"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best"
- Frida Kahlo
Back-ups! Storage is definitely getting cheaper, which is a good thing, but the tech for my money needs to be more efficient. Okay, I'm a little frustrated over my computer storage. When I had this thing built about 7 months ago, I figured a TB and a half would do me for a while. I'm already halfway through that and I know its mainly the RAW files I shoot. I only shoot RAW and I really never get rid of them even after I do my conversions and edits to Jpeg. But remembering to back-up on a regular basis is a pain in the ass. I use external drives to back-up, but I can see that I'm going to have to look at some other options, like either a home server or online back-up systems. I prefer the online option. I'd rather have off-site storage. Right now, its cheap. But it ain't cheap for photographers. If you need to back up a few gigs...cool. When you have to do that with 500GB of images... not so cool. Especially when you like having a minimum of 3 copies of everything. That's redundancy for ya. So I gotta get better at workflow management. I'm reminded of the folks that don't understand why photogs charge what they do for a project. Other than crack, I can't think of a more expensive hobby or career choice. Oh, that reminds me...I still have a donations button on the right over there. You may have to scroll down a bit -->.
Something I saw recently that I thought was pretty cool is the iPhone app for photography contracts. My friend, John showed it to me while we were in Zion last week. The thing is cool. you can generate contracts for anything right on the spot. Some are preloaded sample and general contracts, whereas others you can customize for your own needs and requirements. You basically plug in the pertinent info like names, dates, etc. and the ap plugs all that into a full into the contract. And the best thing is that you can SIGN IT right on your phone with your finger! When John told me that, I didn't believe him. At most, I figured you'd have to have a special stylus or something but when he demonstrated it, I went bonkers. Whoa...did I just say "bonkers"?
What's the best movie you've seen so far this year? I gotta tell ya...for me, its "How to Train Your Dragon". I know, that may be quirky for a guy in his 40's but I don't need to have young kids to go see movies like this. I can walk right up to the box office counter and ask for one ticket, with no shame whatsoever. Anyway, I liked this film on a bunch of different levels. First, it was funny. Second the story-line was superb. It took you where you just didn't think you'd go. How many stories, movies, TV shows end up with the dragon NOT being the enemy or getting killed? Sure, it starts off like that, but wait til the ending. Third, I like the relationship that develops between a father and son. I think I also have a propensity to favor story lines and thems where the least significant can change the world. Think about Hobbits. And then there's the Bible which is full of that. You also have in this movie the voice of Gerard Butler who sounds even tougher and more bad-ass than he did in the movie, 300. Contrast his character with Jay Baruchel, who you also just saw in "She's out of My League". You can't even think of two more different personas in the world alive today. Craig Ferguson's character was also funny which makes this a not-to-be-missed kind of show.
These are shots of some new friends, Damon, Maaike, and Angeli, that I shot last month. Talk about some remarkable people! They are all some of the most interesting people I've ever met. It was definitely a good day, well...evening. Hoping to see them again tonight. Other projects: More nudes. I haven't been shooting many naked chicks lately. I guess I accomplished my goal of shooting less nudes. Now I'm in withdrawal. I think I'm going to revisit my self-nude project as well at some point. I abandoned self-portraits, not intentionally, but rather just out of it slipping off my list of priorities. That stemmed from Unbearable Lightness' challenge to me a year ago, so I want to revisit that project again. Shooting your yourself is not an easy thing. I've tried being my own model and its exceedingly difficult,which is why I want to get back to it. I've seen amateurs do it so well. They make it seem easy. I've got a few shots that I've done (some of which are posted on this blog somewhere, but I'm too lazy to search and post a link) but weren't satisfied with the outcome. I think its cuz I may not have the patience. Behind the camera, I can see the shot, zoom, compose, and focus as I wish, and take the shot. That's much more difficult when you are alone and in front of the camera. Well, at least for me.
I have even been thinking about taking self portraits myself. I get these pictures in my head and know exactly how I want to shoot them!
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you do them! I'll be waiting!
Self portraiture is hard, but convenient. You nailed all the challenges you mentioned in the last few sentences. One reason I like photographing others is because I feel a connection to them through taking their pictures. Sometimes the connection is erotic/romantic, or familial, or friendly, or caring, or discordant,or even disliking, but a connection is formed. When I take a self-portrait, I can't make a connection to the subject. I see all my physical faults and not the soul of the person.
ReplyDeleteAs for good movies, I watched the Richard Burton classic based on a Tennessee Williams play, "Night of the Iguana" last night. Williams was a master at creating deep characters filled with all the glory and flaws of humanity in such a short time. Great movie.
As for storage, I use Adobe Lightroom for my workflow management and file editing. When I download the RAW files off my camera, I can send it to two different locations at the same time with Lightroom's download features. All the files get a unique name that I can choose. I usually store them to two external drives. One is the backup big one that is a vault. The other is a small 500gig portable that is my working library. I've heard that if you plan to store to DVDs, go with gold ones because they will last longer. I think with the large amount of storage needed for photography, DVDs and CDs are way too small for major archiving. I am a bit paranoid about online storage due to the possibility of my photos being stolen or hacked. I think it is more of an issue of my paranoia and not a legitimate reason to avoid it.