Theme: Random
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 3 o'clock fired into a reflective umbrella. Everything about today was good with the exception of me realizing I must have left my Bogen super-clamp and Manfrotto ball-head attached to the railing in this shot. I tore my house apart looking, I think they're gone forever :( I managed to get this with my second super clamp but it sucked no being able to work with a ball-head.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
040|365 Why Not? I Waited 24 Hours ~ Random
039|365 Monday Face ~ TheBigPicture
Theme: TheBigPicture
It's done! Click HERE and SCROLL DOWN to see :D
Spent too long on this already, just not feeling it today.
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 10 o'clock with shoot through umbrella to get the softest light possible.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
038|365 Sunday Face ~ TheBigPicture
Theme: TheBigPicture
It's done! Click HERE and SCROLL DOWN to see :D
What am I doing, I gotta work at 5am tomorrow!!!
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 4 o'clock, raw, to get the harshest light possible. Not too flattering for the skin but the detail is cool.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
037|365 Lost ~ Random
Theme: Random
I feel lost these last two days. The feeling overcame me just as I left for Fukouka airport. The past 15 days have been full of adventure, quitting one job at the drop of a hat, starting another, moving, snowboarding in Muju with buddies, spraining my wrist, going to Japan for 3 days on a visa run... Now work begins and I find myself still hoping it will be worth everything I had to give up.
I gave up my community of friends, people I worked, motorcycled, traveled, ate and partied with. I gave up students which I taught for 17 months, children that felt so much like my own teaching them was no longer a job, it was just plain fun. I gave up my city, a place where I worked hard to find all those hard to find things I seem to always need when I undertake some new DIY project.
Everyone always says it's tough in the beginning. I should know this by now, I've have at last 15 situations similar to this. But with a breakup still on my mind and plenty of free time for reflection during this latest job transition, I find myself feeling as though I'm just bushwhacking my way through my twenties with no real purpose... well, other than paying back my student loans.
Had an out take today. While I liked the framing, the grit and the shoe, in the end I felt this photo better reflects the feelings I described above. I'm curious, which one would you have gone with?
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
036|365 Waiting ~ Japan-easy
Theme: Japan-easy
Back to Korea.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
035|365 The Station ~ Japan-easy
Theme: Japan-easy
Had a lot of fun with this shot. Used my Bogen Super Clamp yet again, I swear, the most useful piece of Camera Kit I've bought in a long time. Hooked it up to an I-Beam above my head. My camera looked like a surveillance camera and all the Japanese folk were giving me kinda funny looks.
Found the busiest spot I could find and played around with my 50mm and some slow exposures. I liked the look I got here. I think I stopped abruptly and people had to walk around me. Just with I was better in focus. Next time.
Took a lot of self portraits today, seems to be a good way to occupy time and save money in Japan. These were todays out takes: Have a Banana and Get Some.
--- Strobist ---
None for this one!
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
034|365 The Underpass ~ Japan-easy
Theme: Japan-easy
I left this photo till too late, I think I'm getting too used to studio/living room photography that I'm forgetting how to take photos in the real world... so much less control! Anyways, I'm in Japan getting my Korean working visa and loving it. I wanted to try and capture a bit of Japan in my picture but everyone I took till this point sucked. Meh, I guess that's how it goes sometimes.
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 7 o'clock lighting me in the corner there.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
033|365 Post Shower ~ TheBigPicture
Theme: TheBigPicture
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 7 o'clock lighting from below me with a DIY grid-spot. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 12 o'clock, directly behind me acting as rim-light.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
Sunday, February 01, 2009
031|365 Not Riding Because of a Cast Sucks ~ Casts Suck
Theme: Casts Suck
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 4 o'clock with DIY grid-spot pointed at sling and BG underexposed by about 2 stops. Wasn't expecting to loose the shadow I was using for this shot but I just went with it.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
Saturday, January 31, 2009
030|365 Deodorizing With a Cast Sucks ~ Casts Suck
Theme: Casts Suck
Better On Black
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 11 o'clock fired into an umbrella with spill guard. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 at about 4 o'clock with DIY grid-spot pointed at my deodorant. Right image flipped horizontal in PS so the light fall off from the umbrella blended seamlessly!
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
Friday, January 30, 2009
029|365 Opening Things With a Cast Sucks ~ Casts Suck
Theme: Casts Suck
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 about 8 o'clock with DIY Grid-Spot. Another Vivitar 285 @ 1/4 behind me with blue gel and omni-bounce acting as bg fill. Sunpack DS-20 at full power about 9 o'clock with note paper diffuser, parallel to me pointing at my hair to try and bring out some highlights.
