Update

Getting paid for photography has the adverse affect of making you less likely to take pictures when you aren't being paid for them. Of course, it's also because I'm tired of taking pics in the Danville area...

Last week I took a picture of a tree by Lake Vermillion for a musician named Wes who I am working with for a CD project. Going to have two seperate pics of the tree: one with the leaves changing (the one I took) and one with the tree being bare (might wait til we get some snow on the ground). First one turned out good (http://www.flickr.com/photos/myotomy/5146488906/) and I'm sure the second one will be cool too.

Took some pics with Tim Cowan last night so he could have some stuff to hang in his guitar room. Haven't really had much experience taking shots of instruments before so it took a bit to get in the zone and come up with some good ideas, but we got some pretty cool shots once we were rolling.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myotomy/5162811291/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myotomy/5162810967/

Going to come up with some personal work soon.. staying at my parent's house for now while I am in the middle of trying to relocate to Chicago. At least staying at their house provides me with some different local settings to try and take some shots in. Not sure what I'm going to do but I'm thinking something sophisticated... I need to rent a Tux or something.

Hopefully I'll have something cool to go here sometime soon!

Later.

Next Visit: Ukraine

So I have decided to visit Ukraine as my next trip. I will probably go in January or February because I need the trees to be bare.

The highlight of the trip, and the potential source for some amazing pictures, is the Chernobyl Power Plant / Pripyat.

For more information on what went down there, check out the following 6-part video series produced by the BB.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQJO0VKxmuU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHDf3zCncu0&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkND3LHtkZE&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOTAR3ab9VI&feature=related
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P25W8xISwA4&feature=fvw
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpcXUA4EOts&feature=related

Lately

I have been keeping myself pretty busy lately.

In early June I covered Mathien at the House of Blues in Chicago shortly after an awesome photoshoot with Carly Delzell. You can check out the handy work at www.tomolsonphotography.com .. it's the front page image.

Speaking of the website, I recently switched designs to beef up my commercial image as I am about to start a marketing campaign targeting various contacts in the Midwest. Here's hoping to getting a big job within a few months. I trimmed my portfolio down to my more stylized images and tried to create a nice balance between my portraits and my landscapes.

Last Friday I worked with a consultant based in NYC on making myself more presentable as well as figuring out which clients I need to be targeting. It's not always fun to pay money for these types of things but in the long run they help your performance immensely... I think. That's what people say anyway!

This Thursday I am headed to Hawaii for 9 days to visit Nick DeBoer who is a fellow photographer on the side. We are planning on doing lots of hiking and camping as well as a wedding on the third of July. It should be a fun trip and I'm excited to see what kind of landscapes I can get. I absolutely love "the big island" and how diverse its landscape is. My fingers are crossed that there will be some lava flowing while I visit.

That's about all the exciting news I have to report for now. Check back in later for some Hawaii updates!

My Photography

I think my photography can be confined to three main categories - Portraits, Landscapes, and Abstracts.

When I started taking pictures I was mostly interested in landscape photography- finding certain surroundings and portraying them in a way that interests the viewer and myself. When choosing locations for landscape photography I try to visualize what type of scene I want to present. What type of scene is on my mind is usually determined by things I have seen or heard about lately, from something cool I saw in a music video on Youtube to a webpage on urban exploration in Detroit... inspiration comes from all over.

I have had people joke with me that since a lot of my pictures are darker or gloomier that it represents my mindset (i.e. that I am sad or depressed) but I don't think that is the case. I have just always been more interested in darker, gloomier things. One of my early influences was the polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński whose work is some of the darkest/scariest I have seen. (You can check out some of his work here: http://www.beksinski.pl/ ) One thing I always liked about his work was the often subdued color palette- which is probably why I tend to stay away from oversaturated colors and go for more subdued ones.

