Photographic Journeys

It Has Been A While

2012-01-08T05:03:00.000+02:00

A couple of months ago, I let my painting muse out of the closet. She had been locked in there for at least eight years. I expected her to be pissed off, and come out swinging, but she came out gently.
Here are my five most recent works in the order of their creation with a little insight into my inspiration. The first two are transfers of two of my photographs, with the first being overpainted and the second just a strait transfer. no aha inspiration, just a vision I had to get onto canvas for the world to see.

The next one is based on a poem I wrote a couple of years ago, when I put myself into a bad spot I didn't see myself getting out of.

It is dark

I can not see

Waiting for the sun to rise

It is cold

I can not keep warm

Waiting for the sun to rise

If I could throw a rope

Over the mountain

And pull the sun up

I would, I can not

Wait for the sun to rise

The next was inspired by a Colin Hay (formerly of Men at Work) song, titled Waiting for My New Life to Begin. It mirrors my current internal struggle with wanting to improve myself, and being paralyzed, by my depression, or my fear or both.

The last is similar to some of my older work, which are "action paintings" they were and are inspired by my emotions at the time of their creation. This one was frustration, after spending too much time working on the front end of my Jeep, thinking I was almost done and then hitting one last snag.

I hope you enjoy them, and of all of the work I do these are the ones I would love to hear your feed back on the most.

The Hustler

2011-10-17T00:07:00.002+02:00

I just finished watching The Hustler. I recommend it to anyone. it is 134 minutes, and every second matters. it is not fluffed up with un needed action, or sex or violence. Sure it has the inference of action and sex and violence, but it doesn't wast our time showing us those things. It's a tough movie that takes us through the journey of Fast Eddie one of the greatest pool players around, from looser, and two bit hustler, to a winner, but only after he loses his father figure, and the love of his life Sarah. This movie is a prime example of why I am a much bigger fan of a good story, over one fluffed up with the newest technology. For a little more insight into my feelings about this check out this post.

A little BTS, and DIY on my recent portrait session with Zoey

2011-06-14T04:06:00.000+03:00

The above photo as well as the ones from my previous post Were all taken using a lot of gear that I built myself. so I thought It would be nice to share some of that with you. To get all of the details make sure to take the rest of the journey.

In the head and shoulders shots I placed a large 2 1/2 by 3 foot diffusion screen with an a/c slave, placed at 45 degrees directly above her and a reflector, placed at 45 degrees below her. The reflector wasn't providing enough fill, so I pointed a small flash at it. like this

For the standing shots, I placed the same screen to the left front and above her at 45 degrees and a reflector to the right of her again with the small flash helping with the fill. like this.

Now a bit about the screen. I first made a frame that was 2 1/2' by 3' out of 1X3s, then I wrapped it in rip stop nylon. after that I attached two triangles made out of OSB on the top and bottom of the inside of the frame. between that I put a piece of 1/4 20 all thread attached on each side to the triangles with nuts. In the center of the all thread I placed an I bolt to attach to the umbrella mount of my lamp holder. To hold it all to my stick on a box, I drilled a hole through the center of one side, and put a 1/4 20 bolt through it. I drilled several holes in my stick at 4" intervals, and can now mount the panel at different heights. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I wont bore you with several thousand more words, just a few pictures.

I'm a Portrait Photographer?!

2011-06-12T06:53:00.002+03:00

I have been looking at the world through a camera for a long time, and I have wanted to take pictures of almost every subject imaginable, except for people. I just never got along with translating people into photos. I have however recently got the bug, and began converting an extra room in the house into a studio. Portraits may just become my new favorite thing. Especially with the encouragement I have been getting lately. An unlikely source of encouragement was from the one hour photo, that I use sometimes use. I sent off the four shots of my daughter Zoey here, to be printed, and when I went to pick them up they couldn't be found, finally they realized that they had set them aside, and they asked me if they were taken by a professional photographer, and that if they were, I would have to get a release for them. I explained that I took them, and they told me how good they were, thanks ;) Like I said portraits may become my new favorite thing.

Stick On A Box

2011-05-17T23:59:00.001+03:00

Since I have recently moved into a home with a studio space, I will be doing a lot of DIY projects for the studio. My first project that I want to share with you is my variation on the stick in a can. This is the perfect and inexpensive light, background, reflector, and everything holder. My stick on a box is essentially the same as a stick in a can, but the stick is removable, and interchangeable, it has a handle, and is easy to store, when disassembled. As far as price I will admit that cans are much cheaper, but with one sheet of 7/16 OSB (wafer-board, oriented strand board) whiich costs about $8, you can make 10, eight inch boxes.

Tools and materials for a S.O.B.

To make the box cut 4 pieces of OSB 8" x 8" and one 8"x 8 7/8" and made a cube from it, using drywall screws. When you screw into the edge of OSB you must pre-drill it or it will split. Attach a piece of 2 x 3 to the inside of the box. The 2 x 3 will be an anchor for the screws that you use to hold your external stick. Now that you have a box mix up your cement. I recommend using ready mix, you just add water and its ready to go. Don't make it too wet, because the OSB will soak up the excess water and get damaged. Once your cement is dry(ish) you can attach a piece of 1x3 across the top of your box to act as a handle. Now attach your stick or pole or whatever you want to the side of the box and you have a stick on a box.

