pickMe! photography.

Doing her Best Obama Impression

2008-07-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

Now that's change we can believe in.

photo credit: Cassy French

14.7 megapixels: What is Samsung compensating for?

2008-07-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I see the use for point and shoots, I've often wished for one for when carrying around an SLR just isn't as practical. They're smaller, more convenient, and the pictures they put out are usually pretty decent. There are drawbacks though.

Point and shoot cameras are smaller, which means there is less space for the sensor. Samsung just released specs for its new TL34HD. The thing has 14.7 megapixels. 14.7! Sounds impressive right? What they don't tell you is the size of the sensor.

The image sensor is the heart and soul of any camera. It's a small rectangle that is comprised of teeny tiny lenses that record brightness levels. What matters in image quality these days isn't so much how many teeny tiny lenses there are on the sensor, but how big they are. I'm no technician, but 14.7 megapixels in a point and shoot camera probably means those teeny tiny lenses are really teeny tiny, which means that they need more light in order to function properly. What happens when teeny tiny lenses don't get enough light? They fire off all funky-like and we get noise. Noise is probably a photographer's worst enemy. If I see excessive noise (more than a little in the dark areas) in a photo, its all I can look at.

It also made me angry to read about the camera's other features. Face detection? Smile Shot? 13 scene modes? Take control of your pictures people! We shouldn't allow the camera to think for us... but I digress.

Moral of the story? Don't be fooled by high megapixels. All the photos you see on this page were taken with an 8 megapixel camera, and they don't look so bad do they? Do they? That's what I thought.

Two Weeks Later

2008-07-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

The sea air blistered the latex paint. Time takes its toll even on a beach resort.

Eaten' sum soop

2008-05-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, a break from the old slides. This one needed to be shared. I am more and more in awe these days with what I can only call my child's development.
I don't want to be one of those parents who goes on and on about how smart, talented, beautiful or other wise superlative their child is. Don't get me wrong, my kid could mop the floor with your kid, but being one who values humility, I hesitate to jump to any delusions of grandeur (for both our sakes).
Our apartment is flooded with drawing after drawing. If I were organized enough, I could put them in chronological order and actually track her progress. I remember when her art first became "objective." Two dots and a line. Now she adds fingers, hair, whiskers, shoes, people looking out windows, I'm amazed.

I'll work on scanning some to share.

Action!

2008-05-16T22:19:00.001-07:00

I'm excited for summer.

Pop and Pepper

2008-05-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

And We're Back!

2008-04-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Amid internet access issues, and overall busy-ness, this blog has been down for quite some time now. While I can't promise any specific regularity in posts, I'd like to get back to posting at least every now and then (access problems ongoing). So, as a testament to the tenacity that runs deep in my bloodline, I bring you the following gem of a slide:

Look out world!

Old Slide Sunday 18

2008-01-06T18:53:00.001-08:00

I haven't got a clue on this one.

Old Slide Sunday 17

2007-12-16T20:21:00.000-08:00

This reminds me of a Stephen Shore photograph. Also Joe Koehl is smiling smugly right now.

Dr. Ron Paul

2007-12-02T09:47:00.001-08:00

I have never been this motivated to vote for a candidate in my life. Ron Paul gives me hope that our country can return to sanity and order, can support itself financially, and all citizens can receive the protections and rights that the Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantees them.

Old Slide Sunday 16

2007-12-02T08:39:00.001-08:00

It's close enough to Christmas by now, I figure. Again not sure of who these folks are, but it looks like they're having some good holiday fun. The young man in the corner must have had too many sugarplums. I'm excited for Christmas.

Old Slide Sunday 15

2007-11-25T19:15:00.000-08:00

This picture had to come out eventually. It's the only picture I've ever seen of my dad or grandmother smoking. In fairness, this was when they "didn't know about the health effects." I don't see that as a very good excuse, personally. Either way though, they both quit a long time ago, so it's all gravy... mmmm gravy... Happy Thanksgiving.

Old Slide Sund- er, Tuesday 14

2007-11-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

By special request, here's my aunt and uncle looking extra sharp for the camera. Sorry for the delay in posts, I've been super busy.

Old Slide Sunday 13

2007-11-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

It's Goofy! I don't really have much to say about this one. It's late.

Out of Control Spam

2007-11-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

I thought they passed legislation to control spam? It's fun to try and imagine the people who do this, and what their face would look like being punched. How can this still be profitable? Who clicks on these ads? And whats with the weird text at the bottom? I see it a lot in the spam that gets through to me. I might collect them and construct a poem.

