I ended up using a theme from Graph Paper Press. I didn’t download it directly from them and their support from their free themes truthfully sucks but the them was nice enough for a static web page. As for the Pages with my themed samples I used a nice little plugin called GalleriaWP which allows me to have a nice dynamic gallery without have to do alot of coding…. I literally just upload the photos and it does the rest.

All That’s Left to do is create a substantial about page. ( writing about myself is quite difficult to say the least) and finish my other two categories. Once all that is done i will concentrate on creating even more work…

My Second theory is the eye for an eye theory. What I mean is that there was a great deal of anger and ill-will towards our former President, George W. Bush, the anger towards him and his administration was justified, he passed laws and pushed through legislation that was vastly unpopular, and brought us into a vastly unpopular war. As President, he willfully ignored the will of the people in favor of his special interest and America suffered for it. The Tea Party first protested Obama last April for the “High” taxes, that he had absolutely nothing to do with. I feel that this was initially revenge for the vast amount of ill-will towards are previous President, but at that point that anger that the Tea Party harbored was grossly unjustified.

The third theory is the slippery-slope fear that government regulation will somehow lead to socialism. However if they fear government involvement in the live of the average American where were those same people when the Patriot Act was signed?

Now I agree that the government should limit it’s scope of what it regulate I think that health care should not be one of them. Let me paint a senario for you.

You are in your home, nervous, you have your door locked and you have your phone by your side, you feel as if you have been watched and followed for days, but you cannot do anything about it because your police protection insurance only covers assault, and burglary but not stalkers or peeping toms. Or how bout your home catches fire, due to the bon-fire you had in your yard and you get a $10,000 bill from the fire department, because your fire insurance only covers kitchen fires.

Can you imagine living in a world with privatized police or privatized fire departments, it sounds a bit ridiculous right? But why is basic health care privatized? Because it always has been, if you look at health care in the same scope as police or fire protection the fact that health care has been a private business rather than a public service seems unfair. If there can be a scope of basic emergency and preventative care provided for free, then America could be a healthier country. This does not preclude the ability to pay extra for extra services, just like you can hire private security , you could pay extra for extra exams.

I think that using government regulation to make health care more affordable is the beginning of moving toward a system where health care is a service that is there when we need it without have to worry about the cost much like the police or fire department.

The healthcare bill is more about extending a basic need to the whole of the American public, and not about control.

www.photoEP.com

I am on my way!!

• I had what I am calling a “Quarter-Life Crisis”
• My Experiences During the elections season
• The No-Pants Subway ride
• And to Bring the whole thing down Some struggles I have been having recently with racism

Quarter Life Crisis

A few months ago the world was seeming a big dull and gray for me. I was going to work everyday and and I was hanging with the same people, doing my same routine. My motivation at work was nearly all gone. I was bored with the people I was hanging out with, and bored with what we did; drink( though I still love those people). I also was not taking photographs. All of this came to a head when I went home for thanks giving and went through some of my old photos from high school. The rush I felt when I first took those photos  came back to me. It was then that I realized that I had rarely felt that same rush when I started college.

My first step towards my “rehabilitation” was to separate myself from my old crop of friends and get out of that routine of weekly drinking. I sought out a new group of people, people who I more in common with, people with whom my eccentricities were more than just oddities, but where they could be appreciated and shared. I also focused and spent time with friends who I have “neglected”. That was a great period of growth and overall made me happier. I did not eschew my old routine friends, i just chose not to hang with them as part of a routine.

The Next step was to get me photographing again, which I had already started to do, but I had no direction. I sat down with Larry Chatman my photo professor from school and showed him my high school work. We sat and spoke for an hour and the basic gist of what I got out of that conversation was “Shoot More”. I know it seems rather simple, but I have a tendency to over think things so I needed an hour long convo to just get that. That being said I am shooting more, nothing I feel that is ready to be post yet but I will post as soon as I do. In fact I am currently working on a portfolio website and a business Identity of sorts as well.

All of this is further accelerated by a friend of my losing her job. Now in this economy it was to be expected and it sucks, but she turn losing her job into an oppurtunity. She quickly put together a portfolio enlist the help of her friends and and basically set up shop as a freelance photographer. She got cards, and a website done. That just inspired me further to keep working towards my goals.

As it stands now. I am still fleshing out my portfolio and am in the midst of designing my photo identity. I have also found a good group of people to hang out with, and and I make a bunch more new friends, and I am Happy.

A Brief Bit About The Election

I am not going to harp on the election. I just want to mention that I was there in Grant Park on Election Night.

Ok so I just want to say, that night was amazing. I have never been so immersed in so much positive energy. And the moment we found out the Barack Obama was elected president is rivaled only with the first time I had sex (I know that it’s vulgar but it’s the only comparison I have to express the amount of Joy I felt when Obama was elected.)

No Pants Subway Ride 2009

I have been a fan of Improv Everywhere ever since I first heard of them. They are a group based in New York who does non disruptive performance art who’s goal is to brighten people’s day. That being said I have wanted to participate in one of their “pranks” but obviously being in Milwaukee made that very unlikely. I also had previously missed the opportunity to participate in one of the national “pranks”; the MP3 Experiment in Chicago. So when I heard about the No Pants Subway Ride, I was all over that. I joined the Facebook group and tried to get friends to participate in the festivities. I was only able to get My friend Sas to join me, but she would not remove her pants.

