StephenElliot.com

My girlfriend recently took me to see the film Slumdog Millionaire.  It’s a fantastic story, and I highly recommend it.  I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it yet, but I did want to comment on one technical aspect of the film that I really liked.

It’s kinda hard to quantify, but I would say that approximately half of the film is subtitled.  Normally subtitles make it difficult for me to really engage in the story.  I’m not a fast reader, so I often have to choose between watching the visuals or reading the dialog; rarely do I feel as if I can do both well.

Slumdog Millionaire got a lot more creative with its use of subtitles, and for that I applaud the film editor.  Rather than having all of the subtitles appear centered at the bottom of the screen, they are juxtaposed right next to the characters –interacting with the other elements on screen.  It makes it feel as if the words are coming from a certain direction, and it actually carries the story along visually rather than detracting from it.  It’s those little details…

Though I’m a PC user, and probably will be for the foreseeable future, I gotta give Mac credit for their unprecedented design and innovation.  The two-finger scroll, magnetic power cord, and rounded edges are just a few details that showcase how well they think through the products they create.  This new one is no exception…

The MotoRazr V3 cannot save more than 100 received text messages.  That is the bane of my existence right now…

</rant>

Wow!  October has been the busiest month I’ve ever had in terms of the number and variety of clients. The work has been great, and eventually I’ll get paid for all of it (*subtle hint about my frustration with the bureaucracy of corporate accounting) and it will be quite rewarding I’m sure. But right now, I’m just plain tired.

I have a pretty good understanding of how beneficial sleep can be, yet I’m the type of person who likes to stay up until something is finished.  Sometimes I’ll get so tired that my productivity will come to a screeching halt.  I reach the point where I can’t get anything else done and I must get some sleep.

So it was around one o’clock in the morning, and I was working on a large batch of photos in Lightroom.  I could barely keep my eyes open, but I really needed to finish the editing.  …  Ya know how your body just seems to get heavier when you’re asleep?  Your jaw drops open, your head falls forward, and your shoulders relax.  Yeah, normally that’s fine, but the problem was that my hand was resting on the keyboard –specifically on the “x” key.

Those of you familiar with Lightroom know that pressing “x” marks a photo as a reject.  Yeeeeaaah… by the time I woke up, all of the photos were missing and all of the work I had struggled to stay awake for had been undone.

Lesson learned: go to bed.

Last night as I was coming home from a shoot I noticed a box in my parking garage.  Someone had scribbled on it: “free books!” so my curiosity got the best of me and I peeked inside.  The first book I pulled out was called, Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture. I have never heard of it before, but after reading the back cover I couldn’t help but think that God purposely dropped it right in front of me.  It totally made my already awesome night even more awesomer!  To top things off, 14 out of 15 people on Amazon gave it 5 stars.  Can’t wait to read this one!

Thank you, God, and whoever happened to leave this book behind!  ‘Tis much appreciated.

I just discovered a nifty little program that allows you to access the backup data from a Blackberry.  ABC Amber Blackberry Converter allows you to open .ipd files and export the information to just about any file type you would need.  It doesn’t require you to sync the Blackberry with a server or even a program like Outlook; it simply opens the file and let’s you see everything in it.

At the time of this writing, there is a free trial version (30 days), or you can purchase the full version for $20.  I haven’t used it extensively, but I think it’s fair to say that it’s very effective and incredibly easy to use.

Alas! My faithful, corded Jabra headset has reached its end. After complications from a short in the wire it was pronounced dead on Thursday, August 7, 2008.

In loving memory…

Feel free to leave your condolences in the comment section below.

Considering the number of bikes and car stereos that are stolen in this town, you would think everybody would have one by now.

That is all.

This could be you!

(I made an offer to my small group that anyone who brings me some Blue Bell ice cream will get a post on my blog. =)

Okay so maybe I’m a smart alec, but I find it hilarious to fire off witty answers to general, programmed questions. What I mean is this: you go to the store and the cashier asks, “Did you find everything okay?” A classic Stephen response would be something like, “Well, no, I didn’t find everything. I mean, there’s a lot here! All I was looking for was an ink cartridge.”

So, I was just on the phone with my previous cell phone provider because I needed to cancel my membership (to switch carriers). She was very helpful in assisting me, and at the end of the conversation she asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Hmm…” I said, “not unless you’re giving away free bottles of champagne for everybody who cancels their membership.”

…yeah, that was the end of that conversation.

That’s right, my friends.  Today is National High Five Day.  Have at it!

My wonderful girlfriend is taking me skydiving this weekend as an early birthday present.  Let’s just say, I’m stoked!  =D

Pictures and video to follow…

I spent approximately 50 hours working on my latest tutorial.  I never imagined it would take that long, but it was definitely a lesson in learning.  I finished it last night, and already I got some fantastic feedback from a dude who’s work I respect very much (check out his flickr page).  His first suggestion was to break it up into smaller bits, and I couldn’t agree more!  I imagined it being a LOT shorter when I started writing it, but then it snowballed into something much bigger.  So, don’t fall in love with it just yet ’cause it’s gonna get whacked into 4 or 5 pieces.  Also, this gives me some room to expand it later on –I’m already seeing a Part VI…  =)

Lesson learned: Despite my tendency to be Mr. All-or-Nothing, in the end it’s often better to simplify things.

