Meetesh and Kellie Portrait Shoot

I had a really fun time shooting this business portrait session with Meetesh and Kellie. I took promos at a demonstration event for Meetesh the week previous, and he liked the pictures so much he asked me to shoot some things for his law firm's web site redesign etc.

Thank goodness I brought a long my co-worker to assist with lighting as tripod stands aren't allowed on park property (ala the entire Mall) and it was crazy sunny so a lot of light control was needed!

an e-mail i replied to? yup.

So, this was an interesting e-mail I sent to a guy asking me some questions about audio. I figure it's interesting enough to post up for others that might need the insight.

Sam,

Logan told me to maybe try you via FB. It's kind of funny how I started out writing music on manuscript and got paid decent books for transcriptions by hand. I also was instrumental with Bell Atlantic getting started with this thing called the internet back in 1993. I am so far behind. I wish someone would just wire my brain up and let the music just come out as I hear it. Probably in the next generation :-)

so here's my current story and I'm sticking to it.

Not sure what Logan told you about me but I have a BS & MM in music; toured back in 70s & 80s. So the music I wrote nobody cares about but me. I have written tons of stuff and still have more to deliver even if just for posterity.

About 4 years ago I purchased a Yahama Motif ES8. It has amazing sounds and a lot of wonderful preset combo stuff; but it was meant as a workstation and not user friendly. Then I purchased DigiDesign Mbox2 and was using Pro Tools LE7 on a Windows XP system. The problem I ran into was a lot of delay and the Yamaha Motif ES8 just didn't sync well via a midi. There was a delay and then getting all the combo sounds to midi map was insane and a showstopper.

Since I'm a note person, a friend suggested Sibelius and it was terrific for me. I had to buy a new machine to handle the memory and it is a Dell machine running Vista. I was able to recreate by manually entering notes for many of my comps. The Yamaha Motif still had seriously delay and unfortunately at the time, Digidesign did not have a Vista version.

So, where I'm at. I feel at ease with Sibelius but it is not a mixer like Pro Tools or Cakewalk ,etc. I need to record voices which Sibelius does not do.

So do you have any suggestions for me. I'm willing to ditch stuff to make things work. Example: I think I just need a cheap midi keyboard to input notes instead of the Yamaha Motif. Also, I've been told that I probably don't need anything a complex as ProTools.

Do you have some advice?

Thanks for listening. It is greatly appreciated!!

my response:

Hey there!
Sorry it's taken a bit to get back to you. Crazy busy recently. Anyway, First problem...you're using Pro Tools LE. Though Pro Tools is the "industry standard" it's actually the Pro Tools HD that's the standard (starting at $10,000) and their LE and M-powered solutions can't touch other native DAWs these days.

Now, you're issues with the delay may be caused by one, or two things. The first is the latency amount set by your sound card, or m-box. There should be some settings in the audio preferences which let you adjust the latency for your box. This will cause more or less delay for all things in pro tools (plug-ins, monitoring, etc), but a longer delay is less taxing on the CPU etc. etc. So, first thing to check is that your latency is as low as it will go without hearing drop outs and slowing down your computer too much. The second thing is that you might be monitoring improperly. You should have the ability to do zero latency monitoring if what you're recording from your Yahama is going in via 1/4 input and not triggering some midi instrument. Zero latency monitoring means you're not listening to yourself through the computer, but directly from the output of the input (if that makes any sense?). Your m-box should let you monitor your inputs along with the playback of your computer, thus allowing for no delay recording. Of course, I've heard that pro tools LE doesn't have automatic delay compensation as well, so who knows if that's coming into play with your problems as well.

So, what I would recommend first is ditching pro tools and probably that m-box. Now as far as using a notation software...it's going to be a bit tricky. The problem with audio programs like pro tools, sonar, cubase, etc is that notation is really an after thought for them. They aren't going to touch a stand alone program like Sibelius. So you're probably going to need to just stick with Sibelius for notation and something else for mixing in voices and other various things.

The DAW I use, apart from pro tools HD, is Cakewalk's Sonar. Its got a fantastic work flow, and in my opinion is the by far the best solution for a windows based recording system. It sounds like it might be overkill for what you need though, which is why I'm actually going to recommend a brand new DAW from a company called Presonus. It's called Studio One. I've used it a good bit already, and it's FANTASTIC! It integrates perfectly well with all their hardware interfaces, but unlike pro tools stuff, their hardware and software is perfectly compatible with other formats!

