Slowly but surely, I am becoming obsessed with photography. It has it's pouch that is inevitably attached to my back the second I know I'm headed to a new place. Progressing through the trips, here is the filtered, pixelated fun that has ended up on my hard drive.
Simplicity is fun. I've enjoyed filling up each memory card with 800 or so pictures of nothing. After letting those pictures sit for one or two weeks, going back through the common and uneventful to find little gems like this. Though it looks like a stock picture from a hosting site, it embodies peace and tranquility. Just think... Messy Zen garden. Let's be honest; there wasn't anything special in the clicking of the button but there was something about the natural placement of the leaves that said "CAPTURE ME!"

This next one doesn't vary in colors but adds the refreshing stream. Still having a calming effect, running water is a gentle warmth. The shot isn't exactly level and because it was taken from a low level with out a tripod, is lacking the expected clarity. However, there is good contrast for the limited light that we had.

Finally we have a little photoshopping on a wide angle shot of the river. Strong contrast alterations with curves were used on the trees on the left and the right of the river. Very light contrast changes were used on the rock and algae with a bit of cleaning up in the sky. The effects give the illusion of a flash in the foreground that extends throughout the rocks and into the pathway of the river.

The colors on these pictures were a bit drab but it comes with the territory of a Thanksgiving weekend in the Smokeys. Next up in the journeys collection... Louisville.

Paul's display at The Contemporary was my first photography exhibition and it left me wanting more. More insight from the artist. More pictures. More time to stand in awe.

Mr. Shambroom is an interesting fellow (listen to the forum and Q & A here). His jokes, rather dry. His subject interests float from one subject to the next like a curious youth. And his commitment to finishing a project is incredible.

(Shambroom, far right)

Throughout the exhibit there were three projects that Shambroom brought for his tour.

1) Special Ops:

This first theme was just bazaar (photo above). In the forum the audience and the panel discussed the similarities to these figures and men in medieval portraits with armor on or how they were incredibly similar to a department or sporting good catalog, glorifying the weapons and machinery. Though digital editing was addressed, the exact degree was left unexplained by Shambroom. Surely, intentional but frustrating for a growing photographer. One thing I loved was the pride that the photo shoots brought each of the military/ police groups. It was a way to showcase what they did and how they did it. However, Shambroom indicated that was not exactly the intention

2) Simply Nuclear:

The name sums it up. The big thing discussed was the need for 6-18 months of preparation and work on clearance to get the ball moving and gain access to the facilities.

3) Board Rooms:

The most intriguing part of this series was the comfort and candidness that each photo displayed. The photo above was by far my favorite. The five women in the council meeting and skepticism ranging from "are you serious" to "oh, well that's may be a valid point but..." to "oh hell nah..." and an absent member, the chair, a man of undetermined background. Surely interesting to try to come up with stories. Any ideas?

Thoroughly impressed by each of his pieces and the use of canvas instead of fine photo paper again gave the impression of a portrait instead of a daily photograph. If you're in the ATL check out the exhibit at the contemporary until November 30th, I highly suggest it.

ok, start playing the billionaires song....... now.  the billionaires - the end of summer song

this entry is an ode to a summer of new friends, the beauty that is romance and a camera that has provided me way too many hours of entertainment.  those pictured in this entry, i apologize, the pictures were too great to be left unshared

contrast 

may it be the simple differences between colors or hours on photoshop playing with curves, it is fun when the natural contrast occurs.  With that said, none of these pictures have been altered in any way (some of the pros out there may say, "well obviously" in response to the quality but hey, I like 'em).  the first picture can be completely be credited to the timing of the picture.  early slalom runs  at 6 am with a camp director and an entry level zoom lens.  the spray of the slalom in conjunction with the low angle of the sun really made this magical.

the next picture is not a stressed out employee at the camp impaling himself, rather an extremely zealous boat driver that somehow was holding himself up on the mop.  oh adam... anyways, really liked the frame of the barn and the reflection of the frame on the freshly mopped concrete.  a solid, random friggin pic.   

vantage point 

tilting and changing the level of your camera to get that "artistic" shot is and isn't as complicated as it sounds.  i'm still not sure what separates good from great pictures without outside editing but these past 2 months have taught me about vastness. if you

are able to make something look never-ending or illustrate how normally substantial items can be dwarfed in comparison to greater objects, then it is well used.  i think in both of these pictures, the wide angle zoom (less than 20mm) create both of the types of vastness.  both pictures have sentimental values but they also utilize angles and some contrast to create unique pictures. kudos to the guest photographer of

portraits

definitely my favorite type of pictures.  so much expression, focus really comes into play, and they really capture memories.  let us begin.

