The Game

2-14-2012

2012-02-14T23:16:00.002-08:00

happy valentines day ya'll

one of my old bikes

2012-02-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

I think I got this bike back in the summer of 2008. Before this bike, all of my interest was in mountain bikes. Essentially, this was my transition into the strange, mysterious world of road bikes. I was at home back in northern california for that summer and hopped on craigslist to see what I could find. Somehow I lucked out and found this:

which quickly turned to this:

and then this:

The guy I got it from was a tiny little dude who clearly couldn't fit on it. He told me he just wanted to get rid of it and get a few bucks for some sodas. It was painted when I got it and all I did was slap on an old skate sticker as a head tube badge. I enjoyed this bike very much. It was a fun transition/introduction to a whole new part of the sport. I even poked a rattle snake with the front wheel on a ride in southern oregon. I never figured out the make of the frame. All the bike shops I took it to couldn't figure it out either. It had a very unique brake arch in the back. One guy thought it was a Klein. I am leaning towards an old Nishiki due to its component set. The chainstay sticker said "Boston Bicycle Company" hence my query in the search box in the screenshot. I always dug those gold rims. Ultimately I sold this bike in 2010 for $140. It needed new tires and a bottom bracket badly.

old disposable

2012-02-10T15:46:00.000-08:00

So over summer or winter break (I don't remember), I found an old disposable camera in my closet at my real home. There were already a handful of pictures taken on it. It took me this long to finally fill it up with stuff I found "worthy". I had absolutely NO idea what those first few photos were of. The answer: A) I brought the camera snowboarding a looonng time ago or B) I found it a long time ago while snowboarding and kept it. Either way, the first few shots may or may not be of people I actually know.

mt bachelor circa 2004 or 2005

oregon coast 1

oregon coast 2 (the day I found the dead llama on the beach)

work

engineering lab....... classsssic.....

Disassembly of the fork that came on my new bike, just for fun. It was heavily bent at the steer tube.

2/8/12

2012-02-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

It appears that I'll be spending the summer and fall in the Portland area as an engineering intern. My hopes and spirits are high and I'm looking forward to the opportunity in many ways.

Here's some more random stuff:

A magazine at work, the best part is the little picknick of snacks sitting on the rock in the spring.

out with the old (unwillingly) and in with the new

2012-02-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

Welp, as some of you know, the bike that I painted and put together last summer was stolen. Living in Corvallis and being who I am, I need a bike. I managed to score this beast for a killer deal on criagslist. Its not my typical campus cruiser but I'd always wanted to be a poseur and ride a dirt jumper... It is now the ugliest disgrace of a dirt jumper on the block but I dont give a $#!%. It makes going to and from class pretty fun. RIP PON-TON.

blur days

2012-02-02T00:08:00.001-08:00

disposable cameras

2012-01-25T15:50:00.000-08:00

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

another relaxing day at smith

2012-01-25T11:49:00.001-08:00

sushi

2012-01-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

never done this before:

Jacoby Creek

2012-01-09T22:42:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Friends

2012-01-09T22:39:00.001-08:00

lake tahoe

2011-12-27T03:21:00.001-08:00

ice textures

2011-12-27T02:37:00.000-08:00

Took a trip to Tahoe. Frustratingly enough, there was very very little snow. It got cold though. Cold enough to freeze the top 8ish inches of Eagle Lake. Walking on the lake was a trip. When the sun came out it groaned and shook as new cracks formed. There was a hockey game going right before we got there.

lens surgery

2011-12-27T02:11:00.001-08:00

About a month ago I took a spill on the skateboard on my way home one night. It was dark, didn't see the crack, sprawled out on the pavement. No big deal... There conviniently some attractive chick there to see the event unfold.

Anyways, I'd been carrying the k1000 with me all over the place just in case. The next day in class, a buddy of mine asked to see the camera. He then asked why it wouldn't focus. It dawned on me that I probably smashed it on the ground during the skateboard accident. Great. New project.

The lens was an SMC-A 50mm f/2.0. Online I found the exploded view of the f/1.7 version (which I also have). Out came the tiny screwdriver and curiosity took over. It turns out that one of the three little screws (closest to the top left of the diagram) had dug into the plastic and kept the focus ring from turning. Something else was a little wonky too. Even when I chiseled away a bit of the plastic allowing the ring to rotate, the elements wouldn't move in and out. I think a makeshift repair would have been possible but the motion of the focus ring would never be the same. Oh well, now I have some cool little pieces of glass.

It was interesting deconstructing the lens. Many things were attached by threading them on the lense body. Someone online suggested using a rubber crutch bottom as a friction wrench. I ended up using some anti slip mat and a Mrs. Dash seasoning bottle. It worked great. The aperture mechanism was pretty cool to see up close. A very delicate and precise little function.

time to find a new 50mm for the film camera...

chillin' time

2011-12-27T02:05:00.000-08:00

relaxation

three eggs each

2011-12-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

I love my job.

when it rains, it pours...

