Video
November 8, 2009
I finally got around to trying video with the D300s. I usually don’t do much with video (despite having a film degree), but since I have the availability, I figured I should play with it. I did all of this using the autofocus function – I think it probably would have turned out better focusing manually, and exporting it from something other than iMovie (the original files look much cleaner than the edited version). Anyone else tried this out? Tips? This is going to take some experimenting, I think.
I can’t embed the file here, so if you’re looking for something to do for the next 58 seconds, check it out on Facebook
Costa Rica
November 6, 2009
In 2004, I won a scholarship through PASSHE (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education). I spent some time studying at Slippery Rock (watching Flash cartoons) and some time in Costa Rica. It occurred to me at some point that these photos never really made it onto the internets. Partly because they’re badly scanned – I remember doing them in a photo lab at Cal, between classes, and I couldn’t seem to get the scanner bed clean before I did them. Also, I didn’t have Facebook and Twitter and what have you then, and it was just a much bigger pain to get them posted somewhere. I shot all of these with my dad’s 35mm Minolta.
The view from our roof, at the hotel we stayed at our first night in San Jose.



Jes, kindly giving some perspective on how huge these things are.

Our professor, haggling.



I turned this in for my photo class, and was accused of scanning a postcard.

This lady was dressed as a lizard. Thanks to the language barrier, I have no idea why.


We woke up one day, somewhere in the area of 5:30 in the morning, to hike up this volcano. Supposedly, the fog is so thick most of the time, that people can stay for weeks and never see the thing. We hiked up, and just as we got to the top, bam.

The same day, we went horseback riding and swam under a waterfall. All before noon!


I have never been rained on like I got rained on in Costa Rica.



We had to wear these boots so that we wouldn’t get bitten by Bullet Ants. The rainforest has some pretty crazy stuff in it, but these buggers are terrifying.


Welcome to Nicaragua! According to my passport, I was never there (the guy that was supposed to stamp them was… out?)

Something happened to this roll of film, and this is the only one of the sloth that turned out. The slowness isn’t exaggerated a bit, by the way. One of the girls said she’d seen it, and I should go get a picture. I said “Eh, I’ll get it after dinner”.



Yes, this is exactly what it looks like. An accident waiting to happen.


If I’ve ever told you about Costa Rica, you’ve heard about Shantytown. This is it. Now, this might seem like a perfectly nice place to spend the night, but it looks a little bit different when it’s raining sideways into the walls (and by walls, I mean mosquito netting), and you’re trying to sleep in a hammock.

We were actually supposed to go to these guys’ village, but it rained so badly that the village flooded. They were nice enough to come out to us.

This is from Limon. Since they were having a garbage strike at the time, and it was 100 degrees, most of my shots are from my hotel window.

If you want to see the whole set (oh yes, there are more), they’re on the Facebook page.
Outtakes
November 5, 2009
I just started addressing our Christmas cards for this year, and figured I’d share a few shots that didn’t exactly make the cut. Keeping Pete’s attention is oh so difficult…
Especially when The Cheat is around.


As for the one that did make it, well, you’ll just have to wait a bit for that.
Chloe | Dog Photographer
November 1, 2009
You might remember the pet photo contest for Banfield Charitable Trust. Well, I finally got to photograph the winner! This is Chloe:

We got to meet up at a park in Washington, where she gets to go every Sunday to meet up with her dog friends. Lucky girl!

She was really into the leaves




I had such a good time hanging out with Chloe and her family, and got to help out a good cause in the process. As always, a percentage of all proceeds for pet photography goes to our local SPCA. So if you entered and didn’t win, you can still schedule a session, and help a local shelter.
See more photos of Chloe, and become a fan on Facebook.
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2009