Really went for sharpness on this one. Supposedly my Tamron's sweet spot is between f/4 and f/8. I went with f/5 at 63mm and am happy with the results!
- www.comatosed.ca -
Thursday, January 29, 2009
028|365 Showering With a Cast Sucks ~ Casts Suck
Theme: Casts Suck
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at 9 o'clock behind curtain bounced off of tile.
- www.comatosed.ca -
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
026|365 Lesson Learned ~ Casts Suck
Lesson learned... start small.
Day three of skiing at Muju resort got off to an amazing start. After 2 days of non-stop snow we woke up to blue skies and powder. It was a hangover cure in and of itself.
Brandon, Kim and I got up on the slopes and searched for the pow-pow (Kim speak for "powder"). We wanted to hit the run we found on the first day but there were too many ski patrollers about and we thought a warm up might be good.
Kim and I ended up finding a short stretch of run connecting two major runs that no one had been down yet. I'm guessing no one went down it because beyond the 30 or so meters of powder it was pretty much all rocks and branches. We took it nonetheless and were thankful to be riding rental boards.
When we met up at the end of the run with Brandon everyone agreed something was off today. The snow was icier than expected, it was unbelievably busy and there was feeling someone was gonna run into you at any moment. So we decided to hit the snow park. The plan: take a few jumps, snap a few pics, get some sun, drink some beer.
Helmets are mandatory in the park, so I rented one for a couple of bucks and I think I put a little too much confidence into my protective gear. My first two jumps didn't go too well and on my third I stepped it up a notch for the camera and found myself between 2-3 meters in the air already falling backwards onto my ass. I knew before I hit it was gonna hurt.
I came down hard on my tailbone and wrists, smacked my back and head on the snow, knocked the wind out of myself and was seeing yellow spots. Shocked, I managed to take off my board, clear the jump and then lay down in the snow to regain myself.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at an outdoor cafe with friends, beer and food. It took me a good hour before I perked up again, could have been the beer. At 4pm I had say goodbye to Brandon and Kim and catch my bus back to Busan.
During the three and a half hour ride my wrist only got worse. By the time I got to Busan I couldn't even use it to open a zipper (this was a pain because I traveling with a huge backpack and many zippers). The pain was intense to I visited the hospital to get an x-ray and a splint.
Luckily it looks as though there is no major damage unless there are micro-fractures, in which case they wouldn't show up for a few days. I found a cheap love hotel, with the romantic green neon lighting seen here, and rested for the evening.
It was still an awesome, awesome vacation with friends and at-least now I have a theme for the next while: Casts Suck!
A couple vids I made from previous years:
Snowboarding - Muju 2008 - Chill Bill Cut
Snowboarding - Muju Mayhem 2007
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 at about 8 o'clock with DIY Grid-Spot pointed at my hand. Exposure adjusted for sexy green neon light.
- www.comatosed.ca -
025|365 A Dip in the Snow ~ Random
After another full day of killer snow boarding Kim, Brandon and I decided it was time to relax those stiff, sore muscles, put on the Speedos, and have a few drinks at Sesoldong outdoor hot spring.
It was way better than anticipated. There were three out door pools, warm, hot and very hot; all constructed from boulders and nestled cozily amongst the trees and snow. From where we were sitting, you could watch the night skiers pass by.
Brandon and I didn't think to bring swimsuits and thus had no other choice but to rent the blue Speedos which Kim found oh so entertaining. We brought a bottle of red and cracked it in the pool while Brandon and my waterproof cameras were rolling.
As usual, 365 was working away in the back of my mind. I didn't even need to talk Kim and Brandon into the idea of jumping in the snow. So I did something unprecedented and snapped ONLY 2 shots using my Pentax Optio WP point and shoot. No SLR, no flashes, no tripods or super clamps, not even any post processing!
I set the camera to take 2 shots at 10 second intervals and held those two down in the snow as long as I could.
Honestly, with the cameras, wine and horsing around, I'm surprised we weren't kicked out :P
Now totally relaxed and half buzzed, we met Greg and Akon, who came up for the evening, for a delicious meal of Samgyupsal and about 7 bottles of Beksaeju. I think Akon and I drank the majority of those as we kept loosing at the drinking games. After dinner, Brandon, Kim and I had a few games of Jax in the room. At some point Brandon turned out the light while I was peeing which meant we all suffered the consequences of significant splatter.
All in all, another picture perfect day.
