April 2010
1 post
New job!
I gave my notice earlier this week and accepted a position with another company in the DC area. I start in about a week.
Good news? Better pay and it seems like a great place to work.
Bad news? Crappy commute. I many need to start up an Audible subscription just to keep from going insane during the drive to and from the office.
March 2010
1 post
Aperture 3 Places
If you couldn’t already tell, I am a big fan of Aperture 3. I wrote a brief tutorial on how to use the new Places feature and it went up on DPS yesterday:
http://digital-photography-school.com/using-aperture-3%E2%80%99s-places
February 2010
6 posts
Polaroid PoGo review on DPS
A third article of mine published on Digital Photography School this week. This has to be some kind of new record:
http://digital-photography-school.com/polaroid-pogo-mobile-printer-review
My abandoned power station photos on Gizmodo
I took a look at my Flickr stats after lunch today and they were way higher than normal. I had no clue where all the traffic was coming from until someone dropped a comment about Gizmodo in one of the photos.
Turns out, Gizmodo saw the set in a comment I wrote on BoingBoing.net earlier today and they picked it up:
http://gizmodo.com/5473767/abandoned-coal-plant-well-thats-depressing
3 lenses every photographer should own
I didn’t even notice this story was posted on DPS until Jon pointed it out this morning:
http://digital-photography-school.com/three-lenses-every-photographer-should-own
Judging from the comments, it is causing some controversy too. Oh well, different strokes for different folks and all that.
Aperture 3 first impressions
I have been using Aperture for a little over a year now and have come to rely heavily on it for my post processing workflow. Suffice it to say, I was extremely excited to see Aperture 3 announced last week and I immediately purchased a copy. My upgrade disc arrived yesterday and I spent most of the night installing and playing with it. The install went very smoothly. Took 30 minutes to get the...
Intro to Infrared Digital Photography
I wrote this story a couple of months ago and it just went live today:
http://digital-photography-school.com/infrared-digital-photography-an-introduction
So much snow
The Snowpocalypse has arrived. We got almost 3 feet of snow over the weekend and more is expected in the coming days. I am so incredibly tired of shoveling snow, I can’t even put it into words.
Can it be summer now? Please?
January 2010
3 posts
Portrait session at Penn Station
An aspiring model asked if I would do a shoot with her at Baltimore’s Penn Station. She wanted some B&W photos to add to her portfolio. I don’t do much portrait work, but it sounded like fun. I brought MeLisa with me to help with the makeup work and I think she did an awesome job. The experience was fun and I am happy with the shots. Definitely something I would do...
Creative Commons intro on DPS
I have been using Creative Commons licensing on my photos for the better part of a year now. It has been great for my hobby… I genuinely believe more people have seen my images because of it and it has led to some very cool opportunities.
As such, I did a quick write-up on the benefits of CC licensing and it went live on Digital Photography School today:
...
BoingBoing'ed (again)
I have had photos shown on BoingBoing.net a few times now and today another set of my images got mentioned:
http://boingboing.net/2010/01/13/derelict-psych-hospi.html
December 2009
4 posts
Polaroid PoGo printer
Just before Christmas, I bought a Polaroid PoGo mobile printer off Amazon. I had wanted one for a while and the price was really good… good enough that I wouldn’t be too upset if the printer ended up being terrible.
Now that I have had a few days to play with it, I can confidently say that it is well worth the purchase. The printer is small… about the size of an iPhone, but...
One thumb drive to rule them all
My wife gave me this for X-mas this year… a Transformers USB thumb drive that actually transforms. Coolest thumb drive EVER.
Basement of Misfit Toys
While visiting my grandparents yesterday I decided to raid their basement looking for interesting subjects to photograph. What I ended up with was a series of photos of old and unusual toys:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zero101/sets/72157622995583932/
Photos from Spring Grove hospital
I stumbled across Spring Grove hospital a couple of years ago while driving through Catonsville. After doing a little research, I discovered that it is one of the country’s oldest psychiatric facilities still in operation. I have always wanted to take a peek inside and today I finally got that chance. Jon and I took a trip over and managed to get into one of the buildings that is no...
November 2009
4 posts
Two cool iPhone GPS apps
CoPilot Live 8 - http://www.alk.com/copilot/iphone/
CoPilot is one of the better GPS apps available on the iPhone right now. It features a full map of North America (other versions are available for Europe) and voice guided turn-by-turn directions (it even says the name of the streets). Unlike some of the other GPS apps available, CoPilot is only $20 with no additional fees for use.
Waze -...
