Click Click!

So I got my 50mm 1.4 for my MarkII, along with an extra battery and my new Canon 580exII flash. I decided not to sell my Pentax and decided to keep it for sentimental purposes and also to use my sigma 70-300 (140-400mm equiv) for when I need extra reach. I do plan on renting many lenses this summer and I plan on buying 3 lenses by the end of the year, the Canon 17-40mm F/4.0L, Canon 135 F/2.0L and a lensbaby composer!. This should fit the bill for a while until I get the urge to buy something more. But I believe this will satisfy my needs for quite a while. I've been practicing recording video while focusing in real time for a while now and I think I have it almost down pat, as long as the object is on a predictable path.

I decided to take down most of my deviations from dA, seeing how I have 500+ of them and as our teachers repeatedly tell us, less is more so I'm just going to keep it to my best shots.

As far as my personal life goes, it goes rather well, I often have people wanting me to shoot them for a price but seeing how I have little time I try and fit them in as much as possible. Things are definately picking up and I love it, but it doesn't leave much room for a social life, thats is the price to pay for photography!

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

New York, Atlanta, Nicaragua!

So I came back from my 10 day retreat/wedding shoot in Nicaragua and I'll have plenty of shots to upload, but first up!, New York!!!.

Happy New Years everybody!.

P.S. I got my new Camera!!! 5D Mark II with the 24-105 f/4.0L lens!. Next up! 50mm 1.8 of course, 580ex flash and then down the road a 85mm f/1.8 .

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

1 More day and I'm outta here! and an important note from a dear friend.

Well in approx 33 hours I'll be leaving Montreal by Train to New York with several friends, we'll be staying there for 2 days enjoying the sights and flavors of the BIG APPLE. After we're taking a flight to Managua Nicaragua!, thats where I'll be shooting my friends wedding and taking a breather from the cold brisk weather of Montreal. From -30 to +30! what a difference eh? heh. So my friend [link] recently run into a problem and I decided to post her run in with plagiarism so here it is. I'm a witness to this so if you have a few moments, I and her would really appreciate this if you ever run into this character. Thanks and Happy Holidays + A wicked New Years!.

=========

This is a semi-extensive report, put out there for all you artists as a warning. All information disclosed is factual & all sources are sited legitimately. I advise you to avoid this individual at all costs, though in the end, it is up to you to risk your work to "Artiistiic-Soul".

The "Artiistiic-Soul" plagiarizes facebook groups & concepts. "Open Secretz : Poemz, Lyricz, Photography, Art, Storiez" is a plagiarized version of the group I created & formerly administrated "Liars Lair: Personal Poetry, Lyrics, Creative Writting, Photography & Art":

Open Secretz : Poemz, Lyricz, Photography, Art, Storiez: [link]
Liars Lair: Personal Poetry, Lyrics, Creative Writting, Photography & Art: [link]

I no longer administrate 'Liars Lair', & have sadly felt I needed to removed the original description/layout in order to allow the group an authentic look & feel in comparison to 'Open Secretz', which had much too many similarities after the development of 'Liars Lair' to be anything more than a copycat. It's a shame that 'Liars Lair' has suffered by this act of plagiarism. I stand by the fact that the quantity of members in 'Open Secretz', should not be compared to the quality of the content uploaded to 'Liars Lair'. Both groups are run well, & have great members & contributions, different & well defined in their own creative ways. I do not agree however, with 'Liars Lair' being undermined by the impression of lacking authenticity, due to this copy cat group. Regardless of 'Open Secretz' membership success, the member count should not account for it being used as a status symbol of superiority by any margin.

"Artiistiic-Soul" copycats photoshoot ideas, & is then hypocritical about it. I was accused of copying a shoot of "Artiistiic-Souls". The setting was very similar, but the pose, look, & mood were quite different. I didn't find this accusation very fair, nor did I find it very mature or amusing that "Artiistiic-Soul" had another individual report back to it afterward in a comment as if it had been planned. "Artiistiic-Soul" say's: "I sometimes grab photos I've found on the Net, trying to duplicate them, often making them different && my own." So I see no reason why anyone of its followers should complain for it.

