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[Images from the Id] – One in 5 Million or What Makes My Shot Better?

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Posted by :Terry Mieger On : June 25, 2014
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Category: Images from the Id

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Images from the Id –  One in 5 Million or What Makes My Shot Better?

Every year the Grand Canyon has more than 5 million visitors and if you assume an average of 10 photographs per person that means 50 million images of the national park are taken each year. So how can yours be special and different?

Canyon 1-001

 

Sunset with rich saturated colors from the especial light. An HDR of 5 images done in Photomatix Pro. Shutter form 1.5 sec to 1/3 sec F/22 ( don’t vary in HDR) 0 EV, 100 ISO

First: The light is the most important. Plan for at least one sunrise and one sunset. Your best light, as I say many times, is one to two hours before sunset or after sunrise. You cannot  fix this in Photoshop or anything else for many reasons. The color of the canyon is total different at other times, this is where the beautiful warm reds and oranges come from that we like so much. Really serious? Get the smartphone app “The Photographer’s Ephemeris”  I will not only tell you the time of sunrise and sunset for different dates but the location on the horizon of the Sun and Moon rising and setting. These all can be significant in picking the place on the rim to shoot from.

Second: Use a tripod- this gives much more versatility. It is important to be flexible with your exposure setting and depth of field. It also open the possibility of shooting exposure brackets for High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. These images show detail over a large range of “brightness” and sell.

Third:  Look for composition. Try using trees, bushes or structures to give a landscape a partial frame. Some times that isn’t needed just another tool

Fourth:  Look for different subjects. Try macro-landscapes, taking a telephoto image of a small part of the scene.

Fifth: Take a lot of shots and practice new techniques.

Canyon 2-001

 

Even noon light can work by letting us into the inner canyons HDR saves the shot. 5 images done in Photomatix Pro. Shutter form 1/30 sec to 1/500 sec F/11 ( don’t vary in HDR) +2 EV, 200 ISO

[TRENCHES] Getting around in LA

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Posted by :Corwin Evans On : February 26, 2014
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Category: Life in the "Trenches"

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Hey, buddy! I’m talkin’ at YOU! I see you looking at what I’ve got going on here. You’ve really got your eye on the ball. Finger on the pulse! Wristwatch, you know, co-ordinated to the, uh, thingy. It’s happening! You catch my point.
So for you couple-few in the know who live in Los Angeles yo, let’s dive into the fine art of gettin’ around!
Before we begin: generally speaking, I expect your impulse is to be cool to other people. You’re a good person.  Other people like you. They told me you’re fun to hang out with. You’ve got that one joke about the thing, it always totally kills. Truth is, if you’re going out and possibly about in Los Angeles, you’re going to have to put that somewhere deep and embrace the inner sociopath that comes to light when you slide behind the wheel. Here’s a spicy couple tips to get through it!

Flashing red light means just hang out for a while!
It’s an afternoon on, say, the westside. You’re rolling deep, you and your homies. In my case, my homies consist of three dozen Red Bull cans in my backseat; you KNOW I’ve got a posse. You got no place to be, but you need to get there and you don’t have time to live all of the life on the way. It’s all about point A to point B.
But WAIT. You’re facing a hot and spicy crosswalk with only two colors of lights: flashing yellow and flashing reds. You’ve got a multiplicity of humanity queuing behind you. An office business guy who doesn’t really have anywhere to be anymore. A grandma who misses her relatives who only spend the time with her because they feel obligated to. A severely underpaid, surprisingly good-looking me who smells nice and has remarkable hair.
It’s obvious that you should not treat the electronic stop-sign as the cautionary indicator it is. Survey your immediate surroundings with a blissful lack of rational thought and linger happily. No pedestrians coming? You have nowhere to be. Hold back the dreamers and the hopeful stacked behind you. Deny the multitudes their precious few minutes of street yard coverage and hang all of the hell out precisely where you are. A flashing red means nobody deserves to get shit done.

Drop a fist full of Lincolns on parking, just anywhere.
You’re paying for peace of mind. You’re paying for a place to stick the single most valuable possession you own. You’re paying for the opportunity to shut your door in mental slow-motion, swaggering toward your destination with the impeccable coiffure of a nighttime denizen with an exit strategy.
Perhaps you’re going to a show. You might have dropped some decent coin on your tickets. You’ve brought your sweetie out on the town with a honeyed promise of a good time and no worries. Every couple Hamiltons you let slip paw are a promise that your night will go without a hitch. When it’s finally over, all those dead presidents promise you’ll be home sooner than you ever would be if you deigned to slap your ride on some half-regarded side street.
It’s totally worth it. You’d be a fool to put in the extra wheel-miles finding a juicy, free slab of pavement. After all, you’re saving money on all that rubber for other applications.

