XKCD Amuses Me

XKCD comics almost always amuse me.  The comics themselves are often hysterical but the mouse over comments are the little extra that helps make the series a mandatory addition to my Feedly feed.  This Christmas comic is a great example:

The mouse over comment for this strip is:

If you're turning 27 and were born in the Northeast, maybe you were conceived in the blizzard of 1982. Imagine: snowed in, candles, massage oil, your mom sporting nothing but her early 80's haircut and a smile ... aren't you glad you read the title-text?

 That's classic XKCD

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Self Portait Behind the Scenes

Here is a self-portrait I took for the 2009 January Photo Challenge:



Other than the fact that I included five of the recent challenge themes in one photo, there is nothing terribly remarkable about the image.  What is remarkable is the ghetto lighting set up I used to put it together.  Here are some shots of the set up.


Wide angle view:



Here is a detail of the strobe to the left of the chair:



Yes, that is a combination tripod, Cactus v2 receiver, cheap-o flash, Gorillapod, plastic coat hanger, and a white pillow case.  What you can't see is the Kleenex rubber-banded to the flash to help soften the light further. 

DIY Strobists eat your heart out.

In hindsight, I should have just moved the flash closer to the chair to soften it, but that would not have been nearly as cool as this.  Here is a better view of the setup without the pillow case:



Rube-Goldberg photography?  Maybe.  Fun? Without a doubt. The other aspect that made this an interesting shoot is that I had a hyperactive 4 year old as my "assistant".  Nothing like leaving the room for a minute to return to your camera settings gone all awry and your Assistant constantly cheering you on with "Daddy, hurry up and take the picture!" and "Let me see, let me see!".

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An Unfortunate Event

JPG Magazine is closing its doors on January 5, 2009.  They are a victim of the current econcomy and just can't get the cash to keep things going. This really too bad. 

In case you are unfamiliar with JPG Magazine, it is a publication composed entirely of user created photography.  It's like Flickr, but in print and I think the quality of work tends to be a little higher.  I'm personally disappointed because I had made it a goal for 2009 to have some piece of work published in the magazine, whether it be a photo or an article.  That goal will be crossed off and I'll have to find a new one now. 

You can still download all the back issues in PDF format here: Archives

You might also want to pull together your contacts from JPG and see if they are elsewhere for you to keep in touch.  I just finished going through my contacts and adding them as Flickr contacts and bookmarking web sites. 

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