This photo was taken back in August of 2008, I had just dropped my girlfriend off at MSP International so she could go to visit her Grandmother in Phoenix, AZ. Afterward I decided to stop at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery. I will tell you this, never in your life, unless you have been to Arlington, have you ever seen so many headstones. It is just incredible. It is literally a sea of white, and you know that each dot in the distance represents a person that was once alive. It makes me wonder about all those people, what were they like, their aspirations, their goals, their weaknesses, their loved ones, all their mistakes, all the things they had ever been proud of, then it reminds me of how insignificant we are as people. All the wars, all the arguments, all of the hatred and anguish, and for what, a small plot of land on this tiny speck of a dot in space, we as a race, as a people, regardless of skin color, language, nationality, are so insignificant in the end. Having said that, why not cherish what we have, fight for love instead of land or oil or pride, do all that you can to remind the people you love that you do, in the tiny blip on an existence that we have, that is the world we should fight for, the people we care for and love.

So, the photo… It is made up of some ten photographs, having said that, ten equals thirty because each one has to be taken three times, so yeah, it took some time to stitch this together and map it correctly, it is still not up to my standards, but to get it where I want it I would need to go back and re-take the photographs…

Having said that, I have a friend who needs a bit of help. It is not one of those sad, sappy stories, it is one that just flat out sucks a bunch. This weekend his brother’s car was stolen, which is just lame, however, about six thousand dollars worth of miscellaneous photography and other gear were in it when it was stolen. So, think of your most cherished ten items, and their value, then think about how much it would suck to just not have them and they are gone.

Now, this is where you come in, most of you that read this have sent me emails claiming my photos are awesome and want to know how much they cost to purchase. My response is always, “Nothing, they are free.”, much in the same way my computer work for most people is free, I have a talent, and I really enjoy sharing it with others. Most of you do not know the medical situation I have been going through for the last couple years, and the inability to have a steady income that has come along with it, still, I do not ask for money for my work, but now, I am, though it is not my work.

My friend Corry is an awesome guy, and this sort of thing is something that he just does not deserve. I am not at all asking for a donation, but I am simply imploring you, requesting, begging and petitioning you to buy at least one print from him. For those of you that have a facebook account, you can find his photos by clicking HERE, they can also be purchased HERE, they are very reasonably priced. For those of you that do not have a facebook account, you can contact me, as per usual at: MY EMAIL.

I will hopefully be getting his permission and photos to post here and on my flickr page for easier viewing at some point this week.

Again, I seriously think you should at least consider helping a fellow photographer. Thanks.

A few friends and I had gone for a day of disc golf. While hitting the drive through at BK I had moved one of my discs to find this little fella dangling from it via a silken string. I gently placed my hand beneath him and allowed him to drift safely onto my hand. While he was doing his little squirmy jam dance I was able to grab my camera and affix my macro lens adapter and grab some photos. Now, macro photography is difficult enough, but to add such a small subject, sitting on my shaking hand, in a moving car, it is a wonder that the photo had any focal point at all…

This photograph was captured during a session of getting myself and my girlfriend lost on a four wheeler. It was awesome, I found this place, and parked the four wheeler atop the hill, which is much steeper and difficult to traverse than it might seem.

I have been wanting a good example of HDR that was more on the subtle side, because it is very, very easy to get some blown out mess that makes you wonder what was in the sushi you ate for dinner. I have been going back through my collection and decided this was a perfect example of what I needed. This photo perfectly accentuates what GOOD HDR is capable of doing with your photographs.

So here we have a normal photograph that 90% of cameras on a tripod would take, and below it, we have a processed version of the same image. Please understand that there are two additional photographs that go with this. One of them is at -2 EV and the other is at +2 EV, which I find to be great for 97% of my HDR, there are times I will go -3 to +1, but that is only for the brightest of suns to be captured…

So I extend a Thank You to my repair man, Eric.