SemicharmedLife. Get yours at bighugelabs.com/flickr

bighugelabs.com/flickr/dna.php?username=56749129@N00

I'm a Getty Images Artist






Elite Child Photography~(Invite Only)


Some self-portraits and 46 Random Factoids

I thought I would mention this:

If you have no images to share and you make me a contact there is a good chance that you will be blocked. The exception is if you are a non-posting friend that has made me a contact at my urging. In that case please send me an email so that I do not inadvertently block you. Sometimes I cannot tell who a person is from their screen name.

I almost always comment or leave feedback for those nice enough to do the same for my photos. If you add me as a contact and then i don't receive comments or hear from you in weeks (or ever) i will remove you.


A little bit about me:

visited 20 states (8.88%)Create your own visited map of The World or another interesting project

Working so that I can enjoy life and family, music & photography.
I have settled into the Washington DC area, but I have grown up in:
Washington DC; Northern Virginia; Vigo, Spain; Santiago, Chile; Caracas, Venezuela; Guatemala City, Guatemala, San Jose, CA.

The Gear and Workflow

The gear is almost completely irrelevant, and most people just blow me away with their ability to “see”, create, and express effortlessly with whatever they have. It doesn’t come easy to me and I always have to work hard to avoid stupid mistakes and stretch to try and be creative.


Gear

Current:

Minolta Maxxum 7000 (almost retired) – with 2 basic lenses
Sony Cybershot DSC-S85 (kids use this now)
Canon XT/350D (I love this camera)
Canon 30D (I love this camera)
Canon 5D (bought used as a backup for the 5D MKII)
Canon 5D MK II

Canon EF50MM f/1.4 USM
Canon EF17-40mm F4L USM
Canon EF28-135 F3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF-S60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Canon EF70-300mm F4-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF70-200mm F2.8L IS USM
Canon EF100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Canon EF85mm f/1.2L II USM

Speedlite 430EX
RC-1 Remote Controller (for XT)
Remote Switch RS-80N3 (for 30D)

Former:
Canon XTi (returned)
Canon 40D (returned)
Canon 50D (well, I returned, but I did think it was a great camera - took about 900 pictures in my 14 days with it)

Workflow

Shoot in Raw (sometimes Canon SRAW1).
In LightRoom use ProPhoto RGB (the default for Raw) – most of the corrections for WB, etc. are done here.
I export SRGB JPEG to CS4.
In Photoshop if needed, I try to save the picture with different actions, processing, etc.
I can never remember exactly what I did. I just tweak it until it seems pleasing to me.

Favorite tool – Wacom Intuos3 pen and tablet

Interests:
Photography (obviously), music and audio (high-end)

Currently listening to:

Girls, XX, Silversun Pickups, The Dead Weather, of Montreal, Crystal Castles,the Wrens, Okkervil River, the National, the Kills, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wilco, Sun Kil Moon, Fleet Foxes, LCD Soundsystem, Broken Social Scene, Les Savy Fav, Modest Mouse, Feist, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Richard Thompson, White Stripes, TV on the Radio, Nada Surf, The Shins, Sparklehorse, Regina Spektor, Amy Winehouse, Cat Power, John Vanderslice, Blonde Redhead, Andrew Bird, Pinback, Robet Plant and Alison Krauss, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Kings of Leon

Favorite Movies:
Lately: Adventureland, Waitress, Blame it On Fidel, The Lives of Others, American Hardcore (punk-rock music's turbulent history from 1980 to '86), Pan's Labyrinth, Volver, Quincenera, Half Nelson, Thank You for Smoking, Stranger than Fiction

Photos of SemiCharmedLife (☯) (50)

SemiCharmedLife (☯)'s favorite photos from other Flickr members (8,867)

Contacts (707)

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Testimonials (14)

  • view profile

    _SG_ says:

    "~ Its a pleasure to count you as one of my Flickr contacts.

    A couple of amazing and very various pictures in your stream, everytime interesting to view new captures and the idea behind... thanks for inspiration.

    I look forward to seeing more... ~"

    28th October, 2011

  • view profile

    turtlefly♥ says:

    "i'm nowhere near as active or up to date with flickr as i was when i first added you as a contact forever ago, but i never feel like i missed a beat when i come back to your photostream- everything of yours is just positively timeless, which is what we all aim to be! it's like your version of the everyday snapshot just happens to be a beautiful work of art every time."

    18th September, 2011

  • view profile

    Robbyn Gabrielle says:

    "What can i say? Everytime i come to your photostream for a quick peek im completely dumb founded by the incredible work that you do. I love how every picture you take seems as if it could come to life right before your eyes, that every moment you capture is simple on hold just for you. You are my very first testimonial i have ever written and you deserve it. I love your work"

    1st January, 2011

  • view profile

    Erin Maloney (: says:

    "There are no words to describe this stream!! Every picture is amazing!! The quality of his work is so great! I wish I had half as much talent as he had!! His photos are so inspiring and I hope that someday I could have anywhere close to the amount of talent that he has!"

    26th September, 2010

  • view profile

    `Jess says:

    "New testimonial!

    So how do I put this into words. How can I use my sardonic sense of humor along with my precocious sense of personality to say and form the words I want to say? They are not just words. They are not just flinging, meaningless words. They are words that should be taken in a sense that I am speaking to you in person, forming them into structured sentences, and articulating them into paragraphs and ideas and finally, an overall meaning and understanding.

    So how do I put this? Now I'm going to warn all of you that this will be a pretty long testimonial. Why, you may be thinking? Well, one little part of the fraction of the meaning is that I've known Dave for quite a while...actually over a year.

