-3 For Silver Interview- Long Over Due

Pentax K-5

Recently got a new camera. The Pentax K-5. I really like this camera. Here is a short review of the Pentax K-5 It's so much better than the K-X. I was able to get it only because of my tax return. That may give you an idea of how much it cost at the time i got it. Prices are always dropping on cameras though. My K-X that i bought for $700 bucks is only worth about $300 after two years. oh well.

Emergency kitty help!

On Sunday March 24th Blue was hit by a car. The injuries he sustained were a broken ball joint on his hip, a broken femur on the other back leg, and many lacerations. Once again we have a hit and run victim to care for. We have paid for what we could for the worst part of the surgery but one of his legs is still in need of repair. The surgery for the second leg that is broken above the right knee needs to be pinned back together. The estimated cost of this surgery is beyond our means. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. The surgery is estimated to cost around $800. Please donate what you can if you can.

Final Photos From My 3rd Photo Project Including Artist Statement

Artist Statement

      We all view the world in our walks of life in a hurry while the world speeds by us in a flurry. We are bombarded with sensory from every angle from the moment we wake until we sleep and seldom get the time to notice the little things.

     As a photographer I believe in taking in my surroundings and pulling from it the easily overlooked pieces of beauty seldom seen and often overlooked. I submerge myself into my surroundings and let them saturate my memories. Then I pick them apart and search for my definition of fascination. Something there in the corner of my eye that tried to elude notice must not escape. You see, the faster you move the more fleeting an instant becomes and oh so much more arduous to ensnare. In order to capture a moment in time you must be able to capture something that does not want to be caught. Time halts for nobody but the photographer that is mindfully ready and equipped with a trap specifically designed to apprehend the moment as it passes at the speed of light.

     My choice of subject for this project was sharp edges and corners. The very idea that everything has an edge intrigues me. Most of these edges are hard angled and abrupt when it comes to man made objects but nature tends to have a more “natural” way of doing these things. I focused on the lines that we as people draw with such stark contrast when we create. It was no surprise to find that I was overwhelmed with the amount of acute boundaries we put fourth in our lives. As humans we learn to understand that all things end. We all live with it and accept it as fact. We know it so well that we find ourselves obsessed with the concept to the point of putting it into everything we design. ...And why wouldn't we? It is, in the end, the very same way we were designed.  

PCC Photography Zine Submissions

FOCUSED_PCC ZINE

This is a print and web zine that PCC puts out every year with work from student photographers.
As a photography student at PCC we can choose 5 photos that we have taken over the time that we have been in photography class/classes at PCC. They then review all of them and decide who makes the cut.
It took me some time to paw through the hundreds of photos that i have taken over the course of two photography classes but i have found the 5 that i have chosen to submit.
Here are the 5 that i have chosen for submission.

Wish me luck.

What's In A Dream 

     Our dreams are abstract and fleeting to the degree of a fog lifting in the morning sun. Somewhere on the tip of our subconscious and our waking life sits these elusive memories of images so surreal, vague, and profound that our minds can not seem to grasp them. These dreams portray countless amounts of information through-out our REM state during sleep that most of us can only remember little glimpses of. If only we could capture and recreate just a hint of this dream world, what would it look like? If we were to look for images that remotely provoke reminders of this state of consciousness, we would look towards Jerry Uelsmann.

     Jerry Uelsmann is a contemporary photographer that uses composites of several photos to obtain dream-like imagery in black and white. The technique that he uses to achieve his composite images is completely done with a dark room and multiple negatives. Uelsmann pulls from hundreds of negatives that he has photographed and kept throughout his career as a photographer to put together his finished images.

     Uelsmann got interested in photography at the age of 14 while attending public school in 1948(Jerry Uelsmann). From an interview with Shutterbug, Uelsmann speaks of starting photography as a part time wedding photographer in high school and how photography was viewed as more of a hobby saying “Photography as art had just not received a lot of acceptance” He also states in the same interview that when he first started his composites as a graduate student that “...people questioned if my work was really even photography” saying such things as, “It's very, very interesting, but it's not photography”(Master Interview; Jerry Uelsmann | Shutterbug). From 1955 to 1960 he attended college at Rochesters Institute of Technology earning a B.F.A. and an M.A., then finally a master degree in fine arts from the University of Indiana (Jerry Uelsmann). He then went on to become a teacher for photography at the University of Forida in 1960. He has now since retired. “Uelsmann’s work has been exhibited in more than 100 individual shows in the United States and abroad over the past thirty years”(BIOGRAPHY). He has also been published in hundreds of articles, books, and magazines. One of these publications is Uelsmann, Process and Perception.

     This book contains images from a small portfolio of his works from 1980-1985, none of which are titled, only dated. In the first chapter in this book called “Techniques” Uelsmann describes his process when approaching his works and refers to his darkroom “as a visual research laboratory”. He uses upwards to eight enlargers to set up a sort of one man factory and will put out around 150 finished images in one setting. He then comes away with roughly fifteen that he feels satisfied enough with to keep (Uelsmann).

