Unfortunately, I was home sick today with some “issues”, but this has given me some time to whip together some photos for another blog entry.

Okay, so here’s the deal.  I added another lens to the arsenal, and because I now have a car payment, splurging on the $1200 dollar canon 180mm macro was not an option.   So I ended up getting a Sigma 105mm together with a Canon Mr14-ex flash in order to get me started in the macro photography world.   I liked the ability to do macro so much, that I ended out buying some Kenko extension tubes  in order to get me even closer to the action.

So without further ado, here are some recent shots from the macro as well as some other shots along the way.

My first spider with the new lens.  Not much to begin with, but it’s a start.

Sometimes, you take a good picture, but you tend to miss it’s potential.  And therefore not do anything with it.  I had passed this one up because I shot it at an 800 iso.  It wasn’t until I was going back through the libraries and had some free time to spend that I was able to make this one really shine.

My second spider shot, which was a good candidate for the extension tubes.   For those who think this type of stuff is easy for me, here’s the deal with this one.  I was laying on my back, with other insects crawling on me, shooting at the underside of a leaf on my patio, in the dark, trying to get this spider about the size of ball end of a sowing pin.  Regular macro wasn’t enough to get this guy big enough.  This took all three extension tubes (12mm, 20mm, and 36mm), cabled remote, tripod almost down to the ground, and 15-20 minutes to get this guy with a suitable shot.  Yeesh!

Aight, so on from bug shots with the closeup lens.  Here’s some of the other activities from the past weekend.

First of all, I had to visit my sister to see her new dog.  Plus, I hadn’t been around in a while so I needed to be over there anyway to check things out since I’ve been a bit alienated from close friends and family lately.

Unfortunately, her previous dog Baxter had passed away from being hit a car, but she was able to find ANOTHER dog with similar traits by the same name.   Strange how things work out.  So I had to go over there and get some cool shots of him and Brody.

Sorry about the lack of action shots Pam.  Just wasn’t enough sunlight for me to really freeze that shutter.   So I left those out.

And as soon as we started talking about skunks, guess what we saw

  Two baby skunks, which to be honest, this was the first time that I had ever seen a live skunk in my life.  So of course I had to go check them out, despite their less than flattering reputation.    By the time I got through shooting, I turned around to see my sister already back up the hill and almost back in her driveway.   I guess she wanted no part of those skunks, especially since the dogs have been skunked before haha

And finally, hung out with Theresa, her boyfriend, Candice, and various others over at Theresa’s place.

Just had to show off some of the test pictures from the latest addition to my lens collection.  Latest edition is a sigma 105mm Macro lens along with Canon ring light flash.  I have to admit, macro photography is a little bit harder than I thought, but then again, I love a challenge.  Holding that bad boy stready with such a small depth of field is a pain in the neck for sure.  But man, it’s fun!

Here are some first time shots the shots

Being down in Tulsa with friends over the weekend really made me realize just how much I miss hanging with those guys and being in Tulsa.  Just a general, more laid back environment than it is here in KC.   I generally find myself in a better mood while I’m down there than I am here in Kansas City. 

So yea, back in Kansas City and I’m already a bit bummed and the week isn’t even over yet.  Go figure.  Part of the issue with that is most of the people I know here are either busy with marriage, kids, or work.  Or just  not really the type of person I would want to spend a considerable amount of time with.  Man, I need to find that special one and settle down before I go crazy haha.

Isis was very dang glad to see me when I got back.  I guess 3 days of not having anyone around can really make you appreciate someone when they come back home.  I guess even cats can understand that because she’s been hanging more closely than she has before.  When I sleep, she cuddles up right next to me in bed. And as I type this blog entry, she’s laying down next the desk.  Whichever room I’m in, she’s in.   And I have to admit, I’m glad I let Antoinette talk me into adopting her.   I think I need her more than she needs me.

But anyway, here’s a few pictures from the weekend.  I really didn’t do any scenery type shots around the city though.  More often recently, I’ve actually just wanted to leave the camera behind on a few trips and just chill for a bit.   And I got to snap off a few pictures of Kelsey and his wife in the park before heading back to Kansas City, dodging storms along the way.

But anyway, the main reason I went down there is for my boy Kelsey’s weightlifting get together, which I thought would be pretty interesting to photograph.  So here are some shots from the weekend.

Wake up Kelsey!

Trent on the squat.

Trent the powerhouse

Wish I could take credit for this one, but this was taken by Kelsey’s wife.   Nice angle and composition!

500 Pound deadlift!  Tulsa representing

So I had to step out from behind the camera and get into the fray and represent KC.  I didn’t expect to get this one up.  Surprised myself actually.

Kelsey and Chuck

Kelsey and his beautiful wife Lauren

The man Chuck!

This is Titan! Still just a puppy! Imagine that!

Paid a visit to Kelsey while he was at the station on Sunday.  Looks much more interesting than being stuck behind a desk all day.  Even got to play with the hose! Woot!

Artsy fartsy stuff

Family portrait

  Cute couple

In the meantime, I gotta get some other photos finished and burned to cd.  Stephanie and Jamie, thanks for being patient with me.  Been mad busy lately.  Not to mention Photoshop going belly up on me.  Argh!

Having a good time chilling down in Tulsa with my buddy Kelsey and his wife Lauren.  For the most part today, I plan on chilling and hanging out before taking some pictures of the sight, etc… around Tulsa this evening.

Also got some good shots of the weighlifting events that Kelsey has brought us all down for.  Even though I came to hang out, it was good to get under some weights for a bit.   These guys are just huge though, so I didn’t think I could really compete, but imagine my surprise when I deadlifted 500 pounds, which was only matched by 1 other person in the group.   Man, I should have actually entered hehe.   But I was too busy with the camera and lighting anyway.  But man, talk about exhilarating.  Didn’t think I had that much raw strength in me.  I can only imagine what I could do with a bit of training.

