idiom king

The varying degrees in which I perceive the passage of time often shocks and confuses me. At time, it seems like it is practically motionless. This is often when I feel comfortable. It feels as if time has become an infinite resource that can be extended as long as is required for me to complete each and every task I have ever imagined.

But it’s not always this way. Sometimes I can look back at an entire decade and wonder if it had been utterly squandered. It’s almost panicking. The realization of so much entropy creates an enormous amount of stress to help fuel the activities that must take place in order to make up for that which has been wasted.

Of course, I try not to be such a dramatic twat all of the time. There are other times where I say fuck it and have a beer. This, my friends, is one of those times.

Things I have learned recently:

Termagant - a harsh-tempered or overbearing woman

Iwanu ga hana - Literally translated as “Not speaking is the flower.” It means, “Some things are better left unsaid; Silence is golden.”

Sine qua non or condicio sine qua non (plural sine quibus non) was originally a Latin legal term for “(a condition) without which it could not be” or “but for…” or “without which (there is) nothing”. It refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient.

Scott doesn’t drink beer, so I had to rely on industrial strength espresso to keep me going last weekend. He wanted to do more than a bit of work on his small fleet of guitars, so we quickly got to work dismantling four of his electrics. Good times.

A comment regarding the FISA bill. I quote:

“In a presidency of hypocrisy, an administration of exploitation, a labyrinth of leadership in which every vital fact is a puzzle inside a riddle wrapped in an enigma hidden under a claim of executive privilege supervised by an idiot, this one is surprisingly easy.”

Extra credit for referring to Bill O’Reilly as the “Frank Burns of news.”

I’ve recently taken up photography.

This activity, much like my another of my primary interests, audio engineering, is a combination of both technical and artistic aspects. My favorite kind of pastime. You can argue about the ratio if you want, but that’s not the point du jour.

When I started to research what I would need to start taking photos, I gravitated towards the myriad of online articles about how to get started. Again, parallels between my longtime forays into music and taking pictures started to emerge.

Most of the newbie questions in the audio forums look something like this:

- What mic do I buy?
- What software do I buy?
- What’s better, brand X or brand Y?
- OMG help plz!!!

Now for the photo forums:

- What camera do I buy?
- What lens do I buy?
- What’s better, brand X or brand Y?
- OMG help plz!!!

See a pattern?

Replies to these questions vary. Examples include:

- Patient, informed replies intended to empower the original poster.
- “Use the search function, noob!”
- “If you don’t know what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter.”
- “Just try them all, and remember, there are no rules!”

The first reply is nice, but most likely lost on someone that is too inexperienced to think for themselves. The second is good, and the third is probably the most accurate and frank.

The fourth one drives me nuts.

It is my belief that the worst thing you can tell an amateur is that there are no rules. Not only is this unhelpful, it is simply inaccurate.

It also implies that self-applied restrictions are a bad thing, which is also untrue. In fact, I would argue that many great artists, immediately after becoming inspired to do something completely original and different, immediately place restrictions around that idea. Even the most revolutionary ideas must be “framed.”

Besides, how many monthly assignments do you see on photography forums tell you to do whatever you want? Very few.

Now, I understand what these people are trying to say. I just think this response needs a bit more clarification.

Remember when I was talking about artistic and technical aspects earlier? Well, I believe that most people are talking about the artistic side of things when they say this. This is also the side that will be least known to most amateurs.

From a technical perspective, there are rules. Hard and fast rules whether you like it or not. If you don’t like the word rules, try replacing it with facts.

For example:

- Large apertures have and long focal lengths have a narrow depth of field.
- Sunny 16 rule.
- Getting sharp pictures at when hand-holding becomes more difficult when the focal length increases, and requires faster shutter speeds.

These rules, among many others, simply cannot be avoided. Instead, they are to be thoroughly understood and mastered.

I guarantee that the amount of time you spend either mastering or ignoring fundamentals is equally proportional to the amount of time you will continue to be frustrated by a lack of results.

As far as gear is concerned, make the most informed decision you can that is within your budget. Then learn your gear inside and out. Can you adjust the ISO setting on your camera up two stops blindfolded? I can.

I did mention ratios earlier. Let me give you a guideline to shoot for. For simplicity, we’ll use the tried and true 80/20 ratio:

If you’re getting started, spend 80 percent of your time mastering fundamental theory and 20 percent of your time on self expression.

As you progress, shift accordingly.

To quote Thom Hogan:

1. Learn the rules.
2. Break the rules.
3. Tell others to always follow the rules.