Ants in my pants
Ants in my pants! Well not really, they're on the ground!
I woke up one morning and decided to build a life instead of making a living.
They say if you want a popular blog you need a focus, I did that once and it burnt me out.
I like to hang out with my wife and kids, read, trade stocks and FOREX, take photographs (on film and digital), write poetry (haiku mostly), camp, hike, play GO, and bake when I have time. Plus I do all other kinds of rambling shit.
The New "What Do You Fill Your Heart With?" Flickr Group.
Follow me on Google Buzz: Thomas Ott
Filed under
film
Kodak 400CN film
Kodak 400CN film sucks for black and white work in the desert and in extreme haze under direct sunlight conditions. It seems to work OK in incident light. Plus its a bit too grainy for me. Good to know for future work.
Comments [0]
Big Bend Adventure
The ongoing rock study in Texas. Took these when I was out in Texas/Oklahoma in October 2009. Boy did I enjoy driving US 90 all alone.
Comments [0]
A Summer Barbecue 2009
Some photos from a summer barbecue in 2009. Good friends, good food, good times. Life is good like that. Simple joy.
Comments [0]
Film vs Digital for me
Although I've been enjoying my Canon G11 digital camera over the past 2 months, I still can't stop using film. Yes, there is NO doubt that film is harder to work with these days and it definately is a pain in the butt to develop, scan, and then upload to flickr BUT its so much sharper and nicer. I'll still use my G11 for family and general snapshots but for art work and serious stuff I will use film.
Comments [0]
Does the Camera matter?
Its often said that the camera doesn't matter in making a great photograph, rather its the composition and your eye that creates the memorable image. To that end, many people argue that no one asked Picasso what kind of brush he used to make his paintings. While on the surface this argument sounds compelling, it isn't entirely correct. Materials and tools do matter very much in the creation of your ultimate image.
As someone who shoots film, the type of film and lens I use do affect the quality of my image. I wouldn't use E100VS film and a 500mm lens if I was shooting people portraits, much like a wood carver wouldn't use a machete to carve a small figurine. Further, if I developed my own B&W film, the type of developer I use would also affect my ultimate image. Granted, someone can use E100VS film and a 500mm lens to shoot people portraits but it would be for the creation of his/her specific artistic vision, in which the tools and materials really do matter to create the images. What truly matters, in my opinion, is the creative process. What media you work in, how you manipulate the image, what type of film used, etc all matter in the creation of that one special image. This process requires the artist to contemplate what type of materials to input, the tools use to mold the image, and all the relevant pieces to build that final image. Philosophically, the abstract concept that a little box has the ability to capture light really doesn't matter in itself, it could be a manual SLR, DSLR, medium format, etc but rather its your eye, composition, tools and materials you use that do matter greatly to your ultimate image.Comments [0]
Comments [1]