A couple vids I made from previous years:
Snowboarding - Muju 2008 - Chill Bill Cut
Snowboarding - Muju Mayhem 2007
- www.comatosed.ca -
024|365 Getting Air ~ Random
Brandon Kim and I hit the slopes early Sunday morning, just after my short sleep in the Subway Station. I've never seen so much snow up on Muju before. It did nothing but snow the entire day and although it was cold, the riding was awesome. Brandon learned fast and Kim had mucho style. We found the snow park and I took a few jumps which is where we got this shot. But the true highlight of the day was dodging under a fence and hitting one of the sweetest (virtually untouched) powder runs I've had in my life :D
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 with DIY Grid-Spot at about 11 o'clock super clamped to my hotel door in the hall way. Cheated a little on this one and used my buddy Brandon as a stand in... I can't believe how much easier that made things. Thanks Brendo!
A couple vids I made from previous years:
Snowboarding - Muju 2008 - Chill Bill Cut
Snowboarding - Muju Mayhem 2007
- www.comatosed.ca -
023|365 Sleeping With the Homeless ~ Random
Today I met some Swiss guys, Paran, Peter and Michele, on the ferry and we ended up eating Samgyupsal and playing Korean drinking games until we shut the place down. The guys off to Heyundai, to continue drinking, and seeing as it was midnight and my bus was leaving at 5am, I went were anyone looking for a free, warm place to sleep would go, the Subway station!
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 about 5 o'clock mounted on my tripod with a DIY grid-spot attached. I had to be pretty sneaky as not to wake up my neighbor.
- www.comatosed.ca -
022|365 I Love My Job ~ Random
I love my job! True, it was only my first day... and I didn't actually do any work... I just a have a really good feeling about things to come.
First off, these guys were prepared. We arranged a meeting at a nice restaurant for ten o'clock. There my friend/coworker/neighbor and I were briefed by two lovely ladies on what to expect. I'm finding there are many perks in this job. Not only did they have info, they had books and schedules arranged well over a week in advance, something I'm not used to here in Korea. Our meeting flowed into lunch and two veteran teachers joined us. Is was nice to hear how things here really are first hand.
Things only got better after the meeting. Scott showed me around the central area of our little neighborhood here. There are two marts that sell top shelf booze relatively cheaply: Tequila $27, Yellow Tail $9, Vodka, Rum and Gin. They also have sour cream, cheddar cheese, pesto sauce and more. It gets better too! There is a European deli that bakes the finest looking bread I've seen anywhere and stocks a decent variety of meets and cheeses, albeit at a hefty price. They even had fresh yeast they were willing to sell me!!! I think I'm gonna go there and learn to bake on the weekends if they'll let me.
Finally Scott and I had a beer at the foreigners club/community hall where beer is always $2 and half price during happy hour on Fridays... yes, 1 Beer = $1. There were expat wives doing Korean paintings and notices posted all over with advertising diving, football, running, ATVing and Yoga clubs.
Things are good. I'm excited about the year to come :D
--- Strobist ---> See Setup Shot
One Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 roughly 4 o'clock, directed at me, fired into an umbrella with a spill guard on the back. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 high at 11 o'clock with a DIY grid spot aimed at the flowers to mimic a sunbeam. Natural light coming through the blinds behind me. Had to put a gobo between the guitar and the ambient to eliminate the nasty reflections coming off the guitar. Focusing was a bit of a pain. I marked my spot on the floor and used my vacuum as a fill in to get things roughly adjusted. Then I forgot to switch from Small JPG to RAW after testing and had to do everything over again!!!
--- Post Production---
Thanks to Skeletal Mess for the wonderful texture titled Rock of Ages. I think it added a cozy rustic feeling to my home, a feel I'd like to achieve in reality one day. Simply overlaid the texture and erased a little that was covering me.
- www.comatosed.ca -
021|365 Tree Doctor ~ Random
My tree suffered some major trauma during our move :( So, I had to act fast and take matters into my own hands...
I knew the 300km ride would be bitter cold for my tree so I covered her up with an old army blanket. But I didn't want all that weight resting on her fragile branches alone, so I tied an old shower curtain rod vertically to her trunk and made sure it stuck out higher than the tallest branch in order to support some of the weight.
When we finally arrived at my new home there were leaves and branches scattered on the bed of the moving truck. This wasn't good, something had shifted during the move and landed on my tree.
Once I got her upstairs, I grit my teeth, removed the blanket, and assessed the damage. It was hard to look at, she needed to be rushed immediately to the bathroom. I gave her a shower hose IV straight into the soil and after a good dousing she went into surgery where I clipped the limbs that were crippled beyond repair and splinted the remainder using cardboard and tape.
Finally, after 30 minutes in surgery, I placed her next to the sunniest window in the house for some much needed rest and recovery. She's doing better now, I think the splints really are working!
