Next Step: Digital & Tilt Shift

I want this camera really bad. It's a Canon Digital Rebel XSi EOS 450D DSLR camera.
I'm glad I have my 35mm camera, and got the chance to learn how to set the shutter and aperature speeds, develop film, and make my own prints, but going to digital would be so much easier. The cheapest price I found for this camera was 1,249.84 at Walmart. (It's brand new, so that could be why). I could always settle for something cheaper, but even so, it'll cost me atleast 500-600 for a decent digital.

Also, I want this lens.



This is a tilt shift lens. It allows you to correct for the effects of perspective, by shifting the lens. It's mostly used for architectural, or areal photography. Here are some example pictures of what it does.







Pretty fuckin sweet huh?


We learned about a photographer on Wednesday by the name of Vincent Laforet. He actually came to Omaha last weekend, but my teacher forget to tell us about it. I was pissed. He was a photographer for the New York Times for a long time, and later became an areal photographer. You can see his work here ---> http://www.laforetvisuals.com/main.php
Seriously, he's amazing, check this out.


I'm going to start posting all of my images on photobucket. The website is here
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v231/kramekrame/
Click on Photography.

I uploaded some today from this week that I printed up. There's not a whole lot in the color one yet, (obviously) but check it out. I'll try to upload them as soon as I can, it just takes awhile. The ones you see now in the black and white album are for my line and architecture assignment. Our next assignment is place. We have to shoot places that mean something to us, or have a story behind them, or just places that we enjoy. I was going to do this today, but the damn rain...ugh. I was sure it was supposed to be sunny today too. There's always tomorrow I guess.

Check this shit out.


Enjoy.


And feel free to give me some feedback.

Omaha teens will need permission slips to attend concerts at bars

BY KAREN SLOAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Omaha teens who go to concerts at two of the cities’ newest music venues will need more than just tickets.

They’ll need their parent’s permission.

The Omaha City Council today passed an ordinance with new rules for those younger than 18 who want to attend concerts in venues where alcohol is served.

They would be required to turn in a notarized parental consent forms to get in the doors of the Saddle Creek Record’s Slowdown in north downtown and the Waiting Room in Benson. More venues could fall under the new rule, though it’s unclear how many will pursue that option.

The ordinance means that the Waiting Room and Slowdown can continue to hold all-ages shows, as they have been doing for close to a year. But it will create an extra layer of red tape for club owners and for teens who attend shows.

Owners of both the Slowdown and the Waiting Room said the permission slips are a compromise they can live with.

"It will be a minor inconvenience for the front door people, and it will probably take a little longer to get people in," said Jason Kulbel, co-owner of the Slowdown. "But it solves more problems than it creates."

The ordinance was approved a 5-2 vote, with Councilmen Frank Brown and Chuck Sigerson voting against the measure.



I need a permission slip from my mommy to get into a show?? LAME.

I feel...

I feel like I'm in a really weird state of mind lately. The weathers been shitty and it sucks. It rained all day on Thursday. The one day I had off, and it rained, and was really depressing outside. I tried to keep myself busy though. I feel like I'm constantly doing things all the time now. If I'm not working, I'm cleaning, doing laundry, taking pictures, developing pictures, running errands, and buyin shit I don't really need. I guess I tend to do that though, make myself busy all the time, so I don't have to sit here and think about everything that sucks right now.
I think it's gotten worse at my house. None of us are ever here all at the same time. My sister will be with Tyler or at work, my mom and dad at work, and that leaves me waking up to an empty house everyday. Whenever we get home, we all do our own thing. My sister sits in her room with the door closed, my dad watchin some show in the living room, while my mom watches the same fuckin show in her room, and me sittin in the basement watchin tv. When I got back from Minnesota, I wanted to try really hard to bring us together, but no matter what I do, it's not working. It's like we don't know how to talk to eachother. I try to hang out with my sister and talk to her, but it's just weird for some reason. It shouldn't be, she's my sister, but it is, and it sucks. It just makes me feel so alone. I don't know how much more I can take of it. I need someone to show me they care, on a daily basis. Maybe that's hard to understand for some people, why I act the way I do, why I get angry about things like that in my relationships with my friends and lovers, it's how I am. I don't know how to change it.
I haven't talked to Keith in almost a month now. It's a really weird feeling. I think this is probably the longest I haven't talked to him. I'm not sure how I feel about it. A part of me thinks this is stupid and I just want to call him, but another part of me is still angry, and hurt to the point where I don't want to talk to him, or know anything about him. He said one of the most hurtful things he could say to me, and he knew it, and he said hes moving on but I don't feel any different than before. My mind hasn't registered that yet I don't think, but I have to do the same. It's gunna be so hard, and part of me thinks that no matter what I do, a part of me will never move on. I'm trying, slowly.
I need to find a job asap. Summer is almost here and I need to have a job lined up. I don't know what to do. If I don't find anything that pays at least $10, I'll have to go back to serving. I really don't want to do that, but I know I'll make bank if I do. I just need to get out there ad apply already. I only work Friday and Saturday next, how weak is that? I don't understand why they keep givin me a bunch of hours one week, and none the next.

It's time to take a shower, and get ready for work.


peace

Mobile Pictures

I have some pictures I took from my phone awhile ago, thought I'd post them here.



This was on one of the walls in Cherron's house. I'm not quite sure what it means...but I thought it was sweet.



