Enjoy the weekend folks

Take a deep breath. The breeze from the ocean and the heat from the sun mesh together in perfect cohesion. Its time to let go...the worries, the stress, the shackles of reality. You can do it; let the universe guide your soul and be adventurous. What will you dare yourself to do?

Till Sunday, my dear readers...enjoy your Friday and may your weekend be zombie free....or zombie full, if you need that extra bit of excitement in your life.

Random Stuff - Index Case

Hey Everyone,

How are my fellow blogger readers doing? Weekend is coming up and hopefully you will use the time off from work and studies to put in a little time for yourself. Stretch your mind, exercise your soul...that kinda stuff. Man, I am dying for some sun...never did I think I would become affected by the season and the clouds the way I am at the moment. Stressed, tired and sometimes grumpy.

A little news from my buddy Chad and Joe. Joe's band Index Case is on the verge of debuting their new album. Here is a sample vid.

Anyone planning on watching the Alice in Wonderland this weekend?

Pyrography - an interesting form of art

I would like to share a guest written blog by, Meagen. She has a blog at: http://artistmeg.blogspot.com/

The best way to begin talking about what exactly pyrography is would be to define it. According to dictionary.com pyrography is the process of burning designs on wood, leather, etc., with a heated tool. Its more common name is simply wood burning, but I think pyrography sounds flashier, which is probably why the word was invented in the first place. I first learned about pyrography when I kid and it had always been a “forbidden” creative outlet since my parents really didn’t want me burning myself on the tool! Now that I’m older (but certainly not more mature) I decided to take up this art form as a new hobby and in the process I learned a bit about the history of it as well.

Pyrography itself has been around for a while. In Lima, Peru’s Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History, there is a cup from the Nazca culture that dates back to pre-700 AD. While this is the earliest piece found, there has been some speculation that cave men would use their own form of pyrography on cave walls. Unfortunately charcoal does not withstand the weather and passing of time overly well so this has remained only a speculation without tangible proof. Pyrography does not show up again in recorded history until about 1910 where the art was referred to as “pokerwork” or “fire etching” and often was used to decorate picture frames, spines of books or pieces of furniture. From my understanding of it the name “pokerwork” was used for pyrography as people would the poker from their fireplace to etch designs on different objects.

So now that you have a brief history and definition of pyrography I bet you’re keen on learning more about how it’s done and where to get all the supplies. I think the best way to do this is a quick “how to” guide.

The two main things you need in order to do pyrography are wood and the heated tool. Now the wood is easy enough to come by you can either go chop up your own tree, or if you’re a city slicker (like myself) you can go to your nearest craft store and purchase it. The wood itself comes in any shape and size you can think of so you should have plenty to choose from. For the purposes of this project I’m choosing to burn the lid of a wooden box.

(side view of box)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/BoxProject012.jpg
(top view of box)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/BoxProject011.jpg

Now comes the more complicated decision, which type of tool to purchase. There are in fact two types of tools to choose from, and there are pros and cons for both.
Tool A
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/BoxProject008.jpg

Tool B
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/BoxProject010.jpg

Tool A you as you can see is a far more simple design and as such is far cheaper than Tool B. You can usually find Tool A for around $30 including 4 or more interchangeable tips whereas Tool B I recently purchased for $150 and only includes one tip. As for purchasing these tools I suggest going to your local craft store or purchase them online. If you do purchase the cheaper tool, be aware there is no temperature gauge so it heats up to its maximum temperature (which varies by device) and stays there, and it also takes longer for the tip to heat up. Tool A takes approximately 1 minute to heat whereas Tool B heats in about 8 seconds. Each tool burns a little different as well. The piece in the how to guide is an example of how Tool B, and below is a couple examples of how Tool A burns.
Whichever tool you choose just remember to stay within your means.

i. (the “gone fishing” piece) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/DSCN0696.jpg
ii. (Lo Shu Turtle Box) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/momanddadcheckinoutthezoo062.jpg
iii. (Celtic cross and doves) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/kahlanamnell_rox/Pyrography/momanddadcheckinoutthezoo075.jpg
As you can see in these examples Tool A usually causes your piece to come out dark which can be good depending on the design you are creating.

