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.