    In many ways this process is a lot like our dreams, beings that in one night you may have several dreams, forgetting most of them and only being able to remember minor fleeting impressions of what they were when you wake. So, in this sense, the dreams you forget are the ones he nonchalantly tosses away and the dreams you recall are the ones he ends up keeping and sharing with the world. What's in a dream? I am more than certain Jerry Uelsmann would like to show you.

Works Cited

"Jerry Uelsmann." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

"BIOGRAPHY."Jerry Uelsmann : About. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Uelsmann, Jerry, and John Michael Ames. Uelsmann: Process and Perception : Photographs and Commentary. Gainesville: Universityes of Florida, 1985. Print.

"Master Interview; Jerry Uelsmann | Shutterbug."Master Interview; Jerry Uelsmann | Shutterbug. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

INTERVENE

Here is a link to Time Magazine: Light Box
LIGHT BOX
I was looking at an article on here this morning that was a perspective about the ethical place of a photographer. The question was if a photographer should intervene when they are witnesses to violence. Look Here INTERVENE
My personal opinion on this matter is a simple one. If you don't have the means or training on how to deal with situations that have elevated to violence DO NOT intervene or you will most likely also become a victim.
You may one day find yourself in a situation where something of this nature happens around you and your lens may become the best weapon that you have.
Be safe. Be invisible.

A couple that i liked from photography class, CopyCat assignment.

These are done for an assignment that i had for my digital photography class at PCC. It was a lame attempt at trying to mimic are truly amazing photographer and artist of his craft, Jerry Uelsmann.
Mind you everything i did was with digital and Photoshop. Jerry accomplishes this by the means of darkroom only. Click his name and pay homage to the master.

HDR Toning If you have a fancy camera you may have the ability to take an HDR photo with a setting included but it isn't needed because you can do this manually on your own. HDR, stands for High Dynamic Range. In short, the camera takes three images of the same shot (tripod most likely needed) with each shot being bracketed, one normal, one +1, and the other -1, to make 3 EV steps and then merges them with software on your camera. This method can be achieved manually also by taking the shots bracketed and then merging them in Photoshop with their cool little HDR software later. It's a nifty little effect and always leaves people scratching their heads, wondering, "how did you do that?" Well, since we all have digital cameras that can take endless amounts of photos i figure, what's stopping you from trying?

This is several steps using Photoshop6. Each step i brought out more range of the HDR photo trying to achieve a surreal, almost cartoon, kind of look.

This is the completed photo. Here is a link to a short YouTube tutorial on the subject. YouTube Tutorial for Photoshop

Brenizer Method
Today i would like to bring to your attention a photography method only able to be achieved because of modern technology. It's called the Brenizer Method.
What this technique makes possible with our cameras is shallow depth of field but with a wider field of view using multiple images stitched together in Photoshop. Essentially it is a panorama but the background will be out of focus because of the shallow depth of field.
1) With a wide aperture set, take multiple pictures of your subject/s starting from the center and moving outward.

Here i used a teddy bear as my subject just to keep it simple. I don't have the time to screen capture the whole process of stitching images in Photoshop so at the end of this post i will have a YouTube video tutorial link available for you to view.
2) Stitch the photos in Photoshop and adjust your image to your liking. The photomerge in Photoshop is found under, File>Automate>Photomerge.

At first glance it doesn't look like much has changed but this image would not have been possible without this technique. Follow this link to view a short photoshop tutorial on the subject if you like what you see.
BRENIZER METHOD TUTORIAL

All The Things...

I have decided to start making this blog about more than just Nostalgia (our band) and start to just make it about everything i do also.
I have so many things that i have been doing that i would like to share. Painting, drawing, music, and photography are some of these things that i would like to start to share on Light Year Mind Theory.
Keep your eyes peeled and your ears pealed.

It's been quite a while since we have posted on this blog. I will try to be more on top of it in the future. Blogs have to become a habit to be part of your normal rotation of the internet. Nostalgia has been writing more music and should have some new ones by the next show we play. We will be playing for Mini Bike Winter. Details soon.

Nothing

Nothing, Happy Now!

2nd Annual 2piece Showcase DUALITY

This will be the 2nd DUALITY that I have put together. This year it lands a day after my 35th birthday so i will double it up as my birthday party.
PlanB hosted it last year also. I hope that they will continue to work with me on this showcase.
An edit to the show that the flier does not represent is that Lasers for Eyes will not be performing. Instead my good friends from ForkBomb will be dropping into the spot.
This showcase has become something that i look forward to and plan on doing every year. I really like seeing and hearing the different types of music that come together in 2piece form. The 2piece band has a simplicity to it. Sometimes raw, driven, epic, noisy, simple, direct, and to the point music come from just 2 people and their instruments of choice. This is what the showcase is made to spotlight. If i have ever asked you to go to anything else, this would be the one i wouldn't want you to miss.

This is next.

