Separate items today.

on prints

I received a comment today asking how the Pro9500 printer from Canon prints differ from prints ordered online or at a local printer of whatever level (drugstore, camera shop, etc.), which was specifically a response to my review here. The question was fair, but difficult to quantify. Mostly the benefit of owning your own printer isn’t even in the cost (which will take several hundred prints to amortize), but in the flexibility of choosing your own paper type. The best papers really are a step above, because of the texture and the subtlety they provide.

Additionally, the prints I’ve made have almost universally elicited the response along the lines of, “Wow! They just look so… Three-Dee!”

I have no explanation for that, but it’s true.

366

Much to the dismay of my legions of (read: 20) fans, I’m going to be changing the rules on my 366 project. It’s summer in Winona, and almost everyone my age has left, which is diminishing my enjoyment for the project. Even if you average out the photos I’ve done already over the entire year, I shot one portrait for every 3 days (and then some, on days which had multiple portraits, but only one posted), which is still better than I did in ’07 and certainly in ’06. I’ll continue to post portraits there, but basically with the philosophy of “whenever I damn-well please.”

contest

Maybe you’ve got a favorite portrait of mine from Facebook or 366 or even this site. If so, you should let me know. I’m submitting a portrait to a contest for Rangefinder Magazine in a few days, and I’d be curious to know which portrait you think I should submit. Comment away, everyone.

other life news

Sounds like a news program in Second Life. Nerdspeak aside, things have been well lately, albeit busy. I recently went to Chicago to shoot a shot for The Atomica Project (photos to follow), recorded a couple songs by myself in my basement, and shot some photos for Second Supper (both cover and stile).

Other than those things, life is well. My girlfriend is moving out of town in a few days, which is pretty depressing, but she’s going to bigger and better things, so it’s good for her, and we’re going to keep dating, so yeah… It’ll be alright.

That’s all for now. Keep it real folks.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

…I want to jump kick them. I was just reading through a dpreview forum (something I generally avoid going into unless I’m looking to reinforce my cynicism against humanity) in which a poster asked the question as to what 5D users are using their cameras for (income, or hobby). He said he didn’t care about whether or not it had weather sealing or nonsensical and arbitrary marketing designations as a pro camera… but merely what people were using it for. Dozens (maybe hundreds… I didn’t read past the first two pages of replies) of people sounded off that he was a fool for suggesting the 5D was a pro camera (obviously not relevant to the posted topic), and of course 10 more people had to spout on about how it’s the photographer, not the camera, blah blah blah. I think though, that upon reading the following reply, my disdain for humans was fully realized.

“I am confused, if you are not interested in hearing about bulid quality or weather sealing, which is main trait of a ‘pro’ body, what are you looking for? The use you make of it, not matter how hard you bang on it, will not change what kind of body it is…again, no matter what because that depends mostly on things you said you do not care about!

Should your question not be if it is a camera aimed at ‘amateurs’ or ‘pros’ instead ??”

Again, here is the question that reply is directed at:

“After the umpteenth time of reading some say the 5D is “not a pro body”, I thought it would be interesting to see how people in this forum are using their 5Ds.

I’m not interested in hearing about bulid quality or weather sealing. I just want to know who is using the camera only for their own personal pleasure (amateur) and those who are using it to generate income (professional).”

The person whose reply I posted, so far as I can tell, is unable to think in terms of literal definitions rather than marketing hype and pitch. In fact, when somebody even makes an attempt to question these marketing designations, the online forum community seems to be so thrown, that they assume it is the people using literal definitions that are the ones who are idiots.

In short: avoid forums like democracy. Making your vote known only reinforces how useless all the other votes are.

(update: full forum post found here)