Old shot (Assn 3)

No new shot worth posting from me today, instead, you get my strobist assn 3 that was taken how long ago, lol. Some of you have already seen it.

The assignment was to shoot someone and make them look smart. All I had was me, so I got to be smart for the day :)

I chose this look, because when I think smart people, this is what I know, the people I see everyday. Though, I added a bit of me in it too. Crumpled papers and all :P

Light: I had one light, in my stripbox, low camera right (see catchlight), with a CTO gel in it (want to say 1/2 CTO, or halfway to making my flash same color as a tungsten bulb) and a reflector real close in barely out of frame camera left (my reflector: white shirt, haha). Over my shoulder is a snooted flash, that comes down on my shoulder, side of head, and paper, etc.

You look reeeeaaaal close, you can see that my remote was in my right hand (camera left) hidden by the crumpled paper.

Rant, Stress, and a celebration

Yes, all three in one post, haha. First, I suppose you should know, this is todays post. Yesterdays will come, I'm really proud of it, I actually went shooting. Vast majority of my 365 photo's, not that I post, but that I take lately, are, flash on camera, manual focus on something random, shoot, check focus, put camera down and study. Do that about 15 times a day, and I got a 365. Lol, upside doing that, I'm a much better manual focuser then before, which is good, because my favorite lens is manual focus. But, today's, and yesterdays, are real to semireal shooting, YAY!

Ok, nnow, for the rant/stress/celebration. First, the rant. I found out today, I will not be graduating with my gold chord. Less than 1% point away in multiple classes. If, in one class, I had done just SLIGHTLY better, I would be, but that's life, and I was the one who chose to take the biggest workload possible, and not what I'm mad about. What I'm mad about it, there are SO many people that are graduating with thier Gold chords, that never took any class they didn't have to, easiest possible schedules, and just cruised by. That is not worthy of a gold chord. Not at all. Then there are the Validictorians. People who got "A"'s in every class every semester of every year. We have 27 this year. Only a few earned it. One of my best friends, whom I'm immensly pround of for earning it, took as much of a workload as I did, and managed a perfect grade every time. She's thrown up thier, to share the pride, recognition, and honor with people who never did more than the most basic classes. To me, that's not a validictorian. But I digress, that's what it is, and I hate it.

Stress and Celebration, one and the same this post. I have been SUPER stressed about upcoming AP tests (for those that don't know, AP tests are when you take a college class in high school, and the test determines whether or not you get college credit. I have 5 tests! But, that's 15 credits, and I already have 6 on top of that!) Seems my life has been consumed by studying (as you will see by pic below). I haven't had much of a good feeling about them, but last night, we took an old AP test, one of the hardest one's they've given in a long time. Not only that, it was the AP physics Electonics and Magnetism test. Literally, THE hardest test offered at my school, confirmed by many many people who take so many AP classes, past and present. After all that, I got a 4!! Grading system is 1-5, 3+ passes, 5's are unheard of, 4's are amazing in every way. I even beat the people that I know are so much smarter than I am. I've been basically on cloud 9 ever since, you wouldn't beleive how much weight that takes off me! But I seem to be studying constantly as mentioned. Study while I eat, study while I chat, study basically any time but sleep. I'm going crosseyed, lol. I cought myself studying even during my workout today, which I found highly amusing, and thus took a pic, sooc. For those that read through that whole thing, thanks, it was a long post I know, and am sorry.

2 flashes, one up above me aimed at my back, one to camera right, aimed and snooted at my homework.

Yesterday's

Here's one from yesterday, nothing special, but like I said, trying to keep up. Made a little 2min project. My own personal omni-bounce type thing. Just paper cut/taped to shape. Here's what it looks like on the flash

And, we ran out of tape, so this is the tape I have left. What is this?! Where and why this was bought, I have no clue

Don't have anything worth while to show for today, just a little manual focus practice, so instead, I'll post that Strobist assn 3 from so long ago a little later if I got the time.

This is the funnies thing I've seen in a long time. That either says loads about my poor sense of humour, or something, but this is downright awesome!

http://themostboringblogintheworld.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/verizon.jpg

Total payment on that check? $0.002. Hahahahahhahahaa

New effort

Going to try and be posting some more. Expect snaps at best, but going to try and keep posting when I can. Not sure how often that'll be, but better than none.

I went to a place, local place called Laser Quest today. I love it there, but rarely manage to go. It's two stories of ramps, maze-like walls, pillars, fog, mirrors and people running around with 5lb packs with flashing lights and laser "guns" shooting the light packs. Once shot, your pack vibrates for 5 seconds as you look for new cover, then your fair game again. Good excercise too, running up and down like that for 2 about 8min games.

