Howdy Folks

The {haunted} Sach's Mill Bridge in Snow by dickbloom

Oh My Golly gee I am coming up on Labor Day weekend....!

I was hoping to hear from ya'll bout the copyright thing, I know you're out there come come out wherever you are!!!!!! Let me know what you're thinking, about my info, my rants or whatever is running around inside the ol' noggin ya want to know what I have to say.


Still have not had time to get the pieces cut for the pinhole camera yet but it is on the top 5 list now and not at the bottom of top ten anymore!!


This is gonna be a short one today.


First off! More on the ghostly tales I am gonna be a tell'n around the streets of Gettysburg.

This is a brand new biz where ya don't have to worry about being run over
cause youre not a walk'n the ghoooosssssttttlllyyy streets of haunted Gettysburg, PA no you are riding on a trolley and listening to interest'n facts
and folk tales from ol' Josiah Kepner {me} my alter ego from the civil war period} I will give details as this gig developes over the next few weeks.

Now for the photography aspect.

As you all know the haunted places in the world are now popular destinations for ghost hunters of every shape and form, they roam the streets and battlefields, visit boot hills, paupers graves, anywhere they believe there may be an errant spirit lurking about so they can capture the
friendly ghost on film and slip into the nether world with the ghosts that sit just across the realm in the other world.


Ol' Josiah hopes that you all will bring your imaginations, your thoughts, and your camera so maybe you too can capture orbs or what ever shape the ghost takes on, but just remember the ghosts that roam the nether world maybe looking to be captured on film so they can travel with you back to their new home with you. Did you know the Native Americans did not like being shot with a camera as much as they disliked being shot with a white man's weapon for they believed that you were stealing their spirit, there essence so to speak. So come to Gettysburg
take your best shot and see what happens.....!!!!

There may even be a contest sometime in the future!!!

So long til me meet again my friends. Thanks for visit'n email me.

Happy trails......
Dick Bloom

" What is history but a fable agreed upon? "

Napoleon

Sign What

"Hometown USA" by dickbloom

Today
I have great news folks it looks like I am going to be telling some tales of the ghostly type at a new attraction in Gettysburg. More on that later!!


I am going to touch on the subject today of dealing with COPYRIGHT situations!

My big brother called me today asking about a situation that has arisen with my great niece she is 16 and to my great surprise and happiness {You GO Michelle} is looking to be involved in a photography class, enrolled or whatever it is you do in a Las Vegas NV. high school.


Okay, this is the problem at hand: The school sends a form home asking her mother to sign away the girls right to any photo she takes while enrolled in the as far as I am concerned bogus photo class!! That any image taken will become the property of the school....!!

What the hell is the matter with a school district that takes a way a child's creative bent {a natural inclination} when the child knows that no matter how hard they try nor how good an eye they have, the so called instructors might take not only the credit for instructing you in the depth of field, aperture selection and all of the technical rules that are involved before pulling the trigger..... it is the childs intellectual property that the kid is seeing as they focus their eye and pull the trigger for that once a lifetime image they may capture.

WHY would the school have the rights to the image which is the childs intellectual property !!!! Why would the child want to do their individual BEST, when they know and have signed away their rights to any future income or fame that may or may not come from that image.

The AP wire service used to use the ploy that if the photographer cashed their AP{ten dollar check $10.00} the AP owned the image, pretty good deal for the AP that collects huge fees from the news outlets that use their AP images. That the in essence rooked away from an suspecting photographer.
I have personally have has numerous images run across the wire. I foolishly signed several of these checks. But I had a great Santa and pet image run out on the wire, It was super popular because of the subjects involved.

I have made thousands of dollars from that one image, if I had signed my rights away I would have had ten dollars and sore (.)hole and a discontented mind for being such a fool....!!!