"Artiistiic-Soul", is also a thief of original photographs. As I continued with my research, I was annoyed, but accepting of the things being said about me among "Artiistiic-Soul" & its friends for all of Facebook to see. This report is not so much to complain about slander or libel. I was however, appalled & disgusted when I saw my own photos being advertised with "Artiistiic-Souls" name on them, modified from my stock originals. I may not like "Artiistiic-Soul" for how I've been treated, & "Artiistiic-Soul" may not like me back, but I can remove myself from bitterness long enough to take a good look at it's work & see that it's quite good at what it does. Yet, there were two of my photos, staring back at me, & the album description posted with a clear THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY ME message from "Artiistiic-Soul" itself. I never gave any consent in which "Artiistiic-Soul" could publically display those photographs, nor did I grant my consent for it to display them as its own. "Artiistiic-Soul" has therefore infringed my copyrights.

Copyright infringement of my photos on Fb & dA, I have original stock photos with full stats to prove their authenticity to ME & no one else:
[link]
[link]
(If unable to find, this link will take you to the page they're on) [link]
[link]
[link]

Two of my stock-modified versions can be found here, originals, please contact me for info:
[link]
[link]

"Artiistiic-Soul" is an executor of slander & libel. Throughout my research, I found many cases in which either my name was mentioned, or my work was referred to & spat on (so to speak). That's fine by me, I've done the same in the past, though I've been mature & legitimate enough to not mention "Artiistiic-Souls" true identity directly on a public forum of any kind, & I can't recall that I referred to it's work publically either (despite subjecting obviousness).  Due to "Artiistiic-Souls" harassment behind the semi-closed doors of facebook, incessant admittance to spying (see link to "I Spy"), & its inanimate maturity, I've started fresh in places I hope it will never reach. I only hope that "Artiistiic-Soul" can find a way to grow out of this obsessive stalking phase in which I've also been mildly subjected to, so as to collect this incriminating information & defend myself & my work from "Artiistiic-Souls" bitter backed lies. "Artiistiic-Soul" is an amazing & talented artist, I am not out to bash her or her work. But, because of all this cyber stalking, plagiarizing, & copyright infringement, who can tell how much of the "Artiistiic-Soul" is really authentic? Has "Artiistiic-Soul" plagiarized other people? Has it infringed other copyrights? Who knows? Just know that if "Artiistiic-Soul" can do what it did to me, it can do it to you too.

References to me & my work, admittance to spying:
[link]
[link]

Also, some original dialogue concerning the "Open Secret" contacting my friends through "a source":

**Source #1**
"This "Open Secret" added me yesterday. Seems like it knows you but isn't fond of you.. I mean when it added me it seemed very familiar, first its high school then I notice even how it writes its stuff is like you, it even invited me to groups bout its poetry and photography. You two are very a like and it seems like it's not too fond of you."
"you are a great friend of mine and that's that but it says that you're not what you seem... it has some attitude I can tell which I don't very much appreciate."
"Hope all is well Faythe *hug*. Oh it also said Faythe isn't your name... I'm guessing it's just a pseudo name?."
"I knew there was something about it (Artiistiic-Soul).. God dammit. It should grow the fuck up, I'm guessing it found me through you somehow, either dA or fb or something I dunno. Damn it's deleted."

Kyle Ruggles, do you grant your permission to me to use the personal information relayed in these texts for use in my expository essay, as well as the information relayed to me through our personal contact through facebook messages, etc? If yes, would you like to remain anonymous?
      Reply: YES! I'll disclose any and all information that would be nessessary.
Consent given at: 8:50 PM on December 23rd 2008

**Source #2**
"Hi Faythe.I need some advice. Who is "Open Secret"? Should i accept it as a friend? Im just curious because it is from (random highschool) like you, but is not one of your friends. So i just thought i should check it out with you, before i think of confirming or anything. Thanks."
"Yesterday i friend requested her out of curiosity after someone sent an invite to a group called Open secrets or something, then when i looked at her info, etc, something in my instinct felt wrong, so i deleted her straightaway. Today she sent me a friend request, so i will ignore it."
"I just hope she isnt able to hack into my info, etc, or try chaos with my life. Maybe i should check my privacy settings. Thanks again!"
      
Do you grant your permission to me to use the personal information relayed in these texts for use in my expository essay, as well as the information relayed to me through our personal contact through facebook messages, etc? If yes, would you like to remain anonymous?
      Anonymous: Yes, I give permission to use the relevent information on the condition of anonynimity.
Consent given at: 11:27 PM on December 24th 2008


Definitions:

SLANDER: To utter slander against, defame.

LIBEL: A written of oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys and unjustly unfavorable impression.

PLAGIARIZE: To steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own, use another's production without crediting the source.

COPYRIGHT: The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something as literary, musical, or artistic work.

INFRINGEMENT: An encroaching or trespass on a right or privilege.

