Electroacoustic Interpretation of "Non-Commercial Music"

This is a piece I recently recorded for my Electronic Music class.  Our assignment was to manipulate recorded audio and compose a piece that was "non-commercial".  Not knowing entirely what that meant, I strived to stray away from most conventional musical properties.  I apologize in advance for any melody, timing, beat, rhythm, etc. that you may hear in this piece.  I tried my hardest not to include it.

Warming The Seats

Warming The Seats from Josh Campbell on Vimeo.

This was my first attempt at cutting together video footage and recreating a narrative. The story was inspired by a dream I had...

As you'll see, we shot at night and needed to use a high ISO. As a result, our images had quite a bit of noise. Additionally, we didn't adjust white balance for every scene. Black and white was the easiest option.

Being a sound guy, I spent much more time on sound than video in post production. Besides, most of the video work was done during production. The audio from the outdoor scenes were mostly deleted due to wind noise. The remaining audio from the video files were edited into place, then exported into a digital audio workstation. I EQ'd out most of the bottom end to remove competition with the music. I compressed this audio, as well, to even things out. My only regret is that I wish I had taken the time to re-record Greg saying, “I was just warming the seats.”

The rest of my day was spent recording the music.

I'd like to be commissioned to do the soundtrack for the apocalypse. Any offers?

End of the World: Track 1

This is the music from a video I'm featuring this week called “Warming the Seats”. I tried writing this song a little differently.

I call it the vomit technique. Some may call it steam of conscious. Some may call it learning from mistakes. Some may call it think-tanking or brainstorming. Just put it all out there, throw it all up, put all your raw materials on the table. No matter how terrible, how putrid, how vile it may be, get it out there. I find when I sit down to write or compose and I don't produce more than I really need, then I don't say all I want to say and the product turns out inferior. Though it may start out clumsy and inarticulate, once you vomit all your creativity out you can sculpt it into something refined. My sketchbook is full of stream of consciousness writing just waiting to be sculpted with meter and rhyme into a verse and a song.

For this piece I wrote one foundation part, bass and percussion, then added as many other parts as I could think of and that would be appropriate—two acoustic guitars, three electric, two keyboards, and a synth. Then I edited and mixed to taste. In essence, a recipe for the sounds of the end of the world.

Remembering September 11

It's strange that people will approach and talk to you because you're shooting an event or holding a strange camera. I recently shot an even in downtown Springfield, MO and brought my medium format film camera. I talked to a lot of strangers simply because I was shooting with an “antique”.

Meeting people this way was true while shooting video of the September 11 ceremonies that took place at Missouri State University earlier this Fall. I was on assignment for the Standard and had my gear set up, waiting for the action to begin. A few folks stopped to ask what I was doing and who I was doing it for. This started the conversation and led to the interviews you hear in the video. A veteran initially approached me to talk about camera gear. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn toward the event and the gentleman explained to me the importance of hearing taps and what September 11 meant to him.

It's easier to become attached to the story when you talk to people who are passionate about the issue. This assignment was a great way for me to remember September 11, in a way I probably wouldn't have had I not been shooting the events.

I thoroughly enjoy experiencing events like this in our city. While shooting for the newspaper, I've attended events I never would have before. Because of this, I've gained a greater appreciation of where I'm from.

This was perhaps my third or fourth attempt at editing video. I think very much like a photographer—I rely only on real simple transitions and let the framing of the video speak for itself (it's also true that I haven't explored fancy transitions and animations yet...). I went out of my way to process and treat the audio—this is especially important to me.

While audio and video are obviously very distinct, there's a certain cohesiveness or homogeneity that needs to happen in a film. I haven't gotten to the point where I see films as the unique combination of audio and video—I see it more as audio with a video component.

The most difficult part of the his process is taking footage from an event and cutting it together into a narrative. I constantly asked myself, “would this make sense if I hadn't been there?” The text helps clue the viewer in on the story in a subtle way. However, I'm not sure the narrative for this video is very strong overall. It's another complexity I'm still learning about.

Even Though...

I used what I call the “vomit” technique to write the parts for this song. I had been toying around with the opening guitar line days before recording the song and built everything from there. I wrote this as if it could be a theme in a film, moving, in and out, different arrangements on the same chord progression.