2011-12-15T01:31:00.001-08:00

ditched the old ball and chain for about a month

2011-12-07T18:14:00.001-08:00

Finals week was the usual hurricane once again. Miserable. Like I said a while back, it may be personality incompatibility but studying engineering really takes its toll on a person's mind, body and soul. Studies make me forget about other, normally very important things. I've forgot special birthdays, had friendships fall on the wayside, lost communication with family at points, and got extremely out of shape. When I do something, I like to do it right. To do and succeed in some of this school stuff, I need to let it completely consume me. Naturally, this brings me to ask myself "why do I do this? why do I keep coming back?" I was thinking about it today and I think it boils down to long term satisfaction. In theory, I think/hope I may be happier in the future. I truly enjoy many things about what I'm learning and I think there are a handful possible opportunities relating to this field that may be just as enjoyable.

The fingers are always crossed.

I believe that there is one thing that is very important to remember: the super fun things. Remember the fun times, the fun places, and most importantly, the fun people. You can look back on these things when things are shitty. Taking pictures helps me do this.

On a different subject, I've always had this strange personal dislike of taking pictures of other people's artwork. It is their work, and I refuse to take any credit for it. Not even for any personal satisfaction. BUT, there is one thing that IS ok with me. Taking pictures of other peoples artwork that represents a similar belief of your own. Not to take credit for it, but to simply spread the word. No, trout flying out of a computer screen are not a specific belief of mine but every once in a while you've got to think out of the box and be creative. Keep things interesting.

On yet another subject, I've really been enjoying these little fake polaroids. Faking the funk is something that goes against my beliefs but I suppose I'm not trying to fake the funk with these. I'm accepting the funk and creating new funk. These little photos are easy to process and require a small terrible camera. This is easy for me and is convenient when I don't have a lot of time. I may use the big DSLR to make what some people might call 'beautiful' pictures in terms of detail and craftsmanship but the small square format allows me to dial in on other things. Things like ideas, feelings, and special moments. The fact that every one is a little different is cool too.

the bicycle industry

2011-11-30T22:30:00.001-08:00

keeping things interesting...

(generic photo pulled off the internet)

hometown brew

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T12:07:00.001-08:00

I drove home for Thanksgiving to see friends and family. On the way there, I saw a Mini Cooper smashed in half on the curves by the Smith River. Whoever was in that Mini Cooper did not make it home for the holiday. They did not get to see their family and friends. I am incredibly thankful that I wasn't in that Mini Cooper and and I got to spend time with the people I am close to. I am also thankful that I have so many good people in my life.

Early Holiday Decorating

2011-11-13T14:03:00.001-08:00

holiday octopus

fake tree

mustache

giant 47 pound rooster

Never check your phone for text messages when you're out at dinner with people you care about

2011-11-11T00:29:00.001-08:00

be genuine.
thats that.

Summer to Fall

2011-11-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to seeing what was on my little ghetto camera.

recycling

summer evening

on the way to school

treasure map

Refridgerator Door

2011-11-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

life's wear and tear

2011-10-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

"No matter how well we build things.

No matter how hard we love them.

Like everything else, for whatever reason,

there are forces that aim to take it all away."

-Life Cycles Film

"fun"

2011-10-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Updating my resume today. Don't ask why I was looking up synonyms for fun.

Ironically, this is what I found:

fun - /fən/

Noun:

This summer was fun.

October Veggies

2011-10-25T01:02:00.000-07:00

Senior Design Project

2011-10-25T00:31:00.001-07:00

the redwoods

2011-10-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

"Spent some time in the Redwoods today. We always try and do that when we are out here. I'm always amazed at how few people are here. Every mall is packed and today we were alone with the trees again. If you've never been here I highly recommend it. There is nothing like it."

-Mason [Jennings]

I'm glad to see some other people are enjoying the big forest as well.

marigold?

2011-10-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

the rain has hit corvallis...

home

2011-10-02T22:26:00.001-07:00

carrots anyone?

2011-09-30T01:04:00.000-07:00

Friday Morning

2011-09-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

"I feel genuinely lucky to hand-on-heart say I love what I do. Though I may never be a rich man, if I live long enough, I'll certainly have a tale or two for the nephews, and i dig the thought of that."

-Mickey Smith

Career wise, if you like something and it can keep you afloat, do it. Sanity and happiness can reside in other things besides money. Mickey Smith is a surf photographer. Kind of a weird, wordy dude but he's apparently enjoying his job and has some beautiful stuff.

B/W film

2011-09-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

4 years ago I got some black and white film for my one and only photo class. I remember shooting half of one of the rolls. I finally got around to finishing that roll along with one other roll.

A couple of thoughts on film:
* For some reason, it means more to me. Maybe I think about each shot a little more.
* I think people are a little less nervous around film. This might be because they can't immediately look at the shot and judge themselves.
* B/W film is extremely expensive to develop. I don't think I'll be doing it again.

Here are a few:

end of summer

2011-09-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

And just like that, its over. A beautiful summer of bikes, blackberries, booze, profanity, adventure, and friends will sure be missed.

....

2011-09-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

bored on I-5

2011-09-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

summer daze

2011-08-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

some stuff

2011-08-19T01:39:00.000-07:00

summer nights

onion flower the old garden

One day the white writing was there. The next day the blue writing was added. Well done.