a simple focus adjustment takes mo into a tarantino or spaghetti western (though a little softer with the  plastic gun, but hardcore none the less).  the playfulness of the water gun while still having the one eye squinting and completely blue background really makes for a fun picture.  just to let you know mo, we will always support this. 

the lake norman's island was not only a kayak destination, but also a place of relaxation for all the staff.  here i really like the genuine smile from dj and the feeling of comfort that the island brought us (and yes the kids, too).  the lighting could be better as the contrast around the left side is not as strong but it still is a fun and candid picture.

next, we have mister cannon.  yes nick cannon, everyone (a little on the kosher side these days but still wild'n out). moving on from the inside jokes, the random face extracted from a "hey nick!" captured his personality in a white framed nutshell.  needless to say the plastic, $5, reflective sunglasses really do help add to the personality. as another camp picture, the camper in the background (is that kous kous?) helps support the spontaneity of nick and the randomness of the summer.  i feel the need to get a pair of the random colored sunglasses.  cheers mister cannon. 

finally we have one of my favorite pictures of the summer.  it was not staged. it was on the fourth of july. it was for all intents and purposes, an accident but it was awesome.  may it be the memories associated with it, the beauty of the subject or the sheer randomness its a fun picture with infinite explanations for why she's making that face.  guesses for why she's surprised/scared/whatever add it to the comments.  i am actually struggling to remember why she made that face. oh well. thanks sonia, minh, and red wine for a great photo.

here's to a great summer. share some memories with us.  please join us for one more summer. the sun is bright, the sun is bright in my eyes.  its only as bright as the colors it shows. 

atlanta:  sherman burned it down (9/11/1864-wikipedia-who knew it was 9/11?), ludacris, pastor troy, and ted turner built it up.  atl hoe.   well that is a bit of a stretch and a solid 120 year gap of 'splainin but what has come out of the ashes should be acknowledged.  besides becoming the commercial mecca of the south, its arts districts are spread from the highlands to buckhead with small galleries dispersed throughout.  here begins my story. 

following an interview in buckhead, i had about 2 hours on my hands and no idea what to do.  thankful for my newly purchased garmin, i located a baskin robbins and then set off to find some quality art in the atl.  what i found was a wonderful lady who professed her allegiance to the republican party despite her misleading name, clinton kennedy, and gorgeous art in a hole in the wall gallery. after asking permission to take pictures and mrs. kennedy respectfully asking she not be included in any of the shots, i started my field day of pictures.  this is what followed.

on display was a combination of paintings and mixed media by barbara olsen titled "bits and pieces, snippets and scraps." thoroughly intriguing with hints of humor and overarching empowerment.  green baby below just made my smile.  that has been a saying in my household for years and thought it was only appropriate.  i figure that the artist wasn't too southern otherwise it would have read "ain't no one happy." the glory of the word that ain't in the dictionary and a double negative. collective sigh. 

anywho, the painting on the left took me a second and it really moved me in what was beyond my full comprehension.  never having anyone close to me go through the full cancer treatment and witnessing the suffering does not give me a complete understanding of what each person and their loved ones go through but olsen's ability to honor the courage they must have and her inspiring women must have had, is a beautiful thing in itself.

lesson one in painting photography: don't use a flash.  duh. guess who did? this guy.  but like a good student, I quickly learned.  and adjusted.

lesson two in photography of: just get close. there's no reason to back up and zoom in. if you know of a reason, I'm all ears. it limits the sensitivity to your movement and ultimately gets a clearer picture. 

there's not much explaining to this next photo.  the reason it made it on the blog was personal.  may it be my enjoyment of the shadows, the simple painted over white walls or possibly just the symbolic fun of finding this off the beaten path gallery much like the art was hidden behind other art.  either way, it was a special photo and a special day.

next we have what i call: "the rooster that shat sunshine." descriptive, playful and gorgeous.  i was really happy with how the photo turned out and how it is, for all intents and purposes, completely random.

finally a lovely mishmash of frames, art and separators. i thoroughly enjoyed taking this picture knowing that it wasn't going to change my perception of galleries nor would it capture the randomness of the day.  however, it did hold something special that brought a smile to my face even in its trivial nature.  mark this as the moment where i realized that photography was not about taking pictures to sell or brag about, rather, it is to make me happy. 