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at about 11 o'clock with a DIY grid spot pointed at my hands. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 at about 3 o'clock lighting the wall behind me. Finally a Sunpack DS 20 at full power trying to light the surgical bowl I got there. It really couldn't compete too well with the Vivitars I found.
- www.comatosed.ca -
020|365 Room ~ Random
Room! Lots and lots of room! This is my new studio. It's actually my living room and all my furnishings are setup behind the camera, permanently. I'm so excited to have an entire empty wall to work with. Now if I can just convince work to re-wallpaper the place, in oh... say... 18% gray :)
Today's Outtake
--- Strobist ---
Two Vivitar 285 HV's @1/2 setup as identically as possible mirroring each other at 4 and 7 o'clock. Actually used a string to make sure both were the same distance apart :)
- www.comatosed.ca -
019|365 The Search for WiFi ~ Random
This is the only place I can tap into any wireless signals, my new North facing balcony.
When I arrived at my new apartment, the first thing I did was search for internet. The ethernet cable didn't work so I searched for stray, open wireless signals. "Unicorn" is as good as it gets... but really slow... this upload is gonna take hours... but thieves can't be too choosy.
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 1 o'clock just behind my camera. Used my funky, new, DIY cardboard gridspot and it worked like a charm!
- www.comatosed.ca -
018|365 Moving ~ Random
Moving yet again. It's gotta be my 15th time. I'm not getting any better at it.
- www.comatosed.ca -
017|365 Sugar Daddy ~ Random
Theme: Random - 090118-090124
This was a fun shot. I enjoyed having sugar all over my face... and then having it licked ;)
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16, under the camera using my first DIY grid-stop which worked awesome! Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/6 directly behind my head for a little depth. Thanks to the tongue-er for liking my sweet face :)
- www.comatosed.ca -
016|365 Ninja Slice ~ Food n Drink
Theme: Food n Drink - 090111-090117
It's my last day on the food and drink theme. I really wanted to chop an apple in mid air. So I took to my rooftop, camera gear, apples and giant knife in hand to do some crazy ninja shit! Here's the final outcome :P
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---> See Setup Shot
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at 7 o'clock and another with a red gel, 1/4 at 5 o'clock. I shot this on my roof and the purple haze in the background is actually an overlapped shot of clouds in the night, taken just after this shot using aperture priority and then a white balance shift applied in PS. I'm pretty stoked with how much it complemented the look.
- www.comatosed.ca -
016|365 Chopsticks ~ Food n Drink
Theme: Food n Drink - 090111-090117
It's 3:08 am. I'm drunk and falling asleep at my computer. A bunch of us teachers partied in the staff room after classes and before I knew it, it was 11:59; at which point I grabbed my camera and got this. My buddy extraordinaire, Brandon, is chill'n next to me in this one.
We eventually moved from the staff room to the bar downtown. Kim, Brandon and I had bike wars all the way there (that's where you try and knock the other person off their bike without falling off yours). And Jason RAN the entire way, like a gorilla on hooped up on roids, trying to take us out on foot! Midway there, Brandon launched a sneak attack from the rear on Kim which sent her tumbling to the concrete face first. She suffered only a ripped knee to her jeans and some mild bruising, what a trooper :)
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 with omnibounce held down between legs.
- www.comatosed.ca -
015|365 Garlic Worship ~ Food n Drink
Theme: Food n Drink - 090111-090117
I love garlic.
Looks better On Black
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 Full Power overhead about 10 o'clock.
- www.comatosed.ca -
014|365 Ice Cream ~ Food n Drink
Theme: Food n Drink - 090111-090117
Had dinner with some friends and that didn't leave much time for a shot this evening. This is my current super top most favorite ice cream the world. It's called Cuuu and Cuuu (Cookies and Cream) and I get the stuff for 3 bucks a container here in Korea.
Tonight I played with balancing ambient tungsten with flash. See strobist info for more on that.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16, about 3 o'clock, orange gel and directed at me. The orange didn't quite match the ambiant. Another Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 behind my tree with a green gel and a white scrap paper diffuser. I realized it's pretty tough to match light sources when there are multiple going :)
- www.comatosed.ca -
013|365 Medicine ~ Food n Drink
Theme: Food n Drink - 090111-090117
I'm still sick but not as bad as before... my using flashes again is a sure sign of recovery :) Now I have a pounding headache and every time I cough it feels like a pickaxe going trough my temple. Let's see how little cocktail of aspirin and ibuprofen work!
I had trouble deciding what pic to go with today, this is my outtake.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/16 about 10 o'clock with an omnibounce attached.