Double Exposures

2011-08-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

Summer Project 1

2011-08-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

OLD

"NEW"

total cost: roughly $50

old bike: $15

freewheel cog: $20

spraypaint: $5

single chainring bolts: $7

new bottom bracket bearings: $2

Found in the shop/garage/or a gift: crankset, rear wheel, old chain, and seat

live the dream

2011-06-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

I almost made this the head tube badge for the new bike but didn't feel like figuring out a way to attach it.

FAIL

2011-06-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

Right when I had accepted (and was actually fairly pleased with) the fact that the green paint now had some white texture involved, the clear coat started pulling up the tan layer. Maybe I didn't let the tan layer dry enough but I swear 8 hours should have been sufficient. It was 100% dry to the touch. Naturally, I got pissed and picked the frame up in anger and it now has little paint smudges all over it. Whatever.

garden strawberries

2011-06-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

the ONLY thing that grew in our garden:

Fail.

ghetto painting

2011-06-20T00:57:00.000-07:00

Well the rattle can job didn't turn out quite like expected. The day-glo green seemed to have some strange reaction with the white primer and created some weird pink flakes and and uneven surface. Hopefully a major clear-coat will help.

Thursday Night

2011-06-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

Not quite done sanding.

minor hiccups

2011-06-14T01:55:00.001-07:00

The good ole project panasonic bike is presenting itself a bit difficult. The quill stem/wedge are seized to the fork steerer. Also, the drive side bottom bracket cup is stuck. This is my attempt with some pb blaster to unstick the stem in my newly converted garage/workshop.

yes, you can see through the wall

summer projects

2011-06-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

mmmmmm finals week

2011-06-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

approaching dead week

2011-05-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

~ NO SLEEP TILL SUMMER ~

pizza party

2011-05-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

I happened to check this blog's stats today and the view counter was at exactly 1000. That said, this blog has been up for three years or something like that... and about a quarter of my hits are from my old post about bugs. Apparently they get searched a lot. Its cool to see that people are actually looking at this thing though. Thanks.

There may be many more fake polaroids in the near future. I'm really enjoying them. I'm able to carry around my little shitty camera everywhere I go and I don't have to think about anything other than compose and click. Usually I worry about sharpness and DOF and general content for "beauty" I suppose. but with the polaroids I feel like its more about the general idea and feeling of the photo. More of a memory. Ands its nice to not carry around a big loud camera.

faux tilt shift (slightly better)

2011-05-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

simple fun

2011-04-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

Its really fun to watch things go from digital to physical form. Having something to actually hold in your hand is pretty neat. When I got the photo folder back from Fred Meyer, it was almost like I was going back into time and opening a pack of sports cards. There is a special excitement to see "what you get". Sometimes, if you're lucky, you get one thats really rare and special.

gifts

2011-04-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

new project

springtime

2011-04-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

The sun is attempting to come out and the birds are chirping. Its getting warmer and the skirts are slowly arriving. Sunglasses are being worn and bikes are being ridden.

What do we do? Go back to the snow! IN A BUS.

peace!

faux tilt shift

2011-04-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

So today halfway through thermo, we were talking about the idea of un-attaching the lens, moving it a bit, and snapping a photo. I promptly went home and tried it. The APS-C lenses I have didnt work out too well but the 50mm from the 80's worked alright. I couldn't focus on infinity at all but for anything in between, I was able to shift the focal plane a bit. Here are some quick and dirty experimental shots:

I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled for a super cheap medium format lens on craigslist. Then things might get a little more interesting.

Warner Mt. Lookout

2011-04-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend three of us left friday to cross country ski 8 miles and stay in this fire lookout. We left at about 3:30PM and finally reached the tower at approximately 10:00PM. When we left it was almost 60 degrees and sunny. When we reached the top, exhausted, it was roughly 32 degrees, windy, and snowy. This was one of my most favorite adventures yet.

first night

saturday morning trek to the outhouse.

It was a blizzard all day saturday. We were supposed to be joined by 5 other guys who had bought a snowmobile off craigslist for $300. The weather was too bad for them to make it up.

There was a Popular Photography mag in the desk. Tell me this isn't the most rediculous accessory ever.

wings

drying clothes

drawer contents. the UNO box was empty...

sunday morning was perfectly clear with about a foot of new snow.

Packed to leave. I never used my boots once. We made it home in 3.5 hours because we got to board/ski down most of the way.

Comments:

1) I think my autofocus is dying. Even with "all AF points" selected, it simply fails to focus and hardly even attempts. Its getting to the point where it is really annoying. I don't trust the camera anymore to focus.

2) I find it really difficult to white balance for snow.

3) To add to that, my new monitor has a hint of pink tint to it. After editing all these photos, I put them on the macbook screen and they were all green. These photos may be off in color... I was too lazy to correct it.

4) I forgot to dump some trampolening photos before I left. For the first time ever, I filled up two 2GB cards in one trip. I had to delete many of the tramp photos to make room.

5) This trip was a real treat because I got to shoot at really low ISO's all the time. I havent been able to do that in a long time.

