Friday, January 20, 2012
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sumi-E on the iPhone.
I came across a review for an iPhone/iPad app called Zen Brush. It looked like a lot of fun and got a good review so I thought I would try it. The frog picture is my first attempt with it. I think it must be easier to get in a lot of detail if you are using iPad. There is no zoom-in function so it is hard to do detailed work on the smaller screen. You can change brush sizes, but the small screen just isn't a lot of canvas. This is probably a plus for me since it means I just have to accept that the drawings need to be simple. Zen-like.
The maker PSoft has some excellent examples on their website. They are based in Sendai and have put together a book to raise money for the earthquake.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Looking at the Idea of Epic Fictional Couples Through the movie Thor
I recently wrote a kind of review of the movie Thor. While it is a super hero movie, I think it has some strong romantic elements and it got me thinking about what makes us elevate a fictional couple to epic love status.
You can read the whole piece at www.naughtynellie.com
Naughty Nellie is a romance novel review site. It's new but I think it has a fresh take on books, and has had some really interesting pieces written by guest bloggers. One, written by dark, Tudor period romance novel writer Laura Navarre, is about dark heroes. The piece about inspirational romance, by Andrea Therese, gives one of the best descriptions I've come across for the genre.
I'll repost my own piece on In The Works tomorrow.
You can read the whole piece at www.naughtynellie.com
Naughty Nellie is a romance novel review site. It's new but I think it has a fresh take on books, and has had some really interesting pieces written by guest bloggers. One, written by dark, Tudor period romance novel writer Laura Navarre, is about dark heroes. The piece about inspirational romance, by Andrea Therese, gives one of the best descriptions I've come across for the genre.
I'll repost my own piece on In The Works tomorrow.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Running Around New York
Earlier this month I was lucky enough to attend Romance Writers of America's National Conference in New York City. I met up with some old friends, made a few new ones, got some great tips about writing and discovered a lot of new authors.
I think the workshops that impacted me the most were Laura Joh Rowland's "Twenty Questions to Answer Before writing 'The End'" and Candace Haven's workshop "How to Write Your First Draft in Two Weeks". I am one chapter away from finishing a manuscript I started a long time ago. I had abandoned this manuscript in favor of other project but one day figured out how to solve a plot issue. I pulled it out of my heap last month and started working on it, trying to get close to finishing the first draft before RWA. It was an interesting experience. I have no idea how good it is, but I learned a lot from the process. I was interested to learn that many of the techniques Candace Havens presented were ones I used to just get that draft finished. I wasn't on a two week regimen but I now have some more refined tools in my writers kit for the next first draft. The next step is, of course, revision hell. After the length of time it took for this draft I'm actually looking forward to revision. Rowland's workshop gave me a chance to sharpen my thinking about revision at a time I really need it. I bought the CD of the conference so I'm looking forward to listening to all the other great workshops I wasn't able to attend.
The week following the conference was spent touring New York and taking a lot of photos. I brought my Petri 1.9 rangefinder and a load of film. I shot at least 6 rolls which is not bad considering I also used a small digital camera to shoot lots of material for my Estello Project. As usual, it was a lot of fun to shoot Estello and it was interesting to see how many people were curious about him. I had been doing more Estello stuff on Facebook, than the blog. Blogger doesn't work as well with Facebook as Wordpress but I'm loathe to move to the other platform.
I managed to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met, see fireworks over the Hudson River on the 4th of July, see the Brooklyn Bridge, the Public Library on 5th, Bryant Park, Coney Island, Hoboken, the World Trade Centre rebuilding, DC Comics, New York Botanical Gardens, City Hall, Grand Central Station. I ate hot-dogs, pizza slices and drank lots of coffee. I also saw fireflies in the graveyard of Trinity Church one night. A trip to Zabars and B and H Photo really polished the stay.
I leave New York tomorrow for another week in Calgary before I return to Tokyo. The raw-creative phase continues in Calgary. I have plans to go to Brooks and Drumheller to shoot photos of the Badlands or to do to Banff to photograph the mountains and do some research. Both are great options and it pains me I won't be able to do both.
The last month has been amazing and I'm grateful to have all the opportunities to write and photograph. It's perfect that all this creative work will need extensive editing and formatting because it gives me the perfect excuse to sit in an air-conditioned room and escape the Tokyo summer humidity.
I think the workshops that impacted me the most were Laura Joh Rowland's "Twenty Questions to Answer Before writing 'The End'" and Candace Haven's workshop "How to Write Your First Draft in Two Weeks". I am one chapter away from finishing a manuscript I started a long time ago. I had abandoned this manuscript in favor of other project but one day figured out how to solve a plot issue. I pulled it out of my heap last month and started working on it, trying to get close to finishing the first draft before RWA. It was an interesting experience. I have no idea how good it is, but I learned a lot from the process. I was interested to learn that many of the techniques Candace Havens presented were ones I used to just get that draft finished. I wasn't on a two week regimen but I now have some more refined tools in my writers kit for the next first draft. The next step is, of course, revision hell. After the length of time it took for this draft I'm actually looking forward to revision. Rowland's workshop gave me a chance to sharpen my thinking about revision at a time I really need it. I bought the CD of the conference so I'm looking forward to listening to all the other great workshops I wasn't able to attend.
The week following the conference was spent touring New York and taking a lot of photos. I brought my Petri 1.9 rangefinder and a load of film. I shot at least 6 rolls which is not bad considering I also used a small digital camera to shoot lots of material for my Estello Project. As usual, it was a lot of fun to shoot Estello and it was interesting to see how many people were curious about him. I had been doing more Estello stuff on Facebook, than the blog. Blogger doesn't work as well with Facebook as Wordpress but I'm loathe to move to the other platform.
I managed to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met, see fireworks over the Hudson River on the 4th of July, see the Brooklyn Bridge, the Public Library on 5th, Bryant Park, Coney Island, Hoboken, the World Trade Centre rebuilding, DC Comics, New York Botanical Gardens, City Hall, Grand Central Station. I ate hot-dogs, pizza slices and drank lots of coffee. I also saw fireflies in the graveyard of Trinity Church one night. A trip to Zabars and B and H Photo really polished the stay.
I leave New York tomorrow for another week in Calgary before I return to Tokyo. The raw-creative phase continues in Calgary. I have plans to go to Brooks and Drumheller to shoot photos of the Badlands or to do to Banff to photograph the mountains and do some research. Both are great options and it pains me I won't be able to do both.
The last month has been amazing and I'm grateful to have all the opportunities to write and photograph. It's perfect that all this creative work will need extensive editing and formatting because it gives me the perfect excuse to sit in an air-conditioned room and escape the Tokyo summer humidity.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
What Does a Drink Stand For?
I read a blog about tea. The writer asked, "What does a drink stand for?"
