessing myself. Overall I am pleased with the results. The b&w was shot some time ago and while I still enjoy the photo my eye has come a long way.


                

http://www.ten-pounds-down.fitsugar.com/What-inspires-me-workout-fit-Facebook-fans-share-most-sweat-inspiring-item-21604330

C'est la vie

Life is always new and exciting. When one finally gets the chance to move on and stop perpetuating the same unhappiness day in and day out (or at least move on to a new locale.) In the two days I've been  slinging my resumé around I have already received two replies interested in my services. More  interestingly, in my opinion, I was given a piece of advice from a respected friend to go to school and do what I love and enjoy. I have an interview with the admissions advisor at Tampa Institute of Art tomorrow morning. Chances are I wont start until Fall but I look forward to completing my BFA.

In other news I have a shoot coming up this coming Saturday. Its a subject I rarely shoot, should be fun and exciting. Just keeping busy in the mean time.

Rapidly approaching is an art exhibition that I would really like to attend. If only I had someone to accompany me for the night.

An image is starting to show through the fog. 

In real life.

Five years ago today I got a message from a stranger out of the blue. It didn't take long for us to become friends and start dating. We had so much in common it was deemed "stalkerish". Five years later we are strangers again. 

Odd how things work in real life huh.

On a different note I forgot my CF card reader so pictures from my time in mountains will have to wait.

Star Trails and Meteor Showers

On January 4th later in the evening I was informed there would be a meteor shower early in the morning (3am-5am.) Naturally I put the word out, I never miss a good meteor shower. Surprisingly there was more interest than usual. Unfortunately it had to occur on the coldest night of the season thus far. The temperatures dipped well below freezing and careless me forgot gloves. Whats more fun is every 30" I had to hit the shutter release. Good news is I just ordered the TC-80N3. So more time lapses should be in the not so distant future.  

The following image is made up of 140 images shot at 24mm  30" exposures at F2.8

Click to enlarge

Tonight I watched the movie "Hugo" In the movie one of the characters said, "Time is everything." This reminded me of a once loved concept; Time. We all have a set amount and what we do with it is what makes us who we are or how we are remembered. A close friend and mentor of mine once explained how we spend our whole lives taking pictures that all together may barely add up to a few minutes in time. But those few exceptional photographs and the adventures taking them make the whole thing worth it. I recently was sorting through photographs from the past five years, stopping to reflect here and there. I sat staring at the photo on the screen and remember a clip of the moment. So many smiles, goofy faces, and good memories. But I sit here and now grinning like a butchers dog as if I had just re-lived each and every one of them. How sad it is that they are to be nothing more than memories.


Mark

Rest well Sensei.

Burning time.

Not so much photography

Shot my cousins wedding not too long ago. It went decently well. I'll get around to posting some pictures soon.

Now is more of a venting session I suppose. Went to the docs today with my normal attitude of I'll be fine nom after what. Turns out that is not the case. As of today I am in kidney failure and it was suggested to be admitted to the hospital for yet another biopsy and possible treatment. With the way things have been I doubt a rejection so the way I see it is I have a shelf life now. Which I might add is not very long. Curse words such as dialysis and "the list" we're mentioned in today's meeting. Everything is scheduled for Monday. If anyone reading is willing to donate a kidney let me know lol.

Happy fucking holidays.

Oh how relationships have changed since the 70's

It is becoming more and more apparent how much I screwed up. Also how true it is that you only miss someone when they are gone. These days Gum lasts longer than most relationships and it is thoroughly discouraging. It takes Internet dating services to put two people together instead of finding that person you want to spend the rest of your life with the "old fashioned way" of meeting someone then becoming friends etc. As I have said before priorities change it's sad when they don't realize the importance they are. At the same time I am forcing myself to realize that the moon has set and I can't see my own hand in front of my face. Light up my world with even a flicker of the beacon that once was.

Please don't promise me forever

I want us to love each other one day at a time...
... And string those days together like the precious things they are...
... Instead of trying too hard and promising too much.
Please don't expect me to always be good and kind and loving.
There are times when I will be cold
and thoughtless
and hard to understand.

But it will only be because of the weather, or the flu, or one of my moods
... not because I love you less. Please remember that.
Please don't think about all the things that could happen to us.
Don't think about other people coming between us.
Don't think about outgrowing eachother or growing out of love.

Please do think about al the good things that could happen to us.
Think of growing closer to each other,
finding new reasons for being together...
... and think of loving. I will, too. I am right now.

Please don't get mad at me if I forget your birthday,
or some special day we share...
... and please remember that there is an "everydayness"
about what we have that is beyong birthdays and anniversaries
That's why, sometimes, I may not remember on special day...
... because all our days are special to me.

Please don't ever sign a letter "as ever"
Please don't be too easy on me ...
Or expect me to be easy on you.
Both of us have room to grow,
and both of us have to grow if we want to hold each other's love
Please don't ever give me too much of yourself
or take too much of me.
In our togetherness, we still need our private places.

Please listen to me, when I'm talking to you...
... and please don't ever think about someone else when I kiss you
Please don't start an argument
or make me look foolish in front of other people...
... but when we're alone
don't feel like you're walking on eggs.
Go ahead and say what you think.
if I need telling off, tell me off
Then we can have our fight
and make up
and love again
just us.

Please remember to call me sometimes for no reason
except that you feel me thinking about you, needing your voice
Please don't ever lose that laugh of yours-
It's such a real laugh.
And never change the way you brush my hair back from my eyes
and smile when I'm trying to be very serious...
or the little odd ways you have of saying things that make you "you"
one of a kind,
the one I love.

Please, lets not use politeness
And busyness and silence
to avoid our problems
and the places where we hurt if something is wrong,
lets go after it and make it right.
It's a good feeling to think of growing older with you
but please, let's not ever grow old
I want us to always hang on to the newness
that we have right now.
And lets never be ashamed of our innocence,
of the child within us.
Lets never give up our dreams.
Please don't try keep it from me when you're feeling down
I'll never be able to share your joy if you try protect me from your sadness
Please don't ever say never...
... and please don't promise me forever
All I ask
is that you love me
now.

And please know that I love you more today then I ever had before.
I can't promise you forever,
but I can promise you today with the hope and belief
that there is a beautiful tomorrow in store for us.


1976 Rick Lyons

Happenings

I lost sight of things that were the biggest priorities in my life and as a consequence they no longer wish to be a part of it. This has Decimated my creativity. I have yet to pick up my camera since that day.

I feigned knowing what degree I was striving for. After visiting the advisor and hearing how I would have three years left that quickly changed my mind.

On a lighter side, I am currently ironing out the details on my resume. I will be gunning for an internship with national geographic this year. Based on their criteria I believe I exceed all requirements. Everything starts with a foot in the door. Wish me luck Internet.

If you are reading this know that I will always love you.