Bound for ebay…..

This film stuff used to be the “end all- be all” of camera systems.  There’s enough value on the table to probably buy a new small car ( at least when the camera/lenses were new) but times do change…….

 I just wanted to post something Green today……Getting tired of Winter!

Henry J-the car

I took my Dad on a tour of WV while I was shooting this past Fall. He saw this car, a “Henry J” I think- and wanted me to photograph it for him- so I did and it took me this long to get him a print of it!

My bad……….

Princeton WV

 

A shot of Mercer Street in downtown Princeton. This is what I’m looking for  as an upcoming GOYA project. Any cool places to recomend for  “hometowns’  to photograph in the WV /VA area?

Video from a fellow traveler….

This is a video from Zack Arias- His video touched me because the questions and musings are so close to my very own….
OK – WordPress won’t allow me to “embed the video- so here’s a link.

Zack Arias-Transform

New Lightbox ( and my puppies)

Just got a new Photoflex lightbox for my Canon speedlight flashes- It’s relatively small, and even better- my subjects didn’t pay a bit of attention to it at all .

Chico telling me his story

Someone wants to share the bone….

Everybody’s happy now!

OK, I know these photos  aren’t “art” by any stretch- but they were willing to work cheap ( notice the rawhide bones…) and they didn’t mind the hours ( It was late) plus I get to post my “test shots’

The softbox is on sale right now  from $159.00  on special for $89.95+ shipping

Heres a link to get your own:

Photoflex

Cass Scenic Railroad Photography Workshop Update

Hey everybody- Just talked to the good people at the Cass Railroad- there are only 10 spots left for my Photography workshop at the Cass Scenic Railroad for this fall ( Sept. 11,12,13 2009 )

If you think this might be something you’re interested in, Reservations are being handled by Cass Scenic Railroad- seats are selling out quick!

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park
P.O. Box 107
Cass, WV 24927
(304) 456-4300
1-800-CALL WVA
E-mail: cassrailroad@wvdnr.gov

The new monitor in the room……

so here is the monitor review I promised.

First of all; the monitor is to todays photographer what the rosetta stone was for language- it defines how we communicate with each other.
not all monitors are created equal-and this one isn’t perfect- but was priced right.

the brand is VIEWSONIC  and the particular model is VX2240W ( although I later found out they had more “professional” versions- more on that later) These are fast (2 Milisecond) displays and have a native resolution of 1680×1050- very nice.

Upon first glance, it is sleek and at around $250.00 to $300.00 ( depending on where you get it) it looks OK out of the box.
But NO monitor is completely set up until it’s calibrated. this is where things got interesting……Lots of control over all  parameters of how the monitor displays an image.

If you set the gamma first, you’ll find that the screen is too bright and some calibration systems have a problem until you “dial it down” a bit on brightness and contrast. I had to start around 47 contrast and 70 brightness. This is in part due to it being a “gamers” monitor- the settings are a bit higher than you’d use for photographs.

After that , the calibration was straightforward ( I was using a Gretag MacBeth eye 1  calibration device)
*NOTE* Be sure and turn  off “HIGH DYNAMIC CONTRAST” in the manual settings – it’s way too much for photo editing.

One of the nice things about the VX2240W ( and a selling point to me) was the fact that I could adjust the Red, Green and Blue settings individually on the monitor- this is pretty precise and works with your color temperature settings..

Am I glad I dumped my CRT? No- not really. It was much more accurate for what I do, but as it is hard to find one new- it’s better to join the ranks and get used to editing on an LCD monitor along with everybody else these days.

Is there a difference between a $1200.00 monitor and one for $300.00? You betcha! Better componants, better calibration, better display- But for the price- if you can’t afford the more expensive monitor right off- this is a good one to start with.

Will I get an Eizo or lacie flat panel in the future? Probably- but not for a while yet…..as long as the viewsonic keeps buying me some time…….

One More Thing- Viewsonic says they have a P model ( professional graphics LCD) for a bit more- so that may be worth a look as well- I didn’t get one because I couldn’t try it out- they aren’t available in a store near where I am- and I’m all about hands on testing of new unproven ( at least to me) equipment- but I would probably spend a little more and get one of those ( hindsight being 20-20!)

this isn’t the “end all be all ” monitor for professionals- and I will upgrade to the “big boy” flat panels at a later time- but for now( and since my CRT died) this will do………..

Confidence and the image….

I just got a new monitor to use for my photo editing. My last CRT was reliable and true-til it wasn’t anymore. I calibrated right before I started editing a recent job and everything was good to go; or so I thought…..

Got my proofs back- they were Magenta/Red and dark- NOT my labs fault! My monitor calibration had “slide” and it was time to replace it.
Here is where the heart ache came in- CRT’s are a thing of the past- it’s now LCD flat screens on the market with a BIG gap between useable ones for graphics and crap! ( $100.00 up to $5000.00 dolars)

After a lot of research- I finally found one that doesn’t break the bank! ( Did I mention a LOT of research….)
I’m not going to announce it or the model number just yet- I am running some tests and should have print results later this  evening- but if all holds true and the color/density is set up right- I’ll give out details in the next couple of days- if it sucks- I’ll tell you that too……Did I metion the monitor is less than $500.00?
That’s right; less than Five Hundred dollars……….

Slip sliding away…….

WOW!
I got back in town on sunday- had to go to a wake that evening ( had a relative pass on as I was leaving for the PPWV convention) and a funeral Monday!

None of this is photography related BTW- I’m just amazed how quickly time flew by me!
The life we lead isn’t always the life we think we will lead- does that make sense to you? I think I’m on top of things and then …POW!  Something comes along and challenges what you thought was your “true north” and leads you in a different direction; challenging you to keep up.
My advice to anyone out there is don’t take  anyone/anything for granted and live in the now- the past is but memory and the future has not been written.

All bad news aside- I was honored at the PPWV convention by being named to the “TOP TEN” list of photographers in PPWV ( had the 7th highest scoring print case out of 140 or so entries..)