Messing with the camera

Some practice with lighting and ISO.

I swear, there's a dog in there ... somewhere

Manual focus, 1600 ISO, and shade light balance. Idiot me forgot to change the settings...

Manual focus, 400 ISO, flash for the white balance. didn't work out too well. looks colder than i wanted. and it woke the dog.

Manual focus, 400 ISO, no flash. Ahh much better.

I just like this for the shoes.

Stood outside for an hour a few nights ago trying to get the snow on the trees. Most didn't turn out so hot, but here are the ones that did.

Manually setting the camera is a bigger pain, but it pays off in the end. Unless you're two years overdue for an eye exam and couldn't focus on a rock, then its gonna get a little tricky.

Headed to the opthamologist on thursday. The fuzzies will come to an end.

Poorly adapted movies suck

I get a little antsy when i see "Now a Major Motion Picture" on a book cover. or "Based on the Book..." on a movie poster. sometimes things get lost in translation between book and movie. I get it, different medium, time constraint, blah blah blah. There have been some outstanding adaptations. Peter Jackson did a wonderful job with Tolkien (despite having to skip over a few bits of the book). As a movie, Under the Tuscan Sun had a plot which the memoir lacked. And Ridley Scott and company did a fantastic job with Black Hawk Down.

But i'm taking issue with Clint the man Eastwood's Invictus. If you get the chance, read the book by John Carlin. Short read, packed with information and insight. Understanding the movie was centered around the game and not the historic lead-up, i was surprised to find a few big parts of the movie lacking.

WARNING: spoilers.

First, when the players are told they have to learn the second national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelele" the guys, according to Carlin, take to it. The players recognized the political importance of learning the anthem representing the black South Africans. Not only that, they've been receiving support from black South Africans and saw this as an opportunity to give back. It's an emotional moment in the book when the team learns and practices the song. In the movie, it warrants hardly a minute and the players are against the idea of singing it. C'mon now.

Secondly, the fly-over before the championship game, yeah, it was planned.

Thirdly, the Nel-son chant didn't get enough love. Carlin spent some time in the book with how it effected everyone from the bodyguard to Pienaar, the Boks captain. the way carlin described it was the country's biggest unifying act. and it just got glazed over. what the hell?!

the movie was great though, as usual, eastwood's fantastic. morgan freeman was perfect as mandela. and matt damon's always fun to watch. the scene where the Boks visit Mandela's prison cell was so well done. the rugby action was cool, especially if you're like me and not overly knowledgeable about the game. it really was a very good movie. entertaining with powerhouse performances amid a historic backdrop. not as faithful to the book as i'd like, but still worth the ticket price. be aware though, its not the full story.

Landscapes of Literature

Two years ago, I took a film photography class as an elective. The final project was landscape. I decided to use books. Here are the final prints.

Found these in a bout of winter cleaning. Thought Barefoote may be a nice place for them to hang out.

Long Road

its a long road. long road to become a half-decent photographer. longer still to becoming a good news photographer. don't believe me? take just one news photo class.

that buzzing you hear is my head spinning. i was fortunate enough to sit in one a one day seminar for news photography in new york. the professor was john smock.

some of his work.

(yeah, he's pretty good.)

interestingly, smock started out as a reporter before going full time photog. and he was able to use the skills from reporting and working a beat in photography.

smock mentioned how different photography and journalism is than when he first started. and while the current professionals have had to adapt faster than any previous generation, the industry has always been in flux. which makes sense. as an industry that seeks to most accurately represent and report on the current times, its logical to assume that business would have to change and adapt as the people do.

one big way people (specifically news consumers) have changed is how visually literate we are now. i'd imagine it has something to do with the influx of images we get from the time we get up to the time we go to bed. so the challenge is creating an interesting image that'll grab someone's attention for three seconds.

smock went into some of the technical bits about the camera. having taken a film photography class (to varying levels of success) i have some idea of the shutter speed/iso puzzle. that being said, my beginner's grasp of it means jack squat if i dont know how to set the iso on the camera. with that under control, next step is the 'chimping'. that's photog speak for checking the images on the camera. (because the elbows-in, head-down pose resembles a chimp. get it?)

in addition to tips on what editors look for, taking the best picture, and the components of an audio slideshow, smock gave us words of encouragement. editors, he said, are looking for young people who can think in visuals and have the skills to produce those ideas.

its a long road, but worth it.

