Tuesday, March 16, 2010

162|365 Enhanced Light Workout ~ Redux

Theme: Redux

Out Take

Back on day 61 I discovered a lighting set-up that could make just about anyone LOOK muscular without having to lift a even a finger. Shortly after that shot, I decided not just to lift my fingers, but to lift a few weights as well. So today marks my completion of a 3 month Men's Health weight training program!

Before - (Will Open in a New Window) If you click between the two you can see a little change in the chest and lats.

I figured the most accurate way to gauge any progress was to recreate the shot from that day as closely as possible. Well, I gotta say I was a little disappointed. I feel better, I'm lifting more weight with every passing week, and I thought I was looking better but the physical improvement not as drastic as I had hoped. Nonetheless, I'm feeling good and am gonna continue for anther three months.

---Workout Plan (For anyone who is interested)---

-Overview-
Average workout: 1 Hour 3 times a week, 5 min of light cardio (with the odd run on rest days) and about 7 exercises
Diet: Added one protein shake on workout days to otherwise regular diet of junk food, French fries and coffee :)

-Variation-
-1 Cycle consisted of 3 Different workout plans spanning 3 weeks each
-I did 4 cycles, so 12 weeks total

-Routines-
-Mondays = Arms and Shoulders
-Wednesdays = But, Thighs and Legs
-Fridays = Chest, Abbs and Back
(So you would focus on the same muscle group every Monday but would generally never do the same exercise twice in the same 3 weeks)

-Specifics-
-Single sets 6-10 reps
-Beyond 10 reps increased weight

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 directly above my head fired into a reflective umbrella. Used same RAW conversion data from previous photo, a little warming and contrast. It's funny, I wanted to compile the same simple photo every day into a time laps but I failed... and yet I mange 365...

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

161|365 Congratulations ~ Dedications

160|365 Blossom Man ~ Blossoms


160|365 Blossom Man ~ Blossoms, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Blossoms

Blossom Man

Blossom Man remembers. Remembers a time when a man named Dracorubio spawned an idea. Dracorubio said to, "roll in honey and then in the blossoms." But honey was too expensive. So blossom man used corn syrup. Something went wrong, terribly wrong. When the corn syrup and blossoms mixed it caused a chemical reaction which fused the blossoms to Blossom Man's skin. Now, forever an outcast, Blossom Man can no longer return to his desk job. Instead he will fight evil, raining vengeance on flower pickers wherever they may be...

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 2 o'clock fired into reflective umbrella. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 3 o'clock with DIY grid spot fired towards subject's back.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

159|365 When Blossoms Attack! ~ Blossoms

Theme: Blossoms

Next on FOX: When Blossoms Attack!

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 9 o'clock with DIY grid spot

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

158|365 Big Bush ~ Random


158|365 Big Bush ~ Random, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Random

I as born just a wee little guy, nothing more than a bulb when this novice picked me up. I could tell he didn't have the slightest clue about plants, how could he when he stuffed me in a bag and carried me over 200kms on the back of his jittery motor bike!

This guy completely underestimated me, I out grew that silly little pot he put me in months ago. My roots need to stretch! I think he gets it now.

--- Lessons Learned ---

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ full power at about 10 o'clock shot through an umbrella to light me. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 12 o'clock with omnibounce blowing out the BG

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

157|365 Vivitar 285 Metal Hot Shoe Upgrade ~ Camera Toys

Theme: Camera Toys

Vivitar Bionic Foot Operation a Success!

Early reports indicate the famed Vivitar 285HV, is already up and beaming after undergoing an intense 30 minute operation yesterday. Comatosed performed the surgery alone which involved removing the Viitar's delicate plastic foot and replacing it with a metal one. Not only is the new foot more durable, it also offers a PC Sync port which is said to be far more reliable than Vivitar's proprietary Sync port.

When asked what the most difficult part of the operation was Comatosed commented, "There is a lot of conflicting information in the Vivitar world regarding where the black, red, green and white wires connect. In the end I went with red to center, black to the edge, snipped and insulated the blue and green and tucked them away. Preliminary test show all Vivitar's vital functions are working better than ever!"

