Looking forward to rain this winter...

...preferably not all at once, please.

Been a dry few years. Good for walking around and enjoying ourselves, but not very good for our general well-being. We need rain, badly! Looking around, the weather seems to be shifting, like our rain is going elsewhere.

Does anyone know ithe El Nino vs. El Nina thing, and whether or not we are supposed to be in a good year? Have to be careful what I wish for though. Hurricane season and all. And we don't want another "40 days and nights" event. Again, not all at one time please.

Evening Uncranked

I usually do something to get some color into my images. No need for artificial additives yesterday evening; (almost) all natural. Didn't even use filters.

Nice evening, it was.

Like drops after a morning rain

Transience.

I should step back a bit. See if this road is where I want to go. Rather late, possibly, but it is said that there's always a fork.

We are at another crossroads, another transition, another time of change. Maybe it's time to see about mine.

Mid-life crisis? Possibly. Maybe not.

(Not so) Quicky comments

Just some random, "catch up" stuff.

• Bought a tripod. Yes, another one, so that is...4 in my possession. Benro Travel Angel TRCB269, the new carbon-fiber model. This one is a "travel tripod," one that is packable, yet stable enough to use just to stabilize a normal load. Initial test say it works. No, I would do a money shoot with it, but if you are traveling, it may save a shot or 300, especially if you bounce and sway as much as I do. Of course, if you are not a tripod user, I don't know if there is anything I can say to persuade you to use one. To each his/her own.



• A friend starting up her business has issued a freebie for Oahu folk, or people that will be on Oahu as that time, anyway. From her Facebook page:
  
  

  Hi Everyone (well... everyone that lives on Oahu ^_^)... Just a heads up for those interested. Within the next week I'll be posting on my facebook "fan" page a giveaway. I'll be randomly (yes, the whole pick the name out of the hat thing) picking 3 people to give a mini session to. The session will include 30 minutes of shooting ti...me and a dvd of fully edited / hi-res photos (along with the copyright release form so you can print to your heart's content). All you have to do is become a fan of my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=142403585780860&sk=basic#!/pages/Kaneohe-HI/Nikki-Jennifer-Photography-LLC/142403585780860 and wait until I post the official giveaway. Once I post the giveaway, if you are interested in receiving the free mini session... "like" the status and in comments... let me know why you'd like a mini session... and what kind of shoot you would like to do. Spread the word... let your friends know... if this is a big hit... I just may do another giveaway ^_^

  
  
  I should say that this is a "heads-up." Just spreading the word.



• In Hawaii, Friday is a state holiday to celebrate the admission to the union. The United States one. Have to admit, that is probably one of he better unions t obe a member of. Happy State Admission Day, Hawaii!

Look Ma, no clouds!

Ah, crazy Monday. Don't know why, other than it being a Monday.

It wasn't a difficult day. Well, except maybe for one incident, that I am rather unhappy at myself about. But nonetheless, just a flurry of little fires. And apparently, I wasn't alone; maybe the organization needs a blessing. Been awhile since we did one of those.

Otherwise, just been wanting to shoot. Nothing, and everything, in particular. Have this one shot that I have been working out in my head; need to get the materials together to get it done. I have seen something like it on Flickr, so I am pretty confident it can happen.

Very few clouds today; probably even less tomorrow. Got some good glow out of it, at least.

Image and self

Products and People Over Process and Dogma

Love it when Scott Bourne rants. At the core of the rant is "THE IMAGE IS THE ONLY THING THAT COUNTS!" Which is so true.

He speaks as a viewer of images, and separates that from his being a creator of images. If he like something, he does. If not, he doesn't. Simple. Like that.

However, he is a long-time professional, and is at a point in his career that he can do that and be beyond all the hoopla of "how." I am just starting, and am still trying to figure out how to stand up, so "how" still matters. Not so much the brand war stuff, but the myriad options to achieve a look are what I am looking for. And then how I can corrupt those options for my own purposes.

As an amateur/enthusiast, I shoot for myself, no one else. I find myself being swayed by suggestions and arguments that I should shoot a certain way, or do a certain kind of genre. Some I listen to, others I ignore. Depending on the direction I would like to see myself going, that is a good and bad thing, something to step back and evaluate, I think.

Frankly, I don't really care what viewers in the future see in my images, if at all. I enjoy the process of getting there, and let others enjoy the results. Or not.

I am finding that I am really enjoying explaining how I get there. As a few have mentioned, I seem to be getting my writing skills back. 2 steps forward, one step back. Cha cha cha.

Thank you for being open at 5 in the morning!

One more time. I hope.

Early wake-up, so I can wake up the metal and silicone beasties before the hordes get in. Ms. Alice recommended chugging some coffee; I took the advice.

Didn't work, by the way. Having things ready before the hordes, I mean. Damn cooling was still tripping-out, couldn't chance it. Oh well. I did get some catch up processes run, so that was a good thing.

Finally got a basic system released for use around 0900. Didn't get the workhorse portion approved for release until 1600. Waiting for a message that says we need to shut it down again; all it takes is a few hours of fairly high heat, and POOF! All gone.

Wow, hadn't realize how long I hadn't stepped foot in a Starbucks...

Was out yesterday. Came in to find the server has still not recovered, either; the HVACs were down, and the servers were screaming, if not already dead.

Spent most of the day monitoring the server room, waiting for it to die. Come close of business, *BANG*, there is it. Run down to the server room floor; step out into the hallway ready to run to the room, when out of the corner of my eye,

Oh! Gotta get this! CLICK! Ooh, bonus!

Okay back to it. Kicked the breaker back on, let the boss'es know what's going on. Dreading an overnight shutdown, hoping the A/C works.

Hell, no. Kicks off 2 more times, 50 minutes apart. Amazing, like there's a little timer in there. We are down for the night, so I repeat the Monday morning early wake-up again.

Maybe another "zoom zoom" shot is in the offing? Or maybe this time, I will actually take out the big camera and point it at something interesting...

At least I got a dirty picture out of it.

Random Stuffs

Just a couple of things of note to me:

1. A local photographer helps newlywed couple complete their day. Props to Ms. Lucy; good peep!
2. If you are on O'ahu, and are looking for a natural light photographer for family-related sessions, please consider Nikki as an option. Great eye, very creative, and good people.

Awakenings

Early in to crank things up after a weekend shutdown. Lots of praying involved; old gear don't like to wake up after a good rest. Kinda like me.

Bleary-eyed. Drove anyway. Good thing the only think I had to dodge was the monster trash truck, complete with scurrying dumpster-handling assistant. Dumpsters all over the place, cop in the next lane. 3-lane detour.

Paused to take in the early morning activity that happens to make things go. Handheld; one hand, one eye closed. Musta been the wrong eye.

Someone is obviously not a morning person.

Update: had to go back in tonight; freakin' server room was overheating. Seems to happen every time we shut down for water, irregardless of support vendor...

Anyone doing First Friday this month?

First Friday for August 2010. Might be a damp one, so photographically may be interesting. Mr K. wants me to take the 85mm PC for a walk; manual-focus, so assume we'll be playing with the DoF scale. Also need to work the 24/1.4G. If I'm not already burnt by then.

Live from the Lawn seems to be Blues-themed this month; start there. Probably need the 70-200mm for that, based on what didn't happen the last time.

The Art District should be interesting. The 85mm should work nicely there. I think I am supposed to try applying the tilt function there; we'll see.

FirstFridayHawaii.com

Simple joys...

Finally got to eat a mango off the tree; first taste this year! Oh my Lord, forgot what good was.

Reminded me of something said to me a long time ago; nothing beats tree-ripened. Oh yes.