If you've never failed....
Posted by Dominic Wed, 28 May 2008 19:55:00 GMT
Just watch it:
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I am a computer geek and part time photographer hoping to make it in the cruel world out there....
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Photoshoot ideas
Posted by Dominic Tue, 20 May 2008 16:35:00 GMT
- The “urinal” shoot
- Long Center garage city shoot
- “edgy” shoot with someone, punk-ish
- Lots of low-key
- High-key
- Film noir
- Corporate 1 light,1 reflector portraits
Aliens on Earth shoot @ IBM
… more to come.
Dunvegan Keep
Posted by Dominic Thu, 15 May 2008 05:42:00 GMT
And now, dear readers, we interrupt the (apparently) usual house buying conversation with some photography news.
Last weekend, 25+ photographers and myself descended upon a location in the far reaches of south Austin known as Dunvegan Keep.
A gentleman took his rather large backyard and converted it into some prime sort-of medieval themed photography backdrop. There’s all sorts of gorgeous things to shoot people infront of, behind, through and in.
The day of shooting was a success - I spent the majority of the time experimenting with natural light - diffusers, reflectors and several other tricks - and had a great time.
As did the other photographers, from what I’ve heard.
Edit: You can see the rest of the photos here.
House photos
Posted by Dominic Tue, 13 May 2008 05:48:00 GMT
I’ve finally uploaded photos of the interior of the new house.
Warning, the photos are fairly large, they are panorama shots.
Look here.
Buying a house, step 3 - sorrow.
Posted by Dominic Sun, 11 May 2008 05:52:00 GMT
A bit of backstory:
I’ve lived in my current apartment for over 8 years. Prior to that, I lived in the complex “next door” for 18 months, and before that, I lived in a complex off Duval and Mopac (different part of town but nearby.)
It struck me on my way home tonight, that I am going to miss this part of town. In many ways, 78759 and it’s surroundings, has been my “stomping grounds” while in Austin. I’ve always lived in that zip code, but now that’s going to change.
It’s a bit sad to think about. 10 years in the same part of town—and whereas I’m not moving far way, it’s far enough to where the “local grocery store” is a different one.
I won’t be able to walk to Amy’s Ice cream, or Barnes & Noble, or Thundercloud… I don’t know. In many ways this part of town as been my “universe” for so long, it’s hard to think of any other place being “it.” (Of course I know this is wrong—in due time I’ll be used to living at the new house, and things will subtly change.)
Having said all that, it’ll still be a sad day when I no longer drive down Jollyville, take the turn onto Great Hills Trail and hope for the lights to be green until I U-turn for my apartment entrance….
Buying a house, step 3 - inspection.
Posted by Dominic Sun, 11 May 2008 00:45:00 GMT
Friday the Inspector and termite guy went to do the inspection on the house.
It passed - nothing major was wrong.
A few small things were sent to the seller to ask that they take care of - we’ll see if they agree or not. Most of the list is things that aren’t up to code, et cetera.
Buying a house, step 2 - paperwork.
Posted by Dominic Sat, 10 May 2008 04:20:00 GMT
So you’ve made an offer, perhaps you’ve even sent several counter-offer letters back and forth.
Now comes the next big step: paperwork. And phone calls.
You have to call mortgage brokers/lenders, you have to call insurance agents… it goes on and on.
And don’t even talk about financing.
Here’s the list of what I was asked to provide to my mortgage broker:
- Copy of drivers license
- Cpy of social security card
- Copy of last 30 days pay stubs
- Copy of last 3 months financial records (investment and retirement)
- Copy of last 3 months bank statements
- Tax return for the last 2 years
- W-2 form for the last 2 years
Ho boy, it makes for quite the stack of dead trees. (It’s no match for the POA documents though. PHEW.)
Things are calming down - I’ve spoken and gotten insurance, I’ve gotten all the paperwork to who needs it.
Late night photo shoot
Posted by Dominic Mon, 05 May 2008 05:53:00 GMT
“You know it’s a good photo shoot when the cops show up…”
Those were the fabled words after Saturday evening’s mini-shoot with Heather and Jordan. Turns out that 3 people standing around with umbrellas and stuff look suspicious enough to warrant the cops stop by to check it out.
Actually, someone called 911, the cops showed, and I had a conversation with a very nice public servant.
We were doing nothing wrong, not trespassing, and when I asked if we needed to leave, he sort-of shrugged his shoulders and indicated that he did not care.
All in a days work, I say.
Buying a house, step 1 - freaking out.
Posted by Dominic Sat, 03 May 2008 22:06:00 GMT
Okay, so up until this moment, the whole concept of buying a house was somewhat nebulous and abstract.
You’ve spoken with Realtors, you’ve spoken with mortgage brokers, you might even be pre-qualified for a certain amount.
You’re going out with your realtor, looking at houses. This one might be good… that one’s bad… the next one’s o-kay. Your brain is in visual and informational overload, you can’t put which kitchen with what address, and which house was it that had the big garden tub again?
At this point, things are still somewhat fluffy… Sure, you’re actually looking at houses, and there’s something tangible…
That all changes when you’re sitting in your realtor’s office signing the bid offer paperwork. You’re actually writing checks, spending money, and putting ink on paper.
Now take a moment to FREAK OUT.
Yep - that’s what I did. It’s a big thing, you’re spending “adult money,” you’re making decisions that might affect you for several years.
So yeah, we’ll see how things go. It’s a nice house, a huge yard (as houses in the city go) and I imagine it’ll attract quite some interest.
(Update: It did. My Realtor just called to tell me that several bids have been placed on the house. I’m not going to up my bid. If I’m supposed to have the house, I’ll get it. If not, there’s always another one.)