At the time, I was interested in writing music correlating to scripture. I asked Todd Wallace for his opinion on an appropriate scripture. He told me he struggled to find the right one, the song was so light hearted and the Bible deals mostly with heavy and ultimate issues. He settled on Habakkuk3:16-19, parts of which is spoken in the last bars of the song.   

Macro Extension Tube

I tried to remedy the depth of field problem the best I could. For one, I did not shoot with the 50mm f/1.8 portrait lens. I shot with the 18-135mm zoom lens at its longest focal length, ensuring that the widest aperture was f/5.6 (instead of f/3.5). This was the smallest aperture I could get with the equipment I had. Still, the photos had a pretty shallow depth of field.  

As you can see from the photo above, the grass was still green with I shot these photos.  It wasn't until this fall that I learned that f-stops are constant only in exposure and not it terms of depth of field.  What I mean is this:  if you meter a scene and it reads an exposure of 1/30s at f/5.6, no matter what camera or what lens you use, your exposure will be the same.  But depth of field at f/5.6 might not be same from lens to lens.  The reason that cheap zoom lenses have a variable maximum aperture, like f/3.5-5.6, is because the meter has to compensate for the changing distance between the lens and the sensor or negative.  As you zoom further out, the distance becomes greater and less light can reach its destination.  So, when your zoom lens is fully extended and you're shooting at f/5.6 instead of f/3.5, your aperture is not closing down, indeed it is actually the same.  It is merely compensating for the difference in light.  Your depth of field will remain the same.

All in all, I suppose the depth of field gives the photos a unique flavor.

And heck, for 10 bucks its worth toying around with.

You can check out the rest of the macro tube photos here.

Macro Extension Tube

Macro photography can be a lot of fun, but lenses are quite a large investment for such a specific genre. No fear, macro extension tubes can convert any lens into macro lens for a fraction of the cost!

Extension tubes work by putting additional space between your lens and the sensor or negative. However, depending on the focus range of the lens, you may not be able to focus to infinity or anywhere near it—you will only be able to focus within a few inches of your subject. But that's the ok, 'cause you're doing macro photography.

Also, be warned that the cheapest extension tubes (which I purchased) cannot communicate electronically between the lens and the camera body. I thought this would be ok when I bought the tube, figuring on trial and error to come up with the proper exposure. I neglected to take into account that I would not be able to control aperture—meaning every shot will be taken at its widest aperture. At such a close distance you're going to have only smallest sliver of focus to work with.

Stop Motion and Time Lapse: The Beginnings

Here is a collection of my first stop motion and time lapses, in order of creation.

Downtown Springfield: A Time Lapse

Today's time lapse was taken during the same shoot as the first. I wanted to something a little different for the audio—an original recording time synced to events that take place in the video.

Downtown Springfield: A Time Lapse

I previewed a process a few weeks back that I call Panoramic Narrative. With it, I'm exploring the telling of narrative through the use of multiple frames, a step past single shot photography. Stop motion and time lapse videos a step beyond even multiple frame narratives and marks my transition from photo to video.

I began making these videos out of necessity—my team was assigned the task to shoot an accompanying video for an audio project in our production class. It was during this time that I began to strongly desire to shoot video, but had no capacity to do so. I had become interested in stop motion, a process I could do with the equipment I had available. Having no other options for class, we decided to shoot stop motion, one of my very first attempts.

The time lapses I'm showcasing today and tomorrow represent the most serious and best produced of the time lapses that I've made.

Here's the process for today's time lapse: I mounted my camera on a tripod and set it in the front passenger seat. With the help of some colleagues and a remote shutter release, I was able to capture the short ride around downtown Springfield, MO in several hundred photos.

I used iMovie to render the video. First, I had to import the photos into iPhoto, there's no other way to get them into iMovie. Before importing them into iMovie, I had to adjust the Initial Photo Placement. Had I skipped this step, I would have had to manually change the placement for each frame, adding hours of unnecessary work.

How to get there: File—Project Properties—Timing. Change Initial Photo Placement to either crop of fit to screen.

Now I could drag my photos into the project (click the camera icon half way up the page and on the right). Once they were in, I selected them all and right clicked to change the duration of each still. In iMovie, the shortest duration is .1 second or 10 frames per second. For whatever reason, iMovie doesn't actually play the still back at that rate. It's closer to 7 or 8 frames per second.

