ONCE YOU'VE GONE RAW YOU NEVER GO BACK

Like a lot of budding photographers, I was resistant to make the move from shooting JPEG to shooting RAW. For me it was a size issue. Shooting RAW meant I would get less than half as many photos on my CF cards. Because of this, I shot JPEG until this guy came to visit my students. Even then I hadn't planned on shooting RAW. It wasn't until the Secret Service named me the only official photographer for the event that I nervously made the switch. I had been urged by my friend Joe McNally to make the switch to RAW for quite some time; he continually lectured me that RAW allows you to recover a stop of exposure either way, and sure enough, it does. Believe it or not, with the Secret Service yelling at me for getting too close (4 times), the School Superintendent asking for her photo with the President, and my need to sort of supervise ten 7th graders, I didn't nail the exposure every time. But back in Lightroom I was amazed at the new correction power I had. Through the power of RAW I made the above rather lousy photo into one of my favorites from the day. One other note on shooting Presidents: you can't move them into better light unless you're David Hume Kennerly, and Clinton was attracted like a magnet to the worst possible light all afternoon.  

THE MEANING OF LIFE (BEFORE AND AFTER)

I've been thinking a lot recently about our short time as participants in this little experiment we call life. Unfortunately, I have nothing to share; no epiphanies, no enlightenment. But when I look at how easily we fall into unhealthy lives that work against our souls calling, it does seem we deserve our collective unhappiness. We have become complacent with our self chosen realities, but like the pictures above, we can always manipulate reality and make something ordinary beautiful.   

WILL VINTON VISIT

Will Vinton, the father of claymation, paid a visit to my students TV show yesterday. The show is in it's 4th season, and I serve as the Producer. Will made the above mouse in a 4 minute claymation challenge. He remarked several times during the process that he disliked the medium of Play-Doh. He also has one of the best mustaches I've ever seen. Will Vinton created clay icons like the California Raisins, Dominoes Noid, and the PJ's television show.  He currently runs Freewill Entertainment.