- www.comatosed.ca -
012|365 Sick ~ Food n Drink
I came down with something really bad today. After my 9am class I told my boss I wouldn't be able to work in the afternoon. I slept from 10am to 8pm. It wasn't a very good sleep, it felt empty, I was freezing and had many strange dreams. I hope I feel better tomorrow.
Oh, and that's hot orange juice with honey and rum I'm drinking.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
- www.comatosed.ca -
011|365 Pickled ~ Food n Drink
Theme: Food n Drink - 090111-090117
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
One Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/2 with omnibounce positioned at 12 o'clock over head for both subjects.
- www.comatosed.ca -
010|365 Self Portrait ~ Daily Routines
Theme: Daily Routines - 090104-090110
I had another shot all planned out when I realized if there is one truly "Daily Routine" I have, it is taking pictures, especially now with 365. In fact, I would not longer classify it as a routine but rather an addiction.
This ends my Daily Routines theme. Onto something new tomorrow!
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
The picture tells the story in this one. I'm using Vivitar 285 HVs, left @ 1/4 and right at 1/4. One Sunpack with a red gel behind my head at full power. You have no idea how cramped my bathroom was :D
- www.comatosed.ca -
009|365 Coffee ~ Daily Routines
Theme: Daily Routines - 090104-090110
Gotta have my morning coffee everyday. My dad gave me this Mochachino thing a few Christmases ago and now I don't think I'd ever buy another coffee maker. This thing is tiny, fast and the coffee tastes great, especially with a hit of Baileys.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---> See Setup Shot
One Vivitar 285 HV @ full power positioned low at 3 o'clock. Took tons of tries till the coffee poured just right. Had to use my camera blower to blow the grounds off the glass between each shot. Needles to say, it smells great in here now!
- www.comatosed.ca -
008|365 Feeding Time ~ Daily Routines
Theme: Daily Routines - 090104-090110
It lives and grows in my fridge. The organism needs frequent feeding. Luckily I doesn't require any body parts for sustenance, just a one to one mixture of flour and water. It's a mutually beneficial relationship that we have; in return for room and board it gives me tasty sourdough pancakes and breads.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
1 Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 with an omnibounce positioned high at 11 o'clock and balanced with the ambient florescent kitchen light.
- www.comatosed.ca -
007|365 Wake Up Catch Up Dress Up ~ Daily Routines
Daily Routines 090104-090110:
Learn how to clone here
This is what I do every morning; roll out of bed at 0650, check up on fellow 365-ers, write a few emails, plan a lesson and get out the door by 0730. I figured what better time try my first clone shot.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Two Vivitar 285 HVs @ full power positioned at 3 and 9 o'clock and bounced of the ceiling. Next time I'd adjust the exposure to catch some ambient light to make it feel more morning-y.
- www.comatosed.ca -
006|365 Pushup ~ Daily Routines
Daily Routines 090104-090110:
Ok, maybe not daily, maybe every other day... or two. I think about doing pushups daily.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---> See Setup Shot
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 at 10 o'clock and another at 1/2 with an omni-bounce at 5 o'clock. Remote flashes and camera on continuous timer.
- www.comatosed.ca -
005|365 Tissue Toss ~ Daily Routines
Daily Routines 090104-090110:
Every morning my nose is stuffy and full of big crusty boogers. I don't have a garbage can nearby so I wing my snotty tissues all over the floor. I'm not that dirty though, once I drag myself out of bed I gather them all up.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---> See Setup Shot
One Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 placed at roughly 9 o'clock . Another Vivitar @ 1/4 with a paper taped on note pad diffuser at about 7 o'clock used for tissue hi-lighting. EOS 350 D on a ball head attached to a Super Clamp (loving these super clamps). Super Clamp attached to leg of tripod so I could get the low angle. Camera and flashes remotely fired.
- www.comatosed.ca -
004|365 Multitasking ~ Daily Routines
Daily Routines 090104-090110:
I brush my teeth in the shower while washing my hair. It's not about saving time, it's about the freedom to slobber toothpaste all over my body and bathroom.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 bounced off the wall to my front. Had to substitute an 8 foot light stand for my tripod because it didn't have the height. Next time I'd try backlighting the photo to accentuate the water more.
- www.comatosed.ca -
003|365 Jet Lag
I lie awake. It's 11:55am in Canada.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Single Vivitar 285 HV @ 1/4 cactus triggered, gelled with matching blue and diffused with white paper. Gobo used to keep light off of alarm. Camera exposure set to expose alarm clock LED.
See setup shot for more info.
- www.comatosed.ca -
002|365 Transport
I just landed in Korea. By the time I got this shot the customs lines were clear and my backpack was doing laps on the conveyer.
