normalityrelief's photostream

...this planet is pretty frickin' rad. Along with everything else up there of course.

This most definitely is less than pretty (which doesn't really matter of course, considering it's not a prop), but this is the light box I used to shoot this light bulb, for which I've had a few requests. Nothing but a cardboard box with panels cut in the sides & top & recycled (ie old) white cotton sheets cut to size taped over the openings, & a slightly narrowed down sheet of white poster board lining the back to give a seamless white background.

When I shot the light bulb I had the box standing as you see it here on the floor, large white foamcore boards on either side somewhat resemblingwings facing backwards, & my worklights (specifically this model) behind the box pointed directly into the foamcore boards. The idea was to reflect a bunch of heavily-diffused light into the box on both sides. Above the box I had a halogen floor lamp pointing straight down onto the top panel. Even with all that I still found I had less light than I wanted, but regardless, I was happy with the workings of the thing :)

If anyone has any questions/comments lemme have 'em! Nothing teaches me better than explaining something to someone else :D

All things considered though - working or not I'm proud of anything warranting a title that sounds this cool!

This is the Dumping of the Duckies (not the official title of the moment, I just made that up) at the beginning of Evergreen's 2nd Annual Dam Ducky Derby. This little girl was adorable - excitedly waiting for the moment while trying desperately (& ultimately in vain) not to get her loose-fitting stretch pants waterlogged.

Do you like making a big splash, either figuratively or literally (really that second one is there just to compliment the first, cause really, who doesn't like literally making a big splash??)?

Personally, I'm mixed on the topic (the figurative one at least). I love making a big splash - shaking things up, putting a new spin on a long-held idea, trying something everyone knows isn't going to work just to prove I am in fact my own boy (inside a 30-year-old's body...). But at the same time, doing so scares the badger outta me. Having grown up (& for the less quick still living) with ad/hd & Asperger Syndrome, the concept of not making a big splash really became very heavily engrained within my brain. Nobody (that I can recall) ever told me as much, but I caught on quite quickly that anytime I thought I had a great idea - or just did something I thought was interesting or clever - I found myself gazing at a great many confused faces, most of which were telling me to "grow up" (another pet peeve of mine I'll have to include in a future long-winded personal exploration :P), "act my age" (awfully confusing for a kid when combined with the previous remark), or just entreating me to "be normal for once." Needless to say (so naturally, I'm saying it), I emerged into physical adulthood only to find myself with a complex over following through with all of the things I was excited to do in different & interesting ways.

For the sake of clarification, not every impulsive thing I did was terribly worthwhile, nor every strange idea I had complete rubbish (say what you will, but I SO came up with the idea of refreezable ice cubes before I ever knew they existed!), but of course it's tough for a kid to remain psychologically immune to that kind of daily inculcation. Especially when said kid also enjoys the ever-frustrating idiosyncrasies of Asperger Syndrome, in particular the fun & games of feeling like an average rubber tire at a calculus competition when it came to social interaction.

So what am I saying? Nothing. Well, not nothing, but there is no intended moral or ultimate conclusion to this exciting journey into the infancy of my psychological complex revolving around making big figurative splashes. I just kinda started typing & didn't stop.

Until now.

I sure wish I had looked at & worked on this one months ago!

I took this in my first (& at the time of writing, only) homemade light box. Nothing special - a cardboard box with large holes cut out of four sides & covered with white bedsheet then inlaid with white poster board to make a seamless background. Definitely not pretty to view, but it worked better than I'd expected.

This is Kiki once again. I have such difficulty catching a clear image of her eyes because she's so jumpy & always moving around, & finally I managed to do it (after taking more shots than I care to divulge...)!

She really is a beautiful creature.