Work in Progress?

Here is an older photo. (Click image to see larger picture) It actually doesn't directly relate to the post title so much. The title more relates to what to do with old digital images that have the potential to be good (with significant amounts of photoshop work) when I don't wish to work on them. For example, there are still probably over 100 Agora II images (nearly half of them include some form of unclothed, undressed, nearly naked, or nude performers) that I've reached my saturation point for dealing with. In addition to all the other projects consuming my time, I do not know if I want to spend additional time on such an old one: particularly since I was dissatisfied with my photographic endeavor at the time. (I didn’t utilize the best photo-chronicling techniques, didn’t attend enough of the performances to get all the pictures I wanted, and didn’t have the best equipment to maximize my efforts) If I am already unhappy, does it make sense to spend more time and energy on something with which—at best—I’ll only be partially satisfied?

Right now I am in a place where the majority of my discretionary time is spent trying to push out the remaining chapters on my Batman novel. I am in a rush for several crucial reasons. I want to finish the 1^st draft before the new Batman Movie (The Dark Knight) comes out, specifically so I can turn the novel into a screenplay (targeted for a TV miniseries). As the TV show ‘Smallville’ is winding down to its likely last season (2008-2009), the period is approaching where a new vision of the DC Universe—as it relates to television and film—has the potential of being seriously considered. My vision (led by the Batman, Superman, and WonderWoman characters) is groundbreaking, intriguing, and most-of-all sustainable for a period of 5-15 years.

Another reason for the rush is that the transition period I am in for my career path will soon close. Once the new work begins in earnest, I will not have the luxury of devoting time and energy to this project except in dribs and drabs. If I cannot get the ball sustainably rolling before that time, it may be over 10 years before all the personal and external factors align again.

The proceeding two paragraphs lay out, in part, my reluctance to work on older photos I am already dissatisfied with. Whatever efforts I make in photography over the next while, I really want to devote my energies to finding a collaborative model who is willing to work with me to develop our skills and both our portfolios, despite my current lack of finances for that endeavor.

Photoshop Work

Sorry for the dearth amount of posts these past few weeks. Though I'm spending more hours of the day in front of a computer, most of the time is spent on accomplishing activities I am required to do rather than activities I am seeking out (such as this blog and my website).

I am spending the little photography time I have available working on two skills I need to develop: learning how to get the sepia- & chrome-style images from digital photographs, and attempting to teach myself airbrushing and photomanipulation techniques.

Below is an example of one attempt at sepia-style black & whites.

Photo from a Sep. 2006 Agora II performance in Brooklyn, NY.

More Agora II Images added

More images have been added to the Agora II Photogallery. As of yet, I still haven’t fixed the comment feature problems I'm having. I keep trying, so I can get viewer responses added into the gallery. I've added several images from just before and during the Sleep section of several different shows. I reduced the image size and added filter effects to soften/haze the image to increase the difficulty in identifying specific individuals, since I know some of the performers did not want their images displayed on the internet. Hopefully they appreciate the methods I took to protect their identities; there is nothing left more identifiable than what could be picked up by walking past them on the street or at a beach.

Click to go the entrance page for Dae's Agora II Photogallery.

Within the next five days or so, I hope to add more images to the Prospect Park and Brooklyn Botanical Garden Galleries. I’m also working on a new article for the General Writing Section, that I hope I can finish by the middle of June. Sometime next week I’ll upload 1 or 2 short fiction stories I have had for several years but haven’t looked at in a while. After a quick editorial review they should be ready for the website.

More Images added to Gallery

More images have been added to the Agora II Photogallery. I've also changed the layout of the gallery, to a more streamlined design. At some point, I hope to fix the comment feature problems I'm having so I can get viewer responses added into the gallery. I've added in a compilation panorama from the Sleep section of the Sep. 30, 2006 show. I reduced the image size and added filter effects to soften/haze the image to increase the difficulty in identifying specific individuals, since I know some of the performers did not want their images displayed on the internet. Hopefully they appreciate the methods I took to protect their identities; there is nothing left more identifiable than what could be picked up by walking past them on the street or at a beach.

Click to go the the entrance page for Dae's Agora II Photogallery.


I'm setting aside the guestbook/comment page for now. I'm hoping over the next 10 days to get some more writing samples up, particularly in the nonfiction section. I've got some old essays that could use some polishing, but are good enough to merit posting.

Updates & Additional Links

Check out the updated Agora II page.

I've added several offsite links for related subject material.

As comments on the page come in, I'll add them to the pages as well. Hopefully they'll drum up some traffic to the website.

I've also added 10 new images to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden Gallery, and should have a similar number up in the Washington Square Park Gallery by tomorrow. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I'll have additions to all the galleries.

I'm working on a comments/guestbook page, and hopefully that will be up within the next week.