I always thought it was funny how Brits seem to solve every trouble with a cuppa. After I moved to Japan, I started drinking more tea and my perspective changed. Tea can also stand for personal ritual of contemplation, remembrance or taking a break. That's a big change from how I thought of tea when I lived in Canada. Tea was something to drink if I couldn't get coffee.
I always thought it was funny how Brits seem to solve every trouble with a cuppa. After I moved to Japan, I started drinking more tea and my perspective changed. Tea can also stand for personal ritual of contemplation, remembrance or taking a break. That's a big change from how I thought of tea when I lived in Canada. Tea was something to drink if I couldn't get coffee.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Tron Legacy Review
Lots of mixed reviews about this movie. The common complaint is that the story is horrible. Not much argument there. It's not an original story. It follows the traditional son searching for his father and some direction in his life. Done a million times before. At this point in fiction, and for some time, it ALL been done before so it then comes down to how you tell it. Not really any unique twists in the how either. There is even a little bit of Darth Vader in the story. If you are looking for a movie with a compelling story, this isn't it. I can't even really excuse the fact that they are working within a framework established 25 years ago and have a lot of bumps and backstory to cover for those new to the franchise. I've seen worse, but sometimes I watch movies on Cult of UHF.
The most interesting part of the movie was how the idea of The Singularity was dealt with. In order to prevent a spoiler, I'll write more about this at the end.
But Tron really isn't about the story. It's about the visual and the soundtrack. It's visual detail is where it lies closest to it predecessor. I think the 3-D is done pretty well. It's maybe obvious to have the regular world in 2-D and the Grid World in 3-D but it's still a nice touch.
The costumes are interesting and Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett look amazing. Much has been made of Jeff Bridge's youthful character and for the most part is was pretty well done. I actually preferred his rendering of CLU to the Kevin Flynn hippie computer guru. At times I was reminded of the Big Lebowski and while I loved that film, it didn't really work for me here.
Daft Punks soundtrack is amazing and suits the Grid World perfectly. For me, the soundtrack makes up for the story. I might actually have liked it better if there was no dialogue in the Grid World.
I enjoyed myself but wasn't blown away. Hitoshi slept through half and hour of it.
Dealing with The Singularity.**********spoiler alert************
For people who have heard the term but aren't sure what it is, THE singularity is different from the astronomical singularity (black hole or the point where some property is infinite). The Singularity is the point where technology has created super intelligence and so technology progresses beyond what people can predict. Sorry for the soft definition. The exact term is still under debate. I take it to be the point where the computers we created are so much smarter than us that we are no longer in control and that computers replicate themselves without human involvement. Think Skynet or Matrix.
In Tron Legacy, The Singularity is achieved in the Grid where a race of beings comes into conditions because the conditions are right. Not created by Kevin Flynn but as a product of the existence of the Grid. The analogy is that life created on Earth because the conditions were right in the primordial soup. But these beings don't evolve they are already fully formed and god-like in their innate knowledge.
I really liked this idea and what made it more interesting is that they aren't presented as evil as with Skynet and the Matrix, but as benign beings that can't help being what they are. It is Flynn's Grid doppleganger CLU who manifests evil and destroys them.
CLU is another example of The Singularity. Flynn's creation, CLU, takes Flynn's orders to create a world of perfection in a direction Flynn could not have predicted. CLU isn't evil because he is eeeeevil. CLU is the natural extension of what happens in the pursuit of perfection when executed by a machine. I was okay with this idea as well. Then Flynn replies with a California-Guru-mantra spiel about "the pursuit of perfection but perfection is already in front of you." It's supposed to explain to CLU what went wrong but the tone definitely lowered the standard. I know I have misquoted this but it something along these lines and you get the idea.
I think the ending was sloppy. The exchange with CLU and Flynn needed to be earned a bit better. I think the writers didn't earn the ending. Somewhere in the middle of the movie their needed to be more regret on the part of Flynn about CLU being who he is (CLU is Flynn after all) and some more frustration on CLU's part about Flynn being dissatisfied. Maybe the fault is the editors and not the writers'. Dunno. The Flynn-CLU dynamic could have been a much more satisfying conflict and instead it came about as rather patched together.
The most interesting part of the movie was how the idea of The Singularity was dealt with. In order to prevent a spoiler, I'll write more about this at the end.
But Tron really isn't about the story. It's about the visual and the soundtrack. It's visual detail is where it lies closest to it predecessor. I think the 3-D is done pretty well. It's maybe obvious to have the regular world in 2-D and the Grid World in 3-D but it's still a nice touch.
The costumes are interesting and Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett look amazing. Much has been made of Jeff Bridge's youthful character and for the most part is was pretty well done. I actually preferred his rendering of CLU to the Kevin Flynn hippie computer guru. At times I was reminded of the Big Lebowski and while I loved that film, it didn't really work for me here.
Daft Punks soundtrack is amazing and suits the Grid World perfectly. For me, the soundtrack makes up for the story. I might actually have liked it better if there was no dialogue in the Grid World.
I enjoyed myself but wasn't blown away. Hitoshi slept through half and hour of it.
Dealing with The Singularity.**********spoiler alert************
For people who have heard the term but aren't sure what it is, THE singularity is different from the astronomical singularity (black hole or the point where some property is infinite). The Singularity is the point where technology has created super intelligence and so technology progresses beyond what people can predict. Sorry for the soft definition. The exact term is still under debate. I take it to be the point where the computers we created are so much smarter than us that we are no longer in control and that computers replicate themselves without human involvement. Think Skynet or Matrix.
In Tron Legacy, The Singularity is achieved in the Grid where a race of beings comes into conditions because the conditions are right. Not created by Kevin Flynn but as a product of the existence of the Grid. The analogy is that life created on Earth because the conditions were right in the primordial soup. But these beings don't evolve they are already fully formed and god-like in their innate knowledge.
I really liked this idea and what made it more interesting is that they aren't presented as evil as with Skynet and the Matrix, but as benign beings that can't help being what they are. It is Flynn's Grid doppleganger CLU who manifests evil and destroys them.
CLU is another example of The Singularity. Flynn's creation, CLU, takes Flynn's orders to create a world of perfection in a direction Flynn could not have predicted. CLU isn't evil because he is eeeeevil. CLU is the natural extension of what happens in the pursuit of perfection when executed by a machine. I was okay with this idea as well. Then Flynn replies with a California-Guru-mantra spiel about "the pursuit of perfection but perfection is already in front of you." It's supposed to explain to CLU what went wrong but the tone definitely lowered the standard. I know I have misquoted this but it something along these lines and you get the idea.
I think the ending was sloppy. The exchange with CLU and Flynn needed to be earned a bit better. I think the writers didn't earn the ending. Somewhere in the middle of the movie their needed to be more regret on the part of Flynn about CLU being who he is (CLU is Flynn after all) and some more frustration on CLU's part about Flynn being dissatisfied. Maybe the fault is the editors and not the writers'. Dunno. The Flynn-CLU dynamic could have been a much more satisfying conflict and instead it came about as rather patched together.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Repairman Jack
Repairman Jack is a societal drop-out anti-hero created by F. Paul Wilson.
