Uploads from ★ spunkinator, tagged 365days

The Tense and Taut

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:36:31 -0800

Hey guys! Look, no pants!

I love dynamic lines in body forms in my compositions. People photographed in straight lines bore me.

This one is screaming explosive action. I love it.

Anyway, here's the reason I'm pants-less: I'm on my way to shaving my Bush today in honor of No More Bush Day.

Who's with me!?

57/365

Sun cam right, brolly overhead

The Three Amigos

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:02:57 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The Brawn, the Beauty, and the Brains.

I used to love the Disney version of the movie, because as a multicultural family, I could speak all three of the languages in it: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Really well done, and my favorite part was the penguin that decided to sail away to warmer climes. Ahh, the classics.

There were over 3,000 views on my photostream just yesterday, which is a huge number even for me, and I can't figure out for the life of me what exactly went differently. My best for this month was 1,200. Weird, huh? And I didn't even get explored, either.

Anyways, here's a scream, a cheers, and a . . . well, Zoolander pose for you.

55/365

Shoot-thru umbrellas up tight and close on left and right of camera.

The Bouncer

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:37:44 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The glamor and flashing lights will only last a fleeting moment.

Then the carnage will ensue.

51/365

Two bare strobes behind me (they're usually camera-shy)

The Surprise

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:33:24 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

What are you doing with that camera!?

You better not put that on the internet!

(in other news, my girlfriend thinks I'm retarded.)

49/365

bare strobe cam right

The Silver Surfer

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:58:44 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Do you ever wonder why you look so damn good in the mirror, and then when you take a picture of yourself you look all decrepit and ugly?

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On

Turns out your eyes and brain take relative distance of a person's face into context when reconstructing a face from memory. This distance has been approximated at around 15 feet, which means if you meet me on the street one day and try to recall my face, your brain will reconstruct your facial proportions according to a benchmark of what you'd look like 15 feet away with a camera.

Think about it: when you take a picture of yourself while the camera is too close, the nose looks humongous while the ears look like distant little saucers. But take the same picture of yourself from farther than 15 feet, and you'll appear flat and non-dimensional.

So whenever you see the behind-the-scenes on a major photoshoot, the photographer is always at least 10-15 feet away and using zoom lenses.

In other news, I've been working on pictures today, and not much else. The gym is full of over-eager new members, but by the time their new year's resolutions start sucking, they'll start thinning out. Just watch.

48/365

Brolly cam left, bare strobe low cam right.

The Man At Work

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:28:53 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

For Christmas, I gave my girlfriend a year's membership to Gold's Gym where I work out, so we could go together. Couples that work out together stay together!

I was contracted by a marketing firm here in Boise, MMG, to be one of the photographers for Gold's annual 12-week fitness challenge, where participants agree to be a part of the "biggest loser" type thing for promotional efforts. You know, the whole, "I was 274 pounds, and thanks to Gold's Gym, look at me now!"

My birthday was yesterday, and after a nice family dinner, Megan and I went out with her roommate to celebrate. The highball of Jager was not a good idea.

47/365

Brolly low cam left, bare strobe high cam right.

The Eighth Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:41:51 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The eighth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,

Loud kid: I WANNA TRANSFORMER FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

Call the waaambulance.

It's interesting how our brains interpret images of people. We instantly know something's wrong when a baby has a small head or a grown man has a huge head. I made my ears and nose smaller (those grow bigger and bigger every year through your 70s), eyes bigger, and head bigger.

When I took Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, you learn that the head and brain stem are the first thing to develop, doesn't matter whether it's a baby or a chick or a squirrel. I think we automatically have that "aww, cute baby" response, and it's funny because even if you're not a Biology major like I am, you can still tell when something's a baby.

They teach you in drawing class that to draw a baby, you must make the body length only 3 heads long, whereas an adult would have a height of 10-11 heads.

I hope I'm not one of those parents one day that lets my spoiled brat have anything they want.

You can't really see unless in the large size, but I'm crying -- profusely (thanks, synthetic tears!).

42/365

Bare strobe cam right, bare kicker behind and above me, cam left.

The Fifth Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:08:19 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,
Five moooonths of bills!

Parents, siblings, significant others, best friends, not-so-best friends, in-laws, etc. The list goes on and on and on.

40/365

Brolly behind cam, bare strobe behind multi-million-dollar TV.

The Third Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:17:39 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,
Hangovers!

38/365

Bare strobe behind toilet, and one in the shower.

The Second Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:56:17 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,
Rigging up these lights!

1. And finding a Christmas tree.

37/365

The Dark Knight

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:48 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Why so serious?

The Dark Knight OST - Like A Dog Chasing Cars

Ok, I admit it: I'm a fanboy. The movie kicked ass and I'm glad to see it rereleased in theaters. Sometimes when no one's home I'll go from Bruce Wayne to the Batman and fight crime all over my apartment, doling out justice to those evil cretins like the stuffed animal in the other room or the imaginary Joker just around the corner.

Today was my first pinup-style shoot with an old friend and coworker, and I'm excited to see how they'll turn out.

In the meantime, I'll be fighting crime in the comfort of my own home.

Wanna see a magic trick?

