Saturday, January 29, 2011

Screw Meetup - Doesn't Say Quite Enough

 Meetup has a huge flaw in the way they perceive their customer's role in their success...

 

Below is a second message I wrote to meetup.com based on my frustrations in regards to unannounced changes they made to not only the functionality of their site, but also in their corporate attitude towards to people who have chosen to pay them to use it as a tool for managing groups.

I am so glad that my first message was answered. So what are the developers doing to restore my meetup group's page to the old format? 

I may not own the site or the features, but contrary to what you believe the members of my group do own the group they belong to, not your company. We subscribed to a service, with an expectation that the service would remain stable and consistent. Stable it has been, consistent it has not been, especially in the last week. 

Your company has stated that it has to make a profit, but based on what I have read in the forums, you are about to lose a substantial portion of your revenue stream due in part to the changes recently made, due in part to your refusal to accept the fact that the new format is making customers unhappy and due in large part to your lack of understanding of how these groups form, grow and remain strong. YOU DO NOT OWN THE GROUPS! You simply provide a tool to help manage these groups. Many of these groups are LLC corporations and your attempt to claim ownership of these LLC corps is opening yourselves to lawsuits.

Until recently, I have been very happy to pay my fees to use the tool, but now that I see what a totalitarian-based company you are and how the company views it's customers as unimportant servants to further a personal corporate agenda, I feel that there are other solutions available. While these solutions may not have all of the "features" that meetup.com has, these solutions to have ample features with the option to have the freedom to create a unique sites that highlight what is important to our group. 

If I do not get a response by the end of business on Monday, I will be proposing to my group that we move to an alternative solution.

Best regards,

Steven S (Organizer of my Meetup)

I support boycotting a business that fails to meet customer satisfaction issues. If you think I am alone, feel free to take a look at the threads in their forums from angry customers... http://www.meetup.com/boards/forum/203829/0/?&forum=203829&forum=203829&forum=203829&forum=203829&pager.offset=0

I am looking at a couple of other solutions for our particular group. Meetup has lost my respect, but more importantly for their bottom line (which should be important for a company who just posted their first profits in 8 years of business). I will be voting with my wallet. Show you support for fair business practices... boycott Meetup.com.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Downtown Walkabout; a date with me

Today, after a exhilarating morning meeting, I took a walkabout in the glorious sunshine before my luncheon with a good friend and my wife. 

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]During my walkabout, I came across this alley of intrigue and character. 

[[posterous-content:pid___1]]Using the best I have (the one that was with me) I shot some shots of the alley. 

[[posterous-content:pid___2]]I tried different angles, views and processing styles. 

[[posterous-content:pid___3]]Textures and smells were abundant in the alley; a truly visceral place of intrigue. 

[[posterous-content:pid___4]]Downtown Salem is a unique and special place for creative types, like me, where I can experience the things that others simply pass by everyday.

[[posterous-content:pid___5]]Mostly unappreciated, mainly ignored; downtown can be a great place for a getaway... a place to have a date with yourself.

Downtown Alley Affair

Great things are happening and all I can do is jump up and down for joy!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A Night At The Derby

I spent the other evening assisting Chris David of PeoplePhotos.biz in shooting some photos for the local roller derby league. We had a blast. This is a shot I got as part of the outtakes. Thanks Chris for letting me help you.

Monday, January 24, 2011

The Best Camera in the world...

...Is the camera you have with you. When I first heard this I thought, "Wow I have been a dumbass for so long!" I used to think that if I didn't have my DSLR I would had missed the opportunity, but my brain has been officially reprogrammed.

Fisherman never tell tales about how big their pole was or what pound test the line was or the type of graphic spinner they used to reel the big one in. They talk about the fish they caught and in many cases they talk about the one that got away. The fish that was only rivaled by Moby Dick. The line broke, they sneezed, or the line got tangled... there are many reasons why the big one got away, but the fact of the matter is that it got away and it is because they were not prepared.

Recently, while downtown I was presented with a bomb-scare opportunity to photograph, but alas my DSLR and point and shoot was left at home. So I grabbed my phone and started shooting photos and HD-Video of the scene. I didn't miss the shot, because I had the best camera in world, the one that was with me. 

The other day I was sitting at the mall's food court reading and people watching. Some patterns caught my eye, but alas I didn't have my DSLR. So what did I do, I grabbed my phone and captured the patterns. The point is, I didn't let what caught my eye to get away. Below are the shots I captured.