A personal tragedy set him on a trail of revenge when he realizes that the police, and the “system” will never punish those responsible. He finds he has a knack for repairing these kinds of injustices drops out of society and goes into business as Repairman Jack.
Jack has no social security number, he doesn’t pay taxes or have a bank account in his own name. He survives through identity theft. He makes his money by helping people who are unable to get help from the police or the legal system. In typical anti-hero form, Jack breaks laws and commits crimes in his efforts to help his customers regain some justice. He believes strongly in the right to live his life according to his rules, and that others can live their life however they want as long as they aren’t infringing on others. His strong personal moral code makes him admirable, desirable as an ally, fearsome as an enemy.
It’s interesting to see how a person can live off the grid of officialdom inside a metropolitan city. It doesn’t happen without a lot of skills and contacts and requires a great willingness to color outside the lines. To make most of his “repairs” Jack creates or manipulates situations where the wrong doer is often undone by their own vices. Key to Jack’s success is his anonymity. Jack aspires to fade into the crowd and stay outside the system.
As the series progresses, books begin to focus on a Lovecraftian underworld’s battle of evil vs. ambivalent. The evil force is called the Otherness and the ambivalent force the Ally. In one novel (I will omit the title to reduce the spoiler effect) Jack is told that there will no longer be any coincidences for him regarding to do with this battle. I think the fact that Jack is a pawn in this battle helps is a nice foil to the fact that Jack is a master manipulator when it comes to his fix-it jobs.
The fix-its remind me a lot of the con-games in the TV show Leverage and Human Target but are much darker and more violent. But the elements of the bad-guy who is really a good guy, and the satisfaction of seeing the really bad guys brought down is the same.
So far, I like the mythos and how Wilson is creating links between the Repairman Jack series and his Adversary series. Brilliant way to get people reading your backlist!
A personal tragedy set him on a trail of revenge when he realizes that the police, and the “system” will never punish those responsible. He finds he has a knack for repairing these kinds of injustices drops out of society and goes into business as Repairman Jack.
Jack has no social security number, he doesn’t pay taxes or have a bank account in his own name. He survives through identity theft. He makes his money by helping people who are unable to get help from the police or the legal system. In typical anti-hero form, Jack breaks laws and commits crimes in his efforts to help his customers regain some justice. He believes strongly in the right to live his life according to his rules, and that others can live their life however they want as long as they aren’t infringing on others. His strong personal moral code makes him admirable, desirable as an ally, fearsome as an enemy.
It’s interesting to see how a person can live off the grid of officialdom inside a metropolitan city. It doesn’t happen without a lot of skills and contacts and requires a great willingness to color outside the lines. To make most of his “repairs” Jack creates or manipulates situations where the wrong doer is often undone by their own vices. Key to Jack’s success is his anonymity. Jack aspires to fade into the crowd and stay outside the system.
As the series progresses, books begin to focus on a Lovecraftian underworld’s battle of evil vs. ambivalent. The evil force is called the Otherness and the ambivalent force the Ally. In one novel (I will omit the title to reduce the spoiler effect) Jack is told that there will no longer be any coincidences for him regarding to do with this battle. I think the fact that Jack is a pawn in this battle helps is a nice foil to the fact that Jack is a master manipulator when it comes to his fix-it jobs.
The fix-its remind me a lot of the con-games in the TV show Leverage and Human Target but are much darker and more violent. But the elements of the bad-guy who is really a good guy, and the satisfaction of seeing the really bad guys brought down is the same.
So far, I like the mythos and how Wilson is creating links between the Repairman Jack series and his Adversary series. Brilliant way to get people reading your backlist!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super
I recently bought a vintage rangefinder camera. I was browsing at an antique market at Aka Renga Soko in Yokohama Japan. I was intrigued by a table displaying watch parts in various stages of usability. I quickly realized that any project involving these pieces would be over my head. To the side of the table was a cardboard box full of old junk cameras. Now this was more my area. I’d been looking for a cheap camera to do Lomography style photos; some kind of old thing that I could trick-out or modify with out feeling guilty.
There were some old SLR bodies with out lenses or covers in obvious disrepair. One was a Canon A-F, the other was a Contax. Nope. Not interested. They wouldn’t even look good as decoration and I certainly didn’t need them for parts. One camera still had a leather case on it. I opened it up and it seemed like the shutter still worked. It was a Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super, 35mm rangefinder. I asked the dealer if it still worked. He opened the camera and it had a roll of film in it. We closed it up, clicked a few frames and advanced the film. Seemed to work. He wanted 5000 yen for the camera, but I wasn’t so sure about how it would work. The lens had a lot of dust and looked like it might be a bit moldy. I was willing to chance 3000 yen on the camera thinking it looked cool enough to just sit on the shelf.
Anxious to try the camera out, I practically ran to World Porters which has a branch of Popeye Camera. Popeye Camera really promotes analog camera use and girlie type photography. The store sells vintage cameras, Holga, Lomo, as well as digital cameras. Various types of saturation,color casts and paper samples decorate the store and help the customer experiment with their prints or refine their final product. I was looking on my iPhone for an instruction manual on how to load film into the camera but of course the battery died. Not to worry because the staff at Popeye Camera are familiar with old cameras. When I asked for help on how to load the camera, I got excellent instructions. I bought a roll of Solaris 800 because it was already 3:30 and I was on my way to try it out.
My first shot was in a store. There is no light meter on this camera. This isn’t so much of a problem as I have my own handheld meter but I’d left the meter at home little guessing I’d be having a new camera adventure. I ended up guessing wildly at my exposures and bracketing once in a while.
I found the rangefinder kind of hard to focus. This issue wasn’t unexpected. I had considered buying a Mamiya 6 until I rented one and tried it. I love many things about the Mamiya 6 but I couldn’t focus on distant, complex objects like cherry blossoms. I decided I wouldn’t worry too much about focus with the Petri and decided to rely mostly on the distance scale. I was so eager I to try it, I ended up shooting in twilight and night. Not the best time to test focus.
For my next shots, my mom and I rode on the Cosmo Clock ferris wheel and I took photos of Cosmo World, and Minato Mirai area. I finished the roll around 6 pm and tried to rewind the film and remove it. I forgot about the the clerk’s instruction on how to rewind the film. There is a little button on the bottom of the camera that must be pressed while winding the film. Fortunately, I hadn’t assumed I needed more force when the film didn’t rewind. Finally, I remembered the procedure. I rewound the film for what felt like forever. It took so long to rewind the film that I just assumed I was finished and opened the camera back. Yikes! Not finished rolling. I rewound some more and decided again that I must be done. This time when I opened the back again, there was a little tail of film sticking out. I pushed it back into the can and hoped that I’d only ruined a few frames. With an exposed roll of film burning my pocket, I headed off to Bic Camera in Kawasaki to process the roll of film. I was dying to see if this cheap camera from the junk box could actually take a picture.
