Young Learners Guide to American Wildlife

Photo A Day 2013: January 6 to 21

by Scott on January 23, 2013 at 1:11 am

Here is the first roll of photos taken with the Argus C3. It’s definitely rougher than the disposable shots, which is a bit disappointing since the variety of options should theoretically give me the ability to take better pictures. But part of this project is mastering the settings and learning how to use my tools effectively, so let’s look at this as an evolving process, hey?

Right now I think that a lot of pictures were affected by unduly high shutter speed, due to a mechanical error on my camera. Luckily I (for some reason) have two C3s, and have switched to the one that will actually let me change the shutter speed. So let’s all get excited for the next roll. Enough talk. Picture time.

1. Radio Springs at Night; Nevada, MO; Jan 6, 2013

This was taken at Radio Springs Park in my hometown while I was walking the dog. It wasn’t as dark as it seems here, but this is the gazebo on the island, done up with Christmas lights.

2. Trumpeter Swans; Nevada, MO; January 7, 2013

For the last several years a park in Nevada has served as a stopover point for trumpeter swans, the largest waterfowl in North America. You can’t really see it here, but the Canada geese looked tiny by comparison. Truly huge birds.

3. Mass Street Hooligans; Lawrence, KS; January 8, 2013

Here’s Justin and Joanna outside the Casbah. They’re a couple of cool cats.

4. Railroad Crossing and River Footprints; Lawrence, KS; January 9, 2013

I’m kind of breaking my own rules here already, posting two images for one day, but I went to take a shot of the frozen river and wound up having a perfect opportunity to snap a shot of an oncoming train. When it came down to it I couldn’t make up my mind. But yes, those did appear to be footprints on the frozen river.

5. New Workspace; Lawrence, KS; January 10, 2013

I spent the 10th reorganizing my office. Exciting? No. But here’s evidence that it happened. (I’m sitting there now!)

6. Cool Cat; Columbia, MO; January 11, 2013

For a few days there was a cat in my girlfriend’s apartment. It kept trying to get in the fridge, regardless of whether the door would close on it in the process.

7. New Development; Columbia, MO; January 12, 2013

Downtown Columbia is currently in the midst of a mad dash to tear down old buildings and throw up new student townhomes and high-rises in their place. The process has deformed downtown with hideous generic architecture and shows no sign of slowing. Progress!

8. Snowy Quad; Columbia, MO; January 13, 2013

I finally got a chance to see some snow this winter. It seemed like a perfect time for a cliche shot of the Mizzou campus. Timeless!

9. Window Cat; Columbia, MO; January 14, 2013

The cat also really liked getting in the window and chasing birds through the glass. He’s a bit camera shy.

10. Psycho!; Columbia, MO; January 15, 2013

Found a promotional cardboard thing for the Hitchcock film. Like all good finds it was in a stinking alley next to a dumpster.

11. Frozen Gutters; Columbia, MO; January 16, 2013

I apparently love winter weather, or at least frozen water. I wish I could have gotten a bit more clarity here, the water was still rippled and runneled, as though frozen in mid-gush.

12. End of an Era; Columbia, MO; January 17, 2013

I stopped in to the going out of business sale at Streetside Records with Karen and Joanna. It’s been an institution for college kids looking to spend their parents money since I was in college. A metaphor for the state of traditional media? Perhaps. Also, I’m not sure what it’s sharing space with here, but little surprises are part of the fun of a manual-wound camera.

13. The King of Carrot Flowers; Lawrence, KS; January 18, 2013

It’s hard to explain exactly how meaningful and evocative Neutral Milk Hotel’s music is. I was ecstatic to be able to see Jeff Mangum live at Liberty Hall. The place was completely packed and totally awestruck. Once in a lifetime.

14. Portrait of the Artist; Lawrence, KS; January 19, 2013

Experimenting with the “bulb” setting, which keeps the shutter open as long as the button is depressed.

15. Rooftop Ruffians; Lawrence, KS; January 20, 2013

Phil and Anna on the roof porch. Look at them hooligans! PS it was really cold out there. Love for the long-suffering models.

16. Floral Vans; Lawrence, KS; January 21, 2013

The floral shop by my house keeps a fleet of minivans on call. One was undergoing maintenance today. Even flower vans break down.

That’s it for this time. How does everyone like it so far?

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Photo A Day 2013: January 1 to 5

by Scott on January 16, 2013 at 10:11 pm

Posted In: Blog, Photo a Day

My resolution for 2013 is to take one photo a day (no less, possibly more) and record the process online. I know this is a somewhat common endeavor in this era of digital photography, and there are even challenges out there with specific prompts for the different days of the month. I’m going about it in a slightly different way, however, by sticking exclusively to film. So no quick-and-easy iPhone shots, no do-overs if I mess it up, and no instant-uploading. For every picture, I have to wait until the roll is finished and developed to see how it turned out. So there will undoubtedly be the occasional blurry, overexposed, or out-of-focus snapshot. Obviously, I know what an audience wants.