Presonus just released a product called Firestudio Mobile, which might fit your needs pretty well. It's got midi input capability, two mic pres, 6 line inputs, headphone output, and two line outs for your speakers etc. Anyway, I'm not sure on cost, but it's probably not going to break the bank.

As far as midi keyboards go...I don't have any special preference. There are a plethora of choices out there, and all you really need to make sure of is that its got either a USB connection, or midi capability. If you're planning on just using it to control a virtual instrument running within your computer...than things will be much cheaper, and probably sound better!

Now, if you're willing to accept the overkill that Sonar may provide you, it probably has better midi editing, but Presonus Studio One's setup looks promising...and as I said they JUST released it so updates are sure to follow soon!

I hope I helped somewhere within all this. Any other questions...feel free to ask!!

Sam

i'm slowly feeling...complacent?

not good!

Video update about momentary prophets etc.

Video with 45mm 2.8 ED PC-E Nikon Lens

inspiration? check.

I will remember this day...

Because it's the first time I've shot an event where I've been truly impressed with the results.

So, this morning I roll into work after being out a week and a half. I've just picked up a new lens (85 1.4) and have been practicing shooting with strobes for a couple of weeks now. I arrived to the event about 15 mins early and began taking shots in the room. The space is called The First Amendment and it's a very nice spot at the NPC. Unfortunately, for photography it makes things difficult. It's probably one of the most complex rooms I could imagine. It's got natural huge windows on two sides, a very low ceiling that covers only half the room, the lighting temperatures in that ceiling change from florescent to tungsten depending on where you are, and the section that is most ideal for the speaker podium is a very awkward place to move around for photos. Anyway, it's been difficult for me to achieve decent results and only after a fair amount of post processing have I been able to do that....until today!

Shooting with strobes has made ALL the difference. I am now very comfortable shooting in complete manual mode with strobes also set in manual mode. I feel completely confident in what I've learned about the relationship between light power, angle, direction, temperature, and how it's effected by shutter speed, iso, and aperture. It's a fantastic feeling!

Here is a link to the photos from the press event:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newspress/sets/72157619475285737/

Now, I know these photos aren't OMG that's an incredible news photographer, but I'm so happy with them. I controlled the lighting for 90% of those shots. I said "get the eff out of here ambient...i'm doing what i want" and it came out looking totally natural, clear, and exactly what I envisioned.
Here is a specific shot of this:



It's probably not even noticeable that flash was used in many of the shots, and that's exactly how I wanted it. Being able to pre-visualize a shot before you take it is a major key to being a photographer. Knowing what you're changing and why. Why you're putting a flash here, bouncing off this colored wall there, and making this tweak here. Sure, there is always going to be fiddling in the initial setup, but once you KNOW why you are making a change...and how it will effect things...you've done well.

Also, the 85 1.4 rules. People just automatically look great (proportionally) with it. Solid.

On another note...I was supposed to shoot an event tonight at the Holocaust Museum. It was a pretty big deal with all kinds of dignitaries and such, and I was the lead photographer (out of 3!). Sadly, some 88 year old crazy man ran in with a rifle and shot 2 people earlier today so the event was cancelled. Glad I dodged that one.

What's in my camera bag? I'll show you!

So, I have a lot of other videos i've been planning to post as a second vlog, but I made this one really quickly before leaving for the beach this week!


take a look....

recording etc.

well the past two evenings have been pretty busy tracking drums and guitar for two prisms demos. i'm pretty satisfied with the results thus far and have some fun pictures to share...

Vlog 1!

an interesting realization in audio/mixing...

well, today I realized something rather interesting. I suppose it's something i've always known, but not really sat down and thought...OH that's WHY that's the way it is....let me explain.

So, when mixing a song there are a few rule of thumbs to go by (in theory). One of the hardest to master, but most critical is eq masking. It's basically the idea that each element in a mix should kind of have it's own "space" within the mix. It has to be just right...not too out of place from everything else, but also not too blemished in with everything else and just creating mud. Obviously, the choice of instrument, player, mic, mic pre, mic technique, gain staging, and about 20 other factors play a role in exactly how a single source will sound, but the idea is to take the end result (where the source will ultimately end up in the mix) into consideration when making all those technical decisions.

Typically, the closer you can get your source to how you want it to sound IN THE MIX from the very beginning...the better. So, this got me thinking about the quality of all the different analogue elements in the signal chain. What makes such a good mic so expensive?