One hour later I had developed negatives and a pack of prints. Shockingly, I had almost 32 prints. Some didn’t work out because I was way off on the exposure, but the print machine compensated on these frames so that I would get some kind of image, no matter how grainy the result. The photos were also surprisingly sharp and not marred by dust. I was really happy with my purchase.
The only thing marring my joy with this camera is the smell. It smells kinda funky. The inside of the camera looked dusty and a bit moldy maybe. I’ve cleaned the camera and the case (Fabreezing the case for good measure) but it still smells a bit. Maybe it will smell less after I clean it and let it sit in open air.
Summary
Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super 35 mm rangefinder
3000 yen, mechanisms still operating, leather case with Petri logo embossed on it. NO lens cap
Lens: fixed Petri orikkor 1: 1.9 f=4.5cm (lens a bit dusty and maybe small mold dots)
Shutter Type: Copal-SV
Shutter Speeds: B, 1s-1/500
Aperture Settings: F1.9-F16 in whole stop increments All the F-stops are in green numbering except F-11 (Why?)(I notice that the camera doesn’t always click into a stop so it seems I can get half stops?)
Flash: mount and flash outlet on the lens, M and X settings (not sure what they are)
Timer lever (I haven’t tried it because why tempt fate?)
I found Petri 1.9’s specs on this website:
It seems kind of hard to find info on this camera. I’m looking forward to finding out more.
I will post some of the test pics soon.
There were some old SLR bodies with out lenses or covers in obvious disrepair. One was a Canon A-F, the other was a Contax. Nope. Not interested. They wouldn’t even look good as decoration and I certainly didn’t need them for parts. One camera still had a leather case on it. I opened it up and it seemed like the shutter still worked. It was a Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super, 35mm rangefinder. I asked the dealer if it still worked. He opened the camera and it had a roll of film in it. We closed it up, clicked a few frames and advanced the film. Seemed to work. He wanted 5000 yen for the camera, but I wasn’t so sure about how it would work. The lens had a lot of dust and looked like it might be a bit moldy. I was willing to chance 3000 yen on the camera thinking it looked cool enough to just sit on the shelf.
Anxious to try the camera out, I practically ran to World Porters which has a branch of Popeye Camera. Popeye Camera really promotes analog camera use and girlie type photography. The store sells vintage cameras, Holga, Lomo, as well as digital cameras. Various types of saturation,color casts and paper samples decorate the store and help the customer experiment with their prints or refine their final product. I was looking on my iPhone for an instruction manual on how to load film into the camera but of course the battery died. Not to worry because the staff at Popeye Camera are familiar with old cameras. When I asked for help on how to load the camera, I got excellent instructions. I bought a roll of Solaris 800 because it was already 3:30 and I was on my way to try it out.
My first shot was in a store. There is no light meter on this camera. This isn’t so much of a problem as I have my own handheld meter but I’d left the meter at home little guessing I’d be having a new camera adventure. I ended up guessing wildly at my exposures and bracketing once in a while.
I found the rangefinder kind of hard to focus. This issue wasn’t unexpected. I had considered buying a Mamiya 6 until I rented one and tried it. I love many things about the Mamiya 6 but I couldn’t focus on distant, complex objects like cherry blossoms. I decided I wouldn’t worry too much about focus with the Petri and decided to rely mostly on the distance scale. I was so eager I to try it, I ended up shooting in twilight and night. Not the best time to test focus.
For my next shots, my mom and I rode on the Cosmo Clock ferris wheel and I took photos of Cosmo World, and Minato Mirai area. I finished the roll around 6 pm and tried to rewind the film and remove it. I forgot about the the clerk’s instruction on how to rewind the film. There is a little button on the bottom of the camera that must be pressed while winding the film. Fortunately, I hadn’t assumed I needed more force when the film didn’t rewind. Finally, I remembered the procedure. I rewound the film for what felt like forever. It took so long to rewind the film that I just assumed I was finished and opened the camera back. Yikes! Not finished rolling. I rewound some more and decided again that I must be done. This time when I opened the back again, there was a little tail of film sticking out. I pushed it back into the can and hoped that I’d only ruined a few frames. With an exposed roll of film burning my pocket, I headed off to Bic Camera in Kawasaki to process the roll of film. I was dying to see if this cheap camera from the junk box could actually take a picture.
One hour later I had developed negatives and a pack of prints. Shockingly, I had almost 32 prints. Some didn’t work out because I was way off on the exposure, but the print machine compensated on these frames so that I would get some kind of image, no matter how grainy the result. The photos were also surprisingly sharp and not marred by dust. I was really happy with my purchase.
The only thing marring my joy with this camera is the smell. It smells kinda funky. The inside of the camera looked dusty and a bit moldy maybe. I’ve cleaned the camera and the case (Fabreezing the case for good measure) but it still smells a bit. Maybe it will smell less after I clean it and let it sit in open air.
Summary
Petri 1.9 Color Corrected Super 35 mm rangefinder
3000 yen, mechanisms still operating, leather case with Petri logo embossed on it. NO lens cap
Lens: fixed Petri orikkor 1: 1.9 f=4.5cm (lens a bit dusty and maybe small mold dots)
Shutter Type: Copal-SV
Shutter Speeds: B, 1s-1/500
Aperture Settings: F1.9-F16 in whole stop increments All the F-stops are in green numbering except F-11 (Why?)(I notice that the camera doesn’t always click into a stop so it seems I can get half stops?)
Flash: mount and flash outlet on the lens, M and X settings (not sure what they are)
Timer lever (I haven’t tried it because why tempt fate?)
I found Petri 1.9’s specs on this website:
It seems kind of hard to find info on this camera. I’m looking forward to finding out more.
I will post some of the test pics soon.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Pictures from Aomori, Japan October 2010
In October 2010 I took a trip to Aomori Prefecture. This is the northernmost prefecture on Honshu which is the main island of Japan. I was fortunate enough to spend a week and travelled throughout most of the prefecture. I was able to a lot of different types of photography.
These are some of the infra-red images I shot on my Hasselblad C500.
These are some of the infra-red images I shot on my Hasselblad C500.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Joiners-- Inspired by David Hockney
A friend is teaching her art students about photographic joiners by David Hockney. It's collage. It's modern cubism. It's something I'm so intrigued by. I'm still reading a book about Hockney by Joyce and probably I'll have something more intellectual to blog about later.
This is a really small example but fun to start out with.
