Well, I got back from California last Friday evening and leave for Baltimore, MD this Sunday… at the ass crack of dawn. I have to be at DFW around 7:00-7:30am to catch a fight at 9:00am. Great fun…

Above:

The photo above is another attempt to achive this look I am seeing in my head. I obviously don’t know my equipment good enough yet to pull it off because this isn’t what I am looking for. I am taking a break from the portraits for a bit until I can better dial in my own look and feel into my photos consistently.

I have a lot to learn about lighting and post processing. There are things I envision in my head and I really want to make them a reality. I used to have this issue when I did artwork with pen & ink. I could see it, knew how I wanted the end product to look, but I never could quite execute… I have to much money, passion, and time poured into this photography gig to let it fizzle out. I need to make something happen soon though so I do’t get extremely frustrated and give up…

Until next time…

I’ve been doing a lot of reading, looking, learning, and experimenting with lighting and post processing lately. I have so much to learn but feel that I have the tools I need right now for where I am and I am happy to report that I feel creative and love this learning experience!

The above image is my first failed attempt to obtain the look I am going for. My shot was bad out of the camera so I never was able to get what I wanted when I was at the computer (Mac?!). So, before I can continue with my post processing learning, I need to continue in my lighting education and get my techniques and styling down so that what hits the camera is mostly what I am looking for right off the bat.

So, more to come… Be on the lookout. I am very excited and hope to pour a large amount of time and energy into getting this style of mine defined and easily reproducible. Consistence is the key when it comes to your “style” in my opinion… What say you?!

Until next time…

“I watch a lot of T.V., I drink a lot of coffee, but you know what’s really addictive? Heroin.”

- Jim Gaffigan

Until next time…

Tonight, I made my first submission to the Flickr Group Roulette group. The theme was Make it Funky!. I submitted this photo and feel that I totally achieved FUNKY!!!

The one you see at the top of this post is an obvious remix of the funky one. I really like it and wanted to share it with all 3.6 of y’all that come to my blog for reasons other than Metasploit and CakePHP!

View the above image larger and on black here: View Large On Black

Until next time…

I wrote a little bit on my Flickr page yesterday about how I get a bit stir crazy sometimes. I come home from work, change clothes, load my pockets back up, and then sit at the doorway you see above that goes into my garage and wonder where I would go if I did leave the house… It’s pathetic!

I really want to get out of the house more and do some creative photography using different locations and props. I get tired and highly uninspired shooting around the house all the time. This 365 Days project is great for trying to stretch your creativity and get you to at least shoot one shot a day, but man, I need to get out of the house and be inspired again! I need to feel the need to be creative! I have so many ideas in my person but I can’t ever seem to execute on them… But, why?!

I have no wife, no children, no ties to this house or location whatsoever! I should be out and about shooting every time I feel the need. Even if that is 3:30 in the morning! Why not?! Something just overwhelms me about leaving to do that, sometimes. Sounds like I have a new “self cleansing” project to undergo. I’ve got to get rid of all this crap that plagues me and holds me back…

By the way, I like challenges! This will probably be a good one for me to tackle and will obviously push me out of my comfort zone!

Until next time…

Well, I got some new bedding and some new paint on my walls in the bedroom. I like it! I’ve wanted to start doing some nifty things in my house for a while and have never been motivated to do it. Well, the ball is now rolling…

The bedroom is painted and next is the “Big Bird Palace”, the yellow of all yellow entry ways. That project went real bad real quick… Woops!

Anyway, be looking for more photos coming soon! As always, follow more frequently updated photos of me and others on my Flickr page.

Until next time…

Dag’s son, Tony a.k.a. TDag, received a wonderful gift for his 16th birthday: the Mustang you see in the photo above! Wow! What a gift!

The Dags spent many months working on this ride. It was built from 2 different Mustangs and a lot of hard work, money, and time. Dag (Sr.) is quite the craftsman when it comes to working on vehicles. He can make anything happen when it comes to fabricating, repairing, customizing, and everything in between that I don’t even know what it is called!