28 hours at Ben Gurion Airport

2011-01-22T23:32:00.000+02:00

It appears that every time I fly out of Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, the Chaos escalates. I don't dare do it again, or I might lose a limb. My family and I were scheduled to take the 5:30 A.M. Lufthansa flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfort, and then Boston.
It is recommended that when traveling, that you be at the airport 3 hours in advance, so we planed to be there at 2:30, but were curbside more like 2:40. our lugage and animal cages (we have 2 dogs and 10 cats between our two households) took several trips to take in, so that put us at the initial security line around 3:15. In Tel Aviv the baggage screening that would take place behind the scenes if you were at an american airport, happens right in front of you as you get the 3rd degree from the Israeli equivalent of the TSA. So we were continually pushed to the end of the line because security can do that and they didn't want to deal with our large volume. once they x-ray our bags, 2 of them ar selected for further inspection, because of a jar of Marmite sandwich spread and a computer. so once we are through that step it was about 4:30. we stand in the check in line for about 10 minutes, and finally get to the counter. At the counter we have to argue with the representative who insists that we need a certificate from the U.S. department of agriculture in order to take the animals with us. Once they decide to let us go without the unnecessary certificate, they ask us to make tags for the cages, as we were doing this the woman in charge says that we should have been there at 4:30. Well we were and I had to tell her that we were, she says no I say yes she says no, ect. still not believing me she says that 4:30 isn't even early enough, so I counter with you said 4:30, so I am just going to shut my mouth. Well this mad her really mad, and she said I'm sorry you are not getting on this flight, you will have to come back tomorrow, and you better bring the certificate from the USDA. I'll spare you the details, but numerous calls were made between our vet, our travel agent and representatives from Lufthansa. Lufthansa admitted they were to blame, and re-booked our flight, with no certificate. In my opinion, Lufthansa didn't quite do enough to rectify the situation, because even though they offered us a hotel, they eventually made us camp out under a stairway in the airport. 2 dogs ten cats, 3 adults and a toddler. Long story short we spent 28 hours at the airport before getting on our 16 hour, including layover, flight, and we are now safe and sound in our temporary rental in Fitchburg MA.

142 Days in Little Russia

2011-01-18T10:27:00.000+02:00

Jackob's ladder at the center of Ganey Aviv

On September first I arrived back in Israel. I had been in America, between Las Vegas and my home town of Riverton, WY. It was a mixed bag of emotions. I was very happy to be in an English speaking country amongst a culture I understand. At the same time I was alone without my family. Well as you may know things did not go according to plan, and so that I did not miss my daughters birthday (it still amazes and scares me that I am responsible for another human being) I came back to try to make another attempt at creating a comfortable life for us. Well it could have gone better, but we will soon be back in America together. My wife, daughter (fear and amazement) and my mother in law. I have to make sure to thank my wifes mother for bringing us to Israel and to thank her and repay her with everything but my first born (she can borrow her from time to time) for leading us out of Israel, and into a new life in America.

So what is this Little Russia I speak of? Its a small master planed(ish) community on the outskirts of Lod, famous as the burial place of St. George the Dragon Slayer, called Ganey Aviv. It has a large Russian population, so I named it Little Russia. Being that I am Polish, Norwegian, and Heinz 57 European, I am often mistaken for Russian, and spoken to as such. I have a hard enough time with my Hebrew, now I have another language to deal with.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics. Next time I post it will be from America.

p.s. I know I have readers from around the world, leave a comment and let me know where you are from and where you have had your adventures. while your at it leave a link to your pictures too.

Got Brain Mug Now Available.

2010-11-20T14:36:00.000+02:00

Get your Got Brain Zombie Mug now. This will make a great gift for your favorite zombie fan, or anyone who isn't quite right until they have their coffee in the morning. I want to thank my Model MaDawna. If you think she is cute in the picture you should see her under all of that make-up.

You can get your mug over at http://www.zazzle.com/gotbrainmug-168088616787683933

My Card

2010-11-11T20:25:00.000+02:00

So I was working at my day job today, the one that puts food on the table while my photography career develops. A young lady who knows me comes and asks me, "why are you here in the mall cleaning the floor, if your business card says you're a photographer?". That made me think about a few things.
First, did she come up with that question or was it her mother? Is it because her mother distrusts photographers who have other jobs? Is that because of pick up artists who pretend to be photographers to meet women? And my mind just kept going. Let me put on record, that if I ever catch someone trying to pick up on a woman with the line "you know I'm a photographer" I will kick him squarely between this legs, if she doesn't beat me to it. I was also wondering if she had ever heard the term starving artist. My card does read Visual Artist/ Photographer. That is for many reasons, first I do produce other art besides photography, my photography has a mostly artistic focus, it's not portraiture or fashion or editorial, etc, and because all photography is an art form. So why am I cleaning the floor at the mall if my card says that I am a photographer? Well because I am on a journey, heading to the place where I might make a living by my art, but where I don't want being commercially successful to get in the way of being artistically fulfilled. and of course because there is no room on my card to make it say Visual Artist/ Photographer/ Janitor. Sorry if it was a bit of a rant, you are just lucky you weren't inside my head with me today.
Since I've got your attention did you see my calendar.
http://www.zazzle.com/the_tainted_elephant_calendar-158091790339224178

2011 Calendar Now Available

2010-11-03T15:26:00.001+02:00

Its that time of year again, its time to start looking for a new calendar, to replace that worn and tattered one on your wall, the one with all of the past year's appointments and dates pencilled in it. Well I just want to let you know that The Tainted Elephant 2010 calendar is now available. So get that all important piece of time keeping stationary, and pick up twelve of my images at the same time. Check out the slide show below, it marks the first collaboration, between composer David Rosen, and myself. Enjoy. If you order before sunday, Zazzle is offering free shiping on orders over $50, just use promo code FREESHIPFORU

You can get your calendar here.
http://www.zazzle.com/the_tainted_elephant_calendar-158091790339224178

Make sure to visit me at www.taintedelephant.com, and for more David go to www.bydavidrosen.com

