December 18, 2006
-
I leave Thursday for the rest of the year!
Yesh, it'll be a flight from Chicago to London on Thursday night. Where should I go in France? Paris? Amsterdam? I bought some books, but I'd like your thoughts especially.
I'm not looking forward to doing my taxes for 2006 and figuring out how much I owe for photography and paying sales tax, but I am thinking of resurrecting one of my old websites (arboristdesign.com) to organize all of my entrepreneurial endeavors under one roof. Plus I picked up nicholascrawford.com for $1.99 (get your own). Any recommendations for a business name?
- Pic Popper
- Arborist Design
- Nicholas Crawford _____
- ?
It's pretty common to see me finishing dinner last. It's pretty common for Joe to make washing dishes look studly.
Ah...Christina and Bernie. That's a 4.0 aperture she's using. Joe up in da hood.
Colin demonstrating how our crew is kept at the grinding wheel. Joe demonstrating how his kitchen studliness is fleeting.
Okay, quick photo lesson! The pictures on the inside were taken with the White Balance (WB) set to Auto. The pictures on the outside were using a custom WB setting. All were taken with the 50mm f/1.8 lens with a warming filter (812).Digital cameras have sensors that have to sort out the colors coming at them but have a challenging job because under some lighting, the color white might appear bluish or yellowish or reddish. That's why I used the custom setting and snapped a picture at a blank white card to set the white balance correctly. You can see how much more clear the other pictures are! Sometimes you can use the crazy colors for effect, but it's not something you want to make a habit out of. So bust out your camera manual! Figure out how to adjust your white balance settings and blast away!
I set the white balance on the white card then put the warming filter back on to enhance the skin tones.
These pics are from a month ago (I'm way behind) while I was in Baltimore. Ever been to Inner Harbor? It's a fun town, and Lance makes it even more fun. =)
^^Note the accurate white balance!
A fundraiser for the Tree Care Industry Association's political action committee. Yes, apparently everyone feels they need to have one! I'll take pictures instead... There's also a pic from the student climbing competition and from Baltimore's art museum. Gripping!
For the left two pictures, I used a circular polarizer. The far left one, I rotated it until I could literally see into the windows - it works like wearing polarized sunglasses where the reflective light is removed, allowing you to see into windows or into lakes if you're fishing. Then in the middle one, I rotated it so that the effect disappeared. The right picture, I used a neutral density filter that cuts out 60% of the light coming in, letting you make pictures like what you would find in a car ad. Which my picture is far, far from looking like, but you get the idea. Okay, this is clearly more meaningful to me than anyone else.
Downtown Baltimore and the beautiful view across the harbor.
This Norwegian ship and its crew arrived while we were there.
Have I ever told you about the International Cloud Appreciation Society?
What you get when you use the lens that came with the camera. What you get with a quality telephoto lens (Exhibit A as to why you should spend more on your lenses than on your camera). And the other side of the reflection - the Capitol building in Madison. Andddd, the best camera company in the world. I'll be taking pictures while you Canon users are charging your batteries.
Thank you for all the support with my granddad. He meant the world to all of us, and you're a wonderful community that understands that. Compare and contrast to the "you weren't particularly close to him, right?" that I got at work. You're a much better place to turn. And I'm grateful. - Pic Popper
Comments (22)
Haha, I like the pillow to Santa. This photography stuff is a bit too technical - I just like to point and shoot.
I loooooooved all the photo-talk. I could understand most of it, because this is the second or third time you've had to explain it, it takes me a while on these things
You DO always finish dinner last, you're a slow eater, but it's taken me some time to figure that out. I'll stop nagging you about eating now...maybe.
Last thought, I promise: In one of your family pictures from a few entries ago, I noticed Joe has all of a sudden gotten TALL like you...how tall is he these days? Kids...always growing. I miss him, i do.
Ok, uber-last thought: pleeeeeeeease send me at least just a few pictures before you leave....*quivers chin*
And thus describes the two attitudes about my commentary. If you like it, you can soak it up, if you don't, I try to keep it lively in other regards. Esther - did you miss the first part about me flying to London?
Yes, Joe is getting taller - he broke 5'9" recently.
oh a taller 5'9" than Beth's 5'9" and about equal with Chris's 5'9" which Joe is very proud of and Chris is...not.
sneaky sneaky with the arboristdesign.com link....
hehe. try punching in my whole name.
you think xanga tag is fun? tracy and i occasionally get in the mood for INTERNET tag, and with tracy, it's quite the challenge. xanga, lj, myspace, everymoment.org, facebook...hours of mayhem.
and you can stay off trillian if you want, but we both know you just want more comments. comment junkie. ::shakes fist at you for teaching me to crave comments::
p.s. i think i like fall out boy. occasionally it's ok to embrace the schmaltz. and i just let heather be as bitter as she wants about christian music, because i feel her pain.
i keep trying to make this comment shorter, and i just can't! i can't do it! ::tears self away::
I am sitting at my glass-table-desk, in my new desk chair (no more piano bench), in my bathrobe with a towel on my head, trying to finish a blog entry that keeps getting interrupted!!
if we didn't love comments so much, we could just be on google chat. damn this addiction...
when did you get the new jeep? i assume that means that one of the old ones is in the mail to me.
verrrrrrry funny comment on chris' site
thanks for making one of MY pictures your profile 
i know you have some decent ones of me, but seeing has how IIII don't have them, i can't make them my profile, now can i?
your new entry is up, although it's nothing thrilling. probably all the pressure i had to hurry up and finish it. i'm going to go get dressed now.
i'll send you some
have fun on your trip!
