Happy Holidays Everyone.

Found this ol photo on my drive and thought I would share it with everyone.

Serg

Out on a case

Hey there kiddos,

Hope you are all had a great weekend. Currently we are out on an investigation and its...well its something. Only thing that sucks is that its crazy cold. I kid you not; I looked at the thermometer it didn't even have numbers on it anymore, just told me to get my ass back inside. 

Well I will chat with you folks in a few days. Also, check out the interesting links on the side. If you have any that you think might want to share, shoot me an email and I will put it up. I would like to have different links every week.

Keep on rocking,

Serg

Choose your own adventure...

Hey Guys,

Anyone remember those choose your own adventure novels? You read up to a certain point and you get a couple of choices. Somehow I always stumbled upon the ending where I would die. Then because I skipped to the middle of the book to make my choice, I would lose the the page I was on. Somehow I thought it wasn't fair that the writer didn't prolong the boring ending.

"You decided to skip out on the adventure to find the ancient temple with your friend Rick. Rick went on the adventure to come back a hero. He is now offered a movie and book deal that is close to 23.5 million dollars. You have to apply for a job because your parents are kicking you out of the basement.

If you choose to work at a fast food restaurant, turn to page 34.
If you choose to apply at the law firm, turn to page 56.

"You decided to apply at the law firm. When you arrived to your job interview you saw that you were competing against four recently graduated college students who have much more experience then you do. You sit next to Sally. She is trying to get a job so that she can pay for college. She tells you that she this is her second job she is applying for, as her first job will not cover monthly tuition loan repayments for her. You guys make small chit chat about the economy. Your mind starts to wander on how she looks naked and as you are about to ask her for her number, the boss calls you into the interview."

If you choose to lie about your resume, turn to page 43.
If you choose to tell the truth, turn to page 29.

Well lets try something....You are surfing the internet when you stumble upon an interesting blog. You notice that there are numerous links on this blog, and the writer, for some crazy reason decides to write some choose your own adventure nonsense. Upon closer examination you see the following:

click here if you want to feed the world...
click here if you want to save a child's life...

Well no matter what you clicked, as long as you clicked, you are a hero.

In photography news, I submitted some photos to editors from photography magazines. My hope is that I could write some articles. I feel like I could inject new blood into them. Not literally though; that would be gross.

Click me to check out the portfolio. Comments would always be appreciated.

And speaking of comments. Remember guys, I write things for many reasons...for laughs, to strike conversations, to share with you my passion for photography...

But don't ever feel scared of voicing your opinions. The whole black and white photo thing was a joke with some truth. I am glad to see that some people were stirred by that. There are some amazing black and white photographs out there, but likewise there are also some people who overly abuse the black and white feature in order to create artistic photographs. I won't lie, I use that sometimes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I still have a long way to go before I can teach people photography, and I am thankful for that. Life would be very boring for me if I was great photographer right now.

Now if you will excuse me, this photography gangster is off to unwind with an episode of the Office.

All the best,
Serg

A break for discussion

Hey everyone,

I am glad to see how active everyone is with the comments...

I interrupt this photography blog for a slight break into something else.

Below are two links that I came across that peeked my interest. You know... the kind of interest where your doing something, but then you hear something or read something and one of your eyebrows' raises. I can't recall which eyebrow raised; I think it may have been the left one. Although I am trying to raise my left eyebrow now, but instead both seem to go up. It doesn't matter; I don't think you guys came on my blog to read my discussion about eyebrows....we may want to save that discussion for a time when I am desperate for subjects to write about.

http://gizmodo.com/5100683/old-beijing-subway-trains-get-second-life-as-homeless-shelters

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/11/22/sm_immersion.xml

I wanted to share two articles I came across that I thought you might find interesting.

What do guys think? When was your last good deed? 

When was the last time you were creative or did something artistic? Do you try to do something creative everyday?

I am also including some more of the street photos I took...for those that were not satisfied with the articles. Sort of a prelude to a street photography article I would like to write for you all. Such important topics of discussion include...

