Here is the official announcement: I’m working on a book. There, it’s done.

I realize that this post is a little short on detail, but I assure you — as evidenced by a whole new category — that there will be more detail to follow. Hit the jump for the first tasty nougat of information.

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Whoops. I just had a psuedo-epiphany this afternoon. Here’s what happened:

1. I spent a few hours editing Chris and Beth’s photos in Adobe Lightroom
2. I failed to put on any sort of distracting music to blur out my inner thoughts
3. I reflected on the equipment and methods of the pro photogs at Chris and Beth’s wedding
4. I googled, “Cheapest L series Lens Canon.” (oops)
5. I ended up on a site titled, “the BEST Canon EOS Lenses” — Their emphasis.
6. I found this blurb, “Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM … $550. A highly rated zoom and the cheapest “L” series lens”
7. I thought, “$550 is not so bad, I wonder what type of lens that is…”
8. I googled, “Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM“
9. I ended up on a review website, which I read. And determined that there was also the f/2.8L version both of which are quite good.
10. I then opened up three pages. USA Canon’s Lens site, Adorama.com, and the site: The Digital Picture. After careful consideration and mostly reality, I came up with the list below — pick one from each category.

Wide angle lenses:

N/A — go with 17-40/4 L

Fast, prime Lenses:

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Standard AutoFocus Lens - USA
$84.95

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Standard AutoFocus Lens - USA
$325.00

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM AutoFocus Telephoto Lens - USA
$1,870.00

“L” series wide:

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens with Case and Lens Hood - USA
$700.00

Canon EF 16 - 35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens - Canon U.S.A. Warranty
$1,450.00

“L” series standard zoom:

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AutoFocus Wide Angle Telephoto Zoom Lens - Canon U.S.A. Warranty
$1,059.00

“L” series telephoto zoom:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Autofocus Telephoto Zoom Lens with Case & Hood - USA
$600.00

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens with Case & Hood - USA
$1,190.00

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Image Stabilizer AutoFocus Telephoto Zoom Lens - USA
$1,699.00

My second foray into wedding photography produced 150 snapshots to be snail mailed off to the bride and groom. Thankfully I was not the paid pro photographer since I was having an off day. The combination of sleep deprivation and wildly swinging exposures (shade/sun) was screwing with my mind. I came away with several good shots though; this is the one I added to my gallery:

Mike at The Online Photographer published a quote about Robert Holmgren that I find quite inspiring… specifically the last little section:

For my purposes I busy myself with the simple practice of looking at the real world, imagining it as a photograph, applying the craft of photography, and delighting in what comes of that. Simple pleasures.

Robert Holmgrem is a successful California-based commercial photographer with works appearing in Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, and others. The majority of his gallery is with the Holga a cheap medium format camera that can produce some very artistic photographs.

EUGENE, OR — Fire crews from Eugene Fire and Rescue blocked off Beltline Rd Eastbound on Tuesday. Fire crews worked to contain a fire that had engulfed a residential fence line bordering the freeway. Eugene Police were also on scene directing traffic onto nearby Coburg road, but many motorists were stopped between Coburg road and the fire location.

Photo taken from my iPhone while traveling West on Beltine.

“I was wondering what that burning smell was…”

Here’s a short post in honor of the meth monkey that came up with this originality:

“You carry a gun?”
“Sir, you need to leave.”
“You carry a gun? ’cause that’d be cool.”
“You need to go.”
“A gun would be cool… Much cooler than that whistle they give you.”

Points for originality. Penalty for being a tool.. Net gain: still negative.

It’s not exactly a stunning achievement or anything, but I wanted to announce that I have completed ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and their Emergency Management Institute.

They even send you, electronically, a fancy certificate. Although it’s not a huge achievement, individuals actually are tracked by FEMA. Somewhere there is a database saying that I’ve completed this course. In case you were wondering, the independent study program is free by FEMA and is all done online.

This tidbit just popped up on my Google Science and Tech RSS Feed:

Toyota plans Prius with solar panels

It seems kind of out of the blue. I know a lot has been made about the plug-in version of the hybrid, or switching to a Lithium Ion battery, or using a more powerful electric motor for sustained speeds, but solar panels on the roof? Interesting.

I guess it will be incentive to wash your car more often — and pay attention to the roof when doing so.

The image at right is a kit from solarelectricalvehicles.com that can be added to current-gen Prius’ and a few other vehicles as well.

Note: no word directly from Toyota via Toyota.com at this time.

