August 2011
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Getting creative at the book store
Chamblin’s Bookmine in Downtown Jacksonville
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 1/3s Aperture: f/7.1 Focal Length: 17mm to 50mm ISO Speed: 200
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 1/3s Aperture: f/7.1 Focal Length: 17mm ISO Speed: 200
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 1/3s Aperture: f/7.1 Focal Length: 17mm ISO Speed: 200
July 2011
1 post
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The camera phone
Well, it finally happened. I posted iPhone photos to my Flickr stream.
I honestly never thought I would. “Flickr’s for my real photographs,” I always said. “For photos that were shot RAW, put through Lightroom and Photoshop — you know, real photos.” But I forgot where I started with photography — with a cheap Canon Powershot point-and-shoot and an open...
June 2011
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It's in the eyes
Camera: Nikon D90 Lens: 50mm f/1.8D Exposure: 1/400 Aperture: f/2.2 ISO Speed: 200 Lighting: Natural, outdoors
February 2011
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Jacksonville cooling towers, Part 2
These guys are two of my favorite subjects in Jacksonville. Part 1 can be found here.
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 6 s Aperture: f/11.0 Focal Length: 50 mm ISO Speed: 100
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 30 s Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 34 mm ISO Speed: 200
January 2011
4 posts
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Wrestling with Google Places
I’ve come across many folks who have encountered an error when trying to add a business to Google Places. Even though the business you’re trying to add might look like it has the correct address, such as “Jacksonville Florida 32257,” the following error is seen:
Obviously, Florida is indeed a state in the US, but Google cannot recognize it for some reason.
It seemed the...
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Perspective (and some more symmetry)
Sometimes, it’s not necessarily the subject that makes the photograph; it’s the perspective.
As usual, click the images for a larger version on a black background.
Camera: Nikon D90 Lens: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Exposure: 1/500 Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 22 mm ISO Speed: 200
Camera: Nikon D90 Lens: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 w/ circular polarizer Exposure: 1/60 Aperture: f/8.0...
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Helvetica on Windows
I like Helvetica. It’s a nice san-serif and has its place in many design projects (not as a tramp stamp, though). However, Helvetica looks really bad when rendered in web pages in Windows unless you’re above 18-pt. or so. The only browser where it looks good, of course, is in Safari, because it uses the Mac method of font smoothing. And apparently Macs are the only computers...
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Looking up
Strobist Info: Vivitar 285hv, 1/16 power, camera left, shot through 45” brolly
Camera: Nikon D90 Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.8D Exposure: 1/80 Aperture: f/2.5 Focal Length: 50 mm ISO Speed: 200
Camera: Nikon D90 Lens: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80) Aperture: f/4.5 Focal Length: 26 mm ISO Speed: 800
December 2010
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I love symmetry
And I love capturing it in my photography. Sometimes it’s easy to spot, and other times the perspective has to be forced. Finding that symmetrical pattern or “center point” of a subject is an exciting challenge to me, and one that pays off in personal satisfaction.
Some recent examples:
November 2010
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Sisters
It’s so easy to photograph two people who genuinely love each other.
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 34mm ISO: 200
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 24mm ISO: 200
October 2010
2 posts
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Natural light is best
Camera: Nikon D90 Exposure: 1/500 Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 50 mm ISO Speed: 500
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Dynamic range & why you should shoot in RAW
This before and after comparison of a very contrasty scene shows the amount of information the D90’s sensor was able to capture and keep in its RAW files. Check out all of the detail and color that I was able to recover in both the highlights and shadows that weren’t at all visible in the original, using Photoshop’s Shadows/Highlights adjustment tool. I could have easily pushed...
September 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Natural light portraits with Brooke
The garden at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens makes a perfect location for some portraits. The sun was low this time, at around 5:30pm, which was a perfect angle to add some sun highlights and rim lighting to the model.
