Dec 31, 2009, 22:29
Hello. My Name is Bloo Dog and I am a photographer.
There are several other sterling qualities in my character, but at the moment, I can't think of them.
My first digital camera was a Canon 10D. My current digital camera is a Canon 50D.
I recently ditched all of my film equipment (Mamiya 645s, EOS 650s, Cambo 4x5 with a set of wonderful lenses). Occasionally, I miss working with my film cameras but I don't miss most of the labs I've worked with. I enjoy being able to upload files, send them off to a digital lab, then receive my printed images a few days later.
I work with Photoshop 6. I'd move on to the CS incarnation, but PS6 works for me. Besides, I haven't learned everything about PS6 YET! I don't do a lot of heavy manipulation, so there is a lot to PS that I don't really need to know. (Maybe I do. Maybe someone can educate me).
I have worked as a commercial photographer as well as a *gasp* wedding photographer. Since I now derive the bulk of my income from writing and teaching, I take the assignments I want and I leave the rest to someone with a lot more getupandgo. It is so much more fun to shoot on self-assignment. Wedding photography was a ten-year grind. I have hundreds of stories about the business. Generally, I don't like looking at wedding photography, talking about photographic technique of wedding photography, or about photo equipment, legalities of copyright, liabilities of the wedding photographer. I don't like to ATTEND weddings. (I mean, I'll show up if it's my own wedding--- otherwise, thanks but NO). I prefer to discuss the social aspects of this rite of passage. My approach to photographing weddings was strictly as an invitee, an observer. (And boy, the things I've seen!).
I enjoy the honesty of photojournalism in the spirit of Eliot Erwitt. (In fact, my favorite photo book is his lifetime collection of photographs of dogs. It's called "Dogs"). While I am awed by those who create phenomenal images with the heavy application of Photoshop and other digital software, I am a photojournalist at heart.
I took a few years off to travel a bit. I learned a LOT about public transportation in China, perhaps more than anyone on earth wants or needs to know.
I am now a big fan of street photography, but not when I am in my own city. I have to get away to do that.
I teach writing and literature when I get a gig.
I do a lot of DIY stuff because when I was starting out, a lot of the things that are so common in the arsenal of many photographers were either not available commercially or had not been invented yet. (The truth is that I am a cheapskate. I don't need a danged $500.00 flash when a thirty year-old Vivitar 285 or a 283 or a 5600 will do the job. Don't worry, I checked the voltages on my Vivitars. Some of my early Vivitars that packed enough voltage to cook a turkey have been DIY'd into TASERs).
The past ten years have seen so many advancements in this area of science and art that photographic self-expression is no longer uncommon. The Digital Revolution has allowed people who think differently to express themselves as never before. We're seeing truly fantastic images which were once the provenance of a select few. Now, the technology is within reach of almost anyone who wants it.
That's a good thing.
I'm trying to get up to speed working with radio triggers and working with small flash on location. I've had a few optical and radio slaves through the years, but I had no regular use for them. Now, I've got four on order from Hong Kong.
Th-th-th-that's all!
There are several other sterling qualities in my character, but at the moment, I can't think of them.
My first digital camera was a Canon 10D. My current digital camera is a Canon 50D.
I recently ditched all of my film equipment (Mamiya 645s, EOS 650s, Cambo 4x5 with a set of wonderful lenses). Occasionally, I miss working with my film cameras but I don't miss most of the labs I've worked with. I enjoy being able to upload files, send them off to a digital lab, then receive my printed images a few days later.
I work with Photoshop 6. I'd move on to the CS incarnation, but PS6 works for me. Besides, I haven't learned everything about PS6 YET! I don't do a lot of heavy manipulation, so there is a lot to PS that I don't really need to know. (Maybe I do. Maybe someone can educate me).
I have worked as a commercial photographer as well as a *gasp* wedding photographer. Since I now derive the bulk of my income from writing and teaching, I take the assignments I want and I leave the rest to someone with a lot more getupandgo. It is so much more fun to shoot on self-assignment. Wedding photography was a ten-year grind. I have hundreds of stories about the business. Generally, I don't like looking at wedding photography, talking about photographic technique of wedding photography, or about photo equipment, legalities of copyright, liabilities of the wedding photographer. I don't like to ATTEND weddings. (I mean, I'll show up if it's my own wedding--- otherwise, thanks but NO). I prefer to discuss the social aspects of this rite of passage. My approach to photographing weddings was strictly as an invitee, an observer. (And boy, the things I've seen!).
I enjoy the honesty of photojournalism in the spirit of Eliot Erwitt. (In fact, my favorite photo book is his lifetime collection of photographs of dogs. It's called "Dogs"). While I am awed by those who create phenomenal images with the heavy application of Photoshop and other digital software, I am a photojournalist at heart.
I took a few years off to travel a bit. I learned a LOT about public transportation in China, perhaps more than anyone on earth wants or needs to know.
I am now a big fan of street photography, but not when I am in my own city. I have to get away to do that.
I teach writing and literature when I get a gig.
I do a lot of DIY stuff because when I was starting out, a lot of the things that are so common in the arsenal of many photographers were either not available commercially or had not been invented yet. (The truth is that I am a cheapskate. I don't need a danged $500.00 flash when a thirty year-old Vivitar 285 or a 283 or a 5600 will do the job. Don't worry, I checked the voltages on my Vivitars. Some of my early Vivitars that packed enough voltage to cook a turkey have been DIY'd into TASERs).
The past ten years have seen so many advancements in this area of science and art that photographic self-expression is no longer uncommon. The Digital Revolution has allowed people who think differently to express themselves as never before. We're seeing truly fantastic images which were once the provenance of a select few. Now, the technology is within reach of almost anyone who wants it.
That's a good thing.
I'm trying to get up to speed working with radio triggers and working with small flash on location. I've had a few optical and radio slaves through the years, but I had no regular use for them. Now, I've got four on order from Hong Kong.
Th-th-th-that's all!