6) I'm very impressed with the battery life in DSLR's. I don't think I even went through one and it was pretty cold the whole time.

Dope trip, though we lucked out in many many ways. Had we not found food or had the weather cooporate, things could have been very uncomfortable.

Thanks!

budget lenses

2011-04-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Last summer I found a pair of sunglasses I liked at Walmart for $5 bucks. I went through three pairs pretty quick and struggled to find replacements. Over spring break I stopped at another Walmart and noticed they had my faveorite sunglasses sitting in the $1 bin. I promply bought out the place and walked back the car with 9 pairs of new glasses.

This was actually a filler post till I get time to put up a real one.

Thanks for looking,

-Scott

end of break

2011-03-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

These would have made a good opener for a spring break post. Oh well. Bachelor was real nice to those of us on the mountain for spring break. It kindly dumped 4", 4", and 7" for me each day I was up there. Crowds were insanely non-existant and there were many runs where I never saw a person. Lookin forward to some spring boarding with some sun. Stay tuned for the newest project as well. I might be heading to the dark side and putting on some stiff plastic boots sometime in the future.

This was taken on Feb 18th, 2011. The red line is where the snow was when I left on March 25th, 2011.

Found this little beauty sitting on one of the tables in the lab at the end of finals week.

We're baaaack.

get it right blogger

2011-03-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Blogger really pisses me off sometimes. I don't understand why sometimes my images wont get bigger when you click on them. Even after a re-upload... When I first upload them they work, then after text is added, they don't. They also always pop in at the top of the page. Why won't they just go where my curser is? Come on...

I'm going to try and fix the post below... don't have time right now.

"me" time

2011-03-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well its been an interesting spring break. Not quite a party like it should have been, but fairly eventful in a weird way. I've spent most of the break by myself as many plans fell through. Its also really difficult to take video when traveling alone because most of my ideas pop up while driving. It would be really fun to roll out with a patient crew who was actually interested in making a short clip. That said, I haven't taken any video.

1/2 price Sisters Bakery donut at smith rock

monkey face climbers

day 2 at smith rock

Its crazy when you can comfortably ride bikes one day and snowboard the next. Central Oregon is neat like that.

those famous words:

"happiness only real when shared"

but nowboarding solo with an ipod comes fairly close

slow start

2011-03-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

Added a new camera to the quiver the other day. My old roommate kindly gave it to me. Some special features include: a lens cover that requires manual opening and a black dot on the sensor. Nice beater to have around though.

the new guy

the new set up

an awesome gift

messing around at 2am

gear, ready to roll

Here is what is coming with me on my mini trip. We'll see if any of it actually get used. It sure would be fun to have a project to work on or a specific goal to try to reach. The problem with snowboarding is that I always want to do it and not record it. All my ideas end up being "lifestyle" shots and you cant make a video of just that; you need exciting content too.

it finally arrived

2011-03-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

... and I'm not even sure what to do with myself. I hope to make it to the sand and the snow but we'll see how things go.

so fresh, so clean

2011-03-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

Shower Essentials

Sunday

2011-03-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Nothin new.

ridiculous doo

???

Ohhh

I'll be surprised if I'll ever need more than 10 megapixels. Maaaybe 12 but anything more than that and i'm just filling up my hard drives with excess information.

Dead Week

2011-03-11T22:20:00.000-08:00

You know times are good when you're eating/drinking stuff to keep you awake AND eating/drinking stuff to put you to sleep. Finals are next week then spring break is around the corner. Should be plenty of opportunities to take some photos and blow off some steam.

Not even sure if any of this actually does anything. Life is full of mysteries.

north jetty at home

sunday

2011-02-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

sweet sweet nectar

2011-02-20T22:34:00.000-08:00

Mt. Bachelor blew up last friday. It was absolutely amazing. Blue bird, minimal crowds, and two car loads of friends, and 12 inches of fresh snow on top of 30+ during the week. Last friday was almost as close to perfect as a mountain day gets. I realized that snowboarding on a good day might be one of my most enjoyable activities. Its so fun that you forget about everything else.

Back to fluid mechanics and intermediate dynamics...

2-14-11

2011-02-14T12:16:00.001-08:00

Two random things that are rad:

1. big storms- mad snow, wind, or lightning and thunder is sick. Driving back from the mt in a snow storm made me think of this again. Heavy heavy weather is exciting.

2. good times- this one is hard to explain. think of it this way: you know its a good time when you can turn your phone off or leave it at home because it deosn't matter what your other friends are doing. You are having such a good time with the people you are with at that instant that you KNOW you're not "missing out" on any other activities. Good times are when you don't care if you have internet or cell phone service. You can essentially live in the moment, and be happy.

empty bowl of guacamole

in between couches to crash on, chillin in the Bend parking garage, eating tuna and crackers

happy valentines day,

Scott

first "real" video

2011-02-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

Last wednesday night, while studying for a failure analysis midterm in the library, a lightbulb turned on and I finally got an idea for mt. bachelor's video contest. The contest ended in 24 hours. I was up till 4AM thinking of details then woke up at 6:30AM to go film because that was the only daylight I'd see that day.

