Friday, August 06, 2010

100723-Rooftop BBQ with Friends

This is about the point in the evening where still-recovering-from-a-fever-Greg decided a few tequilas couldn't hurt that much...

Friends of Hyun Mi came down Friday evening to spend a little time in Geoje and see six-week-old Chaka. June and Jin He are the kind of guest that are hard to tire of. They're super easy going, fun and very independent. The visit began with as grilling ribs, ohmoksal, hangjungsal (various cuts of pork) on our roof top in the warm humid summer air. Mosquitos were non existent, there was plenty of Cafri (Corna-like beer) and Guinness flowing and Chaka was fast asleep in her room below.

Towards the end of our feast June mentioned tequila and although I knew is was bad idea to get wasted while getting over the end of a cold, that's exactly what I did. Soon we were downstairs playing Omok (pente / chinese chess) for shots. Rules were loser drank one, or 2x whatever the winner was willing to drink. And the shots weren't limited to tequila, rum, soju and beer were all finding their way into the same glass. In fact, we found quite a "good" mix we titled Soquilla (soju + tequila) which is fitting as it is 'so'-'killa'.

It was at some point during our game that Hyun Mi came in with a cup of tea and accidentally spilled some on my leg. Drunk and shocked I exclaimed FUCK! June asked "Why did you swear?" and I exclaimed "The water was FUCK'N hot!" June disagreed with my interpretation of hot and made me an offer, that if he could pour the boiling hot water on himself without cursing than I could no longer curse in my own home. I didn't even have a chance to reply before he grabbed the mug of tea our of Hyun Mi's hand and doused his knee with half the contents.

I was too drunk and too many days have since past to recall what his expression was at the time but I can confirm that he didn't make a peep. He did however make a visit to the doctor the next day to get treatment for his some serious blistering. I told him to his face the next day that his actions weren't "manly" as he claimed, but rather "stupid". Stupid because (a) girlfriends don't like to tend to big oozing water blisters during their vacation and (b) again, because his girlfriend was right there. That's the kind of stuff you do when you're out with the guys. But hey, it made for a memorable night and perhaps I'll think twice before saying fuck next time... oops!
1 Sunpack DS-20 @ 1/1 at about 11 o'clock

(On a side note the 5D Mark II is amazing at low light. This was shot at ISO 1280, f7.1 at 1/3 of a second. It was pretty much pitch black with candle light. Amazing!)

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100804--This be OUR turf


100804--This be OUR turf, originally uploaded by comatosed.

This a shot taken back on this day. After I was done I coaxed these kids up onto this rock. I like the dude in the blue acting all like The Man and the littlest one hidden way in the back.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100726-Kiwi - OutTake


100726-Kiwi - OutTake, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Some say beauty is skin deep but in this kiwi's case I'd say it goes straight to the core.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100805-She gets it from her dad

It happens to me all the time too Chaka.

A big thanks to Simone and Mike for these books they sent over. They are expecting their little one any day now!

I feel the need to mention that Canada Post is unforgivably slow. It's not cool when the baby naming and pregnancy books arrive 4 weeks after your baby is born!

--- Strobist ---
1 SB-28 @ 1/4 at about 11 o'clock shot into reflective umbrella
1 SB-28 @ 1/4 at about 6 o'clock lighting the background

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100803-Old Favorite


100803-Old Favorite, originally uploaded by comatosed.

I missed grabbing a photo today. This is an old one from July 18th, one day before Chaka's one month birthday. Every time Hyun Mi sees this she melts, it's one of her favs so I figured I'd post it.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100802-Get Wet


100802-Get Wet, originally uploaded by comatosed.

I cheated, but I don't feel nearly as badly about it this year. Having a newborn makes it pretty tough to photograph everyday. I OCCASIONALLY missed a day during my pre-baby 365 and the rule I made for myself then was that I had to shoot the missing photo ASAP - no using old photos or the same set-up for two consecutive shots. If I try that this year I'll just get further and further behind so here's another photo from yesterday's waterfall excursion.