that's my story for the day. if you're ever in an art gallery in buckhead and meet a wonderful lady with two presidents names; sit down, chat, and take a few pictures.

i really like equations; digital=faster learning curve. i could not imagine trying to figure out shutter speed and f on old slr's. i can take 900 pictures in a couple of days, keep 20 pictures and be completely content without having to spend $150 on snapfish or even more at wolf's. however, friends and family are starting to get a little frustrated with the kid that always has the camera. well onwards to this issue;s pix (ohhh. it is absolutely ok to shorten pictures to pix in a photo blog entry... not to be confused with entree). sorry for the tangent.

I revisited my alma mater to take a few quick pictures and this is the result. two things i learned from this excursion:

1) no matter how sweet the camera is, it can't make up for a dreary, dusty day in the south. i fidgeted with settings for hours trying to pick up the academic hall with only results of misty-appearing roofs.

2) parallel lines are fun. sidewalks. columns. archways. all very fun and create a great final product. monocular depth cues (flaunting that psych b.s. degree a bit) really are key for illusions and clarity.

the "ye old well" on the left is a personal favorite of mine because of the tradition, the legends, and the pranks we would pull on friends who really believed if they pushed hard enough the well would start back up for them just as you pressed the button and sprayed them in the face.

i guess i will keep the tradition going (tradition having one preceding entry... again not entree) and get my dogs involved. below is the beloved fergie. do not call her fergilicious, she will not respond. this picture marks the move away from auto focus and an attempt at good lighting with the manual settings. as opposed to drunken party pocket size random picture taking, this is when it hit me that this is photography thing is about patience. waiting for the fergmeister to get where you were focused instead of chasing her around and trying to focus on the fly. hurray and thank you ferg.

moving to black and white. last time i promised a forest shot. i deliver like dominos. the simplicity of black and white is what continuously brings in fans and creates instant classics. not saying this is a classic but it is one of my top 3 favorite pictures i've taken. the contrast from the sun being behind the tree and the somewhat mysterious latter all add to the mystery and beauty of the forest scene. the cool thing was i stumbled across this while on an ultimate frisbee course, walking with my good friend and her dog. cheers to you buddy.

well that about wraps it up for today's edition of baby photography steps with the kid with the camera. next time we explore a lovely art gallery in atlanta with a good ol' republican named clinton kennedy. i kid you not.

cheers

to preface this sub-blog, i am a beginning photographer who spent way too much time on photo shop while not actually trying to enhance pictures and then realized that a good camera is a lot of fun to play with. using my first d-slr, i will be going through my experiences and favorite pictures with the ART STAR family. the camera being used unless otherwise stated is a Sony alpha-200 with either a 18-70mm lens or a 75-300mm lens (if you really care... harumphh you will probably be a bit too snobby for my pictures anyways).

appropriately, the first picture is my actual first picture with my camera and i think it shows one of the finer things in my life, good ol' cj. a sweet dog with a bit of a crazy side. do you see it in his eyes? so here, i'm obviously oblivious to what is actually in the viewfinder (i.e. my knee/ toe and my mom sneaking around in the back) but it reminds me of a joke. so cj walks into a bar and the bartender looks at him and says, "why the long face?" true story. but as you will see throughout these posts dogs are incredible things to practice your photography with; unlike humans they never get tired of flashes or the attention from getting their picture taken. just behind dogs, little kids at camp are pretty fun and rarely get flustered by too many pictures (that sounds creepy, but it comes with the territory at camps).

lesson 2: apparently in pitch black, you can pick up cool pictures with long exposures. again, people out there are snickering, but this was pretty sweet to mr. photonoobie. this was taken from a porch at 11:30pm with a quarter moon and clear skies. a good ol' childhood story behind our lovely steam plant, i was convinced that it was actually a fairy castle and some sweet characters like peter pan chilled there on their weeks off from being at their disney world estate. a kid can dream right? i really enjoyed the light on the water and the nearer trees on the right obstructing the view.

lesson 3: filters= cool. i've got some blue pictures that just look creepy but there's nothing like a statue girl with a broken bonnet to photograph during a sunset. my dad later fixed the bonnet after he realized that it had been broken for almost six months.

ladies and gentlemen, that would be 3 of my first 500 or so pictures that i felt like sharing. next week i feel some forests, kids, and possibly some more dog pictures in the forecast. until then keep clickin'.