The One Percent

2010-09-12T09:47:00.000+02:00

A few month back I wrote about The 99%, The work that we do that we just don't like. This post is about one of my One Percent. This Image has become my signature image. You may have seen it on my blog and website. So how did it become one of my One Percent. (make sure to take The Rest Of The Journey to see more pics)
Well I ~~like~~ Love lilies. I don't know why, maybe its because they are delicate, yet still tough, with fairly thick petals, and nice texture. So when my wife brought home some flowers to lighten up the house, and there were lilies in the arrangement, I couldn't resist. I wasn't prepared to take the shot, I didn't have a good place to shoot them, or decent light, and I was kinda of tired, but I tried. I set the entire arrangement on the kitchen table and started to try to soot them in my style. I did horribly, I took several shots, and decided to relegate them to the 99% pile. At the time my computer had just died, and I had no idea when, or if I would be working in Photoshop again. So for over a year the flowers sat and I didn't even think about them. then one day for whatever reason I went to work on them. I had no clue how to make my self happy with the color image, I tried and I tried, and gave up. Now it was time to see what I could do in black and white, so using a b/w adjustment layer, I tweaked and tweaked, with out really having a plan until I got it as good as I could. Still not happy, but not willing to give up, I started to play with the opacity of the b/w layer, and was surprised at the results. I was happy. after an adjustment here and there, I was ready to move it to the One Percent pile.

Origional

Full Color

B/W

Its Time for the Long Trip

2010-08-31T10:24:00.001+03:00

I'm leaving For Israel today, back to my family, and my home for the time being. I will be at the Airport by around 7AM, and will be on the Ground in Israel, by 3:30 the next afternoon, if everything goes according to schedule.
So as I said in my previous post, I have a new determination to make Photography a bigger part of my life. So today I would like to introduce my new website taintedelephant.com, and invite you to come and take a look at my work, and say hello. I have heard it from many people and about many forms of art, but the basic message that I have gotten is that if I want to be a successful photographer, I have to do it, I need to make it my job, and the most important thing in my life. well I plan on doing almost that. I have a family and they are of course the most important part of my life, and as such I can't afford to fail, at this adventure, so I plan on giving 100% to the project, and 100% to my family, which means I will probably have to give a piece to my day job, whatever that might be. So I am going to be one tired boy. Just a quick round of thanks, without, my wife, and daughter, my mom and sister, my friends in Wyoming, my friend Tim who is hosting my site, and Kirk Tuck who gave me inspiration, and fellow photographer/blogger Udi who took the same jump recently, I would not be able to do this, thank you.

Here I Go Again

2010-08-24T01:03:00.000+03:00

Yesterday, I left Riverton for the 3rd time in my life. I love Riverton, but it is a bit small, and Life, Love, and just a gut feeling, are taking me back to Israel for an indefinate amount of time. My trip back to the US, and Riverton have given me a sence of determinatoin to live for my art, after my family of course. I dont know where exactly my inspiration came from but I got a burst of enthusiasm for a project that will be the most sugnifigant thing that I have ever done in the art and photography world. A few years ago I created a web site called The Tainted Elephant. it was fun, but not verry focused. Well I have been working on a reincarnation of that site, because I am ready to make my art available for purchase. in the next week, the new site will be fully up and running and available for the world. I have many people to thank for my sudden burst of courage, that allowed me to make this happen. most important is my Wife who encourages me at all times and is always behind me no matter what. another big emcouragement, came form my friend Tim who sugested the site long before I was ready to even think about it. He also is hosting it for me, if you need computers hosting or have any other communication needs he is your man, check him out. my last thanks goes to a photographer that I have grown to respect Kirk Tuck, we dont know each other, but I read his blog and lateley, almost like he wants to encourage me he has been posting the most ispirational posts that appear to be directed right at me. Thanks Kirk.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink

2010-08-04T18:44:00.001+03:00

Last night was rodeo night, it has become a tradition to wear pink to the rodeo, to promote breast cancer awareness, but last night was the official Tough Enough to Wear Pink night at the 2 day Rodeo here in Riverton. So I don't get the details wrong, please visit the official web site to find out what you can do for the prevention, treatment, and cure of breast cancer.

I don't have the best equipment for night time action shots but I tried and here are some of my favorites.

two quick side notes.

I am not going to have any discussions concerning cruelty to animals. There are more precautions taken to insure the safety and welfare of the rodeo animals, than there are for the human participants. if you have questions please refer to the PRCA web site.

I may be Tough Enough to wear pink. but I am barely Tough Enough, to work a 60 hour week doing phisical labor, shoot a rodeo, and blog about it, I am tired.

The Right Place At the Right Time

2010-07-28T17:14:00.001+03:00

I went to a movie last night. After the movie I took a short walk down town. I love down town Riverton, it has some really charming, old buildings. I decided it would be cool to take some pictures of them at night. So I walked home and got my Gear and headed out the door, but before I got to far it was raining.

Back inside I went. I still had the bug to do some shooting, so I got out an accordion that I found in the garage and worked with it for a little bit, and then took a short nap, and had a little bit to eat. at about 4 a.m. I tried the great outdoors again. I headed downtown, a 5 minute walk, and got my camera and tripod setup. just as I am ready to take my first shot a caravan of buses passes through the normally empty streets and gives me an opportunity to take the shot with the light streaks in it, I even had the sense of mind to fire the flash and capture a little bit of the back of the bus that you can see. I took several more shots, and then at about magic hour I got to the back of the theater, that I had shot many years ago, in very similar light, and got my last few shots. I was lucky it was raining when I first set out or I would have missed my favorite shots of this session.

In My Own Back Yard

2010-07-22T16:22:00.001+03:00

When you are inspired you don't always have to travel far for a good image. I took all of these images, either in the kitchen, backyard, or within 5 minute walk of the back door. I haven't done any of my typical post processing on them, and I am quite proud of them. So get inspired and take a Photographic Journey into your back yard. To see more join me for the rest of the Journey.

