This Weekend
On Friday, I...
Hung out in a local Starbucks for several hours with Ms. T and LB, a fellow photographer. We shared work war stories (past job for me, hallelujah, as the current job still suits me just fine), teased one another, and had an uproariously good time.
LB and I talked shop about our photography, our occasional disillusionment with our photography, and our need to occasionally step away from our photography in order to continue loving it, rather than feeling it is a chore. (I have this VERY REAL TALENT, and I must USE this talent, or I am WASTING IT LIKE THE UNGRATEFUL WRETCH I AM, OMG!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!! *flailflail* Um, the pressure is really unnecessary, so take a chill pill, self.) It was great to talk with someone who gets it, self-doubts and all. People like her (and you and you and you and...) keep me encouraged, you know.
I spent a considerable amount of our time together chaperoning LB and Ms. T, for NYC is not ready for the vast amounts of smart-assery that happens when the two of them get together. The R train will never be the same, again. 'nuff said.
After LB disembarked, Ms. T and I went to Unos for a delicious dinner of deep-pan pizza and alcohol. The hostess greeted us when we walked through the door and then immediately said, "C, right?" The staff has learned that if C is on duty when we come in, we are to be seated in his section. We will even wait for an available table just to get him as our server. It was great to see him again; it had been a few weeks, if not more than a month since we'd seen him.
We walked the 1-1/2 miles home to work off dinner, then we both passed the heck out for the night.
On Saturday I...
Enjoyed having an unscripted day at home with T. labyrinthnight and The Teen went out for the day to celebrate her birthday, so we had the house to ourselves. T spent most of the day on the balcony with her laptop. I spent most of the day in the living room continuing to sort and listen to Uncle Alvan's albums between tweeting and experimenting with my camera.
I recently finished Hayden Ferrera's biography of Frida Kahlo. she did a lot of self-portraits, and that has inspired me to do more self-portraits. I enjoy doing self-portraits, both because I am always there and because it's a challenge. It can take 20 or more attempts to get just the right photograph when doing a self-portrait with my DSLR, because there is no LCD screen to flip towards me to help me compose the shot. I position myself where I think I ought to be, shoot, check the results, then make adjustments until I get what I had in mind.
Look Deep Inside was the result of experimenting with my extension tubes and professional lens. I wanted a shot of just my eye filling the frame, and I couldn't get close enough without using an extension tube. I didn't have details in mind; I only knew I wanted my eye to fill the frame. I started by putting my hand in front of the lens and manually focusing on it. The next 20 or so takes came from me trying to get close enough (but not too close) and trying to position the flash just right to get an in-focus, well-lit, frame-filling eye. The shot I posted was the last shot I made, the one that was the most in-focus and had the best composition.
I am stunned by the shot. I had no idea my iris has that much texture to it. That shot is one of my gems.
Today I...
Walked my feet off in Flushing. I watched the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Races for a while, then labyrinthnight and I walked through the park, through the Queens Botanic Garden, and to the bus home. I made over 300 photos. My computer is nearly done processing them. I can hardly wait to see what is there!
Now I am listening to Goapele's album "Even Closer"--I blame scream4noreason for this--and catching up on reading blogs before bed.
And that was my wonderful weekend. I hope you had a good one, too.
Hung out in a local Starbucks for several hours with Ms. T and LB, a fellow photographer. We shared work war stories (past job for me, hallelujah, as the current job still suits me just fine), teased one another, and had an uproariously good time.
LB and I talked shop about our photography, our occasional disillusionment with our photography, and our need to occasionally step away from our photography in order to continue loving it, rather than feeling it is a chore. (I have this VERY REAL TALENT, and I must USE this talent, or I am WASTING IT LIKE THE UNGRATEFUL WRETCH I AM, OMG!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!! *flailflail* Um, the pressure is really unnecessary, so take a chill pill, self.) It was great to talk with someone who gets it, self-doubts and all. People like her (and you and you and you and...) keep me encouraged, you know.
I spent a considerable amount of our time together chaperoning LB and Ms. T, for NYC is not ready for the vast amounts of smart-assery that happens when the two of them get together. The R train will never be the same, again. 'nuff said.
After LB disembarked, Ms. T and I went to Unos for a delicious dinner of deep-pan pizza and alcohol. The hostess greeted us when we walked through the door and then immediately said, "C, right?" The staff has learned that if C is on duty when we come in, we are to be seated in his section. We will even wait for an available table just to get him as our server. It was great to see him again; it had been a few weeks, if not more than a month since we'd seen him.
We walked the 1-1/2 miles home to work off dinner, then we both passed the heck out for the night.
On Saturday I...
Enjoyed having an unscripted day at home with T. labyrinthnight and The Teen went out for the day to celebrate her birthday, so we had the house to ourselves. T spent most of the day on the balcony with her laptop. I spent most of the day in the living room continuing to sort and listen to Uncle Alvan's albums between tweeting and experimenting with my camera.
I recently finished Hayden Ferrera's biography of Frida Kahlo. she did a lot of self-portraits, and that has inspired me to do more self-portraits. I enjoy doing self-portraits, both because I am always there and because it's a challenge. It can take 20 or more attempts to get just the right photograph when doing a self-portrait with my DSLR, because there is no LCD screen to flip towards me to help me compose the shot. I position myself where I think I ought to be, shoot, check the results, then make adjustments until I get what I had in mind.
Look Deep Inside was the result of experimenting with my extension tubes and professional lens. I wanted a shot of just my eye filling the frame, and I couldn't get close enough without using an extension tube. I didn't have details in mind; I only knew I wanted my eye to fill the frame. I started by putting my hand in front of the lens and manually focusing on it. The next 20 or so takes came from me trying to get close enough (but not too close) and trying to position the flash just right to get an in-focus, well-lit, frame-filling eye. The shot I posted was the last shot I made, the one that was the most in-focus and had the best composition.
I am stunned by the shot. I had no idea my iris has that much texture to it. That shot is one of my gems.
Today I...
Walked my feet off in Flushing. I watched the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Races for a while, then labyrinthnight and I walked through the park, through the Queens Botanic Garden, and to the bus home. I made over 300 photos. My computer is nearly done processing them. I can hardly wait to see what is there!
Now I am listening to Goapele's album "Even Closer"--I blame scream4noreason for this--and catching up on reading blogs before bed.
And that was my wonderful weekend. I hope you had a good one, too.