New article up on DPS
I wrote an article for Digital Photography School a while back and it went up on the site over the weekend:
http://digital-photography-school.com/7-ways-to-get-your-photos-seen
Photos from an abandoned power plant
I spent a good part of yesterday exploring an abandoned power facility in Hagerstown, MD. With the exception of a partially flooded basement, the site is in relatively good condition with many of the original controls and terminals still present.
More photos from the facility are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zero101/sets/72157622764494574/
October 2009
4 posts
Nocturne... filmed on the new Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon announced the new 1D Mark IV today and it looks pretty incredible. The specs are certainly impressive (1080p video, 102400 ISO, 45-point autofocus) but lots of cameras look good on paper but don’t necessarily perform.
After seeing this video though, I think it is safe to say that this camera can perform. This was shot on the new 1D Mark IV with natural ambient light… the...
Flickr Galleries
Flickr added the abilities to create “Galleries” a while ago… basically, a collection of photos you like from other Flickr users. I just put together two galleries for my two favorite genres of photography:
Urban Decay photography gallery
Infrared photography gallery
These photos were collected after browsing through some groups I belong to and looking through the photos...
Photos from an abandoned prison
Recently, I was given the opportunity to see part of a prison complex in Virginia that is no longer in use. Really interesting place… I can’t even imagine how horrible it must have been to spend any lengthy amount of time there though.
More photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zero101/sets/72157622590832176/
September 2009
5 posts
Playa playa!
While a hefty chunk of my youth was dedicated to videogames, I have kind of fallen out of the hobby over the last few years. Between the kid and photography, I just haven’t had the time or interest to play anything.
Two games have managed to draw me back into gaming though… and both are on the DS:
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
I loved the first Professor Layton...
Story in the Catonsville Times
A reporter for the Catonsville Times interviewed me at the Baltimore Gallery show last week. The story hit the paper today:
http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/community/101583/derelict-decayed-his-lens-finds-beauty/
Not a bad article, but it does get some details wrong. Still, always great to get some attention for my photos… and nice to see some of my friends and family get...
My first gallery exhibit
Last night was the opening of my Abandoned Spaces exhibit at the Baltimore Gallery.
It went really well… a good number of people showed up (there was at least one person who read about the exhibit in the Baltimore Sun, too) and everyone that was there seemed to enjoy the photos. All in all, it was a very good time.
The photos will be on display through October 8th, so if you are...
Photos from an abandoned hospital
I spent a few hours taking pictures at Glenn Dale hospital yesterday. Pretty creepy place…
Details on the site can be seen on Wikipedia, and more photos can be seen in my Glenn Dale Flickr set.
Colorado
Just got back from vacationing in Denver, CO. The trip went a little something like this:
Day 1
- Hopped a flight to Denver, watched Star Trek on the plane, wife lost bag
- Checked in to the hotel
- Did some shopping (and found a cheap flash for my camera), ate dinner at a bar near the hotel (and had my first Fat Tire) and then went back to the hotel and jumped in the pool.
Day 2
-...
Snow Leopard
Got back from vacation today to find a nice little present from the mailman waiting…
I will probably install it tomorrow afternoon. Can’t wait!
August 2009
11 posts
Never ever ever fly United Airlines
I will do a blog post soon about our overall vacation, but first I wanted to get something down about my wife’s baggage and the horrible customer service we have experienced with United Airlines.
It started on Thursday, August 27th. My wife and I flew from BWI airport in Baltimore to Denver on United Airlines flight #441. Once we arrived in Denver, we immediately headed over to the...
Limited Edition Polaroid Camera Kit
Urban Outfitters is selling 700 Polaroid ONE600 cameras along with one package of film at their retail stores. No word on pricing, but I would love to have one of these sets if I could get my hands on one. The Polaroid camera is such a neat piece of photographic history.
21 Impressive Bathroom Pictures
One of my photos, Bath, was included in a list of impressive bathroom pics on DPS:
http://digital-photography-school.com/bathroom-pictures
I need to own this
http://lebowskifest.com/Product/tabid/79/p-111-the-achievers-dvd.aspx
“Directed by Eddie Chung, this feature-length documentary goes inside the world of hardcore Lebowski fans to get tot the bottom of it all, with interviews of fans including My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Lebowski Fest founders Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, and The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges.”
Rubber Factory
Jon and I spent some time shooting at a couple of different places on Sunday, with the majority of the day devoted to an abandoned rubber factory.
Not the best locations I have been to, but any day spent taking photos is a good one.