Fortunatly, my friend invited me to tag along with him to his brother's birthday party there (whom I know decently well, he kicks my butt every time I go over there at video games, oh to be nine and have that free time, LOL) I got my own back today >:) Note the first game (the card on the bottom, only the score showing, 663) was already the high score of the day, and I was just warming up. 1039 was my next game, complete own, Mwahahahahaha. There was another party in the same game as us, so it ended up being a 25 man free-for-all, VERY good game.

For the observant viewer, you will notice the nickname of Ipsolon not (supposed to be Epsolon Not, but they fail at spelling, even when I spell it for them. They spelled Blackhawk as Blakhawk in my friends nickname) Funny story behind that name. A while back, in my physics class, we were doing an electronics unit that I could NOT understand. I thought Epsolon not was a variable. One day, he mentioned in passing that Epsolon Not was a constant of nature, and I burst out, couldn't help myself "WHAT?!?!?! That makes SENSE!" All problems were solved. Noone has let me forget it. To this day, it's called "Eric's Constant", the thing even looks like an E. Anyway, the guy with me suggested it, so I took it, but funny story I thought.

I'm still here, and even a pic

Oof, underexposed, sooc, wacky white balance, and a super crop from in camera crop button, but a pic it is. I wish I could post more, or have the time to comment on ya'lls blogs, but I really don't. I don't mean to give excuses, but I'm writing this at 430, this will likely be another night of working straight through. That brings me to about 20 hours of sleep total since sunday night. Bring on the caffiene. So please, understand why I'm not posting much, or commenting. I'll get there, I promise. I have been taking pic's, but to be honest, they are snaps (literaly, random object, focus, click, 10 second process, but I've gotten good at manual focusing, lol) and will not be posting them

Hopefully, I'll be able to post now and again, but till May 15th, nothings guaranteed. I'm postponing my strobist thing, sorry to those who were doing it with me, but I just can't right now, I'll continue it later, I promise. Heck, maybe this weekend I can post the one I already finished, but I don't even hardly have time then either.

No matter what though, this is almost over.

Hope to have the opportunity to chat with ya soon, it's been a while for some of ya. Unfortunatly, I must now get back to work. Fun

Update...

I know I know, I've been bad lately. I really want to be posting more around here. Sorry for the slow time

Sortof post

Sorry, I haven't been around much. Things are EXTREMLY busy lately for me. Eat, sleep, school, such fun, and I certaintly wish there was more of the second, and less of the third. As it is, I just feel like I'm about to crash lately.

Anyway, no pics from me directly in this post. Computer issues (same ones) are making file transefer a huge pain. I was hoping to get it fixed this weekend, but my tech guy was unavailable, so next week it is.

However, at various times, I posted one shot to my Facebook (I beleive most of you are contacts there, and if not, I'm the only Eric Licciardello on the planet it would seem). This is a tee-shirt for my AP physics class. It's amazing. For one, it's kind of nice to have something that says, I did it, I made it through the hardest class this school has to offer and I made it out the other side. The other thing that makes it extremly funny is, it takes a physics person to get it. I love that thing.

The other pics I took are at OPS in the nature section. Sorry, should have posted them here while I was at it.

The other pics aren't posted, sorry. Too much hassel to transfer, and they aren't worth it. Snapshots, one practicing with bouncs flash (snapshot) and the other practicing my manual focus with my tamron 90mm f/2.8 (snapshot)

There's my story, hope to be around some more at some time. Till then, please just understand, this is no where near the top of my priority list, life comes first. I wish I could post more often though. At least I'm still posting, right?

Catching all up

Catching all up-ish
Been a long crazy week.

In no particular order:

Todays post is cheating. I just took a screen shot of my messy desktop. I covered the worst of it. Fighting computer issues. Looks like I may need to reinstall windows :(

Went shooting one of the days. Not happy with the results. Too windy, so flash used. OFC in my softbox

My trigger

Yay computer issues...

Start of the problem. Hook up comp to internet. Comp dies

Just an update

Sorry everybody, I haven't been posting this past week really. It has been spring break, and I needed a BREAK, so I have been away from the computer pretty much as much as possible, and for the most part out of the house. I won't be able to update until monday, and I will then. I will post all of my pictures of the past week, and my strobist assn 3

That brings me to my next question. Strobist folks, what are your guys' plans? Did assn 2 ever happen? Want to post both? Skip 2 and post three? what's on your guys' minds? I'm game for any of it.

First for me!

