Announcing amieds

Fans of amieds blog, guess what it has moved, or is in the process of moving.  I have finally taken the time and moved my blog over to the newly formed amieds web site http://web.me.com/amieds . I have a big collection of my photos. Check it out.

Look Up

I have been doing some reflecting the last two days, I have just been taking it easy and trying to enjoy life, a better way to put that is trying to wrap up a few projects so I can better enjoy life.  As I flipped through some photo libraries I have realized that I have tons of pictures of clouds.  I took a minute to ponder this and came to the realization that if I could I would love to find myself amongst the clouds just floating and bouncing around their puffiness.  Think about it, won't you love to find yourself up in the sky just enjoying the freedom of just floating?  

What is it?

The question I have for all of the blog readers and fans is what is this a picture of?  I was looking thru the photos I had on my trusty treo and came upon this one.  It took me a minute to remember what it was and then I asked a few friends, the answer that I got were fun so now lets see you can guess.

The medical mysteries

I have never been a fan of hospital and/or medical facilities but I currently find myself sitting on the most uncomfortable couch I have ever sat on, the sad thing is it is a far better sit then the chairs.  You may be asking yourself why I am at the pain clinic with a computer, well I will tell you, Im here for the coffee....and also my buddy needed a ride.  He needs to get some shots in his back and I guess they are going to knock him out, so I get to play DD at 11 am.    But sitting here in the waiting room I have been reminded I can't stand these places.  First off Keep your magazines up to date,  reading about the upcoming olympics is not that interesting.  Second is the people.   If you are into fat people, check out the pain clinic and you can have your pick of hefty people.  Then there is the old people,  They just stare, either at me or just off into space.  I figure they are thinking about the old country or just counting down the hours to the Wheel comes on.  And Finally what makes these places a great place to hang is the whispering: people will talk quietly amongst themselves almost whispering, and I can't help myself but try to listen.  I could care less about the fat ladies neighbors or the old people talking about the sandwiches they heard they have downstairs,  but I just have to listen. But then whispering turns into normal levels of conversation when their phone rings.  There are posted signs all over the place about turning cell phones off, but everyone has their phones on.  As you open the door you have to be blind not to see the sign, if you aren't going to abide by their request, turn the dang thing to vibrate.  

It is a strange place to spend a morning, but a friend in need owes me lunch for making me wait.

Please not in the photo the fact the waiting room is decorate I think for Xmas already.

 

It is friday and it is good to be almost done with the weekend.  But the weather looks to be putting a damper on things, literally.  I was hoping to get another chance to take some football photos, but with the rain I think I am going to put it off for another day.   It was such great fun that I want to do it again.   The skill and timing to get the right shot is something I have strived for and standing on the sideline is good place to get some chops.

It is football time, and there is no better time.  I had the chance to spend some time on the sidelines on friday night under the lights.  It was a great time, the day was a bit cloudy to start out with but once the clouds split the sun shown thru and the lighting was great.   Very warm light. long shadows and some good football produced some great photos.  It took some time to get some good action shots and a near collision, but well worth it.  I now have a better understanding of sports photography and the reasons why they need long lens and fast shutters.

The cards that are dealt

I have come to realize something:  I have realized that I don't know or hang out with people who know guys named Aaron.  I have realized this a few years ago when people started to carry cell phones in their pockets.  See my name is Adam, and not to many names come before Adam, except Aaron.  Big deal you may say, but it gets kinda annoying when my phone rings and I say "hello this is Adam...Hello.... Hello....." and I hear nothing but static and noise.  So I hang up, and if they call back again and no one answers I ignore the phone call.  This is also a pain because some times when this happens the people realize they just called me and then we have a weird conversation about nothing, and I figure it happened because they weren't expecting to call me, but felt obligated to talk.  I bring this up because in the last week I have talked to the same guy 4 times.  He just got an iphone and is still trying to figure it out.  

As for the photo,  I have tried a few new techniques out on.  If you can't figure out what it is, it is a kosko purchase.  We all like cheese balls, and figured we got a good price, or our friends did.  