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Setup ---
No special FX, just tripod mounted camera on a moving walkway. Tried to max my exposure time for the blur effect so I went f/22 at about 5 seconds.
- www.comatosed.ca -
001|365 Happy New Years
Unlike virtually every other New Years in recent history, I DIDN'T begin 2009 this way.
I spent New Years evening in Canada with both family and friends driving from one party to the other before my trip back home to Korea tomorrow at 10am. Because I had to operate a vehicle, I managed to nurse two beers and a glass of champaign the whole night through and still have a great time.
My name is Greg and I'm looking forward to my adventures in 365/2009 with all of you from start to finish.
Happy 2009
-G
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Two Vivitar 285 HVs, one with green gel bottom center @ 1/2 and one with with omni bounce top right @1/2. Reflection caught in bathroom mirror due to space restrictions. PS used to darken the edges and thanks to jpdodd for the Vomit Stain on Sidewalk Texture.
See setup shot for more info.
- www.comatosed.ca -
I spent New Years evening in Canada with both family and friends driving from one party to the other before my trip back home to Korea tomorrow at 10am. Because I had to operate a vehicle, I managed to nurse two beers and a glass of champaign the whole night through and still have a great time.
My name is Greg and I'm looking forward to my adventures in 365/2009 with all of you from start to finish.
Happy 2009
-G
--- Critiques Welcome ---
--- Strobist ---
Two Vivitar 285 HVs, one with green gel bottom center @ 1/2 and one with with omni bounce top right @1/2. Reflection caught in bathroom mirror due to space restrictions. PS used to darken the edges and thanks to jpdodd for the Vomit Stain on Sidewalk Texture.
See setup shot for more info.
- www.comatosed.ca -
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Curvy Galore - Iksan to Uljin Bike Tour
View Larger Map <-- You can download the Google Earth file here too.
Iksan to Uljin - Curvy Galore
Check out the photos here.
All the gps data here
Date: 081003-Friday
Starting Point: Iksan, South Korea
End Point: Uljin, South Korea
Riders: Greg - Hyosung 650 GTR, Older Greg - Honda 750 Magna, Damian Honda FireBlade CBR 1000, Jerry Honda FireBlade CBR 1000. Patrick BMW 650
Terrain: Highway, secondary
Curves: Good once in the mountains
Difficulty: 6/10
GPS Trip Data:
Total Time (h:m:s)
4:48:23
Moving Time (h:m:s)
2:48:23 (-48 minutes for navigation errors and such)
Distance (km)
180
Moving Speed (kph)
67.4 avg.
151 max.
Description:
Greg and I Took the route Clair and I originally planned to ride to the Boryang Mud Festival. The first stretch is all highway, good to open the bike up on but otherwise not too exciting. Once in the mountains the highway gets more interesting, the curves are generally wide and soft with many straightaways. Things change dramatically on the West side of the lake, the road is extremely narrow and there are hairpin turns the entire way. The convex mirrors set up on some of the tight turns help a little but Greg and I still had moments of surprise, meeting up with oncoming Sunday drivers smack in the middle of the road. South of the shore the road opens up again and it's a fun and fast ride through the traffic back to Iksan. You could easily do this ride in two hours if you omitted all the stops along the way, perfect for a week day.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Roughing it in Manilla
Roughing it in Manilla
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My lights wont turn on, at least not the ones wired into the wall and ceiling. I can't explain why my keycard isn't activating the main breaker. I'm too scared to call the front desk and request that someone to come up to the eighth floor and fix it for I might have to tip them.
This is a picture of my hotel room prior to the problem.
It wasn't my plan to come and stay at The Bellevue, a four star hotel, upon arriving in Manila. My McShit T-shirt
instigated a conversation with a middle aged, Portuguese, semi-conductor-troubleshooting guy who recommend I stay in the suburb around his hotel. "How much would a bus/taxi/jeppney cost to get there?" I enquired. My new friend, Amilcar, replied, "just come with me".
Manila is a sprawling megapolis in great contrast to the denseness of Seoul and other Korean cities. Transportation infrastructure as we know it in places like Europe, Tokyo, Korea and Toronto doesn't exist here. The only option is four wheels and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Amilcar's company footed the bill for the private taxi (an unmarked car, contrary to what one might think, it's the safest way to travel here) to The Belleveue. And once there he negotiated a company rate for me on my room. I figured, "what the hell", why not splurge on a nice hotel while I get my feet on the ground here. (Just had to use my flashlight to find some tissue in my bathroom... it's sooo dark in there.) Manilla was never supposed to be an overnight thing, not until my work gave me a day's notice that I needed a criminal record check if I wanted to have a job upon my return. So now I must visit the Canadian embassy and go through all sorts of hassle to get this document and must be done before I step back on Korean soil.