I slapped on some text, transitions, and audio and called it a wrap.

Star Trail 10/24/11

Star Trail 10/24/11, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

It must have been fate that I chose to walk this night. What else could explain it? Divinity had His hand in it--the night sky glowed faintly red but for a few short minutes. I would have missed it if I had embarked at any other time.

I didn't catch the Northern Lights in this particular image, but it was a strange sight to see. I shot this star trail on a whim early last week. It turned out well and yielded one of the best time lapses I've attempted yet.



Instead of using the Star Trails application, I used an action for Photoshop. Star Trails is a windows only program. Also, the software hasn't been updated in years and I'm worried it might become obsolete.  For the time lapse, I imported the images to Premiere and set the length of each still to 1 frame (instead of the default 150) in a video set to 30 frames per second.  So, every still being a 30 second exposure, each second in the time lapse is actually 15 minutes in real time

Pleasant View Church: Part II

Since I was unsatisfied with the first star trail I captured at Pleasant View Church, I decided to make a return trip a few weeks later.  There's something satisfying about returning to a place you've photographed once before.



I set up my camera across the road from the building and this is the first image that it yielded.  You can't see the church!




I removed all the traffic trails from the composite.  But there were several really nice traffic trails...




...like this one.




Ultimately I think I've settled on this image.  It includes the traffic trail which activates the bottom of the picture, you can make out the details of the building, and the star trail takes center stage in the top.

This is my favorite, but I'd like to hear your opinion on which image is strongest!

Pleasant View Church

Pleasant View Church, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

We drove out behind my house towards Marshfield to find the Webster County Observatory. It was closed off of course, but we found this church instead. Complete with graveyard and creepy creaky sign, this Pleasant View Church was established in 1804. Probably by vampires.

This image turned out a little dark, my camera's LCD screen fooled me.  It looked a lot brighter in the comparative darkness of my surroundings.  I suggesting shooting 30 second intervals between ISO 400 and 640 at your widest aperture.

Star Trail 7/26/11

Star Trail 7/26/11, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

You don't need to travel the world to se amazing things. Just go look around your own back yard!


 

Star Trail 7/7/11

Star Trail 7/7/11, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Its amazing the things we miss while we sleep. The night is such a fascinating time, part of it being that when you're up at 2 a.m., so many people are asleep, the world feels much lonelier. When I walk around at night, it comforts me that all the people in the houses I pass are warm and cozy, lying in bed. I feel set apart when I take the time to enjoy the night, and especially the night sky. The camera can pick up details that our eyes usually miss, like the color of the stars, or the movement of the constellations, the little bits of dust caught in flash, the airplanes and meteorites and satellites that rarely take the time to notice.

This is a composite image from 402 images. Each exposure was 30s at f/3.5 at ISO 400. The flash popped at the beginning of each exposure 1/8 power. Stitched together using StarTrails and minor edits in Photoshop.

The video below tracks the motion of the stars through the course of the night.

Lightnin'

Lightnin', a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

These images fail to properly convey all the emotion, the wonder, the drama of this visual display of my experience. Try as you might, you cannot capture fully what the artist experiences. You may think the images are beautiful, and can relate to some experience where you've witnessed something similar. Most likely, however, you are sitting at a computer during the waking hours, safe at home and cozy. As much work as I may or may not have put into these images, you still won't understand how it made me feel--the eerie silence, the anticipation in the air, the danger of darkness, the smell of fresh asphalt, the fear of lime disease. These images captures only a fraction of what really happened, what really was experienced by the artist. That is the great challenge and the great failure of art. The challenge to tell the story and the failure when you fall short of fully conveying the entire message.

13s at f/4.5 ISO 100

Lightnin'

Lightnin', a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Composite image from 6 different exposures. Camera set to continual shooting mode, 10s at f/4.5 ISO 640. Flash set to second curtain. The foreground and background contrast well, both in value and color, the orange in the foreground with the purple in the back, though a certain warmth binds them together well. Use of flash creates an interesting subject for the photo, but the hero is the background. The four bolts of lightning, the power post, the radio towers and trees on left and right provide a nice repetition. Cropping also adds interest, as the dimensions of the image are atypical.