    It all started out when I was pretty new to Flickr. I had a mediocre account, with average/poor looking pictures. I came across Dave's stream (at the time I always referred to him as a whole by "SemiCharmed...lol) and I noticed how bright and colorful his photos looked. It wasn't just about look either. I remember one of the first photos I came across was a photo of fish bowls at some kind of carnival kind of thing. I really liked it and immediately favorited it. Just something about the cool, crazy colors caught my eye. After just a few rounds of scrolls through Dave's stream, I decided to add him as a contact. I had a feeling that he would add me back too, unlike some people with very good photos. So yes, there I was almost every day, refreshing my contacts recent upload page, and clicking on "Semicharmed"'s picture. Always, now almost always, the picture was nicely edited and taken. Dave mentioned a couple times that he struggled with creativity. Well to me, that doesn't matter because all of his photos have this certain feel to it that makes up for it. It's not just a flower or a person. It's usually something captured from it. And for some little reason, his pictures come across in a way that makes me think that whoever took the photos is a very good, nice, sweet, good hearted person.

    And so it's not all about the pictures.... It's about his personality. Dave is always is there when I am not feeling good. It's almost right away when I get a comment on a not so happy picture from him. Sometimes I wonder if he is judging me or thinking mean things behind my back, but I KNOW that that isn't true. He is a very non-judgmental person. He is sweet and everything. Almost every friends only photo will have his input and comment that always brightens my day and makes me feel like it wasn't that much of a waste to upload a personal picture. He's just so nice. And I wish I could meet him! lol.

    Anyways, this testimonial is getting pretty long. But that's all I wanted to say.


    :))
    Jessica"

    31st July, 2010

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    rushorahman says:

    "Dave is by far, bar none, one of the best photographers I have ever seen for a very long while.I admire his conviction and his emotional connection to his photographs.

    His approach to his compositions is both poetic and artistic.

    His pride for his people has been admirable and is transparent through his work.

    His compositions, colors and techniques are just nothing short of amazing. Very very admirable and definitely someone to look up to and aspire to be.

    I can spend hours looking at his work. Keep up the unbelievable work!

    Dave has been a pleasure to have as a friend and I wish him the best of luck in his journey to grow both professionally and personally."

    29th July, 2010

  • view profile

    lucydphoto says:

    "Of all my contacts, Dave has the most distinctive processing skills--crisp, vibrant, and full of life. He constantly amazes me with his candid & street shots, bokeh, and portraiture. On top of that, he is always kind and supportive. I'm honored to be his contact and flickr friend. Thank you for all your stunning images, Dave! XXX Lucy"

    2nd July, 2010

  • view profile

    jackn888 says:

    "Dave is another flickr veteran that I admire as a photographer and a nice person. He has consistently produced many high quality photos and his passion in photography shows in his wonderful pictures. He has diverse photo subjects from gorgeous people portraits to wild flowers to nature to sceneries - they are all full of colors and life. Dave, you're a great photography. Thank you for your active support of my work!"

    22nd April, 2010

  • view profile

    cteteris says:

    "Dave's stream is simply amazing. I can't get enough of his shots, there's something magical about each one. As much as I try to copy that magic (and I really do :P ) nothing can compare. Keep clicking Dave!"

    5th February, 2010

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    ⊰s ⊱ says:

    "Dave is incredible with his photography skills and his love for family shows through the images he captures.The time I have known him here on Flickr, he has been a true encouragement and inspiration to me, as a photographer, always offering a kind word, and praise for my work.
    His stream says a lot about him. He is not just a photographer but a true artist as well.His perspective and compositions are one of a kind and truly unique.He is one of the best bokeh/nature photographers on Flickr. Looking forward to seeing more of his work.I, for one, will surely recommends this stream to my contacts."

    9th July, 2009

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    plastic nico says:

    "epic. amazing. badass.
    all of the above.
    and more.
    i love this place."

    7th July, 2009

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    {Wallflower}} says:

    "I rarely add or accept people as one of my contacts. But when I came across Dave's photostream, I couldn't resist not being able to keep in close touch with his pictures so I added him as a contact. The pictures...they are too good. It's like he is invisible and takes pictures so naturally that nobody notices. His portraits of people look like the natural human eye saw them, not as if there was a huge black camera in front of their face where they purposely posed for him or something. Not only that, but I love the colors he uses. It's pretty breathtaking when you see one of his colorful pictures. Plus his processing style is really, really good! Also Dave seems to be a nice person. I wish I could meet him and learn some photography tips and talk and stuff...and although I haven't known him for long, I just feel the need to say something about the pictures he takes...Like I said...they're too good!"

    10th June, 2009

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    Rrrita ~ says:

    "Dave, when I first saw you stream, I instantly fell in love with it. Your use of color and dof and interesting perspectives all add to your unique style that's interesting and different than other photographers'. I love seeing what you come up with next, and I'm never disappointed. And also, you make an amazing and encouraging flickr friend. Don't stop shooting! :)

    -Ree"

    2nd May, 2009

  • view profile

    ckmetrophotos says:

    "It is such a cool thing to have a testimonial and I am so pleased that I am the first person to leave you one Dave :) Seriously I can see your growth as a photographer and totally enjoy your energy that you portray in your images, congratulations and thank you for sharing your lovely work with all of us, we are all very lucky."

    26th August, 2008

Joined:
January 2007
Hometown:
Northern Virginia
I am:
Male and Taken
Occupation:
Manager - Software Engineering