After I had been focusing on landscapes for about 6 months I started to dabble in portraits. I do most of my research by reading articles and discussions on the internet so I knew that if I wanted to be serious about my work, I needed to get some off camera lighting, i.e. flashes. I've been using flashes in my portraits for almost a year and a half now, and while I am still far from "awesome" at it, I am happy with my progression so far. Keep in mind that in the year and a half I have done around 25 photoshoots with flashes, so it's not a once-a-week type of deal. I'm sure I'd be a lot better if I dedicated more of my time to it.. which I am trying to do now.

So anyway, I'd say within about two months of playing around with the flashes I had a pretty decent idea of the basics of how to light scenes, both through experimentation and looking at other photographer's work and deciphering how they lit their scenes. For something that I do on the side, I don't think that is a terrible long period to understand the basics. That is part of the reason why I am slightly irked when I see portrait/wedding photographers selling their services and only using the pop-up flash on their cameras. Two months of casual experimentation (this sounds kinky, doesn't it?) and about a $450 investment (for the flash + remote radio triggers) and the difference in your portraits can be night and day (literally, haha. Get it? It's a joke about light.) It's ignorant that these photographers can get away with it, but the average person just doesn't know any better... people don't realize that it's not that hard to get a photograph taken of them that looks really good.. it's just hard to find a photographer that is willing to put some effort into their work! One of the hardest things for photographers to find is good criticism. You HAVE to put your work out there to be critiqued- you need to hear what you are doing wrong. If I only heard people tell me my work was good, I would push myself to get better. It can be hard to hear someone tell you your photo sucks, but once you have heard it enough times, you stop making bad photos and the criticisms change to much smaller details regarding fine-tuning the images.

Now this opinion of mine is mostly based on America's small-town situation where there are maybe only 1-2 professional photographers in an area. When an entire population has such a small selection of photographers to go to, they get used to the caliber of those artists' work and accept it as the norm. That's how Olan Mills stay(s(ed?)) in business. They had horrrrrrrrible photos! Of course you have to cut them some slack as they operated primarily during the 80s and early 90s, a time when fashion wasn't its classiest. If I took pictures of some of the people that walked into Olan Mills I'm pretty sure I'd still roll my eyes at them (the photos not the people, bless their hearts).

I think another problem with generic studio portrait photographers is that studio shots are boring... I like lively scenes that work to make a photo interesting. When you are taking something like a family portrait, the subject and the main focus of the photo is of course the family. You don't want a setting that is going to overpower the family and cause the viewer 's eye to stray away from the subject for very long. On the other hand, I don't think people like having generic portraits that look like every single other portrait taken in that studio.

"No no no, my portrait is different because our family all wore baseball t-shirts and had a background of the main colors of our favorite baseball team!" I guess you can call that different if you want, but all that photo really says about your family is that you guys like a baseball team. If that's all you want to say then that's fine with me, but it's not really something I'm interested in offering in my photography. If you want a baseball themed family portrait, I'm going to drag you to a baseball field somewhere, give you some gloves/balls/bats and take some lively photos that are fun and non-conventional. Maybe I'd have you sit in a dugout... I don't care, I will just do anything to get you out of a studio and into a real setting that is much more full of life.

My favorite portraits are ones that portray a scene, tell a story, give the viewer a reason to stop and think- even if only for a second- to decipher everything that is going on. I don't need deep meaning behind my portraits, that just doesn't suite my taste in photography. I have always favored stunning photography to meaningful photography. I like to look at a photo and say "Wow!" I appreciate ordinary-looking photos that you have to look at and slowly draw your own opinions from, but it's not my preferred method. This might actually slightly reflect my personality, but that isn't really a topic I want to get into, haha.

Finally this leads me to the abstract segment of my photography. Once again my work is not really thought driven, it is more focused on patterns and groupings, of bold lines and interesting colors. I am more of a "see the big picture" kind of person so abstract photos are definitely rare from me. Once in a while I will get in the mood for something abstract, but more often than not it is something I resort to when a landscape location has proven disappointing and I don't want to go home empty handed.

I might expand upon a few of these points later, but after reading this you should have at least a basic understand of how I think when it comes to my photography work.

Thanks for reading!

Getting Work Done

So I decided I need to put more work into my photography. Now it's starting.