We filmed for about 3 hours, I went to school, ripped the shit out of a midterm, survived through a fluid mechanics lecture, and went home to edit till 12AM. Here is the ghetto result:

We lost to another crappy video but had I been next to a computer instead of snowboarding, our video would have got way more votes.

Sunday Project

2011-01-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

Having no engineering homework is sort of like a lunar eclipse. It only happens two or three times a year. This past weekend was a rare one and I'm afraid I didn't use it as well as I could of. I did finally make a little flick though. Here it is:

I don't understand a whole lot about video. This is a .avi file just because it was the smallest I could figure out how to use. Quality suffered a bit. I realize this clip is long and boring but maybe thats it's point. I was hoping it might just be a little inspiring and leave people feeling a little happier for some crazy reason. Maybe it's another classic clip encouraging people to enjoy and appreciate the little things.

I had another "moment" last night/today where I questioned engineering as a whole. It was due to a combination of things beginning with many small movie ideas that sounded really fun. Then last night I was watching a sweet artsy ski shop clip and then in lab today I got a little overwhelmed with the materializing responsibilities of an engineer. This was probably my 5th or 6th "moment".

...but today is Taco Tuesday, so thats good.

-Scott

pandora's box?

2010-12-17T01:04:00.001-08:00

I got a video camera the other day off craigslist as an early christmas present. A camcorder has been something I've always wanted but never really thought about getting. I like the idea of having it around just in case. That said, I used to hate on DSLRs for not being "pure" and having the video function. Now I totally want one and see the practicality and creative potential they carry. I'm attempting to make some really really short clips over break. No guarantees.

Yeah it's a little older but check out the manual focus ring!

over a year and a half later...

2010-11-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

My camera rarely sees the light of the day anymore. Creativity is 90% gone and time is 95% gone. Switching schools has increased the amount of engineering work I do as well as partying and socializing. The people I hang out with aren't as into it and the area I live in isn't as inviting. Because of this, photography is on the backburner.

I made it a point to go out and use my camera a few weekends ago. I went to the park and nothing happened. Driving around desperately, I came upon a huge field. A father, son, and their dog were slowly creeping up on a large flock of Canadian geese. I new that very soon all the geese would take flight so I pulled the Subaru over and began to fumble with my camera. I had the 18-55mm on and went to switch to the 50-200mm. During the switch, I dropped the mount cap and while fiddling around for it, the birds flew. Missed the opportunity.

Update:

2009-04-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

What up. Creativity has been quite a rare commodity around these parts.

Please bear with me!

Sunday Kickin'

2009-04-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Can you see what I see? My buddy got a new pet.

Look familiar?

-Scott

Pear Blossom

2009-04-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Went to a run this weekend to watch friends.

Can I clone out the other photographers?

Friday Night.

Thanks for looking!

Digital Pin Hole Attempt

2009-04-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

So a while ago I got this 500mm lens on craigslist for 5 bucks. Absolutely terrible lens. Anyways, it had a screwmount to Pentax K converter that came with it. A while ago I had the idea to unscrew the converter and try to make a pinhole with it. The other night I thought I'd try my idea out and this is what I came up with:

There was much experimentation done with the pin hole size. I glanced at some other sites and checked what they had done but really didn't want to go all out. Strictly some black sharpie and duct tape and paper. Here are a few shots with it:

My pinhole is very blurry and lacks contrast BUT you can actually make out what stuff is! I had to contrast them up in post. Good little experiment though!

Sequence?

2009-04-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

What up. Lately I have been slightly inspired by some sequences on other blogs and magazines. Here is my attempt:

The intermediate step was the real toaster "pop". I pushed it all the way up for the last one. True magicians tell their secrets!!!!!

Spring Break '09

2009-03-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

After much debate, plans finally fell together for this year's spring break. All fingers pointed to an absolutely crazy, drunken, MTV style trip to Cancun! Just kidding. But really our plan was to drive back home to the Re✯l Nor C✯l, trek to a beach house in between Santa Cruz and Monterrey, kick it for a few days, then drive back up to Shelter Cove and spend two nights backpacking the Lost Coast before heading back to Ashland. Here she goes:

Some buddies from school were on a surf trip down south as well. They stopped by the beach house for a night and took a dip in the water outside the next morning. I just woke up and walked outside for this shot.
The beach house was conveniently located next to some incredibly fat artichoke fields. The night before we arrived, the guys who were already there made a mad artichoke run. We readily reaped the rewards and they were delicious. Artichokes for days...

This was some mysterious idol in the house. Weird.

On one of our beach house days we drove down the 1 to Big Sur for a day hike. Just a little pit stop on the way.
A quick warning before we went on the hike. I don't know if I agree that poison oak is pretty, but it was amazingly abundant throughout this hike and the whole trip in general. Our hike was up the Big Sur River Gorge. When we got there, apparently the park was closed due to reconstruction and fire damage. We had driven to far to simply give up and turn around. We promptly walked past at least four "Authorized Personnel Only" signs and stealthily made our way up to the river. I was forced to ditch the camera and backpack because there were spots where we had to swim to continue up the gorge. I suppose there are just some things that were not meant to be documented. This was my first real hike without my camera in a long time and it was actually kind of liberating.

