My Canvas for the World.
Creative is all pursuits involving media, expression, thought, ideas, and their communication from concept to manifested ideas.
The February chill had subsided and a spring like day has begun with a sense of adventure. Jen and I met up with friends for an outing in the hill country. My wife had planned an event for us in the evening. Liking a good mystery, my interest was piqued.
The sun was setting and all would be revealed.
We parked and checked in and were handed two flat packed rice paper lanterns
In the fall of 2021, I took a storytelling course at Merlin Works School of Improvisation. I have always been a good writer and the course was absolutely wonderful. Taught by Paul Normandin, a great storyteller and a winner of the MOTH slam, and also great at Improv. He is the Dean of Merlin Works, and an awesome guy. When we had our graduation showcase, I did a story involving photographs and that was recorded.
Merlin Works has now two show nights a month and I do the photography for the event. One of the new offerings that started up is “No Shame Theatre Austin” a 5-minute open mic without the mic, with two rules: “Don’t hurt the stage.” and “Don’t hurt the audience.” It’s for $5 at the door and that covers the space. What it also accomplishes is being a forum to test out new material. We have had actors, singers, stand-up, storytellers, musicians, puppeteers, playwriters, magic, poets and rappers. It’s wonderful to see the creative process unfold. I asked and was allowed to host. Will get better at that but it is pretty simple. Our No Shame Theatre is pretty flexible, and simple. People sign up on “The List” Their position denotes the order of their performance. The host explains the show, Merlin Works, gets the audience ready, and reads the order, and is pretty much done until the end of the show. People come up in succession, if someone looses their place between acts, they simply shout “Order” and the order is read.
I debuted a story “The Frenchmen” and I have posted a practice run of below. It tells the tale of an influential moment in my young life. Stories take on a life of their own. They are written, honed, worked, fashioned until they are just right. A story when told will never be the same story twice. Events change, different parts are emphasized or edited out. A story is a part of a person, it’s the creative expression of a true event to others, it is disclosure, and a sharing, a risk and on some level a show of vulnerability, and most a genuine expression and sharing of an event. It can be filtered through the lens of history and recall a place and a sense. It can relay those sensations thoughts and feelings that are significant to the storyteller. As is also true when people communicate the relationship, they share between audience and storyteller is never the same again.
You may think when you hear a short story such as on The Moth Radio Hour, since it is recorded live its off the cuff and created on the spot. To have that raw feel to a story takes true talent. Most stories are written, edited, workshopped, revised and practiced. Some have a narrative approach, others have an in the moment feel, some are humorous, suspenseful and the mechanics of the story have a lot of thought. I reviewed my first story, and for a 520-word story its creation was just not getting through with the class. After a re-write the Friday before the showcase, it made all the sense in the world. I drew repeating parallels throughout the story, it pulled in memories and experiences that everyone can relate to.
My latest story “The Frenchmen” did not have relatability of a common experience. I changed time, recalled experiences and feelings, and moved the listener through how things came to be as filtered through the lens of the experiences. The resonating themes meet to a resolve. Is everyone in the happy place at the end? Perhaps not, as that is the beauty of stories, they do not always end happily ever after, the hero may not get the girl, and sometimes the bad guys win. I probably would not have dreamed that my experiences would be of interest to others, had not considered the feelings of accomplishment, and resolve telling a story can bring.
If you have read my work such as “The Munsters and” I you have some clues as to what makes me… well, ME! As a storyteller preparing to share a story to an unknown audience is a little scary, a little thrilling, a little revealing, and the sum of these parts is a feeling of victory and accomplishment. The “I did it!!” feeling. I let down some of the wall and let people peer in. Challenged as I was growing up and trying to manage a normal, I was very factual about my circumstances. Here is to growing forward.
The Olympus EM1 Mark II has a feature called Live Composite. It will allow you to take a single shot which forms the basis of the picture and over time it will add new light to the picture. It was dark when I started. Get the settings or picture you like, click the shutter and the images are composited.
Spending the last weekend of 2019 with my sweetie Jen, we had to find something to do. Austin has its charm on South Congress or “SoCo” for you non-locals. Street Photography is an absolute blast! While I had the Oly ready to go, I decided to run the Lumix (Bridge Camera) DMC-FZ200. It’s 25-600 f 2.8 lens got the job done! One thing to do is use the Art settings. I slipped it into Black and White and brought it with me. A stop at Jo’s Coffee to capture an unexpected patron.
The picture was captured in Black & White, no processing, cropping, or manipulation other than what the camera preset allows. Knowing your gear has an amazing benefit.
Remember in childhood you got that constant reminder of “Eat your vegetables” Unfortunately we ‘mericans don’t eat as many veggies as we should, as French Fries don’t count… For about the last year I have been eating my veggies with the help of a company that used to be called Imperfect Product which has now moved into a name change called Imperfect Foods. Let’s take a look..