If no side-effects arise Comatose plans on performing the same surgery on Vivitar's younger brother Zap early next week.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

156|365 Box Wine Weekend ~ Weekend

Theme: Weekend

While Friends from Iksan were making the 3.5 hour journey down to Geoje I was stocking up on boxed wine, 2-4s of beer, lemons, French cheeses, baguettes, German bread, snacks and pancake makings.

We gathered on my warm sunny rooftop and spent the late afternoon and early evening drinking, mingling and of course, snapping pics :)

Greg quickly discovered the the insulated water/gas pipes we are pictured on proved more comfortable than any of the chairs we brought up to the roof. So we lounged it up there until it was time to head out for the best Thai food any of us have eaten in Korea!

--- Lessons Learned ---
1. If Authentic French cheese is marked down 75% in Korea (5,000 vs 20,000w)... buy it all!!!

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ full power at about 3 o'clock balancing the sunlight coming from the left. Ambient under exposed by a stop or two.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

155|365 Are You Ready to Play? ~ Prince Pyro

Theme: Prince Pyro

Coming Soon: Prince Pyro.
If you thought Professor Edge had problems -- THINK AGAIN

--- Setup ---
20 second shutter with ambient light :)

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

154|365 In a Drop ~ Random


154|365 In a Drop ~ Random, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Water Drops

--- Strobist ---> See set up shot
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 at about 2 o'clock bounced off half and half blue and red background!

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

153|365 Liquid Level ~ Camera Toys

Theme: Camera Toys

Recently I've been seeing a lot of water drop / splash shots on flickr. Strobist recently gave a tutorial on how to do water drop shots and ICT_photos and Bald Monk have been inspiring me. So here's my first go at it!

I picked up 5 liquid levels (the kind that go in you flashes hot shoe) for a pretty good price last week. The ones I've seen around Korea are terribly overpriced. I figured they'd be fun to shoot and I could use it as an ad to sell the four extras too :)

This is the Product Shot version, which color do you prefer?

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 6 o'clock with omni bounce fired into white poster board. Colour added in post.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

152|365 Monochrome ~ Random


152|365 Monochrome ~ Random, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Random

No rhyme or reason...

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 3 o'clock with red gel bounced off of white board.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

151|365 You wouldn't buy a TV remote with just one function ~ Plato Ad Campaign

Theme: Phottix Ad Campaign

You wouldn't buy a TV remote with JUST ONE function.
Seven Shutter Modes
Phottix: Take control of your camera

I like my new toy so much I decided to create my own ad campaign :)
147|365 Can your remote do this?

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 3 o'clock with DIY grid spot lighting remote. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 12 o'clock behind camera, up high with DIY grid spot lighting TV.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

150|365 Were Special ~ Weekend


150|365 Were Special ~ Weekend, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Weekend

Out Take

Brandon, Scott, Erica and I chilling on the beach after a full day of surfing -- Stormy after a full day of sunburning. The waves were tiny but the day was awesome, we even managed to stand up a few times.

Ps. This photo explains the undersized private school sweaters a bit better.

--- Lessons Another Person Learned ---
1. The yellow part in the centre of the egg is called the 'yolk'.
2. Earth only has one moon.
3. The past tense of lean is not leanded.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

149|365 Tracers ~ Weekend


149|365 Tracers ~ Weekend, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Weekend

Seong Jeong Beach is located next to Busan's famous Haeundae beach and is about the only place in Korea that gets any wave action. However, on this particular weekend, it was flatter than a frozen lake.

Brandon, Erica, Scott, Stormy and I met up on Saturday night at the beach. They forgot to pack sweaters so when I saw then they were all wearing matching private school sweaters about 4 sizes too small for them. They bought them at the local stationary shop for a hefty 20,000w. Not wanting to be the odd one out, I quickly purchased one too along with some pyrotechnics.

