A Long Week...

Over the weekend, my uncle passed away after a fight with lung cancer.  It had been a long time since I had seen Steeleville, IL, and it was nice to return.  I just wish it had been for better reason.

Back in the saddle again.

It has been a while, but I'm back!  Yay!

The Extraordinary Contraptions - Live

The Extraordinary Contraptions - Live
Originally uploaded by Joe Dickerson

Steampunk has grown considerably in popularity over the past few years, which is great and a bit unnerving at the same time. The reason it is great is that I've liked steampunk for a long time, even before its modern popularity.

I remember hearing the term thrown around back when I was a kid in the early 80's, and I knew I liked it even then as it is a good blend of pseudo-sci-fi and fantasy, which at the time I was a huge fan of fantasy specifically having just read Brooks and Eddings.

In this regards, I hope it lasts...

Unfortunately, my fear is that with its current popularity and push, can it survive the over saturation of the industry. Like everything else that becomes popular, we've flooded the market with the genre. Only time can tell if it will last or again fall to fringes of genre fiction.

Incidentially, the image above was taken of The Extraordinary Contraptions at AnachroCon. The band is a steampunk themed rock band, much like Abney Park (who also rocks, I might add!). Check them out if you get a chance.

Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero
Originally uploaded by Joe Dickerson

I was doing some studio practice work over the weekend, playing with the lighting and trying to get a few things figured out overall with picture composition. It can get pretty complex.

The picture above used five different flashes, all trigger wirelessly: a beauty ring in front above and to his left, one fill flash to his right at eye level, one behind with a grid for the hair light, and two on the background (one snooted). On the camera, I used my Canon 50mm F/1.4 with a Tiffen Yellow #8 black and white filter.

The end result turned out to be lit quite well, and once I converted to B&W, the yellow filter made the woodgrain in the guitar pop. I liked the technique, and will be using it more as I go.

Anyway, I just hought I'd share...

Sincerely,

Joe

TDK Building in Georgia (HDR)

TDK Building in Georgia (HDR)
Originally uploaded by Joe Dickerson

Thought I post this shot I took while developing the website for TDK Components in Peachtree City, GA. This was my first HDR shot, and I like how it turned out. Like I mentioned on the image caption, I can definitely see potential. Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

Gate of Souls Book Review live!

Hi All,

I just found out that The Chris Chat Reviews has posted a review of Gate of Souls, A Familiar's Tale Book One online. Great review! Go check it out!

Sincerely,

Joe :-)

Ramblings from the Dark Side of the Moon

Well, the weekend has come once again, and I’m sure there is a resounding “YEA!” passing through the lips of everyone even as I utter the phrase. To be honest, I understand the mentality all too well as I experience it on an increasingly weekly basis. What can I say; I’m only human, after all.

Now, I could sit here and complain about the difficulties, but I have to be honest with myself regarding this. Complaining achieves nothing, and I am not really that person, or at least that is not the person I’d like to be. So in this case, mum’s the word.

I began listening to a new audio book this week, having finished the last of the Jim Butcher audio books over the weekend. This time, I opted for Robert Heinlein’s, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which is yet another of the well known novels that I somehow missed along the way--apparently I went through my early years with blinders on, my fingers in my ears, and muttering, “la-la, I can’t hear you,” all the time. So far, I’m a little over one third of the way through the book, and so far, I have enjoyed it greatly.

For those that don’t know, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a book about the beginning of a revolution against the established oppressive authority on the moon. Simply…great stuff! And the narrator has done an amazing time so far, especially considering the first person perspective and the fact that the primary protagonist has a pronounced Russian accent, and the supporting characters do not. The narrator drops in and out of this accent as needed with missing a beat. It kind of makes me jealous of such a thing…well, not really, but it is a talent I have not yet tackled for myself. Maybe in the future…

The book is also a bit thought provoking, and to me, that is a mark of a great science fiction novel--my preferred form of sci-fi is a classic dystopian future, into which The Moon is a Harsh Mistress fits in many ways. I love how good science fiction can throw a seemingly beneficial idea back into our faces is such a way as to identify weaknesses in such a thing that we may not have seen before. One of the best examples of this I can think of is the Big Brother concept of the book 1984. To me this is a reality check that points out that none of us are as smart as we think we are, something the idealogs amongst us need to take to heart and simply stop spouting their tired poppycock.

Anyway, I will see how this tale pans out over the next week or so, but the style seems to work for me so far. Until then, I’ll call this one closed.

Sincerely,

Joe :-)