A Day at the Park Can Turn into Pure Terror

2010-06-14T16:38:00.000+03:00

I casually took this shot last week while helping my friend Beky, with the filming of an Andrew W. K. video for "I want to kill". There were several child zombies on hand for the shooting. We had lots of fun, ate pizza, ice cream and cake, It was a typical day at the park, except for the obvious. So if it was that easy to make cute children having fun scary, with just a little makeup and blood, it was a walk in the park making a photo from that day extra creepy. To see the before take the rest of the journey.

and heres one just to show how fun it was to eat cake with zombies.

Zombie Day and My Batting Average

2010-06-07T08:47:00.001+03:00

I have read about many photographers shooting massive amounts in a day just to produce a minute amount of finished product. In an extreme instance, one successful stock photographer along with his assistant shoots 8,000 images in one day in order to get 50 sellable images. thats an average of .00625 if I did the math correct. So I shouldn't be afraid to press the shutter a few more times, just in case it might not turn out. I don't know my "average" but I'm pretty sure its better than .00625. I was a little lazy today and in a hurry to share my work w/ the parents of the Zombies I was photographing, so I uploaded every single shot I took to my photobucket account, without any post processing, or even sorting. So if anyone wants to see a visual representation of my batting average (open to interpretation) its right here. so have at it. I'm not worried about it take a look at my'failures right next to my successes.
http://s846.photobucket.com/albums/ab28/taintedelephant/Zombie%20Day%20In%20the%20Park/

Trudging on to a new begining

2010-06-05T00:14:00.001+03:00

Once upon a time I used to think that a dream come true was something for those with the luxury of a dream. But that was simply because I didn't know what my dreams were. Now I have a faint Idea of what my dreams are, but I don't understand them.
I ~~like~~ Love to create. if I am using my hands and something happens I'm happy. this could be something simple like assembling a piece of furniture, or very complex like building a house (thats one of my dreams). One of my favorite things to create are pictures. I can take a simple snapshot, or I could go crazy setting up the perfect shot, or I could take several elements and put them on a canvas and go crazy. The harder I work and the closer my images come to my vision the happier I am. Las Vegas offers me a great deal in materials, resources and venues for me to show my art. there are several photography shops, art stores, office supplies hardware stores, etc. etc. but I don't know if its where I want to be. Besides all of that the unemployment rate in Nevada is getting close to 15%, and I don't exactly fit in to the typical grind sort of work. So I'm headed to Wyoming, again. I have an opportunity in Wyoming that isn't guaranteed, but is 99% likely to happen. So I'll be giving that A try. Well What about my art? its going to happen. so what if a town of 10,000 only has one art supply store, a print shop that is only open while I am at work, and no real alternative art venues. I don't care. I intend to use the place as an inspiration to create masterpieces, and I don't care if they ever sell, I am ready to create art for the sake of creating art. period, end of story. And of course like many photographers, I am center-brained, so to think of it from the logical perspective, the cost of living is lower, the commute shorter, etc. etc.

These are just some of the images that I shot while living in Wyoming. They don't even represent the best of my vision, watch out world!

Are they just trying to sell us seminars?

2010-05-17T17:27:00.000+03:00

I follow several blogs of many respected photographers. I respect them, and I think that their work rocks. but it seams that a lot of what they do is to invite you to seminars. I think that they even complicate their lighting or whatever part of photography that they are famous for just to draw you in and make your jaw drop. so they are better than me and they do share knowledge, but they make my head spin w/ how complicated they make a simple task. just my opinion.

The Beginning of a New Beginning

2010-05-16T07:59:00.000+03:00

On December 12 2008, I arrived in Israel with my family. My wife had lived between Israel and America her entire life, My daughter and I have never been out of America before. this adventure was intended to do several things like, bring my family closer to my mother in law (without her help, support and love we never could have had this adventure), bring me out of my shell, let me see another part of this world, and to inspire me.

well it all happened and it didn't. well For one I suffer from mild social phobia (self diagnosed) and being in a country where I don't understand the culture, or speak the language is hard. I have experienced a different part of the world, although it wasn't in that glamorous touristy sort of way, it was more of a gritty in your face scratch bite and beg sort of way. I have also been inspired although it has been in dream like sort of way which has resulted in no solid tangible art of any significance. one of the major obstacles to my goals for this adventure is that my family and I have this annoying habit of eating and sleeping under a roof.

well my first job here was in a hotel working as a housekeeper the resort town of Eilat. I had swore to myself that after leaving the MGM grand that I would never work in a hotel ever again. I dreaded every day of that job, because I was forced into interacting with new people everyday, about half of them had a superiority complex and the other half were really cool. I was also barely able to keep up with the work. Cleaning at a record pace is a skill that I do not possess.

I left that job to be a freelance handyman/daddy, while my wife brought home the "real money". soon after that we made the decision to move to the big city of Be'er Sheva, where we currently live. I work for a contractor who does remodeling and large scale handyman work. I love this job and my boss, but it leaves me little time or energy to be creative, and like most jobs in Israel for someone like me with little marketable skill and limited ability to speak in Hebrew it pays very little (about the equivalent of $6 per hour)
That's Really the nice short version of a long tough story.