Photos from the event.

Video:

Video From The New York Event:

All in all the event was one. I got a lot of weird looks and people whispering in the cell phones. Overall I enjoyed adding a little oddity into people’s day.
Oddly enough this subway ride segways to my recent encounter with racism.

Racism

When I first moved to Milwaukee to live on my own I had a NASTY habit of pointing out when ever I was the sole person of color in any situation. I realized I picked up that habit from my Mother and Step Father, & over the years i have worked hard to ignore that.

I bring this up because after the no pants subway ride, I went to go bowling with my mother and I showed her the photos from that day and told her how much I had that day. Later that evening when we were home I was showing her the video from that day and she asked how many black people were out participating.  At that time I thought nothing of it, but the more I though about it the more  it bugged me. In this day and age why would it matter? I tried to think about her question from a cultural point of view rather than a racial point of view but it still didn’t sit right with me. The No pants subway ride was neither perverted or sexual , just unusual.

I am not saying I ignore race nor am not able to see race, quite the opposite, I am very aware of race and differences, and I embrace them at least I do with my peers. We make fun of racial stereotypes, and other such things, it’s all in good fun and as far as I know doesn’t hurt any one’s feelings. I will admit that I still will bring up race more often then my peers  but as the years pass I am pulling away using that subject as a conversational mantle.

The point is to have fun , what ever the fun may be, is not predicated to the racial or cultural background…..

Until Next Time…….

Pogo – Alice

Pogo – Lost

Pogo – UnBirthday

Pogo – Bread And Butterflies

Pogo – Sing 2 Self

Pogo – Go Out And Love Someone

Pogo – Tunnels

Pogo – Anna

Pogo – Dot’s Vinyl Gone Bad

That Being Said, lets proceed:
Recently, I have having a conversation with an ex-girlfriend (who is religious, one of the reasons we are no longer together, albeit a small reason), about nothing of particular consequence to this blog post. Meanwhile i had the television on CNN, I was watching the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. In the midst of my ex’s and I’s conversation I had made a remark about the primary. She then Droped a bomb on me, “I am voting McCain”. My heart sank.

Lets put things in perspective. When I first stared dating this girl I was vehemently against religion, and found it completely unnecessary. Through dating her I had become more tolerant of religion and I realized that some people may need it for comfort, the thought of religion, specifically made me angry. On that token I had hoped that through dating me she would become more liberal. Now that is not to say that i didn’t have an influence on her like she did for me, it just wasn’t in an area I had hoped.

After that bombshell I decided not to press the issue as it would not be worth the time to pursue the conversation. I did however speak with a mutual friend of ours who both has faith but is liberal. I told him of the exchange between my ex and I, and her revelation of voting for McCain. I had told him that I was disappointed in her decision.
“Don’t you think that’s unfair?” he asked. I thought about it for a few moments before answering:

Don’t you get excited when you meet someone with the same political and philosophical ideals as you? Didn’t you feel disappointed when Bush was elected for the second time? Or when Hilary Clinton wins a state? This is no different.

He agreed

What would really be unfair is if I decided not to talk with her again, or treat her differently due to her choice. That would be unfair.

“indeed” he said

After that exchange I got to thinking about making judgments. Everyone says that judging people is bad, however I believe that everyone does it, and I am not one who encourages the suppression of many of our natural behaviors and urges. I do believe that there are ways to properly use or control those behaviors and urges though. I had come to the conclusion that making judgments about people in it’s self is not bad, but what you do with those judgments make it bad.

In the case of my ex, if I had decided not to speak with her again due to her conservative ideal that would make that judgment bad. However, because she is the same person she was before she told me of her decision, it would make no sense to change my behavior towards her.

What if I make a judgment on some I don’t know? In that instance, my judgment still holds no merit, Because I don’t know the person, there is not reason to trust my judgment, and thus I would to be neutral towards them. I would need to meet that person, then i can evaluate how I should behave towards/about them.

Honestly Judgment is a slippery slope. I guess the point I may be trying to make is that you may think you know someone but then they will say or do something unexpected. That does not mean you change your behavior towards them, because they are still the same person you knew prior to that surprise. Inversely if you know not someone reserve judgment til you know something substantial about said person.

It’s not an exact science. In Fact i am quite sure that my theories and philosophies have giant holes. Admittedly they are works in progress, but they are crucial to me to become the type of person I would like to be. The problem with my quest though is that I am human. More on that later.

I cooked them together, twas quite tasty…so there

Stove top

I have quite a few cameras right now, and all of them get use.

My first serious camera was a Pentax Spotmatic II, my mother gave it to me in high school. I carried it around everywhere with me, it got to the point that my friends easily ignored the fact that I had the camera and was able to photograph them without repercussions. It was great. Over the years I acquired quite a few nice lenses (135mm F2.0, a 90mm-300mm f3.5, 24mm, 21mm, etc..). I love the camera and I love the lenses.