-Street Photography: How not to look like tourist!

-Robbers and You: How to avoid losing your camera.

-I fought the law and the law took my photos. Know your rights on where you can take photographs.

-B&W: Just because you took the color out of the photo does not mean its anymore artistic; and don't get me started on the sephia effect.

But seriously, enjoy guys, thanks for stopping by. I am off to bed. Tomorrow is a travel day for the group and me to our next investigation.

Remember to do something positive,

Serg

A few photographs before I leave into the night

Hey guys,

Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving. Who gained an extra 10 pounds? Here are some photos I took during my warm up run through the city. I am in love....in love with my new camera. I am off into the night to see what I can capture. I am also gonna apply some of these to that crazy challenge.

Society Misfortune

Beefcake

Stay safe and remember, do something positive.

Heading out...

Hey guys...



Bio Photo


Currently rereading: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran....among other books as well.

Video Blog

Hopefully this works for everyone. Just some news and seeing how this video blog thing works.





Good night...or good morning if you are looking at this tomorrow morning.

51 Words - Dwindling, Identity

Dwindling


Identity

I hope in a few days I will get to tell you guys something big.

What will you do this weekend? I will watch a movie, sneeze, take photos, laugh, sing in the shower, sigh, read a magazine article, listen to music, jam on the air guitar, talk with my parents, think about the world, listen to the trees..drift...away.

Have a great weekend and remember to do something positive.

Change: We can believe in.

So how did you all feel last night? 

Its amazing how yesterday had such an important impact on our lives. How will your life be effected? 

By working together we can do so much. But where do we start? It starts... with you. Yep, that one person who thinks they can.  As we count down the days till the inaguration what will you do? Will you loathe the results and stew in negativity, or wait and grow stale? Or, will you start to do? To make yourself a better person and make this world a better place? 

Who can I become?

There is a change unfolding,

Who can we become?

Perhaps it is time we start to part ways from an individualistic idealogy. Forget the me, myself's and I and start to consider the us, together and we. What will happen when we start to work together? What will happen when we start to do something positive?

This is the change that I believe in.

This is what I got from Obama. What did you?

Almost Done

Well everyone,

Thank you so much for helping me decide on my new logo. I actually liked the third one over the other ones as well. It doesn't mean I won't use the other ones. I have a couple of ideas in mind. Especially when it comes to doing something positive. 

Anyway, I am almost done and ready for a mini break. For the past week I have been on the road with Ryan helping him out with this speaking tour. Then we jumped straight into filming a case. Today is the last day and I am ready for some R&R. 

I am also excited that tomorrow is election day. It will be my first time voting and  I am planning on bring my trusty camera with me to document the process. 

When it comes to the 51-Word challange, it is about time I get back on it. Stay tuned, for I will try to get some out by this week.

I shall write you all tomorrow.

Opinions please.

Trying some changes for the future.
Logos 1 - 6

Thoughts? Comments?

LOGOS

ISO 400

This last case that we just filmed was pretty darn sweet. I think the biggest dose of awesomeness came when the client gave me an old camera that he had bought at an antique store.  Its an Olympus OM-1n. I did a little wiki reading about the camera and it was a pinnacle for film SLRs. It started this with a huge reduction in size, weight and noise. 

The camera works...at least it sounds like it does. I have 400 ISO black and white film loaded and I am ready to take some photographs. I think the beauty of film cameras is that one can double or triple expose on the same piece of film to create some really nifty shots. Thats kinda what I am aiming to use this. Only thing that sucks is that I am used to the digital camera metering the light for me. This allows me to pick the appropraite settings to properly expose the photo. Without metering one runs into a chance of over or under exposing the photograph. 

