Published on June 21, 2008
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I just called 911 for the first time in my life about a half hour ago. I need to wake up in 3 hours to go shoot some crazy crane move at CHLA… but I thought I’d jot this down really quickly first.
I was coming down the 22 East… passing the 5… when I noticed a newer silver BMW 7-series swerving back and forth between the carpool and fast lanes. I thought it might be someone just taking the turns a little tightly… or being a jackass… but after we passed Main St. I figured that he/she (after this I’m gonna just refer to this loser as a “he) was drunk. The driver started to slow down… and I wasn’t going to pass him for fear of being rear-ended… he’d gone from 75 to about 45 in a short amount of time… and I wasn’t going to risk him ramping back up behind me.
As we approached Tustin, it seemed like he was moving towards the exit… but a little too slowly… the nice new BMW smashed right through a large road sign - the kind held up by a wooden 4×4 - and then swerved back on the freeway and kept driving. It was at this point - maybe 2 minutes after I first noticed the car - that I called 911. I gave the officer the info on what I had witnessed, told him that there was probably a large sign sitting as a hazard in the road on the Tustin exit, and gave him the color make and model of the car as well as the license plate, lastly mentioning that the car looked pretty beat up by the sign and had the front bumper hanging off the side. By the end of the call we were on the 55 South passing the 5, I had my flashers on behind him because he was driving about 30 mph.
As we approached MdFadden, it looked like he was finally going to exit… but as we started to get off he must have suddenly realized it wasn’t his exit (SOME of his brain cells were still functioning) and he swerved back towards the freeway, over the curb, and back into the traffic lanes… and since I wasn’t about to pull any death-defying (or death-inviting) moves of my own… he lost me and I drove home.
I do wonder if CHP responded and went after him… or if he made it home. Neither would surprise me. There is also the chance that he got into a larger accident… he was totally out of it and nearly crashed multiple times during the 5 minutes I was tailing him.
I hope that’s not the case. I’d like to think he’s in the back of a cruiser right now… and once he gets out he’ll pay some hefty fees to get his smashed car out of impound. I doubt he’ll learn his lesson, but it’s the best I can hope for (unless I want to hope that he just wrecked his finely tuned German automobile on the side of the road… but that wouldn’t be nice to wish on his friends and family).
I am not a designer.
The being said, I’m actually pretty proud of myself for putting together the page for the new Shootsac promotion. Lan and I did the video (Lan’s post work on this one was AWESOME) and I put together the page with a good deal of input and advice from Keats. It’s done in a very old way (tables and crappy html code), but I did everything on the page except design the logo (made the poster, buttons, etc…) I’ve checked it in multiple browsers and everything seems ok with it, so the fact that it looks decent is all that matters.
This may seem like a pretty inconsequential thing… but I have a long history (8 years or so) of making really crappy looking websites and pages. This is the first time EVER that I have put together something that doesn’t look like it was done by a five year old, or maybe a monkey.
To top it all off it’s also a GREAT promotion. Spend $75 at the Shootsac store during the month of May and be entered to win the lens of your choice up to $1800 on Adorama. The odds of winning are actually quite high compared to most contests or promotions you will find out there, so it’s pretty exciting. Check it out.
This one is good for all my non-photographer friends who just like to take photos and maybe do some simple edits to them. I assume most of the photographers I know actually own a copy of Photoshop…Adobe has just released a beta of Photoshop Express… which is basically a scaled down FREE version of Photoshop that you can actually use on the web. There are no layers or filters or complex brushes… but the truth is that for 99% of the photos that are posted on the web you really don’t need any of that. It’s more than enough to take your decent photos and make them look great.
That being said there’s still a pretty impressive list of adjustments and tools for an online application.
The Touchup feature works really simply… you choose the size of the spot you want, click the area in the image you want to touch up, then a red circle comes up which you can move to find the spot you want to use to blend into.
There are also liquify-type effects that you can use… for entertainment purposes only, of course.
I’m not going to do an in-depth feature review… but this is definitely a great tool for amateurs or those who just want to perform basic edits before posting their photos online or having them printed. Check it out.