35/365

Bare strobe at my feet, and one with a Miller Lite 12-pack case snoot (no shit) with built-in barn doors (!!!) cam left.

The Stereograph in 3D

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:32:18 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Scroll below to see it in pseudo-3D.

To view it in 3D, cross your eyes until you see 3 images side to side. Stop focusing, blink a couple of times, and it should come into view.

Photojojo had a cool little 3D-camera how-to today, and I thought it would look cool if I tried to jimmy-rig it up with just one camera and no assistants. The trick, apparently, is to approximate the distance between human eyes of 3.5" to 4" as much as possible between the two shots.

Since I was alone, I had to memorize and mark down my pose and exact positions for all body parts and clothing, snap off a self portrait, then adjust the tripod a few inches to the side, then running back and trying to be as completely close to the original pose as possible . . . with no help. ;)

Not as easy as it looks!

This is as close you'll get to see me in 3D as possible. Enjoy the wobbly!

56/365

shoot-thru cam left

The Coconut Monkey

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:50:10 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Carved out of a real life coconut in Brazil. Awesome, huh?

One of the few decorations in my house. I'm kind of a minimalist. I don't care to have a million possessions, really. I've moved enough times in my life to realize that the less material things you have, the more you value what you have. My mom brought me this one during her last trip down to Brazil, and I've got to admit: I love the workmanship. It's just a plain bad-ass coconut monkey! :)

Our employee party was tonight at the bar, and Megan and I scored a bunch of t-shirts, decks of cards, bottle openers, hats, and haircare products (?). Working at a club does have its benefits!

The only shitty part is that they have Jose Cuervo and Captain Morgan smeared across everything. Nothing screams trashy as much as free schwag from a bar, right? ;)

52/365

Brolly cam left, bare strobe cam right

The Showdown

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:13:56 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Welcome to the gun show.

Bodyrockers - I Like The Way You Move

Went out to Emmett (45 minutes out of town), a small gun-lovin' community for a photoshoot with Minerva Jayne, Tyler Bush, and Shea Sutton. Minerva was wielding a Colt 44 revolver and shooting up champagne bottles like a rockstar. It was awesome. Had a great time filming and shooting, and I got to fool around with some wicked guns, like this heavily modified AR-15 rifle (the civilian cousin of the M-4). They also had an enormous selection of guns to choose from, from 9mm Glocks to little tiny hide-in-your-hand lady revolvers. Two AK-47s (with bayonets at the ends, of course), and sawed-off 10-gauge shotguns.

My girlfriend Megan lived in Emmett for a few years and I've always made fun of her for it by referring to it as a hick town, but after the chance to play with these bad boys I don't think I mind going out there again!

46/365

Bare strobes cam left and right

The Banana

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:11:02 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Is that a banana in your pocket?

Lady Gaga - Just Dance (HCCR's Bambossa Radio Edit)

Ah, the holidays. For such a festive time of year, it sure is stressful. Family get-togethers, in-laws, shopping for the perfect gifts, and stuffing face for days on end. I apologize for not getting back to my 365 sooner, but it really was hectic. Plus, it snowed so much here I had little motivation to do much of anything at all.

I don't know if I'll finish the 12 Pains of Christmas right away or not. It's kind of a pain in itself, really. I'm stuck with a format, so it's not like I can show my true colors.

Like my technicolor dreamcoat here... which my girlfriend detests, by the way.

Oh well. Tis the season, right?

45/465

bare strobe cam left

The Tenth Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:55:10 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:

(Toy commercial voice): Batteries not included.

I'm the monopoly man and I'm just going to deny you a working toy and take all your money anyway.

I bet you anything Toys 'R Us has a secret pact with the battery companies.

44/365

Brolly cam left, bare strobe cam right

Monocle and molestache not included.

The Ninth Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:29:36 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The ninth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,

No parking spaces!

Thanks for getting all your Christmas shopping done early, you asses.

43/365

you can see my strobe! I'm lazy and it's freezing!

The Seventh Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:31:47 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The seventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,
The Salvation Army!

Ring-a-ding-a-ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling-a-ding....

Had to improvise with photoshop, as I didn't really want to go up to one of those homeless guys (notice my Tyrone Biggums lips?) and ask him if I could take his bell and take a picture of myself. That would just be wrong, wrong, wrong.

SHARING IS CARING

(I love at the non-verbal exchange between the cheesy guy and me.)

41/365

Strobes bounced off ceiling and floor to give me the flat, overcast lighting.

The Fourth Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:04:07 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me,
Sending Christmas cards!

Then it gets all awkward when you don't receive one in return, or you forgot to send it to somebody else.

Funny, I was the one that took our family Christmas pictures, too.

39/365

Bare strobe high cam left, one on ground behind me pointed up.

The First Pain of Christmas

nobody@flickr.com (★ spunkinator) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:13:08 -0800

★ spunkinator posted a photo:

Chorus:
The first thing at Christmas, that's such a a pain to me,
Is finding a Christmas tree.

(I'll be doing a series on the 12 Pains of Christmas starting today. Should be a nice contrast to the million other 12 Days of Christmas everyone else is probably doing).

36/365

bare strobe under tree cam left