Old Slide Sunday 12

2007-11-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

Another photo from the cruise. I imagine the chap on the top to be a captain or first mate, overseeing the voyagers of another fine trip across the sea. Or he's a waiter on a smoke break, I don't know, but I like all the strong diagonal lines in this one with the people fitting in between. It reminds me of this recently discovered Eugene De Salignac photograph.

Old Slide Sunday 11

2007-10-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

Looks like someone went on a cruise. There are several pictures from this trip, but I don't know any of the people in the pictures. I'll show more from this cruise in the weeks to come.

Old Slide Sunday 10

2007-10-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

What a motley crew. Thats my dad carrying his jacket, and... Robert De Niro, apparently, in front of him.

Old Slide Sunday 9

2007-10-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Another great shot of my great grandmother, Freebie. That's what we called her, probably because one of us mispronounced Frieda.

Old Slide Sunday 8

2007-10-07T07:40:00.001-07:00

A quiet moment surfaces in the (still substantial) stack of slides to be converted. Light sweeps in from the dutch door of the kitchen, and can also be seen outside. The vignetted glow gives an introspective feel to this photo.

Previous Old Slides

Blind All-in

2007-10-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Window Triptych

2007-10-05T18:32:00.001-07:00

Ford Pickup

2007-10-03T21:47:00.001-07:00

A Leader For All Of Us

2007-10-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

Old Slide Sunday 7

2007-09-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

This photograph stopped me in my tracks. It has the best composition of any that I've seen so far. Everything from the ladder in the foreground to the just barely visible kitchen appliances inside make this gem of an old slide beautiful. It reminds me of an Arnold Newman portrait.

Previously:
Old Slide Sunday 6
Old Slide Sunday 5
Old Slide Sunday 4
Old Slide Sunday 3
Old Slide Sunday 2
Old Slide Sunday 1
Old Slides

Old Slide Sunday 6

2007-09-23T05:51:00.001-07:00

These slides are color balanced for daylight, so any time a photo is taken in the shade the colors shift to give the photo a cooler (or bluer) palette. Conversely, photos taken indoors, lit by lamps, take on an orang-red warm hue. While bad color balance can ruin some photos, I definitely enjoy the way it makes photos like these look.

Previously:
Old Slide Sunday 5
Old Slide Sunday 4
Old Slide Sunday 3
Old Slide Sunday 2
Old Slide Sunday 1
Old Slides

Senior Show Sneak Peek 5

2007-09-19T20:05:00.001-07:00

I found something out recently. These photos have a 38 linear foot home waiting for them come November 8. It's time to really start thinking about scale, order, and presentation.

"Oh, ho ho Garrett..." A hearty laugh is heard from across the room. "It's way too late to be thinking about those things now. You're up the creek, bro. Again. When will you ever learn?" My superego has a resounding, highly punctuated, wizardly demeanor. And an English accent.

"He's been working really hard on this, give him a break." My ego rebuts, plainly.

My id scratches his head.

Old Slide Sunday 5

2007-09-16T18:42:00.001-07:00

Season changes always trigger nice memories. Summer changing to fall brings to mind the smell of winter coats being brought out of the attic, brisk winds and new pencils.
Visually it reminds me of images like this.

Previously:
Old Slide Sunday 4
Old Slide Sunday 3
Old Slide Sunday 2
Old Slide Sunday 1
Old Slides

Senior Show Sneak Peek 4

2007-09-11T15:52:00.001-07:00

Old Slide Sunday 4

2007-09-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

This is my great grandmother, Frieda. I have nothing but wonderful memories of her. She always had candy in a little dish in her living room. She had a hearing aid that made lots of noise and her house was super cozy. This is her around 1975, she lived to be 100.

Previously:
Old Slide Sunday 3

Senior Show Sneak Peek 3

2007-09-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Senior Show Distraction

2007-09-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

HAHAHA. HA?

Yo Gabba Gabba is a kids show on Nick Jr. I'm not sure if they got the name from the Ramones' song or not, but the show itself is amazing. Guests include Biz Markie and the Aquabats. It's fun and funky. Also worth noting is Jacks Big Music Show. Andrew Bird has made a brilliant guest appearance as "Dr. Stringz."

Kids today have it so good.