Pals Photoshoot

Once again I had the opportunity to work at Pal's Diner this past weekend during the 28th Street Metro Cruise.  I got some great photos and hopefully a few of them sale so I can make some cash.  You can find the photos here on Tom Devette's site, he was the photog I worked with.  Also you can check out his photos from sat. and you can see where we were and what we shot for WKTV's video coverage.  I even appear in a few running a DSR 300 video camera.

Busy weekends supplies many laughs

The 4th annual 28th Street Metro Cruise.  It was another great event, cars, trucks, bikes, buses, loads of people all capped off with some rain.  But the best thing I saw, and I will stretch as far as in all 4 years of the event was this guy.  He performed for almost 45 minutes friday night at Pals diner.  I worked as a photographer at Pals that evening.  We took pictures of vehicles infront of the diner.  After I ate and made a few arrangements, he took the stage.  He is considered a performer.  He doesn't sing, but dances.  It was a sight to see, he is currently on tour, and has even made a few guest appearances on the WB.  What I haven't been able to wrap my mind around is that he has fans, but most intriguing is that he is professional performer and after two numbers he is sweating like an old drunk.  If only I remembered his name.

If you love them let them go

These are famous words and whoever said them is crazy.  They were probably said by someone you was dead inside and wanted to sound smart.  But I have found it time to say goodbye to my pet turtles.  In the next few days I have to decide how to say goodbye and to find them a good home.  It is going to be hard but the guys need more than what I am able to give them at this time.

Find interesting things

Everyone has their own agenda in life, some people want to be successful in business, some want to have a family and raise beautiful babes, other want to change the world.  I haven't quite decided what my long terms goals are, but I have some goals I want to accomplish, simple things really:  I would like to be presented with a big check, I would like to meet a vampire or werewolf, I would like to take an amazing photograph that gets published and talked about for years, and I would like to be the first to do something or discover something.   I was close the other weekend.  We were in spring lake on a boat and came across these birds, as far as I know Flamingo's are not native to these parts, and we got to see them and I fired off a bunch of shots to capture the moment.  I know I was not the first to see them, but probably close.  I can't check it off the list.  But the good news is I have a feeling I am real close to meeting a vampire.

 

Weekend on the water

I went fishing, and caught some fish, I didn't take my camera on the adventure fearing we would cap size the vessel we fished out of.  We survived the trip, caught many blue gills, came home with twenty keepers, burnt knees and a load of memories.  

The Guys will be missed

I was informed last night that a few of my friends have passed on. 

Store-Bought heard about the passing of his friends and wanted me to share these words. 

Forest and Dexter, though we only met once I felt that we had a special bound, something you only hear about in fiction and the movies.  You guys were brave and adventurous.  The two of you knew how to work hard and even party harder.  Even though we only met once, I will never forget our time together.  I heard about the way you guys went out, and I truly do mourn your lose, I am sure Tiny meant no harm in his actions or behavior.  I want to remember the good times we had.  It was quite a run that we had, and know that your lives and legacy will live on.  You friends will miss you;  Killer, Thrasher, Fluff, Stinky and Pee-Wee wanted to express their sympathy to their fallen friend, but seeing as we are turtles and live in a pool we don't have easy internet access and it is difficult to use a phone.  You were good friends, great competitors, and even better turtles.  

Midwest Turtle Racing Association has declared for the remainder of the years events all competitors will wear black arm bands in honor of the fallen turtles. 

Finding My Work

It is always nice to find your work on someone else's web page.  The upcoming 28th street Metro Cruise is fast approaching and promotion has started.  This morning I was doing some research and found a website that is promoting one of the events, and what do you know the video I did last year for the event is used, in a few different spots.  It is fun knowing that someone likes the work and decided to use it, did they ask for permission? 

Check out the site here and see ya at the event.

This is great

I have talked about the power of software knowledge and how important it can be to a photographer.  Here is a great example.  If my work ever appears on the front page of national and world newspapers I would be thrilled, but if can be easily called out on, i would be devastated. 

