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…

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 one was taken while we were both still relatively warm. Steve had forgotten his gloves, so later on I let him use one of mine, so we shared gloves… Yes, sharing gloves with another man is a sacred thing, so Steve and I are pretty much blood brothers now.

Back to the photo, I really like this one, however, I used my (cheapo) wide angle lens, and sadly I discovered a severe flaw in the unit. I will give extra awesome brownie points to the first person that is able to identify the problem in the photo, and the distortion which caused it. I will give you a hint, My D90 has a setting that (either on or off) attempts to reduce this effect.

So, for everyone reading, do not buy cheap equipment with an expensive camera, it will only leave you sad, and wondering why your expensive camera is taking terrible photos, until you see the edge-bending effect of your wide angle lens and realize what the problem was, or maybe that’s just me…

I also think it is probably prudent to adjust the photo size I am posting, as much as I love the large size photos, it seems to give a feel closer to being there, since your eyes kind of scan around, much like they do naturally. It seems that many people are running lower resolution monitors, so, if you are unable to see the full image in the window without scrolling (Please make sure your browser is set to full screen view), please just leave me a note here, so I can do things to make it a better viewing experience for everyone…

Thanks!

Thanks Everyone!

“And in the end, we find that we are back to the place we began, fetal and weeping, for no better a reason than fear and selfishness.” ~Jacob W. Crosby

Having said that, there is still a positive spin on things, somewhere, I hope… I just have yet to find out what that is. I do have some paperwork to fill out, in an effort to get some form of assistance from the government due to my current medical condition, which is clearly a positive point on the chart.

On to the photos… It seems today is a bit of a “twofer”, in that I lack the ability to make a decision as to whether I would like to focus on the positive or negative side of things. The two photos that follow were taken within the same 24 hour period. The self-portrait was taken first, late at night, I was unable to sleep. I had been crying… No, sobbing quite excessively due to a recent “loss”. I ended up staying up for roughly 32 hours, I accomplished very little at first, finding no reason to do anything of significance. Somewhere around the 5:00am mark I decided that I wanted to feel good again, so I made the decision that at sunrise I would force myself to climb on the roof and take photos of said sunrise, a goal in which I had neglected for a little over three months at that point. After having a battle with myself over motivation, I walked to the window screen and promptly removed it from the window frame (Which, in fact, was not very prompt at all since the screen was rather tightly affixed to the window frame, and I lack the ability to exert any significant amount of force without pain).

I waited the next 50 minutes, thinking about what lay in store on the roof, during a wet morning, for a young man, in no physical condition to be climbing about on a roof, with a tripod, expensive camera, tennis shoes, and a severe fear of heights. No matter! I was on my way and there was no stopping me now. I made the trek onto the roof, only to find there was no way to the other side of the house, other than to scale the garage, and make a three foot jump across a gap between the garage and the other side of the house, camera and tripod in tow. Needless to say, I made sure I took my time and captured a significant number of photos from different positions prior to an escape back to the comfort of my room. I am quite fond of both photos here, as they represent the relative low and high in the course of a 24 hour period, one in which I do not believe the high point or low point have subsequently been achieved.

I hope that you are all pleased with these photos, as they are the first actual motivation I have had in some time. Please, please make comments, critique, shout, yell, gripe, or do whatever it is that you feel the need to do. I am at a point in my life in which I need to feel like something I do matters. Though it is something as simple as a personal photo blog, it really is one of the few things I have left. So please, take a few moments, click on the shiny little stars to give a vote, jot down a few lines about how I do not hang out with you enough, whatever it is you deem necessary. Something to keep me motivated to do this is really what I need, and it is just a start.

I would like to thank someone, a family member of a dear friend of mine. I recently received an email detailing my skill with my photography and my ability to articulate what it is that I am feeling and going through. There was what appeared to be a deep rooted concern for my well being, and a level of reassurance that I am very unfamiliar with. Those of you that know me, know that my upbringing was one of much neglect and discouragement. So to hear such positive words coming from a person most would consider a relative stranger, was endlessly surprising and a wonderful few sentences to read.

On to the Photos!

I nearly missed this one as I thought, "I should stop and get a photo." Yet kept driving, I did this for about a half a mile, which seemed like next to eternity, since the voice of Trey Ratcliff was in the back of my mind repeating, "Stop and get the photo, it will be worth it." In some sort of Steven King of nightmarish chant… Sorry Trey, but that is really what happened. Needless to say, I took the advice and avoided the slippery slope that might have been a missed photo.

Now, having said that, this is a bit of an abnormal photo for me, as I do not use Photoshop unless someone specifically requests that I add/remove something. Yet for this photo, I opted to use PS, since again, there was a nagging voice claiming that will a little love this could be a great photo. I am very pleased and will likely add it to my top 5 photos ever captured and processed.

And please, let’s keep the ratings based on photographic quality and not something like “Hot or Not”…

Thanks!