Parking in the yellow zones.
You’re running late for a show or a bar. Parking is hell, as we’ve already covered. Why does God hate you? You work hard, you take care of people, you even gave a dude some spare change one time, even without him asking. The only thing in the world that you need right now is a place to shove your car and forget about it for long enough to have a decent night.
The last place you should look is the yellow loading zones.
You’re not very confident. You respect order; you thrive in a world of well-obeyed rules. It would be anathema for you to take something not readily offered to you. If you started taking more than you were given, the universe would fall apart, torn asunder from gossamer seams. You’re ill-equipped to ride the choppy waves of quasi-lawlessness. You can’t even stomach decoding those cryptic parking hieroglyphics without becoming queasy.
This evil is not for you.
Don’t look at your trusty dashboard clock, lovingly calibrated ten minutes ahead of whatever appointment you are pathologically early for. Don’t scan the impeccably clean pavement for obvious signs of long-passed street-sweepers. Don’t log into the Department of Transportation webpage and read up on how totally okay this undeserved liberty you are about to indulge in actually is. Roll on and find a disused street several blocks from your destination and desert your vehicle there, comfortable in the knowledge that your vehicle will be respectably broken into in the privacy of a disused street.
You will live longer knowing that, after 6pm Pacific, you could totally have ditched your whip right in front of the place you eventually hitch-hiked toward without a passing worry.
Leave the risky business for the broken soldiers of the night.

Good luck out there, good buddies. Don’t play it anything other than safe; Daddy needs to get where he’s going and a place to drop four wheels when he gets there.

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] A Man’s Dream: An Entire Bar Devoted to Bacon!

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Posted by :Jersey Joe On : January 30, 2014
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Category: Been, Columns, Going, Kickin' Back with Jersey Joe, Topics, Travel

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You take bacon, you take beer, you dedicate a bar to serving them both and you’ve got just about every man’s dream!  It’s happening – in New York City!

 

NYC certainly has no shortage or great restaurants and bars.  Just about any theme or cuisine you desire can be found here.  But, every once in a while a new place just commands special attention – and the new BarBacon is it!  The only question is – what took so long for someone to come up with an entire bar devoted to bacon?

 

Inside BarBacon, New York City.

Inside BarBacon, New York City.

BarBacon opened their doors in December 2013 and judging by the crowd; this place is already a hit!  Last Friday, it was packed with after work New Yorkers hungry for beer and bacon!  As the evening rolled on, the place became standing room only.  By 5pm the bar was completely full.

 

BarBacon's Old Fashioned

BarBacon’s Old Fashioned

Their concept is simple, assorted craft beer and spirits mixed with a menu where just about every item features bacon.  Beers start at $6 ($3 during 4-7pm Happy Hour) and their specialty cocktail menu starts at $13, which includes cocktails like the Bacon Bloody Mary, Smoked Maple Lemonade (lemonade with Maple Syrup), and a Bacon Old Fashion (which comes with a Brown Sugar rim).

 

Their location at 836 9th Avenue between 54th & 55th streets makes it convenient for both locals and tourists.  The interior design features warm wood wall coverings, black bar and table tops, with an open view into the stainless steel kitchen.  Exposed soft lighting helps add to the warm, yet rustic industrial feel.

 

One of the highlights of the appetizer menu is a $20 beer and bacon flight.  Four 4 oz. draft beers are paired with four different types of bacon.  Or, you can opt for a $12 bacon only sampler.

 

Even the garnish on the bacon slides features bacon!

Even the garnish on the bacon slides features bacon!

The restaurant proudly serves the following bacon varieties:

 

• Nueske’s Smoked Applewood Bacon – family smoked bacon from Wisconsin

• Nodine’s Peppered Bacon – fine coated in course black pepper and smoked with hickory & maple hard wood, from the New England Berkshires

• BarBacon Lamb Bacon – salty, smoky, sweet lamb bacon

• Father’s Country Maple Bacon – from a family farm in Kentucky, features flavor of natural, hickory smoke with a glaze of brown sugar

• Peppered Turkey Bacon

• BarBacon Veggie Bacon

 

This place has cooking bacon down to a science!  While bacon is generally really greasy, it is not the case here. Each slice is cooked medium-well.  Not too crispy, but not rubbery, either.  They have found the perfect cooking temperature!

IMG_1332

The bacon lobster roll.

 

The sandwich menu features multiple specialty burgers, sandwiches, and rolls – all of course, come with bacon.

 

While I opted for the classic BLT (which was awesome with a huge stack of bacon for $11), my friend Craig ordered their much hyped lobster bacon roll ($18), featuring chunks of real lobster, which he said was absolutely fantastic.

 

The bacon popcorn.

The bacon popcorn.

Another of their crazy menu items is the bacon popcorn, which features small chunks of bacon shaken into a funnel of popcorn – another home run!

 

The BLT with a side of bacon potato salad. Note: sides do cost extra & are not included with all sandwiches.