The shot above is one of hundreds I took today of Tony’s car. This one I happened to jump in front of the camera for. I spent a lot of time in Lightroom with this shot and then in Photoshop… I will a couple of shots in another post t show the results from my workflow this evening… More photos to come of the car as well!

Until next time…

Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever

Video/Song: Scorpions - Wind of Change

It seems that wherever the wind may blow, it always brings something from behind but also takes us to new places for new adventures. I have had a hard time letting some things go and moving on… This unfortunate trend may continue for quite some time…

I try to keep the positive and joyous things of my past with me and lay the negative and hurtful down. However, sometimes even the positive things of the past remind me of the related negative things I have experienced. This makes it hard to keep the fond memories as close as I would like.

I know new memories can be made. I know new friends are to be had. However, when you have dedicated yourself to a cause for so long, it is extremely difficult to let it be free… A piece of you seems to be permanently attached to that one thing for an eternity…

Letting go is hard to do but is a necessity that must be realized in order to fulfill your calling in life. How can you move forward with anything if you can’t let go of the things that keep you in the past? As hurtful as letting go may be, there is no better time than the present to let the healing process begin…

And, no one said that healing after a true hurt is easy or a pleasant experience… But, it’s one that must be endured in order to allow freshness and new things to transpire within your life…

Sometimes, it is easier to see the positive things on the horizon than others… Sometimes, you just want to curl up and die while others you want to run so far into the future you can’t even look back if you wanted… I think there needs to be a happy coexistence between these two locations so that you can peacefully look back on all the positive experiences you have had and be able to see the fruitful adventures in your presence and on the horizon…

Until next time…

…or Maybe?! Maybe…

Maybe I fell too hard?!
Maybe I should have held back?!
Maybe you need more time?!
Maybe you want it like that…

Maybe what I’ve given wasn’t enough?!
Maybe my love was too much?!
Maybe you just thought it was good?!
Maybe it never was…

Maybe you’ve got what you need?!
Maybe you always have?!
Maybe my heart will cease to bleed?!
Maybe it already has…

Maybe you’ll be happy?!
Maybe you’ll be sad?!
Maybe you’ll be miserable?!
Maybe you’ll turn bad…

Maybe it’s not real?!
Maybe the truth isn’t known?!
Maybe you’ll never feel?!
Maybe it’s over and gone…

Maybe you’ll choose happiness?!
Maybe you’ll turn away?!
Maybe you’ll be free?!
Maybe you will someday…

- me

Until next time…

There are so many times I feel like I make this journey alone. I feel like I’m in a world that no one can ever enter into. I have built my walls of defense and tried to hold them up high so that I would be protected from the emotional elements. When someone finds a way in, or I lower the gates and allow them in, I feel extremely vulnerable with them running around my little world…

I have trust issues. I don’t like making myself vulnerable anymore… I don’t like letting people in anymore. I don’t mind them hanging outside the outer walls of the city and mingling, but I really don’t want them coming inside. Even if I allow them in, I question my choice and kind of want to be by myself again… I know it’s not the right way to be, but it is true and I’m trying to fight it…

I want to have a world full of people. I want people to be able to gather within the walls of my city. I do want that but at times I don’t feel like I am good enough at policing everyone I let in. “What are they doing?!” “Do they wish me harm?!” “Why did you welcome them in?!” “What if they don’t see eye to eye with you on things and wish you harm?!” “What if they take your world for granted and trample upon it?!” “What if…”

So, letting people in is good, right?! I will give it a try but don’t be surprised if I have you hauled outside the city walls with the quickness. If I make myself vulnerable and you take advantage of that, we will have some hard decisions to make… Too many people have helped me get to this point in the past, including myself… But, only I can help me get over it… Let’s get to tearing down those walls!

Until next time…