Taken By Machine » Site News http://takenbymachine.com/blog Photography Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:10:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Sharing and Forgetting http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2011/12/10/sharing-and-forgetting/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2011/12/10/sharing-and-forgetting/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:10:08 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2011/12/10/sharing-and-forgetting/ Someone pointed out to me that I haven’t published anything on this blog in several years… and I thought “there’s no way this can be true”… but the date of the last post can’t be argued with. It definitely says 2009 and this is most certainly 2011.

 
I can’t possibly use amnesia as an excuse since such selective forgetting is unlikely… and I haven’t had an improbably comical blow to the head in ages, which, as television sitcoms have taught us, is required for that sort of thing. I believe my lack of posts has more to do with internet exhaustion cause by sharing fatigue.
 
I’m still taking photos and trying to improve my technique and skills… but there’s been less of a desire to put everything on the internet for various reasons but mostly because most social networks feel creepy and intrusive to me…  and (as I’ve said in prior posts) they’re exploiting you by selling your thoughts and memories to advertisers in exchange for a free place to (essentially) blog and email your friends… things that you can easily do without having Facebook compile a Stasi style dossier on your life. 
 
But, as the people in my life continue to tell me… the old ways are over and done with. Being an artist in the 21st century means cultivating a fan base… so in 2012… which sounds too futuristic to be real… it will be back to breaking rocks on the social network chain-gang with the rest of you poor wretches… and keeping an up-to-date blog.
 
Probably not on this site though. Like abandoned houses, old blogs should sometimes be condemned. 
 

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2011/12/10/sharing-and-forgetting/feed/ 0 Early Morning Crossing Over http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/30/early-morning-crossing-over/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/30/early-morning-crossing-over/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:19:01 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=422 IMG_0327t

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/30/early-morning-crossing-over/feed/ 0 Shadows and Light http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/16/shadows-and-light/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/16/shadows-and-light/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:02:54 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=393 More fun with cell phone photos. The best camera in the world is the one you happen to have with you.

IMG_0169IMG_0168

IMG_0164IMG_0161

(click on thumbnails for larger versions)

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/16/shadows-and-light/feed/ 0 What If I Happen To Enjoy Being A Pretentious Douchebag? http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/09/what-if-i-happen-to-enjoy-being-a-pretentious-douchebag/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/09/what-if-i-happen-to-enjoy-being-a-pretentious-douchebag/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:27:09 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=338 Picture 4

This should be my new business card. :)

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/08/09/what-if-i-happen-to-enjoy-being-a-pretentious-douchebag/feed/ 0 Everybody Loves A Parade http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/07/02/everybody-loves-a-parade/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/07/02/everybody-loves-a-parade/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:04:58 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=320

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/07/02/everybody-loves-a-parade/feed/ 0 The Death of My Brilliant Career http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/07/01/the-death-of-my-brilliant-career/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/07/01/the-death-of-my-brilliant-career/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:02:32 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=316 Cartoonist Bob Eckstein’s amusing/sad essay on his ongoing struggles to be a working artist in a society that values creativity, but doesn’t appear to want to pay for it.

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/07/01/the-death-of-my-brilliant-career/feed/ 0 A Treasure Trove Of East German Photos http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/05/31/a-treasure-trove-of-east-german-photos/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/05/31/a-treasure-trove-of-east-german-photos/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 21:13:56 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=314 Der Spiegel has an article about a family that discovered a huge collection of photos of life in East Germany.

They wanted to clean up the basement but found a treasure trove of photos instead. After Berlin teacher Manfred Beier died, his sons stumbled across 60,000 pictures. Their father, it turns out, created one of the best documentations of life in East Germany, and the first days of the West.

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/05/31/a-treasure-trove-of-east-german-photos/feed/ 0 Sarah and Pears http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/05/03/sarah-and-pears/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/05/03/sarah-and-pears/#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 22:23:00 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=285 mailclick to see larger size

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/05/03/sarah-and-pears/feed/ 0 Danny Lyon Article In the Times http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/04/25/danny-lyon-article-in-the-times/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/04/25/danny-lyon-article-in-the-times/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:41:39 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=280 There’s an interesting article in the New York Times this week about the photographer Danny Lyon whose work I’ve been looking at for years without really being aware of what he’s about.

]]> http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/04/25/danny-lyon-article-in-the-times/feed/ 0 The Reason Photographers Have a Hard Time Making Money http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/04/18/the-reason-photographers-have-a-hard-time-making-money/ http://takenbymachine.com/blog/2009/04/18/the-reason-photographers-have-a-hard-time-making-money/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:39:53 +0000 machine http://takenbymachine.com/blog/?p=274 This person wants to trade posing (on her terms) for a free wedding shoot with PRINTS… really? A professional wedding photographer costs a few thousand dollars and that’s just for the shoot. Shooting a wedding well is hard work… and why would you want to trust your wedding to someone inexperienced in that kind of photography?

The sad thing is that someone out there will actually go for this deal and deprive a pro of a commission. I’m surprised that Model Mayhem even approved this account, as the model is just looking for a one-time freebie and probably won’t contribute anything to the site.

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