Message from the Pulp

When I was ten years old I saw the movie Pulp Fiction in the movie theater. Not the best movie for a ten year old to see and at the time not a movie I liked. I'm walking through Target today passing some DVDs and it just stands out to me for some odd reason and I buy it.

I just finished watching it and it is a totally different movie from the way I remember it. I like it a whole lot more than I did at ten years old. I now find it humorous, original, and thought provoking. In the last chapter of the movie Tarantino revisits a scene with Jules and Vincent not shown earlier in the movie. By some miracle they're untouched after being shot at multiples times while caught off guard. Jules (Samuel L. Jackson's character) describes it as "divine intervention" and starts viewing the world differently.

Earlier today I think I may have had some divine intervention take place. I went on a long bike ride and ventured further than I've ever gone down a particular path that runs along highway 470. After riding for about three hours I start to feel my thighs tightening up, so I start to ride slower but when I reach parts of the trail that go uphill the feeling comes back. I soon get to the point where I have to stop and that's when the real pain began.

Once I stood and had my legs straight both my quadriceps immediately tightened in an excruciating pain. It felt like my muscles were being crushed and they were hard as rock to the touch. I couldn't even bend my legs so I just stood there waiting for it to pass. As I stood there I turned to the highway and noticed a black car that stood out to me as it passed by, no big deal.

The pain finally goes away and I can bend my legs again so I start to ride, much slower and careful this time. Soon I can hear sirens up ahead but I don't know why. I get closer and I see a fire truck, two police and an ambulance. I expect a car accident but I see no car...until I get closer. The same black car I saw earlier had driven off the highway and crossed the trail and landed into some bushes.

After hearing about Samuel L. Jackson speak of divine intervention it had me thinking. Had I not had to stop riding earlier, I wonder if I would have been closer to the part of the path the car ran into? It's unlikely but it just has me thinking. The car by the way looked just like my very first car, which was a black 1994 Honda Civic EX coupe. What year did the movie Pulp Fiction come out?

Another Shoot with Alyssa

Put the new camera to use and did another shoot with Alyssa. She was once again great to work with. Last time we shot I suggested Alyssa model with a motor cycle and a car we found in an alley hoping the owners didn't come back. This time she suggested we do a little trespassing and hop a fence, haha. I like that she's adventurous, open minded and willing to put the extra effort for an interesting photo.

It's been months since I've worked with her and I can tell I've improved as a photographer since we last met. I just felt a lot more confident and way more photos turned out the way I wanted.

You can see the rest of the photos from our shoot here.

...And Now It's On!!!

My 5D Classic breaking on me got me really discouraged and I felt it was time to finally step it up and upgrade to my dream camera, the Canon 5D MkII. This camera is amazing and so far I've had a lot of fun with it. Even the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 that was mis-focusing I was able to micro-adjust on this camera and get working properly. I absolutely love the combination of this body working with this lens, the results are amazing and I hope to post samples soon.

Getting this camera is a big deal for me and I thought it would be cool to do something special and artistic to announce its arrival. Completing this photo took many hours spent over three days to finish. I had this vision of what I wanted to create but it was a challenge figuring out how to pull it off. Looking back there probably are some easier ways I could have done it.

My 5D Classic was able to be fixed by Canon and it was used to create this photo which will sadly be the last time it is used. Like the 35mm which was sold recently, this will be sold also to make up expenses of the new camera. Another unfortunate side note is that my Gorilla Pod was broken during the making of this photo.