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

IT'S FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!

My horrible auto focus, I fixed it!!! did a bunch of digging around and found a sweet lil tutorial on how to gain access to my camera's so called bios!!! MY AUTOFOCUS IS NOW FIXED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm the happiest man alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

Time for an upgrade!

So I've totally reached the end of my ropes with this camera and I may just make an earlier jump to a pro body DSLR, I'm thinking either 5D Mark II or D700. Our teacher told us that we'd eventually need to learn video and since the Mark II has video capture "Sweet one at that" it'll give me a great opportunity to improve my skills when recording video. Class is going extra well but I have such a lack of time for myself ... I just meh...I sometimes like it when I had extra time to hit the streets of Montreal with my gear and my headphones attached and relax!. But...*looks towards the setting sun*, this is my time to shine!. I recently met someone who is also into photography but I'll keep her name under wraps for now, she's sweet and with my current situation, I hardly have any time for anything else other than work and my studies but if she's part of either... I can swing that!. Anyhoo... My fellow classmates are really swell and we get along like... I dunno, better than any other group I've ever been a part so it feels...good ^_^. It's amazing how we'll grow together as photographers and just... get to know each other more along the way ^_^. Well thats it for now.

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

AWESOME!, fuckin' awesome!.

So here it goes. My good friend Thierry and Lia had their ceremony and reception yesterday and I was the main and ONLY photographer for the entire day. At the beginning I was quite overwhelmed by the sheer amount of guests. Started with me arriving at the reception hall, scoping it out and taking some shots of the finished location minus the guests. I did a fair amount of still life on all the lil things, like those little bells, glasses, gifts, ornaments etc. Then I was off to the Palais De Justice to shoot the marriage ceremony. Met much of the family along with friends of Thierry and Lia. It went off without a big hitch, though there was a few hiccups. I haven't talked that much french in my life and it sure was an uplifting and eye opening experience. We took a complete group photo within the Palais de Justice and I found a great spot!, immediate family on the ground floor, friends on the stairs and escalator going up about.. 50 feet. I loved how these shots came out!, WEEEE!! ^_^. So from there we made our way towards old Montreal and took one last shot of family and friends. After ward's the immediate family of the Bride and Groom and myself went to Old Montreal and took several 30-40 shots in different configurations. I also played around with some Jumping shots!, would have loved to get the parents to do it but it's not their thing heh.

So for an hour I spent time with the Wifey and Hubby, 30 minutes of them posing and acting natural as I'm there capturing the moment. For the next 30 minutes they rode on a horse drawn carriage so here I am walking quite quickly along side of them shooting, and hopping in and out heh.  Anyways I gotta get back to sorting and working on these 800+ pics I took for that day.

End of Part 1


WEEEE!

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

Decided going to put off Washington for another time.

Well yup I decided, gonna put the money I'd would spend going to washington and buy a new lens, Ultra wide 10-20mm by Sigma, and then with the rest wait until February and pick up a new DSLR then. Best time to buy when the companies release new gear. I start classes later this month and I'm happy about that. Shot some fireworks lately with some fellow photographers and had a heck of a time. I shot fireworks back in February at the Old Port and understood how timing and exposure is everything. But the lighting can get rather tricky, it's not like having a constant light source, it changes quite rapidly so I was alternating through several settings but still kept my iso to 400.

I'll be quite busy shooting next week, got a few photo shoots lined up so that'll be neat . Decided to take the week off from work and chillax for a bit, I call chillaxin', shooting!. I may head back to Ottawa and Quebec city and take my time and enjoy the sights and scenes at my own pace. Last time I was with my lovely friends but we did have a time constraint so this time it'll be pretty sweet.  I'll go alone, I prefer it like that, guy needs his space

That's all folks.

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

Things are looking up!

So I got my Flash!, absolutely love it but haven't had as much practice with it as I'd like...something still isn't "clicking". Once it clicks!, it'll click alright . It's the Sigma EF-530 DG Super [link] top mounted flash for Pentax, it's the most powerful flash in Sigma's arsenal so I think I'll be happy for a while.. I picked up the Gary Phong Lightsphere [link] and boy does this make the images pop!. I also wanna raise the bar for myself... see if I can jump it. So in the next few weeks you will be seeing more punchy shots.

I've been thinking of writing a few tutorials on photography, I think I'm at that stage where I can teach people a thing or two on composition, DoF, the features of the camera, Photoshop and Lightroom so we all can be better photographers and grow!. What do you guys and gals think?.