The above shot was capture using the negative filter in the camera app.

Now admittedly, most phone's cameras won't have the capabilities of my phone's camera. But alas, my phone's camera didn't have this natively. I had to download an app to get the features this one had. It does just about any special effect and processing type out there. It wasn't free, but it was the best camera app out there for me. The app is called Vignette, $3.99, and is available for all Droid Phones. Now, let me say this. This app is a resource hog. I have had to forcibly shutdown the app multiple times during the bomb scare shoot, but for what it does, I am extremely happy with the app. It does way over 60 effects including Vintage effects, toy camera effects, color swapping effects, skin smoothing effects, color highlighting, bleach bypass and other sepia effects, cinematic effects and even tilt shift effects or even no effects is an options. There are also framing options like Panorama, wide screen, picture and grunge frames and so on. Tons of effects and options makes this the most versatile camera I own for on the go shooting.

No filter, no special effect. This was a simple point and shoot using my camera.

No matter the circumstance that has presented itself, no matter how formal or informal, use the best camera in your possession. If it is a point and shoot, shoot the scene. If it is a DSLR, shoot the scene. If it is a cell phone, shoot the scene. If it is all three, use the best of the three for the circumstance. The fact of the matter is that if don't shoot it with what you have, you are just a fisherman with another Moby Dick sized fish-tale.

Now get clicking.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Irish Models and Italian Sodas

What an eclectic days for blogging. First and foremost, we have clear day out... yes all you north-westerners... we have a sun break going on.

I took some photos of my wife's new hair cut the other day. Actually she didn't a cut, but rather all of her hairs cut. It is a cute new style that looks fantastic on her. I am happy for her... she feel really good about herself and her new style. She is glowing as brightly as the sun is today.  

Today included a trip to a local wedding show. Talk about enlightening. Seeing how the show was setup and even seeing of the competition opened my eyes to challenges and opportunities in this industry. Afterwards I got an Italian Soda from the French Press, with my good buddy and fellow photographer Nathan Smith of SmithFineArt.com. As is my standard Modus Operandi I snapped a few pics of my drink with my droid phone. Did I mention the sun was shining today?

It was as yummy as it looks. What an awesome sun shiny day.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Final Shots from Guys Night Out

So... to conclude the series I want to say ten things...

1. First and foremost... I am not this scary in real life. Although I can be intimidating, so I have been told, upon first meeting me, once I am warmed up to you, I can be be the biggest teddy bear.

2. My first horror film, that I remember watching, was Race with the Devil, with Peter Fonda. I was six years old. The movie that scared me the most is a tie between Carrie (1976) ( I was six years old when I saw it at the drive-in) and Phantasm (1979). Both of these movies did some real damage to me in the form of fear of monsters, demons and chicks who start their periods (think opening shower scene in Carrie). I was afraid of something grabbing me from under my bed while getting into or out of bed, into my early teens. I literally took a running jump into bed each night and jumped to the middle of the room getting out of bed because of films like these. I don't do that any more.

3. So while I spent my childhood exposed to graphically and psychologically damaging films as a young and impressionable kid, I have to give props to my mom as she refused to let me see The Exorcist or Jaws as as child. As a matter of fact, my first Jaws film was Jaws 3D (1983) and I didn't see The Exorcist until I was 19 and in the Navy and I understood why my mom wouldn't let me see it. But as I was saying, I am a fairly well adjusted person these days. Sure I have psychopathic tendencies from time to time; but don't we all? I can manage those urges quite well. 

4. While a lot of my personal art seems dark, if you were at the shoot you would have seen just how much fun we had. I have been known to scare the person behind the camera more than once with my intensity when I get into character, but it is all in fun.

5. This knife was really, really sharp and I, in one of the shots, while the knife was really close to my eye, I accidentally poked my eye with the tip. It hurt a little, but I was shocked that more damage wasn't done. I think I might been donated Superman's eyes. 

6. I didn't do these shots alone. In front of the camera was Chris Sabato of BuffaloGrafix.com using my camera. Also helping me execute these shots with some creative lighting and smoke effects was Nathan Smith of SmithFineArt.com, Chris David of PeoplePhotos.biz and Michael Conkey of nine22.com. Michael also provided us the space to shoot in his cozy home.

