El Dave Photography

An interesting thing has been happening here in Chicago. Not only are the days growing longer, the sky seems to radiate actual heat. This combination has had a curious effect on the local fauna; the shaggy little squirrels are playing outside my window and birds are... singing?

I knew something was up when Mega Terra Khan emerged from his glacial cavern and breathed his nuclear breath over the snow, melting it in huge swaths. Well, huge for him anyway. It's only a few inches across.

This is my second attempt at honest to goodness TTV photography. My previous flirtations with it were limited to overlaying textures in Photoshop, and, while fun to do, weren't really as satisfying as actually grabbing my little Kodak Brownie Starflex (Link goes to John Kratz's excellent camera. I've yet to photograph mine) and looking through the viewfinder.

As far as setup goes, you're looking at it. Put Mega Terra Khan out in the grass (We have grass!), line up the Starflex, and aim my DSLR through the viewfinder. Click.

(Hey, is that my camera strap's reflection?)

Be good,
-Dave

Know when to listen
Know what to listen for

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I've noticed that my photos tend to follow a few set patterns, stylistically. I've even been told that I have a "signature" and that my photos can be recognized at thumbnail size. While I recognize that kind of visibility can only be a good thing for a photographer (especially if you someday hope to make any money at it), there is a part of me that resents it, even if only a little.

When I'm stuck for inspiration, I tend to surf either Flickr or DeviantArt. Both sites are great but for very different reasons. I've found Flickr to be the best place for technical brilliance. From framing to exposure times, Flickr makes me a more proficient photographer. I learned the rules there. I regularly converse with several amazing people who have taught me so much. With DeviantArt, however, the rules are thrown out. Colors, patterns, textures, everything goes into the final image. And I think that is a very important distinction to make. Flickr has taught me how to take good photos, but DeviantArt is teaching me how to take that photo and play with it; to not feel constrained by what I see through the viewfinder.

While today's shot may simply be some color tweaks, a little texture, and an overlay for mood, it's the first timid steps into something bigger and better for me.

IG-88 is an Assassin Droid in the Star Wars universe and is produced by Hasbro.

Be good,
-Dave

You know why
They called and just let it ring

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Last week I briefly mentioned having a demo game of Monsterpocalypse. Published by Privateer Press, the point of the game is to have your giant monster completely wreck your friend's giant monster. The city you're crushing is just an afterthought, as are the people living there.

The game was taught by my buddy Ryan, who assembled a force of Lords of Chtul led by Cthugrosh backed up by a bunch of little things I would rather have not faced.



I picked the Terrasaurs because they were chubby and made me laugh. I ran Terra Khan and a couple other chubby little dinosaurs.



When the dust finally settled, Terra Khan stood over the busted husk of Cthugrosh.

While I had a good time and REALLY like the models, I don't think I'll be playing the game beyond this demo. There were a few rules mechanics that kept pulling me away from what I really wanted to do, which is punch giant monsters and breathe nuclear fire on unsuspecting cities.

It wasn't a total loss, however. I spent the next hour taking pictures of Ryan's models (and made a stop at ebay to order a few monsters for myself). Without further adieu, here are just a small sampling of the awesome looking figures:







Be good,
-Dave

I strike a match, strike a match, cook it up!

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“If you rest, you rust.”
-Helen Hayes

After a much longer than expected hiatus, we're back to photography and blogging. There was a big life change after Christmas that led to me moving to a new place and all the stress and anxiety that comes with getting the Flying Dave Ranch settled and getting back into the photo groove.

I've been trying for over a month to get the mojo back, with some spectacular failures that thankfully you guys will never see and my CF card is glad to be rid of. What helped me break through was getting to try out Monsterpocalypse and taking pictures of some of the models for the game.



With one success under my belt, I felt confident enough to pick up a few figures, throw open the back door, get down in the dirt, and TAKE SOME PICTURES. Then I went back inside because it was 22 degrees and I wasn't wearing a coat (or shoes).

In Photoshop, I cropped this one down to size, colored in the green Gauss Flayer and the green eyes, then ran the whole thing through a little cross-processing. I don't remember which processing I used, but I promise to take better notes in the future.

I promise? That seems a little strong... How about, I will try to take notes at all?

Yeah, that sounds juuuuust right.

Be good,
-Dave

There's nothing to save I know
You live till you die

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And with that, I would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I will be taking a short vacation from blogging here and will be resuming after my birthday.

See you in the future!

Be good,
-Dave

You know, I know
Everybody everyone let's go

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Brawn: Do you have any better ideas, or is your intelligence as fleeting as your courage?
Perceptor: As a matter of fact, I do: get inside Megatron and disconnect the heart of Cybertron.
Brawn: Are you defective? How're we gonna do that?
Perceptor: Simple: we use my trans-mat reduction beam to shrink down to microscopic size. Then, we crawl into Megatron and rip the blasted heart out!
Optimus Prime: What do you think of his intelligence now, Brawn?

Perceptor is a Transformers Autobot, recently re-issued and released by Hasbro, exclusively for Toys R Us.

As I've said before, I grew up mainly watching Robotech, but a few select Transformers found their way into my little hands. Perceptor was one of them and is the primary reason why I'm fascinated by microscopes to this day.

I "<3" him.

Be good,
-Dave

The walls are closing in again, oh well
I seen some thing I thought I never saw

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I listen to a lot of podcasts. A lot. My podcast to music ratio is something like 4 hours for every 1 hour of music. Somewhere in that daily listening is usually a podcast produced by a gentleman named Anim5 (not his real name?), the host of The Gutter Skypes (recorded actual-play sessions of tabletop RPGs using Skype) and International Detective Dragons from Outer Space (forgive my gross oversimplification, but philosophy for geeks).

Not only does he produce both excellent podcasts, but he makes things as well, which brings me to today's topic: Solid Symbols.

From the page:
"Here you will find an ever-growing collection of original sculpted pieces created for proud display on your study wall, above your door or in your workspace.

What all of these works have in common is the theme of antiquity.
An aura of things ancient.

They are instantly familiar and recognizable symbols of something in the human experience that transcends borders and centuries.

Solid Symbols represent classic ideas or display slices of history.
All of them are tangible emblems of human cultural imagination.

Also, you may be surprised to find that they are all made in the United States, and are the most affordable collectible castings you are likely to discover online or anywhere else."

So, right there, I'm hooked. For only $10 there was no reason for me not to order one, so I quickly put the Micro Skeleton into my shopping cart, paid, and waited in eager anticipation. When it arrived, I wanted to take a thank you photo of my Solid Symbol and send it to Anim.

The photo:


His incredibly generous response.mp3

I am very glad to have both ordered a Solid Symbol and "met" Anim5. Which one should I order next? I'm thinking the trilobite...

As a follow up, I thought maybe I should take one more picture:


Be good,
-Dave

Leap of faith, do you doubt?
Cut you in, I just cut you out

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