~ If it's "too late" and you've already placed an order, you'll know for sure if you've got the scam group if they email you with a request that you call in and confirm your order. When you call, the salesperson will hit you hard with a load of nonsense that basically means they've taken almost EVERYTHING out of the "standard shipment" box, for example the charger and the rechargeable battery and most importantly the warranty, which they will then procede to coax you into adding on for an obscene price hike, putting you hundreds or thousands of dollars above what a legit company would have charged you for the same package. Combat this by FORCEFULLY canceling your order, or insiting that you don't want ANY accessories. They'll either hang up on you or tell you that they just found out the camera is on backorder and they'll let you know when it gets in...  Of cousre you'll never hear from them again, but just to be safe watch your bank account to see if they try to pull any tricks...  Call your bank / credit card immediately if you feel you've been victimized.

~ If you've already ordered, got coaxed... ]]> ~MatthewSaville http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/7881926/ http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/7881926/ Mon, 13 Feb 2006 09:58:56 PST

Listening to: Leahy ~ Coyote Way

Take out loans for money that you'll never be able to repay so that you can buy crap that will never make you fully happy. Pay thousands to have your boobs made un-humanly perfect because you're insecure about your oh-so-fleeting physical appearance, or have your stomach surgically flattened because your'e too lazy to get in shape. Or coat your lungs with crap and then throw your butts out the window of your SUV while driving like a courtesy-less maniac eager to pay $3.00 a gallon. Hell, you can't even throw your butts in the ashtray when it's right F-ing there in front of you so you toss them on the ground on your way to class. I swear there must be 10 pounds of butts right next to that trash can outside my engineering class...

Is it just me, or is the entire non-3rd-world human existence upside down? And I'm not innocent, I'm training to be an engineer so I can inadvertently help corporations dump more crap into the landfills / rivers / oceans / atmosphere. And the aspiration and possibility of becoming a "green engineer" and helping the world become a better place is swirling in the toilet thanks to our politicians.

It's bad enough that I own a camera mass-produced by some poor kid in a foreign country, but at least I don't buy an F-ing Lexus for a valentine's day present with the mindsent that "if I take care of the luxuries, the necessities will follow"...

Sorry friends, I think I might be getting a little tempermental what with so much studying, (that has proven useless; the scores of all three of my midterms combined doesn't ammount to enough to pass even one of them...) ...And so little outdoors. If I don't get out soon, I'm going to snap.


Untouched beach arrangement ~ Corona Del Mar State Beach, 2004.

New nature portfolio gallery: "Isolation"
[link]
(No new photos though, sorry)

]]> ~MatthewSaville http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/7824295/ http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/7824295/ Mon, 06 Feb 2006 23:58:23 PST Listening to: Moby - Hotel ~ Temptation

I got two rolls of Fuji Acros and two rolls of Agfa Ultra done. I went back ASAP and bought EVERY SINGLE ROLL of Agfa they have left; I will cry when this film is gone... I love the stuff, it is ALIVE with perfect color. The luminance, the soul, it's impossible to truly explain. And since it's negative film instead of transparency, it scans wonderfully. But since I can't afford to get a $40 scan of each images, no prints on these shots, unless upon special request...












Film convinces me, each time I shoot it, that it's not the camera that matters. There's some sort of connection between the photographer and the subject that must spark a magic moment that becomes the image. Otherwise, all the digital OR film equipment in the world will not produce an effective, meaningful image.

To me my images are, foremost, proof that God exists, for how could such beauty come out of chaos when every law of physics points towards disorder? Secondly, my macro images in specific are dear to me because they are an escape from suburbia. When I look through my viewfinder at a composition such as the ones above, I am transported to the wilds of some jungle in Madagascar or New Zealand. I may be a "big picture" kind of person in my daily life, perpetually absent-minded, but nature and the outdoors bring me some kind of clarity; details just beg to be paid attention...

Whatever art you enjoy or practice, it should always mean something to you. Never sell your soul to an art by engaging it merely to impress or get rich/famous. None of that matters in the end. Do something that expresses your inner consiousness, do something that means something to YOU.