A new look

Yesterday I had a bit of a problem:  I noticed that I was getting a few gray hairs.  I have seen some in the past, but on this day it was not something I wanted to see.  So if I can't see them they don't bother me.  Now I have a new look.  And a cool new self portrait.

one of the best ever

Some times I don't know how it happens, but I just take a really great picture.  You get a chance to do something great and you have to rise to the occasion.  I have always joked that I am waiting for my dare to be great situation, maybe I have missed it, maybe not.  But the way I think now is maybe I just have to pick a situation and be great at.  

The races are completed

It was a good weekend, we celebrated our nations freedom and then raced some turtles. The event was well attended and I am pretty sure everyone who came had the most fun they have ever had in our driveway and garage. The overall winner of the event was Fluff, who was handled by Alex. In no way did Al have anything to do with his turtles ability, Fluff was just crazy fast and every time he entered that circle he took off. For a complete run down of the event and more photos check out my facebook page.

The contestants

Here they are, the two favorites for this weekends event. Come one, come all.

Knowing your gear

I have spent long hours getting to know my camera gear. It pays off to not only know your gear and how it works. I am not on expert by any means, but do feel i have a very good knowledge. Below are some photos I took of a camp fire. I took a great deal of them sitting in the same spot just experimenting. The one problem I had was that the composition kept changing, it is a fire and things burn. But the trick to taking get photos at night is to hold the camera steady. I have seen many pictures taken at night that are blurry. These people don't understand photo taking and how their camera works. Take some time and figure out how things work and you will be better. Here are those photos, I took about 100 shots of this fire pit. They are some cool shots, so I spent some time experimenting and came back with some interesting shots.

Stealing a soul

I just watched a documentary that made me think about a few things. The documentary was about a music group called 'Heavy Load' and i believe the title of the film shared the name. It is a film that follows the trials and tribulations of a British band that is comprised of mentally handicapped and not performers. There was one ongoing theme or line in the film that made me think about everything that I have done in my line of work. "The camera steals your soul". I am not sure what this line means, I have taken a lot of photos in my day and shoot even more video, I have never once thought I have stolen someones soul, I am not even sure what that means. I like to think that with the camera you capture something, it is impossible to capture everything, but for a moment in time you have captured a person(s). You aren't stealing anything. This is a photo I took of the Cash's for their wedding. The photos sat on the tables as an indicator of the table number, hence the number.

Why didn't I do better...

I have a few regrets in life, more then a few, but I don't like to live in the past. All my past experiences have shaped me into the person that I am today. Many of my regrets, I look back and think of them as learning experiences, you learn real quick that a glass plate can get extremely hot in the microwave, you live and learn. But probably the biggest regret I have is not paying enough attention in school when it came time to spelling, in the past two days I have screwed up. I caught one of them myself this morning, but last night I was informed by a young kid that I can't spell after I screwed up this sign. Restrooms, follow the bricks I won't even say how I screwed that up, it is a little embarrassing.

Fun with Photoshop

Photoshop is an amazing tool and mastering it can make you a better photographer and artist. Learn the basics in photoshop and you will benefit. The nice thing about it is that there are tutorials all over the web and they teach you amazing stuff. Here is my recent creation. The first is a raw photo, and then a collect of rendered images. The little guy hangs out in my front yard, sometimes he will come on the porch and say hi.

The Olympics are near

More info to come...I have to have a meeting of the minds.

My Theory

I have this theory on photography, and i am going to share it with you all. Most photographs and photographers don't capture anything. I like to think every photo can tell a story, and the really great photos do tell a story. Think of a photo you would take on a trip to Arizona. You will probably want to hand your camera off to someone and have them take a photo of you standing in front of a cactus. This is what i called a posed picture. There is nothing wrong with a posed picture. But you would look back on your trip and probably just glance at the photo, and when you share that photo with co-workers you can say "yup i was in arizona, and here is me standing in front of a cactus, here is another in front of a restaurant we ate at, and here is one in front of the hotel we stayed at," nothing to great.