Later I printed out some pictures I took with a small digi when I was out for dinner with Hitoshi. The pictures were from a few days before I talked to people about joiners so it was a happy coincidence for me that I had a few picture that I could make a mini joiner of. If had known about this style beforehand I would have taken more pictures to fill out more of the image. I like the cinematic flow of pouring the cola.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Darkroom Finally Up and Running
I bought a second hand darkroom set a year and a half ago. I never had a chance to use it as I needed to buy a lens for the enlarger and soon after I bought it, I moved into a house. Though I unpacked the enlarger I just shoved it in a closet and there it remained for a while.
Over the last year I have picked up various things so that I could print: black out curtains, trays, tongs, 50mm enlarger lens and a window screen to dry prints. The real gems I hadn't yet obtained were an easel and a lens for printing medium format negatives. Finally I was able to get these last two things. I bought a 75 mm Fujinon EX. I love the easel. I don't know if I love the lens yet.
I have printed some negatives that weren't so amazing to start with. They were things that I was really curious about but I can't say I love the image. It was really fun to print and quite relaxing. I listened to some tunes on the iPod and printed away. I think my set-up is working out okay. I'm using Ilford chemistry (I know it has a new name now but it escapes me). I don't relish the idea of mixing powders. Maybe when I get more confident with the whole idea. I have to say, I do like that I just measure out a few liquids. It was pretty easy to move around and the prints look clean at least.
I've decided I will probably never develop my own film. I suppose I could save money eventually if I did it myself. If I lived in Canada I probably would do it myself. I remember taking a roll of black and white film to Black's Camera and finding out it would cost me twenty dollars! I think contact sheet was extra.
I can go to at least one place in Tokyo where I can get the film developed for six hundred yen (about 6 dollars U.S.). Everyone assures me that I would no longer screw up my film if I did it often enough. However, I'm guessing it would take me several rolls of film and heartbreak during the transition period when I figure it's safe for me to try developing rolls of stuff I am really working on.
The second barrier for developing film at home is not easily overcome. I don't have anyplace to keep the film while it dries that is dust free. And I draw the line at spending more money on stuff like that.
I usually go to National Photo in Harajuku to get my film done. They are great. If something is wrong with the film, it's not something they did but they often chat with me to help me figure out what went wrong. Last time was a roll of old film I tried out that had x-ray clouding.
Anyway, the darkroom is up and running and I'm enjoying it. Another point on my to-do list taken care of!
Over the last year I have picked up various things so that I could print: black out curtains, trays, tongs, 50mm enlarger lens and a window screen to dry prints. The real gems I hadn't yet obtained were an easel and a lens for printing medium format negatives. Finally I was able to get these last two things. I bought a 75 mm Fujinon EX. I love the easel. I don't know if I love the lens yet.
I have printed some negatives that weren't so amazing to start with. They were things that I was really curious about but I can't say I love the image. It was really fun to print and quite relaxing. I listened to some tunes on the iPod and printed away. I think my set-up is working out okay. I'm using Ilford chemistry (I know it has a new name now but it escapes me). I don't relish the idea of mixing powders. Maybe when I get more confident with the whole idea. I have to say, I do like that I just measure out a few liquids. It was pretty easy to move around and the prints look clean at least.
I've decided I will probably never develop my own film. I suppose I could save money eventually if I did it myself. If I lived in Canada I probably would do it myself. I remember taking a roll of black and white film to Black's Camera and finding out it would cost me twenty dollars! I think contact sheet was extra.
I can go to at least one place in Tokyo where I can get the film developed for six hundred yen (about 6 dollars U.S.). Everyone assures me that I would no longer screw up my film if I did it often enough. However, I'm guessing it would take me several rolls of film and heartbreak during the transition period when I figure it's safe for me to try developing rolls of stuff I am really working on.
The second barrier for developing film at home is not easily overcome. I don't have anyplace to keep the film while it dries that is dust free. And I draw the line at spending more money on stuff like that.
I usually go to National Photo in Harajuku to get my film done. They are great. If something is wrong with the film, it's not something they did but they often chat with me to help me figure out what went wrong. Last time was a roll of old film I tried out that had x-ray clouding.
Anyway, the darkroom is up and running and I'm enjoying it. Another point on my to-do list taken care of!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
World Fantasy 2008 Recap
What a great con this was. First thing, the organizers did an excellent job. Registration was smooth, programs were interesting and the hospitality was wonderful. Thanks to everyone who put something in the bookbag and the people who donated books to the bag. Mine was filled with wonderful things.
Hades Press had a wonderful pre-party with a band called the Plaid Tongued Devils. I've never heard celtic style ska music before. I loved it and bought a CD.
One of the things that really excited me was to learn about some wonderful Canadian small presses. I bought a beautiful anthology published by Ash-Tree Press called At Ease With the Dead. It's a beautifully made book. I haven't started to read it yet. Super busy processing images from Canada, getting ready for the show in December, NanoWriMo and that book is just too nice to crack the cover on. I know that sounds weird and is something an author doesn't want to hear. It's on the reading pile for December. I'll review it later.
Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy is also making wonderful books and as I'm a Calgary girl, I'm really excited that it is based in Calgary. I had a chance to talk to Brian Hades, the publisher, and he was a very nice and gracious person. It was also nice to make the connection that one of my favorite books, Sojurn, by Janna Oliver, was published by this company. I bought the sequel, Virtual Evil, in the dealers' room.
Speaking of Janna Oliver, I was lucky enough to hear her speak at a panel and later during the conference share nachos with her! She and Jeanne Marie were gracious enough to let me join them for a drink. I had a great time listening to these women. I really mark this as a conference highlight for me. I also appreciate them allowing to to have their pictures taken with Fletcher Wriggley.
I went to a writers' chat hosted by Jo Beverly. It was nice of her to host this in her room and it was great to meet other romance writers doing fantasy writing.
I was also able to talk to my favorite cover artist, John Picacio. I met him at the Yokohama World Con 2007 while doing some translating and general gofer jobs. The artists's panel discussions were really interesting. It's really interesting to hear about creative processes for image work. Surprisingly, I find it really helpful for photography.
Through this panel, I learned about the work of Shaun Tan. I'm so amazed by Tales from Outer Suburbia. I was going to bring home a copy from Canada but my luggage was already at max for both suitcases and I was carrying lots of camera gear. I gave my copy to my friend's daughter and am ordering my own copy from Amazon.com. I have been recommending this book to everyone. I know I really freaked out one of the employees at the Chinook Mall branch of Chapters when I dragged him over to the books and told him that this is the book he should be recommending people buy for Christmas.
Tales from Outer Suburbia is a wonderful collection of images and short stories. I liked the tone of the images, wonderful color and detail and somehow feeling lonely. Almost all the images have an element of humor that I really enjoyed. Then again, I photograph Estello and a clay pig called Fletcher. So, if you aren't willing to take my word about the images (even though you should) then take my word about the poignancy of the stories. The first story is a half page long but it's a really wonderful piece of short fiction.
There was a picture of one of the characters, Eric, for sale in the art dealers' room and now I really, really regret not buying it. At any rate, I really love the book and stories and find it really inspiring to have that kind of fiction and art available as a book.