Published on March 25, 2008
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Kate and I were surprised to receive a strange looking 5 dollar bill as change at Rite Aid today. I guess it isn’t taking long to get the new bills into circulation.
I understand the need for better and more technologically advanced anti-counterfeit measures… but it seems as though our paper currency is looking more and more like what I expect to see in Singapore or Vietnam. At least they are retaining the same size for now, but the big purplish 5 on the back is just weird.
Published on February 9, 2008
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Ok, so I’m not very good about keeping up with blogging. I have never been much of a blogger, I always figured that no one really cared much for what I had to say unless it was something really important. Considering, though, that I have very low readership here… I guess I might as well just start saying whatever the heck I want to, and maybe I’ll even start posting videos again. Maybe.
Anyhow, Lan and I have been working on a project with wedding photographer [b]ecker, we shoot daily videos for the [b]school blog, they teach new and experienced wedding photographers tips and tricks to help out their business. We actually had a great shoot yesterday, which included a visit from Jasmine Star. She’s very sweet, and if you check out her blog you’ll see she’s also a great photographer.
Working on the [b]school project has exposed me to lots of information and people in the photography world. It’s an invaluable experience. If you are interested in starting a photography business or even if you already have, you will love the free tips and info you can get on the video blog. The videos will be posted daily until WPPI in March, at which time we’ll be launching the main site. Check it out!
Published on December 5, 2007
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It’s been a while since I’ve really written anything here, just a few video and photo posts, but I’d like to record a little about The Winnies.
Irina Slutsky came up with the concept and started planning The Winnies, and she brought Lan, Bonny and I on as organizers to handle the logistics and website. Truthfully Lan handled almost ALL of the website and did an awesome job with it. Anyhow, between the four of us we organized what I believe to be a successful event. People had fun (the open bar didn’t hurt), they loved the red carpet photo booth we had set up, and the best part was that people actually showed up. By the hundreds.
Luis took the “official” photos… about 1,500 of them… and they’re all available here on Flickr. Here are just a few of my MANY favorites…
The Organizers:
Team Noodle Scar:
Jumping With Annie:
Published on October 12, 2006
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Lan and I have entered into a challenge, a “deathmatch”, if you will… and we need your help. Please visit Vlog Deathmatch for details.
Published on June 21, 2006
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So I leave for Vietnam in less than 2 weeks. I’ll be there for 5. It sorta crept up on me and I didn’t even realize that it was so soon until this past Monday. I guess I should start planning what I’m going to take with me… but I won’t. I’ll save that mess for 2 days before I leave, that way I can maximize my pain… and that is always a priority.
Published on April 24, 2006
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I’ll be leaving for Vietnam in two months and a week. I’ll be staying there for 1 month. During that month I hope to do the best photography and video of my life. Either way it will be a great experience, I am sure.
I also finally started a regular job again. It’s been 8 months since I quit Oakley. They were nice enough to hire me even though I have a month’s vacation scheduled for July… and I really like the company… but it really does hurt to make 30% less than my last job. I also no longer have my own office, I have to clock in and out, I am a bottom-tier employee with no subordinates… there is a lot to get used to. The good thing, and the thing that I was looking for… is that it’s a regular 8 to 5 job, not life-comsuming in the way that Oakley was. The bad thing is that I’m already liking the company a lot and can see myself committing to a long long time there if all goes well. I guess we’ll see.
Anyhow… back to Vietnam. I am really excited about the trip… I was born here in the states, raised here… then sent to Vietnam for 2 years during high school to learn the language and my father’s heritage. During that time I did enjoy my stay… it had its down points, like malaria and a few other unpleasant moments… but it was ok in general. Going now, though, on a vacation will be great. I expect to thoroughly enjoy my time. Also, now I’m a photographer and videographer… and my only real problem right now is trying to decide on whether or not to bring the big video camera. It’s so heavy… and I will have to carry it everywhere… and it will interfere with my photography. Then again, I want to get some footage while I still can of certain things… certain family members… the condition of the towns and people right now… various things that will change greatly in 5 years’ time. I know it will be already quite a bit different than the Vietnam of 12 years ago… but I don’t yet know how much.
So… I guess I’ll have to see. July = Vietnam.
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