Happy Budai

Photo project themes are an organic, dynamic entity. They evolve as a photographer’s taste and eye and life change over days and months and years. You can kinda maybe sorta direct the flow of them but you end up with something Not Quite Right.

  <img src="_img.jpg" alt="">

Budai is traditionally depicted as a fat, bald man wearing a robe and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads. He carries his few possessions in a cloth sack, being poor but content. His figure appears throughout Chinese culture as a representation of contentment.

According to Chinese history, Budai was an eccentric Chan monk (Chinese: 禅; pinyin: chán) who lived in China during the Later Liang (907–923). He was a native of Zhejiang and his Buddhist name was Qieci (Chinese: 契此; pinyin: qiècǐ; literally: “Promise this”).

Via wikipedia

  <img src="_img.jpg" alt="">

He was considered a man of good and loving character.

Nifty Houses (oh and also I’m learning Lightroom)

Cottage quaint

   <img src="_img.jpg" alt=" Modern chic ">  Modern chic  

I went to brunch with Barista Powers this past Sunday. As is my jam, I got up early and opted to go to the cafe attached to Metcalf’s 4 hours before brunch.

I mean, I’d been up for an hour, so.. yeah.

Our goal was to trade photo editing secrets. He wanted to steal my sweet golden shimmer (not that) and I wanted to consume his fabulous Lightroom thinkmeats. I’ve been meaning to convert to Lightroom since Apple dropped support for Aperture but the mental battlement it is to start anew, including the “what the shit do I do with the libraries?”, is kind of intimidating. Having someone walk me through the application as well as figure out how to recreate my visuals breaks down that wall.

So I been playing around with All The Sliders and I think I can get the split toning pretty well. The glow represented in these photos came via a preset subsequently tweaked to get the tone. As much as I think it worked here, presets aren’t consistent so I have to figure out the glow piece that doesn’t depend on all the preset junk.

Hopefully switching to Lightroom will help with some depth as well since I can edit the RAW files rather than the JPGs.

Also: cross processing works way better when I have full color control. Less color overlay look and more direct tonal range color shifting which is what cross processing actually is.

The two houses were in the neighborhood on the other side of Midvale from Hilldale. Two very different styles, both of which I find raher appealing.

   <img src="_Metcalf+Cafe+-+faceless.jpg" alt=" Faceless Cafe ">  Faceless Cafe  

PS: We went to The Great Dane for brunch.

If you’ve never been, you should.
SHOULD
(do it now!)

I broke my phone

You can try to negotiate with gravity but it’s an asshole and you will lose.
Alyska teching a class.

Amazingly, after 9 years of iPhones, this is my first shattered screen. Having dropped numerous phones before, one time on a stone tile floor, I assume this is my tech karma.

Veins

Such is the fate of modern technology. And such is the false confidence in modern technology: it feels more permanent than stuff before though it rarely is.

Compare to the following:

  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">




  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">




  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">




  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">




  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">




  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">

This was going to be an old tech versus new tech conversation. (I mean, paper created in China in 150 AD is still around. I probably only have first first iPhone because Apple hadn’t a recycle/repurchase program yet.) But really, there are benefits and draw backs to everything.

Tech evolves, file formats change, phones break. Paper is static, doesn’t have batteries, doesn’t back up to the cloud (uness you can throw reaaaaaaalllllly faaaaaaaarrr).

In short, I’m impressed this is my first busted phone and cats do’t appreciate when you chuck notebooks around the house.

Also: I’m lucky that I am able to afford getting this thing repaired.

This is Courtney

I used to be more bashful about portraits, even with friends. Of late, I am more strongly compelled by my desire, if not need, to capture an excellent shot when the opportunity presents. The light yesterday coming through the windows at this coffee shop was magnificent.

This is Courtney. She is a wonderful human being both inside and out. She would, of course, vehemently laugh it off.

   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" What to say next? ">  What to say next?  

Thinking that doesn’t hide the light in her eyes.

She, like most people, doesn’t like having a camera trained on her. She, like many, thinks she isn’t a particularly attractive person.

She, like most people, is wrong.

   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" I can give you cherubic and elfin. ">  I can give you cherubic and elfin.  

Until you mention that she is blushing.

   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" &nbsp;Man, don't point out my cheeks ">  &nbsp;Man, don't point out my cheeks  




   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" What are you doing to me ">  What are you doing to me  

At which point the light bubbles over in to endearing and delighted laughter. Which always gives way to reluctant, and a little dubious, amusement.

   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" You say these things....  ">  You say these things....

A Bow Tie With A Mission

After the(successful) morning at Social Security, Alyska and I went down town to study, wander, and Ingress. I had my camera in tow. I forget just how magnificent the Capitol can be.

   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" This man takes no shit ">  This man takes no shit  

Not enough bow ties in the world.

   <img src="_image.jpg" alt=" Medium Format with Tree Frame ">  Medium Format with Tree Frame  

There was a dude with a medium format, wet plate set up. He had to calculate and time the exposure for each plate.

  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">

A grey day on campus.

Took my studies downtown today as an excuse to walk around. It was very grey and very few people were out.

Dreary and cold and grey.

  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">




  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">

But the flowers are blooming and there’s hope for spring.

  <img src="_image.jpg" alt="">