I met lots of wonderful people at the con and had a lovely time. I found it really easy to talk to people and the atmosphere was really friendly and supportive. I will probably write more about the con later, but I am doing the NaNoWriMo and finally feeling jittery about not doing any writing on it today.
More con later and some pics to come. I actually have a funny story to tell about people from Ducks Unlimited party.
Hades Press had a wonderful pre-party with a band called the Plaid Tongued Devils. I've never heard celtic style ska music before. I loved it and bought a CD.
One of the things that really excited me was to learn about some wonderful Canadian small presses. I bought a beautiful anthology published by Ash-Tree Press called At Ease With the Dead. It's a beautifully made book. I haven't started to read it yet. Super busy processing images from Canada, getting ready for the show in December, NanoWriMo and that book is just too nice to crack the cover on. I know that sounds weird and is something an author doesn't want to hear. It's on the reading pile for December. I'll review it later.
Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy is also making wonderful books and as I'm a Calgary girl, I'm really excited that it is based in Calgary. I had a chance to talk to Brian Hades, the publisher, and he was a very nice and gracious person. It was also nice to make the connection that one of my favorite books, Sojurn, by Janna Oliver, was published by this company. I bought the sequel, Virtual Evil, in the dealers' room.
Speaking of Janna Oliver, I was lucky enough to hear her speak at a panel and later during the conference share nachos with her! She and Jeanne Marie were gracious enough to let me join them for a drink. I had a great time listening to these women. I really mark this as a conference highlight for me. I also appreciate them allowing to to have their pictures taken with Fletcher Wriggley.
I went to a writers' chat hosted by Jo Beverly. It was nice of her to host this in her room and it was great to meet other romance writers doing fantasy writing.
I was also able to talk to my favorite cover artist, John Picacio. I met him at the Yokohama World Con 2007 while doing some translating and general gofer jobs. The artists's panel discussions were really interesting. It's really interesting to hear about creative processes for image work. Surprisingly, I find it really helpful for photography.
Through this panel, I learned about the work of Shaun Tan. I'm so amazed by Tales from Outer Suburbia. I was going to bring home a copy from Canada but my luggage was already at max for both suitcases and I was carrying lots of camera gear. I gave my copy to my friend's daughter and am ordering my own copy from Amazon.com. I have been recommending this book to everyone. I know I really freaked out one of the employees at the Chinook Mall branch of Chapters when I dragged him over to the books and told him that this is the book he should be recommending people buy for Christmas.
Tales from Outer Suburbia is a wonderful collection of images and short stories. I liked the tone of the images, wonderful color and detail and somehow feeling lonely. Almost all the images have an element of humor that I really enjoyed. Then again, I photograph Estello and a clay pig called Fletcher. So, if you aren't willing to take my word about the images (even though you should) then take my word about the poignancy of the stories. The first story is a half page long but it's a really wonderful piece of short fiction.
There was a picture of one of the characters, Eric, for sale in the art dealers' room and now I really, really regret not buying it. At any rate, I really love the book and stories and find it really inspiring to have that kind of fiction and art available as a book.
I met lots of wonderful people at the con and had a lovely time. I found it really easy to talk to people and the atmosphere was really friendly and supportive. I will probably write more about the con later, but I am doing the NaNoWriMo and finally feeling jittery about not doing any writing on it today.
More con later and some pics to come. I actually have a funny story to tell about people from Ducks Unlimited party.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Naked Tokyo 2008
I am entering images in the Naked Tokyo show again. The 2008 show will be held in Shibuya at a gallery called Le Deco.
Images from last year's show can be seen at The theme for last year was to have shocking portraits. "Shocking" is such a tough word. How does one interpret it? Offensive? Surprising? It was really hard. Last year had a lot of nice images but I think it was hard to really come up with something shocking. A few of the images were pretty shocking in terms of the sexuality shown, but they were in a slide show rather than images on the wall.
I ended up going the route of trying to push myself beyond my comfort level. I didn't want to do nudes. I also didn't want to do something really out there and in-your-face. I decided to work on an intimacy theme. My husband was nice enough to model for me. He ends up modeling a lot for me. It was especially nice of him to be okay with me exhibiting the images.I hoped my images were exploring intimacy and just the edge of sensuality.
I had nice comment from the curator of the show via the show producer. He felt my images conveyed a lot of intimacy because most Japanese men wouldn't let themselves be photographed like that. Without knowing me or the model, he felt that the model and photographer must have a relationship. I was really pleased with the comment. Another photographer commented that I did beefcake really well. Hmmm...
This year absolutely no hint of beefcake. There was no theme this year. That made it both easier and harder. I get to shoot whatever I like but it makes it harder to think of what kind of stuff the curator is looking for. Portraits in Tokyo is a pretty broad topic. I decided to go for lone figure in the city for my topic. Even though Tokyo is a pretty crowded place, I am always surprised at how often one can just be alone in the city.
I submitted eight images. I will hear on November 15th if any images will be selected.
I will put up a link to the show after the stuff comes online whether I get selected or not.
Images from last year's show can be seen at The theme for last year was to have shocking portraits. "Shocking" is such a tough word. How does one interpret it? Offensive? Surprising? It was really hard. Last year had a lot of nice images but I think it was hard to really come up with something shocking. A few of the images were pretty shocking in terms of the sexuality shown, but they were in a slide show rather than images on the wall.
I ended up going the route of trying to push myself beyond my comfort level. I didn't want to do nudes. I also didn't want to do something really out there and in-your-face. I decided to work on an intimacy theme. My husband was nice enough to model for me. He ends up modeling a lot for me. It was especially nice of him to be okay with me exhibiting the images.I hoped my images were exploring intimacy and just the edge of sensuality.
I had nice comment from the curator of the show via the show producer. He felt my images conveyed a lot of intimacy because most Japanese men wouldn't let themselves be photographed like that. Without knowing me or the model, he felt that the model and photographer must have a relationship. I was really pleased with the comment. Another photographer commented that I did beefcake really well. Hmmm...
This year absolutely no hint of beefcake. There was no theme this year. That made it both easier and harder. I get to shoot whatever I like but it makes it harder to think of what kind of stuff the curator is looking for. Portraits in Tokyo is a pretty broad topic. I decided to go for lone figure in the city for my topic. Even though Tokyo is a pretty crowded place, I am always surprised at how often one can just be alone in the city.
I submitted eight images. I will hear on November 15th if any images will be selected.
I will put up a link to the show after the stuff comes online whether I get selected or not.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Pen Tool
I love my Wacom Intuos tablet. I have a lot of fun with Adobe Illustrator and I really enjoy the finer control I can get with the pen. What I'm not loving so much is the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. Almost everything else seems to be coming along except for the pen tool. Intellectually, I can understand the advantages of the pen function, but I haven't been able to get it to work for me. It is so frustrating.