Breaking the Boundaries

For a final project, Regan Beauchamp and I profiled one of the most successful students at UNH Manchester.  Meghan Marcus, '10, is a communication arts major, with a history minor.  She's currently internng at NHPR, has won several awards and scholarships, and will graduate with honors.  At home, however, she is a mother to three growing boys, a girlfriend, and the official trainer for the puppy.  Marcus sat down with us to talk about the ups and downs of such a full life and how her boys have handled it.  

We called it Breaking the Boundaries because we feel Marcus has broken stereotypes as a non-traditional student and a student-mother.  

Culinary Adventures

There's something about taking ingredients, the raw, basic stuff that alone makes no sense, combining them, manipulating them, taking out the good, leaving the bad, to create something else entirely. It's part power trip, part chemistry, all great when it works and a tragedy when it fails.

That may be why i enjoy cooking so much. That sense of control. The world may be turning on its head, but here in this little corner, butter, milk, sugar, and chocolate will still turn into fudge.

Yeah, it could be all those reasons. Or it could be the heaping helpings of praise when doling out freshly made cookies.

Whatever the reason is, i cook. And here are some of the most recent adventures at Casa Power

Crunchy french toast.

Best when topped with strawberries

Shrimp risotto

Looks sweet and innocent but this Italian rice packs a punch. Half a serving size and you're full for the rest of the day.

Blueberry muffins

"No I don't know this muffin man of whom you speak, but i know someone who makes some kick-butt blueberry muffins."

Fail Cake (Double Chocolate)

Waited a full six hours before icing and it still feel apart.

Double delicious bars

The layers of chocolate, butterscotch and graham accent Fish Eye's soft yet sweet palate. And it tastes really good.

My mom is the real Julia Child in our house. She's been known to take recipes and put her own twist on them. she can make a full weeks worth of meals from memory alone. She's the anti-Child in that she doesn't need the exacting measurements Child used. But she's very Child-like in her passion for trying new things and experimenting in the kitchen, smiling whether or not it goes well.

I think the biggest commonality between the two is that Child cooked for her husband, Paul. That's how she got into the culinary arts in the first place. I believe the same goes for mom. I've seen her struggle all day with a recipe, literally not leave the kitchen for hours, and then completely forget the struggles while watching the fruits of her labor devoured at the table.

Like today, after we lost most of the stewed tomato base when some klutz forgot to hold onto the bowl (sorry), she didn't fret. Just when right back at it, with a second batch.

Hours of work - from planning to shopping to preparation to cooking - all for that hum of satisfaction after the first bite.

So long, farewell

When I'm old, wrinkled, and toothless, my college experience will probably be centered around my belly-ache inducing laughing fits with my friends and my stalker-like dedication to a bi-weekly rag. Since explaining the former would take more than one post, I'll focus on the latter. That dedication to that rag went from past time to an unofficial sixth class to focus of my collegiate career and back in my three years in Durham. But now, I'm biding adieu to tnh.

I still have a copy of the Freshmen edition from my freshmen year in all its tattered glory. Arriving from an all girl's high school where gossip travels faster than Vince Wilfork at a buffet, TNH was the first school paper I'd ever seen. Not the most interesting, well edited, or laid out paper on the planet, tnh represented some (pseudo)real experience writing. I was a declared journalism student and excited to see if it actually stuck.

I had two by-lines in the first (i'm pretty sure) issue of the school year - a student profile and a report on EEE. Both equally poorly written, they were given a thorough spit shine from the editors. Forgive the cheese, but there's a silly thrill about seeing my name in print above words that i wrote in print (though the editors made me look really good). I must have grabbed half a dozen copies to send to family and keep for myself. My parents were bemused, my grandmother (as you'd expect) exceeding proud, and my brothers curious who ate all the ice cream.

Hook, line, sinker. I was sold

In the three years that followed, I tried sports reporting, messed around with InDesign, and dove into multimedia and all its wonder. It was not unusual to arrive on production night at 5 in the afternoon and not leave until 2 or 3 the next morning. On a few really bad nights, it was a race to see which would get settled faster - the sun in the sky or me in my bed.

I left with fond memories. The newsroom is a tight-knit group because no one else but those sitting next to you at midnight understand why in the hell you're still there. Working there is a mix between being on a team, working in a cafeteria, and watching a stand-up act. There is no way to measure the lessons or skills I'll take away from the newsroom, nor any way to count the pounds of paper I've used, the amount of half-used notebooks that now litter my floor, or the number of times I've played catch with a stress ball (or wad of used tape).

With that, i offer a thanks to tnh and the poor saps that had to put up with me, a final apology (john) for my frequent screw ups, and a good luck in the coming year. If cam has his way, you'll all be including red wings references in your stories.