blue and wonder

now on Virb

Sean Kirkpatrick — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:34:26 +0000

I’m working on a Virb site, which is built better for photo, video and music/sound sharing, as well as pulling in streams from other sources (like WordPress, Flickr, supposedly Twitter and YouTube, but I can’t get those to work) into a common environment. It’s also convenient for remote uploads of photos directly from my iPhone. So far, I kind of like it, the look and feel is sparse but not boring. I’m trying to decide whether to continue using this blog or to consolidate via Virb, but there isn’t, at least not yet, a remote phone program for easy blogging sans computer like there is for WordPress, so for now I am planning on maintaining this site as well.

The new site is called “Scribble Paper,” check it out.

scribble paper on Virb.

recommitting to active blogging

Sean Kirkpatrick — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:58:22 +0000

It’s been awhile since i have been doing this blog thing, and i feel like it is a shame that i have this thing set up and don’t use it. part of the problem is i don’t know what to write, in what voice, blah blah blah. So here is an attempt to get back going on it. Will I have anything to say? Will this mean anything? [dundundun..] Stay tuned….

testing Virb feed….

Sean Kirkpatrick — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:03:51 +0000

testing, testing….

beautiful

Sean Kirkpatrick — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:26:40 +0000

View this document on Scribd

25 random things about me

Sean Kirkpatrick — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:15:33 +0000

1. I really do believe in extraterrestial life.

2. When I was a child, I had an imaginary playmate, a horse that walked on the ceiling.

3. Hands down, I make the best coffee you will ever taste, seriously.

4. As a child, I had Perthes’ Disease, which affects the flow of blood to the hip joint. In my case, it was in the left hip. I had a limp, my left leg was shorter than my right. I was home tutored for almost 2 years, was in traction, on crutches, in a wheel chair, had an operation, was in a body cast, fell and broke my leg below the knee, in another cast, etc…. The operation consisted of taking a piece of my inner pelvis, using the bone to re-form the ball at the end of my femur (that had deteriorated without blood flow). Part of the operation, beyond rebuilding the ball on my femur, involved splitting my femur all the way to the knee to stimulate my body to send blood to the hip. I have a 72 stitch scar on my left outer thigh and occasional arthritis in that hip to show for it. I still remember the doctors saying i might never be able to walk normally or run again, and the weird feeling of running in a big circle around our yard after it was all over, all of 8 or 9 years old. I don’t have any memory of the pain, which is kind of amazing.

5. I am always amazed that, even though I often have no idea what I am REALLY doing at work, I still manage to do the work and receive kudos for my efforts and ideas.

6. I have conversations with ex girlfriends in my head when in a pinch… they stick with me and give me guidance even if we never actually talk again. i am grateful to you all, such wonderful women, and I miss you each well and often….

7. I don’t believe in God in the sense of a supernatural being intervening on my behalf. I don’t find it necessary for meaning.

8. I do believe, in an agnostic sense, that conscious life is connected somehow by the fabric of being and time, that we are part of an emergent and perhaps aberrant awareness of the universe as being. There is no larger purpose, as far as I can tell.

9. I have always believed in our power to shape things in the world, and hopefully always will…

10. I have always associated haircuts with chocolate shakes and record stores, an artifact of my parents making an outing of it in my childhood.

11. I have perfect pitch.

12. I have never been able to handle facial hair for more than 3 weeks, always ends in a mad shaving ritual in the middle of the day, meaning that when i left in the morning i was giving it a shot but didn’t make it through the whole day.

13. Since living abroad (in Thailand), I have had the sensation that i am still travelling. Even after being in the Bay Area for the past 7 years, I still sometimes feel like a visitor.

14. I didn’t finish my dissertation, and leaving my PhD program was one of the best decision I have ever made.

15. I am by nature hopeful, but not optimistic.

16. I believe that we are drawn to people who make us deal with something fundamental in ourselves, who call us on our stuff and force us to confront it head on

17. I don’t make long-term goals.

18. All of the materials for my dissertation are in boxes in a closet.

19. Most of the furniture I own I designed and built myself.

20. I miss Fall in the Midwest. Walking on a carpet of colors wet from rain is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

21. I worked for a time driving trucks and forklifts for a greenhouse in Massachussetts, and also in the cast iron finishing room at a can opener factory in Burlington, VT.

22. I love thunderstorms, lightning, thunder and all.

23. I’ve hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey, which isn’t much of an achievement

24. Moving to the Bay Area is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

25. I think eyes are the sexiest part of the human body.

my Flickr photostream

Sean Kirkpatrick — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:43:32 +0000

My Flickr site, under development….

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueandwonder

Woman preparing betel in Northeastern Thailand, April 1996

Poladroid

Sean Kirkpatrick — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:00:51 +0000

A friend of mine turned me on to this nifty little program that turns jpegs into Polaroid-like files. It really does an interesting and excellent job, and each time you do it it turns out differently. You can select in preferences post development “imperfections” which usually show up as finger prints and scratches, and select the imperfections applied to the picture or to the paper or to both. Not selecting this results in a smooth finish.

It is currently available for Mac, and the developer is working on a Microsoft version. Chatter on the site also points to the potential for an iPhone application, which would be fantastic, avoiding the current arrangement where the program works with photos that have already been taken.

The program makes nifty sounds and you can see your photos developing on your desktop, just like the real things. You can also grab and shake the photos, which changes their development. The standard Polaroid background frame is also in place with added texture to make it look like your jpeg is a scan of a real Polaroid. Pretty convincing.

Here are a few examples:

Here’s an example of one without scratches and faults and one with:

Check it out at http://poladroid.net/ Available in French and English versions. Both are FREE in their beta phase.

Polaroid portraits

Sean Kirkpatrick — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:58:43 +0000

OK, so I am a little preoccupied with the idea of getting back into Polaroid photography these days, to the point of trying to simulate something like the look and feel through the iPhone via software that is coming out for the phone. Alas, ’tis folly. There is no comparison. I think that digital is in many ways more similar to the Polaroid experience (instant and reviewable results) than to the 35mm SLR experience (take and wait and see), but the sheer enigmatic qualities of the Polaroid are hard to beat.

Polaroid’s future in terms of instant film production is uncertain, I’ve heard 2009 is the last year, but also that Ilford and Fuji may be picking up production. It would be a shame to lose the medium. So I just got a SX-70, and will be having it modified to take the newer film cartridges soon, then it’s about finding and stocking up on film.

My friend Kiersten’s daughter, Treska, about 5 years ago. What a cutie!

Left: My friend Sarah. I love the reds in this, the straw, the chair, the light in the background.

Right: Kiersten and Treska, love the colors and the softness of the focus.

My friends Mike and Ujvala at the Ruby Room in Oakland, CA.

CameraBag update

Sean Kirkpatrick — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:10:31 +0000

As forecasted a few posts ago, CameraBag for iPhone has updated its algorithm set to include two new modes, “Infrared” and “Ansel.” I like the “Ansel” setting a lot, which gives a very nice quality black & white, less contrasty and more natural B&W feeling than the “1962″ algorithm, which is also a black & white mode. “Infrared” creates a negative look when applied, and could be a really striking setting for some pictures.

Example of “Infrared”:

Example of Ansel:

The program is still a little unstable at times, but overall it delivers great results.

night moves

Sean Kirkpatrick — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:07:39 +0000

Long exposure night photographs of car entering garage across the street from my apartment. Shot with Panasonic DMC-L1.