The hotel is great, super fancy, I feel like a backpacker staying at the ritz. Luckily I brought one shirt without profanities scribbled across it and so I dressed the part of a Bellevue guest. Amilcar and I met up and headed down to the peer, a thirty minute taxi ride away. Our assigned driver joined us for some drinks and dinner.
Both the atmosphere and dinner were amazing! Such a nice treat from my usual gimbap changu meals. We got, mozzarella sticks thicker than Andre the Giant's thumb, a huge stack of onion rings, a beautiful green salad, spicy prawns about the size of Andre's middle finger, a large fish we pointed to in a tank fried to perfection, chop-suey exploding with vegetables, mixed rice and some of the best beer I've had in ages. All this was consumed on a cozy peer stretching into the bay for about 17 bucks a person. It's reassuring to know this was considered the high end dining in the Philippines. I'm sure future meals will prove to be even more delicious for even less money.
I can't believe I posted such crapy pictures... Never again!
After the meal Amilcar, the driver and myself headed to a bar in the vicinity. There I had the worst Mojito of my life, a clear watery drink with a pice of lemon floating around at the bottom. Entertainment consisted of dancing women. We had to keep them away from our table or there would have been an extra charge. Then some staff-guy started massaging my back, I should have known a tip would be expected. My smallest bill at the time was 500 so he got about 10 bucks, a good score for 10 minutes work. Then the waiters and waitresses wanted tips once we settled up and the guy who opened the car door for me expected a "parking tip". To top it all off, our driver made very clear the money we were paying for his service was going directly to the hotel and not to him. So after we provided food, beer, entertainment and riveting conversation he expected a tip too, hence my fear to get someone sent up to fix these damn lights!
I'm not opposed to tipping, I just really unaccustomed to it after three years spent in Korea, a country where tipping is nonexistent. And even though I try to calm myself by acknowledging these people make very little and the money is going to support a family, I still don't appreciate it when people request a tip.
To sum up it was an unusual first day, far from what I had envisioned but good experience nonetheless. My friend Amilcar allowed me to have a hugely discounted taste of the so called "good life" here in the Manila. But I am already eager to get back to street level here in Manilla.
Other Interesting Things:
-A dog is employed at my hotel, his job is to sniff for bombs/drugs
View Larger Map
This map is INTERACTIVE!
Click on flags for a description
Double click to zoom
Click and drag to move map
My lights wont turn on, at least not the ones wired into the wall and ceiling. I can't explain why my keycard isn't activating the main breaker. I'm too scared to call the front desk and request that someone to come up to the eighth floor and fix it for I might have to tip them.
This is a picture of my hotel room prior to the problem.
It wasn't my plan to come and stay at The Bellevue, a four star hotel, upon arriving in Manila. My McShit T-shirt
instigated a conversation with a middle aged, Portuguese, semi-conductor-troubleshooting guy who recommend I stay in the suburb around his hotel. "How much would a bus/taxi/jeppney cost to get there?" I enquired. My new friend, Amilcar, replied, "just come with me".
Manila is a sprawling megapolis in great contrast to the denseness of Seoul and other Korean cities. Transportation infrastructure as we know it in places like Europe, Tokyo, Korea and Toronto doesn't exist here. The only option is four wheels and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Amilcar's company footed the bill for the private taxi (an unmarked car, contrary to what one might think, it's the safest way to travel here) to The Belleveue. And once there he negotiated a company rate for me on my room. I figured, "what the hell", why not splurge on a nice hotel while I get my feet on the ground here. (Just had to use my flashlight to find some tissue in my bathroom... it's sooo dark in there.) Manilla was never supposed to be an overnight thing, not until my work gave me a day's notice that I needed a criminal record check if I wanted to have a job upon my return. So now I must visit the Canadian embassy and go through all sorts of hassle to get this document and must be done before I step back on Korean soil.
The hotel is great, super fancy, I feel like a backpacker staying at the ritz. Luckily I brought one shirt without profanities scribbled across it and so I dressed the part of a Bellevue guest. Amilcar and I met up and headed down to the peer, a thirty minute taxi ride away. Our assigned driver joined us for some drinks and dinner.
Both the atmosphere and dinner were amazing! Such a nice treat from my usual gimbap changu meals. We got, mozzarella sticks thicker than Andre the Giant's thumb, a huge stack of onion rings, a beautiful green salad, spicy prawns about the size of Andre's middle finger, a large fish we pointed to in a tank fried to perfection, chop-suey exploding with vegetables, mixed rice and some of the best beer I've had in ages. All this was consumed on a cozy peer stretching into the bay for about 17 bucks a person. It's reassuring to know this was considered the high end dining in the Philippines. I'm sure future meals will prove to be even more delicious for even less money.
