Absolute Tyranny Over These Photographs
Don't bring your camera to capture your visit to "The Charters of Freedom" at the National Archive Building Rotunda. Recently, the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) has banned photography and videography for personal use at the exhibits of the National Archives Experience (NAE), which include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Now don't worry if you would like to take home a copy of the documents because the NARA has made all of them available on its site so everyone can have a copy. But, this overlooks the fact that most people take their pictures in front of the documents to document their visit to some of the most important documents in our country's history. The NARA states that it seeks "to ensure the necessary protection for the documents from the cumulative effects of photographic flash and to enhance the overall visitor experience."<1> Seems like it would be hard to argue with that line of reasoning, but I will.
787 First Flight and Mob Mentality
I know I'm about a week behind on this post as far as coverage of the first flight of The Boeing Company's 787, but I'm sure everyone has read enough and seen enough pictures of it already. I want to talk about the crowd and the fun of going to see the first flight. I had some what of a vested interest in seeing this plane fly because I have been working on parts for it for the better part of the last four years. I had fun watching it fly. My wife, Sherri, also came with me and she had fun, too, despite not being into aerospace. So what is it that can make watching an empty airplane take off in the cold drizzle so much fun? For me, it could easily have been that I am an aerospace nerd and had a vested interested in seeing it fly, but that doesn't explain why Sherri had a good time. It could have also been the incredible spot we got to watch it from. But, I think it really was the same reason people gather torches and storm the castle: good ol' fashioned mob mentality.
Do I Need Anticarbon to Offset Carbon?
I know I've linked to Anthony Watts' blog before, but this one just wants me to ask people why are so stupid. Mind you, not Anthony Watts, but the people using carbon offsets. In this post Watts discusses a new kiosk at SFO that will sell travelers carbon offsets for their flights. And, if that isn't stupid enough, the kiosk is charging 60 times the market value for carbon offsets. Here is my question: How the hell do you offset carbon? Can I just give $50 to someone who was going to fly to SFO to not fly to SFO so then I've successfully offset my own carbon? That is insane—the carbon has already been released—unless someone is removing the actual carbon or forcing anticarbon onto it and destroying it. If not, the carbon is still there. If I was correct on just giving someone else $50 to not fly when I fly, then I am now selling carbon offsets to people who may commute to work. And, seeing as how I work from home and do not drive into an office, I can offset their carbon by working from home. So, with that being said, please send me two times fair market value for my carbon offsets.....end rant.
What Type of Photographer am I?
I get this question a lot: "What do you like to take pictures of?" And I'm never sure how to answer it. I like to take pictures of all kinds of things: planes, dogs, architecture, and Shy Guy; really, I like to take pictures of anything. And I feel bad that I don't have that one thing that makes me a specific type of photographer. Am I supposed to be a particular type of photographer, but I haven't found my fit yet? Or is it something more simple than that, that I'm just a photographer? I don't know, and I don't know if I even care. To further the point, I can't even say why I like photography; maybe it's the fact that I can't draw, paint, or sculpt.
The Magic Shopping Hour
We've all heard of the magic hour for photography: that hour before sunset or after sunrise. Well, I'm introducing a new hour, and that's the hour before the hour before sunset. Okay, that sounds complicated enough, so I'm simply calling it the "Magic Shopping Hour." One of the difficulties for the average photographer is finding the proper time to go out and take photographs. Sure, I can find an hour here or there to go out and get some pictures, but how often does that overlap with the magic hours? During that the hour just before sunset, sunrise is out for me, but my brain doesn't work that early! But, it is possible, and the picture on this post of Snoqualmie Falls was captured during the magic hour with the help of the magic shopping hour.
Tourist Travel Photography
I've seen lots of books and blog posts and the what not about how to do travel photography: where to go, when to go, and what equipment to bring. I've also seen all the information on how to make a proud mom/dad a better photographer by capturing family occasions and trips. All this is great information, but what about those of us amateurs who travel not just to photograph and those of us who travel with nonphotographers? Or what about when we are on a business trip and have limited time, equipment, and choices? So, this is a call and an announcement! If you know of the type of information I am looking for, let me know; I'll also try to share my experiences and tips as I get them while I do my style of photography and travel.
A Link? Watt’s Up With That?
I've never created a post about another blog. Okay, I only have about three posts, so that's not a huge statement. But, regardless, I think this is a really great site. It is no big secret to people who know me that I don't agree with the current global warming theories floating around. And it's not that I don't believe the Earth isn't warming—I can't really say, but I disagree with it being all of humanity's fault. But, before I build myself a little soap box, I just want to direct people to Anthony Watt's blog, Watt's Up With That? What I really like about his site is that he has in-depth posts and he uses reputable scientific papers to support his statements; it also has lots of great images/graphs. My blog is still young, but it's nice to see something I can dream it to be.
Me, a Photojournalist?
Well, maybe not yet, but it was still nice to photograph something different. Last Tuesday, May 5, the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center started on fire; it was close enough that I could see the smoke billowing up from my office window. My initial thought was that the smoke was coming from the new 787 or the Boeing factory. So, I grabbed my camera and headed out to try my hand at a little photojournalism. It was different and interesting; I'm not sure if I would want to do it full time, but it may be something fun to do once in awhile.
Of course, the best part for me was that I had a few pictures selected and used on the HeraldNet's reader photo gallery. Currently, my pictures are 1 and 2; if they change, just look for my name as the credit.
Do Animals Get Oxygen?
Here is an interesting company, Pet Airways, that is starting in these questionable economic times. If they succeed, they could prove out two economic principles: 1) people will pay for a service that they desire, and 2) the rich are never affected by down economic times. Though, on this second one, I have a feeling the rich that are unaffected by the down economy fly on private jets and bring their pets on their planes. But that wasn't actually my interest in this company; my question is, do they provide the animals protection in the event of loss of cabin pressure, i.e., do the pets get oxygen? And so I asked them.
My First Picture “Published”
Okay, so it is only published in the sense that it is being used on the Internet, but I'm still excited for it. My picture is being used here on Schmap in its information about the Seattle Aquarium. Apparently, Schmap found this on my Flickr because I had included it on my map. (Yes, I got permission from the Aquarium to use the picture.) And, despite the fact that it is just on the Internet, I'm still excited about it. I put pictures on Flickr because I want them to be seen, and this way more people will see them. And, I guess technically this isn't my first picture published: I had a few pictures used in my Universities art magazine, including the cover, but it still seems more impressive than a school art zine.