After that I had come into the possession of a Nikon D1. However, I tend to block out all memories of that camera… it was probably the worst introduction to the world of Digital SLRs that any one could have…. That camera also probably permanently warded me off of Nikon cameras for the rest of my life. I never got used to the physical interface of the camera, it was very counter-intuitive, and on top of that the image quality left much to be desired.

At the first chance I got, I upgraded to the Canon 10D, a marked improvement over that Nikon, in fact I ditched the Nikon as soon as possible. The 10D was faster, the image quality was MUCH better and the interface was very intuitive. I could not touch the camera for months at a time and pick it back up an know exactly was I was doing with it, For example the aperture and shutter speed are easily accessible at your thumb and fore-finger. While I love the camera, the selection of lenses that I have for it, save one, leave something to be desired. It could be that the lenses were hand-me-downs and well used past their prime, (as I know it to be the case of at least one of my lenses). But there is one lens in my collection of lenses for that camera, that is my crown jewel, it’s a Sigma 105mm macro, it’s sharp as a tack and has never failed me. There is one lesson I have learned in my acquisition of lenses and that is to stay the hell away from Tamron Lenses. The Tamron Lens that i do have, and have used have always been soft (and no they were not soft focus lenses).

The last cameras I acquired was coincidently made by Tamron, the Bronica ETRS. While I hate the lenses that they make for the Canons are shit, this is a damn good medium format camera. It always took gorgeous images for me. In actuality the ETRS is modular so I have two cameras and multiple film backs as well as a few lenses. They are work horses, they take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.

I do have a few other cameras, some point and shoots but they are not worth mentioning in this conversation.

With film becoming more and more expensive and rare, and the ease of digital imaging, more of my worries were to the extention of life in my film cameras. One of the first things I looked for was an adapter for my Bronica ETRS to allow it to be used with a used digital back that my father was willing to let me use, the reasing being the fact that the infrared filter over the imaging sensor was chiped…I could live with that. Through My research I found an adapter but wall appalled to find out that the adapter was nearly $900. For the time being I’ve given up on that dream.

My next worry was for the lenses that I have for the Pentax Spotmatic, heck for the I worried about the camera, and the fact that i would not be able to use with out incurring great costs.. What I had hoped for was a company to come out with a device that would essentially turn your existing camera digital. One company tried to do that, their first idea was to create a module roughly the size and shape of film to fit in your current camera. But alas that film module was destined to become vaporware. The the second glimmer a hope was for a digital module that did not fit inside the camera but replaced the entire back of the camera. But that too suffered the same fate as it’s film sized module predecessor.

For me all hope was lost an i had resigned myself to shelling out hundreds, nay, thousands of dollars in new lenses for the Canon 10D. I constantly Scour the interwebs for deals on lenses for my camera, all the while mourning in the wake of potential obsolescence of my old Pentax Lenses.

Thursday April 3rd, 2008. Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design held a symposium. The Subject? The impact and challenges photographers face as digital technology supplants film. The speakers? Eric Oxendorf, Deone Jahnke, Tom Fritz, & Grace Natoli-Sheldon, local Milwaukee photographers. This symposium was less about the equipment, and more about the fear of the loss of a medium that makes up who they are. However in the reception prior to the discussion i was talking to some of my fellow attendees and i expressed the fear i felt about loosing the use of the equipment i have and love. One of the gentlemen I was talking to suggested that there might exist an adapter that would allow men to use my older Pentax Screw Mount Lenses on my Canon 10D. I was skeptical, and thought to myself that even if it did exist it would be prohibitively expensive, much like the digial back adapter for the Bronica. Even with my pessimistic thought, I put that idea of the adapter in the back of my mind for further retrieval, I was going to look this up.

I have an impending trip to Arizona, while I have little doubt that it will be fun , I could not decide on which Camera of mine I should take with me. The Bronica takes nice photos but is large and cumbersome. I could take the Canon, for ease of use and processing, but as I have said before the lenses leave me with something to be desired. The Pentax is small quick and I have lenses that I love to use with it, but I refuse to have any film go through the X-ray machine regardless of it’s film speed, but I also don’t want to have to go through the hassle of having the film hand checked by TSA.

By the time the symposium occurred I had still not decided on which camera to take with me on my trip. The day after I looked up this mystical adapter, lo and behold… it existed!!! Whoa!…..I slowed down my excitement and thought “This is too good to be true, it must cost a few hundred dollars.” I dug further and found that the adapter only averaged $25!! Hellz Yeah!!!

I bought one, and I told everyone around me how excited I was. I just save my self tons of money, and widened my selection of lenses by a huge margin! Through my research about these adapters, I found that the lens mount that Pentax used was not unique to Pentax, but the result of an effort by the still camera industry to standardize cameras. Unfortunately it did not work, as bayonet mount lenses proved to be more convenient. I also learned that I would not loose focus quality of my screw mount lenses due to the fact that Canon EF lenses focal point is at the same distance as the screw mount lenses.

As of today (4-08-08) I have not yet received my adapter, But when I do I will post my opinions of this hardware. Needless to say I am taking my Canon, and Pentax lenses with me to Arizona.