So here is the definition of a copyrighted image:

A copyright is a form of intellectual property protection that is granted by the federal government. A copyright, however, is not "granted" in the same manner in which a patent is granted. A patent will be issued only after a patent application has been filed with and approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. To the contrary, a copyright is provided to the authors of "original works of authorship," regardless of whether the work has been published and regardless of whether the work has been registered. Unlike patents, copyrights come into being at the MOMENT an original work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. While there are significant advantages to federal registration of a copyright, no registration is required in order for a copyright to exist . Likewise, no registration is required for an author to begin using the familiar copyright symbol --- ©, but given the cost and benefit you should absolutely obtain a registered copyright.

So just remember don't ever sign your rights away folks it is just downright terrible to be rooked out of your intellectual property rights....!!!!!!

So please tell me what you think of those rules from Las Vegas NV. email me. Thank you.

So if your teacher has you compose a report on whatever does that also becomes the property of the institution? Is that what they are stating?

I will end on this note.

Be Careful my friends!! Many foes lurk behind the brambles of the so called
legal speak. Don't sign anything PLEASE....!!!!!

"STEAL! to be sure they may, and,egad serve your best thoughts as gypsies
do stolen children-disfigure them to make them pass as their own.

Sheridan

......................................................................................................................

"It is a dark sign when the owner { the student} is seen to be growing poor and his steward {the School}is found to be growing richer."

{Spencer} with comments from dickbloom

Hippie Trails til we meet again my friends!!

Dick Bloom

Contests worldwide exposure

"ABE at the Gettyburg Train Station before the Getysburg Address"

"At The Gates of Heaven in Your Mind" by Dick Bloom

Howdy Howdy

Ahh the weather here in Adams has cooled and is feeling fine this beautiful Monday I hope your week finds a smile and your prayer field spread wide and positive.

I received an email from picture.com Maybe some of you have seen or have had contact with the site it is a site that has prize money for GREAT Photos Supposedly!

They have a vote on this photo segment Please if you want to get an idea of what are good and bad photos GO VOTE picture.com And there are ton of photos cutsie photos of pets and kids and other stuff and folks very few are great very few are good and there is ton that just plain SUCK!!!!

So view these photos with a critical eye and when you get the chance to view what people are thinking is their BEST Think back to your images.

Are they really the best that you can do?????

Are they well composed, are they artistic in there subject matter, do they show what the point is you are attempting to bring out ? What about the background? Cluttered,out of focus, a tree or an object growing out of someone's head. Don't just pull the trigger!! SEE what you are Shooting first!


Remember that to take GREAT images you must see the entire image then you can do the whole thing or determine what the focus of the iamge needs to be {Always CROP IN CAMERA} that is a basic rule for old school photographers that did not depend on Adobe or a digital camera to FIX BAD images.......!!!!! No such software exists a Bad image is just That a Bad Image!!

Choose your subject carefully and DO NOT pose your kids/pets in what you think will be cute for the family and try to pass it off as a Great Photo {It might Be} just because it is of your pet with a pair of sunglasses on, unless they started wearing your Foster Grants on their own!!!!

Sometimes those things work but mostly a Grand Portrait of baby will be much more appreciated than the funny hat you put on them, especially when they are a few years older.

Same goes for your precious pet, if they do something goofy on their own grab the camera! But don't make look yourself look foolish by you doing something Goofy {like look I put this cute hat I used to wear on Snoopy} unless they can use your point and shoot!!!!!!

An example if you must put a hat on your cat or pollywog on your dog
do a tight shot of the expression that the subject will bring forth by the action itself. Don't do the deed and then take a photo of the whole area where the pet is sitting. Focus on the ACTION.

Okay I am moving on and will hopefully get that pinhole gig happening SOON I promise.

Enjoy your day!!

Have a very hippie day


"Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere."
Chesterton

This is amazing

This image won a bronze internationally it was taken at the dedication of "Hanover Junction Railroad Station. "Peek'n Round the Corner" by Dick Bloom

I have a little window of time here so I am gonna post Saturday early IMAGINE THAT!!