Hehe, thankyou very much.
And yes, writing is A passion of mine- not the primary one (probably more of an outlet), but I love and crave words, description, thought, and imagery. I mainly just sing... and usually songs that only other people have written.
Visiting your site makes me miss photography... a lot...
I'm very sorry to hear about your granddad. But as I was reading your previous entry, it was really uplifting because it seemed like all you could see through this is the good and what God has done. A few of my close friends and I are facing some increasingly hard and confusing circumstances right now, and I am learning that you can never hear enough encouragement... we constantly need to hear of how God makes all these things work together for something more glorious than we could imagine to keep focus when the enemy tries to distract us.
Anyway, sorry about the mini-novel... I just wanted to say thanks for sharing.
<><
Oh, yeah- I almost forgot what I originally wanted to comment about... Europe, yes. Might I suggest Lyon, France? I am a real sucker for Colorado (Mountains, countryside, greenery, etc.), and that's where my friend, who lived in France for 6 months, told me I should go. I personally have never been... just a suggestion.
ooOOoooo, have fun!
Your work is beautiful, Nick. The ones of your family look like a layout for a spread in Home and Garden...."Warm Winters in the MidWest. Draw near to the ones you love this Christmas season."
Anyway, I like them a lot :)
ryc: oh and yeah! Your profile pic is really great with your comments. heheheheh
i'm soo jealous of your trip! in a good way. we did a whirlwind 24 hour trip of the major sites in paris when we lived in germany. i don't think the major sites are overrated. so, it's worth paying the money to go up the eiffel tower. you'll have some incredible shots of the entire city. i'd make the effort to go to the louvre and see the mona lisa. pick part a part of the museum; it's huge! it is quite an experience. (make sure the mona lisa is on display. i heard/read recently they were restoring it.) the entertainers on the back side of the louvre are interesting.
the notre dame is FREE and a great place to visit. right by the seine too. great pictures in front of the cathedral with the flowers and landscape and architecture. the Arc de Triomphe is another must and FREE. you can eat lunch on the street down from it. (great pictures at all these places!)
the basic french things like eating a croissant and coffee at a cafe is fun. doesn't take a big name place to enjoy the cultural experience. weather permitting, sitting outside and people watching is always fun. going to the farmers market, buying fresh flowers, a fresh baugette and cheese, coffee au lait......you two are going to have a blast! (can you tell i miss europe?)
we did a boat toar on the seine (part of our package). if you don't do it, you haven't missed anything. beware of the crazy drivers! it was a shock for us coming from germany where everything is SO orderly. the french don't care much for bicyclists. on a separate trip, we did bring our bikes to strausborg,france (on the border of france/germany) and rode around the city. (we prayed a lot!)
i'd definitely see if there are city trip packages so you don't have to wait in line for tickets. always check on student prices at places (esther can help with her id). don't know if they do that though.
you probably already know this--ALWAYS try to speak a few french words, even "parle vous anglais?" (do you speak english) and you'll go much farther with your help. bonjour, au revoir, merci, du rien, pardon, etc. simple words, but the effort will get your foot in the door. even having your translation book in hand will help make friends.
i always enjoy just looking at the architecture, the people, going into their stores, exploring their "stuff," and the land. it's a beautiful country.
that was long winded, but i hope it helps some. can't wait for your pictures!
ryc?????????????? whhhhaaaa the only site i saw was a big list of like football and basketball games (the first link in this blog) but that was it. im so confused.
Stay out of Amsterdam. I don't want my little sister exposed to all of that mister. How about I nice visit to France? Stop by some vineyards and art galleries and a cafe or two. No seedy joints, pun intended.
I like the bit about "setting white," and now I feels that I can face, with confidence, tackling one of life's great mysteries: how is that every time I try to shoot a great profile pic in the mirror I end up green?
Even though I see you from time to time, thought I'd suggest the spots that I saw in Paris- my personal opinion of Notre Dame - more beautiful on the outside - I am not at fan of the dark Gothic style church. Did you see St. Paul's in London - I loved that! I really enjoyed the boat ride on the Seine - we got off half way through. I didn't have time to go up the Eiffel Tower, but I would do that - make sure to see it when it flashes its lights (for ten minutes of each hour at nite). I think that you'd love the Luxemborg Gardens - I have photos and video of the gorgeous gardens, fountains and statues - you'd love all of the trees and gardens, even in winter. Napolean's Tomb - I saw from the outside only. The Arc, the Champs Elysses, try a grilled cheese sandwich at the cafe near the Eiffel. The Louvre is far more beautiful than I imagined - the architecture and design inside and out is breathtaking. I did see the Mona Lisa in November, but actually loved many more paintings even more, like the one opposite the Mona which was about 30 ft x 20 ft in size ! the Louvre was closed on Tuesdays when I was there so check all of your plans in advance. Make sure to see the miniature Statue of Liberty - I was so glad that my cousin's husband pointed that out to me or I would have missed it. I would love to return to see much more of Paris.
yes, we've been here for a couple of months. i've deleted a lot of my posts.
ryc: The $600, (talked down to about $550) includes 2 tires. The mechanic has done a lot of work for us, so maybe he's being kind.
)
Hey, have a great trip! I've always wanted to go to Paris, ever since I studied French in Jr. Hi and High School. Wherever you go, I'm sure you'll take lots of pix. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your terrific work!