Howdy Ya'll. This post is going to be on the simpler side of things today. I sold an item on eBay for the first time, so now I need to get it to UPS before work so I can get some dollars! eBay is a pretty cool tool if you are willing to put forward a little effort in getting rid of unused things around the house. The next item going on the auction block is going to be an oil pan... don't ask.
In other news, I recently started taking advantage of the piano we are "storing" for my sister and printed out some sheet music for a piece I used to know pretty well. Reading music is a very perishable skill! I think I drove the wife and kid nuts while attempting to play what was written. I'll keep trying and just call whatever comes out "indie jazz punk rock", it's a genre most of you just won't get because it is so cool and emo.
The Porsche project made some slight progress this week. I put an actual car cover over it instead of the black plastic tarp that was taped on. If enough items sell on eBay, a new timing belt and water pump may be put on order soon. Not necessarily because the Porsche (it's insulting to call it a car I guess) needs those items, but the motor is dismantled to that level and the experts recommend replacing it as a precautionary step. I can't wait to get that thing on the road!
Ok, short and sweet and simple. Must drink 8 more cups of coffee, shower, play some indie jazz punk rock, go to UPS, then finally head off to work.
-dg
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
New Project (#8)
Well I picked up another project. With this new project I am trying to stay realistic on goals to accomplish. It seems like goals that are accomplished, no matter how small, help build momentum for the next goal. This project is no small task, in cost and time, but it is a step closer to a childhood dream of mine.
My grandpa used to tell me stories about his old cars and timing races at various race tracks in the bay area. Maybe that is when the bug got me, but for nearly as long as I can remember I have wanted to drive a race car. The first time I actually got to drive on a closed circuit was during the academy and all that did was increase my desire to get on a track someday.
Recently, while searching for an used pick-up, I came across a little red car on craigslist for next to nothing. Originally I figured I could pick it up, do some cleaning, put the interior back together then drive it around on the weekends. Then I started looking into the costs of materials for this particular car and quickly discovered that to make the interior "nice" again, it would cost more than I could sell the car for!
So to keep with the accomplishable goal way of thinking, I plan on turning this beast into a street legal track car.
Wish me luck!
-dg
My grandpa used to tell me stories about his old cars and timing races at various race tracks in the bay area. Maybe that is when the bug got me, but for nearly as long as I can remember I have wanted to drive a race car. The first time I actually got to drive on a closed circuit was during the academy and all that did was increase my desire to get on a track someday.
Recently, while searching for an used pick-up, I came across a little red car on craigslist for next to nothing. Originally I figured I could pick it up, do some cleaning, put the interior back together then drive it around on the weekends. Then I started looking into the costs of materials for this particular car and quickly discovered that to make the interior "nice" again, it would cost more than I could sell the car for!
So to keep with the accomplishable goal way of thinking, I plan on turning this beast into a street legal track car.
If your in the area and your handy with a wrench, or if you just want to drink some beer and make snide remarks at my feeble attempts of mechanicatry (I made that word up). Hit me up and we'll do a work date.
Wish me luck!
-dg
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Head-shots(#7)
This last week has been a productive one for me. I was able to get a lot of yard work done, complete a minor repair on my car and take some head-shots for a local hair stylist. Of course I had the most fun doing the photography stuff. It was nice to bust out the lighting gear and get some decent results.
I tend to be the kind of guy that likes to have all the high-quality tools, gadgets and sometimes unnecessary equipment. So I have been trying to challenge myself to get good results with simple stuff. Part of the reason for the challenge is that photo-gear cost bucks and if I spent the kind of bucks I would like, I probably would be adding alimony to that list of expenses... Love you honey!
This last week is the first time I feel like I got some of my best one-light head-shots to date. Michelle wanted to try out some make-up techniques and see how they photographed and I wanted to practice some more one-light stuff. I busted out the Vivitar strobe light, stand, shoot through umbrella, ebay cactus wizards that I am borrowing and some white foam core board for reflectors. Michelle acted as a model and a VAR(Voice Activated Reflector) stand all in one! One of our trusty pub chairs acted as a second reflector holder and away we went.
Please forgive my photo-editing errors, my computer runs like a VW Bus trying to climb a mountain pass over the Sierras when running Photoshop. It makes for really long editing sessions then I get frustrated and stop. I need to work on that. Anyway, this is one of my favorite photos I have taken to date. It's hard to tell in this blog, but you can jump over here to check out a large version on flickr and see some more detail. I was really pleased with the overall sharpness. It seems like it has been a long road to sharp photos.