10s at f/4.5 ISO 640

Lightnin'

Lightnin', a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Sitting on the couch. Its late. Just got home from the fair. And parking cars. Thunder.  1:30 a.m. Terrible Sci Fi Channel original move is on. More thunder. Noodling on the guitar. Can't choose between beginning a recording or hitting the sack. The rumbling continues. Not sure if its the movie or the real thing. Downstairs, to the bathroom. Sound's still there, coming from outside. Can't resist the light...

13s at f/4.5 ISO 100

Chocolate Chapstick (DS Remix)

I am currently enrolled in Electronic Music, a class required for my minor.  Since I arranged this song, I've learned a couple or a few things about synthesizers, knowledge which would have been helpful when I created this piece.

Using the Korg DS-10 to produce the music, I manipulated only the carrier signal (the initial input note) of each synthesized sound.  I adjusted the envelop (how the sound opens and closes), the shape of the wave (sine, sawtooth, etc.), and the amount of distortion (by cutting or boosting gain).  I also manipulated EQ by using high and low pass filters.

By controlling these few elements I've ended up with some relatively interesting sounds.  However, this instrument seems to be capable of a level of complexity I haven't demonstrated in this piece--there's a lot more to learn.

Hope you enjoy!  Here's the original to compare.

A Stranger No More To Be (DS Remix)

I received the Korg DS-10, a synthesizer built by Korg for the Nintendo DS, as a Christmas gift a few years ago.  Though I requested it, I never took the time to pick it up and figure out how to use it.  I had never written music on a synthesizer and didn't know where to start.  Eventually, it struck me that I could figure out the process best by arranging an existing composition.

You can listen to the original here.

Panoramic Narrative

1.3s at f/5.6 ISO 100

This process is derived from a desire to tell a story through multiple frames. For me, this first led into an exploration of stop motion and time lapse photography, then to video. This image is an exploration of the panoramic narrative process. Ultimately, I want to use the process on a large scale, composite prints that span the length of an entire wall. The next step is to create a mock up—divide the image into 3 or 4 printable sections and hang them side by side.   

1.3s at f/5.6 ISO 200

check it on flickr

Panoramic Narrative

Panoramic Narrative, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

This is the first attempt in the process of compositing images into a panorama that tells a story. A macro tube was employed to capture these six images. I mounted my camera on a tripod and swiveled only the left right axis to keep a steady background. I moved the figure through the frames, telling a short story. The images were brought into Photoshop and I used layer masks to blend them into the final image.

Next time, I would overlap my images more during production. It was difficult only having a small area of overlap to blend the images with. Moreover, I noticed some vignetting happening near the edges of the frames, only adding to the difficulty of blending. Look closely and you will notice some of the problem areas.

1.3s at f/5.6 ISO 100

Bottle Rocket Wars

Bottle Rocket Wars, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

You can check out the rest of these photo here!

17s at f/16 ISO 100

Bottle Rocket Wars

Bottle Rocket Wars, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Most of these photos were shot as soon as the sun set, giving us the minimum amount of darkness to start the show. There was still some ambient light hangin' around and I found my best apertures to be between f/16 and f/20. I could have went smaller in the longer exposures--some of the detail in the middle parts of the fireworks are blown out.

17s at f/18 ISO 100

Bottle Rocket Wars

Bottle Rocket Wars, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

We'd spend the day light hours shooting off all the wimpy stuff, but when night fell, we'd pull out the big guns. Fourth of July has changed over the years. The big finale has transformed from terrifying event that overwhelmed my untrained senses, to a theatrical display I participated in as a spectator, to a performance in which I played a lead part, and now, again, something I merely enjoy and observe from the sidelines. As I get older, the world has gotten smaller in some ways, some things have lost their wonder, their grip on me. While I may not be amazed by a simple light show these days, it still brings that sense of nostalgia and days long gone.

6s at f/20 ISO 100

Bottle Rocket Wars

Bottle Rocket Wars, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Moving on to bottle rocket wars seemed the next natural step in the process of July 4th evolution.

Once I threatened my brother at bottle rocket-point, lighter poised to ignite. He wouldn't leave my room and left me no other choice. It was meant to be merely a facade. By accident, I stepped too close to the edge and lit the rocket. I had no other choice than to allow the rocket to spray its sparks and explode in my hand.

