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Day 41 – That Which Does Not Kill Us…

Nov 232009

Taken with iPhone Camera. Edited with Tiffen Photo Fx.

This photo really makes me think about the forces of nature. On the one hand, we have the snow and cold bearing down. On the other, we see signs of life and the promise of what is to come in the spring. Is there any doubt that spring will come? Some days it might feel like it won’t. But even the the most die-hard pessimist would bet on the eventual arrival of spring.

Manual: p.138 Taking a Closer Look: Playback Zoom

Images: National Geographic’s International Photography Contest 2009 on the Big Picture from the Boston Globe.

Day 39 – I Am The Egg Man

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Nov 212009

Taken with iPhone Camera. Edited with CinemaFX

For your consideration, I present a photo of James Jr. boiling eggs for breakfast. He really need a hair cut!

Manual: p.84 The Electronic Analog Exposure Display

Images: Marc Silber

Day 38 – Health Is Like Carpet

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Nov 202009

Taken with iPhone Camera. Edited with Kooleido and PhotoStudio.

One’s health is like carpet…it’s taken for granted unless it bad…or shocks you. The carpet at my work does both.

I had a splitting headache yesterday that lasted all day. I’m used to headaches (who can really ever get used to headaches) but this one was a dozy, so today’s photo is a statement about health…and carpet.

The carpet in the building where I work is the ugliest carpet known to mankind. Click photo to the right for a larger view, but be prepared for hideous. On top of being really ugly, it’s also harmful and dangerous. If you live in a humid climate you might not understand fully the concept of static shock. This carpet also happens to be the worst culprit of static shock I have ever known. simply by walking a few steps, I can build up a good sized charge that visibly arcs onto any metal in sight. (A shock that humans can feel is at least 3000 volts. a strong shock can be as much as 30,000 volts.)

So what does this have to do with health? Well, who really thinks that much about carpet on a daily basis? I do, only because I’m around this stuff every day. Same goes for health, when we feel fine, we are thinking of everything else. When we don’t feel well, we can think of nothing else.

This photo was made using a program called Kooleido. It’s a kaleidoscope program for my iPhone that can use any photo that I can take with my camera. I used the photo of the carpet above to create the cool pattern, and then spiced it up in PhotoStudio. It’s such a fun program, I could spend hours just watching the swirling patterns go by. To the left is the original capture from Kooleido before any effects were processed.

See the outtakes for several other variations.

Manual: Opps…stay tuned.

Images: Dropular a media bookmarking site. Saw a tweet by @npbradshaw about it. Cool find! Not saying all the images are the greatest, but it’s a great place to find outstanding works of art and photography. Warning: not all content is safe for all ages. The site has a content filter, but there are gray areas.

Day 37 – You Could Wake Up Dead

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Nov 192009

Taken with iPhone Camera. Edited with CinemaFX and Photogene.

My head is splitting open. Or at least that is the way that it feels. What great and profound wisdom can I impart in metaphorical form using this photo? Nope…got nothing. Sometimes an apple and orange is just an apple and orange.

for some reason this poem by Scott Cairns sprang to mind.

Imperative

By Scott Cairns

The thing to remember is how
Tentative all of this really is.
You could wake up dead.

Or the woman you love
Could decide you’re ugly.
Maybe she’ll finally give up
Trying to ignore the way
You floss your teeth as you
Watch television. All I’m saying
Is that there are no sure things here.

I mean, you’ll probably wake up alive,
And she’ll probably keep putting off
Any actual decision about your looks.
Could be she’ll be glad your teeth
are so clean. The morning could
be full of all the love and kindness
you need. Just don’t go thinking
you deserve any of it.

—

I hope Scott Cairns will forgive me for publishing his poem here. I heard him at a poetry reading back when this poem first came out in the ’90s, and was very moved by it.

Manual: p.121 Multiple Exposure

Images: Boston Globe’s Big Picture On the Shoreline.

Day 30 – The Earth is Flat

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Nov 122009

Taken with Genius. Edited with Tiffen Photo Fx.

I took this photo on my drive to work this morning. The power lines vanishing into the distance always strike me for their sheer size and what they represent: industry, technology, innovation, communication and our ability to create something where there once was nothing.

This photo reminded me of one of my favorite songs by Thomas Dolby, The Flat Earth. Yes, it’s another metaphor, but what does it mean? Dane Sanders, in his book Fast Track Photographer refers to a flattened world as one where “your vision, your roadmap, your inventive ideas are just as valid as anyone.” We live in a world where you can be anything you can imagine.

The Earth can be any shape you want it
Any shape at all
Dark and cold or bright and warm
Long or thin or small
But it’s home and all I ever had
and maybe why for me the Earth is flat

Lyrics from The Flat Earth by Thomas Dolby

Don’t forget the outtakes.

Manual: p.1 Introduction

Images: Dane Sanders