I think the real art to taking pictures is to capture something real, a candid of someone looking at a cactus, some one enjoying a meal at the restaurant or enjoying the sun sitting by the pool at the hotel. My one overlying problem with all posed pictures is they never capture any emotions, people always seem to smile when you stand them in front of something and they are ready for the photo. The challenge comes when you try to think outside the scope of a posed picture, trust me they tell a better story and they are more fun to shoot. If you can capture just that right moment, you will have a great photo.

The storms in the past few weeks

A few weeks ago I planted a tree and then post the tree. I said I would keep you all updated on the progress of its growth. Well, after all the rain we got the most magical thing happened, the ground produced these beautiful flowers. Now the tree has friends. It is surprising how a little bit of rain can produce the most mysterious things. There is no other way to explain how these flowers got here other than magical.

Summertime in kentwood

I can always tell when it is summer time in the neighborhood. The biggest indicator is the sounds, you can hear the kids playing, the bikes criss-crossing the street, and most notably the annoying songs coming from the numerous ice cream trucks. I have noticed that we have about 4 different trucks that cruise by. I am almost sure they sell narcotics, but we have yet to determine that, even thou our neighbor tried.

A while back I mentioned that WKTV needs a new truck. We are having a car wash on June 28th at Go Go Car wash located on 28th street just west of Byron Center. We are trying to raise $100,000 to purchase a new vehicle and some new equipment. The way it works is for a 4 hour block on the saturday afternoon we get to use the car wash. We are taking pledges for the cars that may get washed that day. My job in all of this is to get as many cars as possible there that day. I say if you get a free car wash you should at least donate to WKTV the cash it would have cost to get that car wash and why not throw in a little more, it is for a good cause. I also get to design all the graphics for print, web and tv promotions.

opps

I just realized I have a rerun on this site, the last photo added was a one that first appeared a few months ago. I apologize. Seeing as I have so many fans and don't want to disappoint I will add some new ones....A brief about these photos, I was contacted a day or so back wondering if i had any stock photographs of either food, table sittings or cooking utensils. These are all i could find in my library.

Think Spring?

On my way into to work today I drove by a sign that said Think Spring. Typically that wouldn't bother me much but the sign read 'March Specials' just a few days ago. So I know they are not to concerned with their sign. Seeing that it is about 80 degrees outside and very humid, I no longer have to think spring, or even think summer. I am going to just do summer, I don't need to think about it.

The beach

I was out on a photo shoot this past weekend. It was an enjoyable time. I hardly ever do portrait work, I have my reasons, but this was an enjoyable time. I won't post any of the photos I took of the lovely couple just yet, but maybe later. We did travel to the beach and found to our surprise people actually laying out and playing in the water. And what a trip to the beach be with out a trip to see the light house and a trip down the pier.

A weekend to remember....

After much anticipation I have posted some of the pictures from the memorial day weekend spent up north. We did not let the high gas prices stop the crew from taking the trip up to Silver Lake, or Mears if you want to be accurate. So the weekend was filled with some unforgettable memories that will keep us busy talking about until next year. Visit my slide page for more pictures of the weekend.

A friend of mine...

This is a complete burn at a friend of mine, his name will be left out for security reasons. I was reading his blog just a minute ago, And I say if you have trouble meeting people and making small talk, just let them know that you are around 30 gallons. After that you should be the life of the party.

Just one of those days

Kinda got up on the wrong side of the bed today, maybe it's the rain, I don't know. But the nose is back on the grindstone. A bit ago I made my peace with organization. And here is my thing, this is how i usually work. I have two or three things going at all times, it is called multi-tasking. I have work for a long time at honing my skills as a multitasker and do very well at it. Two computers working all the time to make sure everything gets done. Some people work long hours doing one thing at a time until it gets finished. My thought do two things at once and the time will fly by and then you can go home.

What is going on....?

