Travel Photography

I grew up on public television. For a while, my parents became very strict with our TV watching and only allowed us sports and PBS. I took in all sorts of history, science, math, and geography. I remember watching programs about volcanos, eskimos, the african veldt, surfers in Hawaii, and all sorts of things I had no hope of encountering in my remote part of Missouri. Without realizing it, I assumed I'd been properly educated by the tube and had seen all the important stuff the globe had to offer.

So I was astounded at what I saw in my first visit to Southern China - the Stone Forest. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen, in person or on television. It is impossible to forget that first moment I was presented with a landscape so completely unique on our earth. Part of me doesn't even want to describe it to you in words, because I would hope that one day you be there yourself.

I've really only traveled to two places, China and Kazakhstan. In each place, the people and landscape have had a profound effect on my soul. Remembering these trips has caused me to wonder about the feasibility of one day making my living as a travel photographer. Today I ran across a gallery of a website I frequent, the Luminous Landscape. Michael Reichmann has spent the last 10 years of his life focussing on landscapes and was a photojournalist previous to that. He recently posted a series of photographs from his October trip through China.

Luminous Landscape: A China Archive

This image simply captivates me. I long to return.

Entry posted by byscuits at 11:42 AM | Comments (1)

Nos. 4 and 5

Okay, okay, okay. No one found it funny that my Top 5 Guilty Pleasures in my last post only had 3 entries. By popular demand, here are numbers 4 and 5

Dave's Top 5 TV/Movie Guilty Pleasures (Nos. 4 and 5)

4. Chick Flicks - Yeah, I'm hugely guilty on this one. I'm a total sucker for a good chick flick. A group of us from Grace Street went out just this past weekend to see the new Pride and Prejudice. And I have to admit, it was one of the best movies I've seen in quite a while. The cinematography was inspired, and made me decide that if I do indeed go to art school, it will be for cinematography and not photography. And if it's possible to be in love with a fictional character, I'm madly smitten with Keira Knightly's Elizabeth Bennet. So in conclusion, yeah, I'm a sucker for a chick flick. I proudly own Anne of Green Gables, the A&E Pride and Prejudice, and Joe Versus the Volcano is an all-time favorite.


5. Bad movies in fun theaters - I once saw Mission Impossible II at the Mann's Chinese theater in Los Angeles. The movie was awful. Downright embarrasing, really. But it was opening night, and the 3000+ seating was full. In the really cheesey parts, people were yelling at the screen and laughing at poor attempts at drama. It was beautiful. Just goes to show that even the worst of movies can be fun.

Okay, now that really does conclude my Top 5. Any questions?

Entry posted by byscuits at 10:45 AM | Comments (5)

Guily Pleasures?

I've seen a few friends' blog postings going around lately concerning their "guilty pleasures." So I thought about it, and mine are mostly about TV and movies. So here goes.

Dave's Top 5 TV/Movie Guilty Pleasures

1. South Park. No question about it. I still remember the first episode of South Park I ever watched. This was in 1996, back before it was ever picked up by Comedy Central. Matt Stone and Trey Parker originally made a crude cartoon to act as a sort of Christmas card. The episode was "Jesus versus Santa Claus." As a freshman in college, I was tremendously offended and thought the show was perhaps the devil. Recently, I've been watching a good deal more of it, and my opinion has shifted. I don't think the show is Jesus or anything, but it's pretty good. I like it cause they make fun of anything and everything. No holds barred. Just last night they made fun of Scientology and Tom Cruise. I wonder how long it will take the Scientologists to sick their lawyers on Matt & Trey. Oops. Did I just say something bad about those Scientology idiots? Shoot. I mean, uh, I love them and all their crazy whacked out celebs. I mean... ah... Tom Cruise is a great actor. Anyone see Magnolia? That was a great movie.


2. My Name is Earl - This is a new show on Tuesday nights that comes on just before The Office. I was a bit annoyed the first time I saw it, but now the lovably stupid characters have grown on me. Reminds me a bit of 'King of the Hill' cause they're all just hicks. I love hicks. I was a hick. Perhaps 'am' is the correct tense there... Heck, I even use the word 'folks' now. A lot.


3. Really bad Sci-Fi - Okay, I admit, I'm a huge fan of really really bad Sci-Fi. The worse the better. Ain't nothin like curling up with a warm blanket and watching some guy with a muscle shirt and thin arms open up a can of, um, alien repellant. That makes me think of a great title for a sci-fi movie - AliANT. You know, part 'alien' and part 'ant'. I should give them a call... Anyone know the number for the SciFi chanel?

And this concludes my Top 5 TV/Movie Guilty Pleasures.

Entry posted by byscuits at 02:39 PM | Comments (5)

First Wedding and New Photos

This past weekend, I shot the wedding of a good friend of mine from childhood, Rusty Jackson. I shot somewhere in the realm of 1500 images taking up 15 gigabytes. My sister Lara was the secondary photographer, and I couldn't have possibly covered everything going on all by myself. Here's the equipment we used for the wedding:

Primary
Canon 20D body
Canon 24-70/2.8L
Canon 580EX
3x 2Gb Sandisk Ultra II CF cards
Camera Flip flash bracket
Canon flash cord
Canon remote shutter release
Manfrotto tripod with ball head

Secondary
Canon 350XT
Canon 17-85 IS
Canon 580EX
2x 2Gb Lexar 40x CF Cards

We had backups of all equipment in case of a failure, but luckily everything went smoothly. I think I put in 60-70 hours of prep time, and it really paid off. I was there to shoot the bachelor party, the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and the wedding itself. In the next couple of weeks I should have some results.

Gabe & Biz

I was lucky enough to take some senior photos for Gabriel and Elizabeth, good friends I know through church. Here are a few of my favorites

Gabe & Biz
 
 

Entry posted by byscuits at 11:22 AM | Comments (1)

Waterdeep

Every Sunday afternoon, before setup at church, a few of us get together for prayer. Sometimes it's hard for me to focus and be mentally in the room, but last night I was coming from a different place. Something one of our church elders said really hit me. She prayed that people would be able to leave their burdens at the door and just be able to focus on God.

I've been holding tightly to some sadness of mine, forgetting to let it go and just look at Christ. I was saying, "Here, fix this," when I should have said, "Here, take this." Thinking about it now, I'm reminded of a Waterdeep song, one of my favorites:

I used to hold on tightly
To the sorrows that I owned
But they were all I knew
They had run me through
And they had left me
All alone

I used to pray every day
That God would mend what’s torn
Now I see the only way is to die...
To die...
And be reborn
I have finally found a way to live
In the presence of the Lord

-Waterdeep, Completely Known

Waterdeep. I wrote about this before, but it's odd how they're present in my life at significant times. My first time in China. Last summer when my grandmother passed away. On the flight coming back from Central Asia last January. They've just been there.

Senior Portraits
This past weekend, I shot some senior portraits for a couple of folks I know through church. I took around 600, and many of them turned out quite well. If I get a chance tonight, I'll post a few.

A Wedding
This next weekend, I'll be shooting my first wedding as the primary photographer. I'm so excited! There's still a lot of preparation to be done, but I'll be as ready as I can be. I know I'll make mistakes and miss a few moments, but I'm eager to learn and get better.

Photography continues becoming a larger part of my life. The more I do it, the more I love it.

Entry posted by byscuits at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)