7. The shot above was a painful shot for Chris David and not for what appears to be the obvious reason. Chris was forced for a half an hour to arch his back and lean into me while we messed with lights and such. There were several dozen shots taken before we captured this final exposure.

8. The funniest thing about the above shot is Chris was originally less afraid of the knife than he was of me behind him. But then as I, somewhat forcefully, turned his head to the left to expose the right carotid artery, he said, a little nervously I might add, "Okay, you seem to have some practice doing this." Hopefully he doesn't read this because now that he knows that I know what area to expose and that I actually know the name of what I was exposing he probably knows that I know why to expose it. I promise Chris, you were never in any real danger, I have never stabbed anyone on accident.

9. Okay; I understand that this doesn't seem to fit into the theme of the images above, but it is from the same event. As Nathan and I were walking to the street, ready to head home, he pointed out some really cool light from a street lamp shining through the leafless branches of a tree in somewhat of a radial fashion. He was very successful in capturing it with his camera phone, but the above shot was the result of my camera phone.... I don't even know where the Blue, Green, and most of the lights came from. It was a standard sodium vapor light, so yellow.

10. If you don't have friends to get together with on a regular basis, I would strongly recommend it. The creativity of a collective far outweighs what I could come up with on my own and that creativity sticks with me for days and days afterward. Thanks Chris S., Michael and Nathan. It was a fun evening. Special thanks to Chris D. for loaning me you carotid artery, and the rest of you as well. 

11. Bonus comment - No photographers were hurt during the shooting of this series... well except for the knife I took to the eye, but that was my own damn fault. 

Monday, January 17, 2011

Portrait Shoot with Amy and Nolan in Salem Oregon

Tonight, I was greatly privileged to work with one of the most gracious mothers I have been blessed to meet and get to know. Amy is the mother of a wonderful little man by the name of Nolan, sharing the same name as my favorite baseball player; Nolan Ryan. We shot at the studio of PeoplePhotos.biz, owned by Chris David. Chris also assisted me with the shoot. Thank you Chris for your help. Your graciousness and welcoming nature made all of feel right at home.

Nolan was a joy to work with. I got to see his playful side, his tired side and just how special this little man can be. Seeing the love in his eyes for his mom was a particularly special moment of the shoot. These shots are simply a sample of what I captured, and as is usual, I am saving my best shots for Nolan and Amy. 

 As much as Nolan is a joy, Amy is a one of the most loving and strong woman and mother I have ever come to know. Nolan has Cytomegalovirus, also known as CMV. I strongly recommend that you read and learn more about CMV. I was stunned to hear some of the information about CMV and since Amy probably isn't available to educate you, I will share some links on her behalf:

Amy is also very active in the CMV community and as part of the portrait shoot, we took some time to shoot some photos for the Stop CMV campaign. Amy, Nolan; Thank you for your patience and big hearts as we put this shoot together. I experience with both of you touched me deeply. The photos will be ready by the end of week and I can't wait to share the results with you. 

Photo Experiment - How to have some fun

Here are another few images from the guys night out photo shoot.

Above is Chris David of PeoplePhotos.biz posing with an umbrella. This was shot by Chris Sabato of Buffalografix.com using my camera as we set up for my little art project.

I was looking to capture a menacing, serial killer type of look with this scene. I was looking for a serial killer meets photographer in a dark alley. Oh what fun it was set this up and get it shot. Shot by Chris Sabato using my camera, lit by Nathan Smith of SmithFineArt.com, Michael Conkey of nine22.com and Chris David.

 This was meant to be a seen as the moment before the killer strikes. I processed it with black and white because the lighting (red in color) over powered the scene. Shot by Chris Sabato, lit by Nathan Smith, Chris David and Michael Conkey. The real smoke effects were produced by Chris David and Nathan Smith using a burning incense, which I smelled on my hoody the next day. More images from the shoot tomorrow.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sunday night medication

I love ganGing with my lovely wife and friends take some medicine in and laughing all evening

What Fun We Have With Photography

When we get together creativity blooms. I got together with Chris David of PeoplePhotos.biz, Chris Sabato of BuffaloGrafix.com, Nathan Smith of SmithFineArt.com and Michael Conkey of nine22.com tonight for a little guys night out action.

