Twitter is only worth 140 characters, but a picture is worth thousands...

First off I don't have a Twitter account, it was suggested to me once but I wasn't interested in another social feed at the time to read and keep fed, Facebook was enough along with the various personal interest forums plus the rare and random blog entry I might post. But then came Instagram, John Gruber sung it's praises and he being a smart guy I decided to have a look and signed up. What a difference an image makes to my psyche, and the stream of images floating in from all around the globe was a wonderful kick in the creative pants. So I trudged off and began filling my own tributary with images and before long I had followers, comments and a river of stuff online.

To be sure, Twitter does have image sharing but since the focus is more on text and the art of txtng with an occasional image link thrown in, blathering is all too easy to accomplish and I want to speak volumes and find it easiest to do with images. And like MySpace/FaceBook/Twitter, Instagram is filled with cutesy pet images, sexy images from Asian girls, general adolescent falderall and faux artiness that all quickly becomes redundant but in between the cat pics and shots of leggy feet are some truly brilliant images from creative minds world wide. It's a giant goddamn collective photo exhibit and my shit is in there too!

Hell yes!

Now no space to find and organize, no materials to shell out for and hope the printer gets it right, no hanging pieces and getting that right! No invites to send or parties to coordinate. And more importantly no fooling one's self that you'll ever make a bleeding dime or receive critical praise from someone other than a lover, family or friend. It's great! Getting feedback or a follow from someone whose images you respect and have never met yields plenty of satisfaction given the time and effort put into content creation which is almost effortless and the results worth far more than the cost of being in the community (nothing). It's like an Easy-Bake Oven! It does have it's limitations though and I find myself fighting cliches (unless purposeful) and overt imitation (unless one is directing the nod to the inspiration).

The downside I've found is the level of addiction is greater than the internet itself (for me at least) because I feel free to express my self with imagery in a fashion I have not had before. Sure I can share images on Facebook or MySpace but the layers one has to get through to do so burns through my time and there are other distractions there, besides one can cross post via IG to almost any social network site, even Flickr! And since IG is really about the image commenting is secondary, though some blather on as elsewhere. The other downsides are it is currently an iPhone only app and there is no web based content linked to the inner being so you have to do it all on the phone, and as such I go through battery life quickly...

In short it's both a liberating experience and an addiction, but I will take the pleasure with my pain for now and have fun with content creation, because my phone is always with me and it's become my de facto camera and processing center as I am not chained to a desk and computer so I can roam, shoot and post at will. Nice!

Home @ last!

Yesterday concluded Elliot's stay in the nursery, the doctor had cleared his discharge earlier in the day. So at 7pm at the shift change we all bugged out of the SCN for the last time. We said some good byes to the staff and made our way to the parking lot to install the car seat base.

I forgot what a pain they are to install and get right. Note to the manufacturers of these things: Make installation videos and either toss a DVD in the box or post in the support area of your site or both. Reading manuals for these things is a pain in the ass, because so much of it is feel mixed with random odd geometries due to variations of car interiors.

This just in...

Elliot was moved out of the SCN/NICU and into the regular nursery today and has been doing well with his feeding although a little pokey at times. This may just get him home by the week's end. Go Baby Elliot!

The home stretch

Tonight I learned that Elliot's feeding tube was removed overnight and since he has been taking the bottle pretty well all milestones are pointing homeward. His nursery mates Matthew, who left on Sunday night and Georgina, who is destined to head to Barcelona on Thursday (SAN->ATL->BCN, ohhh Mr Toad's wild ride!) have come a long way in the time they spent in the special care nursery. Others have come along now and entered life with a short layover in the SCN often beginning with the incubator stay, IV, monitor lines and photo therapy as the first stop. Next stop is the clear acrylic bassinet and feeding tube as nature begins to wake and take its course within the snugly wrapped burgeoning souls.

I think we have been fortunate in witnessing mostly favorable outcomes while we've been visiting as there are several testimonials indicating otherwise, one a framed remembrance to a 4 day old the other a plaque on a donated rocking chair in the name of a lost child. I forget what the mortality rate is for preemies in the sub 30 week category, but I'm glad we won't really need to know that stat. Survival to term for them is a struggle even in the best of circumstances and the effects of such an early birth can carry well into adulthood or be a permanent part of their life. Again I feel we may not have as great as many concerns in this regard, but time will only tell.

So here's to the final stretch and another day beginning...

New member of the family

(I penned this on the 6th but am just now getting back to adding to, and posting it...)

So Saturday was a bit of a tease, because Sunday brought my son into the world. I had no idea that was going to be the day, I was under the false impression that we might go 3-5 more days. Had I known this would be happening I wouldn't have burned the midnight oil hanging out with some friends and watching them play at a local restaurant.

Of course once it was known that Laurie would be having a c-section we had to wait further because she had been given food at 7:30, so the procedure would take place 8 hours from that point. Well it so happened there were 2 other c-sections ahead of us so by the time she was prepped and moved into the OR it was 5:00, I joined a little later after the OR was prepped for the surgery. I sat warily behind the drape with her and only took a few short peeks at the procedure, not being down with blood and guts. I took a few grab shots as they doctors were going about their business out of a morbid curiosity in surgical technique.

So at 5:38 he was officially delivered into the world 6 weeks early. His breathing was induced and he gave out a few short cries and wiggled about on the warming tray. Had he not peed first thing, he might have tipped the scales at 4 lbs, but the call was just a half an ounce shy of that figure.

So now it has been 2.5 weeks and baby boy Doyle is still in the NICU, he at least has a name (Elliot Owens Doyle) and a car seat to ride home in. He is doing well with little to no issues other than feeding which is common among preemies. But he is getting the hang of suck and swallow as well as latching on and once they remove the feeding tube he'll be in the home stretch.

Very soon

Drained I am, and a new world stands before me yet I am not ready for it's impulse. Awakening and not prepared to exit but yet it must, forces beg it's yielding marrow until it's cry forth a beckoning call of innocence and need. I stand alone in my being not sure of my ability to meet the challenge or standard. A new voice is ready to be heard and I am certain it will be nigh upon me. I hope I am ready to meet it's demand.

Oh brother...

There's something afoot and it's forming now in the belly of my spouse. I can't believe that this is possible but alas I've seen the images and it is for certain. We've long known she was past her sell by date and hadn't given much thought to impossibilities during our intimacies (few and far between...).

But now we will see the fruits of that logic and if the future redeems us and should our libidos meet up I will come prepared for that outcome, as my boys can swim like Phelps and hit their target like Robin Hood so I guess they will need to be held back in a secure manner.

Up 2 date...

The Leica M8 is in the house and I have been making sure I get my money's worth in what spare time I have. What a different paradigm having a CCD sensor behind the lens instead of film. The possibilities are endless and yet one must learn to stop and smell the roses now and again. Film does make one work differently that is for sure and I need to approach digital in a similar fashion if I am going to succeed in making viable images. And one more thing, Adobe Lightroom 3 beta 2 has shown itself to be the best thing since sliced bread as well. To hell with Flash guys, Lightroom rocks! Examples to follow...

It does infrared pretty well...

ISO 2500 can yield decent results, contrary to popular opinion and processing skills

To someone I know but never met

Rest in peace Jim Marshall, I shall be toasting you tonight with some John Powers me thinks...

Done deal

It's taking over, and it's really all over except for the scanning. I've shot dozens of rolls of film that may never see the light of day. Some recently, some from the past. I wished I had the fortitude that others seem to possess to soup, make a contact sheet and then print this stuff. I just don't anymore, it's not so much the work but the time it takes to accomplish all the various tasks. If I did for a day job or I was an artist or even god forbid an actual photographer it would make more sense. And even if I don't print the stuff, scanning is an arduous task that I don't look forward to (thank you Nikonscan...) let alone provide disk space for it all.

So I am planning on selling off my Leica M6 body and returning to an all digital realm. I'll still have some film cameras one a toy (Holga) and the other very retro (old Leica) to fulfill any filmic desires I may still have buried deep within me. I should probably shoot those rolls of infrared film first though...

Film, I raise my glass to you and your friends who still have it in their heart to romance the emulsion, cheers!



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Postscript:
En route from Deutscheland today is an M8 to nuzzle up to all the M-mount lenses in the house and to help defray the cost the M6 must go next month along with some other things. It'll be worth it all in all. I still have a great film camera (even though it's pretty old school), so if the need arises I have an option.

Good God!

Has it been that long? I guess so, almost like ah er umm anyway so here's another one of those posts to keep the damn thing alive, to breath some life into it's flagging, wheezing corpse. For one thing it is a new year, so I should toast that I suppose.

So to the new year (2 months in...) and to new endeavors! There's the photo exhibit I'm working on, and the Unknowns gigs in June back in Georgia. Hmmmm what else? Stay tuned I guess.