An amateur photographer with more interest in the hardware than in composition or color.

 

 

Yes, I had a 'Pro' account on Flickr.

No, I'm not a professional photographer.

 

View my DNA

At bighugelabs.com

 

I am an Old School student of photography. Back in the day, every shot cost real money. Film was an expense, and printing was an additional expense. It's no surprise; the base chemical of old-fashioned photography was silver.

 

Slides were cheaper but not very portable. Try tying down your friends for an evening in front of the Carousel Projector and you'll see what I mean.

 

I'm learning to make photographs all over again. That's why I make so many stupid rookie mistakes and waste a lot of exposures doing repetitious experiments.

 

I don't mind suggestions or creative criticism, but keep your comments general. I know how to use PhotoShop (although I prefer Photoscape for cropping and quick adjustments). I'm not interested in doing any major overhauls to my work. "This might work better in black and white," is okay; "You need to crop/clone out that tree," is so not okay. I'm the guy paying for the Pro account, not you.

 

Blocking Rule:

I hate to be a jerk about this, but if you don't have any photos I can see on Flickr (i.e., So-and-So hasn't made any photos public yet), and you comment, note, fave or tag one of my captures, or try to add me as a contact, you are blocked. Period. If you don't have public pictures on Flickr, don't expect to share mine. People have stolen my photos in the past, both on Flickr and on the Internet, and the activity mentioned above is a tip-off.

 

If your Photostream consists primarily of pictures stolen borrowed from other sources, expect the same results. If you have a preponderance of copyrighted material, expect to hear from Flickr management.

 

Please Restrain Your Enthusiasm.

If you like my photos, (and you have any material in your Photostream that I can see) please feel free to leave a comment. Please do not post big, flashy "I love your stuff" banners, group invitations or bogus awards in your comments. I am not interested in joining "post 1, comment 7' or challenge groups.

 

Likewise, I'm not interested in invitations to the "Post 1, Comment 5" type groups. I do this for relaxation, not to slap happy talk on a bunch of junk about which I care not.

 

If you find this offensive, calling me a Nazi in a comment or a Flickrmail guarantees a block -- and I'll pass your offense to Flickr Management. When they ban you, it's for good.

 

CAMERAS

 

Kodak DX6490 Zoom

Now relegated to my 'throw it in the car to have a camera' camera. I purchased some after-market Telephoto and Wide Angle lenses for it -- they stank. I bought the original lenses from Amazon.com. Much better!

 

Panasonic Lumix FZ50

Purchased around Thanksgiving 2006. I also have Panasonic's 1.7X Telephoto and .45 X Wide Angle, along with some accessory filters and closeup lenses. The Sunpak 383 Super Auto strobe with it's anti-laser-eye frame (handy for photographing animals and coworkers) is a scary combination.

 

Olympus EVOLT E-510

I bought a slightly used Olympus E-510 from a friend at work but after using it for several months, I was underwhelmed with it's ease of use. It does take great pictures. I have the 14-42mm 'kit' lens, 40-150mm and 70-300mm tele zoom lenses and virtually every acessory imaginable. I have set it aside for the Canons.

 

Canon EOS REBEL T2i

I'd used Canon 35mm film SLRs for over a quarter century. A friend loaned me his (wife's) Canon T1i for an afternoon, and the rest, as they say, is history. This is now my locked-in-a-drawer-at-work camera; it comes out to play on sunny lunchtimes.

 

Canon EOS 7D

I tried to replace the T2i's 18-55mm 'kit' zoom with the Canon 15-85mm zoom (a truly awesome lens). I found it was capable of better quality photos than even the noble T2i was able to support. Yes, I bought a new camera to support a lens. This is the flagship of Canon's APS-C line for good reasons. The 7D does not disappoint; I'm still learning to master all its functions, bells and whistles.

 

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

I keep it in my backpack so I have a camera when I’m at work, but I’ve used it other places, on the way from and to work. It wasn’t terribly expensive, it’s fairly small, and while I’ll probably never win a Pulitzer with one of its pictures, it’s reliable if not super high definition.

 

Canon PowerShot G15

One of my Flickr contacts had a Canon PowerShot G12 and was posting amazing macro work with it. I resolved to buy one, but Canon discontinued the G12 for this amazing new G15 camera. It offers 12 Megapixels, the same as the SX130, but the resolution is much better. I find it's very nice for low light work. I'm still exploring its capabilities, but it makes a nice complement to the EOS 7D.

 

Samsung FlipShot SCH-u900 (Retired)

I had to get a new cellular telephone, but rather than settle for a phone with a lame camera, I got a camera with a built-in cellphone. I actually posted quite a few pictures I made with this cameraphone.

 

LG Octane (LG Electronics VN530)

It takes pictures. Sort of. You probably won't see many of them here.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

 

Q: Can I use one of your pictures for...

A: Maybe. If you are using my photos for a profitable enterprise (meaning, you earn money from your website, book, magazine or television show or other medium), I charge a nominal $100.00 (USD) per use, payable by PayPal to perfesser_bear at yahoo.com. If you want to sell the photos themselves (prints, T-Shirts, mugs et cetera), it's $1,000.00 (USD) per image used plus 15% per item made (not sold).

 

If you want to use the image for something that isn't earning you money (personal website or weblog ['blog'] content) it's free, but there's a catch: you will post a proper credit, e.g., Photo:Perfesser_bear.

 

Violators have been sued: one settled out of court and removed the material from his site; another sends me a PayPal remittance every month for each print he sells. Plus a lot up front, late in 2008.

 

Q: Okay, What's Up with that Screen Name?

A: Well, that's best answered with two long stories:

 

Q: Why Bear?

A: In the early 1970s, my brother and I were wrapped up in the Citizen's Band (CB) radio craze. My 'handle' was 'Grizzly Bear', because it suited my size and personality.

 

Q: So, What is a Perfesser?

A: In a previous career, I worked as a Security Officer in some nasty places. A truck driver came in one day and asked for 'The Perfesser'. Excuse me? Apparently I was the only member of the guard force who had completed High School, let alone had two years of college. The nickname stuck, and years later, a friend combined the two. For five years working in a Nuclear Power station, my hardhat read 'Perfesser Bear' instead of my given name. Some people had no idea it wasn't my real name.

Thank you for that, Lux. Rest in peace.

 

Q: Hey, Aren't You...

A: No, I am neither Eric Bear (although I respect him and his Mac work, and I'm jealous of his Taos, NM home) nor am I Wilson G. Bear (whom I know quite well -- I was at his wedding). We just have the same screen names. I am this Perfesser Bear. I am also eBay's perfesser_bear.