Sunday, January 11, 2009

In Love, and Also Maybe Not

Have I mentioned that I have, of late, become totally obsessed with Old Crow Medicine Show? They may very well eventually join the upper echelons of My Favorite Musicians: Neutral Milk Hotel, Kimya Dawson, Rufus Wainwright, Bright Eyes, and the Pixies. Here's the very well-made and surprising video of my favorite of their songs, "Wagon Wheel."

Incredible.

In other news, I've spent most of my hours today prepping for a new semester--a daily schedule to write, the first week's lesson plans to update, a class Web site to post, videos to reserve, 50 copies of a 9-page syllabus to print and collate and staple, etc. Barf.

My Matt and I have also been goofing around, however, with the toy he bought me for Christmas: a Tamron AF75-300mm F/4-5.6 LD lens with a macro of 1:3.9. It's super-cool--


--but Matt was a little snowed by the marketing because really it's a telephoto lens with the capability of focusing on a subject at a little better than one-quarter life-size, which is one definition of macro, but not a true macro lens. A macro lens is what I've been wanting, and I like the way this one focuses, but the telephoto aspect of this lens means that even to get the macro focus I have to be at least 3.5 feet away from what I'm shooting, and it's a little weird, if not nigh on impossible, to get across the room from the thing I want to photograph. Shots from above are likely out, unless I put my stuff on the floor and then stand on the table?

I have a really poor sense of balance.

3 comments:

Abby said...

You have very good musical taste. And by good I mean, very similar to mine. :) I really dig the song, I haven't listened to any of their stuff before. I need to check it out.

cake said...

i really like that close up shot of your face.

julie said...

You guys are so sweet--it makes me happy when people like stuff.

Matt will also be pretty stoked to know you like his photograph--I tease him about how his photos are always blurry, especially since I'm supposed to be the one who can't see worth shit, but he's also the only one who is ever able to capture me looking as I really am, I think.