For those who don't know, the stem on the bottle rocket guides it straight, take it off and you've got yourself a free agent. It was bottle rocket Russian roulette. We'd play games of chicken by lighting these stemless bottle rockets and throwing them between us—you were marked a coward if you fled.

19s at f/18 ISO 100

Bottle Rocket Wars

Bottle Rocket Wars, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

There was probably a more economical way to set fire to G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls, but we rather enjoyed our weapon of choice. It was a tier process—first you'd start with snakes and poppers. Once you got a little older you advanced to sparklers and smoke bombs, neither of which, I might add, are particularly safe. Smoke bombs spew fire before emitting smoke and sparklers are just pointed fire sticks. Both were vital in starting a good fire.

The next graduation was to bottle rockets and firecrackers.

We were told to lay on the ground anything we set off, to allow us tim to flee and to keep the explosion out of our hands and away from our faces. So smoke bombs and firecrackers should lay flat and bottle rockets in bottles. I don't know if these restrictions are naturally boring or if we simply got terrible ideas from the older kids. Rarely were firecrackers on the ground when lit or bottle rockets in their bottles.

8s at f/18 ISO 100

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

A 1-4 second exposure gave the best results for the rides. It gave enough definition to the moving lights, enough smooth motion-blur while still retaining a degree of sharpness. Longer exposures were solid, confusing masses. White balance was fairly cool (2500-3500 Kelvin), long exposures tend get red/orange. It was also interesting to fire a second curtain flash to get the definition of some passersby.

You can check the rest of the photos here!

1/3s at f/4.5 ISO 100

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I parked cars this summer at the Ozark Empire Fair. Incredibly easy gig—worth an extra couple hundred bucks and the opportunity to meet some new and interesting folk. Plus, you can satisfy all your fair needs for free! My goal was to shoot the carnival every night I was there, but I was not feeling well that week and didn't have the energy.

1s at f/8.0 ISO 100

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I'm told the cars, which are parked nearest to the carnie lodgings, are kept under tighter security than other lots. They say the carnies will keep an eye on who gets out of what car and what valuables are left there. In fact, there are those who travel with the carnies who do not work the carnival, but simply make their living by pickpocketing fair-goers and thieving from their vehicles.

I find my shot in front of a ride. I'm running low on time and energy and set up my gear quickly. I want to catch the ride in action on its next rotation so I can move on. The ride seems to be having technical errors. One operator is working on the issues, while the other two stare blankly at the mounting crowd before them. They speak, condescendingly, in some foreign tongue. It doesn't take more than a few minutes for the ride to return to “online” status. The two load the riders sloppily and slam their safety latches. Clearly, they're irritated there are riders there at all.

The ride goes 'round and I get my shot—but I wonder: Who hated who first? The carnies or everyone else?

4s at f/7.1 ISO 100

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

The carnie quickly put out her cigarette as a little girl approached the booth to choose a duck, or knock down the jar tower, or throw a ring around a pop bottle.

“Some customer service,” I think, “At least she put out her cigarette.”

They travel around in packs, caries do, like American gypsies. They scrape together a living by throwing together shoddy carnival rides and ripping off parents with cheap, but alluring prizes to expensive, but impossible games. When the fair rolls into town, an entire lot fills with their rundown recreation vehicles and campers, a resembling Hoover towns from days long past.

I keep going down the midway, the “Champs Elysees” of the carnival, and pass through a cloud of cigarette smoke from a ride operator. In the same breath he exhales his addiction and let's loose a series of curse words, behaviors far from a professional nature.

1s at f/5.6 ISO 100

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011

Dinner With A Gypsy: Ozark Empire Fair 2011, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

The photos are the first set in a series of night photos that I'll be showcasing over the course of next following weeks. Enjoy these images from the Ozark Empire Fair!

3.2s at f/22 ISO 100

Photo 1 Portfolio--Kara

Kara, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Last one of the set. I'll have more to say next week.

You can check out the rest of my portfolio here!

Photo 1 Portfolio--Kody

Kody, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Oh Kody...

Photo 1 Portfolio--Doren

Doren, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

This guy is getting married pretty soon. That's a big deal.

Photo 1 Portfolio--Kara

Kara, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

She was pretty tired of the camera being in her face by this point.