I can't believe I posted such crapy pictures... Never again!
After the meal Amilcar, the driver and myself headed to a bar in the vicinity. There I had the worst Mojito of my life, a clear watery drink with a pice of lemon floating around at the bottom. Entertainment consisted of dancing women. We had to keep them away from our table or there would have been an extra charge. Then some staff-guy started massaging my back, I should have known a tip would be expected. My smallest bill at the time was 500 so he got about 10 bucks, a good score for 10 minutes work. Then the waiters and waitresses wanted tips once we settled up and the guy who opened the car door for me expected a "parking tip". To top it all off, our driver made very clear the money we were paying for his service was going directly to the hotel and not to him. So after we provided food, beer, entertainment and riveting conversation he expected a tip too, hence my fear to get someone sent up to fix these damn lights!
I'm not opposed to tipping, I just really unaccustomed to it after three years spent in Korea, a country where tipping is nonexistent. And even though I try to calm myself by acknowledging these people make very little and the money is going to support a family, I still don't appreciate it when people request a tip.
To sum up it was an unusual first day, far from what I had envisioned but good experience nonetheless. My friend Amilcar allowed me to have a hugely discounted taste of the so called "good life" here in the Manila. But I am already eager to get back to street level here in Manilla.
Other Interesting Things:
-A dog is employed at my hotel, his job is to sniff for bombs/drugs
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sand Flee Bites
"You know what the best feeling... well maybe second best feeling in the world is? Digging your feet deep into the warm, soft sand on a balmy evening at the beach."
-Greg Samborski speaking to his friends at the beach.
1 Day later:
"Clair, did you get any red spots on your feet? No? Well, I looked at some pictures on google and they're definitely sand flee bites. Ya. they're little, red round bumps, didn't show up for a day or so and are super itchy. I was reading that these flees can carry some pretty nasty diseases. You might not even know your infected for some time. Uh-huh, yep. I know exactly how it happened..."
Thursday, July 24, 2008
ExpoDisc Review - Not Just for Pros
Title: Expodisc
Photo by: mattiasj
I'd like to think my photography is beyond amateur by now, but I am by no means a pro. I spend a great deal of time on my hobby and have recently had some paid work shooting UFC style events, billboards and website shots in Seoul, Korea.
Gray balance has always intimidated me. I finally decided to overcome my fear and applied myself to studying the art of gray balance. In my quest for knowledge, I came across the word "ExpoDisc" hundreds of times. It wasn't until the hundred-and-first time that I actually decided to figure out what an ExpoDisc was.
The more I read, the clearer it became that this was the ultimate gray card solution. I ordered the 77mm ExpoDisc even though I don't even own a 77mm lens. My rational for doing so is that most professional lenses are 77mm. Thus, I can grow into this filter and in the mean time it will fit all my smaller lenses. It wont lock on, because it's too big, but it's just a matter of holding the filter up against the barrel, no big deal. At $99 bucks a pop, you don't want to be buying one of these for each lens.
An example of the ExpoDisc in action:
Title: Expodisc indoor comparison shot
Photo by: Bob Reck
ExpoDisc Pros:
-Nice packaging (Packaging is your first impression, it says a lot about the company quality of the product contained within)
-Simple to use
-Great instructions that not only tell you HOW to use it, but also, WHY to use it which I appreciate.
-Well built, feels very solid
-Case and lanyard included
-Instant gratification when your photos come out looking heaps better
ExpoDisc Cons
-Case could be more streamlined, a little clunky
-Yes, it's pricy
Conclusion
Every photographer can benefit from an ExpoDisc. To steal a quote from the packaging, "Why didn't someone think of this sooner?"
Greg
www.comatosed.ca
Ps. I think this is the first time I've ever given a product a 5 star rating.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Cool Stacked Mac
I've worked with the BTC 19" monitor on my right side ever since I bought it three years ago. Recently I've felt pain in my right shoulder and up through the right side of my neck. It's stiffness combined with mild burning. I suspect it has something to do with me A: Spending too much time in font of my computer, and B: Having my master monitor positioned to the right.
So I decided to stack em for a change. Not only that, I jerry rigged my fan to the window using some string and man does it feel freak'n phenomenal! I've got cool air blowing in from the hallway and what I hope will turn out to be more ergonomic monitor set up. Only time will tell...
In the mean time, I'm only thirteen monitors away from this:
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