So after about one and a half years I made the trip to Jerusalem, which is less than a 2 hour bus ride from our home in Be'er Sheva. It is a major attraction for the three major religions in the world:
a) Christians
b) Jews
c) Muslims
but I am a
d) None of the above who still loves God

so I found it beautiful w/ little spiritual significance. Upon entering the city it had the feeling of a ski resort town during the summer, w/ beautiful mountains and way to much traffic. Our first stop was the Holocaust Memorial. it is a beautiful complex surrounded by forest built to remind us how some men can be made to do evil things out of fear hate and ignorance. I made it through the slithering passages of the triangular passages of the museum having only mild emotions of sadness anger and amazement. But when I got to one of the final display cases which contained a bib, white with a red border slightly torn and tattered and a little bit bigger than modern bibs I have seen, I cried with some of the deepest sorrow that I have ever felt. The story of the bib was short. It had belonged to a two year old girl named Hadassah. she was deported to a camp w/ her father and was murdered immediately upon arrival. Her father survived and returned to their home after being liberated when the war was over, where he found the bib. I felt such deep sorrow after reading that story. I love my beautiful two and a half year old Zoey. The next day I made a realization. I remembered that Hadassah was the real name of Queen Esther, and Zoey's Hebrew name is Esther. Did I tell you that I love my Zoey. Next stop after a cab ride w/ a hustler who was desperate for us to charter a ride to Bethlehem in his cab, was the Old City. This was what I wanted to see, but we had only 2 hours to see it and hadn't eaten lunch yet. So we had a quick lunch. The menu said it was shuarma, but I jokingly called it squirrel curry. It was the best squirrel curry I have ever had (and it was pretty good as shuarma to). with 1 and a half hours left we wandered a bit and then quickly found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is one of the candidates for the burial place of Jesus. it was comfortably packed with devoted catholics lighting their candles and praying and a few curious tourists like myself. I felt a little awkward at first at first snapping pictures but soon found that the devoted followers were doing it, so I quickly got comfortable but remained respectful. Some how I was able to hand hold exposures as slow as 1/30 or maybe even slower, without even trying. next stop was the Western Wall. We left the church and headed in the general direction of The Wall. along the way we were invited into many shops "please come into my shop it is free to look" I was warned not to go into these shops because they may get angry when you just look. Soon we were greeted by a young Arab boy "where you going? The Wall? come" he guided us expertly to the last turn where I quickly gave him five shekels before he could ask for it. The Wall was quite large and beautiful but smaller than I expected. 3/4 was designated for men and the rest for women. (as I write this in my notebook I am holding back tears my plane just took off I am no longer on the ground in Israel) So after a quick look around I wrote a prayer on a small piece of paper, walked to the wall and prayed for about 5 minutes, placed my prayer in a small crack in the wall and walked away backwards. Next we took a quick stroll through the Muslim quarter and out the gate. just outside the city we boarded a bus bound for the bus station. What I expected to be a 15 minute ride turned out to be a little over an hour with out air conditioning, and a full bus. Once we got to the station we cleared security and waited a few minutes for the bus and stood in the funnell (Israelis don't stand in line, at least not to get on a bus)

fast forward to May 12 2010

So its a week later and I am on the first of three planes that will take me to Las Vegas. But lets rewind just a bit to my adventure getting on this plane. I entered the airport and placed my bags in the first x ray where I new that my checked bags might throw up a red flag because I had packed some tools, which they did. So they sent me across to have my bags checked. So the nice girls doing the searching check my bags,visually and for explosive residue, and I figure I'll be off in no time, but for some reason they call over a senior officer, a rather large middle eastern man (couldn't guess his race) comes over and asks me a couple of routine questions, then drops the big rather irrelevant one on me. How well do you speak Arabic? Well I explain to him that I don't speak any (after a year and a half I don't even speak enough Hebrew to get by). He then gives me a look of disbelief and pulls out a copy of the Quran that I had brought with because I collect religious books. I told him about the collecting, then he asks me why I don't have any Jewish books with me. I told him that I hadn't gotten around to buying any. Well If I were him I wouldn't believe me either it sound fishy, but I was telling the truth. But still after a quick strip search I was on my way. just kidding. He eventually realized that I was not a threat and after I thanked his team for keeping me safe I headed to the ticket counter where I discovered the security officers still had my tickets and passport. Back to security where they helped me re-search my bags to find the papers that they had on the other side of their counter all of that time. One good thing that came of the second search was that I was able to point out to the big scary officer was that I indeed did have a travel sized Jewish prayer book. Well I finished my trip after another standard security check in Israel, a special check by the Germans, delays caused by volcanic ash, the longest passport control line I have ever seen, the shortest customs check that I never imagined, and one more standard security check by the Americans. Now I just have to face up to 6 months without my wife and daughter, while I create a new life for us back in America.

But more about that later.

Just felt like sharing

2010-04-16T09:11:00.000+03:00

I was going to write about walking for an hour to photograph a mosque and then being disappointed, followed by something inspirational like if life gives you lemons juggle. But I am not. I'll just post some (4) pictures.

A snail in a Brier patch

A sunflower in Riverton, WY

Yes its a pink monkey

The minerette of the Mosque in the Old City of Be'er Sheva

You Never Know What You Are Going To Get Into

2010-04-09T15:52:00.001+03:00

When I was about 13 I joined the Middle School Cross Country Team. Why? Because I bought a pair of skis the previous summer. I was a smart kid but maybe I had some crazy ideas. I used the cross country skis every chance I got that winter. the following rear I responded to a school announcement for the cross country team. I showed up and said I am here to join the ski team. I got some looks and then was able to play it off like I was joking around, after I found out what cross country was really all about.

We all have stories like that. The smallest thing can lead to much bigger things. Like the time My mom took me to lunch at McDonald's, that lead to a business relationship, that lead to a bad blind date, leading to a bad relationship. That relationship caused me to start a search for the woman I would marry, have a beautiful baby w/ and then go half way around the world w/. So when a butterfly flaps its wings some crazy shit happens.

I think it is like making God laugh by telling him your plans for life. when you set out to tell a story w/ your camera, keep an open mind. Sure you should have a plan, but don't let your plan get in the way. Take a reasonable amount of extra gear w/ you and keep your eyes open. Don't let your plan distract you, and don't let bad distractions ruin your plan. Good distractions can lead you to something fun. speaking of distractions, I am currently enjoying one of the most beautiful train rides I have been on for a while. The clouds are beautiful fluffy abstract sculptures on a light blue background (I am imagining what a polarizing filter will do). the spring time weather is hard to describe, and there is a perfect mix of the brown of the earth, the green trees, and the gold of the fresh cut and baled hay. Me w/ no camera. I'll have to enjoy it while I can. Now, I almost let the bad distraction of the incompetent train supervisor distract me from my good distraction.

