Photo Camp, part 16: The Morning of the End

This is the last of the Digital Photos. This is a photo of sunrise at the Alabama hills, the day we werent lost. I will be taking a short break before starting to scan in the negatives that I have. Stay tuned, Ill be back with more photos soon. Hopefully Monday will be a starting point for Act 2. Hope you liked the digital series, because it was the longest. I will not be scanning in more than 5 or 6 color negs, and 5 or six black and white (if any b/w. depends how I feel). Enjoy it. Also, If you would like any of the Digital ones, mention it in the comments section, so I can talk to you. Or, you can IM me. AIM: bringerofthedead, in case you didnt know. But just start thinking if you want any, and Ill start shopping around for a printer.

Photo Camp, part 15: A Moment of Self Appreciation

A self portrait of myself. I had to get cocky at some point, after all. Once again, couldnt decide which I liked better (color or sepia), so I put them both. By the way, I changed the sepia photo in the previous post to a new one. Take a look at that one again, and see if you like it better. I know I do.

Photo Camp, part 14: A Final Sunset

This is the last digital sunset shot in the series. I may have more that are on film, but they have not been scanned yet. I could not decide which version of this photo I liked better, so I posted them both. I hope you enjoy. There are only 2 more digital shots remaining in the series, and then Ill take a day or 2 off before I start to publish scanned photos (some of which are AWESOME). Anyway, enjoy these both.

A Quick Edit

For number 13, I didnt mean that it is my favorite landscape from all the photos. What I meant was that it is my favorite photo from southlake. Maybe Ill mention which is my favorite once I finish with them all.

Photo Camp, part 13: A Visit to the South

There is this place we went to called South Lake. Most of the people who went, went to shoot Aspens. It was very pretty and all, but I must admit, I wasnt horribly impressed by the aspens, so I wound up shooting alot more landscapes and such, which was cool. That is where I got this one. There is a really funny story involving southlake, which Brenda has told within the comments section of the previous post. Oh yeah, this is where I slept with Brenda a second time. It was very pleasant. Here is my favorite of the landscapes I shot there.

Photo Camp, part 11 and 12: Double Feature

I got lazy yesterday. What can I say? So to make it up to you all (what, 3 of you?) I have decided to post 2 photos in this update. The First is of a type of tree called Aspens. They change to REALLY cool colors during this time of year. The second, is another sunset at Ancient Bristlecone. Sorry I dont elaborate on the Aspens, but I wasnt horribly exited by them, and Im in a bit of a hurry. Enjoy.

Photo Camp, part 10: That Damn Arch, Again

Well, here is the other shot I was talking about. This photo was taken by pointing my camera in the general direction of the subject, hoping the auto focus worked, and hoping my exposure was right. Heres what I got:

Photo Camp, part 9: Still Lost

Well, this is as we were wandering lost. You all know the story by now.

Photo Camp, part 8: Another Day, Another Sunrise

Well, this is another sunrise at the albama hills. This was shot on saturday morning as the sun was rising. It was awesome. The colors were great. There isnt really much to say about this trip, but it was just really really cool. More of this sunrise are to come soon. I really think I got some cool stuff from there, but Ill let you all be the judge of it as things come. Heres the first:

Photo Camp, part 7: The Infamous Arch

Well, this is the arch that I keep refering to. As it turns out, we originally started looking in the wrong area. After wandering around and realizing we werent in the right area, we dicided to go back to the car and see if we could find it. We started driving, and just as we were passing the dirt road we were supposed to turn into, I, with my keep eyesight, spotted it. We pulled over, and crossed onto the unmarked trail. The map said walk, looking towards the north, and youll eventually see it. Fucking horrid map. Looked like it was drawn by a 5 year old. Maybe a 4 year old. Ok, it looked like I drew it. That bad. So we I finally spot the arch, and we start making our way towards it, climbing up the side of a small mountain to get to it. We finally reach the top and realize that the whole reason we went there, to get this one shot we had seen in a photo gallery, was impossible to do without rock climbing gear. The arch was about 10 to 13 feet above the ground at the lowest point. It was windy as hell up there, too, so getting the photo I posted here, actually turned out to be very difficult, seeing as how I was on another rock 4" across, while leaning forward to a VERY precarious point. I couldnt even look through the view finder of my camera. I just pointed the camera in the general direction, and snapped off a few. Ill put one those up later. The one you see below was actually taken from a much easier vantage point to the side of the arch, as opposed to directly in front of it.

Photo Camp, part 6: Another Aspect to Being Lost

Well, once again on top of the hill. I already described the story in part 3. This photo is taken looking towards the east, in the direction of the rising sun. Those are the white mountains in the background, instead of the sierras.

Photo Camp, part 5: Revisiting the Ancients

Well, this is back at the white mountains, the same sunset as before. Right before leaving for the white mountais, Brenda's car got a flat tire. We had to change it and get the other flat one repaired, so we were runnign WAY behind everyone. People began to leave because of the cloud coverage that did not allow the sun to come through. JUST as we were getting there, the sun came below the clouds and above the mountains. As the sun went down, the temperature dropped as well. Before too long, i was freezing. It got to the point where I couldnt feel my hands, and I actually had to LOOK at my finger pressing the shutter release on my camera. Before too long, I was the last one shooting, but happily doing so.

Photo Camp, part 4: A Different Perspective

While wandering semi-lost in the alabama hills looking for the arch, I saw in the distance a cool rock formation. We came upon this formation that was made by 2 rocks leaning on each other, and I saw this tunnel that was created between the 2 rocks. Inside of this 5 to 10 foot tunnel, you saw this. I liked it, so I decided to shoot it. It was taken at about 730 am in the alabama hills on monday. Its all about the view.