This photo was inspired by tdub303's photo stream. He does some of the most amazing light painting around. We tried a number of shots including some with roman candles but nothing came out that great, I needed more time to plan and set-up and that's usually not possible when hanging with buddies -- they were surprisingly tolerant as is.

Anyway, this is just the beginning!

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

148|365 Two Birds One Stone ~ Plato Ad

Theme: Plato Ad Campaign

Today Comatosed felt tired and lazy. He needed a product shot to use here, and a self portrait. The simplest solution: stand behind the product. Why is Comatosed writing in the third person? He doesn't know either...

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ full power at about 12 o'clock up high shooting through an umbrella at the subject.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

147|365 Can your remote do this ~ Plato Ad Campaign

Theme: Plato Ad Campaign

Text: Can your remote do this?
Phottix: Take Control

I picked up a toy that opens up a whole new realm of creative photography options. My new Plato remote allows me to do things that were virtually impossible before, such as capturing a self portrait at 117 meters away.

I've always enjoyed studying good ads and so just for fun, I'd like to try and put together a small campaign for this piece of gear that can capture and communicate how freeing it is.

--- Testing ---
I decided to test both my canon RC1 Wireless Remote Control against the Phottex Plato Remote Control. I figured if the Plato could achieve anything near the advertised range of 100m I'd need make myself highly visible, so I dressed up in a white Tyvec suit, neon yellow vest and shades.

I brought a 50mm lens with me, figuring it was the most true to perspective, and a hand held GPS.

First I tested the Canon RC1 by taking one step back from my camera after each shot to the point where it wouldn't trigger my camera anymore. I then marked that spot on the GPS and did the same thing with the Plato.

The final results: Canon RC1 = 9m / Phottex Plato = 117m

I'm impressed, better than advertised! My only complaint thus far, I'd like some audio feedback in addition to the visual LED feedback to ensure my camera was in range and the photo was taken.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

146|365 The Transaction ~ Coins

Theme: Coins

These many coins = this much money

Well it was cool seeing all your guesses and while many were close, Lil2feet who guesstimated 190,000w was closest to the 199,270w I actually got for my 7.9 kilograms of coinage! Nice job! I wonder if she counted the coins on the scale? ;) I'll be sending her the funky Korean cell phone doodad as promised :D

And now I can justify having ordered those new camera toys... which will be featured next.

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 12 o'clock spotlighting the cash with extra fat DIY grid spot. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 at about 12 o'clock down low with 2 purple gels lighting the BG. A Sunpack DS 20 @ full power at about 9 o'clock with ebay box snoot lighting my face.

ps. Would you believe me if I told you I'm not wearing pants :P

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

145|365 Cubical ~ Work


145|365 Cubical ~ Work, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Work

My cubical with PC/Mac dual monitor set up using Synergy! (Synergy allows me to control the PC notebook via my MacBook keyboard and mouse - Geek Heaven!)

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

144|365 Interviews ~ Work


144|365 Interviews ~ Work, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Work

Scott and I will have interviewed about 300 Daewoo candidates by the end of this week. Mr. Park, in human resources, has been stocking us up with best snacks around for the past 12 days. He now brings an entire box of waffles and brownies which I not so subtly mentioned were my favourite early on.

While interviews were gruelling and uneventful for the most part there were some comments worthy of mentioning on Facebook:

1. Greg Samborski's Interview Highlight: Greg: Which is the scariest interview for you? Candidate: Personality Interview. G: Why? C: They hurt me.

2. Greg Samborski: Interviews Day 10: "My weakness is I don't know how to deal with woman's mind."

3. Greg Samborski's Interview Highlight: "My hometown Degu. I have joke about Degu. Degu has beautiful girls."

4. Greg Samborski: Group 2 Interview: Candidate: "I like Bon Jovi". Interviewers: "Sing us your favorite song." Candidate: "ahhhh... It'sss myyyyyy liiffffeeeee..."