Imperfect Foods is a subscription service where you choose produce, foods, and cooking essentials that get shipped to your door for $4.99 per delivery. You set up for a weekly or bi-weekly subscription. On your delivery week a few days before your delivery day, you select from their website the foods or products you would like, adjust their quantity, add, an delete them with clickable ease. You can learn about the produce, where it comes from and what makes it “imperfect”.
The big question: Do you get the nasty bottom of the bin farmer’s accident vegetables? NOPE! In my 26+ shipments, I have received only 1 onion that was a bit rough and still usable, and a single shipping issue.
What’s “imperfect” about Imperfect Foods?
Millions of tons of food get discarded every year because they do not meet your local supermarkets definition of a product they sell, it could be shape, size, a color, or a superficial scar. This means after the farmers have spent the resources bringing the food to harvest, it is refused, unsold, and is tilled under. The solution is Imperfect Produce which pays the farmer for the food, and offers it for your purchase at a great price.
What is the upshot of Imperfect Produce?
Convenience, I do no have to pick and choose produce at the local supermarket saving me considerable time. This is the big thing. I get my fruits and veggies, and no need to take additional time to wander the produce section. Very competitively priced, its a win win!
Try Imperfect Foods, score $10.00 savings on the Charb.
http://imprfct.us/v/Mark_425
Using a macro lens to look at things closer you often do not appreciate the engineering that goes into each product we use everyday.
Twine. Threads of fiber that are twisted together and gain strength from their numbers. See how symetrical they are wound?
And finally Blue Jeans…
It is so hot outside, its time for inside creativity. Recently I purchased a 30mm M.Zuiko Macro Photography lens and have found it to be an absolute blast! Enjoy my first efforts! Clicking on a picture will bring you to the gallery and allow you to click through the images. Next up is to use Focus Stacking.
Friday evening is my creative night. To have some balance I designated Friday Evening for creative pursuits. It gives me something to look forward to at the end of the week and like going to the gym its flexing those creative muscles. This week I created another Real American Hero parody commercial. This time celebrating the folks you see standing on the corner flipping signs enticing you to a new storage center, neighborhood or to get your taxes done. Enjoy!
I think I know funny, and I dusted off a project I did years ago when the “Real American Hero” radio ad campaign was popular for Bud Light beer. It was a simple narrative with a backup singer call and response for things like Hawaiian Shirt Designer Guy. With my new Mac mini having the latest GarageBand software which has improved a lot, I decided to remaster it. I found the music bed by Paul Young, juiced the track up a bit, and re-recorded the audio. Perhaps I will create a few more, as I have a few ideas… already writing my next one…
I have always grown up with cameras. Cameras were something always around with my family. Mom and Dad had a photo album of black and white pictures, and then when color prints started to be practical there was a definite shift of pictures.
When I was young, it was in the times where you could run around the neighborhood, cruise your BigWheel up and down the sidewalk, and you were not afraid to meet and talk to people. One day I was walking up the sidewalk and saying hi to someone up the block who was cleaning out their garage, they were going through their odds and ends. and they came across a GAF camera. It was tan, leather textured plastic on the bottom and had a dull matte metal finish on the top. It had a peephole viewfinder which was a bit hazy and it took 126 cartridge film. Informing my parents someone had given me a camera, after inspection a 12 exposure role of film was purchased. Pictures of family, friends, and the family dog were taken, and the cartridge was sent off for developing. It took a week for photos to be returned. Yes there was a time when you had to wait for photos to be returned.
Camera Collection… Since then I have had a ton of cameras throughout the years. a Kodak Ektrachrome 110, a Kodak Disc Camera, a variety of 35mm film camera, starting with point and shoot, up to the Rebel series. the original Rebel I purchased from a camera store. I had a Rebel 2000, and went digital in 2004 with a Canon Rebel Xti with a whopping 12 Megapixel sensor. Each camera I had I basically would hit the edge of what it was capable of. I had moved through the Canon 60D which lives in my photo booth now, and a Canon 7D. Armed with a bunch of lenses to do all sorts of stuff I got quite good… really good. Even got published.
Canon Failed to Innovate… As technology moved forward I found the Canon system not keeping pace with the industry. Having to decide if it is worth an upgrade or a platform change. I mean a ton of good glass, and over 20,000 pictures in my catalog and 30 years of Canon experience is a lot to consider. Well… going to our local camera store to see what is out there, I discovered mirrorless. Originally wanting to up my game with a full-frame something,
Olympus Nirvana. I test drove a Panasonic Lumix. The camera was awesome but just could not really get used to the software. I then looked at a used Olympus OM-D EM1 Mark II. Nirvana!! Seriously!! It was freaking great! The camera was light, it felt good to hold, it was bright, the software made sense, it was solid, it is pro gear. My practical sense kicked in and I decided to purchase a used camera with a pro 12-40mm 2.8 and a pro75, F 1.8. This was a solid choice! It is making photography fun again. Olympus is a solid company. Recently I went to the local camera store when they held an Olympus Experience Weekend. Actually got the camera firmware updated, the camera and sensor cleaned, and additional missing parts replaced without cost. That’s awesome for a company to stand behind their products like that. Not to mention delivering a killer firmware update for the last 3 years running.