I missed work Monday because I was home in bed, doped up, nursing my ailing knee. My loving youngest brother, Tony, wrote the following on the April 7th square of Custom Box Service's vacation calendar: "J.D. is to old and fat to play soccer." (Spelling error his, not mine — I make enough of my own that I don't need his accredited to me.) sigh I am too old and fat to play soccer, and it makes me sad.

Kris and I saw Spirited Away at the beginning of November, and at the time I thought the movie was okay, great in parts, but couldn't understand all the fuss. Well. Since then, the film has burrowed into my brain and tangled itself in my thoughts. It won't let go. I've wanted to see it again ever since, but haven't made the time to do so.

Spirited Away is still in theaters; in fact, after the Oscars, it's playing to a wider audience than ever before — it had made something like $6 million during about six months of release before the Oscars, and it made $1.25 million the week after it was released to more screens — outstanding!

I don't know if I'll see it in the theater again (though I'd like to), but the DVD comes out next week. The Tuesday morning Costco trip can't come soon enough. (I'm so damn acquisitive: buy buy buy!)

I promised to refrain from photography talk but once a week, but…

I'm taking Warren Mitchell's Beyond the Basics class again this term. The class has a different feel from the winter; the people are completely different. Our first assignment was to photograph flowers, and a few of my photographs for this project were the body of yesterday's entry.

I was disappointed with the technical aspects of my photographs last week. Some of compositions were technically demanding (backlit shots, shots with a wide range of contrast, shots with colors that bled, etc.), and I failed nearly every time. But I learned from each mistake. I also ended buying a grey card ($3.40) and a graduated neutral density filter ($34.00), two items that will help cope with these challenges in the future.

Though my shots failed technically, I feel that most of them had good composition. I spent a lot of time working on my composition, looking through the viewfinder, attempting to frame every photograph just so. I was making photographs. The results pleased me. Most of the compositions, while still amateurish, show thought and careful planning. I need to continue this trend while also improving the technical aspect of my photographs.

 

This week our assignment is "on the edge": we're to experiment with the placement of our subjects, placing them near the edge of the frame, moving them around the frame, etc. Warren being Warren, he couldn't help but revise the assignment to include making some photos of flowering dogwood and of trillium. The experimental nature of the assignment is exciting; I've already sketched out a number of possible shots. I just walked outside to scrutinize the light on the side of the warehouse, and think there's a good photograph there.

Aside from the Thursday night class with Warren, I'm also taking a Saturday morning class (the f-stops here: groan) from David Falconer. David's style is completely different from Warren's. They're both great photographers, but their approaches are dissimilar.

Warren swears by the tripod. Nearly every photograph he ever makes is produced from the tripod. He believes in having the right equipment for the job, and is willing to spend a lot of money to be sure he has what he needs. Warren loves landscapes and nature shots; most of his work is of trees and flowers and seashores and mountains. He rarely photographs people.

David believes a tripod is essential, but he believes there are times when it just isn't practical. He, too, likes to have certain pieces of equipment for a job, but he's not afraid to improvise, and he especially is eager to suggest cost-effective alternatives to professional equipment. (Can't afford $100 for a nice reflector? Make your own from corrugated cardboard and aluminum foil!) David prefers to photograph people and pets, and subjects that emphasize the human side of life. He makes a lot of "staged candids". David uses his warm, engaging personality and a trunk full of props to create great photographs of people in their own element.

The assignment for David's class this week is to photograph either umbrellas or bandages. Odd, yes, and I don't think I'm following through exactly as he had in mind — I'm taking a more abstract path toward umbrella photography, while I think he meant for us to actually photograph people with umbrellas.

I've come to realize that I love abstract photography, graphic images with little purpose other than to display line and form and color. I haven't had a chance to indulge this preference, though, and so I'm taking advantage of the fact that the umbrella assignment can be interpreted in this fashion to create some more abstract images.

Though Warren and David have different styles, I look forward to learning from both instructors.

I've been meaning to participate in the Photo Friday for some time now, but hadn't got around to it until yesterday. I'll try to add the Photo Friday goal to my weekly list of photography subjects. My goal is to produce an image worthy of their "noteworthy" section. This weeks assignment is skin. Hmm…

On this day at foldedspace.org

2005 — Weekend at Rosings Park   We had a pleasant weekend at Rosings Park. I have cat photos to prove it.

2002 — Hypertext   A search for on-line SQL resources spawns a hyperlinked adventure through the realms of genius.

2001 — Toward a Pastoral Lifestyle   Jeremy and Jenn and Andrew mock me for my desire for a so-called pastoral lifestyle. They believe that it isn't achievable. But I know that it is. I want to return to a life of relaxation and happiness.