I'm going to Washington DC next month with my cousin to visit my Aunt, it'll be the first time for me to visit the states, I went one time before but it was to Platsburg and I was a wee lil lad at the age of 7. Most of what I saw was the sky since I was too short to see out of the Van window and my mom constantly telling me to "Sit down Kyle!", and then we went into...a mall... glorious mall!, full of stuff at the time we couldn't attain up here in Canada, like ..Cinnamon Toast Crunch!! I absolutely love that stuff. Sorry I'm babbling.. So I'm pretty psyched for that, I'll try not to be in hardcore photographer mode when I'm there, I'll only be visiting for a week and knowing myself as much as I know...myself... I'd probably want to make the most out of the time I'll have there. And since photo's are my way of keeping memories, cuz quite frankly my memory sucks... I'd probably have my camera with 2-3 lenses with me at all time. I'm getting it insured so no problemo no?.  

Umm....oh..... I got accepted at Dawson for the commercial photography program, intensive course for 2 years and when I'm out.. I'll be a umm...certified professional photographer? lol.  Quite frankly I just wish to have the certificate stating I've taken a course and not only have my work to rely on. I'm excited, there will be other students there with hopefully the same passion for photography as I have and I may just meet some nice chums there.

Oh yes...my ex g/f is back at work....I broke up with her last September and well... she came back to work and I totally wasn't expecting it, she's a student you see so... She hates the job!, so now she's back giving me attitude when I did nothing wrong!, make it a long story short we agreed it was best not to be together but agreed to be friends!. But now she'll be working on the same shift as me and I highly doubt she'll start showing me some respect in my workspace.. Blah... it's just annoying I find... thats what I get for dating a bookworm...literally... sometimes studying too much has a decremental effect on people, ego thing you know?.

Ok! enough bout my personal life lol, just a lil tidbit about myself I like to share.

So you all come back now ya hear!?

My close dA friends:
Clubs I'm in:

Yippy!

  So yeah it's been a while since I've updated my journal so let me fill you in.  I recently went to Ottawa with a few close buddies of mine and had a ball of a time!. I bought my new Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens which I must say is awesome!. The only thing I don't like about it is the massive vignetting it produces at f/2.8 when shoot scenes with clear skies but once I drop it down to 3.5 it clears up quite a bit.  I bought a polarizing filter with it as well, it's an essential!. I also precured a Sekonic Light Meter, it's a little old but it does the trick. Can't wait to try it out on my next photo shoot. Right now I'm saving up for a top mounted flash for my camera so I should get that within a month or two.

  As far as my personal life goes, I'm still single so if there are any ladies in Montreal who are into photography please come hither! lmao. But seriously single life is good for the moment, gives me time to dedicate a good portion of time to improve my photography and procure models. I'm going to Sherbrooke next week so I'll be taking some nice nature shots like the ones I've posted nearly a week ago.

  My creative composition class is going great! I just love it!.  People are so passionate about photography I feel uber awesome to be around them. Though I must admit, I shoot my best when I'm alone with my headphones on , less distracted.  There is this girl in my class and I have yet to know her name! I dunno why!, I know everyone else's but hers I don't . Her eyes are just... wow... She has these really light blue eyes but almost transparent in a way... I get lost looking at her, quite distracting! ^_^.  But I'm learning a lot!.

  I'm going to Picnik Electronique tomorrow at Parc Jean Drapeau with a few friends so that'll be fun!. My type of music, my friends... and a few bruskies!, what more can a guy ask for? lol. Well there is a lot more.. look at Lex Luthor from Smallville!. That show is f*ckin' good!, it's getting serious, but now I'll have to wait for the season premier in...October? bah...  

  Oh yes!, I'm going to Washington DC in July!!!!!!, I'll try not to stand out too much with my tripod and my camera taking shots all around the city at night. I'll make sure to have my Canadian flag patch stitched to my bag and I should be all right . I really don't want trouble with the local authorities there... you know.. post 9/11? black guy? with a thing shaped kinda like a shotgun? *ba dum bump!*. Oh and also I've been hired to cover several weddings of some friends of mine, one in October, November and January!. The one in January is extra super special because we used to work at the same job but he got this government job which pays pretty well so.... he's flying me to Nicaragua to cover his wedding with his beautiful wife to be!. I was quite shocked when he told me this, first of all that he's getting married and second that he's flying me there on his dime! like.. wow he must really like my work eh?. I'm excited to the max!.