Twitter account for my photography
After those DPS stories ran, I got a number of emails asking if I had a Twitter account for my photography site. I didn’t, but I do now…
http://www.twitter.com/studiotempura
I will still continue to update this blog and my personal twitter with things happening in my life but now there is a twitter page specifically about my photopgraphy, if you are so inclined.
Another story up on DPS
After I wrote the how-to on photographing abandoned buildings, I suggested a story to the site’s editor about using the iPhone as a photography tool. Well, that story just went live on the site too…
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-use-the-iphone-as-a-photography-tool
How-to on Digital Photography School
I wrote up short tutorial for DPS about shooting in abandoned spaces and it just went live on the site:
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-abandoned-places
Instant Panorama!
I went to an Orioles game last night with some friends, and while I was there I decided to try out an app I had recently installed on my iPhone called Pano. Basically, you take a series of side-by-side shots with the iPhone and Pano stitches them together to form a panoramic image. The whole process only takes a minute or two and the results are actually pretty impressive:
(click the image...
Podcasts
I spent Thursday and Friday of this week in New York for work, which meant driving almost 10 hours in the span of a few days. The only thing that made it all bearable was the queue of podcasts I had been saving up the last couple of weeks.
The stuff I am currently subscribed to:
Dialogue Incorporated - Two hour of music from a variety of different genres. Great stuff, but new episodes only...
July 2009
13 posts
Cheat sheets for creative types
http://hv-designs.co.uk/2009/07/27/cheat-sheets-you-shouldnt-be-without/
Shortcuts and code snippets for things like Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML and more. Total genius.
Font addict
I have been downloading a ton of fonts for my Macbook lately and most of them have come from this site:
http://www.dafont.com/ Tons of different fonts and most are available for Mac and PC. A couple of my fav’s: http://www.dafont.com/dali.font http://www.dafont.com/st-andrew.font http://www.dafont.com/jellyka-estrya-s-handwriting.font
Photoshop trick for high-contrast B&W images
I was going to share this trick with a friend of mine over the weekend, but stuff came up and it ended up not happening. So instead of waiting until the next time I see him, I figured I would write up a quick little tutorial and stick it here on my blog.
I always shoot in raw format when taking photos, but I convert many of those images to B&W afterwards. This is a trick I picked up a while...
Photos from an abandoned school
Went shooting with some friends today at an abandoned school campus. Really excellent location… very little grafitti and much of the original architecture is still intact.
Before it closed in 1976 it was a US Navy training facility and before that it was the Jacob Tome school for boys.
See more of the photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zero101/sets/72157621686928309/
Massive Volkswagen fail
I listen to Pandora quite a bit during the day while at work. Today I opened my browser and fired up Pandora for some tunes when I noticed an ad on the side for Volkswagen’s “Pandora’s Music Analyst For A Day” contest.
Hey, I would like to be flown to California to see how the Pandora tech works and I happen to be both a fan and an owner of Volkswagen products… sign...
Mission Accomplished!
I just wanted to let everyone know that the Xbox mission for Chris is officially accomplished. The final tally was $261 and today just happened to be a day that Dell is selling the 360 for $250 with free shipping. It is soon to be ordered and leftover money will go to him as a check towards games.
In addition to the paypal donations, quite a few people are sending games to Chris as well to...
Buy Chris Piergalline a new Xbox 360!
Chris is one of my best friends and he has gone through a run of really shitty luck lately, including having his house recently broken into which resulted in the theft of his Xbox 360. Chris is currently unemployed (thank you, crappy economy!) so he doesn’t really have the funds to replace it himself.
An Xbox 360 with hard drive currently sells for $299 on Amazon. I have to believe there...
Atom-Bomb Bikini
Been looking through the archives of Robert Ullman’s blog:
http://rkullman.blogspot.com/
Really great art. Very much in the style of Bruce Timm. Seems to focus a lot on half-naked ladies and he showed some Orioles love… what’s not to like?
Well this could be dangerous....
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/15/verizon-gives-fios-tv-some-app-store-social-media-flavor/
FiOS now has Twitter and Facebook apps that you can run as a widget on your TV. It wasn’t bad enough that I could get on Facebook on my computer and cellphone, but now I can log in from any TV in my house?
The end times are near…
Cosplay photography
Cosplay has become relatively common among anime fans, but you don’t often see good photography involved. This morning though, I came across a portfolio that features some really incredible photos… including a bunch of cosplay shots. Fantastic stuff:
http://www.gregdestefano.com/
Battlestar Galactica
MeLisa and I finally finished watching Battlestar Galactica last night. Great series and we both enjoyed it quite a bit.
But, um… wtf is Kara Thrace? Her ambiguous ending was pretty craptastic.