Take care,
-Matt-

]]> ~MatthewSaville http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/7038991/ http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/7038991/ Sun, 13 Nov 2005 18:49:15 PST

Listening to: Dream Theatre: Scenes From A Memory

...I just scored a black Nikon FM2 with a 50mm f/1.8 on ebay for $152. For those of you who don't know anything about old cameras, it's a classic from the 70's / 80's. If it's anything close to the excellent condition it's alleged to be in, it's an absolute steal at that price. So, happy early birthday to me! (Jan 17) Then all I need is a 24mm f/2.8 and some of my favorite films and the D200 will soon be much less desired.

...Anyone want to buy an N65 body & AA battery grip?

Here's another shot from the same place where "Yin And Yang" and "Cold Source" were taken, as posted on my Xanga but I don't have enough time to upload here:


"Autumn Quiet" ~ Woodbridge North Lake, November 2005.
Nikon D70 + 24-85mm AFS, Giottos Tripod + RRS ballhead.
2 sec. @ f/8 & ISO 200, Cir. Polarizer, RAW dual-processed.

-Matt-

]]> ~MatthewSaville http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/6872457/ http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/6872457/ Tue, 01 Nov 2005 19:10:56 PST

Listening to: Dispatch: "Wake Up" (Bang Bang)

The D200 was announced today. Even reputable websites under a "Non-Disclosure Agreement" acknowledged that today would be "the big day..." Needless to say, a lot of bandwidth has been consumed today as well as in the past few days, what with "spy" photos etc. etc.

At any rate, here is a quick look at the OFFICIAL D200:

~10.2 megapixel CCD (3872 x 2592 image size)
~11 area AF with 7 "wide" areas
~5 FPS, 22 consecutive NEF's, 37 JPG's (but not "high speed crop mode")
~Magnesium alloy body, professional weather sealing
~Shutter 30 sec - 1/8000 sec, 1/250 Xsync,
~ISO 100-1600 + 3200 "boost" (FINALLY!)
~AI les compatibility (oldschool, manual lenses)
~Viewfinder mag. 0.94x, 95% coverage (goodbye, dark cave of a D70 viewfinder!!!)
~Kelvin available WB (FINALLY!)
~Vertical grip: accessory, with GPS and WiFi possible!
~Weight: 1.8 lbs

~PRICE: $1,845 (This must be Nikon's MSRP, apparently. Adorama lists it at $1,699 as was predicted.)

Ouch on the price, but I sure would like to own one. It's only a few wedding shoots away!

Take care all,
-Matt-

]]> ~MatthewSaville http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/6315495/ http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/6315495/ Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:56:57 PDT

Listening to: U2 - Where the streets have no name...

Well everybody, thank you all so much for the DD and all the comments, I did my best to reply to as many as possible. And I hope that the people who ordered prints of "Isolation" enjoy them...

However, just recently my computer went down and I had to format the hard drive. All my photos are backed up on CD / DVD, but I'm basically out of comission because I'm holding off on re-loading all my photos and re-installing Photoshop until my copy of CS2 arrives from Amazon.com Yes ladies and gentlemen, HDR here I come! At any rate, in the meantime please visit my main website [link] and enjoy the photos there. I should be back in early/mid September...

Cheers,
-Matt-

...Early/mid September:



I am amazed at the ammount of control that just came to my fingertips... Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera RAW, and Photoshop CS2- this is the workflow of my dreams. The enjoyment and control in this new, comprehensive workflow is reminiscent of slides on a light table and a good scanner, seriously. So much "before the fact" control equates to far less "after the fact" editing and doctoring. I hate "editing / doctoring", trust me.


> Full Size <

Allow me to explain the subtle beauty of the above screenshot:

~KELVIN temperature slider. (Do you have any idea how desparately I've wanted this?)
~Specifying image SIZE and resolution. (YES, I'm interpolating to 11.8 megapixels AUTOMATICALLY. And, there are two larger sizes, too!)
~RAW sharpening, plus exposure, shadows, brightness, contrast, and saturation adjustment. I almost don't need to do anything else after I'm done playing with the "digital negative"... (oh and see those other tabs? I can correct lens flaws such as distortion, PERSPECTIVE, chromatic fringing, etc. etc...)

And, since I'm such a fanatic for multiple frame stitching, last but not least, my personal favorite:
~Editing multiple RAW images at the same time. (Yes, I fine-tune one shot and all the others get fine tuned.)