--- Lessons Learned ---
As so many people have said before me, you often need to go out of your way to get a good photo. I was lazily shooting from the comfort of a bench, wasting pixels, when it dawned on me that I needed to get to the centre of the action which meant sitting my ass down in the middle of this little pond and interacting with the kids in it.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100801-Chaka Visits Waterfall


100801-Chaka Visits Waterfall, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Our stroller + car seat arrived!!! Not only that, it arrived about 3 weeks earlier than was promised! Of course I have a lengthy review all planned out for the stroller product shot so I'll save all the commentary on the stroller for later.

So 6 weeks after Chaka was born we are finally mobile. We decided to check out the local waterfall early Sunday evening. It was cool to think that we were taking Chaka the furthest she's ever been in her life from her birth place with every passing meter.

I didn't want Chaka to feel left out of the fun and games once we got to the waterfall so I put her over on the stone in her car seat next to the kids playing in the water. Of course, I threw rocks at any child who got even remotely close to our baby for fear of them knocking her off the stone and into the water.

The processing on this photo is not my usual style. I tried to create a more vintage looking pic for a change. Rather than use a pre-set I made all the adjustments myself in LightRoom and a little dodging and burning in photoshop.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100731-A Baby Break


100731-A Baby Break, originally uploaded by comatosed.

If you're the slightest bit interested in motorbikes than stop reading this and watch On Any Sunday (1971)... now! As one friend put it, it's the Dogtown / Z-Boys style documentary of the motorcycle world. If you've never seen Dogtown / Z-Boys either then get extra pop corn because that's two movies you gotta take in tonight.

So Chaka and I watched On Any Sunday at 5am in the morning which is when she decided it would be a good time for breakfast. She fell asleep after the first 20 minutes but I was wide eyed right to the very end. That's when I decided it was time for a much needed spin on blender and took to the mountains. I'd forewarned my wife about a bike excursion during my summer vacation and while she was worried, as always, about my safety she was very understanding.

I'm not kidding when I tell you a few tears rolled down my cheek when I was standing on my pegs making my way to the mountains in the brisk morning air. This is what my life in Korea used to revolve around so it brought back a lot of nostalgia and a sense of adventure I never realized I was missing so much.

I spent from 7-11 exploring the neighbouring district and mountains. I found some great tracks, puddles and scenery along the way. The temple in the top left is only a 10 minute ride away yet I'd never seen it before. The grave site tucked far away into the mountains had the coolest little dog just chilling there on the grave stone as though grading his deceased owners. The best find of the day was this stream I fount following some fairly rugged paths one might consider impassable. Finally I returned to Okpo, had a beer over a newspaper on the patio and got back home to Chaka and my wife a half hour early!

(All shots taken on iPhone as riding time is so rare I couldn't be bothered with caring for my 5D)
--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100730-Calming Nature Sounds - White Noise

Observe how sounds of flowing creeks and rolling waves calm the easily stirred Chaka-beast into a very deep slumber. These sounds, also known as white noise, resemble what Chaka heard in the comfort of her mother's womb.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100729-Forward Zen - Favourite Baby Holds

Theme: Favourite Baby Holds

I've been experimenting holding Chaka in all manner of ways, trying to find something that suits both of us. This one is one of my favourites. More to follow.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100728-Chaka Baby- Are you Hungry? | HD


100727-You puke on me - I spit on you

Theme: Bad Dad

You can't take this whole baby thing too seriously - it'd be no fun then. Hence this marks the beginning of the 'Bad Dad' series. I have more than a few ideas brewing!!!

When Hyun Mi brought out the grapes I just couldn't resist spitting the seeds on peacefully sleeping Chaka. After all, she has drooled, barfed, peed and pooped on me, sometimes all in the same day... she's lucky I didn't drop a deuce on her!