Senior Show Sneak Peek 2

2007-09-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Work is definitely underway for my show. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but I am happy with a lot of what I have come up with so far on an image by image basis. The general theme seems to revolve around life. I don't know if this is subconscious surfacing of issues I've been struggling with lately, issues in the media, or just what fits well with shooting up close.

Shooting this close comes with many challenges. I am really enjoying the shallow depth of field look, but so many frames are thrown away due to being either out of focus, or incorrectly focused.

Work continues, let me know what you think.

As for portraits...

2007-09-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

My most recent acquisition, a 50mm prime 1.8 lens, has settled into my camera bag as a very strong player. It is perfect for many situations, but mostly when I want to get some dramatic depth of field action, which makes the lens especially fitting for a solid portrait. This doesn't come as a huge surprise, I mean, it's calleda portrait lens. But still I was surprised ot see just how much the lens' speed, clarity and over all what I am going to call "tightness" the lens allowed me. No fooling with zooms, just point a shoot and make a great picture.

Old Slide Sunday 3

2007-09-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day! This picture is actually from the fourth of July, the bicentennial, apparently, but I couldn't wait. This photo was taken in my grandparents' back yard, in Greenwich, CT.
I remember the patio they had, with steps that led up through the ivy and into the woods. I wasn't alive when this photo was taken, but I can still picture myself there, kicking a ball, or hiding from my little brother. There was a canopy of trees overhead, so we were always in the shade. There was a rich, damp smell to it all, The patio was made of big red pavers with moss growing out of the cracks. If it still exists, that patio has seen a lifetime of grill outs, fourths of July, anniversaries, and birthdays. Their house was close enough to the airport that you could hear planes overhead on a fairly regular basis.

Slate roofs, vine-covered brick and mortar, overgrown oaks and maples. That whole town had a Victorian feel to it, like stepping into a time machine. Cliche but true- you can never go home again.

Previously:
Old Slide Sunday 2
Old Slide Sunday 1
Old Slides

Old Slide Sunday 2

2007-08-26T19:14:00.001-07:00

I'm told this is Lucy. The cake says "Happy Birthday Aunt El." I love how she looks like she's in a closet waiting to surprise Aunt El. The cake looks beautiful, and the pictures on the wall look neat too. Jeez, I'm loving these old pictures.

Previously:
Old Slide Sunday 1
Old Slides

Senior Show Sneak Peek

2007-08-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my senior show. I plan on working with macro lenses for most of it. I'd like to show an otherworldly point of view. I think that strongly directional light will play a big role in giving the images the surreal look that I am after. Let me know what you think.

The World Without Us

2007-08-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Alan Weisman has a book out called The World Without Us. It definitely sounds like something I want to read. I found the website and it reminded me of a project I did about decay. I've often imagined what would (will) happen if (when) people become extinct.

Weisman presents a well thought out prospect in this book. Nature will reclaim our lawns, homes, buildings and roads. The air and water will eventually return to its pre-human state. Buildings and bridges will eventually lose their battles with gravity. I wonder if, in the meantime, other animals will inhabit any of our structures. Picture a mountain lion sleeping on your couch, squirrels nesting in your hamper, and leprechauns cooking in your kitch- oops, imagination overload.

At the very least, it's fun to think about.

Here are some pictures from my project.

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

2007-08-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Canon has released two new cameras! Holy CMOS! First up is the big dog, EOS 1Ds Mark III. Quick Specs on this photographic hammer-of-the-gods: 21.1 Megapixels, 5 fps, full frame CMOS sensor. "...a new benchmark in image resolution and sharpness for 35mm-format digital photography." I wonder if they would, cough, lend it out for review, cough.
Here.

Next, the EOS 40D, 10.1 megapixels, 6.5 fps (only for jpgs?), self cleaning sensor, 3 inch preview screen. For $1299, I may think about trading in my 20D.
And here.

Old Slide Sunday 1

2007-08-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on converting a bunch of old slides to digital. I've been told that my grandfather took most, if not all of them. Since the imagery is so great, and since I have so many of them, I've decided to share them by making Sunday "Old Slide Sunday."
Each Sunday I will showcase a pick from the archive of slides that I am developing. Whether because of the great tonality of the color slide film or the cool retro look everyone has, each Sunday we will be graced with one of Grandpa's shots. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I am. Because if you aren't.

Today's slide was chosen for several reasons. The composition in interesting, I am wondering what everyone is talking about, but really I just love the moustached fella's cool plaid suit, and his knowing glare.

