The distraction of Football

The Hurricanes won, barely.
The Dolphins lost. barely.
I didn't watch much of either because of other commitments, but I was distracted by both. Sneak a peak on my phone. Catch a moment on the tv that should really be off.
There is so much real happening in the world, in my life, but I find myself distracted by media, by technology. Technology allows me to be distracted. It's supposed to make our lives better, and it can and does, but often it just allows us, or specifically me, an excuse to be distracted from the real world. How do I break this addiction, if it even is one. I'm using technology to complain about technology. Kind of ironic. I could be doing something else, rather than writing this. But I feel like there is something else going on. Something bigger. I'm just not sure what. Are we purposely distracted? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Look over here. Shiny. Squirrel. Distraction. Where are the priorities? What is the compromise? What is missed? What is gained? How do we quantify any of it?  There isn't a box score to summarize the day, the week, the year. The distractions keep piling on without a referee to blow the whistle, to stop the clock and identify the guilty party.
Technology is the protagonist and the antagonist.
It is for you and against you.
It is football.
It is anything.
If you let it.

A Glut of Republicans

Who are all these "candidates"? Why do they think they can be president of the United States? Most importantly, why do they want to control our lives so?
As a long time registered republican, I have watched the party become something that would be unrecognizable to my father and grandfather. A party of control. A party that has gotten in bed (pun intended) with the religious right, and needs all of us to subscribe to the same doctrine. A party that does not support individual freedoms. A party that support control, and laws, and a homogenized country rather than a diverse one. I would ask why the leadership of the party has allowed this to happen, but I believe it is a complete lack of leadership that is the reason behind it.
An organized, forward thinking, somewhat libertarian Republican party could have made real strides since the last election. But President Obama has kept on keeping on, obviously cognizant of the dysfunction running rampant among the Republicans. It has gotten so bad, in my estimation, that the current president has become more presidential, more reasonable and main stream when held in comparison to the current crop of Republicans trying to buy their way in to the White House.
Don't misunderstand me, the Democrats aren't much better, but a least they have a clear leader (for now) and a direction. I may not agree with most of their direction, but at least they have one. The Hillary v Bernie clash should be interesting. By the way, what is the appeal of Hillary? Haven't gotten it, don't get it, won't get it.
Who are these Republicans? Where is one, just one, that doesn't come across as a control freak? Where is one, just one, that is fiscally conservative (within reason) and socially liberal enough to not expect every American to live by his or her set of standards? Where is one, just one, that believes in equality for every American citizen. Where is one, just one, that realizes we lost the war on drugs a long time ago and supports the legalization of marijuana. Where is one, just one, that understands and respects the separation of church and state. Not every American believes and worships the same. Keep the government out of religion and keep religion out of the government.
Any takers?
Finally, fire Kim Davis if she can't do her job.
That is all...

Racing Pigeon

So I don't really think much of Pigeons. It's not that I don't like them, I just don't think about them often. Then, one shows up at my mother-in-laws house and is not afraid of her or anybody for that matter. It has a band around it's ankle so it is probably somebody's pet. And it's acting like it wants to be my mother-in-laws new pet. Birds seem to like my mother-in-law but the feeling is not mutual. Oh she likes them fine from a distance, but they seem to want to get close to her.  The neighbors across the street did a little leg work from the info on the band and found out it's a racing pigeon. It turns out, as the story was told, that the pigeon came from the Tampa area and was in a race to Africa. Big prize money for the bird who makes it. I'm guessing no money for making it across the state of Florida, because the original owner had no interest in getting the bird back. Luckily for the bird, and my mother-in-law, someone local rescued the bird and is nursing it back to health. You just never know.

Long distance athlete.

Equipment. You can't always get what you want.

Working as a photographer at Kennedy Space Center spoiled me as far as equipment goes. We had top end Nikon bodies, glass and strobes. I was supplied with Really Right Stuff brackets, White Lightning and Quantum strobes, Pocketwizard wireless remotes, etc. etc.
So after the lay offs, I'm trying to build up a similar arsenal for myself and quickly realizing that my budget isn't gonna go that far (yet). Finding reasonable yet affordable replacements has been tricky, but not impossible. One of the items I've purchased and am testing is the Yongnuo RF-603N Wireless Flash Triggers. While they may not be in the Pocketwizard class, they seem to be well built and are only a fraction of the cost. I set up a simple test in my yard to check the range and consistency of triggering two flashes.

Two 16 channel transceivers per box.

The option to have the transceiver on camera with a strobe on top of it is very nice. 
Be careful though as they have no locking ring to secure it to the shoe mount.

Profile on light stand with flash

5 paces from stands. No misfires

10 paces from stands. No misfires.

20 paces from stands. Still no misfires after multiple shots.

40 paces from stands. Still no misfires.

80 paces from stands. This is where I started getting some misfires. Not bad for the price.

I also tested the consistency from inside my house with the strobes outside and got very few misfires. I would have to say initially that for under $40.00 per pair (from Amazon), they seem to fit the bill nicely. I'll post more as I test and use in real world situations.

Because sometimes you want something different.

Shortly after my lay-off, in an attempt to get out and shoot some photos, I accepted some assignments from Airbnb . Not familiar? They offer accommodations for travelers all over the world ranging from deluxe mansions to sleeping on someones couch (not kidding). It looks pretty cool and the properties I shot were very nice. One in Cocoa Beach is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, full kitchen and dining room with beach and pool access for (probably) less than a hotel room. Good deal. Check it out.

Photo: Airbnb/Kevin O'Connell

Photo: Airbnb/Kevin O'Connell

Photo: Airbnb/Kevin O'Connell

Photo: Airbnb/Kevin O'Connell

Photo: Airbnb/Kevin O'Connell

Photo: Airbnb/Kevin O'Connell

1st blog post

It was really past time that I set up a blog. The web pages I frequent the most are blogs. I like the feel of the blogs I read regularly, like I'm getting inside information or something. That's probably because they are updated so frequently that they feel fresh and provide so much insight to the world of professional photography from a "real world" point of view.

Now that I am 1 month into unemployment, I needed to start working toward some new goals in my life as a freelance photographer. So this is one of the steps that I hope will make a positive difference. I am also working on a web site, http://kmocphotography.zenfolio.com/

I will attempt to update my blog regularly and keep it interesting (i hope). Check back and please feel free to comment. 

Me in the flight deck of Space Shuttle Discovery after her final flight,  hence no bunny suit. Photo by Tom Farrar

 

Kevin