Power Steering: Coming up, I have possible the cutest photo I’ve ever taken, followed closely by some of the best sunset pictures I’ve ever taken. Stay tuned…

Wheels of Time: Once again, I love the design asthetic on old machinery. Here, on the wheel, instead of using lightweight, high tech materials optimized for fuel effieciency and speed, the just make a wheel. Strangely, it’s still beautiful. I think metal has character, just like wood has. The rusts and dings and scrapes on it tell as much a story as the rings in a tree trunk. View On Black

Taking sunset pics

Just eating hard catfood

Wall-E: Kind of looks like a lovable little Pixar character, doesn’t it?View On Black

Untitled: I love the typography and text on old machines. They have this great retro feel… that is leaning towards the future. Especially around the period of the space race, every designer seemed to create stripes and plates and text that they imagined on a jetson’s spaceship, even if it was just a lowly tractor. I’m listening to a few new photography podcasts which I would like to recommend. One is David DuChemin’s Within the Frame podcast. In it he talks mostly about positioning, framing, and different compositional choices. Less about tech and news, and more about the choices we all make as artists to make images. This podcast is safe for everyone so far. The second podcast is The Candid Frame. The Candid Frame is about artistic decision as well, but it takes the form of conversations/interviews between photographers. This one has had a few curse words in it, for those who need to know. I have gotten *alot* out of it though, some amazing stories and really inspiring thoughts. Have a great weekend.

The Command Center: I wanted to shoot while the light was so good, but I didn’t have time to switch to a wider angle lens to get this shot. So I shot a panorama, Brenizer style. Because I shot with the 50mm at 1.4, it’s probably the equivalent of a 28mm or so at 0.8. :-D 6 shots, combined in photoshop cs3.Better When Viewed Large On Black

The Ride: I still remember all the bikes and ride on toys I had as a kid. My first real bike was a blue Huffy, BMX style. That thing lasted and was ridden until well into my teens. I then had a silver Motiv. That thing was my dream ride for so long. You could ride it no handed, and it was perfectly balanced so you could turn and swerve around things. It was light too, so it jumped quite high. I did so many awesome and stupid things on that bike. Nearly broke my back and actually thought I had been paralyzed on one adventure… but that’s a long story.View On Black

Hanging In There: I hopefully will be shooting some tonite, and will have more interesting things to show. It’s been a busy week. Strobist: Handheld SB-900 with Lumiquest Softbox IIIView On Black

Demure: This was an outtake from an earlier lighting setup. I kind of liked it. She has a gentle expression which the soft light complements in my opinion. Strobist: SB-900 with Lumiquest Softbox her right, reflector her right.View On Black

Beth Anne: So this weekend I fooled around with my new Lumiquest Softbox III. It’s a wonderful light shaping tool. All the light on her in this shot is flash generated. If it weren’t for the flash, she would be a complete silhouette. The SB-900 with the softbox is about a foot from her head on teh right, and the SB-600 with a diffusion dome is aimed straight at her head on the left. I was trying to make the light as natural as possible. Thank you Beth Anne for letting me learn and experiment. It was alot of fun! Comments, critiques, and questions welcome.View On Black

Well Schooled.: She’s such a good puppy. And she’s grown so much! I’ve got a new flash shaping tool, which I’ll speak more about tomorrow. It’s quite powerful. Strobist: SB-900 handheld off to the left with a Lumiquest Softbox III on it.

Newest Gadget: The Lumiquest Softbox III. A must have for portraiture, or just all around soft light.

Chaos in Motion: Another shot from the fountain… It captures a little of the joy of moving water I think. Strobist: One SB-900 zoomed to 200mm pointed at the water from around 3 feet away.Must View On Black