This was a first for me, sortof. I used a 3 (count it, three) light setup for this shot, but one of them isn't really counting, except I made it count ;)

SOOC By the way

These are two peices of equipment I would be lost without them for my macro work. One the left is a set of extension tubes. They are not automatic, meaning if I want to use f/8, I will look through the viewfinder at f/8, which is MUCH darker (obviously) than when looking through the lrge aperture you will always look through on a set of auto tubes or your camera. Then you go to f/11 or 16, whew, you can start to see more of the focus screen then what the lens is actually seeing, lol. But hey, at 8% of the price, I'll buy. On the right is a right angle viewfinder. It attaches to your viewfinder, and allows you to see it at ackward angles by rotating 360 degrees around the viewfinder. It also allows you to flip a switch, and your viewfinder is now 2x as magnified as it was before, much easier to check focus. Again, ebay knockoff, but it works right nice.

Now for the setup. One strobe, on homemade softbox, on camera right. One stobe, bare flash, camera left. The other light, the yellow one that is popping out of the Right Angle Finder, is my ceiling light. Obviously, it's not flash balanced :P I saw it purely by chance reflecting through the eyepiece, and decided to keep it in. I like it :)

Well, there wen't that idea

I tried testing the IR output with my strobes today. Well, lets just say, not likely going to happen. THere's alot of IR output there (try putting your hand near the strobe as it fires, hot? IR) But with the visible light filter on my lens, and the IR filter on the sensor, I lose 13 stops of light. Or another number I get 1/8192 of the light I do without the IR filter.

To put it in easier to understand terms: ISO 1600, f/3.3, 2 flashes at full power and max zoom less than 6" away from this (my camera brush) to get a...underexposed photo. Gah how I wish I had an IR converted camera. Whitebalance not adjusted, this is a sooc IR shot.

Will post my Stobist #2 when I, erm, find it, lol. I put it somewhere obscure, and this is what I get!

Ok, found it! Here's a good friend of mine. Unfortunatly, I'm not happy with it. Good thing is, there were some lessons learned!

Lesson 1: When you want to overpower the sunlight, you need to OVER POWER the sunlight. Unfortunatly, I didn't, instead I exposed for it just about perfectly reflecting on the lockers. These lockers are, unfortunatly, outside, which I dont think I conveyed well in my description post.

Lesson 2: The glasses will reflect what you give them to reflect, like, say, the lockers, LOL

Lesson 3: If I want to use gels to noticably change the background, don't go light on the gels! I ended up only having the background off by about a 1/4 CTO, not much at all.

Lesson 4: Watch the gel work. One half her face looks good and warm (hit with Gels) the other half is much cooler (not much with gels there)

I'm sure thier are more to be learned here, lol. But I am happy with the background, so that's one good thing.

Catchup

I love electronics, at least, when I don't have to do any crazy math with them, haha. But circuits have always been a particular enjoyment for me, even the math for them, I know, I'm nuts. Anyway, my video card came a few days ago, and here it is!

Then the next day, I was trying a few snapps, and here's what I got of my eye. Lol, nothing much, one super oof, and one with the wrong WB, and as all of these in this post are sooc, I didn't have time to change it.

Yesterdays is unsharable at this point, as it was my strobist assignment. I'm bad, I didn't take another one :(

And todays, it's...

SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few quick things to say

First off, I want to thank everyone of you. These past few weeks have been extremly stressful, if only you knew. Fortunatly, this next week is spring break, time for some school free time, and hopefully, solve some of these other issues as well, which seem to be the big problem. But through it all, I have gotten nothing from support from you guys, thank you so much.

Secondly, I want to remind people, if your doing the strobist bootcamp, I will be posting challenge 2+3 this weekend. I did challenge 2 last week, when it was due, but posting hasn't been a high priority for me. I did #3 today. I have no idea where you all are, please, if you have posted a challenge 2, link me, and if you will post a challenge 3, please say so in the comments, would love to know where you all are.

Finally, I would like to apologize, I have been a bad 365er. I know, I know, I seem to say that alot, but I seem to be slacking alot. This thing isn't worth it sometimes. When my options are to post, or sleep, you can bet I'm not going to lose sleep for this thing.

That's it! I'n through!

Alright, I'm done with this. I can't take it anymore, I am going insane. I hereby am officially quitting this 365



Now, look at the calander. For most of you, look at yesterdays date when I'm posting this...



Sorry, can't help a little fun here and there.

No pic today, well, I took one, but to tired to post it. I got to be up in a few hours, and I'm not even down yet :(
I PROMISE I'll get back on this wagon soon, posting and commenting, it's just so hard right now

Yesterday

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I got a pic. I actually sorta like it, it's not good by any means, but I don't look so tired in it.