On top of that, CS2 has "Distort > Warp" finally, which makes panorama creation much easier. And, what I bought CS2 for: High Dynamic Range 32 bits-per-channel! ...Imagine what it'll be like for dynamic range not to be an issue anymore!?! Wow....

Thank you, all you new subscribers and all you old friends, for waiting so patiently. I hope you enjoy my new work. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll start uploading!

-Matt-

]]> ~MatthewSaville http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/6298588/ http://MatthewSaville.deviantart.com/journal/6298588/ Tue, 23 Aug 2005 02:43:41 PDT

Rabbit Island 2005

1.)
"Porpise Pod Panorama"  Strait of Georgia, B.C.


Fall 2004: I strolled into the Art Center building at OCC; I had enrolled in digital 205 A/B, the pro DSLR class.  In the display cases on all three floors,  nature photos of a northwestern ambience were hung.  Apparently, during the summer a group of advanced students had spent 9 days on a secluded island near Vancouver, all expenses paid save airfare.  Boy, was I jealous!  I deeply regretted having let msyelf remain un-acquainted with the staff and "regular" students; they had only been able to go on this trip thanks to very last-minute phone calls, so no chance to go could have been given to any other student...

At a reception in late August or early September of 2004 we met Henry Wheeler, a Southern California yachtsman who owned "Rabbit Island", somewhere in Canada.  Rabbit Island was so small apparently, that Henry named the lone establishment on the island "Wheeler Station"...

But this was the shocker:  Henry had DONATED Rabbit Island to OCC!  Orange Coast College is very well known for it's excellent boating, oceanography, and marine science classes.  Now, "summer school" courses that were offered in these fields could be highlighted by week long stays at Rabbit!  The photo department convinced the school board to let them have a week on Rabbit, and it just kept on building from there...  From the students and teachers who went, I gathered that they had been provided with a more-than-you-could-possibly-shoot ammount of Fuji film, OF THEIR CHOICE nonetheless.  Students shot everthing from B&W Polaroid ("Fujiroid?") Pinhole to quick-load Velvia 4x5...  Then, upon returning, they were "helped" with processing costs, and provided with free printing paper, full access to the digital lab (MacG5's, the Imacon 4x5 scanner, the Nikon 8000 35mm scanner, the Epson 2200 printers, etc.) ...and of course, full access to the B&W wet lab, equipped with film developing and Omega enlargers able to accept up to 4x5 film and print up to 16x20...  Finally, Light Impressions provided mats and misc. mounting supplies.

Needless to say, by the end of discovering all this I was probably bug-eyed and open-mouthed.  All I had to do was have 10 photo credits at OCC and buy a plane ticket?

Well, long story short, let's just say it felt like an eternity had passed by the time I  boarded that flight from LAX to Vancouver on June 18th, 2005!


2.)
(Sunset on the flight to Vancouver)

3.)
(The float plane from Vancouver to Nanaimo)

4.)
(The view of Rabbit Island's bay, with boat dock just out of sight)

5.)
(The girl's cabbin is just a staircase away from the main deck & dining hall)

6.)
(The back porch of the dining hall, as seen from between the bathroom/shower and the caretaker's cabin)

Rabbit Island is located approximately 50 miles north of Vancouver, which lies a similar distance above Seattle, I think... Between Vancouver city and Vancouver Island, you'll find the Strait of Georgia wherein lay dozens of islands, large and small.  Texada and Squitty island are larger islands that have regular ferry service, roads, cars, and cities.  Some of the smaller islands however can be very miniscule.  Rabbit Island is relatively miniscule, with only one main hall, dock and a few cabins all connected via a very handy boardwalk.  You can walk all the way around Rabbit Island in 30-45 minutes, or if you have strong ankles it's possible to jog around in about 10 minutes.  Nobody permanently resides on Rabbit Island, but a caretaker and a cook frequent and maintain it.

7.)
(Apparently, a deer or two live somewhere on Rabbit.  Nobody has ever seen where they go, though, and we are almost inclined to believe that they swim from island to island at low tide!)


8.)
(The Strait of Georgia DOES experience incredible tide movement;
literally a 10-15+ foot rise and fall occurs twice througout the day...)


9.)
(The boardwalk "runs aground" at low tide, a few yards of it hit the rocks and stay
all crooked like this for hours.  Imagine traversing t... ]]> ~MatthewSaville