Thanks again, Mariano!

Eh, maybe I’ll keep it, but that’s just my excuse for saying this is just a stand-in.

Quick recap: This week has been insanely busy. I’m setting up a booth at a bridal show in (*Stephen looks at the clock) nine and a half hours. I’ve spent all week getting ready for it –updated services, prices, brochures, etc… That being said, I’ve not seen much sleep or much of anything else really.

Quick update: I DID figure out a nifty little trick for shooting photos in crappy weather (i.e. rain and snow). I’ll let you know what I came up with, but first, I gotta go. They’re turning off the power in my building (something about “maintenance”) in 90 minutes. So, all that to say, I’ll be right back.

Apparently my friend Rose tagged me. I’ve never been tagged before. We’ll see how this goes. –Wait! Should that count as Random Fact number 1?? Oh, man, I think I’ve failed already!

1.) I won’t watch a movie if I love the soundtrack. Gladiator, Braveheart, Titanic, Last of the Mohicans, (I could go on). I haven’t seen any of them because the soundtracks are too rowdy awesome. As I see it, soundtracks are designed to compliment visual media. Therefore, listening to them is (for me) a playground of imaginational potential. I don’t want to be stifled by knowing what’s happening during any given part of the song. I’d much rather let me mind run free with ideas rather than constantly thinking, “Oh, this is there part where…”

2.) I’m a certified scuba diver. I spent the summer of ’02 hanging with my brother in Burbank, California. I took the diving classes then and did a few dives in the kelp beds at Catalina and the Channel Islands. I’d love to go diving in the Caribbean or the Red Sea, but that’s not any too high on the priority list.

3.) I always order my food to go, unless of course it’s a sit-down restaurant. Fast food, always get it to go. It’s much more efficient, and when it comes to eating, efficiency is king. I have to eat entirely too much food to keep from dissolving into oblivion. Eating has become something of a chore, so the more efficient it feels, the better. …but then I couple that with the things I know about the typical American diet and it just becomes one big complicated problem.

3.5) I can hardly justify the time I’m spending on this. Why, oh why must these things be so fun and so time consuming??

4.) I’ve never taken an art class or a computer class. I homeschooled from 5th grade on, and my mom doesn’t didn’t know the first thing about computers. I never considered myself an artist –I still don’t– so I always thought art classes were for wickedly talented people. Somewhere along the line I think I turned out all right. You are welcome to propose an alternate opinion. =) See the comment thread below.

5.) I’m an introvert. To some who may be reading this, that’s an obvious statement. To others, it will sound like a lie. Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you, without hesitation, that I’m an introvert. I often feign outgoingness and extroverted tendencies just because I don’t want to be “that guy” who is completely boring to talk to. Honestly though, I would much rather just sit quietly and listen.

5.4) Only two more to go! I think I can I think I can…

6.) I’m a huge fan of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. Um, yeah, I have the entire Peanuts gang in five-foot tall cardboard cutouts that I made. Ya see, I started watching the cartoons on tv in 5th grade. I thought it was hilarious. I began quoting it and collecting the daily comic strips. Eventually I became a target for gifts and nick-knacks that had anything to do with Charlie Brown. Yeah, I’m a fan.

7.) I wanted to be a cartoon animator. Even before Charlie Brown was in the picture I wanted to draw and animate cartoons. My poor drawing skills finally convinced me otherwise, and somewhere around the age of 12 I thought I’d be more realistic and pursue engineering or architecture. Yeah, uh, I’m not really sure how a 12 year-old goes about pursuing anything like that. I guess I thought it was a decent answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Okay so I’m done, right? I think I’m supposed to tag someone else. Hey, that reminds me, 8.) I used to play “butt tag” with my neighbors. Basically, you run around in the confines of our front yard –you can’t step on the driveway or sidewalk– and you have to hit someone else on the butt to knock them out for the round. *…and why did I just verbalize this in cyberspace?? Um, yeah, I should stop now.

So, I’m gonna tag Archie, Jamie, and Brian.

Now, for anybody who subscribes to this blog because you hope for some element of worthwhile information, I’d like to announce that I’m working on another photography tutorial. It should be mucho cool. Stick around!

I’m torn.

Well… not really, but I figured a two word intro would make this post sound more exciting than it really is.  Here’s my predicament: I’ve taken hundreds of photos in the last four days (I’m guessing somewhere around 550 photographs).  One part of me wants to quickly edit and upload the photos so that I can keep my blog and flickr page up to date, but the other part of me thinks that I need to finish reading the instruction manual for Adobe Lightroom first.

Ya see,  one of my hard drives crashed recently.  This was the drive where I stored all of my photos.  I didn’t lose much, but I’m now at that point where I have a clean slate on which I can finally organize everything neatly and efficiently.  I know that my new workflow will rely heavily on Lightroom, however, I’m still quite unfamiliar with it.

So, I’m torn because I want to get the photos to everybody quickly and make everybody happy, but I can’t make everybody happy and be happy with myself.  =/  In an effort to maintain my sanity and to be more efficient in the future, I know I’ve got to get my ducks in a row before I can be of any help to anyone else.

Now, it’s time for Chipotle.