I do lots of tutorials and research but I'm not fluent with this tool and I want to be.
I do lots of tutorials and research but I'm not fluent with this tool and I want to be.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Light Tent
I've been interested in doing isolation shots and still life for a while. I was really interested in using a light tent to do some of the work. Way too much money, though. I wanted to shoot fairly large objects, say a vase instead of a watch, but the light tents I was interested in ran to 350-500 dollars.
I've been reading a lot of photography web sites. Favorites are studiolighting.net and strobist.com. If you haven't checked them out, you should.
One of the valuable lessons gained from these sites is that you don't have to have the expensive equipment to make a good photo. You just need to get a good photo. Strobist.com even has an entry about making your own mini-macro studio tent. I checked it out, googled a bit more and decided that I, too, could make it myself.
I tried using the cardboard box, but ultimately was unhappy with the results. They were okay, but still hard to get a good photo. Ironically, the hardest part was getting a box of the right size. Any boxes were either too big or too small. They also didn't wear too well. Not a problem if I had endless access to boxes. Another thing about the box-- a coworker of mine who used to be an exterminator told me that cockroaches love cardboard boxes. They make the perfect happy nest for the roaches when they are in their nymph stage. I hate having cardboard boxes in my house. I don't want them in my house--not even for a photograph. I decided I would make my own light tent from PVC pipe.
I love DIY but because there is no HomeHardware store in Tokyo, DIY isn't so cheap. Tokyu Hands is a fun store, but things are really pricey. I guess because most things come in little plastic bags rather than tossed in a bin. it turns out that PVC isn't so cheap and it's more bulky than I guessed. But mostly, it isn't so cheap. Also I couldn't find any handy connecting pieces.
Enter the store called UNIDY in Lazona Mall in Kawasaki. I had been there a few times and it has a fairly decent DIY section. It is nowhere near the paradise of the big orange store but it's cheaper than Tokyu Hands. I had the burning desire to take another crack at building a light tent and went in search of PVC poles hoping the price would be more reasonable. Didn't find such an amazing section of PVC pipes, but I did find some nice aluminum pipes. The most useful size measured 60cm long and cost about 150 yen. The store also had an amazing amount of little plastic connecting pieces in a huge variety of shapes and purposes. Yeah, baby. THIS is what I'm talking about.
I was able to make the light tent structure for 4200 yen. The diffusing material would be made from garbage bags or drycleaning bags. Perfectly cheap or free. I also have the option of making the tent in different sizes later on by buying different sized poles.
Then I got ambitious. I also wanted to have a light stand. Light stands tend to run about 10 000 yen. I have been trying to improvise various way of putting up the lights I use and it all looked like an accident waiting to happen. I bought a longer pole for 900 yen and the big expense, a little holder for 1500 yen. It needed to be attached to a piece of wood to make it stable. I looked around the store for a suitable piece but didn't find anything in my size range (about 35 cm square) or in my price range (less than 500 yen). Still, I had ideas, so I purchased the stuff. I happily went home and put my bag down and left it for a few days. And then the final piece came into my possession.
Near my house is a local hardware/wood/building store. It is owned by a woman and I always wonder how they stay open. I found out that they make their living by opening early and catering their business to carpenters and builders. This store is a no frills shop. I've enjoyed walking past that shop because they sell a lot of lumber and often one can smell cut pine. Lovely!
I've been in that shop for various things-- a plunger, a screen, a knife/saw to cut a pumpkin, wood and screws to make a drying rack for my futon.
They were selling small pieces of wood in various sizes most of which were the size I was looking for. Best of all was the price--starting from 50 yen and up. I went home, grabbed the pole holder and went back to the store. I found a good size and the shop keepers helped me get the appropriate sized screws.
The last stage was to buy some velvet for photos with a black backdrop. I tried the black paper. I don't like the color I get. There's not really enough space to get the background to be a lot blacker than the subject. Yuzawaya was the place to get the velvet. I got a nice piece, that almost seems to absorb light. It wasn't cheap. The velvet costs 4750yen/meter. I was able to save a little since I only needed a length of 60 cm because the width was 110 cm.
Today, I put it all together. So far, so good. I'm still testing and working out the lighting thing.
Photos to come!
I've been reading a lot of photography web sites. Favorites are studiolighting.net and strobist.com. If you haven't checked them out, you should.
One of the valuable lessons gained from these sites is that you don't have to have the expensive equipment to make a good photo. You just need to get a good photo. Strobist.com even has an entry about making your own mini-macro studio tent. I checked it out, googled a bit more and decided that I, too, could make it myself.
I tried using the cardboard box, but ultimately was unhappy with the results. They were okay, but still hard to get a good photo. Ironically, the hardest part was getting a box of the right size. Any boxes were either too big or too small. They also didn't wear too well. Not a problem if I had endless access to boxes. Another thing about the box-- a coworker of mine who used to be an exterminator told me that cockroaches love cardboard boxes. They make the perfect happy nest for the roaches when they are in their nymph stage. I hate having cardboard boxes in my house. I don't want them in my house--not even for a photograph. I decided I would make my own light tent from PVC pipe.
I love DIY but because there is no HomeHardware store in Tokyo, DIY isn't so cheap. Tokyu Hands is a fun store, but things are really pricey. I guess because most things come in little plastic bags rather than tossed in a bin. it turns out that PVC isn't so cheap and it's more bulky than I guessed. But mostly, it isn't so cheap. Also I couldn't find any handy connecting pieces.
Enter the store called UNIDY in Lazona Mall in Kawasaki. I had been there a few times and it has a fairly decent DIY section. It is nowhere near the paradise of the big orange store but it's cheaper than Tokyu Hands. I had the burning desire to take another crack at building a light tent and went in search of PVC poles hoping the price would be more reasonable. Didn't find such an amazing section of PVC pipes, but I did find some nice aluminum pipes. The most useful size measured 60cm long and cost about 150 yen. The store also had an amazing amount of little plastic connecting pieces in a huge variety of shapes and purposes. Yeah, baby. THIS is what I'm talking about.
I was able to make the light tent structure for 4200 yen. The diffusing material would be made from garbage bags or drycleaning bags. Perfectly cheap or free. I also have the option of making the tent in different sizes later on by buying different sized poles.
Then I got ambitious. I also wanted to have a light stand. Light stands tend to run about 10 000 yen. I have been trying to improvise various way of putting up the lights I use and it all looked like an accident waiting to happen. I bought a longer pole for 900 yen and the big expense, a little holder for 1500 yen. It needed to be attached to a piece of wood to make it stable. I looked around the store for a suitable piece but didn't find anything in my size range (about 35 cm square) or in my price range (less than 500 yen). Still, I had ideas, so I purchased the stuff. I happily went home and put my bag down and left it for a few days. And then the final piece came into my possession.