Cherron on his b-day eating a nipple cupcake.



This was also taken in Cherron's house.



I saw this in Thom's bathroom, right before I did a bunch of stupid shit. I thought it was ironic, and had to take a picture of it.



Wine glass.



I took this last night while I was driving home from Shanae's. I was really pissed that I don't have any film right now in my camera. It would've been a sweet picture. The street lights were reflecting off the rainy street, and it was slightly foggy. It was really sweet.

Work

I've been working a lot this week. It's awesome, but its making me really tired. I don't get it. I've been going to sleep between 12-1, waking up at 845 and still wanting to sleep more. I'm working at Village Pointe today. It should be interesting...
I don't really have anything new to say, other than I'm trying to find another job for the summer, and taking a ballet class. Hopefully I'll actually being busy this summer. That's my plan.



I'm still lost.....

Prints

I printed these tonight in class. My assignment due on Mon is lines and architecture. We have to shoot atleast 3-5 rolls of film, so I've been trying to explore around Omaha as much as possible. It's getting really interesting. I'm seeing things I havent seen before, and it's really cool. The weather's been cloudy lately and I havent been able to shoot in a few days. It's making me restless and anxious. It's supposed to be sunny Friday and Saturday, and I work at night so that's perfect. Can't even wait.



This is backwards...I have to fix it


This one I'm in the process of messing around with still. I'm going to really bring out the sun, and make the bottom darker. For some reason...it cut off like half of this picture.



This is my favorite one so far. This too is backwards, but I think it turned out awesome. I can't stop looking at it. It took me awhile to get it right, and I'm so happy with it.(minus the little white spots that annoy me)


I don't think anyone really reads this...but if you do, give me some feedback!

Peace

Should minors be allowed at music venues serving alcohol?

BY KAREN SLOAN
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

If people under 21 can't attend concerts in Omaha, the city's nationally recognized music scene will suffer.

That's the message musicians and club owners sent to the City Council on Tuesday during a public hearing on an ordinance that would allow music venues to continue to admit minors during concerts.

Without the ordinance, venues like the Slowdown in north downtown and the Waiting Room in Benson could be forced to shut minors out of performances.

"It's very important to the artists . . . to be able to play to an all-ages audience," said Marc Liebowitz, co-owner of the Waiting Room. "If we had to take a step backwards, it would really put Omaha at a disadvantage."

That argument did little to convince members of several anti-drinking groups that those under 21 should be allowed to go to concerts where alcohol is sold.

"It is - at every level - a bad idea," said Diane Riibe, executive director of Project Extra Mile, which works to fight underage drinking.

Riibe and others told the council that no amount of security measures can ensure that minors don't drink at concert venues, and the Omaha Police Department doesn't have the manpower to enforce such measures even if they are adopted.

The issue stems from a gray area in Omaha's liquor laws. Bars are prohibited from admitting minors. But facilities such as the Qwest Center Omaha, the Sokol Auditorium, the Orpheum Theater and social halls are allowed to serve alcohol and admit minors.

The Slowdown and the Waiting Room fall somewhere in between.

Both businesses hold all-ages concerts where alcohol is served but operate as stand-alone bars when no shows are booked. Minors aren't allowed in when no concerts are scheduled.

Deputy City Attorney Tom Mumgaard said that since the Slowdown and the Waiting Room make most of their money from alcohol sales, they fall under the rules for bars, meaning that no minors should be admitted. The club owners have interpreted the law differently, believing that they were exempt from the no-minors rule.

The proposed ordinance, which was introduced by Councilman Jim Suttle, would clarify the situation by creating a new category of businesses called music venues.

The music venues would be allowed to admit minors as long as they followed certain security measures, such as having wristbands for those 21 and older and serving alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks in different glasses.

Opponents of the ordinance said they are worried that those over 21 will purchase alcohol and pour it into the glasses of minors. They also told the council that minors would be at a greater risk of drinking and driving if the ordinance were approved.

"This speaks to a tragedy waiting to happen," Riibe said.

David Jacobson, an attorney representing the Slowdown and the Waiting Room, said neither business has been ticketed by police for serving minors.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal Tuesday.

Councilmen Dan Welch and Jim Vokal said they hadn't decided if they will vote for the ordinance, but both said the current law needs to be modified.

"Is it fair to tell them (the Slowdown and the Waiting Room) that they can't have alcohol around minors when the Orpheum, the Qwest Center, bowling allies and social halls can?" Welch asked.

The council heard from several musicians who said that attending concerts as teenagers is what inspires many to pursue music and that shutting out teens is a bad idea.

Matt Oberst, father of noted indie-rock musician Conor Oberst, told the council that his three sons went to all-ages concerts as teenagers in Omaha. Those experiences helped shape them, he said.

"These types of shows . . . are extremely important to the creative process," Matt Oberst said.

Chad Rozniecki, who teaches bass guitar, said nearly all his students became interested in pursuing music after attending concerts in their younger years.

Slowdown co-owner Jason Kulbel said his business isn't viable without alcohol sales, which help cover the cost of bringing in bands. On the other hand, he said, it would be "pretty devastating" if the Slowdown could no longer hold all-ages shows.

"The amount of shows that would come to Omaha would dwindle," Kulbel said.


I saw this in the paper today. I have two words..bull shit.