To sweeten the deal further, I’ll be taking all the pictures (with the exception of the occasional disposable point-n-click) with my Argus C3. Nicknamed “the brick”, the C3 is a 100% manual camera. I have to adjust everything – aperture, range, shutterspeed – by hand based on my best estimations. Even the rangefinder is analog, so I’m never totally certain if the shot will be in focus or not. I bet you’re getting excited, huh? Oh, also the thing is rather bulky and weighs about two pounds, so it’s not exactly a joy to lug around. What can I say? I like a challenge.

But in spite of all the potential (definite) drawbacks, I think it’s an exciting project. I like the way film photography looks – it’s gritty and tangible. Taking the time to select a picture, knowing you won’t see how it turned out until it’s been developed, adds an element of concreteness to the process that makes it all seem much more valuable. Double that after fiddling around with the various switches and dials to make sure everything’s ready to go. As the year proceeds and I develop my film, I’ll post the results here to serve the double purpose of sharing my experiment with others and making sure I don’t get distracted and miss a day.

So without further ado, here are the first 5 of 365 daily photos for 2013, taken in New Orleans with a Kodak disposable.

1. Fence in Tree; New Orleans, LA; January 1, 2013

The massive and ancient live oaks are one of the most memorable features of New Orleans. The roots upend the sidewalks, the massive limbs hang out over the streets (sometimes having to be carved out to accommodate Mardi Gras floats), and when left unchecked they sometimes grow around fences and power lines.

2. Biking on St. Charles; New Orleans, LA; January 2, 2013

0102 - St Charles Biking

Here you can see one of the oaks that line St. Charles. Also a street car. Those are fun!

3. Obligatory Bourbon Street Snapshot; New Orleans, LA; January 3, 2013

0103 -Bourbon Street

Since I no longer live in New Orleans, I decided to play the part of the tourist and take a Bourbon Street shot. I did it during the day time because a flash wouldn’t do it justice and also it’s an awful, awful place at night.

4. Lucky Strike; New Orleans, LA; January 4, 2013

This is the front door of the “Super Fresh Meat Market” an abandoned grocery that was sitting open. There’s still a lot of blight and hurricane damage if you get off the beaten path in some parts of the city.

5. Live Oak; New Orleans, LA; January 5, 2013

Just another live oak shot. Aren’t they pretty?

And that’s it for this installment. Check back soon for the next 15 or so.

└ Tags: Photo a Day

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That time I remembered I have a website

by Scott on January 16, 2013 at 1:09 am

Posted In: Blog

If you happen to be checking in and are strangely observant, maybe you’ve noticed things look a little different here. I’m currently in the midst of restructuring the site and things are a bit clunky right now. Basically I decided that since I’m spending a lot more of my time on projects that aren’t always comics-related, I should find a way to work that into the site so it doesn’t go months without an update. Ideally, this space can function as more of an all around Scott’s Creative World and Magical Dreams collection, and include more content that isn’t just drawings of animals.

But that’s really boring to talk about. What does it mean for you, dear reader? Hopefully more updates, more diverse content (I got plannnnns), and less boring posts about how “I guess I haven’t updated lately blah blah blah.” It also means that right now the site is in a bit of disrepair. I’m in the middle of reformating things, so a lot of posts are currently without comics. Similarly, navigation is pretty wacky. I’m working on that, and gaining a rough understanding of CSS in the process.

For now the best way to get around is probably to open up the most recent blog post by clicking on the title, then using the “previous” and “next” links. Yeah, this is all sounding crappier by the second. I’ll get it fixed soon, promise. Until then, for a taste of things to come, here’s a picture I took of an abandoned storefront in New Orleans.

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BUY STUFF, GIVE ME MONEY

by Scott on March 28, 2012 at 4:37 pm

Posted In: Blog

Hey everyone! You may have noticed – or not – that merchandise link up there at the top of the page. I guess I’ve forgotten to mention it directly, but in response to nonexistent demand I decided to make prints of some of my comics available. I’ve only uploaded a handful so far, but if you go to my RedBubble site you can order various kinds of prints and cards of YLG comics. Just imagine the excitement your loved ones will feel when they get a card from you featuring a caterpillar relishing the scent of its own gaseous expulsions! Depress your coworkers with a framed print celebrating life’s futility!

The selection is pretty limited right now, and I need to rescan some stuff that’s currently only available as cards, but check back for new content if you like. I’ve also got plans to redo some of the Dancing Bear favorites as full-size, higher-quality prints, so that’s exciting too. And of course if there are any old strips you want to see hanging on your wall, let me know and I’ll add it to the store lickity quick.

Okay, enough talk. Go buy stuff!

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The Bear is Back

by Scott on February 4, 2012 at 3:54 pm

Posted In: Blog

So last spring/summer I started making these minicomics called The Dancing Bear as a way to promote YLG around Columbia by putting the webcomic URL all over them. Of course it turned out that people really liked The Dancing Bear, but had no idea that there was a webcomic. So as a promotional effort that was sort of a mixed bag.

But I made a new one! I tried to hand it out around Columbia last time I visited, and am currently scouting locations in Lawrence. But if aren’t able to get your hands on a physical copy, here’s your only moderately disappointing digital substitute!

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