I remember as a kid and a teenager loving a good cheeseburger at a reasonable price. And the best place to get a good cheeseburger, double cheeseburger or even a triple cheeseburger for a buck or less was Hot N Now. The thought of those burgers are making my mouth water. I am reminded of those delicious burgers on a daily bases as I drive by the vacant building that once housed the drive thru restaurant that was ahead of its time. I mean they had two drive thru options, the drivers side or the passenger side, pure genius. To my understanding Hot N Now is no more, the red painted roofs are fading, the grass is over growing, windows are being smashed and graffiti is starting to adorn the walls. But the worst part about it, besides the fact that I have a hard time getting a good cheeseburger at a reasonable price, is that their boobs got old?

lets give it a try

My first attempt to add a video. I get a kick out of this short video clip I worked on. I was asked to create an old time feel for a new digital video clip. It had to look like a silent film. It took some work and a few pluggins I found on the web but it worked and came out pretty sweet. With video editing, especially when trying new things, you have to watch and re-watch the same video clip over and over again. I picked a fun one for this project. And I also get a kick out of the announcer at the end of the clip, "that's hot" makes me laugh every time.

Todays project...

Is to figure out how to get the Golden Gloves bout cards to come in. The files have all been created and now I can take the images into Final Cut Pro and figure out how to move them in and out. Once the tempelate is created I can, hopefully, quickly get all 11 of the cards done. The lower third name gfx are near completion and now I just have to get them implanted and go from there. In the long run, you saw the graphics here first but soon I hope they appear on a major sport network...did someone say ESPN?

Below are the bout cards and a general Golden Gloves Logo I designed.

Organization?

Some people put a whole of stock in the fact that if your an organized person you are a good person. I may not be the most organized person, but I rarely lose things and I can always tell you where things are. Wether it be that one piece of equipment that hardly ever gets used, or the where I keep the important files, I know where they are. And here is what the drawer looks like where I keep the silverware. My roommate can't stand when I empty the dishwasher and just throw everything in the drawer. yeah it is unorganized, but how hard is it to open the drawer and find a knife? You may say that an organized drawer is a happy drawer, but a say a drawer where I don't segregate the spoons from the forks is a lot happier drawer. Everyone knows that forks get used the most, but in my drawer it is all about equals and they live like equals. Spoons, Knifes, pizza cutters and even vegetables are all equal and live together in a utensil utopia.

Tall and Strong

We were cleaning up the yard the other day and for the longest time we have had the open area right by our porch that need something added to it. So I planted a tree, it is a small pine that nicely fills in the area. It was meet with dismay as wether the tree is going to grow too big for the spot we planted it in, but I will bet money that in a few weeks it will be the same size. I will keep you all to date of the progress of its growth. The only thing that concerns me is the potential problem we may have with its plastic root system.

The Mac Computer

I have been a Mac guy for a very long time. I see no real use for a PC, I still use PC's and they work fine, the problem I have is that i am used to working on a Mac, so I have some trouble doing the same tasks on a PC that i can easily do on a Mac. Take for example burning a data disk, it is a simple click of a button on a Mac, but on a PC you have to have special program to burn disks. And please don't get me started on Vista. I bring all this up, because I deal all day with people who are afraid to use a Mac because they don't have a clue as to how it works. Case in point, I am currently working on reinstalling all the software on two Macs because some one add a administrator password on the machines, and can't remember the passwords. So now I have to rebuild the computers and change the passwords. Since it was the administrative password, I have to start all over. So people shouldn't have the authority to do simple tasks.

Dinner

I recently had a lunch that consisted of shrimp and then had a conversation with a friend about seafood. I wonder if these boats have ever supplied shrimp to the places where I eat at?

Tis Todays task...

To create some GFX, here is a template I first constructed, I will post one of the finals drafts when i get it done. But take a look, I have placed a photo behind the gfx, but the final one will have live video playing behind it. Enjoy.

Nationals

A great oppurtunity, tons of work and lots of fun! We covered the Golden Gloves Nationals held at Devos Place downtown Grand Rapids. It was a lot of work to make sure everything worked and we had everything we needed to make it happen. Now the FUN starts of posting the fights, we need to add GFX, and clean up a few mistakes. In total we covered 33 fights in two nights. What a fun weekend.