On a side note, that “thrifty fifty” lens performs surprisingly well at f/2.2, and produced sharp images at f/2, as well. For under $150 new, you can’t...
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Portrait session with Brooke
Strobist info: Vivitar 285HV, 1/16 power, through a Lumiquest Softbox III, camera right Sunpak 433D, 1/16 power, through a Lumiquest Softbox III, camera left
Camera: Nikon D50 Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40) Aperture: f/9.0 Focal Length: 28 mm ISO Speed: 400
Strobist info: Vivitar 285HV, 1/4 power, bare, behind model Sunpak 433D, 1/16 power, through Lumiquest Softbox III,...
August 2010
6 posts
1 tag
My music...
This isn’t going to be a regular part of my blog or anything. I just wanted to make a quick plug for my musical side project, Magical Skinny. It’s just me, and it’s just for fun. Anyways, check it out, download the songs, tell your friends and visit on Facebook.
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Capturing the right moment
Sometimes it’s just luck.
Picture this:
There’s a program that gives free, professional, certified hospitality training to underemployed and unemployed adults. This program provides a valuable opportunity for folks who are “at the end of their rope,” so to say, and have pretty much hit bottom. Classes include recovering drug addicts/alcoholics and people who have lost...
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Color or Black & White?
Some photos just look better in b&w, but the proper mood and contrast has to be there first.
The photo below is only in b&w because someone suggested it and I wanted to entertain the idea. The reason this person gave? ”The fog looks cool and moody.”
But we have to look at the photo as a whole. Here, color looks best in my opinion, because the sky is bright with good...
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Creative Print Typography Layouts
via Smashing Magazine
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July 2010
2 posts
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May 2010
1 post
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April 2010
2 posts
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Same team.
Today as I was driving to work on the highway, I saw another car just like mine. Same make, model, color and generation. He wanted to get into my lane, so I slowed down 5 or 10 MPH to let him in. I felt I had a special bond with this person, which meant I would go slightly out of my way to help him out.
“Same team,” I thought.
But as I thought about it a little more, I came to an...
March 2010
6 posts
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Uncoiling the spiral: Maths and hallucinations →
January 2010
4 posts
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St. Johns River Power Park cooling towers
No, it’s not nuclear power. It’s coal and petroleum.
See Part 2, here.
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December 2009
5 posts
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My 10 favorite photos of 2009
Here’s a rundown of my 10 favorite photos I took in 2009. Click each image to go to its page on Flickr. Thanks for looking!
In order from January 2009 to December 2009:
1. Model shoot at Fort Clinch
2. Model shoot at Fort Clinch
3. Seagull coming in for a landing in Jacksonville Beach
4. A random construction site in Jacksonville
5. Perfect Florida sunset
6. Eggs at a...
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Home-grown rocket recipes
These gems were passed down to me from my Dad when I was young. I’ve never forgotten about them because, well, this is the kind of thing that’s too awesome to forget.
The CO2 Cartridge Rocket
Take a used CO2 cartridge and make the pierced hole just big enough for a medium-sized wick. Use a small file or screwdriver.
Now coarsely crush up a bunch of match heads. You don’t...
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The Catalyst
There are so many kinds of heartache and heartbreak. Each brings about a very unique combination of memories, feelings and physical aches. But they are all a blessing in that they help us remember we’re alive! We feel! Embrace every bit of it and let it guide you — not paralyze you. For only from within the darkest of darks can we truly appreciate the lightest of lights.
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November 2009
9 posts
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Fluidr: A new way to view your Flickr photo stream →
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2 [more] things I've learned recently
1.) Your happiness isn’t anyone else’s responsibility; your unhappiness isn’t anyone else’s fault
As humans, we have the propensity to be responsible for nothing, while taking credit wherever we can. When things go sour, we blame ourselves a little bit sometimes, but the final blame almost always rests on something or someone else. ”So-and-so did this to me and now...
October 2009
4 posts
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