Thursday, November 29, 2007

Shameless plug

Fourteen of my favorite photos are now available for sale. If you look to the top/left on this eyeDance page, you will see a slider menu showing the available images with my choice of framing. Clicking on the image you like will take you to a site where you can choose purchase options; print or custom framed. If you like the default framing I have chosen, clicking on "Custom Framing" will take you to a page showing you the default and the price, and also offering options to change the frame, mat, and glass. Any changes will automatically be reflected in the quoted price. The framing prices are quite reasonable.

If there is a photo you have seen here, or at my Flickr site, that you would like to buy but is not one of those I selected for sale, please contact me to determine it's availablity.

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Sunday, November 25, 2007

like the sun in solution...


A pour of good tequila, originally uploaded by nataraj_hauser.

I love tequila. Good tequila. I have consumed a lot of good tequila, and a fair bit of bad tequila (until I got a real job). Words seldom fail me, but I can't say it any better than Tom Robbins did in "Still Life With Woodpecker":

“Now tequila may be the favoured beverage of outlaws but that doesn't mean it gives them preferential treatment. In fact, tequila probably has betrayed as many outlaws as has the central nervous system and dissatisfied wives. Tequila, scorpion honey, harsh dew of the doglands, essence of Aztec, crema de cacti; tequila, oily and thermal like the sun in solution; tequila, liquid geometry of passion; Tequila, the buzzard god who copulates in midair with the ascending souls of dying virgins; tequila, firebug in the house of good taste; O tequila, savage water of sorcery, what confusion and mischief your sly, rebellious drops do generate!”

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Friday, November 23, 2007

Minding my bokeh


Milkweed pod, originally uploaded by nataraj_hauser.

I've started paying attention to the bokeh in my photos - the out of focus parts of the picture. Is it pleasing? Does it enhance the subject of the photo?

This is day two with the new 50mm prime lens, and I'm feeling challenged, but in a good way.

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Thursday, November 22, 2007

Nature's Andy Goldsworthy Moment

Nature's Andy Golsdsworthy Moment
Nature's Andy Goldsworthy Moment
Most of the trees along this path at Picnic Point in Madison were long since bare, and then we see this tree that held out until last night when the snow arrived. Then, all its leaves dropped creating this bright cluster on the path.

And we came upon this too.
The Last Hurrah
The Last Hurrah
Amid the bare trees of Picnic Point, this cluster still was holding it's leaves for another day, or possibly two.

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Monday, November 19, 2007

In the Studio

More of the madcap weekend: Pagee GoGo went into the studio to record their first cd. Granted access to the inner sanctum, I managed to get some fun photos without (hopefully!) disturbing them too much. This first one, of Ana Paula, is just a really nice shot, and I love her leopard hat and scarf. And check out that microphone...
Ana Paula of Pagee GoGo

This shot of Chris was just about a tosser, seriously underexposed, and I pushed it about as far as I could to "fix" it. Of course it's not fixed, but I found the end result compelling and thought I'd keep it. What do you think?
Chris of Pagee GoGo

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Sunday, November 18, 2007

German Wheel Workshop


DSC_0028.JPG, originally uploaded by nataraj_hauser.

I had another madcap weekend. Saturday afternoon I took a workshop on how to perform on a German wheel. It's like a large (7 foot diameter) hamster wheel except there are only a few rungs holding the two hoops together. It was harder than I expected to do anything but the simplest things, and I wish I had had more time on it. The instructors, members of CircEsteem, made it look easy and they did a great job teaching. There are a bunch more photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataraj_hauser/sets/

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

Stylin'

Reena and Chris 1
This is one of a hundred or so shots taken today for Pagee GoGo to use as promo material. I really liked this one of Reena and Chris because it reminds me a bit of the Cheap Trick "In Color" album cover. I guess now I have to get the two homely ones (I hope they self-select!) on a moped for the B&W back cover.


Here is another from the set that I liked, even though technically it's not my best work:

Reena and Chris 2
You can find out more about Pagee GoGo and their wonderful Brazilian music at http://www.pageegogo.com

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Thursday, November 8, 2007

What makes a photo popular?


DSC_0098.JPG, originally uploaded by nataraj_hauser.

Some of Foxy Veronica's Peach Pie burlesque.

What makes a photograph popular? I have taken some pretty good photos of some pretty interesting things or people. They get posted to my Flickr site, and most generate a small number of views. A few get viewed 50 or 75 times, and one or two select pictures get viewed 100 or more times. In two weeks, this photo has been viewed more than 200 times. That poses a number of questions for me, and I'm curious to learn your thoughts.

Why this photo? What makes this special? Does this image make you want to look closer? It's a halloween picture amongst other similar pictures, some of which are racier or more interesting to my eye. It's essentially a "snapshot", in the pejorative sense of the word, and the flash effects are a bit harsh, especially on Foxy V (on the left).

I used a handheld 1-second exposure with a rear curtain flash setting (meaning the flash fires twice, when the shutter opens and again just before it closes) to give it a bit of an otherworldly sense just because it was Halloween. ISO was 800, and I suspect that I'd have gotten a bit richer results shooting at 400.

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Monday, November 5, 2007

eyeDance format change

In an effort to reproduce my photos more effectively, I have changed the "look and feel" of the blog. With the former, highly desireable, black layout, I found I could not effectively control the crop of my photos on the right. This new template reproduces the images fully, though against a light background. I hope you like it.

UPDATED: I discovered that I could return the black background. My color choices for fonts, etc., may be funky because I'm colorblind, so if you don't like the colors, let me know and I'll get some help. *grin*

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Barry under lights


CSC_0155.JPG, originally uploaded by nataraj_hauser.

I like this photo of Barry from Pagee GoGo playing last weekend at the Brink Lounge, though at first I thought it was a tosser. I suspect it would have been a better shot if I had applied a bit of exposure compensation. It also makes me wonder if I could have had the external flash fire at half strength to provide some light but not fully illuminate Barry. It might have been an effective place to bounce the flash, though the ceiling has some changes in height right where I was so that might not have worked very well. As always, there's plenty to learn. Share your tips on this topic if you have some.

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