After the gorge we went out to the beach for a little. California poppies making multiple guest appearances on this trip.
Me messing around. I used to have this huge thing about shooting into the sun. I simply wouldn't do it. After cruisin some web galleries and blogs I decided to bring it back. Of course this was with flash but I did actually take some into the sun shots this trip with some success.
Looking south.

On the way up we stopped in Santa Cruz for a few hours.

Close to the beginning of the Lost Coast hike. Our destination was the point farthest to the left. It was approximately 9 miles away and took us about 6.5 hours to get there and 3.5 hours to get back. We double timed it on the way back because we had to make it past an area impassible at high tide... and we had the wind on our backs.
On the way we came upon this young seal. It was sick or something.

More poppies.

There were many driftwood shelters on the beach. We slept in one the first night and found this cow in another.

One shelter had games to play.
The second night we slept in a little grove to escape the insane winds and flying sand. There were trees to climb right in our camp site.
Ending with another wave.

Great trip though slightly rushed with lots of driving. Pretty much lots of binge eating, drinking, sleeping, hiking, and beaching. Livin' the life.

Back to school. Back to shooting for the paper. Back to the books.

Thanks for looking!

P.S. Ya'll got hooked up with XL pictures this time around. Grabbed em from the wrong folder and blogger makes it way to hard to upload photos again... enjoy!

Spring Break '09 Update

2009-03-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a loooong time since anything went up on this blog. Expect a post at the end of break consisting of road trip content and a story here and there. Thanks for still looking!

Bo x Elder Bug Genocide

2009-03-11T14:27:00.001-07:00

**DON'T READ IF YOU ARE AN INSECT LOVER**

We have a pretty decent sized Bo x Elder Tree in out back yard. A few months ago my roommate and I realized we had all these funny little bugs all around the back yard. A little time went by... then a couple weeks ago we realized they were pretty much dominating the back yard. There was a large colony living on my roommate's window sill, an occasional bug in the house, a bug in my car, many bugs on the door screens, and bugs crawling everywhere. Anyways, we thought it was time to do something about the problem. I googled "red bug" and somehow found out that we had a Bo x Elder Bug problem. They live next to Bo x Elder Trees, Maple trees, etc. It might be hard to tell from these shots, but the bugs have a striking resemblance to the buds of the tree. Off to Safeway I went and purchased a nice can of Raid. We went to town one afternoon. They never knew what hit them.

The battle was won but I think the outcome of the war might be in their favor. They just have too many numbers..

Sorry for the morbid content. I'm actually a big fan of nature. The last issue of the paper was last week. I have no more real assignments.

Thanks for looking.

I Love Track

2009-03-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

I shot a track meet this weekend. Track holds a special spot in my heart therefore it was very fun to take pictures at the meet. There is a very unique feeling I have always associated with competitive running. For example, the energy in the air before and during a 4x400m is ridiculous.

Here are a couple of standard shots:

me!

Snowboarding, parties, and lots of new people. I can't ask for much more.

what. a. weekend.

Rail Jammin

2009-03-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

Well, today was the day. Sure enough, it rained... but let up just enough to let things go down. Just like every other photographer in the world, I set out to get something "different" today. Not just your standard snowboarder on a rail. Paper worthy or not, that was my goal. It was muddy as all hell but it was a good time and I enjoyed taking pictures.... although I did laundry yesterday and now I need to go to the laundromat again... Here are some shots from today:

"Clean Nikes"

again

DJ Linear (I think?)
poor dog was scared of my lens.

Believe it or not, my favorite lens today was the fast 50mm, but man I need an AF fast 50mm.

Snowboarding/Rugby

2009-03-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

I finally got up to the mountain for Friday's evening/night sesh. That was my first time snowboarding this season. Let me tell you it was good to be back! I have a severe case of the snow fever now. Snowboarding is fun as @#$%!

Shot a rugby game Saturday. Rugby is a bad ass sport with bad ass athletes. It really is fun to watch. Again, I'm not impressed with either my sports shooting skills, or my camera's autofocus. Shutter speeds were a little low this time. Maybe that was my problem. I'm curious to see how things turn out in the future sports-wise. Anyways, here are the results:

After this it was cleat to face. ouch.
Straight interlocked manliness
And again...

There are many kinds of weird, brotherhoodish, rituals that go on in this sport. Pleasing the crowd is just one of them.

On another note, there is a rail jam on campus tomorrow. I'm straight stoked to shoot that. Finally, something to shoot in my area of interest! Let's just see what happens!

PLEASE DON'T RAIN TOMORROW!

-Scott

Light Painting Night

2009-02-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

So tonight I took a break from school work to attend a "light painting" little presentation thingy. I was over it pretty quick but here are two weird shots I got. I swear if I hear the word "capture" again... I'm gonna lose it. If I ever say "capture" on this blog, feel free to slap me next time you see me. Too artsy in my book.