Near my house is a local hardware/wood/building store. It is owned by a woman and I always wonder how they stay open. I found out that they make their living by opening early and catering their business to carpenters and builders. This store is a no frills shop. I've enjoyed walking past that shop because they sell a lot of lumber and often one can smell cut pine. Lovely!
I've been in that shop for various things-- a plunger, a screen, a knife/saw to cut a pumpkin, wood and screws to make a drying rack for my futon.
They were selling small pieces of wood in various sizes most of which were the size I was looking for. Best of all was the price--starting from 50 yen and up. I went home, grabbed the pole holder and went back to the store. I found a good size and the shop keepers helped me get the appropriate sized screws.
The last stage was to buy some velvet for photos with a black backdrop. I tried the black paper. I don't like the color I get. There's not really enough space to get the background to be a lot blacker than the subject. Yuzawaya was the place to get the velvet. I got a nice piece, that almost seems to absorb light. It wasn't cheap. The velvet costs 4750yen/meter. I was able to save a little since I only needed a length of 60 cm because the width was 110 cm.
Today, I put it all together. So far, so good. I'm still testing and working out the lighting thing.
Photos to come!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I feel like I should do an update. I don't have a lot of info to update, though.
Lots of travelling so that was nice. Prague in April, Hong Kong in May for three days and another three day trip, to Nagano, in June. I picked up a teaching gig in June and that was a lot of fun but it wasn't photography or writing.
I finally went through the Prague pictures this month. I also have had a chance to go through my Hong Kong photos, and a few of the Nagano photos. I submitted some of the Nagano shots to Getty. It seems I have a pretty positive response. Did some portraits for two people and I think they came out nicely as well.
The website stuff has been going slowly. I learn a lot but I keep changing my design ideas. This is not helpful. I'm trying to decide if it should be just right or just up there. I am going for just right. I decided to do a flash gallery, because in the end it seemed like the easiest thing to make and for viewers to navigate.
I've tried a lot of the free online flash stuff like Coppermine. While I liked it, it seemed that is was going to be harder to get things to look the way I like them then to get a Slideshow-Pro flash plug in to embed in my website.
My power center in my mac went last week so I have been computer free for almost a week. It felt good at first, but then I just wanted to finish the site and when I went outside to shoot, didn't get anything I like.
I don't like that I haven't been writing. I need to be more BICHOK. I have my hands full but need to make more time for it. The only things I have to show for creative writing is a short story challenge with JoeUser and another story about the life of a cantaloupe.
Lots of travelling so that was nice. Prague in April, Hong Kong in May for three days and another three day trip, to Nagano, in June. I picked up a teaching gig in June and that was a lot of fun but it wasn't photography or writing.
I finally went through the Prague pictures this month. I also have had a chance to go through my Hong Kong photos, and a few of the Nagano photos. I submitted some of the Nagano shots to Getty. It seems I have a pretty positive response. Did some portraits for two people and I think they came out nicely as well.
The website stuff has been going slowly. I learn a lot but I keep changing my design ideas. This is not helpful. I'm trying to decide if it should be just right or just up there. I am going for just right. I decided to do a flash gallery, because in the end it seemed like the easiest thing to make and for viewers to navigate.
I've tried a lot of the free online flash stuff like Coppermine. While I liked it, it seemed that is was going to be harder to get things to look the way I like them then to get a Slideshow-Pro flash plug in to embed in my website.
My power center in my mac went last week so I have been computer free for almost a week. It felt good at first, but then I just wanted to finish the site and when I went outside to shoot, didn't get anything I like.
I don't like that I haven't been writing. I need to be more BICHOK. I have my hands full but need to make more time for it. The only things I have to show for creative writing is a short story challenge with JoeUser and another story about the life of a cantaloupe.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
New Blog: NoriNori Studio Blog
I'm working on a new business. I'm going to start doing portraits! I am specializing in families. I found that I really enjoy trying to capture family dynamics. I'm going to shy away from studio shoots in favor of local or home settings so I can get a more realistic sense. I want to capture a moment in the life rather than create an artificial moment.
I've seen some great studio portraits but I like the extra element that the location and home setting will add. My favorite portraits are always done in situ and the location or props always give an extra hint about the identity of the sitter. Maybe this is some remnant from all those renaissance portraits I studied in Art History way back when.
The learning curve has been really steep in terms of putting the website together. It's been really hard to decide on things like palette, and phrasing. And as tough as it's been, it's been amazingly fun! I really look forward to waking up in the morning so that I can get more work done on the photos and the website.
As a result, the novel writing has suffered quite a lot. I'm trying to cut myself some slack on this. Not only have I been trying to get the photography business up and running, the last two weeks have been crazy busy! My mom and dad came to visit in the last week of March. It is their first time back to Japan in over ten years. It was an easier trip this time because I live in Tokyo instead of Niigata (about three hours outside of Tokyo by Shinkansen) and now my husband and I have a house instead of my apartment (which I was moving out of at the time of their last visit). Two days after my parents left, my husband and I took a week's vacation in Prague for our tenth anniversary trip. At least the story plots still fill my brain during an idle moment so I don't feel too bereft.
Prague was amazing. We stayed only in Prague and did a lot of photography. The only problem with shooting in RAW or film is that it takes just that much longer to get things ready to go on the internet. I would love to go back to Prague and do some more photography. It was a beautiful city and now I think I could do more interesting stuff than the usual touristy type stuff I did.
Here is a link to the NoriNori Studio Blog http://www.norinoristudioblog.blogspot.com
I've seen some great studio portraits but I like the extra element that the location and home setting will add. My favorite portraits are always done in situ and the location or props always give an extra hint about the identity of the sitter. Maybe this is some remnant from all those renaissance portraits I studied in Art History way back when.
The learning curve has been really steep in terms of putting the website together. It's been really hard to decide on things like palette, and phrasing. And as tough as it's been, it's been amazingly fun! I really look forward to waking up in the morning so that I can get more work done on the photos and the website.
As a result, the novel writing has suffered quite a lot. I'm trying to cut myself some slack on this. Not only have I been trying to get the photography business up and running, the last two weeks have been crazy busy! My mom and dad came to visit in the last week of March. It is their first time back to Japan in over ten years. It was an easier trip this time because I live in Tokyo instead of Niigata (about three hours outside of Tokyo by Shinkansen) and now my husband and I have a house instead of my apartment (which I was moving out of at the time of their last visit). Two days after my parents left, my husband and I took a week's vacation in Prague for our tenth anniversary trip. At least the story plots still fill my brain during an idle moment so I don't feel too bereft.
Prague was amazing. We stayed only in Prague and did a lot of photography. The only problem with shooting in RAW or film is that it takes just that much longer to get things ready to go on the internet. I would love to go back to Prague and do some more photography. It was a beautiful city and now I think I could do more interesting stuff than the usual touristy type stuff I did.
Here is a link to the NoriNori Studio Blog http://www.norinoristudioblog.blogspot.com
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