Oddly, when recently mixing a tom drum I started thinking about all this. If you think about it...a tom is one of the best examples of something containing a clear and obvious spread across most of the freq spectrum. A really good tom (or any other instrument) will sound reallllllly really good when played all by itself. It will be full and bright and beefy...all at the same time. BUT...that won't necessarily matter in a mix. You aren't going to be throwing up the 50hz, or 12Khz freqs on a tom drum in a mix...even though they're there in the source recording. You'll likely be doing some sort of mud scoop, a little low end boost, and a thin q of high end for attack. You'll literally mold that thing into it's exact space in the song, but the point is....by having such a full range of tone from that tom to begin with you aren't boxed into the sound of it, at all! You can spend less time planning how to capture the tom with technique and foresight because you'll have such a good & complete sound to work with right from the get go (and i don't say that meaning it's a good thing).

This can be applied to any instrument! A great sounding acoustic will sound AMAZING all by itself, but that doesn't matter in the mix of things (assuming it's a full band of sorts)! Sadly, a $200 guitar probably sounds less than impressive by itself., but if you can envision how and where you want to use the sound of that specific guitar in a mix, and plan all the other sources accordingly...you can make a pretty damn great mix.

So, knowing all this...it gave me that AH-HA moment. You can make incredibly good recordings using especially crappy gear if you plan accordingly. In fact, by using the crappiest gear when starting out you'll be doing yourself a huge huge favor. Forcing yourself to learn the sound of an instrument, mic, mic pre, etc. Cheap instruments, mics, pres, etc typically have only one sound. Yes, some of them are just utter crap, but then there are the few that actually have the potential to sound great...when mixed in with enough other elements that were chosen to compliment each other.

Have you ever solo'd the elec guitars in a mix once everything is done? They sound far less than impressive. In fact, they often times sound thin and anything but punchy and rock. Of course they would without the low end of a bass guitar and the thumping of a kick drum to suck the compression in and out gluing the mix together. But, if every element in the mix sounded incredible when solo'd, you'd have a huge mess on your hands. Bass guitar competing with kick drum, vox competing with guitars, and don't even get me started on keys.

The point is, great gear gives you more potential to take your mixes in totally different directions...after the fact. They don't paint you into a corner (as easily) right from the start. So, for a pro audio engineer that's great, but for the kid at home...it might not be needed nearly as much as you think.

Anyway, I suppose I've always worked with these fundamentals in the back of my mind, but I've never really sat down and explained it all out to myself. It's likely I'm wrong on a few points, and obviously great gear doesn't always give you a "full range" of sound to work with. There are $3000 compressors that give you all of ONE sound....but I promise you that sound will be jaw dropping.

as tall as a lion

music. i can't really even begin to explain what it means to my life. i survive off of it. for me, music is almost like a living thing. doesn't matter the band, instrument, genre....anything. it's all the same. it's all physical waves hitting my ear drums. in my mind. it's something that can take me away to an entirely different place in an instant. it can talk to me and make me laugh, cry, happy, sad, angry, energetic. it follows me wherever i go. it's always in my mind playing over and over in different variations, different keys, and different patterns. it's something that affects me on another level entirely.

falling in love with a new song is like falling in love with a stranger. it's refreshing and different. it's exciting and you have no idea what to expect. it will take you anywhere it wants to and there is nothing you can do about it.

that's not to say there isn't music i find horribly annoying--but that's part of the fun.

anyway, there is no way i can or will ever be able to write anything that explains my relationship with music. so, i'm going to stop now!

--this week was pretty cool. work was chill. shot two events and i feel they both went pretty well. i'm waiting to hear back from the client of the most recent event...and i really hope she's happy with them as I could tell the pictures were of huge importance to her.

a girl and a boy

so, some random girl asked me out to dinner tonight.


didn't see that one coming.


it was fun.


peace!

is anyone truly happy?

i often think that i am. some days i'll take a seat. relax. think to myself -- "i am so very happy right now."

then there are other days where i find myself wondering if i really am happy. it's not that i'm sad, but maybe confused. where is my life going? where is this path taking me, and how can i be sure to end up where i want to.

keeping in touch with carrie has been nice, but i still wonder what i'm doing with her. what do i expect to happen? i don't want to move back to lynchburg any time soon, and by staying in touch it's really unfair to her. i know she doesn't feel like she can really move on with me saying "i still love you." it's true that i do, but is it fair for me to tell her that? not really. i think it's just me being selfish. i don't want to face finally having her let go by dating other people.