After this session, Michelle told me that our hair stylist, the awesome Ms. Joanna Montemayor at Razors Edge Salon, needed head-shots for their website. Joanna wanted Michelle to do her make-up for the shoot and Michelle figured I could take the photos. At first I was a little apprehensive, but decided to give it a go. You don't know what you can and can't do until you try.
So Joanna came over and brought her friend Zac. Little did he know he would be put to work as a VAR holder. Michelle rocked the make-up, then I put her and Zac to work and we came up with this.
I feel like it came out pretty well for one-light and a couple reflectors. I'm anxious to see how it looks on the website.
Next lighting mission, high-speed syncing with a medium format camera...
-dg
I tend to be the kind of guy that likes to have all the high-quality tools, gadgets and sometimes unnecessary equipment. So I have been trying to challenge myself to get good results with simple stuff. Part of the reason for the challenge is that photo-gear cost bucks and if I spent the kind of bucks I would like, I probably would be adding alimony to that list of expenses... Love you honey!
This last week is the first time I feel like I got some of my best one-light head-shots to date. Michelle wanted to try out some make-up techniques and see how they photographed and I wanted to practice some more one-light stuff. I busted out the Vivitar strobe light, stand, shoot through umbrella, ebay cactus wizards that I am borrowing and some white foam core board for reflectors. Michelle acted as a model and a VAR(Voice Activated Reflector) stand all in one! One of our trusty pub chairs acted as a second reflector holder and away we went.
Please forgive my photo-editing errors, my computer runs like a VW Bus trying to climb a mountain pass over the Sierras when running Photoshop. It makes for really long editing sessions then I get frustrated and stop. I need to work on that. Anyway, this is one of my favorite photos I have taken to date. It's hard to tell in this blog, but you can jump over here to check out a large version on flickr and see some more detail. I was really pleased with the overall sharpness. It seems like it has been a long road to sharp photos.
After this session, Michelle told me that our hair stylist, the awesome Ms. Joanna Montemayor at Razors Edge Salon, needed head-shots for their website. Joanna wanted Michelle to do her make-up for the shoot and Michelle figured I could take the photos. At first I was a little apprehensive, but decided to give it a go. You don't know what you can and can't do until you try.
So Joanna came over and brought her friend Zac. Little did he know he would be put to work as a VAR holder. Michelle rocked the make-up, then I put her and Zac to work and we came up with this.
I feel like it came out pretty well for one-light and a couple reflectors. I'm anxious to see how it looks on the website.
Next lighting mission, high-speed syncing with a medium format camera...
-dg
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Life Imitates Art and Some Other Random Stuff (#6)
Ok, got my coffee brewing on the stove, the house is quiet, Lightroom is open with some decent looking head-shots of Michelle and it is finally time to blog. These last couple blogs are getting published a little late in the week, I'm going to have to get on top of it!
About a day after I posted the last blog, I was driving to work and had a journey of thoughts for about 15 minutes that followed no apparent course. It went from thinking about family drama to what makes life good, contrast in photos to what defines good art and finally to the quote, "Life imitates art [...]". The whole gist of everything is that without contrast in art, what ever you define art as, there would not be anything interesting to look at or experience. Without contrast in life, the experience would be bland.
Generally, I do not want to feel pain. I do not particularly enjoy experiencing heartbreak and unhappiness. But with out those unwanted experiences I would not know how good being healthy feels, or how good it is to experience joy. I have been trying to learn how to experience the bad parts of life, the contrast to good, in a way that will let me completely appreciate when times are good.
When I get to the end of my life I want to look back and know that I experienced the hell out of it.
About a day after I posted the last blog, I was driving to work and had a journey of thoughts for about 15 minutes that followed no apparent course. It went from thinking about family drama to what makes life good, contrast in photos to what defines good art and finally to the quote, "Life imitates art [...]". The whole gist of everything is that without contrast in art, what ever you define art as, there would not be anything interesting to look at or experience. Without contrast in life, the experience would be bland.
Generally, I do not want to feel pain. I do not particularly enjoy experiencing heartbreak and unhappiness. But with out those unwanted experiences I would not know how good being healthy feels, or how good it is to experience joy. I have been trying to learn how to experience the bad parts of life, the contrast to good, in a way that will let me completely appreciate when times are good.
When I get to the end of my life I want to look back and know that I experienced the hell out of it.
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