  My family is doing pretty well but my grandmother is having a bad time, she's not in the best of shape right now so I'm going to pass by on Monday to see how she's doing and bring her some groceries if she needs. I love my family but I need to show it more... I could do more, we all can!. Cuz when the shit goes down.. who's most probably going to be there?, family!. So cherish them when you can and be the best relative you can be

I'm happy

To infinity and beyond!

Listening to: [link]

Took a while

So I reached 2000 page views, took a while but I'm content heh. I spent some quality time with a bunch of good friends last Saturday and had a pretty good photo shoot, more spontaneous but with tons of action and fast shutter speeds, just waiting to get permission to post ^_^.    I decided to hold off on buying a new camera for the time being and I ordered myself a nice 18-50mm f/2.8 lens by Sigma, now I'll be able to get those shots I've been dreaming of without having to back up several feet and still get the background blur I find soooo appealing.  Plus it's just wicked fast, great for indoor shooting.  I also want to buy a tele converter to convert my prime lens 50mm f/1.4 to a 100mm f/2.0, great for shooting concerts and still wicked fast!.

  I started my creative composition class at Dawson on Tuesday and I loved it!. We'll be shooting every week and the class is just soooo open and willing to learn!. I love being around people who share the same passion for photography as I do.  First off I'm pretty shy so for the first hour of introductions I was kinda nervous. While talking about myself I kept twisting this little string thingy on my bag so yeah... But I'm good now and in better spirits these days.  The weather!! I love it!, no more freezing my ass off ^_^

To infinity and beyond!

Listening to: [link]

April 15th, when I get depressed.

  April 15th, the day of my birth!, joyous time of year yippy!.  Now I think back on all the things I did with my life and I could have done so much more. The main reason I wake up in the morning is to try and further myself and be a better man than I was. But it sure is hard..  I decided to buy a new camera, the Pentax K10D, but it's not in production now so the store I wanted to buy it from for a great price is out of stock so now I can either order it from amazon and pay much more for it than I want to with all the shipping and handling and duty on top of it, or wait a lil while and buy the K20D when I have the cash. I really was hoping to get it by my birthday but I have to wait for my friend to give me a deposit to buy my current camera hence why I missed the chance to buy the new cam.
  One of the reasons why I upload a new image every night is because I'm out every day, keeps my mind off how lonely this world can be and how goodness goes unnoticed. I've been a great guy from what people tell me but it just doesn't pay off these days... The ruthless people, the individuals who care shit about other people get ahead and *sigh*.

April 15th...

*shakes fist*

I'm sooooooooooo going to badmouth that profile...this isn't a cool April fools joke at all, especially for people who subscribe to have the privilege to not be advertised to etc. WTF!

Pondering.

Should I invest my money into a new camera with more Megapixels and a longer/faster shooting capability?, or should I invest in a lighting setup and a few accessories for my camera. My K100D is an excellent camera but like my previous camera I've exploited it's full potential. I have the K20D in my mind, it'll set me back bout $1300 bucks but it has a 14mp sensor and has live view!, this is especially useful for strange angles which normally would be extremely hard to attain, the only thing I don't like about the camera is it's small 2.7 inch screen and the inability to extend out and swivel from the camera. Everybody these days either has a Nikon or Canon but no one really knows of Pentax, it has been in the business of cameras for over 50 years and had numerous appearances on tv and movies such as American Ganger and the upcoming horror/thriller movie called Shutter, I just love this company. Their ability to release cameras that are cheaper than it's equivalent rivals but don't skimp out on the features and quality, leaves little to be desired.

  For the moment I'm getting tons of practice and with my single class every Tuesday, I'm actually learning a lot. But I wish to learn more!, I can't wait till I start my full time studies in the fall!. Currently I'm seeking out models, amateur and professional alike so I can better develop my portrait technique.  I get tons of support from my friends but many of them are shy, why?, I do not know.

  I can't even stop talking about this but for the time being I'm pretty content with my life, even though I'm single and oh damn, wouldn't mind a companion these days. But I have my profession/hobby to keep me busy so it takes the sting off.  I and quite a few students from Mcgill University and facebook will be meeting up tomorrow to visit Graffiti land. I actually visited that place a while ago with a few friends of mine and I took quite a few successful shots in the process, the images are part of the "Switching Station" series.  It's not actually a fun land or anything of the sort but a set of abandoned buildings with, you guessed it, tons of graffiti!.  So I'm pretty psyched for that.  All in all, this is a good time ^_^.

Wooohoo!, took a while.

So 1000 page views, I'm uber proud.