Getting a root canal.....

Self Portrait: Driving with Patrick

Software work around.

I have overcome a lot of my software issues. The first was to follow some advice from Greg Coan and not rely so much on the automatic updater from Apple for the operating system and instead download the updates from Apple directly. The other was to use the Adobe dng converter to convert my Lumix raw files to a dng format. Its not such a smooth workflow, you first import all the images off Adobe Bridge, then, run them thru the converter. I tried to do the dng converstion directly from the Bridge importer, but it kept stalling during import.

A lot of this will be solved when I upgrade to CS4, makes me wonder if software issues ever go away.

Todays self portrait is taken in my digital den, this time of year, with the weather as unpleasant as it is, is where I'm spending most of my time. There or the studio at the school house. 

A new posing couch

My friend Jeff gave me a new posing couch for the studio. I have always been attracted to the "fainting" couch, my experiences in Italy looking at reclining nudes, and in the history of photography, the images of Bellocq from the Storyville portraits. I got my first antique looking couch a few years back, my sister found one on the side of the road in Storr, Ct.

I hope this will be a interesting new device to pose a range of people with different body types. Jeff told me it was given to him by two guys who insisted that when he didn't want it anymore, he had to give it away to someone. It has an odd color, but it is Italian leather.

On other fronts, I'm dealing with software issues. I recently upgraded my RIP for printing so I can use it with the latest OS for my computer 10.5. I ran into a known problem, "can not locate IP socket", in the end I had to reload the RIP software. My OS for my computer is also doing bad things, when the computer goes into sleep mode, it does not wake up and you end up crashing out the computer and restarting. Lastly, I'm into the learning curve of Lightroom 2, it seems easy enough, but while downloading images off the memory card from my new Lumix camera, the download stalled 80% into the job. Its done this for the second time now any I'm concerned it an issue with the Lumix RAW format or the SD card.

Self Portrait: Making perogies

January has to be a bad time to start a self portrait a day project, the weather is lousy, your indoors, its just after the holidays, so what's happening that could possibly be of interest?

I am learning Lightroom 2 however, it seems Lightroom is the only program I have that will open the RAW files from my new Lumix camera. I have never really warmed up to Apple's Aperture so Lightroom may be a good alternative. So many programs, so little attention span.

Todays self portrait is from the kitchen, making perogies for the Ukrainian Xmas dinner party on Sunday.

New Year, new projects

With the new year, I am once again going to start up an extended self portrait project. I have tried these in the past, the previous one only lasted three months, but I've always wanted to do this for a year. We'll see how long I can keep this up. Earlier versions were hard copy based, the first one I did with Polaroid and snapshot film, I'm hoping that doing this as a virtual project will make it a little easier to keep going.

The other project is one based on something I did hear on NPR, about a photographer and friends that makes one photograph ever day at the same time. I have proposed this to 6 photo friends and three have responded, I really like the idea that we're all doing the same thing, at the same time, as a way to link us al together, even when we're miles apart. I'll post the site for that project once it gets going.

My new fun camera for the new year is a Lumix LX-3, so far, it seems like a great little point and shoot. It seems to have all the features I love in a small pocket camera and it also has the cult/snob appeal of a Leitz lens.

Also with the new year, I have finally made my flight reservations for the SPE National in Dallas, still not sure if the conference is worth the money, but having missed the Denver conference, I thought it time to give it another try.

with Rose in the kitchen