The BLT with a side of bacon potato salad. Note: sides do cost extra & are not included with all sandwiches.

To go with my sandwich, I also tried a side of their bacon potato salad.  It featured large chunks of bacon, mixed in with large chunks of potatoes, egg, and a light mayo.  I enjoyed it, but found the egg taste a little much.  I’m not a fan of giant chunks of hard boiled egg and yoke, which this prominently featured.

 

They also offer a small dessert menu, which includes ice cream and cookies.  As of now, none of the dessert items really feature bacon, but online rumors state they are working on their own bacon ice cream and hope to have that ready in a few weeks.

 

With the Super Bowl in town this weekend, I’m sure fans would love to make this place a highlight of their Big Apple experience!

IMG_1328

THE 411

 

What: BarBacon

 

Location: 836 9th Avenue, New York City

 

Ambience: bar/casual dining

 

Website: www.barbacon.com

 

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

 

This place is quickly becoming one of New York City’s best kept secrets and is part of the new gastropub restaurant phase.  Once the place fills up, it can get a little loud, but I was there on a busy Friday night and people were drinking the work week away.  We got there before the crowd, but the volume went up as the place got packed.  I saw multiple people walk in and walk back out when they saw how busy it was.  Your best value is definitely during the 4-7pm happy hour.

 

Expect to pay around $50 for a meal that includes appetizer, beer, entrée, and dessert.  Of course, the more drinks you have the higher the bill.  The cost for the beer is about $1 more than you generally pay around the Hell’s Kitchen area in my opinion for a name brand draft.

 

IMG_1339It’s a great meal and a great place to talk about.  It’s in a convenient location for locals and would be great for tourists as well.  I plan on bringing my out of town friends there and definitely will be back for another meal.  While it’s probably not the best place to take a first date or kids, more established couples or guys out on the town will find it the perfect spot.  Besides, who doesn’t like bacon!?!?

 

While there is a small vegetarian menu, sadly this is probably not their scene!

 

You’ll find more information about the restaurant on their Facebook page.  Their main website is still under construction.  Also, look for daily specials on the blackboards above the kitchen.

[Images from the Id] Photographic Vision

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Posted by :Terry Mieger On : November 13, 2013
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Category: Images from the Id

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Images from the Id-Photographic Vision

Ghost Ride

Image Title- Ghost Ride on a Carousel – Santa Monica Pier

A few days ago, I was walking through the Plaza in Santa Fe considering writing this blog and a couple stepped up, each with their own iPad, and took a picture. Is there really a difference between my images, we don’t say pictures anymore, and their’s? My thousands-of-dollars of equipment and their multitaskers? It might be more or maybe less than you think. What is a photograph? Why are we photographers?

I need to make a few assumptions about us photographers. First, we have some desire to take better pictures (I like pictures here better than images). Second, we are motivated to improve. OK, maybe some of us are more “driven” than others. Third, we all think of equipment as being the most important part and we are all wrong, or mostly wrong

As for equipment. To quote Bill Murray (Meatballs 1979) “It doesn’t really matter” or does it?

The most important piece of equipment is the mind of a photographer:

It’s the mind that really counts- your mind and not anyone else’s mind. Hopefully, we all have one but do we know how to use it “like a photographer”?  Most minds start out as unperceptive, little lumps of white and gray matter that act a little like a sponge and start soaking up all that is good and bad around them. That is why my definition of mind includes the sensory connections to the world. As a prospective photographer, we must train the mind to see things differently. Minds, following the Law of Entropy, would rather learn bad things not good and they don’t like being told what to do. Think about (Did I say that?). So get your ducks in a row or duck in a row, sort of like clapping with one hand? Is that why we would snap our fingers in the 60’s? BOT (back on topic). Vision is the most important and you can train your Id, sub-conscience.

You have probably noticed that my mind is it goes anywhere it wants. I have little control but that is actually good when thinking like a photographer. That’s the point. Shoot differently, shoot to show others your perception of the Universe. It makes no difference what camera you are using if you don’t “see” the shot. Learn to look at angle perspective light, what can be called composition. At this point might expect information about following “The Rules”.  Rules make good images. Knowing when to break the rules can make great images. Yes we’ll talk about rules, learn them well  and when to break them.

Your “Vision” is different and not not well understood by others. It includes part of your soul and who you are. Remember you are not what other think your are. It is your difficulty to communicate yourself in your images. Everything you work on is to show that Vision.

Next  the other equipment and how it relates to your “vision”

 

 

OOTO

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Posted by :Eric Sims On : February 14, 2008
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Category: Archive

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I’ll be out of the office and unavailable by phone or email from 2/14 – 24. If this is an urgent matter please contact ___. Otherwise, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I return.

 Are there any more beautiful words in the English language? It’s like a lovely little Haiku:

Out of the office
Will be back eventually
Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

 I think that’s 5 – 7 – 5.  Is “whoop” one syllable.

Ciao!