Lets go out and see where our distractions take us.

Does Technology Raise the Bar?

2010-04-03T10:45:00.000+03:00

Jerry Uelsmann untitled 1982

I really don't know. It should, but I am not sure if it does. or maybe yes. If it is abused it just floods us w/ average mediocre images, because everyone who thinks they want to be a photographer (I believe that everybody can if they intend to try) is trying to, but with a half ass approach, because the camera will do all of the work, or they can fix it in post (Photoshop). Well Technology will never raise the bar if we use it as a crutch.
It always makes me laugh when I think about an acquaintance George, who thought his 2001 Canon Rebel could take better pictures than my 1997 Rebel because he paid so much more than me for it. as if a machine can take a photograph. When machines start making art, we should just hook our selves up to the matrix, because there will be nothing left for us humans to do. enough ranting.

w/ each technological step from when light sensitive materials replaced the tracing of camera obscura images onto a wall, all the way up to today artists have needed to challenge themselves not to just do the same things they used to only in an easier way, but to do more. Jerry Uelsmann was compositing images in a spectacular and beautiful way, in his darkroom, 5o years ago. so why should it impress anyone if we do the same thing on our computers in Photoshop.

My final thought for this post is more for film makers but could apply to photographers. Why are we telling the same stories over and over again only with new technology? Is it because Will Smith is a better actor than Vincent Price? No, its because we lack vision. Both Last Man On Earth and I Am Legend are good movies, but the story is the same. What I would like to see is an original story told w/ an old (or at least not cutting edge) technology.

So lets not expect the tech to raise the bar. Lets do it ourselves.

http://www.uelsmann.net/

The 99 Percent

2010-04-02T17:17:00.000+03:00

I think every artist has the same problem. We believe that 99% of our work is complete crap. I mean we can see every flaw in it and and don't see a way to make it better. so we get upset that we wasted so much time on this horrible thing. that leaves us one percent the percent that we gave just as much love as the other 99 then we liked what we did and gave it that much more. Its that one piece in 100 that makes all of that "wasted Time" worth while. Then someone comes along and crushes your euphoria w/ a polite and honest criticism, or worse yet by saying that they like one of our other 99% better. Well don't despair its your art and you like it, and someone will appreciate it the way you do. ...and that other 99%, its not as bad as you think.

DIY Beauty Dish From Outer Space

2010-03-28T07:52:00.000+03:00

A few months ago we took our dog to be fixed. He wasn't broken but we had him fixed any way. He came home w/ an e-collar. I kept looking at this thing wondering how I could use it as a light modifier. Well I couldn't but I realized that I could use thick plastic sheeting to make a giant e-collar, and wrap it around a round spider light. The results were a beauty dish with a really interesting look.

So I don't exactly have step by step Instructions, because I didn't have the best plan going into it. but I have plenty of pictures and I think anyone can improve on my design.

For the first phase I made a 20 cm round spider light. For the reflector on this part I used the inside of a snack bag and some contact cement it worked pretty good. Most of the parts for this were salvaged from a demolition at work so it cost very little.

for phase two I laid out the pattern on the plastic sheet. I used a string marker and pushpin as a compass to make three half circles on the sheet. the most critical was the second from the inside. Since my spider light was a 20 cm circle, the half circle on the plastic had to be twice that diameter(40 cm). The inside circle was a couple cm smaller to allow for wrap around to the back of the light. and the third circle was one meter, which will result in a 50 cm outside diameter of the dish. I have been saying half circle but they are more like 55% circles to allow for over lap. finally I made some notches between the inner and second circles to allow it to fold around the back of the light. I didn't do it right so I changed my plan but if you do it right it might allow you to put the screws on the back of the light instead of the sides like I did.

Next phase I put silver contact paper on the plastic and the broomstick, as well as the coroplast center reflector. I also had to put four drinking straws on the outside to help support the flimsy plastic.

The last phase was the assembly. four short screws, a piece of duct tape and a lot of swearing and the reflector was attached to the light. so here it is.

I'll be out of town for a few days when I get back I'll try try this on my daughter. and let you know how it works. I also plan to make a 50cm coroplast frame that can go where the red circle is above to hold diffusion material so I can switchback and forth from beauty dish to soft box by just removing a screw.

The Missing Charger

2010-03-27T19:18:00.000+03:00

I lost my camera charger a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't a big deal because I wasn't using my camera a great deal, and I had a fully charged battery. but now it was getting critical. I am going on a short trip since I have a few days off of work and the battery is coming to an end. so I turned the house upside down cleaned some corners that were in desperate need of had a few fits of rage and generally got depressed. So after all of that looking, I found it hidden in my camera bag under one of the adjustable pads. I cant believe that I packed my bag in such a strange way, and that even after fully unpacking the bag I didn't find it hiding there.

Do what you can

2010-03-19T14:57:00.000+02:00

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt (American 26th US President (1901-09), 1858-1919) this post might just be full of quotes so I'll follow up w/ a paraquote from the semi fictional Minnesota Fats. "If you know how to shoot pool, you can do it with a broom stick". (I have a broom stick in my lighting gear and my wife isn't to happy about it right now)
So whats this got to do with photography? I'm sure most of you know. Sure I we want the best photo gear out there, but that stuff is expensive so maybe we should just hang it up and quit shooting if we can't afford it. Of course not. We need to do what we can, with what we have. I don't want to say we should settle, what we have is more than whats in our gear bag. We have something that money can't buy, our creativity. We are all born creative, some of us more than others, but we all have it. Lets develop that creativity and make it one of our tools, don't put your thoughts in a box and then put that box into another.