So here is a dog that made a guest appearance.
Lots of photographers trying to figure out what the heck they are doing.
Yet another self portrait...

stay fly ya'll

Poetry Reading

2009-02-24T23:24:00.001-08:00

I spent 14 hours at school today. Here are some snaps from this week's assignment. I don't know what was wrong with my eye today but I just could not manually focus. It sucked! Nothing is worse than coming back to realize that 90% of your photos are blurry. (overstatement, I know..) I would be a happy man if a box with a nice, quick AF 85mm fell from the sky and landed at my feet.

Good Night!

The second and final Vintage Monday

2009-02-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

While its still Monday, I'm scrapping the whole "Vintage Monday" idea. I don't have time and don't see it worth the time spent anyways. Tough week ahead. We'll see what happens.

lax game

2009-02-22T23:30:00.001-08:00

Shot another lax game today. Learnin more every time. Can't wait till track season!

b/w just doesn't work for rainbows...

big hits (and vignettes!)
I got caught with a camera...

This picture really makes our school look like its in a forest...

Pole: Which pointless symbol do you like more? In other words, which looks more like a camera? ... be it digital or film.

1) [IÔ]

2) [ Ô ]

Actually I'm not really sure if a pole is worth anything because probably only 5 people look at this thing and what am I going to do with 5 votes..... there are other variations as well. I decided to keep it simple. And if you're too embarrassed or lazy to post on my blog, email me or something!

Another Weekend

2009-02-22T01:05:00.000-08:00

Probably too many photos and not enough homework this weekend. Shot a pool for assignment no. 1 and a lacrosse game for assignment no. 2.

I got to borrow a waterproof Olympus for 2 days. Dunking a camera underwater goes against everything I have ever learned and it felt extremely wrong and weird. I wouldn't mind a waterproof, freezeproof, and crushproof camera of my own.

LAX was fun to shoot but I found many of my pictures out of focus. K10D not a sports camera?...or Scott not a sports photographer?

Saturday morning self portrait. Emo, pretentious, and vain eh? Whatever.

Later!

Paper Studio

2009-02-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd procrastinate a little today and play around with the camera. I set up a piece of paper and bounced the 383 off the roof. White balancing in PP was the hardest thing ever! Right when you think you have it, you go to the next photo, come back, and it looks too green or blue or pink! Its not helping that they are all here next to each other now.

Last weekend's fun.
Room mate's "quikfish"
Shell
Good luck charm. An old present.
And quite possibly the most valuable thing in my life right now. Without these my manual focus skills would be non-existant. These bad boys beat glasses any day. Only downside is when downhilling...if dirt gets in there...it's not goin anywhere!

PEACE!

Tomato Soup

2009-02-17T23:24:00.000-08:00

No real pics today. Got some groceries on the way home tonight. I used to hate tomato soup but after the Crater Lake shenanigan, it gained my respect. I think every time I eat some tomato soup, I'm going to think of Crater Lake whether I like it or not.

Paper snowboarder Dan Treadway checkin out tonight's soup dinner.

lata

Ghetto Vintage Monday #2

2009-02-16T23:33:00.001-08:00

So... I slacked and didn't take G5 shots for this Monday. Still in developmental stages obviously...

Here are some old ones:

No insightful thoughts on anything either.

Bluegrass

2009-02-15T23:02:00.001-08:00

Last week's assignment had me shooting Siskiyou Summit, a local bluegrass band. It was fun... but I felt limited as to where/how I could shoot. There was student dancing in the back but whenever I went back there, they got all shy and quit dancing. I haven't thought about much in the photography department this last week. Hopefully that will change this coming week.

Glenn insisted that I took a picture of his old guitar. I asked about it and he told me a interesting story about how he bought it from a fan a while back. This was most definitely an "experienced" guitar. A friend of mine inspired me to talk to the subjects more on assignments. I thought it was a good suggestion and thats a new goal of mine.
A donation from the crowd.

This was my other assignment last week. Exciting!

peace

oops

2009-02-11T16:28:00.001-08:00

Dislocated my thumb playing b ball monday night. Makes manual focusing a bit difficult!

Just kidding! That's my (normal) right hand.
Fat person thumb!

Good thing it wasn't my right hand! Do they make left handed cameras?

"Hey Ya"

2009-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

So, I came across this program called Poladroid yesterday and kind of liked it for its simple and creative possibilities. I'm thinking about theming each Monday "Vintage Monday" and posting "polaroids" from the previous week. Today I busted out the old G5 and hauled it around school in search of old school shots. I thought the G5 would be nice because it lacks DOF, has a quiet shutter, and is already cropped more square than the K10d. I even flipped the LCD backwards and looked through the crappy viewfinder too. Not all are from today, but some are. I'm not sure if this theme will last or not...we'll see.

If you're curious about the program, its: www.poladroid.net

Its really simple and could be much better... but its entertaining for a minute.