More Grape Fun:
Grape Skin Toe Socks
Baby Art
You puke on me - I spit on you

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100724-The Hangover Baby Blues - Flickr | HD


100725-Strange Sleepers


100725-Strange Sleepers, originally uploaded by comatosed.

I still can't figure this photo out, nor can my wife. I'm don't usually take voyeuristic photos, at least not of our guests, but when I strolled by the open door of our bedroom at 1:23am and saw June and Jin He passed out like this I figured it was fair game. It looks as though June's legs are slumped his girlfriend and half falling off the bed - a very odd way to sleep.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100722-She out-grew her lightbox

-OutTake-

The single hardest thing about doing your own new born portraits is consciously deciding to potentially wake your sleeping baby. Every instinct is telling you "DON'T DO IT!!! - YOU'LL HAVE TO GET HER TO SLEEP AGAIN!". Anyone who follows my stream knows I'll go to great lengths to make a photo happen; I've hung off of bridges, photographed myself nude in public showers, lathered my naked body with corn syrup and stuck blossoms to myself but waking Chaka and the end of tiring day was something I kept putting off -- until tonight.

Baby photography was harder than I expected. Getting the right props, angle, DOF etc proved challenging. In the end I got one picture I'm pretty happy with but I included it as a OutTake as I found the set-up shot much more interesting. Chaka was awesome! She didn't wake once nor did she soil my light-box and backdrop!

--- Strobist ---
1 SB-28 @ 1/4 at about 10 o'clock shooting through the side of a DIY light-box

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100721-Write On!


100721-Write On!, originally uploaded by comatosed.

Cento isn't the kind of guy who sticks to a recipe. He's always pushing the boundaries, coming up with creative new designs for his pens and pencils. The one thing that remains constant is the fact that his new work always supersedes his old work. I feel the same way about photography, and this is why Cento and I click so well.

As these are some of Cento's finest hand made pens yet, I had to produce product shots that were better than anything I've done to date. I feel I succeeded. I got an element of detail, depth, texture and life in these photos well beyond any of my previous shots.

To see more of Cento's hand crafted wood pens and pencils check out www.cgwwoodworks.com

The Set Up:

I placed a large leaf on a sheet of glass propped up by two containers of Skippy Peanut Butter (one smooth and one crunchy). Something I've learned about working with glass and other smooth surfaces is that you should ALWAYS clean it. Even in this photo, where I anticipated there would be no glass showing, I cleaned it. The 30 seconds it takes can save hours of clone stamping later.

I then placed a DIY light-box over the set up and one SB28 strob pointing down at the upper right hand corner (2 o'clock) and another SB28 at the bottom left corner (around 7 o'clock) directed up at the leaf on the glass. Then I dialled in just the leaf back lighting strob until I was satisfied with the luminescence of the leaf (about 1/8). After that I dialled in the light box strobe as fill (about 1/32). Et voila! The shot came out almost exactly as you see here. I just made a few minor adjustments in Light Room including white balance, contrast, slight sharpening and a vignette!

--- Strobist ---
1 SB-28 @ 1/8 at about 7 o'clock
1 SB-28 @ 1/32 at about 2 o'clock
DIY Lightbox

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -
- www.cgwwoodworks.com -

100720-Fireworks - Albizia Julibrissin.jpg

I fell in love with a legume. That is the species this Silk Tree or Albizia Julibrissin falls under according to wikipedia. I love everything about the tree. It's shape is beautiful, it has a big umbrella like canopy. The smell is intoxicating, like the freshest, sweetest peaches. The blossoms feel like the downy hair of a new-born to the touch. Even the tree's temperament is cool, at night and during periods of rain the leaflets bow downwards as though the tree were sleeping.

While playing around with lighting this magnificent blossom it dawned on me that it look like a firework mid explosion. With this in mind I hope to do another session with these blossoms and make a kinda fake firework landscape shot. Also, I wanna get a shot of the tree in all it's glory. I already scouted the area and it's gonna be a tough one to shoot but I'll figure out a way somehow.

