Smugmug Corner #3

My seven days of fame begins tonight

(Was I on crack when I answered those questions??)

Nonetheless, thank you to everyone at Smugmug for always managing to surprise me with warm 'n fuzzies when I'm having a tough week. I was truly shocked to have been contacted for this because as we all know, I am... humble... about things.

I'm looking forward so very much to my trip next week, meeting other great photographers and getting the "behind-the-scenes" view on future Smugmuggers spotlit on Photographycorner. :D

No words.

Maybe it's better this way.

ETA: This is what I am referring to, if anyone was following.

Arts and Sciences

It's taken me at least a month to get off my duff and scan this in: integration of the photos I took for a formal, campus-sponsored brochure.



While taking these photos for the assignment was a challenge in and of itself, I learned a lot of other useful tidbits from this experience. While FDA auditors may never find fault with the Facility, photographers will undoubtedly have much to shake their heads about over my contribution.



The most interesting thing I have realized about my primary career is just how amused people are about what I do. "Feed cells?" they ask me, "What do they eat?" I'm not sure what they envision when they think about how much care and nurturing cell cultures sometimes require, but from what they say to me I guess it's something along the lines of one of those ubiquitous fat hamster videos that get passed around the internet.



After all, I guess an oversized pancreatic tumor cell does resemble an obese rodent who is too fat to do anything but lie on its back eating a kernel of popcorn.

Hmm.

A Day at the Beach

Really, it was two, but who's counting?


Life has been moving too fast for me to keep up so I won't even try. Here's a quickie for those faithful friends of mine who are expecting shots of wild horses and sand from me this week. ;)

I met some great new people and was glad to see some old ones over the course of those very fast two days. True to form I whined a lot about the heat and humidity, but... seriously. Dude, it was painful. Just bending low to get a shot and straightening up again had me reeling with dizziness. And it's September!


I failed miserably in capturing good light, but whaddaya gonna do after the fact? It's good that I got enough sleep over the weekend because I sure as hell ain't getting any now.

The gallery from Assateague is here. Snapshotty fun stuff (with a few "serious" ones thrown in) is over here. Maybe my commentary will make up for lack of words right now.

Love ya. Miss ya. Everyone.

Punk Rawk Hot Chick

Shooting Emily was really great and quite the learning experience. If I hadn't been ready to roll over and die from the Mexican we just ate it would have been even better. As it is, please, visit the Rocking Horse Cafe because it is excellent. Just don't make any plans to be active for the rest of your day. Emily has endless energy and is able to mimic the perky FOB Asian Chick any time of the day or night!


One thing about shooting people as opposed to buildings is that they move. This is both a good and a bad thing, mainly bad for me because I feel like a fish completely out of water when 10 unfamiliar things are happening at once. I keep hunting for resources and feedback but so far have not been able to find any reliable guidance, so I wing it for now.

Very large glass buildings that reflect light = Good
Experienced sexy model = Good
Warm sunlight = Good

Pedestrians = Bad
Boiling heat = Bad
Realizing what you should have done differently after you get home and download the photos = Really bad

One day I'll get it, and what I come home with will reflect my actual artistic intent. You'll see.

Here's the full gallery.

All Aboard the Failboat

I've only approached and failed to complete a building a handful of times. Each time it's like a slap in the face, a glaring testament to my ineptitude. Consequently, it's a bit like Fight Club. First Rule of Exploration: YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT YOUR FAILURES. This way you can fluff your egos about the trips that you do finish well. A more positive person would say you... accentuate the positive.

I feel a little guilty about pulling Ryan out of the house so early, even though he was the one pulling me and we were running late. He is a trip, a very lighthearted person who is chock full o' stories. He sets the standard for retaining knowledge about people, places and history. (Really, I dare anyone to top that.)

So there was really no reason to believe that we'd be unsuccessful since I've done my homework and he's been to the boat graveyard before. We drove out into the wilderness of Staten Island and arrived at our destination. The first thing he says is, "Hmm. It wasn't this green before." Oops. We chop through the cattails and marsh reeds like explorers in the jungle - only I imagine the Amazon doesn't smell like rotten eggs and throw dirty old plastic bottles under your feet.

We get to the other side of the hill where it flattens out and he says, "Hmm. There wasn't this much water before." Oops again! There wasn't supposed to be water in a boat graveyard. Well, of course there is but you know what I mean: there isn't supposed to be any water where you intend to walk. But somehow neither of us thought to think about tides this morning up until that moment

We're here, so we might as well try to figure something out. Squelch, squash, hop, ugh. It is, like he said, just like the trash compactor in Star Wars. Smells like it, too. After all you don't venture onto Staten Island expecting fresh sea air, mind you. I don't think there is a single dog that exists in the borough for a good reason.

By the way, I did remember to bring my wellies but of course I left them in my car.

Short story even shorter, we eventually came to the edge of the swamp and to the water proper. I do have friends (OK, one friend) who are willing to swim with their 5Ds held above their heads in one hand, but I'm not one of them. The last barrier was a waist-deep, fast-moving "creek" about 10 feet across and I was not willing to attempt jumping it no matter what. Especially since the far side was a wooden fence.

Still, it was fun. Ryan gets 5 stars in my book although I would not have expected or accepted any less. :D