After some pizza, beer and guy talk, Chris David shot some portraits of Michael while Nathan, Chris Sabato and I helped with lighting. Some great portrait work was accomplished. Michael was a patient subject as we shot, changed lighting around and shot some more.

Then, I got in front of the camera with some darker concepts of mine that I wanted to try and Chris Sabato jumped behind my camera while Nathan, Chris David and Michael worked with different lights. What you see above is the a few of the first results from that creative collaboration.

This is what happens when you get together with some creative genius and just see how things roll. What a fun evening.

What Fun We Have With Photography

When we get together creativity blooms. I got together with Chris David of PeoplePhotos.biz, Chris Sabato of BuffaloGrafix.com, Nathan Smith of SmithFineArt.com and Michael Conkey of nine22.com tonight for a little guys night out action.

After some pizza, beer and guy talk, Chris David shot some portraits of Michael while Nathan, Chris Sabato and I helped with lighting. Some great portrait work was accomplished. Michael was a patient subject as we shot, changed lighting around and shot some more.

Then, I got in front of the camera with some darker concepts of mine that I wanted to try and Chris Sabato jumped behind my camera while Nathan, Chris David and Michael worked with different lights. What you see above is the a few of the first results from that creative collaboration.

This is what happens when you get together with some creative genius and just see how things roll. What a fun evening.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Bomb Scare in Macy's Parking Garage in Downtown Salem, Oregon

What a weird, good, scary and enjoyable day - yup all in one day. 

It started with trip to a possible future location of a studio and ended with a bomb scare at Macy's department store in downtown Salem, Oregon. Somewhere in between all of that we also had our first snow fall in 2011 and then some sleet and ice.
At 4:15 PM, my wife and I went to dinner at Browns Towne. Great burger and music playing. Then we arrived back at Macy's. I said my goodbyes to my wife and headed to the parking garage. Cops were everywhere. I was able to get drive out of the parking garage and then drove around the block and parked on High Street, walked back into Macy's and learned that a suspicious package had been found.
Macy's evacuated the store of customers, but forced the employees to stay indoors while the package was investigated and eventually destroyed. I found it odd to make employees inside of a building where the attached parking garage contained a suspected bomb. I mean the package was a black nylon bag with the word bomb written on it, according to what a police officer told my wife.
In standing outside I moved to the south side of the building and saw a bomb squad van and a woman staying near the police tape; in which I walked towards the van. I started shooting photos and video with my phone. The woman and I started talking and it turns out that she is the Public Safety Reporter for the Statesmen Journal. Her name is Stacey. It was nice to talk with her and learn a little about the glamorous and not-so-glamorous side of being a reporter. It was nice to have someone to talk to during the ordeal.
If you want to full story of what happened, Stacey has the scoop. You can more of her work at http://www.statesmentjournal.com/crimeandcourts or you can follow her on Twitter at @sjpublicsafety. Enjoy the photos.

No bomb

There was no bomb...

No bomb

There was no bomb...

Device destroyed

The bomb squad just destroyed the device

Device destroyed

The bomb squad just destroyed the device

Video from the scene

Here is video

Evacuated

Macys has been evacuated

Video

Video from the scene

Video

Video from the scene

Macys update

The suspicious package actually has the word bomb written on it

Evacuated

Macys has been evacuated

Suspicious package at macys downtown

The parking garage at the downtown macys is surrounded by police cars... there is a suspicious package under a car.... avoid downtown as much as possible traffic is horrendous as a result.

Suspicious package at macys downtown

The parking garage at the downtown macys is surrounded by police cars... there is a suspicious package under a car.... avoid downtown as much as possible traffic is horrendous as a result.

Monday, January 10, 2011

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHM

At a recent giving event at a local middle school, I was given the opportunity to photograph numerous families, which I have not yet cleared to be blogged about so I won't include them, but as we were testing the lighting I was able to capture these shots of Chris David of peoplephotos.biz preparing for the shoot. He was totally centered on the zen of his ying-yang. We had a great time photographing people of all ages from all walks of life. As soon as I can get some clearance from the authorities involved, I will post up some of my prime shots from the shoot. 

Thanks Chris for having me out. It was a wonderful experience and I look forward to doing it again sometime soon.

 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Working With New Blog on Posterous

I have rebuilt my blog on Posterous... a pain in the ass, but worth the effort. I am now in the process of customize it to meet my needs. In the mean time enjoy these fine art shot I captured.