Lots of shows lately.

It seems these things are back to back lately. Everyone is coming in from the nice summer days and out of the rain of Portland winters. The good thing about that is it brings the people together, indoors, for shows. The "scene" picks up a bit and bands like us get drawn into it. It gives us a chance to roll out new material, equipment, and test the boundaries again. Details for this show are a little hazy but we jumped on last minute. I may be piggy backing on the sound for Plan B this night and in the future maybe pulling a few nights running it here and there. I sure hope so. It would be nice change to do something i enjoy and believe i am good at for work.

Last nights show @ the Megaton House

Last night was the first outing with the, "new" equipment to play shows. Everything seemed to be going fine and then equipment failure. The 2x15" cabinet i have wasn't able to handle the volume and i burned up those speakers. It seems that it should have been able to handle it. I was driving them with the Phase Linear 700b and that claims to be 350 watts a channel. The cabinet was 400 watts @ 8ohms but notice i say was. I must now replace the burned speakers. This time to be certain that it can handle it i will double the wattage up to 800w @ 8ohms. This should make certain that this never happens again.
For those of you who caught us, sorry for the technical problems and i hope you enjoyed the set anyway.

Amp cabinet done.

Fans installed, preamp, and Phase Linear 700B
Pics of front and back. It isn't pretty until you hear it.

Phase Linear 700B

Completely rebuilt by a good man named Edward Blackwood. Here is his site.
http://web.archive.org/web/20071208055327rn_1/hometown.aol.com/PhaseTek/

The 700b had been left to me from someone years ago and has always been somewhat of a pipe dream to me. I had found someone to work on it here in portland and they couldn't fix it so i started searching the interwebs about this heavy thing. That's how i found Edward. Ed was an easy going fellow, amp smarts to the point of making your head spin kinda guy. All of our transactions were via email and telephone conversations. The great thing about this whole thing is that he lived close. Mailing this 65lb amp wasn't going to be cheap. I was in no hurry for this thing to be rebuilt because i had no idea if it could be done.
So i sent it to him. Several weeks later and about $300 in it arrived on my doorstep looking almost bran new. WTF! Amazing.
I tested it right away on a the 2x15, 400w, 8ohm cabinet right away. Loud, clear, and i was astonished.
If you ever come across any old Phase Linear stuff really consider investing in it. If it doesn't work, scrape some money together and talk to Ed. He is awesome.

Here is a copy of the Wikipedia article. It gives a little history.


Phase Linear was an audio equipment manufacturer founded by Bob Carver in 1970. While primarily known as a power amplifier company it also produced several innovative preamplifers, tuners and the Andromeda loudspeaker.

History
Its first location was a small building at 405 Howell Way in Edmonds, Washington. The first amplifier produced was the Phase Linear 700. With 350 watts per channel it soon became the standard amplifier used in recording studios, sound reinforcement companies, professional musicians and audiophiles. It had a retail price of $749.00, or a little more than a dollar a watt. The design was notable for its brushed aluminum front panel and large dual VU meters, and was made possible by the new high-power transistors designed for the high voltages of auto electronic ignitions. That original amp was replaced by the 700B and the 700 II. All of those designs were made to have extra power to run loudly the relatively inefficient sealed-box speakers like the Acoustic Research AR3/AR3a. The next product was the Phase Linear 4000 Series Auto-correlation Pre-Amplifier introduced in 1973 and manufactured through 1978. It retailed for $700.00 at the end of its life. It was a design collaboration by Bob Carver and Bill Skinner. The second amplifier released was the Phase Linear 400 with 200 watts per channel. It shared the same distinctive brushed aluminum, dual VU meters front panel style as the 700. It retailed for just under $500[1].

The company was known for the most powerful audio amplifiers of the era led by the Phase Linear D-500 introduced in 1978. It was a stereo power amplifier delivering 505 watts of clean (typically < 0.1% total harmonic distortion over 20 Hz–20 kHz) RMS power per channel. It had a retail price of $1395.

The company would later be bought by Pioneer Electronics and Bob Carver would go on to found Carver Corporation in 1979. Pioneer added a high end cassette-tape deck designed in house and CD players designed by Kyocera to the Phase Linear line. But by that time the company was in decline due to the increasing cost of research and development, and the departure of founder Carver. In the 1980s Phase Linear was sold by Pioneer to Recoton and is currently only producing car audio equipment. Bob Carver later switched from Carver to Sunfire taking the design and the price-tags with him.

There continues to be a loyal following of some of the older products. Many electronic parts are still available for repairs. Mechanical parts such as switches, meters and hardware are scarce.

The next show that Nostalgia is playing.

I have been working on rounding out the sound with some "new" equipment that is actually kinda old. An amp that was made the year i was born, 1975, called a Phase Linear 700b. Using it to drive one 2x15 400w, and a 4x12 600w cabinets. This show should be the first time out with this set up. I will post pictures of the "
new" set up from the show. It's kinda insane and loud as all hell bastard!