This playful Chickadee was found in Noelville, Ontario, Canada, a town one hour East of the Nickel mining town of Sudbury.
March, 2006:
my own gallery
As much as I love Flickr and the community that it encompasses, I need my photographs to be on my own site with my own layout and my own additional features. However, regardless of what I do on my own site, I intend to continue placing my photographs in Flickr for the community aspect and feedback it provides. So, as I see it that leaves me with three options.
# Use Flickr to power my own Gallery.
# Host my own Gallery and have it synchronize with Flickr.
# Host my own Gallery and use it separate from Flickr.
Flickr provides an API that will allow me, with a bit of programming, to display my images there on my own site. With some creative tagging, some fancy tactics, and a bit of coders duct tape, a working site can be produced. This is very easy to do because three or four very simple scripts tied together can handle everything. However, because Flickr does very little to protect the full sized version from unauthorized downloads, I do not upload full sized versions at all. This means that automating my lab orders becomes much more difficult. Additionally, this means that I have to rely on Flickr, its servers, and its TOS. Should those things go down, my site will be rendered inoperable.
Hosting my own Gallery is pretty easy these days, too. “Gallery 2″:http://gallery.sf.net/ is feature rich and not any more annoying than using “WordPress”:http://wordpress.org/ as my blogging software. It has a modular architecture that should make extending it fairly easy. However, it will need to be extended. In order to keep from having to upload images and maintain titles and descriptions in two places (my Gallery and Flickr) I’d like to author a Flickr synchronization module. Additionally, the only currently written commerce module, “checkout”:http://sourceforge.net/projects/gallerycheckout/, is nearly useless. Products are defined and priced globally. Overriding the price of an individual product is possible through a very cumbersome method. I need image classes, and products based on the class of image. I also need to ability to hold sales, offer coupons, and provide purchase options. So, this means that I’ll need to write at least two modules. This also means that I have to understand how Gallery works under the hood. This programming is quite a bit more difficult and cumbersome than the four simple scripts needed to use the Flickr API. However, the results are more stable, more capable, and more future proof.
Finally, I can simply host my Gallery separate from Flickr. All of the pros and cons I mentioned about hosting my own Gallery still apply. The only difference is that I don’t have to write the Flickr synchronization module in exchange for having to upload every image twice and deal with captioning and titling in both locations. If I’m going to write modules, I may as well go all the way, so this option doesn’t appeal to me.
So, I’m left with two options. One option (using Flickr) is easy to write and fairly simple to maintain. Additionally, 1/4th of it is already done: that’s how I currently sell photographs currently. Furthermore, quite a few people have written similar (yet terrible) applications that I can use for inspiration (read: theft). However, the end result is far less flexible, stable, and future proof then the more complicated method of hosting my own. Additionally, writing these two modules and releasing them to the community will allow me to give a little back and drum up a little exposure for myself in the process.
Yeah, yeah. I know what I need to do. I just hate doing it.
thoughts after three years of marriage
Today marks the third anniversary of the day Jessica and I stood before our friends and family and publicly committed to that which we already felt deep within our hearts and minds: we would be with each other, through everything, until the end of time. *Three Years*. Not once during the course of these years have I regretted or doubted that decision.
To the outside eye, however, that might be hard to believe. I have many intelligent, attractive, successful, female friends. Some of them are single and others are a bit unhappy in their current situations. I have beautiful women in my home on a regular basis, shedding their clothing in front of my camera. I am still close with several of my ex-girlfriends. I flirt a lot — sometimes because it’s fun, sometimes because it gets me a better photograph, sometimes, because I really, really mean it. On top of that, I am an open person and, with like minded people, can find myself very emotionally, mentally, and physically close to those that I care about or feel connected to.
With all of these things in place, and more, I can understand how one might believe that I might tempted on a regular basis. I’ll be honest: I am. Everyday I give in to the those temptations when I fall in love with my wife all over again. Her smile is enough to brighten my entire day. She constantly shows me her loyalty, patience, confidence, and trustworthiness. Her mind continues to challenge me and teach me. Her heart warms me during even the coldest times. She can calm me down with a single word, and excite me with a single touch. She understands me when I’m excited, mumbling, or sobbing. And there is no place on Earth that feels safer than being in her arms.
I love my wife deeply and I cherish every bit of our relationship together. That doesn’t mean that I don’t find other women attractive, want more friends, seek new travels, enjoy new experiences, and desire MORE of everything in my life. But in all of those things, I want her to be a part of them. I love her with all of my heart and above all else in my life, she comes first. She knows this and I know that she feels the same way about me. We give each other the freedom to enjoy the life that we live with one another and the lives we live apart, because we both know that we come first in each others lives and we have no reason to worry that our love will ever stray.
