1. Blog a proper blog. You are reading this now.
2. Work on my submissions to Camera Club this week, which I shall post this coming Friday.
I've decided to actually try a few submissions this week with Camera Club. While taking the photos was a lot of fun, and feeling that "itch" to shoot again was wonderful, the thought of going into that room with the group is far less appealing to me. I have two really great friends who I go with, but the rest of the photog's are a lot older than me and I am truly starting to feel like I'm having trouble relating to them. This year in particular, I just haven't been as interested in seeing the "this was my summer vacation" photos that have been coming up a lot.
Now don't get me wrong, some of the shots are great. I initially went to Camera Club because I wanted to learn and be inspired. So far this year, I've missed half of the meetings and lost interest in some really dull presentations and be nearly completely uninspired by shots of camping. For the people who go on the trips, this is a fun walk down memory lane. For the people not involved, it's like going to the aunt's for a slideshow of old family photos. You know, the kind that they make fun of in movies.
Like I said though, some have been great. There was a shoot of Scotland that was brilliant, and a shoot of eagles that was really interesting to see and to recognize the skill required to get some of those daring shots.
I haven't been fond of the competitions. While I am generally a fan of friendly competition, I do not agree with the judging of the photos and it discourages me. I'm not even speaking up for my shots, as most of what I have put out this year has been rushed and really not that great. But when I see something for say... street photography. I go and look it up and see a great definition and some great sample ideas and then one of the winning shots is of a posing and smiling sign person doing construction, why should I have bothered to go through all the trouble of learning what it was and trying to actually go with the theme when I could have gotten my wife to stand in the street with a hard hat and holding a stop sign?
What really discouraged me about that competition in particular was there were two absolutely fantastic street shots that didn't even place. They fit the description of Street Photography to the letter and were actually great photos. there was actual THOUGHT put into these pictures and yet the sign turner scores better. It was after this competition that I missed 2 months of meetings.
I don't think that I am the only one discouraged either, as the last competition had 5 photos entered, and 3 were from the same guy. So 3 people out of approximately 35 submitted. Are we seeing a trend?
Now, the shots that I have taken for this upcoming competition I don't feel will score well, but to me they were interesting enough and were fun to take. I'll throw them in and see how it goes. They were from the shoot where I got this picture that I posted on Flickr recently.
The ice down on the Southside Hills in St. John's forms every year, and I've always said I wanted to take pictures of this or similar ice. Well, this year I had some time and managed to get a decent shoot out of it.
To clue up the thoughts from Camera Club... maybe it's just me. But if there is a problem, how will we know what is going on if nobody speaks up to fix it? If it is just me and my frustrating photog block, then I do apologize.
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Onto a little gaming talk. Over the past few weeks, I've managed to get myself a PS3. So, in the house now, we currently have:
1.Super Nintendo
2. N64
3. Gamecube
4. Nintendo DS
5. PSP
6. Wii
7. PS2
8. PS3
9. TWO (count 'em 2) Xbox 360's
10. PC
11. Mac
Lots of gaming opportunities. :D Anyway, I've been feeling a little game burnout recently, with fantastic games like Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and Dragon Age 2 feeling stale to me. (Heh, wonder why) But, I pick up this absolutely unique and wonderful game called Heavy Rain, a PS3 exclusive title from a year or two ago. Well, my interest in this game has re-invigorated my joy in gaming. It's a story about a serial killer and 4 people from different walks of life. Their stories intertwine with one another as they come try to stop the killer. It's not a typical game, as you don't do the typical run around find clues and kill baddies. The story is progressed through a series of button pushes that correspond with the on screen movements. Sounds lame, but is actually quite engaging.Watch the trailer from E3.
Also, here is some gameplay footage of a sequence I played last night.
As you can see, the button pushing isn't completely random.
The one thing that truly sells this game is that it is so completely engaging that even though the button pushing isn't that exciting, the story hooks you so well and the visuals are so strong, that you want to see what happens next. The first part of the game is dull, this is most certainly a buyer and not a renter title. You'll be a good 4 or 5 hours in character and story development, with a little action like this scene sandwiched in to keep you going.
I haven't been the most ardent of PS3 fans. I had one and sold it, and got one again moreso because I could, not because I really wanted or needed it. There are so few titles coming out these days that are system exclusives, and to be honest, with my 360 gamerscore, I'm going to play a cross-console title on the 360. But this title really makes me want to say "you should at LEAST check it out". It's so rare to find a game that, in truth, has started to inspire me. Not with a visual sense, I'm not going to go out and take pictures of rain or anything, but just that little level of excitement you get when you experience something new.
With that, I will call it a day. It's been a while since I superblogged like this.
Later!
C
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