saturn return to sender

I had kind of an awesome time at the wedding. Who knew Iowa could be so much fun?

I’ve spent a little time trying to decide how to organize the 900+ photos for web-based review by the newlyweds and others. I wanted to categorize the photos by event type—rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, and general portraits. I wanted to provide edited versions of those sets—my personal picks—while making sure everything was available for review somehow, in case someone likes a shot that I didn’t think was better than mediocre.

Lightroom offers some built-in gallery templates, but as far as I could tell they didn’t provide as much hierarchy as I wanted. I decided to give Flickr a shot. Currently I’ve got almost everything uploaded to my account, and have basically achieved the organization I wanted with Flickr’s collections and sets.

Two big downsides to this are:

• My photostream is now 900+ photos bigger, and only about 100 of them are shots I’d actually want to keep in there.
• I set everything to the “friends and family” privacy level, since I figured not everyone would want their likeness posted publicly online. Obviously I can’t require everyone who wants to see the photos to sign up for Flickr, but Flickr does offer a “guest pass,” where you send out a secret URL that gives the viewer access to otherwise restricted photos. However, this works for only for Sets and for an entire photostream, not for a Collection. If it worked for a Collection (which can contain Sets), I’d be set. As it is, I’m going to have to send out two URLs: one to sign in as a guest for my whole photostream, and then a second for the actual Collection. Less than ideal.

I’ve never done this kind of mass shooting for “a client” before. Suggestions are welcome.

There may be a real name for this style of image, but I’m calling it Boards-of-Canada-esque. The style involves one or more of the following:

• children
• bokeh
• sunlight
• distressed/discolored edges
• accidental framing and focus

They’re forgotten polaroids of you and your sister in the park, torn 8mm stills of your youthful mother smiling mid-blink. They’re warm and innocent and out of focus, like the memories they evoke.

Of course, in this case, they’re all digital and purposely vignetted and you took them yesterday. Kind of like using digital plugins instead of old analog synths. They’re fun to make, though!

 Since 2004 I have been ruthlessly inflicting a water garden upon my guileless parents, who live in a 15-year-old suburban Longmont neighborhood. The latest salvo in this wholly unprovoked onslaught is codename Operation Mountain Pavilion. There is not actually a mountain in that corner of the yard, but there will be something like 4 tons of granite rip-rap up there, if I have my way. Mwa ha ha ha!

But the pavilion is funny. It’s funny because I insisted that it be hexagonal. I don’t know how to build a hexagonal structure.* Neither does my dad. Neither of us are skilled carpenters. But having not a clue how to build a pond or the consequences of building it in this climate didn’t stop me from digging a big freaking hole in their backyard one summer. So here it is anyway. When we try to build the roof, we should sell tickets. There is bound to be some serious slapstick.

Anyway, I have added this and a few other things to a list of projects I should be working on. By posting it publicly I hope to embarrass myself into action. I’m sure I’ve forgotten things. I’ll add them as I think of them. Also maybe I’ll add links and photos or what-not as the fruits of my labor … um, fruit.

I will be shooting the wedding of a couple of friends next month. I figured it was an excellent excuse to upgrade my photo gear. So I got a 40D. This is an upgrade from the early-model Digital Rebel I bought in 2004. I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park today to take it for a spin. It’s definitely a nice little camera. Of course now I need to upgrade my glass (the “I’m-a-hip-photographer” word for lenses) and get another flash, and get a carrying case. Oh, and a tripod, of course. And a bunch of memory cards. And …

This chapel lives photogenically at the foot of Mt. Meeker. A couple was tying the knot there this morning as I drove past. Other flickrites’ photos taken nearby.