Sometimes I am reminded of all of the trouble we went through to be together and all of the pain we felt when we were apart. I am reminded of all of the doubts that were shared with me by friends and family. I am reminded of what we went through thrown into the less than ideal situation of learning about each other while living together. When I recall all of this, sometimes I ask myself it was worth it. You better believe it was and I’d do it all over again.
I am very committed to my wife. Not just because I made that commitment to her and I am a man of my word. Not just because I love her. Not just because this is where I am now. Because she is everything that I need, everything that I want, and everything I have ever desired. If I were given the option to start a life anywhere in the world that I wanted, with anyone I could choose with no ill effect or negative consequences, I can’t think of anyone I would want by my side more than her (though I’m not so sure I’d choose to live in Texas).
I am ever grateful to my wife for caring for me, desiring me, accepting me, understanding me, trusting me, and loving me. These last three years have been the most incredible years of my life and I look forward to even better years to come.
I love you, Jessica, now and forever, gros comme le ceil, like crazy.
cracked leaf
A closeup of a small leaf taken with a Sony DSC-T5. I am continuously amazed at how capable and fast this little camera is. Once you understand its quirks, you can get some great results using it.
(Order a Print.. This image is also featured in the book, Finding Place.)
Finding Place linking information
It has been brought to my attention that I didn’t have an official page about “Finding Place” available for you to link to in order for you to show your support for my work on your own website, blog, MySpace bulletin, or LiveJournal. Exposure is so important and your word of mouth really goes a LONG way. Any interest you can send my way will mean a lot to me. The link below is the official place for all “Finding Place” information.
More Information on “Finding Place: The Photography of Daniel James” »
I know some of you would love a copy of this book and but can’t really afford it right now. I don’t really have any good ways of keeping track of who got to me from where but if your name is mentioned on 5 orders that I get, I’ll send you a copy as well as a token of my thanks.
If you’re into the cut and paste thing, you can use this code to display a link to the book as well as an image from it:
It’ll look like this:
Or, if you prefer to give more information, how about this:
"Finding Place" is a collection of Daniel James' photographic work from the Fall of 2005. It contains approximately 90 images taken during this period ranging from Landscapes to Portraits and everything in between. You can see all of the images in the book at the Finding Place Gallery. "Finding Place" will allow Daniel's work to be seen by more people as close and as vividly as it was intended to be seen. This book, and the others to come, represent a time-line of his art, his vision, and his growth, and are highly collectible. More Information on "Finding Place" »
It’ll look like this:
“Finding Place” is a collection of Daniel James’ photographic work from the Fall of 2005. It contains approximately 90 images taken during this period ranging from Landscapes to Portraits and everything in between. You can see all of the images in the book at the Finding Place Gallery.
“Finding Place” will allow Daniel’s work to be seen by more people as close and as vividly as it was intended to be seen. This book, and the others to come, represent a time-line of his art, his vision, and his growth, and are highly collectible.
More Information on “Finding Place” »
Thank you. Again.
wind swept
This is the Emerald Vista located in Oklahoma on the Talimena Scenic Drive. The view of the Hudson Valley below is absoutely stunning.
(Order a Print. This image is also part of my book, Finding Place.)
book almost finished
The final images for my first book, “‘Finding Place’”:http://revjim.net/2006/03/24/finding-place-the-photographs-of-daniel-james-fall-2005/, have been selected. “Take a look”:http://flickr.com/photos/revjim/sets/72057594067939867/. If you’ve got any suggestions for images that are not already included, you have about 8 hours to voice your opinion before it’s way too late.
I’d also like to offer a *25% discount* as a token of my thanks to those that assisted in any way in the support or creation of the images in this book. If you are featured in any of the images, assisted in the creation (even if by simply being present) of any of the images, or have purchased (prior to the book’s official release) any of the images, and are interested in owning a copy of the book, please email me. I’ll send you a special PayPal link that includes your 25% discount. Thank you again.
I’ve got a few more pages to produce and the cover to finish tonight and then it’s off to the printers. It’s so exciting to actually have this idea become a reality.
I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about this book. It seems that people really want to support me and my work. They want to see my images in print where they can absorb them as close and as vividly as they were intended to be absorbed. However, not everyone can afford prints or wall space to put them on, so people really like this idea. If this is as successful as it seems like it will be, then I’ll be happy to continue doing it. Hell, I’ll be happy if I can even break even on my costs as I have yet to do so with any of my other methods of sale.