Photo 1 Portfolio--Ty

Ty, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Since I mentioned my Photo 1 class last week, I thought it only appropriate to present some images from my final portfolio and let the masses decide what I could do to improve.

Perhaps my instructor thought my subject matter, people, to be a bit blasé, a lot of students in the class chose to use people as their theme, and there is no doubt that numerous students in classes past have photographed people as their theme. I had a lot of work to do to distinguish myself from those who have set the precedent. My instructor thought that I would choose to present texture shots and photos of strange objects, abstractions of sorts. But I've shot those photos too many times to count. It is no longer a challenge to capture an interesting image of an abstract texture or object. I wanted to shoot people to gain experience in that subject matter. And despite receiving an unsatisfactory grade in that class, I learned more about portrait shooting than I have anywhere else, an invaluable lesson.

So there you have it kids—the classes you learn the most in are the ones you also get the worst grade in. School sucks.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

In anticipation of the weekend, I've conjured up some original audio-magic.  Enjoy MarvinBaker87's rendition of Harry McClintock's Big Rock Candy Mountain!

If you're not overly offended or disgusted, you can check out some other tunes at Bandcamp.

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I realized that I had been missing the heart, the passion that made me want to start shooting in the first place. I remembered the first few outings with my camera, the way I saw the world, how much I learned, and it just made me happy to walk around and shoot some photos.

And most of my first shoots were from long walks I would take in and around the hometown. These photos are in the same vain, shots from a long walk around the house.

1/400s at f/5.0 ISO 400

Follow this link to view the rest of the photos.

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

After receiving the grade for the class, I emailed my teacher to get some feedback on my work. He told me the grade was based mostly on my final portfolio and he suggested shooting more photos to improve.

So I did just that.

1/320 at f/5.6 ISO 400

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I didn't do as well in my Photo 1 class as I had hoped to. That's not very good for me, especially for this thing I'm going to school for, this thing I'm supposed to be good at. And maybe I could blame it on my instructor, say some mean things about him, and maybe I could blame it on missing one too many class periods, or maybe I could even blame it on overdeveloping my film the entire semester but thinking my ISO button was messed up. Sure, I could blame it on any one of those things. But I'll be the bigger man, I'll take the responsibility for my grade. I didn't really put my heart into it, and frankly, if we're being honest here, I've never had to put my heart into any school work to get an A. That's another story for another day...

1/640s at f/5.6 ISO 400

On a Walk Around the House

On a Walk Around the House, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

9 June, 2011

Big day tomorrow. Big days usually throw my sleep schedule off. It's summer and I've been staying up late and sleeping in. Hard to adjust to normal-people-sleep. Tack jet lag onto that, you got yourself a sleep catastrophe. I won't be able to sleep tonight. Too much pressure to get a good night's sleep. I'm leaving f or Uganda tomorrow. Gonna be a long day. Been before, doesn't seem real 'til you're about to leave. And then you can't sleep. It's 7 o' clock. I probably woke up at 11. Can't remember, busy day, been packing. Uganda in a few short hours. I wish I felt more prepared. Does anyone feel prepared? Can you? I think it's best to be prepared for the unexpected. Is that the same as being unprepared? I hope I didn't forget to pack anything. Shouldn't have waited 'til the day before. I'm not gonna be able to sleep. Need to expend some energy. Maybe I'll take a walk to clear my head...

1/1600s at f/1.8 ISO 400

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

So that's a couple of the things I learned while I was in Uganda.

1/160s at f/1.8 ISO 1600

You can go here to view the rest of my Uganda photos.

Also, extra special video footage...

...from the children of Lingira...

...and a sample of the Ugandan Worship experience.

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

But something as simple as the resources to complete a self portrait can really bring a sense of vitality to a person's life. These children were thrilled just to see the image of their own faces—a simple, but obvious, individual distinction. It was a simple exercise, cheap, not overly profound. You may wonder if it really mattered, if it really had an effect. It does—this small form of self expression is a way to encourage a beautiful people and to let them know they have not been forgotten.

