All Star

“Hi, I’m a Con.”

I chose one my favorite shoes to expose as the first subject in my new light box. A light box (or light tent) eliminates the unwanted shadows that you often get when shooting objects like this, and comes in handy for displaying products for promotions. Light Boxes can be made at home for cheap, but ever the wannabe handyman, I had a gift certificate to Tempe Camera and went the really easy route instead: an SV Imagemaker Plus Light Tent that included some backdrops and two external lamps.

The main issue I’ve identified after my first session with this equipment is that it’s very easy to overexpose the photograph. Adjusting the white balance manually makes a big difference and is something I’ll do every time from now on. Also, it is possible to get good lighting without external lamps, but I was very pleased with the way they worked together when placed on opposite sides of the subject. Finally, the most important pick-up I’ll need to make before my next session is some write-on / write-off poster board to give the backdrop and surface a cleaner and more continuous appearance. I used white fabric in these shots and many times the patterns appeared in the background and detracted from the image.

Still, love how my shoe turned out in these shots.

Click here to see these photos up-close

Equipment used:

  • 100mm – f/2.8 macro lens
  • SV Imagemaker Plus Light Tent
  • Two external lamps
  • Speedlite 580 exii external flash
  • Tripod

“Born To Run” book review and takeaways

 

While Born to Run will inspire most athletes, anybody can benefit from the story of the Tarahumara running tribe, and lessons imparted in this informative and entertaining read.

The storylines kept the book moving and easy to follow with a narrative that provided a smooth canvass for convincing research and historical analysis of seemingly every aspect of running.

Born to Run tells of author Christopher McDougall’s journey to develop as a runner paired with the story of the ultimate ultramarathon that pitted the world’s best ultra runners against the secretive Tarahumara tribesmen of Mexico’s treacherous Copper Canyons.

Continue reading “Born To Run” book review and takeaways

Why is Twitter on trial for Mendenhall #OBL tweets?

We’ll all remember where we were the night of May 1, 2011, when President Barrack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been captured and killed.

I was eating dinner at home with my girlfriend. We sat, glued to the TV, and talked about how that moment felt like one of those scenes in a movie where an entire nation, and many parts of the world, was united, hanging on every word of a news broadcast.

But the TV screen wasn’t the only source of news and commentary for us. That night, like so many other nights in the past few years, laptops and mobile phones were positioned on dining room tables so we could see the latest from our Facebook friends, refresh our Twitter searches and send text and instant messages as the events unfolded.

Continue reading Why is Twitter on trial for Mendenhall #OBL tweets?

Mommatorial: April Fools! A lesson in transparency

Why I told my most supportive fan to delete her Facebook comment.

Confession: my mom is my best friend on Facebook. I’m fine with that. She’s embraced the social network, friended me and leveraged the channel to show, among other things, her relentless and unyielding motherly support.

Whether I’m tagged in a photo, linking to a new blog post or telling a joke, mom is there in a heart beat to Like it, share it and comment on it.

Is it lame that my mom is usually the only person that comments on my content? Yeah, I guess it is. Whatever. There are worse problems in the world than having a mom who’s “too” supportive.

But as much as I appreciate her good intentions, sometimes a comment from mom can cross the line. And on April Fools’ day (of all days) I had to ask her to take one down.

Continue reading Mommatorial: April Fools! A lesson in transparency