I need one of these...

Plan to buy one of these after I get a real job...

(Don't worry Lish will let me- only rule is she has to be able to drive it when she wants)

~ Chris

Hate "Photos" and "Photogs"!?!

So before I delve in to the finer points of this I was just thinking again of how much I hate the proliferation of the sub-$1000 dSLR camera- that and how ridiculous everybody who owns a Canon Rebel neckstrap is. BTW- don't flaunt it it's not a freaking d series and even then I don't know that I would tout it as all that unless it at least holds a mark moniker (mk II or MkIII). Now before everybody gets in a fit and lynches me you should know where I'm coming from.

dSLR does not equal professional photographer.

B&W is a type of picture that you specifically compose to- NOT a FILTER on photoshop.

Holga is a type of camera with a very artistic value to it- NOT a BOX you click on photoshop.

Oh yeah, and photoshop is to help fix small imperfections and minor adjustments NOT a compensation because you suck at photos.

So why the ridiculous hate? Well see I've had a lot of people that I am connected to get married in the last year or two, as such everybody posts all these photos online - via FB or blog or flckr or you-name-it. Then I see other people gushing about how awesome they are and how they're the best wedding photographer in the world, etc. ad infinitum. This is fine and all, until I start seeing how crappy this stuff is and how much of it is 20 something girls that daddy bought them a camera and they have a macbook Pro so they can charge an arm and a leg and then take these senseless photos, add B&W effects or add a Holga Vignetting and say it's art. It's NOT!!!

I'm not a great photographer, and I don't really like/do well with wedding pictures, but that being said I'm not charging thousands of dollars either. I have shot a total of 3 (?) weddings and I have never done any of it as a pro. It was always as a favor or as an honor to be able to take some pictures for a friends wedding. That being said I am insulted as an enthusiast and friend of multiple professional photographers when I see the crap that is put on FB and flckr. Really you took the dumbest photo and then not only did you make it black and white but then you included the color one so that everyone knows that it's not really a B&W, or maybe you included both the B&W and the sepia tone wash - dear stupid do you even know what a sepia wash is? or how it's done??? (besides the obvious, "Well I click here and it does it- ta da!!")

To me black and white is the best looking form of art there is (now I know I am wrong, but this is my opinion). And to see it corrupted by idiots makes me sick. Think of it this way - most professionals spend years shooting Black and White heck some of them never leave it, but I guarantee you that all of them know how to shoot it. Furthermore, every person who takes a real photo class starts in B&W. This is where you learn the fundamentals, this is where you learn how a darkroom works, keys, tones, pushing, pulling, etc. you learn how to really take a good picture and yet somehow the lack of people knowing the basics seems to make them pros and leads to crap for photos.

If I offended you well I hope you can look past it, if you're really offended lemme know (not that I will do much about it, but maybe we can talk and I can show you what I mean). Otherwise always ask to see a professional's film cameras to know how they're digital stuff is.

Trust me a $500 dSLR is not a camera that you want as the main camera for your wedding- the sensor is too small and it may be 60 megapixels but that number means next to nothing- I know 6MP cameras that outshoot nearly everything else there is.

Chris

Wonderful Day!

So I didn't have high hopes for Disneyland yesterday. Disneyland has recently introduced a monthly payment plan for SoCal residents so the park has been more slammed than usual. When we went on Chris's birthday, we didn't ride a single thing and left about mid-day because there were so many people. So when we pulled up Monday evening and had to park on the ground floor in the parking structure I was worried. Really worried, because that seemed to indicate that all the other floors were full. But much to our dismay...there was hardly anyone in the park. We were able to watch the fireworks while riding Big Thunder Mountain (really cool by the way).
But I didn't dare hope that Tuesday would be as empty as Monday night, and as we waited 25 minutes to get into the parking structure I was not very hopeful.
But as we got to space mountain and the wait said 10 minutes...my hopes started to rise. And when we were able to ride 3 times in 30 minutes life seemed pretty good (besides the fact that I had the day off and got to spend the whole day with Chris). Only bad thing? The ride broke as we were about to get on for the 4th time. I just wish it would have waited 5 more minutes. (It's a life-long goal for Chris and I to see space mountain with the lights on). Oh well.
After space mountain broke, we headed to splash mountain and got there right as it broke down. Then we walked onto pirates, got my birthday gift card and went to eat at the Blue Bayou. By the way, definitely good, but I would save it for a special occasion. After we were done eating the server brought out a chocolate mousse with whipped cream and mickey mouse sprinkles. It was amazing!
Then we decided to head out to avoid getting stuck in traffic on the way home and spent the evening relaxing and trying not to bake.
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!

Follow me, I'm trained to survive this

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8206280.stm

So the good news is my years of video game training have made me fully prepared for the inevitable future.

Beat Down

So I had my annual committee meeting yesterday. Didn't go quite as I had hoped for. The good news coming out of all of this is that I am meeting again in three months to finalize my graduation date... that is good. The bad part is i have to really crank it out to ensure that I have good enough data at that meeting that I can sell them on an end-of-the-year/early next year date. We will see. In the mean time I don't think I've ever felt so abused in my whole life as I sat there talking to my committee. I should feel honored that they think what they do about my work and what I can do while I'm still here. Really? Really? Gee I sure do feel honored that you want me to build a second presentation and give it to you in three months. I feel extra honored that you guys can't even decide how much time I need to finish. I have a 2-1-2 split as to whether I'll be done in the next 4 months. 2 say yes, 2 say no, 1 says he can't decide. WOW! Seriously? WOW!

Well no matter what I'm done in 6 months tops but I'm hoping more towards 4- time will tell.

~Chris

Lamentations

Yeah we were so busy on Saturday night that we didn't even take any pictures. The tournament was a success, the stage was rockstar-worthy, the crowd was singing along. It was AWESOME. Too bad about the pictures. My hope is to secure some from some of the "official" cameras, or at least someone else. I also plan to draw up the awesomeness that was the stage. Oh, well. Hopefully there will be other chances to do something similar.

It's time to Rockband Tourney!

So tomorrow night is tourney time. We're helping out with a huge YSA activity (think LA and south) y helping host a HUGE rockband tourney. We'll be sure to take lots of photos and try to get some posted up to the blog. In a worst case secenario we may just do another Picasa album. Anyway I have successfully found the best prizes EVER for our contenders.

How about these:

Amazon

Video in action at:

Gearlog

Yeah they're about the best thing in the whole world. Perfect for the 18-30 year old dedicated enough to win Rockband.

If you guys have any other ideas of things to include in the tourney I'd love to know.

Oh yeah before I forget I got one of THESE to help with the "effect"

Check out the video here.

Btw- for future reference Fog juice is able to be purchased Year Round at Party City (yeah I really had to find Fog Juice).

Cheers

~Chris