"For me, vision is an intelligent form of thought."

 -Andreas Gursky

what the heck?

onOne Software - DSLR Remote for Canon DSLR Cameras & iPhone

DSLR Camera Remote is the next-generation cable release for your Canon EOS DSLR camera. Just connect your camera to a WiFi enabled computer and the DSLR Camera Remote software enables you to use your Apple iPhone or iPod touch to wirelessly adjust cameras settings, fire the shutter, review images, even get a live viewfinder preview. DSLR Camera Remote is a must-have for remote shooting applications like high or low angles, self portraits and children. With its advanced timers it makes remote monitoring a snap. No internet connection required!

I am so giving this a try.....

Thanks Brantlea!

The return of Redlining?

Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks - NYTimes.com

Wells Fargo, Ms. Jacobson said in an interview, saw the black community as fertile ground for subprime mortgages, as working-class blacks were hungry to be a part of the nation’s home-owning mania. Loan officers, she said, pushed customers who could have qualified for prime loans into subprime mortgages. Another loan officer stated in an affidavit filed last week that employees had referred to blacks as “mud people” and to subprime lending as “ghetto loans.”

“We just went right after them,” said Ms. Jacobson, who is white and said she was once the bank’s top-producing subprime loan officer nationally. “Wells Fargo mortgage had an emerging-markets unit that specifically targeted black churches, because it figured church leaders had a lot of influence and could convince congregants to take out subprime loans.”

Wow, looks like Redlining is still alive and strong.

Storm a brewing...

They are saying 18000 people without power. Hail and big thunderstorms. So the danklife client area will be down till this passes. Everything will be unplugged shortly. The client area will be back tomorrow as long as I have power.

Yowzers. [gallery link="file"]

Pocket Wizards at 1/8000th of a sec!

So I received my Mini TTi and Flex TT5 yesterday and have been testing and testing and testing. Here are some pretty exciting results all shot at 1/8000th of a second! I am using Profoto ComPact-R 300r's with the Flex TT5 plugged into one of those with the Mini on top of a Canon 5d Mark 2 to trigger it all. Then just for kicks I put up my old Vivitar 283's with some old 1970's era Wein slaves in the mix as well. As you can see from the behind the fan shot, all are being captured at 1/8000th of a sec. Feel free to check out the files and see for yourself if you don't trust my screen shots. They are also on the Pixelrust Photostream as well if you want more data. There does seem to be a touch of fall off on the camera right side of the frame but nothing that is a deal breaker.

I was chatting with the esteemed and accomplished photographer Mike Powell (they won't know I'm lying Mike!) and his thoughts on it are that the gear I am using is crappy (thanks Mike you jerk!) which means the flash duration is way longer then with good gear. So the actual strobes themselves are probably at around 1/500-1/800th of a second in duration which makes it easier for the Pocket Wizards to be in the sweet spot during the shutter release at 1/8000th. Go go crappy gear!

Also, this fan is called "Finga Choppa!" for good reason. This little guy moves at a good clip.

Also, these are test pics man, cut me some slack on the crappy lighting!

Click on the pics to see them bigger.

[gallery link="file"]

Photomatrix HDR studies

I have been doing HDR work for some time now, but after this weekends studies I thought I post some of my thoughts on it. Here are some screen grabs of a side by side comparison between a 'conservative' use of Photomatrix and one done with hand masking. Photomatrix is on the left.

[gallery link="file"]

Notice how on the overall view you may be fooled into thinking this actually looks good? Notice all the artifacting in the views at 100%? To me, that is ugly as hell and not something I am into. Plus, the HDR appears smeary because of the slight breeze at the time. The plants move and the software can not cope with that. But this also brings up why I think HDR is such a blight upon Flickr. No one prints their HDR shots. They process the shit out of them in Photoshop and then post them with no intention of printing.

Of course, I could be dating myself by saying I print my work. For all I know, that is a very old timey concept.

It's a freaking ink jet print you snobbish twit.

Giclée - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giclée (pronounced [ʒiːˈkleɪ] "zhee-clay" or /dʒiːˈkleɪ, from French IPA: [ʒiˈkle]), is an invented name (i.e. a neologism) for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing. The word "giclée" is derived from the French language word "le gicleur" meaning "nozzle", or more specifically "gicler" meaning "to squirt, spurt, or spray"[1]. It was coined in 1991 by Jack Duganne[2],

This is a big pet peeve of mine. Just because you use a french made up name does not make it special. You are not a special unique snowflake and your art is mostly made of crap. Stay off my lawn. Damn kids.

And turn down that music too!

Jets To Brazil - Sea Anemone

the curtain's a sea anemone in the way it sways to the slow breeze i lie spread out on the floor looking at these things and most of them are yours

and it's so nice sitting very still without those old shoes i could never fill

starfish with its arms out in a daze staring at the stars through an ocean haze was i one you wished upon burned out like a lightbulb when you turned on me

and it's so nice sleeping here all alone with my ashtray and white courtesy telephone now i'm making out the shapes like the shower rod - can it take my weight? i will tell you i am fine i got some news, friend, feels like i'm dying

turtle on its back in the desert sea and you *look* like a cool drink just slightly out of reach draw myself into the shell waiting on a sign from god or a nod from hell

and it's so nice sitting very still without those old shoes i could never fill now we're turing on the lights it's the first day of my second life take my name off of the lease you can even keep the name it never suited me

Oh man!

Flickr: Camera Toss

This is a "technique" group, and the technique here is regarded by some as insanity. For we are the reckless folks on flickr that enjoy the abstract, chance, generative, physical photography that results from throwing our cameras into the air (most often at night in front of varied light sources). It is about trading risk for reward in the pursuit of art. It is not about being a photographer, it is about enabling the photography that happens naturally when you let go of the process, give up control, and add a hell of alot more variables. It is about physics, gravity, angular momentum, acceleration, direction, chaos, and timing... most of which you have tenuous control of at best!

This is pretty cool actually. The nagging Art Scholar says, 'decorative' but who gives a shit. It sounds and looks like a fun time.

Hmmm...

Is it just me or is fffound, reddit and digg suddenly filled with the same crap over and over again instead of new content? What is afoot? Are the Corps moving in and rehashing themselves with scripts instead of user generated NEW content?