Microstock Photograph of the Day (Thursday, October 30, 2008)

This building is just completely busted up. I love it.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Wednesday, October 22, 2008)

I wouldn't mind photographing an entire city block of these run-down ghetto structures.

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Monday, October 27, 2008)

This is a picture of this great ghetto not far from where I work downtown. I'm sure the locals don't think much of it, but as far as photographic possibilities goes, this place is heaven to me.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Sunday, October 26, 2008)

An exposure from last Friday, an overcast day which made for the best of photos. Did any of you know that the Houston City Hall was built by the Works Progress Administration. Buildings of that era have a very distinctive look.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Saturday, October 25, 2008)

This panorama turned out SO nice. Even the two guys walking along at the base of the building are in sharp focus. There are also the reason that this is an "editorial" photo. I hope that doesn't cramp my sales with this photo.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Friday, October 24, 2008)

I think this something we could all have a little more of these days.

12:15 PM: I voted for Obama at the Harris County Administrative Building today. Yee-Haw!

Microstock Photo of the Day: Lacebark Elm (Thursday, October 23, 2008)

I took this picture several months ago before Hurricane Ike struck. I went to the park to take some pictures of it today, and was greatly saddened to see only a sawed off stump protruding from the ground. The tree was simply amazing. Every time I passed by it the pattern of bark would change, as it just kept on shedding and growing new bark. This photo's for you, tree.

Update: I found out that it's called a Lacebark Elm, or Chinese Elm (Ulmus parviflora)

Microstock of the Photo of the Day (Wednesday, October 22, 2008)

This panorama was stitched together from 3 photos. Meanwhile, see how Sarah Palin is putting your money to good use for the First Family of Alaska:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/21/palin.travel.ap/index.html

It's hard to believe that some of the Joe Sixpacks, Joe the Plumbers, and Ed the Builders of the world can support candidates like her who completely bereft of morals.

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Tuesday, October 21, 2008)

The Enron building has to be one of my favorite photographic subjects. Every shot that comes from this building is just... ethereal. Now that I've gotten the hang of using auto-stitch, I'll start doing some panoramas that will do this marvelous building justice.

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Monday, October 20, 2008)

Many of my previous architectural shots had buildings in the background. Recently, I've started painting out all the rest of the buildings with a color range that matches the original sky, and isolate just one or two main buildings. I quite like this shot, and hope that it starts racking up sales soon.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Sunday, October 19, 2008)

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Saturday, October 18, 2008)

Microstock Photo of the Day (Friday, October 17, 2008)

Microstock Photo of the Day (Thursday, October 16, 2008)

On my way home from work to see the debate yesterday, Houston was hit by serious flash floods. But I still made it home on time. Although Obama didn't rope-a-dope McCain into a KO like I had hoped, he still finished strong. McCain actually lost his temper a couple times, which I think hurt him big, except perhaps among diehard Republicans who would support him even if he had even worse ideas about how to fix the economy and chose Kermit the Frog as his running mate. If McCain can't manage to maintain his composure against a single person, I don't see how he can be the calm and composed commander-in-chief that we so desperately need.




This is a video of yesterday's flash thunderstorms.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Wednesday, October 15, 2008): Houston Clock Tower Reflected in Building Window

I quite like this shot, with the Houston Clock Tower reflected in detail in the window.

Powershot A590 IS Video: Houstron Metro Light Rail Going By

I received a Powershot A590 IS as a gift last night. I very fortunate in that my friends and relatives all realize that I love photography and usually give me photography-related presents.

The backlighting is pretty strong on this video, and I'm sure there are probably ways to compensate for it manually.

So far the Powershot is pretty sweet, what with being equipped with inbody IS and all. It's the perfect addition to my current kit, and allows me to always be with a camera no matter where I go.

What I have learned so far is that it is not that wide. I suppose my EF 24-105 L--which I have been using religiously for a year now--spoiled me rotten. But there's alot to be said for being able to pull something out of your pocket and shoot right there.

Is this camera suitable for microstocking? I'll certainly be checking this out with some submissions later in the week. There are some contributors who use Powershots and actually do quite well. They probably have to rely on noise-reduction software to a greater extent, though.

Microstock Photo of the Day: "Eyes on the Money" (Tuesday, October 14, 2008)

With the economy in the crapper, I imagine a lot of people are fixated on keeping their savings safe. How about you? Are you guardedly watching your money?

Windows Vista on a Laptop for Microstocking

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron (will review it when I have time later) which came pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium. As much as I like to make fun of Microsoft Blue Screens of Death, I'm quite impressed with Vista's layout and capabilities. Much of the layout (especially the media center) seems to be direct emulations of the Apple OS. But given the daily raves that Apple gets for its software/hardware, do you blame Microsoft? I like Apple hardware as much as the next technogeek, but I just can't stomach the price. That's why I opted for a Dell at 1/3 of the price and slapped in 4 GB of DRAM. It handles Photoshop on the road quite nicely. Being able to shoot tethered anywhere I go is also a big plus. The print-screen above is of some of the folders that I use to organize my microstock workflow.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Monday, October 13, 2008)

Microstock Photo of the Day (Sunday, October 12, 2008)

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Saturday, October 11, 2008)

Earnings Schedule for September 2008

Earnings went stratospheric as usual towards the end of the month, with my port posting BDE on the last day of September with 34 DLs. Unfortunately, the momentum dropped off before I could reach BME. I've gotten used to making $80-$100 and am pretty happy with that. It is still my goal to continue adding 100 photos/month and reach a port size of 800 by the end of year. With hard work I should be able to reach this milestone.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Friday, October 10, 2008)

A mix of Korean and Chinese calligraphy.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Thursday, October 9, 2008)

Microstock Photo of the Day (Wednesday, October 8, 2008)

Microstock Photo of the Day (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Trips to Chinatown are always rewarding.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Monday, October 6, 2008)

A building with red parasols covering the windows.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Sunday, October 5, 2008)

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Saturday, October 4, 2008)

Palin said that Obama was a buddy of terrorists ("terrorizers," for those of you more accustomed to Bush-speak), setting a new low for presidential campaign rhetoric this year. She's not able to answer debate questions, but she loves going on the attack.

I can't wait until early polling starts in Texas. Obama will be getting my vote quicker than a speeding bullet. Too bad we have the electoral college, otherwise my vote would actually count for something in this state.

Republicans are elated with Sarah Palin's performance in the VP debate last night. On the Internet GOP diehards are celebrating the return of the "Barracuda." Whatever. She answered only 5 questions directly. The majority that she couldn't answer she simply dodged by talking about what she wanted to talk about or calling McCain a "maverick."

This flowchart is uncanny in predicting the Barracuda's responses from last night:

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/10/03/leaked_from_palins_debate_prep.html

Many Americans have taken part in debate clubs in middle or high school, including yours truly. If Palin had gone to a competition, she wouldn't have even placed. If she had been in debate class, she would've failed for failure to answer questions.

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Thursday, October 2, 2008)

There are actually quite a few of these ghetto-ish buildings in Houston which look quite similar: dirty white stucco exteriors, rusted fire escape stairwells, and cracks running up the structure if you go closer.

Microstock Photograph of the Day (Wednesday, October 1, 2008)

The area around the Chase building seems to have been hardest hit. I particularly like this picture. It features a devastated interior, no windows, new windows, wooden panels over broken windows, and reflections of wood-paneled windows from the neighboring building. Quite poetic, eh?

Newspapers are telling us not to underestimate Palin. I hope she puts up a good fight tomorrow. And I also hope Biden tears her back down.