I would like to apoligize for the screwed up posts Friday Blogger seemed to be having a brain fart wouldn' post then it didn't post the photo then it posted it twice and then disappeared, what a pain in the you know what (!)

This is a pretty cool site that I recently ran into and it is about doing pinhole images with a conventional camera, this is the link to the photo gallery lenoxlaser.com

I haven't got around to reading the whole site yet and as far as the laser hole I would give it the ol' college try with a drill for the price of a body cap. {they have a great calculator page with downloads for both mac and pc!} Use some of your survival skills and utilize some of that brain matter just waiting to be tapped into you know all that stuff you probably weren't pay'n attention to about the compass and finding the center of the hole etc.

I like to think outside of the box actually the farther away from the ol' conventional box the better! I like to use my imagination unlike some of my contemporaries who have very little imagination or no imagination at all "like lambs to slaughter." Remember that as a great race car driver once said "Second is first Loser" Just remember that the art that people remember is the odd one that sets apart from the conventional WISDOM no matter what media you work in!

It is nearly midnight here at buckhorn and my night is just getting rolling good {too used to work'n night shift} so when I am awake it doesn't matter the time, I just try to "Get E'r Done"

So check out the new idea about pinholes and for check out the images in their gallery.


Happy Trails til We Meet Again

Dick Bloom
dickbloom.com

"Learning without thought is labor lost, thought without learning is perilous"

Confucius

What a week

Howdy folks
Well here it is Wednesday already I swear I just don't know where the time gets to!!!!

The picture is just to remind us all what is to come in the near future!

Please visit.. dickbloom.com

Don't really have a lot of time to spend here today so it will be a short a sweet one.

Have any of you actually visited the pinhole site?
I picked up some of the blackfoam core board and will be starting to cut and assemble my camera over the next few days so if ya'll want to work along with me tune in daily for bit by bit instructions on the build.

I recommend getting your board at your local craft store or where ever you deal I got mine at the WAL it was like 2.50 a sheet, one sheet will do fine.

Make sure you have a good sharp razor or kraft knife. I will using my
matcutter for the precision cuts.I recommend using black duct tape, it is strong and durable and doesn't make your project look like Red Green did it.

Okay get your supplies gathered today and get ready to build. I may even try to photograph the different stages of the build for ya'lls reference.

Gotta run folks enjoy your day!! I am busier that a one legged man in an a--kick'n contest. No offense to anyone I have buggered leg myslf so I know!

Till tommorrow
Dick Bloom

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."

Napoleon

Sunday Sunday

Good Day Friends

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend. I want to first thank everyone for showing up to read my input!!

What shall I enlighten ya'll on this fine day Let me see. Folks Please give me some input in the email box email me. Thank you.

Okay today I will stick with the job of the day, which is to set up a shooting area where I can get reflection free images of the new product line, and also be free of background distractions etc. I have made up a shooting box which consists of 3 pieces of black 1/4" foam core board, a base and two sides. I have attached black duct tape to the outside edges so that the unit can be stored flat and out of the way. Keep it simple!!

Now comes the photography part I am using a 35-70mm zoom with a 62mm circular polarizer attached. This will allow me to shoot the framed/glassed images with out reflection.

I am using studio lights with a 24 inch soft box. At this time I do not have the settings for the entire project. I will enLIGHTen all you folks with the particulars on this in future blogs. Now I must go and work at the actual project.

Enjoy your Sunday. "Enjoy Life and spread your prayer field wide" {more on prayer field in later blogs}!

I leave you with this thought.

"The greatest prayer is patience."
Buddha

Better Late Than!

This is a photo of my new item line I am promoting

This is the Idaho State Quarter presentation, the 43rd to be released in the state quarter commemoratives,mounted with it respective state flag. 43 states are available the rest are yet to be released for more information go to dickbloom.com

I know I know! Even though it is nearly tomorrow, here I am at the pinhole.orgol' blog desk! What a gorgeous day here in Adams County you know it just reminded me that fall is right around the corner with that great feel fresh air smell in the atmosphere I even took my camera for a ride but did'nt really see anything that compelled me to say "WOW" I need to shoot that. So it was a great day for having that ol' camera out in the sun.I drove by some streams{trickles} and YES Adams County is having a dry spell for sure.

