Oh lately...

Loving Tree
by snoweyes.

I realize I enjoy updating my goofy website, and have neglected to do anything of the sort recently. So here goes my bit of writing I try to get on with!

I took the photo you see along the beauteous river here in Tulsa last weekend when the temperature was a perfect 70 degrees. How I miss that day.

I got sick a few days ago. Sick! Not fun. I thought I had eaten something that made me so...interesting, but nope. Good, old-fashioned stomach virus. Today I had an actual bite of pie. Whoa!

In the process of healing, I went and made dear Sam ill. Sorry! She says it's ok, so I'll try to forgive myself. We are both recovering nicely for the most part. We just eat very little. Like mice.

Today we went to see the musical The Color Purple. It was a boisterous show and now I'm all filled up with booty-shaking soul. Hoo-yah-mm-mmm.

I also got a new phone since I last wrote to replace my slooow phone. And then I broke it. And I just got another one to replace it! I'm now contactable. I broke the "old" new one flying ass-first into the ground during a murder mystery. The "new" new phone I'll try to be better with.

Oh, last time I wrote, I said I was going to see the last performance of Sam's production of Shades of Gray. Not only did I, but I also took a whole mess of pictures, some of which you can find on Sam's Facebook photo page for the play. I will warn you that some of the images are RACY and SAUCY and...now you just have to look, don't you?

Next week I'm in a murder mystery at Molly's Landing! Of course you can get tickets at their official website (I created, heheh) @
www.ultimatemurdermystery.com

I'll end this saying, this week has been cold. Brr.

Photography tips from Derick Snow, TPS photojournalist

Photo Tips Collage
by snoweyes.

If you just got a shiny new digital camera during the past holiday break you are probably excited to take some beautiful pictures to show online or with your friends and students. Many people expect the camera to simply take what we want the picture to look like in our imaginations, and end up less than impressed with what develops either on our computers or developing lab and they wonder, “Why can’t my picture look better?”

I’ve got good news for you and your new camera. You can take better pictures and I’ll give you some secrets I picked up along the way to becoming a photojournalist. Here are a few free tips to get you started this new year from someone’s who’s been taking pictures for over ten years.

My composition on composition. One easy way to get a better balanced composition is to use the “rule of thirds,” which is basically a way to keep your subject away from the direct center of your image. If you ever want to sound fancy in front of other camera aficionados feel free to say you live by the “rule of thirds,” and for effect raise your pinky when you say it! Kidding aside, take a look at your favorite images of people and you may notice that the photographer rarely sticks the subject dead center. Not only does this trick lead the viewer’s eyes in a viewing direction, it gives the image a certain weight for our imagination to use. Now, what can you do with that information? Try for example, putting a picture of a stop sign slightly to the left near a street. It adds a bit of drama and more often looks pleasing to the eye. It works surprisingly well, no matter how fancy (or inexpensive) your camera is.

Taking indoor pictures isn’t easy, is it? Some people wonder why, right out of the box photos taken indoors end up looking too dark or grainy. If you are shooting something like a play in the audience, I’ve got bad news for you. The picture won’t be what you imagined. Darkness + high zoom + movement = blurry subjects. Most cameras have a flash, but the distance only goes about 6-8 feet and then the light will trail off dramatically. If your subject is farther than eight feet, try to get closer or you’ll just get darkness or a blurry, grainy picture. If you can’t get closer and the subject isn’t moving, use a tripod or steady surface. You’ll get a crisp image that will look much better than if you shoot handheld.

Another favorite tip for getting a great photo of people is to look for dramatic angles or levels of depth. I always try to find a complementing background to someone’s smiling face and if the traditional portrait isn’t working, I change the height of my camera and move closer in; I can move from 12 feet to as close as three. During this time I don’t zoom in, but literally move in and get lower or higher to increase the emotional drama of the composition. It sounds complicated but it’s not and it works better than expected. Just move around and keep clicking that camera until your memory card is full, then pick your favorites when you are done. That’s the beauty of digital photography.

I’ll be back with more tips in the months ahead. Happy photo hunting!

January Weekend, 2009

I've been all over the spectrum of life these last few weeks. Since I last wrote, Derick has come back from Texas adventures with Sambo and Jes and Brianna. We went to Corpus Christi after new Years in San Antonio and slept on the beach! But that was last week and since then I've been really busy in a positive way.... go over to my flickr site if you can and see some other fun pictures from myself, and for some of Sam's pictures from our Texas trip, go here :)

I created this little beauty of a logo for a tattoo company run by a lovely ladyfriend I know in Texas. She invinted this fantastic ink that only lasts for six months and I think it's going to be a big hit.

Also....
I perform in Murder mysteries, namely the Ultimate Murder Mystery; at least for a few more months until I leave for that show in Branson I'm doing. James Fields is a very cool dude and I greatly enjoy working with him and his ridiculously talented actors. In an effort to kick a few more tickets for his shows I created a new website for him, I hope you enjoy the work I put into it. We took some fun pictures and I used the lovely Samantha Woodruff as the murderer/ghost for the website imagery in a CSI-whacky Columbo theme.

www.ultimatemurdermystery.com

If you've never experienced the show I highly suggest you do so before I leave!

I also wrote a fun article for a newsletter that I think will also appear in the Official TPS mag that get circulated around bookstores and the like. Anyway, I'll post that maybe tomorrow. That's enought for one night! I just got out of a fun UMM show tonight so I'm going to bed soon...

Sunday I get to see Sambo in Shades of Grey! Cheers all