Chaka Update: She's a very sick baby today, lot's of coughing, snot and phlegm and I'm coming down with the same thing :(

--- Strobist ---
1 SB-28 @ 1/4 shooting through a glass plate from underneath

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100719-The calm before the storm.jpg

This was a mistake, she woke up right after this photo and didn't sleep for hours. We had just come back from another doctor's visit. This time she got a Hep B shot in the thigh. I picked up a beer and had grandiose images of us hanging out in the grass in the setting sun. Instead I tried to defend Chaka and myself from ants and mosquitos. I called my wife down before the attack started so she didn't escape the attacks either. I presume Chaka woke up due to discomfort and she didn't sleep again until we went on another walk about 4 hours later.
--- Lessons Learned ---

--- Critiques Welcome ---
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- www.chakababy.com -

100718-Park Family Portrait.jpg

After all the activity on Friday and Saturday Chaka was a sleepy sack of potatoes on Sunday. It was a blistering 30 degrees with the usual high humidity the envelops Korea. We took to the park, a small stretch of grass up high on a hill where DSME also likes to store all their old rusting metal structures and hung out for a few hours. Our time was spent eating bread, water melon and breast milk, in Chaka's case, and warding off various insects. One flying critter as big as my thumb landed on Hyun Mi's face while she was carrying Chaka. Suddenly I herd screaming, turned and saw dancing. Hyun Mi so wanted to swat the fiend away but was immobilized by Chaka she had to resort to jumping up and down. I rushed in to save the day and found myself hesitant to touch the creature, worried I might loose yet another digit. I manned up and swatted it from her hair and all was good... until the ants and mosquitos attacked a little while later.

I like how this photo exemplifies the reality of having a new born... they're uncontrollable so you mine as well accept it and enjoy yourself in the meantime.

--- Strobist ---
Sun + 5 In 1 Reflector

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -

100717-Adjuma Adopts Chaka Baby

The story I'm about to tell is better than the shot. After a more or less successful diner out with Chaka the previous night, and my definition of a successful dinner with a baby is if you can manage to get full while eating in shifts, Hyun Mi and I decided to do it again. This time sought out some grilled meat called Ohgupsal (pigs neck) which is my new favourite cut of pork. Chaka had already done very well enduring the loving caresses of numerous cooing strangers and an hour of shopping at the local market. So it was no surprise that exactly when our meet was set on the grill she began crying.

Hyun Mi had just breast fed in a semi-private room and needed to eat so I went for the bottle of formula in our bag. As I was getting it ready this complete stranger/adjuma came to our crying baby, said a few words, picked her up, moved back to her table and calmed her with her soothing voice and touch. Although the formula was ready, I waited, seizing the opportunity she had given my wife and I to eat together. Soon Hyun Mi gave me the maybe-we-better-not-burdan-that-adjuma-anymore-look-? and I approached bottle in hand ready to feed. Rather than give up the child she took the bottle from me and began feeding her. Once again I returned to my table and wolfed down as much food as I could savouring every moment of free time.

Again I got 'The Look' and this time Hyun Mi gave me a phrase that would help clarify that we were concerned about our baby's care taker getting to her own dinner and guests. The adjuma had no desire to do anything but feed our Chaka so with this fact now crystal clear, Hyun Mi and I enjoyed the rest of our meal together feeling rather relaxed. It probably was no more than a 15 minute date but it felt like an eternity. We collected Chaka from the infatuated adjuma and went out for coffees!
--- Lessons Learned ---
Giving new parents even the shortest break in parenting can be invaluable. I want to follow this adjuma's example and help out the next time I see parents that look a little tired out. I just hope the deed doesn't land me in the hospital or jail.

--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.gregsamborski.com -
- www.chakababy.com -