Now the camera does have the capabilities of doing it but it requires a battery that I cannot find. Bugger....Well I figure I can go with my guts. Not guts no glory, right? So I am gonna take my digital SLR and set it to ISO 400...then I am gonna set it to manual and see what aperture and shutter speed I need in a given amount of light. I figure if I do this enough times I can get the hang of naturally figuring out what aperture and shutter speed I need to expose a photo.

Anyone have any halloween plans? We are stopping by Long Island this weekend for an event that we are throwing. Its at Kaitys Bar...the same place where we filmed our season 1 episode. We are throwing an early Halloween Bash. I am going as an old school journalist. I have the camera and the hat that would work great.

Paranormal State: Digging for Truth

I started putting together a couple of portfolios for my website. I am trying to create some unique portfolios...here is one set which I call..."Digging for Truth." These are all photos from season 1 of Paranormal State.


(First Episode)

(Last Episode)

When I was young...

...I would love reading Calvin and Hobbes on rainy days with the window open.

Now its may not be raining where you are, nor is raining here in State College; in fact its rather sunny.

But I thought I would share with you guys a little bit of C&H and what they are all about. This goes out to the bored office workers, the stay at home peeps, the after school students, and whoever else wants a smile put on your face.

Sit back and let the imagination of Calvin and Hobbes take you for a mini trip. 

My math students would love this one.

If only I could take photos as awesome as Calvin...

Thanks for dropping by folks. Stay tuned, I am planning on posting some photos from the first episode we filmed last weekend. 

Where has Sergey been?

So….its been awhile since we last interacted…this is kinda awkward…

I…auhh…what? Did you say something? No? Ok, let me start then…

Its that time again. FILMING! That’s right, Paranormal State was picked up for 13 more episodes and we are on the road. It always feels strange to go on the first case of the season. I get these brief thoughts that I may have lost my game. August was the last time we did an investigation. That is why for the past few weeks we have been prepping up for the future. 

But anywho, that is where most of my time has been put into. Although don’t fear my dear reader, I made sure to devote some time towards my progression for becoming a professional photographer. Like what you ask? 

Well at the counter at the grocery store I flipped through Shutterbug magazine….ok ok I know that sounds pointless, but hear me out.

I got to thinking. I need to make contact with the photography magazines that are out there. How does one become a writer for them? How can I get them to display my photos so that I …oh look a cookie…sorry I got distracted.

Well...I reached out and got two magazines that responded: Shutterbug and PC Photo. The editors told me that they would be interested in a couple of my ideas, but they need to see the photos first. So that is where I am at right now. Hoping that I am able to show them some photos that will rock their world, that will blow their socks of their feet, that will blow their feet off, if they aren’t wearing socks. Something truly amazing.

Hmm...I was just playing with my Rebel and I noticed something odd. The lower I set my ISO the more photos I can take. The higher my ISO is set at, then the less photos I can take. I need to investigate this mystery because its honestly making my brain hurt. How could this be? Do higher ISO photos take up more space? 

So I journey into this first case of the season with just my Canon ELPH and a 50mm Prime on my Rebel, hoping I can blow some feet off.

I will share some of the photos with you all when I return.*

*Sharing may not occur if images taken during case come out unfortunate.

Pinhole Photography

Last week I had a meeting with my web designer. The meeting went well and we totally connected on how the site should look. So ladies and gents...heres to having a site in a couple of weeks.

So some time back I did a little experiment that I thought would one day help save me ass when I needed to pick a topic for my blog. That time is now...and the topic is pinhole photography.

I came across a website that detailed the construction of a pinhole camera from a box of matches. I can't remember how, nor do I remember exactly which one it was, but if you Google, you will defintately find something. The first link on top takes you to the one, the only, the awesome DIY Photography website: LINK.

Some say it was held together by my passion for photography. I, honestly, think that the electrical tape helped a lot. But you know what, this was as close to primitive photography I could have gotten. Granted I didn't develop the film, but taking the photos felt strangely exciting. I would hold the camera against anything I could find to eliminate camera blur, open the flap to let in light, count to about 5-15 seconds and close the flap. Then twist the film a couple times and start again. I hope to rebuild my camera and use it to take some special photos. I would like to think my second round at this will go a whole lot smoother.

