Ask me 2011: Strike A Pose
nero18 asks:
"I've been thinking about doing the 365 challenge, or at least posting more photos and entries for a long time. How do you find the time and energy to continually post and remind yourself to post daily? Also, what's your setup like (tripod, etc)? Finally, I notice a lot of your photos are taken in public places, how do you explain to people what your doing? Does it cause any interesting conversations with strangers?
Thanks for posting so frequently and letting us into your life. I know many have said this, but it's true, you're an inspiration to many people, and although you may not find your life the most interesting, I find your life quite interesting. It also helps that you are sexy as hell. You give me hope that I can find someone to love. Thanks. :) "
Well, i'm glad you're enjoying them and if i can inspire more folks to take pictures, then that's a good thing. As you can see, i don't use anything elaborate. my little Panasonic/Lumix camera costs < $200. The main reason i like it is that is has a 25mm lens, the widest angle lens among pocket-sized point-&-shoots. i augment that with my beloved Gorillapod. There are cheaper imitations, but i don't think they work or hold up like real ones. i should buy stock in the company. But i carry them everywhere so i can whip them out and take a picture pretty much anywhere. i don't usually draw too much attention since the set up is so small and the fact that i rarely, if ever, use a flash. Sometimes if i get asked while traveling, i'll just say that i'm taking the pics for my kid who wants to know what the hell daddy does while he's gone all week for a school project. "Oh, you're such a good dad for doing that," is the usual response. Suckers! i also have the waterproof, shockproof (OK...wooferproof!) Lumix that was used to take the pics of me taking the pics (thank you, Matthew). But it's only got a 28mm lens. my little Lumix is pretty beat up - the screen is cracked and the battery cover takes a trick to open - but it's still my favorite.
If you go back and look at the old sets, you'll see that there are some sucky pics. And those are just the ones i post. You should see the crap on my hard drive! The only way you get good at something is to keep doing it. So go start taking pics. The good thing about the 365 projects are that you HAVE to take pics. And you can't just keep taking arm-length mugshots because that can get old after awhile, so you gotta come up with something different. So you gotta think and keep an eye out for interesting stuff. Then you shoot it. Give it a try. i've gotten to where i can set up, snap, stash and be gone in 30 seconds. Posting goes pretty smoothly these days too.
For review, here are my sets for 2008, 2009, 2010, and this year so far which i'm doing in all (or mostly) black & white just to make it interesting. i'll see you on flickr!
bububorg asks:
"What do all the people in your life (Matt, SIR, etc) think of your more or less full disclosure (exposure?) of your day to day activities? "
Well, by this point after 3 years of doing the 365, they are kinda resigned to it. They get tired of the picture-taking every once in awhile, but i'm mostly tolerated. Plus, i'm respectful of their privacy and that of others so if there is anything that is too revealing or too embarassing, i either won't post that or, if i think it's an interesting pic, i'll ask for permission first. Plus, i'm pretty good about keeping my personal and professional lives seperate. Which drives people nuts because they feel that they have to know my given name which a)connects me to my work and b)i really never liked. To which i say "fuck them!".
If you have questions, the month is half over. Ask them here.
"I've been thinking about doing the 365 challenge, or at least posting more photos and entries for a long time. How do you find the time and energy to continually post and remind yourself to post daily? Also, what's your setup like (tripod, etc)? Finally, I notice a lot of your photos are taken in public places, how do you explain to people what your doing? Does it cause any interesting conversations with strangers?
Thanks for posting so frequently and letting us into your life. I know many have said this, but it's true, you're an inspiration to many people, and although you may not find your life the most interesting, I find your life quite interesting. It also helps that you are sexy as hell. You give me hope that I can find someone to love. Thanks. :) "
Well, i'm glad you're enjoying them and if i can inspire more folks to take pictures, then that's a good thing. As you can see, i don't use anything elaborate. my little Panasonic/Lumix camera costs < $200. The main reason i like it is that is has a 25mm lens, the widest angle lens among pocket-sized point-&-shoots. i augment that with my beloved Gorillapod. There are cheaper imitations, but i don't think they work or hold up like real ones. i should buy stock in the company. But i carry them everywhere so i can whip them out and take a picture pretty much anywhere. i don't usually draw too much attention since the set up is so small and the fact that i rarely, if ever, use a flash. Sometimes if i get asked while traveling, i'll just say that i'm taking the pics for my kid who wants to know what the hell daddy does while he's gone all week for a school project. "Oh, you're such a good dad for doing that," is the usual response. Suckers! i also have the waterproof, shockproof (OK...wooferproof!) Lumix that was used to take the pics of me taking the pics (thank you, Matthew). But it's only got a 28mm lens. my little Lumix is pretty beat up - the screen is cracked and the battery cover takes a trick to open - but it's still my favorite.
If you go back and look at the old sets, you'll see that there are some sucky pics. And those are just the ones i post. You should see the crap on my hard drive! The only way you get good at something is to keep doing it. So go start taking pics. The good thing about the 365 projects are that you HAVE to take pics. And you can't just keep taking arm-length mugshots because that can get old after awhile, so you gotta come up with something different. So you gotta think and keep an eye out for interesting stuff. Then you shoot it. Give it a try. i've gotten to where i can set up, snap, stash and be gone in 30 seconds. Posting goes pretty smoothly these days too.
For review, here are my sets for 2008, 2009, 2010, and this year so far which i'm doing in all (or mostly) black & white just to make it interesting. i'll see you on flickr!
bububorg asks:
"What do all the people in your life (Matt, SIR, etc) think of your more or less full disclosure (exposure?) of your day to day activities? "
Well, by this point after 3 years of doing the 365, they are kinda resigned to it. They get tired of the picture-taking every once in awhile, but i'm mostly tolerated. Plus, i'm respectful of their privacy and that of others so if there is anything that is too revealing or too embarassing, i either won't post that or, if i think it's an interesting pic, i'll ask for permission first. Plus, i'm pretty good about keeping my personal and professional lives seperate. Which drives people nuts because they feel that they have to know my given name which a)connects me to my work and b)i really never liked. To which i say "fuck them!".
If you have questions, the month is half over. Ask them here.