Ok, so I'm sitting here, listening to Social D, having a slow starting Sunday morning. I've posted the photo "Priceless II" on a couple of websites, and have received a flood of emails/notes asking how I lit the shot. Some people have been curious for the purpose of learning more, and ohers have been bored pros guessing at the lights.

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This shot was complete natural light. It was a serious challenge, but I am rather satisfied with the results. the only photoshopping was the 8X10 crop requested by the customer, the sepia toning, and the scratches and stains. the image itself is untweaked in terms of exposure, contrast etc.

I abhor artificial lighting. at most I might use a scrim, and maybe a single speedlight...maybe, but probably not. I find that working with only the light which nature provides is a demanding and rewarding philosophy. I don't always get it right, but when I do, the results are good.

Flipper, Bad Brains, S.O.A., Dead Kennedys, JFA, Battalion of Saints, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Meat Puppets, 7 Seconds, the Minutemen, GG Allin, Husker Du, MDC, Pere Ubu, Reagan Youth, Sham 69, Social Distortion, SS Decontrol, Suicidal Tendencies, The Circle Jerks, The Adverts, The Clash, The Exploited, TSOL, and Tom Waits. what a mood I'm in.

Yeah, so here is something to avoid: your brother getting murdered in front of you. It is worse when he's saving your ass. It never really leaves you. After that, you are stuck with it for life. For years now, I have been able to have a happy and fairly well adjusted life, in spite of the fact that one of my brothers was murdered in front of me, and I had to testify against the guy who did it (not a highly recommended activity.) Occasionally it comes back though. Everything is fine in your life, then suddenly, BLAM, its like a wave crashing on you. You get flooded with memories and emotions as strong as the day they were put in your head. You want to scream, to tear your hair, to weep like some grandmother. The memory pushes you under and holds you there with your heart burning with pain like Dresden. You eventually get angry. Everything you missed suddenly becomes clearly defined in your life. I never had the opportunity to get one of my brothers drunk for their 21st birthday. I never got to be the best man at Paul's wedding. I never got the chance to meet one of my brothers after work, at a bar, and bitch about work. I'll never have real nieces or nephews unless I get married. I guess you get the picture.
It isn't so bad when I'm angry about it. The anger keeps me warm. I don't focus on the memories when I'm angry. Depression is simply anger without enthusiasm. When the heat of the anger burns itself out, you are left with the ashes of a soul. There is no way to stop the memories when the anger is gone. There is no way to remember that those memories were from good times. You swim in the memories and all you know is that you will never make new memories with this person. Those memories are over. With the depression, that is all you see in the end: no new memories.
I hate this feeling.

We are all familiar with Murphy's Law and its logical extensions (my favorite is "dont force it, get a bigger hammer,") so it is only natural that with research, I have compiled a list of applied murphyisms relating to photographers.

You are not Ansel Adams

Neither are you Herb Ritz

Automatic Cameras - Aren't

Auto Focus - won't

No photo assignment remains unchanged after the first day of shooting

If a photo shoot goes too smoothly, then the data will be corrupted

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid

Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching

The most critical memory card gets magnetized

Photo Assistants are essential, they give photographers someone to yell at

The one item (batteries, film, electrical outlets and etc.) you need is always in short supply

Interchangeable parts aren't

Weather never cooperates

Everything always works in your home, everything always fails on location

For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism

The newest and least experienced photographer will usually win the Pulitzer

There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work

Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't

No photojournalist is well dressed

No well dressed photographer is a photojournalist

Professional photographers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs

shots of children only happen at two times:
-when the kids are ready
-when you aren't ready

client Intelligence is a contradiction

There is no such thing as a perfect shoot

The important things are always simple

The simple things are always hard

Flashes will fail as soon as you need them

A clean (and dry) camera is a magnet for dust, mud and moisture

Photo experience is something you never get until just after you need it

The self-importance of a client is inversely proportional to his position in the hierarchy

The lens that falls is always the most expensive.

when you drop a lens cap, the inside part always lands face down in the mud.

Your batteries will always go dead or you will need to swap memory cards at the least opportune moment.

Lenses are attracted back to their source - hard rocks.
Corollary:
The more expensive the lens, the greater the attraction.

Safelights - aren't.

The greater a photographer's excitement, the greater its chance of fogging film, scratching prints, and deleting files.

The success of an assignment is inversely proportional to the product of its importance and the number of people watching.

Strobes only explode when lots of people are watching.
Corollary:
Strobes only work when there is nobody else to see.

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Speaking of repatriation of cultural icons to their cultural homes, here is a great story of how the system can and should work. While the government whined and moaned at the auction house, a private citizen steps up and buys the artifacts with the intention of repatriation. See, SEE...IM NOT CRAZY! Hey, China, ya know those bronzes getting auctioned that ya'll want so badly? THIS is how you get them back. If a government representative can't buy 'em with "company money," then one of your new wealthy class individuals should step up and buy them to repatriate them. you need to learn to PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS!