Black or Color? (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

I actually got to go out this weekend! During my 3-4 hour excursion into the city, I took about 50-60 shots, with only 10 of them serving as my favorites.

On a complete tangent, over the past few months (almost 7 months now!) that I've been running this blog, I've been trying to find a equal compromise of professionalism and inclusion. What I mean is, I've been trying to find a way to share my journey through photography with the world without turning this blog into a 2004 text-heavy photo journal. So as of today, I plan to really re-think how I present these images through both my posts, and blog itself.

Getting back to photography (and away from marketing-- which is what that is pretty much), the photos below gave me one of those great photo-feelings where you're completely unsure of how to treat the colors on a photograph because they both work so well. As a result, I put both versions in the post below (for only the images that I couldn't decide on), and I hope I can get some feedback on the "best rendition".

Click on the READ MORE text for six boards of wood and a nail

I think that while this picture wouldn't work "on-paper", the distinct boldness of his figure from the background makes the image stand out.

Interim Update (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

Just a small photographic update here. If you're out of the times, I haven't posted in the past few weeks due to recent fluxes of schoolwork and tight schedules (college is hard). While I try to get out at least once a week for photos, I haven't had the time to go through my pictures and select the ones that I like the most.

In addition, I've been finding that as much as photography is a fun hobby, it's also a real "mental chore". While I love it to death, it's really difficult sometimes to get into the "mood" of looking for good pictures and  take enough initiative to actually get down and get the best angle when your mind is somewhere else (hopefully, I'll adjust to my new college life and I'll have a bunch of wonderful pictures to share next time).

Click on the READ MORE text for ten thousand magnificent honey bees

First Try at Studio-Esque Shooting! (Leica Summaron 35mm f/2.8) (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

Hey, Norman here. The following is actually one of my first attempts at doing studio-esque shots for the fun of it. Now before anything else, let me say the following things:

1. I should have scrubbed down the lens more (dust and cameras are a unforgiving combination)
2. I should have adjusted the white balance on-camera or in post production to make the images uniform
3. I should have balanced the exposure better so that the images are consistently exposed
4. I should have shot in RAW for better image quality and flexibility in post production (JPEG here for convenience)

With my snide comments to excuse my laziness/inexperience aside, the following set of pictures are from a "product-shoot" I did on Saturday. I knew someone that was selling one of their vintage lenses, and I asked if I could take some pictures of it before they sent it off to the cold harsh world.

After about 40 test shots, I finally narrowed it down to the following ten shots. All in all, I'm pretty sure I learned a great deal (though still not enough) about studioish shots.

Here's what I used:

• Nikon D90
• Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G Lens (This is the only lens that allowed me to focus close enough. Luckily, it comes with most cameras. I was actually surprised on the
• Cheapie Sunpak Tripod (In order to use such a dark lens and take sharp pictures, a tripod is NECESSARY)
• Powerade Fruit Punch Variant Sports Drink (for holding my background paper up-- very important that you use this flavor of sports drinks; safety not guaranteed for any other type.)
• 11x14 Sketchpad Paper (used for a solid-color background)
• Leica Summaron 35mm f/2.8

Click on the READ MORE text to see completely unprocessed, out-of-camera JPEGS!

The warm lighting is provided by my Samsung S3's flashlight with toilet paper used as a light dampener. Turns out the flashlight actually emits a soft summer yellow when bouncing off its own diodes.

Gone Bye (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

Of course, as explicitly said in my previous post, I haven't had much time to go out and take work on photography recently. However, as an insurgent of conventional time management, I've gone out a bit and taken a few shots here and there for old time sake. Along with that, while I was processing my images I realized that there were still a few pictures that I haven't put up yet. Due to the scope of this betrayal, I've decided to put up this post in hopes of achieving redemption. Please accept the following set of highlights from my previous week, and months before as a gift.

Click on the READ MORE text to see some oldies/newsies.

Taken with my first "real" camera, the Olympus PL2.

Running Out Of Time

Disregarding the hyperbolic exciting developments on my video debut yesterday, I've come bearing more gifts! Below are actually some current/past pictures that I've been saving up for a good day. I decided to put a slightly different approach on the comments, and see if anyone mines if I write a bit more about each image. It's the challenge between telling a bit more about the background of the story (and most importantly, making everyone feel a little more involved), and detracting from the overall image by removing the mystique of it all. I'll find the balance eventually.

Slightly more importantly, I'll like to announce that I'll soon be posting less images on the blog due to school coming back up. There's always a sense of nostalgia and anxiety when something like the summer ends, and college first begins. While I hope to be able to continue what I feel to be a great hobby, I'm not sure if I'll ever have the time that I used to for maintaining this blog, taking images, and working on mini-projects among other things. But in a optimistic's note, there's always more time until there isn't and by then, it doesn't matter anymore.

Click on the READ MORE text to see some of my favorite pictures!

Was waiting awhile to post this one. I was waiting for someone and noticed that there was a great scene here-- albeit missing a subject. I mentally laughed about how great it would be if someone walked/ran through, right as I took this picture just as she ran up the stairs. I'm really happy how it turned out, with it's levels of dimensions, lighting, tonality, and even the subject getting right where I needed her to be. One of my favorite no less.