Now the pinhole camera thing

I hope ya'll had a chance to check out the pinhole link, if not pinhole.org

This is a cool thing I am trying out You can use an oatmeal box or any type container that you can make light tight.
Now I suggest buying some cyanotype paper or "nature print paper" this is paper that just uses sunlight to capture the image and it makes a cyan colored print, then you can process the paper in plain water {no chemicals to mess with} let the kids help!! Make different size pinholes cameras/ big containers/little containers this paper is available at porters.com item #261076 pack of 40 5x7 sheets for $8.79 or #261077 8.5"x11" 20 sheets for $10.99 ask them for a catalog for everything you can think of in the world if you are a photo hound. Like I aid try this out post your results to my e-mail. I may even have contest of some sort , we'll see!!
Remember it is all about being creative and having a blast doing what you are doing.
"Nature is man's teacher, she unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence!
Street

Enjoy Life
Later Folks
Dick see ya tomorrow

Can Ya' Believe "IT"

Where do I start ?

Okay here goes I know that you all are interested in photography and or Adams County PA or both. My proposal that we all stay away from the digital world long enough to explore the world of the pinhole camera. {Learn Something OLD but NEW to most of you Check out the Fun at:} pinhole.org

My course for the pinhole camera course at the IS {I will now begin to call it the NIS "NO" Imagination Station} {as it looks to me exclusively digital world} at NIS at the Adams County Arts Council has been turned down, the reason being was it just couldn't sell the course {of course no testing, questioning, no demographics research looked at by the coordinator, not sure she even new what a pinhole camera was} but yes some other photographer will be teaching the supposed ins and outs of yes digital photography! {Many Many free courses and tutorial for free on line!!}

{Got a point and shoot READ THE MANUAL}

Oh yes that NIS course will be a how to on working with an imaging program on your computer {a pc I assume} so if ya own a pc {500.00} and a digital camera {400.00 more or less} and the money for Adobe CS3 release {upgrade $1399./new $2499. pretty cheap compared to a pinhole camera for NOTHING, {use an old oatmeal box just for fun}. You can learn how to get your computer camera how to work with your computer but you may still not understand the basics of photography/

Which is LIGHT.

Photography on the other hand is lost to the computer world for remember the digital image is +++++-------+-+-+- yes thats right it is not necessary to be a photographer if the computer{digital camera} is figuring it out for you. With a few simple lessons in the REAL world of black and white and the understanding of how it all works will make you a better photographer and more attentive to your subject.

Not just another person with the funds to buy a point and shoot and take a course

I am getting kinda long here so Tune in for tomorrow's input

AND REMEMBER

"No man is wiser for his learning: it may administer matter to work in or objects to work upon; but wit and wisdom are born with a man.

Selden

Oh My God!!!!!

Okay Im Back! Yeh I know you've heard it all before!!

I just can't believe how the time flies. I have a wonderful CD set from Sandy Denny who sang with Richard Thompson in his band Fairport Convention many a moon ago. The set is "No One Know Where Time Goes" I don't know were it goes, but I know its going there at breakneck speed for certain.

I see that folks are visiting my humble home here so I am going to attempt to get my lazy backside on here daily. I can't guarantee that y' all will always get a photo tip it just might be my ramblings who knows at the point. I would like to ask all my guests that visit me to Please connect to my website dickbloom.com I am working on having a new weekly image on the landing page. So Please go enjoy my site there is a state information page, an Adams County Pennsylvania page with various images with more updates to come.

I know that this is the world of the digital photographer but keep tuned in to learn how to build and shoot images with a CAMERA that you will build !

Please tell your friends to visit the site and the blog and please let me know what you think about the blog and the website, input is always appreciated. email me

"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity"

Thoreau