Jonnie is loving SF.
This video looks like it’s making the rounds this week—it’s a time-lapse, by Peter Belanger, of what goes into a Macworld cover, including the photography, photoshopping, and design. I always love to see how professionals photograph, especially in the studio setting, so this was certainly a treat for me.
via Ben Kutil »
First off, Ruud Baan is probably the most badass names I’ve ever heard. Secondly, this Dutch photographer has some gorgeous new work, a series of ballet dancers underwater. It’s a beautiful set of images—I’m just dying to see the setup. One of these days, I’m going to get underwater housing for my 5D. And when I do, I’ll still be too afraid to take it underwater.
via NotCot »
This little bad ass is a young Destroy Today. The photo was taken in the National Building Museum, where my dad and I attended one of his flying contests. He builds rubber-band-powered airplanes out of balsa wood and flies them throughout the east coast. I was there because I built one of my own—a Baby Jodel. It flew miserably, but I had the time of my life watching all the pros fly their creations. Here’s a video of one of the launches—at 3:45 you get to see the only time my plane actually flew that day:
By the way, here’s a photo of Destroy Yesterday (dad) circa 1997—it’s just too good not to include:
Annie and Jay took me to Mission Cliffs on Saturday. It was great to be rock climbing again, but my body let me know how long it’s been. The first wall I climbed was no problem, but I felt exhausted for each one after that. I also remembered halfway up that I’m afraid of heights—it’s not a good place to be, especially with holds the size of quarters. What this really means is that I need to hit the gym more—mainly to work on cardio. I get bored running and only like to bike from point A to point B, but if I’m spent after an hour of climbing, something’s not right. We ended up staying for a good four hours—Jay’s new nickname is spider.
Check out the photos taken that day.
If there’s one thing I love about San Francisco, it’s the views—seems like everywhere I look is filled gorgeous architecture, beautiful scenery, or just something unique. This photo is from my hotel room, where the Apple store glows bright next to Virgin records.
There’s always so much activity, but it’s not over-the-top or stressful. Though I did have the chance of walking through some shady neighborhoods, they’re nothing compared to those of Baltimore—it’s actually a bit refreshing, bringing a bit of familiarity to the west.
I think Robert Hodgin, of the Barbarian Group, said it best in his speech at the 2006 Flash in the Can, “If you’re constantly staring at an environment that doesn’t inspire you…I’d highly recommend you find the energy to pick up and move.” Oddly enough, he was referring to his move to San Francisco as well.
For those whole live around Baltimore, this weekend was the ever-popular Artscape—a chance for all the rednecks of Maryland to stumble down the streets of Bolton Hill. To me, it’s an exhausting day of heat and sore feet combined with a 1% chance of finding a free parking spot. I documented the occasion, which can be seen on Flickr.
Getting out of the city is sometimes all you need—seeing the things you don’t get to see very often. Jen’s backyard is frequently visited by deer. This fawn was accompanied by her mother, who was just fine with me being so close. I love when animals understand you just want to capture their beauty. It also gave me a great chance to try out my newish 70-200mm IS lens.
Check out the rest of the shots here.
Jen and I decided to drive home to see her family and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. Make sure you all get out this weekend—I know I’ve needed this.
This week has been berry, berry good to me. My parents surprised me with a new lens as a graduation present. The new addition to the fam is the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS. It’s a gorgeous piece of glass, which is perfect for video because of the stabilizer. Canon currently has a solid rebate for specific lenses, so I thought I’d cash in and treat myself to a graduation present of my own. Following my parents, I ordered the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. Since switching from the 30D (APS-C) to the 5D MKII (full frame), my Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro no longer fit since it’s APS-C-specific. The 100mm is actually the 60mm-equivalent for full frame, so it’s perfect. The photo above is the first shot I took with the 100mm. I’m really looking forward to how portraits look with it. Below are photos of the two lenses:
