Photography on Notes from the Rabbit Hole

2018 Student Camera Project: An Introduction

Sat, 30 Dec 2017 10:23:22 -0400

“Magnus, I want to learn photography. What kind of camera can you recommend for a budget of no more than $300?”

This challenge is given to me often. And it’s surprising how many come up with the same $300 budget. Sometimes I hear $500, but that’s uncommon. Let’s stick with $300. I have some ideas about how to do this in 2018, but I’m going to actually try doing this myself and work with this camera to learn its ins and outs so I can be sure I’m recommending something that I would be okay with using myself.

Oops, I did it again

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 09:27:47 -0400

I’ve been an avid photographer for about ten years now. For much of that time, I did photograph models. But about three years ago, I got tired of all the drama it brought to my life and so I took a hiatus from it.

That hiatus was broken on Saturday when I took Candace to the local park for a casual shoot. We used my Fujifilm X-T2 camera and a 50 year old lens, the Minolta MC Rokkor-PG 58mm f1.2. What this lens lacks in clinical sharpness and contrast, it makes up for with gobs of character. This allowed me to get images that really didn’t require much in the way of post processing, which is just how I like it.

slippery when wet

Sun, 05 Feb 2017 19:02:48 -0400

Ricoh GR over the years

Sun, 05 Feb 2017 09:09:46 -0400

A few years ago, I had the honor of working at Red Hat’s main office building in downtown Raleigh. The surrounding area is very walkable, and the people that I would see every day each seemed to have their own story lurking just below the surface. So I procured a small but capable camera that would allow me to capture what I saw to capture that slice of Raleigh in time. The Ricoh GR was perfect for this role.

In sickness and in health...

Sun, 05 Feb 2017 08:35:19 -0400

Personal Kaizen Update

Sat, 28 Jan 2017 14:41:53 -0400

It’s been awhile since I’ve written. Some great developments have unfolded.

Fitness

When I started this journey, my weight hovered around 315 pounds (give or take a little on any given day). Yesterday I finally weighed in under 240 pounds, taking me across the 75 pound threshold.

My children have never seen me this thin. I’m now down to the same weight I was at 2 or 3 years into my professional career, which is when I really started getting fat. I feel great. I’m not just leaner, but I’ve adopted a more active lifestyle. I’m walking a lot. I’m running a little. I’m using my Bowflex Max four times per week. I’m even doing a little kayaking or canoeing when the weather is nice. And I’m not done yet.

State of the Nerd Report / Homelab Update

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 00:15:08 -0400

The last few months have been quite a ride. I’ve been busy, both at work and at play. And both influence one another. Of course, if I were going to write about work tonight, I’ve got another outlet for that. So let’s catch up on what I’ve been up to in my personal nerding.

I’ve largely pulled back from photography. This isn’t so much on a permanent basis, but long enough for me to catch up on some other geekery. My home office was looking like something out of hoarders, though, so I took drastic action before my family could stage an intervention.