I plan on sticking around and then leaving on Monday afternoon sometime.  Getting back home with some time to still chill and relax before heading back into work on Tuesday morning.   I also plan on taking some portraits of some of my friends down here while the lighting equipment is with me.   And speaking of pics, Kelsey’s wife Lauren got an AWESOME picture of me while deadlifting the 500 pounds.  Talk about full of win.

I bet my poor little kitty misses me by now.  She must be freaking out considering I’ve been gone for over 24 hours.

Now Playing - The-Dream - Shawty Is A 10

Man, it’s been quite a long time since I blogged, and quite a bit has happened during the past month.  Had quite a few photoshoots come up, some for portfolio, and some for paid work.  And some that I STILL need to send out an invoice for haha.  So I had to pause on taking on new projects and get the existing stuff done before I head to Tulsa this weekend.

So where do I start? Well, first the car.  I WAS driving a Ford Taurus that I had bought for the low low at an auction a while ago, but it finally decided to blow it’s head gasket in true Ford Vehicle glory.  Didn’t really bother me too much since at that point, I had gotten the camera equipment that I wanted to get and I was thinking about a new ride eventually anyway.  So I go online the same day and check out a Honda Accord at carmax which met my tastes.   But when I went there, I saw something even better that I just KNEW had to belong to me.  So I ended up with a shiny black, Nissan Altima with black leather interior, moonroof, and 250 horsepower.  And I friggin LOVE IT!  I swear that this car is directly hooked into my body and feeds off of my testosterone haha.  I’ll have to post pictures of it once I get my personal plates in.

So what’s next?  Well, a lot of you peeps know that I’ve been leading the single life for a while.  So my friend’s wife Antoinette talked me into hooking up with a cutie.  I was hesitant at first, but once I saw the pictures, I had to give in to the cuteness.  We met, and been cool ever since.  Although at times, she can be a bit of a pain.   So without further ado, here’s my new kitty Isis.  Much thanks to my friend Jamie for helping me with taking the shots.  She’s already a bit bigger now than what the shots currently show, so be sure to check the gallery every now and then for updated shots.

As far as my business lately, I’m actually somewhat on a normal sleep schedule now that I’ve gone back to working days back at the job, but I’ve been busy as hell.  Getting used to working on days again.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been coming home with quite the brain drain, causing me to shut down mentally for the most part and just veg out for longer periods that I really wanted to.  But I’m starting to get used to it now, and on top of that, I’m working on my time management.  Hopefully, before this summer is over, I’ll find some time to get quite a bit of work done on Kingphotosonline.com and Marcellusking.com as well as getting some portfolio work finally underway.  My apologies to everyone who’s been waiting on me to get things together.

And last but not least, I really had to spend some time to myself in order to reflect on the loss of my father.  He had died last year in late April so I was really starting to feel the effects of that throughout the past month.  I love you dad, and I thank you for the morals and principles that you taught me as I grew from a boy to a man.  I’ll always miss you.  And while I’m on family, I know that towards a certain sibling of mine, I’ve been a hardass.  Well, we both have.  I love you and I’ll find some time to get a hand written letter to you.  Doesn’t help that we’re both bullheaded and very strong willed and opinionated men.

Welp, there’s the update! And I’ll get some of the galleries updated as soon as I work out with the people that I’ve shot so far which pictures they want to go up on my portfolio. 

Man, I have to make this one quick since I gotta hit the sack.  But basically to give a summary of what’s been going on, here you go.

• Still doing photography
• Changed shifts to the day crew.  I’m now able to sleep throughout the night.
• My Ford Taurus blew a head gasket, but I wasn’t surprised.  It is a Ford after all
• Got another ride.  A 2005 Nissan Altima.   And yes, it’s the souped up 250 horsepower version.  Needless to say, I LOVE my new ride.

I’ll give a bigger update once I got some time to sit down and type

I thought that this was pretty interesting. Considering that the bible has been around for many, many years, it should have already been established long, long ago what are considered sins and how serious they are. But I love how the catholic church comes up with these “new” sins and ignores some of the other major issues that have plagued morals and religion today.

7 deadly sins for “our times”? Since when did things change as far as God’s stance on issues. God himself does not change, and what would be considered a sin back then, is still considered a sin now. It doesn’t need to be updated at all. Also, I thought the following sin was pretty funny considering that it came from the Catholic church.

“causing social injustice”

Wow!!! I mean wow! The Catholic church has been involved in so many attrocities and wars throughout history, that the amount of bloodshed on their hands is immeasurable. Let’s also not forget about the Reichskonkordat and the Nazi party. If you don’t know what that is, then I suggest you google it.

A religious organization that makes up it’s own rules, ignores the teachings of the bible, and prostitutes itself with businesses and governments. And yet they have the guts to redefine what a deadly sin is. Go figure!

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Thank goodness for having a dvr to where I can pause this stuff and a camera handy.  Check this out.  Look at that interest rate!!   I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the TV.  These places should be outright illegal!

In case you’re not able to see the image, here’s what it discloses on a “typical” loan of $2,600.00

• 99.25% Interest Rate
• 42 Monthly payments of 216.55
• Origination fee of 75.00

So, 216.55 times 42 equals $9, 095.10.   So for a loan of 2,600 dollars, you end up paying $6495.10 more than what you took out for the loan.  And we wonder why so many consumers are in debt!

Hmmm, this hit a little close to home.  I wonder if anyone agree’s with this concerning me

What Marcellus Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don’t have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you’ll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can’t handle you. You’re very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don’t get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you’re so lucky, you don’t really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You’re sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don’t always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don’t have as much going for them as you do.