Here are a couple photos of my good ol' camera.

And here are some of the photos. Some of the photos below have been washed thoroughly through post-production.

Somehow I feel like I can use one those photos for my 51-Word Challenge. I gotta get back on it. Also, in the batch of photos above, you will find something that deals with a topic I would like to write about...I tried to hide it pretty well so I will be impressed if someone can guess what it is. I will give another hint next week.

Review of Presslite Vertex Revised

Review of Presslite Vertex Revised

So there have been a couple of reviews floating around that I have read on this little gizmo, but they are rather stale. I mean, if I could write a review about those reviews, that is what have to say. Wheres the passion? If you are gonna support a product that you think rocks then let me rock with you. Instead its like a trip to grandma's house on the day your friends want you to come out tothe movies with them. And not the kinda a trip where you leave with a $20 dollar bill either. Now I am not gonna go pointing fingers and naming names; my finger is way to important for that: I need it to take photographs. All I am saying is, if you are gonna support a product, then show me some ENTHUSIASM!!!

So lets start of with the appetizer of this review. I am in the mood for something light and not too filling, but something everyone can share and enjoy. For that I guess you guys need a little backstory and a lot of what the hell is Sergey talking about. In mid-August I was browsing this really awesome website called DIY Photography. There was a quick blurb about a device that was coming out in September. This device is known as the VerteX. It was love at first site. The way it looked, the way it moved; I was in awe. So I thought, let me send them out a quick email and do a little name drop that I am from Paranormal State and see what happens. Well come beginning of September I had a pre-production unit, a rented lense and a model that was ready to go.

Now for those that are curious about what I am talking about, just do a quick visit to their Presslite's website or go directly here for a quick demo on couple of its possibilities.

The photoshot that I did in my previous blog, was done using the presslite. Now because the biggest advantage of using the presslite is that it allows you to direct light to bounce of walls ceilings, etc, I had bring a stand and an umbrella for the outside photos. I will be first to admit that I probably do not have the most knowledge when it comes to external flashs and all the accessories that are out there, but I have an open mind and the ability to recognize potential in subjects. And that is exactly what the Presslite Vertex has in my eyes. It has the potential to open a person up to a whole other world of photography. Can one survive without the VerteX? Yea, I don't think every photographer needs it. But I think like an explorer, and to me, this is something worth exploring.

This review is not done. In fact I will go out and do a more technical photoshoot today...wheres Ryan and Xander at? But if you guys have any questions let me know and I will incorporate them in the review.

A quick story on sturdiness:

A lot of people have brought of concerns that it looks fragile and will break easily. That is not the case. As I was leaving the house with the camera, flash and vertex all attached I accidentally smacked the VertX right off the camera agaisnt the door. It went flying. Picked up, examinded it...nothing. Nothing broke. It still works and it works fine.

Keep on snapping....photographs, not at one another.

Serg

PS
I love my grandma.

Technical Report

Here are a couple of test shots and how the light reacted. I didn't have the ability to come up with the cool 3D animated demo on Presslite's webiste so I took photos of how my VerteX was positioned.



Set up 1: Light bounced of the mirror panel and hit the right wall. The other part of the light bounced of ceiling and a tiny bit of the diffuse panel.


Set up 2: All light bounced of the diffuse panels straight toward the the right wall.



Set up 3: All light bounced of the mirrors straight toward the right wall.


Set up 4: Half of the light bounced of he mirror panel and half bounces of the diffuse panel.


Set up 5: Half the light bounced of the mirrors straight toward the right wall. The other, smaller half of light bounced of the ceiling and a tiny amount of the mirrors heading directly toward the subject.


Set up 6: Something like 70% of light went toward the ceiling. The other 28% or so went toward the slight right and the other 2% toward the subject.

Did I really just write," I took photos of how my VerteX was positioned."?