Irvine Portrait - Irvine Photography

If you are interested in learning how to shoot fine art photography (figure studies, nude, etc.) please do sign up for my workshop email list.   I’m hoping to get a few students together in September….

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1400&tag=nl.e101

 From Techrepublic:

For many years, the Internet was the “final frontier,” operating largely unregulated — in part because of the jurisdictional nightmare involved in trying to enforce laws when communications crossed not just state lines but also national boundaries. That was then; this is now. Legislation that affects the use of Internet-connected computers is springing up everywhere at the local, state and federal levels. You might be violating one of them without even knowing.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the existing laws and some of the pending legislation that can influence how we use our computers and the Internet. Nothing in this article should be construed as legal advice; this is merely an overview of some of the legislation that’s out there, how it has been interpreted by the courts (if applicable), and possible implications for computer users.   Read 10 things…

My 1975 era condo had two nasty faucet valves that begun to leak heavily after seeping for proabably the past 15 years of their duty cycle.   Along with planting tomatoes along the back of the house (the only sun we have) I decided to also make this past weekend the “repair guy” and replace these faucets.

 So I went to Lowes and bought a complete set of new fixtures; stainless steel big lever valves with the new “California” flow control (aka like an inflamed prostate) and all the steel braided compression fittings, new under sink valves, etc.   I had a wrench or two and a bucket and towels and figured I’d be done in a few hours.

 Well, I started with removing the leaky faucets…or trying to since the Bob Vila site said I’d have some nuts to unscrew and then I’d be able to remove them.  Unfortunately, I needed a “basin wrench” which costs another $19 at Ace, so I ran over there two minutes before they closed and picked on up (under pressure, I was warned they were closing any second.)

 Now, armed with a new tool I set about the task of unscrewing the fixtures only to find that they were completely immovable.  No amount of twisting would undo the years of melted rust that formed the plug atop my sink.  

I called my buddy over who brought his big pliers and some WD 40; I held on to the bottom part under the sink while he twisted on the top…no good.  Eventually he chipped away at the rusting nut until it broke through.   The other one didn’t appear nearly as rusty so it took another 30 minutes of chipping and bending before I could pull the rusted ring free and at last, I was able to remove the cold water valve.

The other stuff removed easily enough, and I now set about to read the instructions.    Oh boy…pretty sparse on the instructions here.   There was an “exploded view” which was exactly what I wanted to do, explode.   I eventually wrangled the right parts in what I thought were the right order, and turned on the water to test it.   Immediately a fast dribble came from the faucet line that came from the cold water valve.   I tightened and tightened some more.     Turned on the water, more leaking than ever!  I put some teflon tape; no good.   Keep in mind I am stuffed under the sink on my back with my arms up in the air, with the smallest wrench I had wedged between the basin and the wall trying to do all this.

 Well crap, it still leaks after 6 hours of work.   I gave up for the day and put a bowl underneath.  

Next day after 10 hours of work at my day job, I went back to my moonlighting as a plumber savant and purchased a new line thinking that was a problem, another trip to Ace.   Got back, removed the leaking line and put on the new one….voila!!   Leaking now like a full mammary shooting a stream off to the side.   I removed the fitting that attached the hoses to the faucet and took that to Lowes, suspecting that there was a microscopic crack in the fitting.    They swapped the part no problem (god help the person that gets THAT open box) and I went home to replace the part.  

Sure enough, things went fine and I am now leakproof.  But all in all, I just proved one thing:  Just because I’m capable doesn’t mean I should deal with it.   Two days of crap is worth $200…..

http://facesphotocontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009401506

 Please vote for my entry!!!  I’d like to win their camera, and other prizes…

http://irvineportrait.com/__oneclick_uploads/2010/02/img_2503web.jpg

It finally stopped raining enough to take my 5D Mk II with the 14mm Sigma lens and tripod out for some night shooting.  The super wide prime lens is not an easy to use lens because of the flaring that comes from any side light hitting the lens.   Night was no exception to this,  but was still a bit easier than broad daylight because you have to shade the lens no matter what in daylight.

I turned 50 this past Thursday the 18th, and wanted to share this with you. 

 I celebrated this particular birthday by waking up at 6, going to work by 7, having a prostate exam at 10am (”drop your pants, spread your cheeks and breathe normally”), a nice lunch at a sushi buffet in Laguna Hills, and another five hours of work before going home to pass out.   

My advice: Do NOT TURN 50!!  At all costs. 

I was laying in bed with a cold that wouldn’t quit, and it hit me:  I’m fully nerded out!   I’m in bed, with my Macbook pro on one side remotely logged to my PC downstairs, my work PC laptop on the other side of me, logged in to SharePoint,  while watching a Roku box movie from Netflix on the bigscreen TV, talking on my cell phone, while the house phone begins ringing.   

 Folks, do not try this at home.

Actress Delaina Mitchell (Vanilla Sky, Waiting to Exhale) and Harley Coffey were married and later wanted beach photographs “post wedding”; they were a charming couple and a pleasure to photograph.

Model/Actress Cecilia was the subject of HDPortrait.com’s “avant-garde portrait”. The photography was shot in my studio (which you know can be anywhere in Orange County, LA, etc.)

The entire process took several days, including shopping for design elements, fabric, ornamentation, meeting with the makeup artist Scarlette and her assistant to artistically paint Cecilia’s face, using airbrush, feather and lashes. The set consisted of the stretched fabric material on the floor. A scaffold is set atop the fabric. The photographer stands atop the scaffold and shoots straight down. Set styling by Gary Amundson (with thanks!)

More portraits from this sitting: http://www.photoshack.com/thumbnails.php?album=5302
Candids with scaffold: http://www.photoshack.com/displayimage.php?album=8799&pos=4

I was testing the cool Parabolic umbrella by Paul C. Buff, in my living room. I needed a real face to test lighting, so my daughter relented for a few brief minutes to sit while I moved the light around a bit. These are the test shots put together in a slide show movie. These aren’t retouched (as my daughter reminded me sternly)…

You know, sometimes you just need a little help with your metrics; we were told that the US would be converted back when I was in the third grade but it never seemed to happen. I’m too old to convert in my head, so here’s a table to help out.