Probably everyone who ever reads my dumb little site knows who Beth is. She was an intern at my advertising company (the only intern that ever hung out on my side of the office) and has assisted me on several weddings and shoots and let me practice techniques and whatnot on her. She’s pretty cool, for a girl. I wouldn’t quite call her a protégé, since she seems to have taken very little of my style with her (although I would argue that the stuff she produces now is at least moving in my direction; at least a part of my style seems to have transferred), but either way she’s a talented photographer, and definitely places a certain warmth in her photos that is quite appealing.

Anyway, you can check out her new site here. And, just for fun, here’s a picture of her.

The Canon 5D Mark II was announced yesterday or today, which basically makes it the best camera currently available for just about anything. 21.1MP still photos. Full HD video at 30FPS. Live-view with quiet shooting modes. Crisp screen. Audio input for external mics. HDMI output. Etc. Etc. Etc. Check out the full press release here. Best yet, it lists at $2,700 body only. No chump change, but considering the predecessor came out at $3,500, this is moving in the right direction.

And hey, HD video on a full-frame sensor. Finally you’ve got a lens with selective focussing! Ultra wide angles! Macro! Heck, why not play with tilt/shift lenses? Recording time seems limited by the 4GB limit though… Apparently you only get 10-15 minutes on HD recording with a 4GB card, and maybe about 30 minutes when recording SD video. But whatever. Who needs longer continuous shots than that? I guess if you’re recording a press conference, maybe. But I’m not, so I don’t care.

Anyway, you get the idea. I’m excited. I can’t afford one. Not yet. But some day…

I hate clichés. I hate the idea of doing something that thousands of other people do just for the sake of doing something. But I’m also a strong advocate for truth, and accepting truth from wherever it comes, even if that source is not something you particularly care for or want to acknowledge. As such, I am compelled to admit that certain clichés pull in a certain amount of change or effect or determination, all of which would be quite good for me.

That’s right. It’s a new years resolution.

I’m not going to commit to posting a portrait every day (check that out; it’s very much worth it), because I’m not sure I can find a new person to photograph every day. Besides, it’s a leap year, and that gives Bill Wadman’s 365 project an advantage. I want to do something similar though that pushes me to shoot more and more every day. Bill did a 52-project in some year previous, so I’ve decided to blatantly rip him off and try that myself. So hereby I vow to post a killer photo at least once a week every week for this year, starting today, Tuesday January 1st. A couple quick rules:

1. Photo must be taken during that week. No pulling up old shots and posting them. The photos I post online contain EXIF information, so if you check the info, you’ll be able to verify if I cheat.

2. Photo must be posted by the end of the week (meaning, must be posted before the following Wednesday). There are times when I get home or get to bed pretty late, so if I post at 2am on the closing Wednesday, it still counts. Also, if I’m away from computer for a whole week, you’ll have to give me a break.

3. The photo has to be a portrait, but not necessarily in the classical sense. We’ll just kinda wing what that means as we go.

Ok, enough rules. One issue I have yet to address is my desire to shoot film, so unless I get my hands on some Polaroid 55, I’m not sure how I’ll deal with processing film, which is difficult to find effectively here in Winona. As it becomes an issue, we’ll work that one out.

I’ve also decided to figure out one more resolution. I plan to post more than once a week, and would really like to post photos more than once a week. Frankly, I’d like to post good photos more than once a week, so I’m also resolving to pick up a camera and shoot every day this coming year. No exceptions.

So those are my resolutions. Keep me to them, everyone.

**Massive update. Sarah has convinced me that 52 isn’t enough for her to be my friend anymore, and I have to do a daily photo as long as I’m going to be shooting every day anyway. Ok, fine. You win Sarah. Crazy kids. So now, I’ll be shooting a portrait every day although this will most likely include some repetition, since I live in a small town. I already have my shot for Jan. 1st, but haven’t posted it, as per creating a new section of my site for this project. Thank you, and you may return to your original programming.