Shoot A Camera Not A Phone: April 2008

painting with light

nothing much to say about these photos. took them while driving with long shutter speeds. the first one reminds me of a electrocardiogram. looks cool with the city in the background. here's another link on light painting. remember, you dont have to be a pro to make pictures like these...all you need is a camera that can do a long exposure, point and shoots, SLRs, film, digital, whatever.

ps: don't shoot and drive

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeleary83/

big d

i've been in big d since mid dec 2006. man, how time flies. never, ever, did i think i'd end up here after college. crazy.

some don't like living here, "there's nothing to do, it's boring, i miss el paso." wah wah wah. the comments go on and on. i like the area, it's way better than being stuck in a jobless town, or worse maybe waco or lubbock, not that those towns suck or anything, but you know what i mean.

dallas has been good to me.
here are some facts on the DFW metroplex.

Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the United States. The current population breakdown:

* City of Dallas ... 1,213,825
* Dallas County ... 2,305,454
* Dallas Metro ... 3,805,100
* Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex ... 5,948,666

Upon completion, the Dallas Arts District will have more buildings designed by Pritzker prize winning architects in one contiguous location than anywhere else in the world.

Dallas’ Farmers Market is the largest working farmer’s market in the United States, with over 1 million visitors annually.

CBS' Walker: Texas Ranger was filmed in Dallas. (hahaha, funny show.)

KERA-TV PBS Channel 13 Dallas is one of the most watched PBS stations in the United States and was the first PBS station in the country to air British comedies.

Dallas has more domestic non-stop flights from DFW International Airport than any city in the nation.

Dallas is less than four hours away by scheduled air from the major cities in the three nations of Canada, Mexico and the United States; no other city offers that convenience.

The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, larger than the island of Manhattan, is one of the busiest airports in the world with some 1,900 flights per day.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has two of the top 10 ranked hotels in America and the only U.S. hotel in the top 10 ranked in the world.

Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other major U.S. city.

Dallas is the least densely populated major metropolitan area in the world.

Some 58 different languages are spoken in the homes of Dallas Public School children.

The Dallas area is the largest metropolitan area in the nation (possibly in the world) not on a navigable body of water. Our "port" is an "airport(s)." The old-time need for boats and barges has been replaced with the convenience of airplane service.

The new Dallas light rail system is the newest and most modern urban transportation system in the U.S.

While many cities across the country are encountering water shortages, the long-term water supply plan developed by Dallas water utilities has ensured that the citizens will have sufficient water supply well through 2050.

The annual State Fair of Texas is the largest Exposition in all of North America, with more than 3 million in attendance over 24 days annually.

The Dallas World Aquarium is home to the world's largest freshwater aquarium tank -- 200,000 gallons.

The McKinney Avenue Trolley, which operates daily, is the largest volunteer-run trolley system in the world.

The Six Flags Over Texas theme park is larger than Disneyland.

...and a shit load of bands, of all types of musical genres, are constantly visiting dallas. i've seen more concerts here my first year than i have my entire life in el paso. [ but some of that is due to my mom. =) ]

for more information on dallas, visit http://www.dallascvb.com/visitors/

bowling for...

don't know what to say about these...they are what they are...bowling photos. so....here's a vid too.

once upon the cross

got this shot at the farmers market in dallas. the market is a really cool if you're looking for great fruit and a relaxing atmosphere. im thinking of doing a video piece there for work. not sure yet. could be cool from what im thinking, but not sure. the place is definitely worth taking a look at. check it out!

http://www.dallasfarmersmarket.org/ Copyright Ben Torres 2008

drawing with light

some would call it painting with light and that's what i did in this photograph. i painted my face with a light source in different locations during a long shutter speed. i'll be posting more examples of light painting in the near future, and in the mean time you can edumacate yourself here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_painting there's some pretty good links on the bottom. so just scrooooll.

Copyright Ben Torres 2008

don't shock yourself....quit.

i really didn't feel like posting more macro shots, i feel like that's all take...macro pictures, but fuck it, if your P&C can do it, then just do it. here you go, more up close and personal macro.

braaaaaains

as you can see i'm in the uploading mood. in an earlier post i mentioned i had some pretty lame videos of zombies, well i'm not going to post all of them, but here's one i will post! the guy in the background is awesome! pinche stiff.

even in mississippi

okay, so a friend of mine who now lives in mississippi, but USE to live in chuco town, was commenting on my "viva chuco town" video. he was saying it was true, that he too is always running into people who have some type of past with el paso. so in honor of all those folks who use to party it up in chuco town, but now party it up else where now, here's another video. read the conversation.

[15:07] m0n0xxxide: its true about el paso man
[15:07] m0n0xxxide: i run into alot of people from there around here
[15:07] m0n0xxxide: of all fucken places meridian mississippi
[15:07] ecdub79: HAHAA!
[15:07] m0n0xxxide: i met some dude who lived off doniphan in a bar a few weekends back
[15:07] ecdub79: give me an example
[15:08] ecdub79: wtf???
[15:08] ecdub79: and then?
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: he;s stationed in at the air base here
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: navy air station
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: was just chillin with me and shit
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: drinking talking bout EPTX
[15:08] ecdub79: what did he say about el paso?
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: that he was glad to be out of there
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: but he still misses it from time to time
[15:08] ecdub79: haha! culo!
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: i do too sometimes.
[15:08] m0n0xxxide: hahah
[15:09] ecdub79: wah wah wah!
[15:09] m0n0xxxide: BROOOO
[15:09] m0n0xxxide: FUCK YOU BROOOOO
[15:09] ecdub79: "chuco town! i miss you!"
[15:09] m0n0xxxide: 4 HORSEMEN 4 LIFE.
[15:09] ecdub79: hahaha
[15:09] ecdub79: wtf?
[15:09] ecdub79: ECW ECW ECW

boys or girls?

so i'm hanging outside on the porch and see this little buggie laying what looks like eggs! i'm gonna have babies running/flyin around here!

going...and going...and...

hopefully it keeps going. i've taken my truck to el paso, tx, to cleveland, oh, twice! she's banged up but keeps on trucking. it's nice not having a car payment. dont die on me, baby.
ps:is the picture in color or black and white?

seconds?

mas macro.

they move so slow!

ok...so i attended this horror festival-convention type of thing with my sf back in February. it was pretty cool. george romero was there. they had other horror movie stars including the dude from clockwork orange. they even had a zombie walk, and this is where i did some video.
the first zombie is cool, he has it down i must say. the second dude, well...what the fuck are you suppose to be??? an old man???? what's up with that shaking hand?? from a distance i thought you were wacking off! any ways, he was lame...watch.
ps: i would have posted more but the other ones are kinda lame too. blah.

viva el chuco town!

so i had to photograph hispanics/mexicans celebrating opening day of baseball in Arlington, TX, and then i ran into these guys! Both now reside in the metroplex but both are originally of the lower valley in el paso! the video is only a min and some seconds long, due to the fact that i was working! i wanted to stop the video and make pictures before they put the guitar away!

i swear to the god you believe in, el paso is the center of the freakin universe! i'm always meeting people who either have friends, family or visit el paso frequently, it's crazy. i can't explain it. like a friend of mine says, EVERYONE is from el paso! viva el chuco town!