hanging out with graham is usually pretty fun, but today it just kind of sucked. he's got such a different perspective on what's important in life than i do. i know his mind is filled with complicated/deep thoughts, but all he let's himself truly contemplate is money and appearances...and definitely to a point that's unhealthy. he's such a smart guy, but i feel like he's so concerned and confused about what he really wants out of life that he focuses all his energy on things that he has complete control over....like his money and possessions. i think if he could see how valueless those things are then he would be set free from his conflicted thoughts and unhappiness. i think he could really do incredible things. but, his pessimistic view (on pretty much everything) in life is such an easy way for him to feel like he can contribute an opinion--even if it's negative it's still a contribution...and to him that's better than nothing.

i believe if he were able to take risks with things he has no control over--like putting more effort into a creative outlet--he would truly be happy. creativity (at least as i see it) is releasing your logic and forethought to make something unique and beautiful. right now, the only outlet he has no control over is drinking himself insane-- and that's such a cheap way to feel happy and comfortable.

i'd like to think that he will have some sort of life epiphany, but i have a feeling that as long as "adult life" is as easy on him as it has been...he won't change for the better.

i am a product of failing our public school system

i really am. i've rarely succeed in an academic setting. tests? lectures? open discussions? they just aren't for me. i've recently realized that i am currently successful in my life, in fact, more so than many of my peers. i've even noticed that at work i am much "smarter" than many of my co-workers. it's a strange mind set to have. especially since i know i'm not very smart...at all. i know that i'm not! it takes me forever to comprehend even simple things. i can't read too deeply into conversations, or even follow a discussion or argument for more than a few minutes before my mind wanders and looses all the tangential relationships (is that even a correct phrase?). So, I'm really wondering how the fuck people are so stupid! Are they really dumber than I am? Does it really take them that much longer to understand things than me? Even this blog post....it's horribly written and hardly structured in any way.

here is the key.

after i'm done writing what pathetic non-sense i think i can i'll go back and refine everything i say. i'll make edits. look for the incredible errors, and fix them....usually correctly. it might not make up for the poor ideas and conclusions, but it certainly makes things seem smarter. and that's my catch. i create the deception of smartness around everything i say and do. even when i'm actually making a very poor conclusion in a average conversation...i'll make it a joke and it's usually perceived as being clever, and sometimes even funny!

anyway, this post wasn't nearly as good as i had envisioned in my mind before writing it, but that's okay. i'm really just trying to type my thoughts as quickly as i can before i make all the edits it's going to need. so, i'm going to conclude this post making it clear that i'm not very smart. i'm actually pretty dumb, but by realizing the weak spots in the fabric of our society...and exploiting them...i'm a genius!

so exhausted all the time...

recently i've noticed that i'm getting more and more tired after I get home from work. i'm starting to wonder if it has something to do with the longer commute, but it's more likely the fact that i go to bed at 3am---give or take. i really need to get into a better habit of things for my sleep pattern. it's such a hard cycle to break! hopefully, working out more will help with that...among other things.

there isn't much better than a solid work out. it's like a toxic clean out for the entire body...and to top it off you look and feel better!

anyway, i think i've finally come up with some new concepts for paintings. should be interesting. definitely will let gravity do it's thing in a new way....or so i hope! i'll certainly post some shots if it works out well.

well, this is short and i am out...PEACE

so proud.

the person i am most proud of in my entire life is my mother. she has overcome so much in her life, and (thankfully for me) a lot of it has been in the past 6 years. I have been able to see her face her challenges head on after reaching rock bottom. I have seen her become happy, but not by the use of prescription drugs (unlike mot people these days), rather by dedicating herself to her passions and goals. there isn't much else i can say about my mother except that i am so blessed to be able to be proud of my family. from my observations it almost never seems to work out from this side. i mean, it always seems to be the mother/father is proud of the kids and the kids get that reassurance and blah blah. but for me, i'm able to realize (most of) what my mother has faced and see her crush it down with a vengeance. i guess i consider my mom the ultimate independent woman, and i love that about her. she joined the military at a time when women were certainly not welcome to. she raised two kids (and i was no easy kid to raise. in fact, probably one of the worst) on her own, and though she made mistakes (who the fuck doesn't?) kate and i have come out just fine. fantastic, in fact. i hope that someday i can explain to my mother just how appreciative i am of everything she does for kate and i. just by her living i have leanred some of the greatest lessons in my life. so, thanks mom :)

see how it molds and shapes and reacts and creates

so, another friday night at barnes writing and exploring the internet. fun fun. tonight seems a bit different though. i finished my book "the last lecture" earlier today and i guess it got me thinking. am i doing the right things in my life? do i have enough drive? am i managing my money (no) responsibly? is the risk i'm taking on worth the reward when i feel so lackadaisical about music? most people would definitely say yes. then again most people don't have life long goals or passions.

