Where have I been?

I realize posting has been a bit slow lately. I've had a lot going on. Some of it I'm not ready to talk about. One thing that has sucked gigantic amounts of time, but not in a bad way, is that I've picked up a little portrait work for the holidays. The image pictured here is a respectable 17x25 inch portrait of the five grandchildren of a woman my wife works with. It's true what they say about art. You are never done, you simply run out of time. Over all, I'm pleased with how it turned out, still I see little things and think, If I had another week, I'd rub that out and do it again better.

Rubbing out is actually part of the process. Drawing, followed by vigorous erasing and sometimes even a bit of very fine grit sandpaper only improves the surface of a good quality paper. This one was a nice piece of Bristol Board, which I choose for it's brightness. You give up a bit of tooth for that slick white surface, but I find I much prefer it. ...like most of you care.
Anyway, I have two more to do, at a much more reasonable 8x10 inch size, and rumors abound of another large piece with 4 children. That one had better hurry up and decide if they want it by christmas.

This, coupled with editing a band video, updating a few websites, mashing out my christmas cards, and trying so very hard to get to the gym, all with the omnipresent infant daughter, has made getting a regular post out excruciating. I hope all 3 of you faithful readers had a great thanksgiving, and my sincerest prayers and good wishes for this Holiday Season. Let us remember in all the hustle and bustle that we celebrate because Jesus Christ came as a gift to us.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Online: The Platypus Portal

Kodak Z712 is

I'm really falling in love with photography. I find myself wanting to shoot all the time. And I am fascinated by cameras and I'm always looking for the right one for me. I'm not to worried about the megapixel race, as I could easily do what I do with with a 4 or 5 MP camera. Thing is, from The Wild Animal Park and Sea World to Point Lobos and Monterey Bay, I tend to be far from what I am shooting. Black Friday let me get a little closer to being a serious shooter. Best Buy had the Kodak Z712is on sale for $168. It features a staggering 12x optical zoom. Bad time for me to buy, but such a good deal. So, I am unloading some gear as we speak to pay the bill. (Adding a 2 GB SD card and a 15 minute NiMH AA battery charger took it a little out of my budget) Thanks again to my wonderful wife for letting me be a little irresponsible (within reason). I've only had it for a day, but I really think I've finally found the camera I'll have for a few years. I've attached a few of my early experiments. I like the image quality.

	This is Chani, one of my cats. She gets into moods where she likes to be photographed, and today was one such day.
	This is, of course, my daughter Katie. If you don't know her by now you should read my Dad Blog.
	The night before a full moon and a 12x zoom got me pretty close to our closest celestial neighbor.

I love the night sky. Some day I'd love to shoot long exposures through a telescope to watch the distant stars come out. Anyway, I'll try not to bore you all too often with this kind of stuff (and I'm sure I won't be buying any more cameras anytime soon), but snapping pics is my current obsession. And isn't that what a blog is for?
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Online: The Platypus Portal

My New Photographer Hero

I thought about putting this on the dad blog, but settled on here. I've been shooting a lot of pictures and trying to really get better at photography. I don't always have 10 or 12 hours to spend on a piece, but I am still interested in making images. So I've been checking out blogs and sites of photographers. I came across this guy on digg. Jan Von Holleben has some of the most creative photographs I've seen recently. I particularly like this set I'm linking to called "Dreams of Flying", but I encourage you to check out the whole site. It's good stuff. He's not a hero for technical reasons, like say, Scott Kelby, but he really has a unique way of looking at the world. I found it very inspiring.
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Online: The Platypus Portal

You're Pre-Disaproved #2

More shreddin'. I'm serious about this carp.
------

And that's enough for now.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Online: The Platypus Portal