soupwiththefork

I've heard a lot of rhetoric from anti-health care/Tea Party members that they are trying to stop the government from getting bigger and they don't want the government in their lives. Okay, while at one point in America's history there was a place for that, but we've gone far past that, we live in a regulated communities.

But I have a check list for people who don't want the gov't in their life:

Take your child out of public schools You have to teach them yourself

Take your car and give it away, you can't sell it because you'd have to collect tax. If you keep your car, you can't fill the tank with fuel because gas/diesel fuel is regulated.

Also ditch your drivers license because, well do I need to spell that one out?

You really can't live in a house because that house was certified "safe" by a governmental department. Your utilities are nearly all regulated, so you shouldn't have electricity, gas, water.

Get rid of your wireless phone, the carrier is regulated by the FCC, the FEDERAL Communications Commission.

Okay, you got all that? I hope you have your coon-skin and bow ready.

Enjoy!

*Backstory*
As most of you know Soup is attempting to get a degree, slowly but surely. So the other I tried to register for a class, (Photography Theory 256), that requires a Pre-requisite of English 109, annoying but ok. So I decide I can't just take the classes I want, I need to have some boring classes as well. Anyway I try to register for this English 109 class, and gusss what, IT TOO has a Pre-requisite of English 101!!!!

*Rant*
Pre-requisite for level 100 are silly and a bit offensive. 100 classes are for freshmen/entry level and therefore by their very nature, basic. I understand that some people will goto school because they are expected to, not because they WANT too. Well, I want to, I have the drive and desire.

You know what the pre-req for level 100 classes should be? A CAPTCHA*, that's right, one of those things that have two words that look like they're melting. If you can figure that out, congrats, you've met the pre-requisite!!

*

I lol'ed you will too.

It's addicting to watch, no?

Some people EAT doughnuts, (I know wacky but true). Me? I make still lifes then toss the subjects.

Quick background, birthers believe that President Barack Obama is not a US citizen, it's pretty sad, I mean even Ann Coulter thinks they are off their nut.

I've been seeing this image on a few different websites, it's an image for interclick.com it's a spam-spewing website. It's one of those horrid banner ads that covers your entire screen, but when you click on it, it doesn't go anywhere it's a bad URL they embedded. Pretty picture though, and I don't see any copyright on it.

I KNOW IT WAS FAKED!!!

Some of you may have noticed that I've started using a new font on my images. It's a little more playful than the old signature I was using. Here's an example of the old font.

Here is my new font

The new font is called Daniel, it's from It can be found here Daniel Font He's a great guy for allowing this to be distributed for free. Here's his blog: http://goodreasonblog.blogspot.com/

Recently on the Camera Dojo, Podcast David Esquire mentioned a piece of software from Flexibits for managing your Mac's reaction when you plug in your cameras, (and iPhones).

Installation is painless. You download the DMG file from Flexibits website. The application itself is part of your System Preferences application.

After you have the application installed, you are brought to the main screen. It's empty, of course, when you start:

From there it's a simple mater of connecting your cameras and adding attributes to what you want to happen after you've attached the cameras.

Once you've added your cameras and designated the original attributes. It's very easy and intuitive if you want to change what application starts up when your camera is attached, including "Ask what to do"

I played with Flexibit's application for a while and it's very easy to use. The software is version 1.0.1 at the time of this writing. It took a few tries to get the software to recognize the iPhone, (It's an original iPhone non 3G phone), and I wasn't able to get it to recognize my BlackBerry at all. I would like if there were more icons for the cameras so I could tell the difference between a point and shoot and DSLR. There is no Microsoft version of this software currently, and I think that XP/Vista/Windows 7 users would clamor to use such an easy application. This application is a no brainer. I give it ★★★★ out of 5.

Pros: Free, Easy to use, intuitive.
Cons: Not all photo devices were detected easily/at all, Macintosh only.

I haven't had an update in a while, sorry about that. Lets see... I was laid off which sucks, but I'm sure I'll find something, I'm not getting discouraged. I've been able to work on my images. Which makes me happy. Last Saturday I went on a Photo Walk which was part of Scott Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk. I met a lot of interesting people who also share my passion for making great images. Here are couple of them.

Be well!!!

Just got done watching it... Meh, I think it's the lack of foley and the lack of a sound track, just made it kind of flat. I'm okay with them never really showing the witch, but I didn't care about the characters or the plot and kept wanting to tell them to "man up"

michaelmichael my friend, I know you're a movie buff too. Did you see this? What did you think?

I love the Topsites as a webpage, I sometimes need brain candy and they are right there. How to make it as your Home Page? Easy. Click on "Safari" then Preferences, in the Home Page text field type topsites: close Preferences and you're done.

*bows*

We live in a time where the simplest phone can take video, where we can watch 24/7 reality TV. The idea that I am dedicated to still frame photos may seem a little strange to some who know how readily I embrace technology. The answer is simple, photography freezes a moment and as long as you look at the photo that moment is there in front of you.

Example, the Vietnam war. We've all seen the film footage of protesters or the troops in the trenches sweaty and bleeding. But for me, what images stick in my head the most? Kent State

Or the 1968 execution of a Vietkong member

Also the photo of the children running naked from a village that was napalmed.

Yes video has an impact, but I think that there will always be a place for the still photo.

I hate the generic strap that comes with a SLR, I find them uncomfortable and basically free advertisement for the camera manufacturer, I've been trying to find a new strap, and came across the Opteka Professional Wrist Grip Strap, and decided to check it out.

1st thing I notice is that it's not leather, (bonus for me), it attaches to the bottom of the camera through the standard 1/4" tripod mount, and as a nice feature it has a tripod mount on the grip so you don't have to take it off. I took it out and about for a walk and it felt comfortable in my hand. I had to use all of the slack to get the grip snug around my hand so I'm not sure how well it would fit on a smaller man's or woman's hand.

All in all I'm happy with this, will it be my primary strap, grip, not sure... Give me a few weeks.

Be well

I came across this vlog from Fredrick Van Johnson, http://www.twitter.com/frederickvan




I have to say I'm in total agreement with everything he's talking about. The second I set my camera eye on an idea and start scoping it out, I'm changing how it's perceived, I might opt for a lower camera angel than my eyesight, is that manipulating the scene? What if I use an IR process. It's my vision as long as I am looking at the situation through an artists eye, it's mine to manipulate as I see fit... Unless

Unless I'm documenting something, then to be as honest as possible I need to keep as hands off, (within reason), as possible.