Tom Olson Photography



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16 Random Thoughts

Here is some random things that I noticed or thoughts that popped into my head:

1. Almost bought a bottle of delicious looking red drink. Then I read the sign and found out that it's gasoline. - Patong Beach

2. Walking around the holiest temple in Thailand. The song "Lay Low" by Snoop Dogg is stuck in my head. - Bangkok

3. Saw a street stand selling "Thai Tacos." You don't say? - Patong Beach

4. "It's so HOT! Milk... was a bad choice.." - Patong Beach as I drink milk

5. I haven't "seen" a single trannie since I've been here. That scares me since they are supposed to be everywhere. How many cute girls I've seen have/had a penis? - Bangkok

6. The street with all the Trannie bars here is called "Soi Crocodile." Should be called "Soi Snake" imo. - Patong Beach

7. How come topless women at beaches are Never someone you'd actually like to see topless? - Patong beach

8. I have yet to see a Thai woman smoking. Good for them. - Patong Beach (only saw 1 Thai woman smoking the whole trip)

9. I estimate I have to shake my head no / say "no thank you" at least 150-200 times a day - and I am not exaggerating here. It doesn't bother me though. It led me to a movie idea though- "The Yes Man 2: Yes man goes to Thailand." It would be a 2 hour montage of Jim Carrey riding in taxis, tuk tuks, and motorcycles all around Thailand while sobbing in the backseat. At the end of the movie he dies of AIDS that he gets from a prostitute. - Bangkok/Phuket

10. The one time in my life when I might have a chance of being more tan than another person is of course the time of year where we are the most covered up. - Ko Phi Phi Don

11. Some of the trannies were hotter than most other Thai women. - Patong Beach

12. Tried to strike up a conversation with an older French woman. She shook her head "no" and said "What do you want from me??" - Patong Beach

13. There are almost no public trash cans in Thailand. You just throw all your rubbish on the ground or leave it on the steps of a building / subway station. - Everywhere

14. Even all the Europeans/Australians/Canadians dislike the French. In a perfect world, the French despise themselves. - Patong / Ko Phi Phi Don

15. Thai people stand in perfect straight lines when there is a big crowd while waiting in line for the Skytrain. Once the skytrain pulls up though, they all crowd into a big mass to get into the traincar. - Bangkok

16. They use bendy straws over here isntead of straight ones. Makes me feel 5 again. - Thailand / South Korea

Journal Update 12

February 4, ~11:00 AM TT

I had to come back to the place I ate yesterday and get another coconut shake (update: got 2). Getting a few probably haha. Definitely going to start making more smoothies once I get back.

I'm actually kind of excited to get back to real life. I had been having a problem focusing on anything and I think this break from life did the trick. It will be nice to see my friends + family + dog. Not looking forward to seeing any of my coworkers though. I really hate each and every one of them with a passion. :-p

Some opera song is playing in an instrumental version and it's beautiful. I know I've heard it before but I don't know the name or what opera it's from... I know I've seen a guy sing it, it goes high to low, something like "ooh-mee-ah ooh-mee-ah oh-maaaaaa." Something like that haha. Good luck remembering what that is supposed to sound like. (Update: I figured out where I heard it- Will Ferrell sings it at the end of Stepbrothers rofl)

I didn't really have a soundtrack for this trip. I should have made one. Music always makes the memories harder, better, faster, stronger. More meaningful.

Had to change seats, the rising sun killed my shade.

Next time I'm going some place tropical that is on the coast, I'm going to make sure I am a certified diver first. That opens up a lot of options for things to do.

Forgot to mention something I saw last night: while out walking around I saw someone sitting on a curb holding a monkey by the hand. The monkey was wearing a t-shirts and some pants. It seemed pretty young based on the way it was behaving, maybe it's just a really tame monkey. Anyway, a little black Chihauha (however you spell that) runs up to the monkey and first pushes it over a few times, then it started chasing it around. Then it started humping the monkey! The owners were laughing, I think both animals were theirs. I was hoping the monkey would slap or kick the dog but it never did. :-(

Talked to a German couple that reccomended that I go to a place called Bamboo Island next time I'm in Phi Phi. Also said the best time to visit the Bavarian Alps is sometime in June-July. The scenes from Band of Brothers that are supposed to take place there were actually shot in Switzerland though. Go figure.