I just can't get into one of those discussions with other photographers about whose sensor is bigger, or mega-pixels, or whatever is new and hot. Sure it all has an effect on our craft but its not why I make my art its just a tool. So lets take whatever camera we have and find any subject we can and make it ours. This all sounds so much better in my head so I will just say one more thing and then leave you with another quote or maybe two. It is your portfolio that speaks for you not the name on your camera, lens etc. I have been outranked in photo contests by point And shoot users, and I know I can outdo anyone who thinks he can buy a good shot w/o putting any of his own effort into it.

I know I promised only one more thing but this is an important point. It's your art it needs to make YOU feel good if you aren't pleased who cares what the rest of the world thinks. Do what you like with passion and you will gain a following of people who appreciate you and not your ability to sell out to the world. Do this and everyone will win. so here comes another quote from one of the most inspirational US Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, and then one from Eleanor Roosevelt (FDR's wife).

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

my realistic wish list

2010-03-13T18:37:00.001+02:00

I could make an extravagant wish list including anything and everything any one could want. well that's a little boring to me. so this is my realistic wish list, its the things that aren't impossible for me to get in the near future. basically everything I have is in my camera bag so aside from a couple of diy gadgets that I made I have a lot of ~~needs~~ wishes to address.

I want lighting gear, the only thing that I have is a spider light and my pop up flash. So to fill this void I would like 2 or 3 fully adjustable flash units. Why manual you ask. well for 2 reasons first they are cheaper than dedicated units, and second I have a philosophy that I shouldn't leave creative decisions to a machine. during my learning curve I'm sure I'll be wishing for that dedicated flash unit when I produce some awful pictures. ... but I know that once I get the hang of it my shots will far surpass the average shots that the dedicated units produce. So which flashes, well only the best that money can buy of course. NO NO NO there are 2 units from Gadget Infinity that will do just fine. The first is the KF36 which is packed full of features and only about $90. The second is the YN460-II which also has quite a few features and also can be adjusted in 46 levels from zero to full, and sells for about $60. I would put sync cords on my list but GI has an alternative that is better and Ive heard about 95 percent (my keyboard wont give me the symbol) as reliable, and quite inexpensive for what they are. Wireless flash trigger the v4 is about $40, w/ additional receivers for about $25 each. I think their best deal would be a portrait kit which has 2 flashes one transmitter and 2 receivers + some additional gear for like $240. This site is so inexpensive that its barely worth going DIY for things like light stands and soft boxes but I think I will. Next thing I want are 4 PVC light stands, and a background stand. After that I want some light modifiers for my flashes. Just the basics like a beauty dish, a soft light panel frame, and a grid spot. I just realized that I dont have a background for my stand. and one last thing A clamps .

Whats wrong with post processing?

2010-03-01T18:37:00.002+02:00

I am a member of a popular photo contest web sight, that I love, inspi.re. One of the rules in many of the groups is no post processing. I understand this rule to some degree, some of us don't have the necessary software, and this levels the playing field. ... but almost every camera comes w/ some kind of software, so we should have no excuse. And I also understand totaly rules that exclude composting (I think thats what its called when you combine elements from multiple photos) and digital art.

Let me make a film analogy or two to this rule to help you understand why I think these rules are silly. What if you had to enter a contest where you could only use prints from a 1 hour photo no custom printing in your darkroom. Or perhaps you wanted to show your work at a gallery but they only exhibit slides. Do you understand where I am coming from. Expecting you to compete w/ in camera results only is taking away from your vision, the moment that you imagined when you pressed the shutter.Your camera just can't capture things the way that your eyes see them and then your brain processes them. So the images always need a little help. now I am not saying that you shouldn't do everything you can to get the best shot possible in camera. I believe that the most important step in your work flow is to get it right in camera, this will save you loads of time and lead to much better end results. But well you know.

Its about subtle

2010-02-27T12:00:00.000+02:00

I just read this and I totally agree. there is something about the subtle imperfections. This is one reason that I am not obsessed with getting the most optically perfect lenses etc. So check out this post on Kirk Tuck's blog. He is an artist and a good businessman.

Create a Flat-Fold Light Tent Using Coroplast

2010-02-27T10:04:00.001+02:00

Light tents (also called light boxes) are a great way to shoot a product. They eliminate harsh reflections and create appealing highlights. This is my take on the light tent. for the Rest of the Journey head to DIYPhotography.net

Know the rules but be prepared to break them

2010-02-25T19:36:00.002+02:00

I used to be a Photographic rebel. What do you mean there are rules for composition? It's my art." I thought that If I followed these rules my art would blend in w/ every one else's. This was pretty much my excuse for not knowing or understanding them. These rules are more like guidelines for producing images which are pleasing to the viewer's eyes, and are good to know. but there are no composition police out there (maybe vigilantes). So feel free to center your over exposed horizon diagonally across the frame w/ your subject moving or looking out of the frame. just ask your self does it make sense, why am I doing it.

So what are the rules and why do we follow them. Well there is really not a list. If you do a search on the web you are directed to sites w/ many rules five, ten, and six whatever. So you really need to try to understand as many as you can then pick and choose.

My favorite is the rule of thirds. Don't center your subject, horizon or anything pivotal in your composition. Place them either 1/3 up, down, left or right from center. I always consider a double thirds option where I place my subject where the vertical and horizontal thirds lines intersect. It doesn't always work but I consider it. Occasionally I ignore the thirds rule w/ mixed results. 1/3 is not set in stone just avoid the 1/2.

The Level Horizon. Horizons are naturally level that's the end of the story, therefore level horizons look better. I don't know why it took me so long to believe this. Of course you have mountains and city skylines that throw lumps in it, but it averages out. I am not great at doing this in camera, and I am not about to get out a level and measure. Fortunately I can get close and PS will do the rest.