Photo Camp, part 3: Sunrise by Surprise

This is the third photo in the series. This photo is a photo of the Sierras during sunrise, shot from the alabama hills, near lone pine. Theres an interesting story that goes with this shot. We woke up at 500 am in order to shoot sunrise at a place known as "the arch", which you will see later on. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we got lost. We had no idea where the hell this thing was, and the sun started shining over the white mountains. A decision was made, and we decided to just start shooting where we were. I dropped my camera bag, took out 2 of my camera bodies and strapped them across my shoulders (my color neg body and my digital body) and I held my 3rd (b/w neg) body in my hand (cause it has no strap) as I started running up this hill we were standing next to, so that I could clear the tree line (seen at bottom of frame). I just kept climbing and climbing, and it wasnt till when I finally got to where I wanted to be that I realized just how high I had gone. Well, i started shooting film and digital as the sun just rose over the white mountains and hit the sierras, but I soon realized I forgot my film in my camera bag. I only had what waws left in the camera, which made me start shooting MUCH slower. Well, out of those, came this. I really like it. Getting down was a bitch.

Photo Camp, part 2: Sunset with the Ancients

This is the second photo in the series. It was taken atop one of the white mountains, in an area called Ancient Bristlecone. In this place, the oldest trees known to man reside. The snow capped mountains in the distance are, once again, the sierras. In the foreground are the white mountains, and I cannot recall if the trees are bristlecones, or just pines. There will be more sunset shots coming shortly. This is my least favorite in the series of Bristlecone sunsets, but I still really like it.

Photo Camp, part 1: An Introduction to a Photographic Journey

This is the first photo in a series of photos that will be coming from the camping trip I went on. I only used photoshop to control brightness and contrast SLIGHTLY in all of the upcoming photos from the series. These were all taken in the eastern sierra nevadas, not too far from the base of mount wittney. We were aproximately 50 miles north of lone pine, which is a small town. These are not in any particular order. I welcome any and all comments on this whole series. If anyone likes any of the photos, talk to me, and we can work out a print. I really like them. Enjoy.

This first photo was taken from the campsite we were staying. The mountains in the distance are part of the sierra nevadas.This photo was taken at about 710 am on Sunday morning, 10 minutes after I woke up.

Eastern Sierras? Awsome!

This past weekend, I went on a photo camping trip near the Eastern Sierras and stayed at a campsite near the town of independence, CA. It is not too far from a place called lone pine, which may be easier to find on a map. We were between the white mountains and the sierras, near the base of mount witney. It was awesome. If youve never been there, I really suggest going one day. Photo updates coming soon.

Notes on being an Evil Overlord

I found this in an old E-mail. Its something I should start modeling my life around. Thanx for sending it Brenda.

Notes and advice on being a successful Evil Overlord

Being an Evil Overlord seems to be a good career choice. It pays well, there are all sorts of perks and you can set your own hours. However every Evil Overlord I've read about in books or seen in movies invariably gets overthrown and destroyed in the end. I've noticed that no matter whether they are barbarian lords, deranged wizards, mad scientists or alien invaders, they always seem to make the same basic mistakes every single time. Therefore, if I ever happen to become an Evil Overlord:

1. My legions of terror will have helmets with clear Plexiglas visors, not face-concealing ones.
2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.
3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.
4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.
5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box.
6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
7. When the rebel leader challenges me to fight one-on-one and asks, ``Or are you afraid without your armies to back you up?'' My reply will be, ``No, just sensible.''
8. When I've captured my adversary and he says, ``Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?'' I'll say, ``No.'' and shoot him.
9. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.
10. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labeled ``Danger: Do Not Push''.
11. I will not order my trusted lieutenant to kill the infant who is destined to overthrow me -- I'll do it myself.
12. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.
13. I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.
14. I will not waste time making my enemy's death look like an accident -- I'm not accountable to anyone and my other enemies wouldn't believe it.
15. I will make it clear that I do know the meaning of the word "mercy"; I simply choose not show them any.
16. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.
17. All slain enemies will be cremated, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.
18. My undercover agents will not have tattoos identifying them as members of my organization, nor will they be required to wear military boots or adhere to any other dress codes.
19. The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request.
20. I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.
21. I will design all doomsday machines myself. If I must hire a mad scientist to assist me, I will make sure that he is sufficiently twisted to never regret his evil ways and seek to undo the damage he's caused.
22. I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."
23. When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.
24. I will not have a son. Although his laughably under-planned attempt to usurp power would easily fail, it would provide a fatal distraction at a crucial point in time.
25. I will not have a daughter. She would be as beautiful as she was evil, but one look at the hero's rugged countenance and she'd betray her own father.
26. Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly.
27. I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my legions of terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi storm troopers, Roman foot soldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set.
28. No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head.
29. I will keep a special cache of low-tech weapons and train my troops in their use. That way -- even if the heroes manage to neutralize my power generator and/or render the standard-issue energy weapons useless -- my troops will not be overrun by a handful of savages armed with spears and rocks.
30. I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line ``No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!'' (After that, death is usually instantaneous.)
31. No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible vulnerable spot.
32. If I am engaged in a duel to the death with the hero and I am fortunate enough to knock the weapon out of his hand, I will graciously allow him to retrieve it. This is not from a sense of fair play; rather, he will be so startled and confused that I will easily be able to dispatch him.
33. No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bedchamber.

For Brenda

Well, here is the original photo of the one below. Exactly as it was taken, no levels, no curves, nothing. Oh yeah, and a SUPER cool site: Real Basic Origami