Immediately after lunch I got sick in their bathroom. While I was in the hot, stinky hellhole of the bathroom for 10 minutes, I had to fight off a swarm of mosquitos while I took care of business.

Ok, I gotta move again, some kid has been playing with a toy that plays "London Bridge is falling down" for the last 30 minutes and I'm about to go crazy.

My hands and feet swelled up really bad last night. They are fine today but I have no idea why they did that.

I don't think I'm going to fill the journal (notebook).. still have 30 pages to go. I don't think there is any possible way I'll do enough interesting things in the next ~60 hours to fill 60 sides of a page.

This town stinks like brackish water depending on the breeze. Last night was especially bad. Stinky smell everywhere you walk. Have yet to smell anything stinky enough to gag me. The fish/squid at the weekend market came close.

There are lots of people with tattoos here. Over 50% of the tourists have them I'd wager. Still haven't seen any Americans. Talked to a few more Brits and that German couple.

Benn hanging out in the hotel lobby for an hour. It's an outdoor lobby that has a roof and a fan, as well as a supply of water. Not much more to ask for while I wait. Just doing some people watching. I already put my time in down at the beach. Actually, I should be heading to the dock any minute. Luckily they are taking my luggage for me in a cart.

February 5, 8:42 AM TT

Well, I'm on my last day here. Got up around 7 feeling a little hungober. Was at a bar in Ao Nang until about 9:45 last night. Probably had about 5 beers, but it killed my memory. I hate that. My phone wasn't working in the area I'm staying so I wasn't able to call my hotel for a pickup and had to take a scooter tuk tuk. Taxis here are little scooters attached to a big metal enclosure the passengers get to sit in. So you have this little scooter pulling up to 300 lbs of people + luggage sometimes. I'm sure it gets to be more than that depending on the people riding in it lol.

I have two things that I want to do today. Tiger Cave Temple and Railay Beach. Got to see the beach yesterday on my boat ride and it was stunning. (the rock formations there are kinda phallic). Wanted to watch the sunset there last night but longboat rides stop at 6 so I wouldn't have been able to get back to my hotel. This bungalow is gorgeous. Nice finished wood floor and walls, bautiful tile bathroom, front balcony and back porch.

There are some beautiful cliffs next to the hotel. Probably 5-600 feet tall. Maybe taller. Let's say they are 1,000 feet tall. That sounds cooler. Hotel is going to let me check out at 4 PM. That works out great. Means I can get all hot and sweaty today and still be clean for my traveling.

Ok I gotta head out. Will write in this later.

February 5, 10:31 Am TT

Writing this from Railay beach. Took a mini bus to town then got some tickets for a longtail boat ride over here. Was about a 10 minute ride, costs about $2.50 for a 1-way ticket. Gorgeous views from the boat.

After I got to the beach I took a panoramic then walked to the East end of the beach (Railay West Beach) and found a quiet cove. Climbed the big 10 foot rock in it and am enjoying my own little personal beach. The only people in sight are kayakers and a longtail boat here and there.

Considering where I've been in the last 8 days, when I say this place impresse me, it's starting to have some meaning haha. I can't believe I was considering not coming here earlier this morning when I wasn't feeling great. I think this trip has really reinforced for me that you shouldn't sit around and wait for things to happen- you need to make them happen. If you have dreams and goals, work on them. Never say "Well I'll do it later after I... etc." That's the road to regret.

Going to walk around some more then find some food.

February 5, 1:40 PM TT

Wow, Railay really was amazing. The island is split into two sides, Railay East and Railay West. Each side has beaches, but Railay East's beach is very muddy. Almost lost my sandals twice. First time was while in the water when I sunk in 4 or 5 inches. Second time was a few minutes later while walking away from the water and I sunk in a whole foot. Yikes. Was not fun balancing while holding my camera in one hand and picking my sandals out of a pit of mide with the other hand.