1/40s at f/2.8 ISO 1600

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

It is important for people to express themselves. Perhaps we've forgotten this in the west, we have so many opportunities and avenues to express ourselves, we can hardly imagine a place where you wouldn't be able to. In fact, its so easy to express ourselves, maybe we don't even realize we're doing it! In America, we have so many choices to define who we are—what am I going to wear, how will I cut my hair, what will I study in school, what will my hobbies be. We have jobs that don't exist in other parts of the world. Children have many opportunities growing up in school as well—so many, in fact, that few would be grateful for just a crayon and a piece of paper. The combination of these factors makes us individuals, for better or for worse. We are each set apart from everyone else, and our choices are an outlet for that distinction. When you don't have options it becomes increasingly harder to distinguish yourself. When you can't choose what to wear, or you have few options for school or career, of if you spend most of your time fighting to survive, you become lost in the population. You become just another cog in the machine and you don't really care if you live or die.

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Remembering September 11

I shot and cut together this video for the Missouri State Standard.

I'll talk more about it later on...

Enjoy for now, compatriots!

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

Photography changed the way the news business worked, bringing back images from wars and riots—things that might people might not have believed if they hadn't seen it with their own two eyes. And not all news is bad news. Uganda is an encouraging place. Despite the extreme poverty in this third world country in East Africa, the Ugandans are joyous and grateful people. As Americans, we may look at their lives and wonder what they have to be thankful for, but to the Christ followers of Uganda it is very obvious. God loves them and has provided for them what little they have to make it through the day.

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Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda

Not Forgotten: Journalism and Self Expression in Uganda, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

I told the story of my first trip to Uganda in my COM115 speech class. It was a how-to or procedural speech that incorporated a visual aid. I did “how to survive your trip to Uganda”. It had been a few years since the trip and, as I was looking through the photos and compiling my presentation, it astounded me how the images brought back the memories and how accurately I could tell the story from the pictures. The visual image has the power to speak to people that words cannot. As the old saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. Think about commercials on TV that have few, if any, spoken words, but instead are entirely visual imagery. Advertisers know to best persuade people, show them what they want (and associate with a product).

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The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

fin

I posted some other shots of the dandelion

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The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography, a photo by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

This image was created as a logo for Kinesis Church, a church plant I'm part of in Willard, MO. The pastor, Todd Wallace, used the image of a dandelion germination its seeds as a visual metaphor for the new church. He explains the concept :

A dandelion has the potential for exponential reproduction. However, as long as the seeds remain on the flower, its potential is never realized. When the wind blows, individual seeds are scattered wherever the wind takes them. The individual seeds then grow into dandelions and start the process all over again. One dandelion may produce dozens of new dandelions. In turn, each of the new dandelions produces dozens of dandelions.

In the same way, the church has the potential for rapid multiplication. As long as individual Christians are content to remain safe in their gatherings, the church’s potential will never be realized. But, when the Spirit of God blows freely over a church and individuals are sent out on mission, then one church can become many churches that start many more. This is what Kinesis wants to be about.

I decided to surprise him with a Kinesis original dandelion for his birthday. And this is what he got.

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography

The Dandelion's Mission and Studio Photography a video by TheLouisianaJackhammer on Flickr.

We faced a couple of problems. First, it was difficult to get the sharpness we wanted given the light we had available. More, and brighter, lights would have helped. Flash wasn't really an option since I was shooting at the highest frame-rate I could and would not be able to give the flash ample time to recharge. The image could probably be underexposed as well, there was so much darkness from the background, the light meter probably wanted to let in more light than was needed. Because of the need of a wide aperture to obtain a fast shutter speed and the close proximity of the subject, depth of field was affected—parts of the dandelion and seeds are not in focus.

Overall, it was a pretty good first attempt.

The Dandelin's Mission and Studio Photography

The dandelion setup was pretty easy: We picked a bunch of dandelions and used a clothespin to hold them in place against a shirt that served as black background. A couple work lights were were put on it. The first attempts we tried blowing the seed directly off the dandelion, but was unsuccessful—the force of air pushed the dandelion out of the scene and the seeds flew too fast to be caught sharp with our shutter speed. We realized, because of that process, we had accumulated a pile of seeds below our subject. We dropped those seeds in front of the camera and fired away. They fell slower and we got more seeds in the shot this way. After checking out our catch during post, we found that we did not have a perfect photo. Instead, we composited a couple images in Photoshop to get the desired effect.

Thanks to Kara for the photos and being my assistant!