i'm not sure i'm doing all that i can. often times i feel like if i'm not working or creating something in some way than i need to be recording and making music. even if it's complete shit that has nothing to do with anything. everything can be a learning experience if you look at it with the right perspective. in fact, you learn the most from your biggest failures. but i don't i just watch a mythbusters episode or ding around gearslutz.

i think the amount of debt i'm taking on is starting to affect me in negative ways. i need to develop a plan so that paying back is set in stone. a strict budget. this year should start that. having a pay raise of some sort would certainly help with that, but i think it's unlikely that i'll be getting anything over $5000, which in my field is total shit....though with the state of the economy i'm lucky as hell to be where i am. bah, i get off on too many tangents.

i guess the main question i find myself wondering is whether or not i'm doing as much as i should be towards my goal of working full time in sound. i'm on the web researching and reading constantly, but what am i really learning? i think i need to find a way to work nights in a studio somewhere. yea. that'd be the day (no pun intended). I would kill to do that, even cleaning up the dirty bathrooms if it meant i could have actual session sit in time / learning on steroids. well, i won't ever get there by recording in my bedroom all my life. i need to throw together a resume and start making calls. that also means i need to invent a way to set myself apart from the 1000 kids that attempt the same thing every week around here. i guess my only real advantage right now is that i have some much nice gear! i mean what kid my age has a $8000 mic?? NO ONE. But real engineers don't give a fuck about that. not in the least. i realize this. i purchased that mic for my own benefit. so i could see what real pro gear sounds like and how it molds and shapes and reacts and creates. i feel it will be a real benefit when and if i finally take the step into commercial audio.

i'll tell you...most engineers aren't very well rounded. it's plain obvious. i guess that's one aspect of myself that a pro may find appealing. i have so many interests that i've developed in the last 15 years. photography, painting, computers, programming, web design, server management, art design, playing violin, guitar, drums, bass, singing, soldering, building, researching, math (haha kind of), networking, hacking, politics, writing (not very well), traveling, i mean geeze. i feel like i should retire and die already! i feel like most of my peers are good at two good things and one of them probably includes video games.

well, today i read some thing that struck me deeply in stephen's blog (from anberlin) and randy p.'s book (last lecture). they both ad dedicated entries about how people need to just ASK things. just ask questions. ask if you can tag along, ask if you can go there, take that, sit there. ask her out. ask for a raise, or a discount. ask for a strangers opinion. ask for everything! just see what happens and typically the worst that can happen is a "no." i mean how difficult is that to take when it boils down to it? not very difficult. i need to start asking for things. i never do. ever. i have problems asking for a soda refill during lunch. it's sad. i know. shy me doesn't want to put any body out...even if it's their job.

at least i can reflect on these thoughts! i'm out for the weekend (hopefully recording in f'burg) as tiffany has bailed on me tonight i'll probably just chill at home and do some mic tests of the blue caps for some gearslutz.


peace.

another day in another place...

so, here i am back at b&n. chilln with one of my roommates, who happens to be reading two books at once. very nice. anyway, it's been a while since i've been able to blog/had a place to do it so it's nice to be back in the swing of things. these couple weeks of vacation have been so nice, but i fear i'll be too lackadaisical to do much at work for a while now that i'm so used to all the bs days of nothing to do. i imagine the photography aspect of things will pick up considerably, which i am pretty excited about. i'm really hoping that my year review goes well...with a raise, and some other perks...but in this economy...who knows! 

so, new years ways cool. decided to just stick it out by myself, which was refreshing and (i felt) original. it really gave me time to reflect and just explore my own thoughts for the evening, which i haven't been able to do undistributed for a while now. it's actually really nice to be back living in VA for that exact reason, as I feel like there are many more places/chances to just drive away to some place and chill out like i used to do all the time. maybe i can find a spot to write some music, though i'm really enjoying my basement a lot more than my old place. 

i've recently purchased a fair amount of new gear. i'm kind of uneasy about it, which bothers me a little bit, but i hope it will pay off in the end. some of the recent tracks i've recorded for hope at hand and myself have turned out extremely well, but when it's all said and done, it's just unclear to me how i'll eventually meet my goals of working in audio full time. it's on my mind a lot, and i pray about it a lot as well. my trust is in God so I guess that's the best I can do for now.

i'm gonna head out and get some other stuff done. nice to be back. peace!