Seinfeld

To the Producers of Seinfeld: I extend my apologies for the post title if it is copyrighted/trademarked or otherwise protected. Please, let me know and I will immediately change it. If even mentioning Seinfeld is inappropriate, I’d like to know about that as well. And since we’re speaking about Seinfeld I’d like to point out that I’ve seen every single episode of Seinfeld that was ever aired on television. Seinfeld is mentioned six times so far in this article, and the article is not even about Seinfeld (Seven).

Fireworks: Purpose, Photography

Purpose

I guess I don’t really understand the purpose of Fireworks in a more modern setting. I suppose, symbolically, they are supposed to represent our fight for independence (bombs bursting in air). I also suppose that there has to be some sort of celebratory atmosphere for the birthday of our country. That said, it seems kind of childish that a good portion of America throws away their better judgment and decides to blow stuff up. What did I do this Fourth of July you ask? I helped catch some guys smoking marijuana behind a dumpster. Welcome to America: Land of the Free, Home of a bunch of idiots.

Photography

The above said, I would have much rather been out taking time-delay photographs of people enjoying themselves with the fireworks.

Where to take photographs of fireworks in Eugene, Oregon:

The best place to take photographs of fireworks in Eugene (for future notes), in my opinion, is on the South side of the the Autzen Bicycle Bridge.In that area (the circular area of the map), the road is completely closed off to vehicular traffic (year round). It also has open fields and a decent view of the Eugene fireworks display. Because of these factors, it attracts a ton of families and people who come out to, well, blow stuff up.

Aliph Jawbone, 50mm Lens, or Seinfeld Season 10*?

Instead of writing this post, I should be assembling an order of Plasma bottles for a customer out in Tennessee. Three of them in fact. Which gives me a bank account boost of $120. I have three options on the plate for what to do with that money and I shall outline them for you below.

1. Hold onto it. Put the money into my savings and not notice as it disappears over time, slipping away into obscurity.
2. Purchase a 50mm prime lens. A fixed lens that is super fast will be good for lower-light photography. In fact, it is a little more than four stops faster then the lens I have on my camera at the same focal length — who-rah. In addition, the “fast 50″ as it’s called, is of decent quality and dirt cheap. Only about $100. It would be a great addition to my camera bag right before the wedding I am attending on the 12th.
3. Purchase the New Aliph Jawbone. It’s the best bluetooth headset on the market and, after some research, I’m not sure I’m interested in anything less. The jawbone excells in noisy environments — the type of environments that make me unable to hear my iPhone and, i’m sure, others unable to hear me. There are two things also going on here. First, a bluetooth headset can double as a microphone for online PS3 gaming (GTA IV Multiplayer). Second, California just passed a law requiring a handsfree device while driving… and I’m taking a major road trip through California. Isn’t it amazing how far we have come from things like the car phones depicted in (you guessed it) Seinfeld (nine)?

Thoughts?
*Seinfeld (ten) Season 10 Doesn’t exist. They ended at Season 9.

Vanilla Vodka in Pink Lemonade

It just tastes good. ‘Nuf said. In Seinfeld (eleven) we find out that Elaine’s drink of choice was Peach Schnopps, which is nothing like Vanilla Vodka. Please drink responsibly.

The following is to be posted on WWIIMedic.com

WWII Medic.com Announcement:

After a fair period of debate, I will be putting the plasma bottle business on hiatus effective July 07, 2008 at 1200 PST. At the end of July I am moving to Tempe, Arizona and felt that it was appropriate that the plasma bottles did not follow.

Q&A:

Q: Can I still order a plasma bottle kit?
A: You may continue to place orders, with PayPal payment, up to July 07, 2008 at 1200 PST. All payment must be recieved by this time because the bottles will be shipped out that day. Sometime during July 08 I will no longer have access to the materials as they will be in storage.

Q: What will happen to your stuff?
A: Sometime during July 08, my materials will be placed into storage. If you are interested in purchasing all my materials, please contact me directly. I have several bottles with hangers, stoppers, a fair number of glass filters, and a fair amount of latex tubing. I do not have any ready-to-go inventory. I will be able to provide assembly instructinos to the purchaser.

Q: When might you sell plasma bottles again?
A: I may consider selling again if conditions are right and there is demand. This is likely to be at least a year or more in the future if ever.

Q: Will you tell me how you made your plasma bottles?
A: I will address specific questions if you email me.

Q: What is going to happen to this website?
A: I plan on retaining the domain name (wwiimedic.com) and it will likely stay exactly like this for some time. If you have any ideas on how it may be developed, send me an email, I’m always interested.

Any other questions, email me.