So now you have your new toy, your piece of wood and the design or image you plan on burning into the wood. The design can be as simple or as complicated as you want. If it is your first time playing around with pyrography I suggest purchasing a couple cheap scrap pieces to practice on before you begin your actual piece, just so you can get the feel and limitations of the process itself.

I find the process of creating a piece of artwork from wood to be an all encompassing Zen like experience. In a stressful world where we are always running around and moving too fast, taking the time to sit and only think about the task at hand is a rewarding and rejuvenating experience in itself. Hopefully this article helped shed a little light on the subject of pyrography and maybe it even convinced you to give it a try, who knows you may even like it.
~Meg

“Principles for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses - especially learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else. “
-Leonardo DaVinci

For more tips and advice from Meagen on Pyrography, visit her blog at http://artistmeg.blogspot.com/, or shoot her an email at artistmeg@yahoo.ca

Frontier Photographer - II

Date: 5/24/00

I picked up an interesting book at the annual book fair today: "The Prophet," by Kahlil Gibran. Back in college, poetry classes and I didn't get along... I remember the professor pulling me aside, "I should have failed you" she told me. I guess I was able to charm my way through. I miss those days. But back to the book...

"Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.

But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.

Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, "I have found a truth.'

Say not, 'I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the

soul walking upon my path."

For the soul walks upon all paths."

I grabbed my old OM-1 and took a walk with it last night; had to get out of the house and figured I could snap some photos with old film I had laying around. When I was in the darkroom today, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I gotta get that out of my head...I swear my mind plays these stupid tricks on me....strange though, the last photo came out different. Must be a light leak or something.

Photos taken last night:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If that's a light leak why did the other photos come out fine? I need to investigate this further...

Frontier Photographer - I

Date: Unknown (Date has been scratched off)

I sometimes looked back at my old scribbles...ideas, is what I used to call

them back then, but things changed. Damn it, I feel like I'm forcing myself to type sometimes...i don't

want to and, i don't know

what to, merge with one another and really make it

hard for me to

put my thoughts on paper.

...i had the dream again...

dream? fucking nightmare more like it, its been reoccurring for so

long I can't help but start

believing its a memory...

its strange...sometimes i dream in photographs, but lately the same image has been popping into my head every night. where am i? what's causing that light? and who is that person?

Respectfully yours,

The Frontier Photographer

Heading Back

Hey Folks,

Will keep you all updated. Heading back to State College today. I will make sure to give you a mid-week report on my little horoscope experiment.

Meanwhile...

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/323116main_s119e010286_hires.jpg

http://www.just-whatever.com/2009/03/30/paid-to-do-it-72-times/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-qaC-TGoA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.neatorama.com%2Fupcoming%2F&feature=player_embedded

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/next-best-thing-tap-green-bottled-water

http://imglol.com/arts-culture-cat/madona-before-and-after-photoshop~17~1316.html

http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghostphotos/ig/Best-Ghost-Photos/

Well that's enough wasting your time. We are off to the airport. Here's to hoping we don't get stuck.

Take it easy,
Serg

Be Right Back

Hello there readers,

Sergey is regretting that it has been some time since he posted. He will be back soon. Meanwhile enjoy some of these links.

-Sergey's Computer

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090324.html

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/2379/84094790.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-thewave,0,7729647.special

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/british-scientists-to-create-synthetic-blood-1651715.html

http://www.englishrussia.com/images/daily_photos/33.jpg

Duty Calls

Unfortunately I was not able to put time into the studio today guys. We are preparing to leave for our next investigation. I would like to make it a goal to do a photo shoot before we leave. I would like to leave you with an interesting story.

http://www.frankejames.com.php5-10.websitetestlink.com/debate/?p=118

We shall meet again.

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

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.