Got to use my first truly "rural Thai toilet" today. You flush it by ladelling water from a nearby bucket into the toilet bowl. I'd have rather just taken a piss outside. Was right before lunch, so I wanted to wash my hands, but they don't use soap out here, heck no! "Let's just rinse our hands off with water that's undrinkable!" lol

Didn't really get hot today. Go figure I finally start to acclimate on my last day, just in time to go back home along with a 70-80 degree temperature drop. I hear IL is getting snow... at least it will be pretty.

Going to take a shower then pack and relax a bit. Adios.

February 5, 7:10 PM TT

Nothing very exciting happened on the way to the airport or while in it. Paid a few bucks for wireless and watched some Seinfeld clips and listened to that one song a few times. (Time to say goodbye) I need to figure out some way to use that song.. I think I am in love with it haha.

I have a 5 hour layover in Bangkok, then a 6 hour flight to Seoul, then a 10 hour layover, then a 15 hour flight to Chicago, then what will probably be at least a 3 hour drive back to Danville. Total travel time: 39+ hours.

I'm going somewhere a little closer next time. Or not. Who knows.

February 5, 9:20 PM TT

Been at the airport for about an hour and a half now. Check in for my flight is not for another 55 minutes.

I accidently walked into some security center and got on one of their elevators and took it to some secure floor. There weren't any signs telling me not to go there! While some guy was escorting me out he accidently hit the wrong button on the elevator and took me to yet another secure floor. He was Thai, but he still said "shit."

Luckily I got a cart to push my luggage around in. The ticketing room is huge. Listening to some Kanye. "All Falls Down." Now "Slow Jamzzzz." Getting kinda sleep, ugh. I think a bunch of teenage asian girls are standing right behind me in a row to get their picture taken with me in it. I want a copy. :-(

35 more minutes. Can you tell I'm writing very slow?

Note to self: never forget "Sprinkle," the overweight Thai vendor on Sukhumvit Rd that you passed on your way to the skytrain station every day.

20 minutes to go. I'm going to miss being around all the Thai people. When you're always surrounded by people that you have no hope of interacting with, your behavior changes somewhat. All conversation you hear is just background noise that is eventually tuned out.

February 6, 12:30 AM TT

Been at Bangkok's airport for 4.5 hours. Ready to sleep. Had sushi for dinner. Yumm. Only sushi I had on trip, but I didn't go to Japan so it's acceptable! I'm ready to crash. Can't wait to sleep. (update: wow I talked about how I wanted to sleep 3 times in like 4 sentences in a row) Need to take my shoes off, also. Brought a change of sucks this time. That will be a delight whenever I decide to switch them.

Work on Monday morning might be interesting. Kinda depends how the next day and a half go.

February 5, 9:19 PM CST

Switching back to central time now. Just went back in time! No plans for Sat / Sun which is good. I need to relax and take it easy so that I'm not dragging on Sunday, er Monday, for work.

Haven't checked my work email once since I left my office at the end of the day on Jan 25. That will be a nightmare to go through.

Only about 7 hours left of the layover here. Can't do the 4 hour tour of the city. They don't start it til noon and I wouldn't get back in time for my flight if customs/security was backed up. Stepped outside the airport pretty much just so I could say I've been in South Korea. Got a few more stamps on my passport too, woohoo.

Need to get a new one (passport). My current one got warped from being soaked in sweat and I look like a starving child in my pohoto. Ahhh, good ol' high school metabolism.

Writing in this made me realize that I like keeping a journal. I don't think my everyday life is interesting enough to blog about though. One idea i have is to start a new blog called "Tom's Poop" where I chronical my daily bowel movements. It's sure to be a hit with the hidden scat fetishists inside us all.

Just ate a hotdog that was in a half loaf of bread like I got in Europe when I was 10. Didn't have ketchup to dip it in though and the bread wasn't quite as good lol.