5. Greg Samborski: G: "So where are you from?" *Thinks for a while* C: "I'm a North Korean defector." *Most awesome interview ever!*

6. Greg Samborski: Day 9 Group A: C: "My name is Gabriel, like character from Heroes!" G: "Do you have super powers?" C: "Yes I do." G: "What's your super power?" C: *Suddenly understands what he just said*... mmmm, trust and passion!"

7. Greg Samborski Interviews Day 11: "The pig doesn't love the woman because she isn't pretty."

8. Greg Samborski: Day 7 of Interviewing. Group1: G: "Have you traveled abroad?" C: "I like soccer!"

9. Greg Samborski interviewing new recruit: "Now you will debate, do you understand what a debate is?" Student: "Yes, bait is for fishing..."

10. Greg Samborski Interviews Day 12: G: "Tell us about yourself." C: "I'm a careful and attractive person...&quot

--- Lessons Learned ---
1. Double check ISO before shoots!

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 12 o'clock bounced off of ceiling.

Thanks to SkeletalMess for the Sulfur Texture.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

143|365 Nothns Workn ~ Random


143|365 Nothns Workn ~ Random, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Theme: Random

Just couldn't get anything to work tonight.

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 6 o'clock lighting the BG

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

142|365 Sunset at the Beach ~ Random

Theme: Random

After taking the blurry group photo, which didn't look blurry at all on my 1.5 inch display, I went down to catch the sunset. I missed the sun but her light was still playing off the clouds.

This was a very unorthodox shot for me. I just plunked my camera down on the gorilla pod and angled it up without even glancing through the viewfinder. Next I chose a spot I figured was far enough away to stand and then plunked down my flash just out of the frame.

I believe this goes down as the least amount of frames I've ever used for a Strobist shot, a total of about 8 pictures were taken and this was one of the first :)

--- Lessons Learned ---
1. Remember to take chances.

--- Strobist ---
1 Sunpack DS 20 @ full power at about 5 o'clock on the ground lighting me. BG underexposed by a stop or two.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

141|365 Friday Night Re-enactment ~ Random

Theme: Random

Ok, I'll be honest, I was in no condition to take any photos Friday night, this is a re-enactment of what it MIGHT have looked like. I wish I had taken some snaps, then I might remember more of it!

From what I do remember it was a rocking night spent with some of my best buddies up in Iksan, the town I used to live in. I met Greg halfway on the bike and we cruised about 150km of beautiful roads into the city. We met a bunch of people for dinner and then went out to the bars and later the Nore Bangs / Singing rooms.

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 2 o'clock with DIY grid spot

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

140|365 I Have Not Forgotten ~ Random

Theme: Random

I've been busier than ever at my job, so much so I'm a week behind in 365 uploads. I have only one class from 7-8am but after that I interview from 8:30-Noon and then only have a few hours left in the office to prep for the next day. Work combined with working out, Korean classes, motorbike troubles and the usual life admin have made it hard for me too keep up on flickr.

The good news is two weeks of nothing is right around the corner and while I still have to be in the office, I'll have much more time to catch up on all your streams :)

See you soon!

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 7 o'clock with DIY grid spot and another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 6 o'clock lighting BG.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -

139|365 Estimation Station ~ Coins

Theme: Coins

I have fond memories of guesstimating stations back in the days of elementary school. Sometimes it would be buttons, or rocks and you might have to guess the number of pieces or weight. The closest student got a small prize or maybe even lunch at Flamingos with the teacher!

Well let's play again! Take you best guess at how much change there is in my jar here. It's Korean won so there are 1, 10, 50, 100 and 500 coins in there. 1000 won is approximately a dollar. To make things a little easier I'll reveal that the bulk of them are 100s followed by 500s, 10s, 50s, and 1s. My previous three pictures would definitely help with the estimating.

The prize? How about a funky Korean cellphone doodad straight from Korea for the person who is closest.

Contest ends Monday 26 May, 11:59pm Korean time ;)

--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ full power at about 1 o'clock fired into a reflective umbrella.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -