55mm

I’m not sure what came over me but recently I made the decision to jump ship on my current main 35mm film camera, my Voigtlander R3M, and move over to an SLR. The decision was not because I don’t like shooting with the Voigtlander, I love that camera to death, I just felt it was time to try something new. Something fresh to experiment with. My first thought was immediately the Olympus Om series. I have had my eye on it for a long while now and after doing some research and deciding on a lens I went on an eBay hunt and ended up getting really lucky and found exactly what I was looking for in perfect shape for a fair price considering its condition.

I ended up with an OM-2n and the Zuiko 55mm f/1.2 lens seen above. It seemed unique and versatile and right up my prime loving alley. While I am still running through a couple of test rolls and the verdict is still out on how well of a fit it will end up really being I have a still have good feeling about it. I also ordered a simple converter for my 5D so I will be able to also use it with my digital work as well so all in all it’s a pretty exciting venture in my eyes. I will write more about the camera and my experience in the future but for now I wanted to leave you guys with a fresh wallpaper.

I was shooting the camera in its fresh new to me state at a coffee shop and sort of stumbled across this idea. The beautiful wide aperture and elements in the lens lent itself perfectly for the shot. The juxtaposition between the focusing ranges of the lens I shot the photo with and the 55mm lens as the subject is so perfect and my brother there, the always willing model for my little experiments, added a needed depth to the idea. It really does make for a great desktop because at its larger resolution you can see the details in both the close foreground focus as well as the distant room being engulfed the 55mm. I hope you enjoy it!

Between Here and There

Some of you may see the above photo and think, oh, an out of focus image, but look closer, or maybe further away. The way I see it, this image is very much in focus. It’s the way you automatically define it as out of focus upon first seeing it that insterests me. The photograph above is not of a landscape, it is of air in front of the camera, the space there but not seen. This is a photo for your imagination, your assumptions, and your skeptisism. The beauty of nothing should not be defined as a lack of visual focus, it’s the implied focus that makes it unique to each viewer.

So while you look at this dont look at it and try to focus your mind on what it appears to be but focus it on what isnt there. A face, a memory, your lunch, anything. It is open space there for your mind to assimalate with. It lets you visualize whatever it is you need to see there in front of you. Put simply, it’s not nothing, it’s not anything, it’s everything. Then again, maybe for you, the fuzzy memory of a lake may be just what you needed, either way, I hope you enjoy it.

I shot this while out at the lake again one afternoon, it was on my birthday actually, I was taking minimal photos of a stick of all things and this idea popped into my mind. The clouds and reflection of the water with the green all lined up with the great color of the late setting sun and just felt right. Thought it would be a nice one for all you minimal lovers out there.

50ft Radio Volume Five

The first thing that crosses my mind when I discover a great new song or artist is always, “wow, I have got to share this with other people.” It’s why I have always used my web presence to share my favorite new music with readers. The 50ft Radio series of mixes started as a way to simplify the process of sharing great music with others in a way that was similar to my days of making mix tapes for friends. With the great tools available today I am able to compile these in a way that encourages exploration of new artists.

Over the time they have been available they grew to be more popular than I could have imagined and the response was always overwhelmingly positive. It pleased me to no end to discover others were enjoying them so much. I have gotten a number of emails from people letting me know that the mixes lead them to purchase multiple albums based on songs they discovered in them. I am happy to help spread the word of so many wonderful musicians work in this way and hopefully I will be able to continue to compile these without complications.

Many of you may have noticed that the previous mixes were removed from public access a while back and that was simply my decision not to host them on my server any longer due to their increasing popularity. while I love the fact that so many people enjoy them I’d still like to keep things under the radar. After a lot of deliberation I have decided to use Mediafire to host the files. While the ads are a bit annoying at times it is a solid, fast(ish), and simple way to give access to the mixes without the burdens associated with hosting them on my servers. I hope you all can forgive me for the ads. I may or may not opt for a paid plan to hide the ads for everyone but for now I hope you don’t mind the inconvenience.

All that buisness out of the way, I am happy to announce the immediate availability of volume five of the series. While putting it together it grew to the point where I had to chop the list in half and offer up two sides to volume five so this time around you have two mixes of amazing music to explore. Two decidedly different environments, one full of great, mostly electronic music and the other a calm mix for these last days of summer.

I am pretty excited about them, and I am happy to finally make them available. The process of making these involves me dropping songs into a pool of great music and then slowly listening through the selected songs, picking the order of them, and making the tough decisions about what stays and what goes. I often listen to them over and over to make sure they all fit well together so it takes a good while to get them just right for you guys to enjoy. I highly suggest you listen to them before getting all music geek on the playlist. Maybe its just me but I always feel it makes a more satisfying first listen.

I ask that you not re-distribute these in any way shape or form. Enjoy it responsibly. If you find music you love then by all means, please support the artist. They cant keep doing what they do without it. These were created for the love of music and helping artists gain exposure to new ears not just senseless sharing. Its important to me and I thank you for your understanding. Enjoy!

Side A. (list) Side B. (list)