Give your subject someplace to go. It just looks better when you do this. Use this rule in conjunction w/ the rule of thirds to make your moving subjects look as if they are not going to crash into the edge of the frame. You should also give your subjects someplace to look. Your subject should be looking into the frame not out.

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple s????? Separate your subject from an uncluttered background. Pay attention to all of the details in your shot. Because after you take it you will notice all of those annoying details that don't add to your shot.

There are numerous other rules you could follow, like the Something about odd something or other. Where you have an even number of accompanying objects w/ your subject (1 even # equals odd#) the golden proportions etc etc.

So I can't explain why I decide to break the rules but I do it by instinct, sometimes it works and sometimes I wish I hadn't.

So why do You break the rules?

Photoshop

2010-02-21T22:20:00.000+02:00

I love Photoshop. I aquired a darkroom setup centered around a cadette 810 (I think) enlarger about 11 years ago. I lugged that thing around for about 9 years after setting it up about twice (in the first year I owned it). then I practaly gave it away. So whats this got to do withwhy I love Photoshop. Well now Photoshop is my digital darkroom, its easier to setup, doesnt smell and takes a different skill set to use, so I use it all of the time.

Usualy I just use it to enhance my work, not to do crazy compositions and stuff like that. I use the Tim Grey (he has a cool eNewsletter you ~~can~~ should subscribe to) aproach to working w/ PS that is I dont touch the background layer. All of my adjustments are done on sepperate layers so that if when I make a mistake I can just throw out that particular ujustment layer and start over w/o loosing the rest of my work. I learned this from Tim's book "Photoshop CS2 Workflow" I use CS4 but it doesnt matter. So here is my basic workflow (almost straight out of the book).

Levels

set the black and white point to the spot where your histogram drops off.

Hue and saturation

I play w/ all of the sliders but usualy just give my images up to a +20 satuaration boost.

Exposure

I usualy do 2 different exposure layers, one for overall, and one to target the shadows (if I took the time to get the exposure right in camera, I skip this, its the better choice).

General cleanup

clone stamp ect...

Creative and crazy stuff if I am going to do any.
Sharpen and resize before printing (when I ever get to).

Thats usualy it if I did the best I could in camera, its over so quick I dont feel like I've done enough, and thats usualy still all it takes. there is one other step that I do if I have a picture I realy want to get right. I make it my wallpaper so that I look at everytime I get on the computer. When I do this I usualy spot something that needs to be fixed, so that I can fix it.

One last recomendation If you have Photoshop, and need a jumpstart for cheep, get an "in easy steps" book from Barns and Nobel. They are not all inclusive, but they teach you the basics, and you can teach yourself the rest.

First Place Entry

2010-02-20T07:18:00.005+02:00

This is my first place entry on inspi.re I realy dont understand why it did so well, there were so many great entries in the selfportrait competition.

What is in your camera bag?

2010-02-19T17:10:00.005+02:00

I want to know whats in your camera bag, and why. Especially that stuff that doesn't seem to belong.

In my bag I have my Canon Rebel w/ 18-55 mm kit lens, the 35-80 mm kit lens from my film Rebel, a 2x teleconverter, lens hood, a macro filter set +1 +2 +4, a polarizing filter, 80a and r2 filters (don't know why I keep the last 2 they are left over from when I shot film) the camera manual, "Kodak pocket guide to 35mm photography" (its about 75% relevant to digital) 1/2 1 and 8 gig CF cards,remote shutter release, lens pen, micro fiber lens cloth, red and black fine tip markers, pencil and 2 notebooks. I also carry a medium quality Nikon tripod (couldn't tell you the model) that my wife got me for our anniversary, but it doesn't fit in my Tamrac day bag.

Most of the time I shoot landscapes or macroish still lifes w/ my old lens because it fits all of my filters and teleconverter and the new lens doesn't. I keep the new lens w/ me in case I need to shoot wide, which is rare but it happens.My approach to most situations is get close, if you think that you are close enough get closer. I will very often stack all of my macro filters zoom into 80 mm and use the teleconverter. this gets me really close. Of course when I do this DOF is so shallow its scary. that leads me to my next standard practice of mine. stop down the lens all of the way. at 80mm w/ my lens that's f32 (I'm half way to joining the f64 club). That's why I have a tripod, I'm sure you understand why. I capture all of this 8 gig CF card (another anniversary gift,its like 20 rolls of film shooting raw). I've never filled this card in 1 day, but if I do I'll be prepared w/ another 1.5 gigs. Everything else is a bit boring and standard. I don't know why I have the markers but you never know what might come up.

So what's in your bag?

next time perhaps our wish lists.

My Links

2010-02-18T22:32:00.002+02:00

So there I was about 3 weeks ago bored w/ nothing to do, at least nothing I wanted to do, so I do a search for macro studio. Two realy good bloggs show up. diyphotography.net and strobist. Well they sparked my interest, and I've been dreaming about building lighting equipment, and using off camera flash. Another site I visit alot is inspi.re. I love this site, and wish I could participate more. on Inspi.re you can join comunities based on your photographic interests, and participate in contests, one of them even has a prize of 100 euros. and of course I'm on facebook. I have a new profile and as of right know I have no friends:(

since I'm no good at the html thing, and out of practice and to lazy, and just think a list of links is cooler here they are. eah I know my gramer sucks, but my english is better than George Bush's and not as good as the Queen's

http://www.diyphotography.net/
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/
http://inspi.re/?a=4afd60dad8228
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000807157086

one last one you can email me @
taintedelephant@gmail.com

The Begining

2010-02-18T21:02:00.000+02:00

So after more than 13 years of wanting to be a more serious Photographer I've made the decision to put more effort into my art. What does that mean? I Dont know. But when I find out I will let you know. Very often People ask me what I do, whats my profession, ect?... I usualy say that I dont know. from now on I am an artist. take the steps with me lets go on photographic journeys together.