"shake it like a polaroid picture"

Parade Shoot

2009-02-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

Friday nights rolls around. One thing leads to another and a little (lots of) partying goes down. Somehow I set my alarm for 8:45am and woke up feeling (not) great. I had a newspaper shoot about 30 minutes away that started at 10:30am. I HAD to go. Although I didn't feel like it, I was NOT going to be a typical "all fluff no stuff" SOU student and bail on a commitment. A little tylenol here, a little water there, and a cup full of hot chai/coffee later, and I was on the road to a Chinese New Year parade. I got there a bit early and things worked out. I think a great way to get rid of a hangover it to occupy yourself with something else and straight forget about it. Here are some shots I thought were interesting though they may not be of the parade itself.
These were right next to the "white", "black", and "mexican" rubber duckies. JK.
Stylin' bag piper.
(Eminem says) "Segway's back...back again." If you look very closely, his eyes are closed. ridiculous.
This one goes out to Mr. Randalls.
I don't know why I took this picture but when I got home and looked at it, there was more than meets the eye. I thought it had a real cool feeling to it. Can you see what I'm talking about?
spectators
No Chinese New Year parade is complete without the dragon.
There were lots of llammas (or alpacas I dont know the difference) there.
..... puke. What is he doing with that nifty little dragon?!?! The parade was over too!
hehe
Alan Wong, from San Jose. Nice guy. He must have played this drum for hours. I bet he'll be sore tomorrow.

"my precious..." (no, not at the parade)

So, this was a very good experience. I'd say I learned quite a bit. I was too much of a wuss to shoot "M" mode like I usually do. Things changed too fast! I usually chilled in "P" mode. I don't like Pentax's Autofocus. I also probably bombed the job from the newspaper's point of view because I got sooo involved with taking pictures, I forgot to get names of people/organizations. Lesson learned. I was also thinking about the Leica M8 rangefinder this weekend. Quieter shutter would be sooo cool a few situations.

This year I have been so out of touch with the mountain I didn't even realize the Rail Jam was today. I had been looking forward to shooting that for a long while too. I felt I'd like to prove myself since last year's performance. No snow = no snowboarding = LAME!

Keep it real.

Another Walk

2009-02-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks have been terribly busy. Engineers are not supposed to write essays about Founding Fathers... I have had no time for photos. After school today I decided I needed a little break. I popped the headphones in my ears, tuned the iPod to Grouch and Eligh, and walked out the door with my camera over my shoulder.

I can't believe I did it again. A few weeks ago I swore NEVER to desaturate all the colors but one. Lookie here! As the once bald Brittany Spears would say, "Oops! I did it again"... Would been kinda cool if I was actually Canadian.
If I was to do this one again, I would have shifted right a little so the horses legs were not hitting and the Bluff in the background was in the middle of the clearing.Sack of bird feed.
I'm not sure exactly what is going on here. Someone had dug out around an old stump and put small amounts of dirt in each planter. Weird.

Turtles getting their feast on. (no, this was not on my walk)

So this set might not be the most fun. It was nice to get out with the camera. To be honest I really don't like using the 50mm as a walk around lens. I love it for people, but not much else. DOF is fun though! I most definitely over-processed these. I really need to work on that. I'm gaining respect daily for those photographers that can come up with great shots that aren't processed much.

Other news: I got rechargeables for my flash. Cool. I might be shooting a parade on Saturday morning. Unless I party hard Friday. I have a calc quiz tomorrow. I'm going to the library to study right now.

peace.

I'm sorry!

2009-02-02T23:50:00.001-08:00

Yeah... I've been really busy and slacking on the blog. Everyday I want to update, but have no new content. I haven't even had time for the paper... which really bums me out! Here is another old sentimental fave. Day after my 21st b day. First brew bought in the United States. A very good buddy of mine and I posted up on a lifeguard tower at Morrow Bay by San Luis Obispo. It was super chill till the beach patrol told us to scram.

Summer Lovin'

Don't give up on me yet. Keep it real.

Portland Style Photo Walk

2009-01-27T19:57:00.001-08:00

Yeah it's been a while. My bad.

By Portland style, I mean take pictures of urban objects, contrast the crap out of them, add a Biggie Smalls amount of vignetting, and post them on my blog. OK. OK. I'm sorry to all my Portland friends. No hard feelings. Anyways, I figured it had been too long since I busted the camera out so I rang Ham and we went on a lil walk. I had full intentions of getting my Portland on. I'll spare you misery of the contrasty shots of "Lost Cat" signs and smashed Starbucks cups covered in mud on the side of the road. Here are some others:
I hadn't used my 50-200mm in a long time. So it got some time on the camera...till the sun went down and it was way too slow.
Here is a photo of a native Ashlander in it's natural environment. AKA lazy toolbag with a large mustache getting no exercise on his Segway. I've conveniently added vignetting to bring out the douchie-ness.
50mm at 1.7 under a railroad car.
....
OK. Thats enough sarcasm and judgment for the day. I'll leave ya'll with Zumiez-colored mini cameras and come back with some real photos.

Miles Davis Cool

2009-01-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

I signed up to take a portrait of a wrestler for the paper today. That was a mistake. Although he was very helpful and patient, nothing seemed to work out. Add portraiture to the list of things to work on.

On a cooler note, a good friend of mine got a new pet. I was privileged enough to take a handful of shots of it. It has no name yet but let me tell you, this thing was COOL... like Miles Davis cool.

Shot with my Pentax SMC-A 50mm at f/1.7

P.S. uh oh, its Friday night!