Previously:
Old Slides

Deep Sea Fishing

2007-08-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

My last semester of school starts on Monday, and I've really got that end of summer feeling. The smell of fresh pencils is in the air, and while we're all happy that the heat is letting up, I can't shake the feeling that I've wasted another summer. To prove to myself that I haven't, I am continuing my look back at the summer with these pictures of a fishing trip in July. They are King Mackerel, and they were quite tasty.

Animoto is great!

2007-08-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

Animoto is a program that allows you to animate your photos. Well, actually it does it completely for you. I took all of the pictures that I have posted on this site so far and put them into a thirty second video. The service is super simple and intuitive and uses great effects, though creative control is highly limited. The more I look at the video I made, the more I think that these particular effects would be more suitable for a motocross race than any kind of lower key event. It is neat though how it analyzes and syncs the music and photos.

Animated video slide shows could be a cool way to market photos. It would be incredibly effective to present a wedding or other event this way, a real eye-catcher. I just want more control.

Animoto is free for any 30 second video. For an unlimited length video, they charge $3 per video or a $30 one year subscription. Not a bad deal if you can put it to good use. Which you can.

Here's my video:

Here's a link to the site.

Rabbit Hash, Kentucky

2007-08-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer some friends and I took a quick trip to Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. Rabbit Hash General Store is a wonderful establishment filled to the gills with junk. It was great trip, and half of the adventure was finding the place, stupid Google Maps.

Ohio River, From Above

2007-08-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is why I like the window seat.

Power to the People!

2007-08-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

"Responding to an outcry that included a passionate Internet campaign and a satiric rap video, city officials yesterday backed off proposed new rules that could have forced tourists taking snapshots in Times Square and filmmakers capturing that only-in-New-York street scene to obtain permits and $1 million in liability insurance.

In announcing the move, officials at the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting said they would redraft the rules, intended to apply to commercial film and photography productions, to address complaints that they could be too broadly applied. They will then release the revised rules for public comment.

'It appears that the mayor’s office on film has come to their senses,' said Eileen Clancy, a member of a group formed to protest the rules. 'Clearly, they did not anticipate the way in which the rules were likely to affect so many different groups of people.' "

Here's the link to the article.

By the way, here's the video. It's awesome.

Here fishy, fishy.

2007-08-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

Old Slides

2007-08-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of converting some old slides to digital. The pictures I am finding are amazing. Its funny how, with all the advancements in digital photography, we still can't capture the feel of 35mm transparency film... or maybe its just those cool glasses.

Name that species!

2007-08-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

Thats right. It's everyone's favorite game.
Anyone?

hints: It's a tree that grows in coastal regions of North America. That's really all I know right now.

I made an installation.

2007-08-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

All people, regardless of their size, shape, age, gender, color, origin or beliefs, share the common thread of humanness. These photographs serve, in part, as a reminder of this. These portraits have been generalized to the point where common features are the only clues as to who these people are. It is important that they remain individuals, but their humanness is the only aspect that the viewer can truly recognize.

Part of being human is being subject to time. As time goes on these people will change, and these photographs will no longer represent the people that they do now. This work will become a memorial of people who no longer exist, though they may still be living. While our sameness unifies us with each other, time sets us apart from ourselves.

Media Frenzy

2007-07-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

In light of the massive amounts of attention my blog is getting (read: none), I decided to share my last encounter with tv crews, super cops, and secret service agents. George Bush came to campus to talk about... well I'm not sure what he talked about, I wasn't even allowed near the building.

Talk about down time...

2007-07-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all my faithful readers for the lag in posts. We were on vacation, so lay off a brother. The good news is that I have lots of new pictures. Some friends brought a 500mm lens with them, so I played with that a little-

New photographs

2007-06-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

I've been interested in photographing food for a while, and have done a little. Mostly liquor and wine bottles, and such. This is my first attempt at photographing cooked food. I made the grilled cheese myself, it took a couple of tries to get it to look right, so we also got lunch out of the deal. Let me know what you think!

Bel (a cat)

2007-06-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

It seems as though showing your pets is the first order of business around here, so this is Bel. She's a cat. She's lovable, but she likes to work her claws into your skin. Win some, lose some, I guess.

Hello!

2007-06-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's a blog! It's my first real blog... hopefully. It depends on how long I keep it up. I promise to do my best and keep something entertaining going on...
--cricket, cricket--
Ok, so I am into photography, I have a wife and a daughter, I am finishing up college... what else do you want from me?