Do you shoot film or digital?
I have shot both, though I am now shooting digital only. With only a very few exceptions, all photos on this site taken after August 31, 2008 have been taken digitally.
What kind of camera do you use?
A Canon EOS 40D. Prior to the 40D, I used two main cameras: a Mamiya/Sekor DTL1000, from circa 1968 (used from 2002-2008), and a Canon EOS Rebel G (used in 2008). Over the years I have been known to make use of various other cameras, including a Nikon Zoom-Touch 470 AF, a Polaroid 35mm AF, and a Kodak Tele-Instamatic 608 (110 format). I have also done some work with a Polaroid one 600 instant camera, as seen on this site.
How many megapixels does your camera deliver?
The 40D delivers about 10.1 megapixels. As for the film cameras, see the "20 - 30 megapixels" explanation below.
Do you do weddings?
Not at this time.
Do you hire out as a photographer for shows / events?
Yes, on occasion. Drop me a line to discuss.
Do you do portrait work?
No, not as of yet.
Do you shoot color or black and white?
Both.
Do you prefer color or black and white?
It depends on the setting and on the impact I'm looking for.
What is your camera setup?
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What kind of film did you shoot?
In my very earliest days (summer 1995), I used a 110 format Kodak Tele-Instamatic. Only a very few of those very early photos are featured on this site. After that, I used 35mm up until I stopped using film, with the exception of some Polaroids taken during 2007 and 2008.
What films did you use?
Color: Fuji Pro 800Z (2007-2008); Kodak Royal Gold 100/400 (1995-1997). I also (far less frequently) used Fuji True Definition 400, Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400/800, and Kodak Max 400/800. These latter films are snapshot-grade quality and produce significantly inferior results, so I generally tried to restrict their use to situations where I wasn't able to get my hands on something better or when quality was not paramount. Fuji Pro 800Z is a premium film that performs extremely well in low light levels, making it an ideal choice for shooting live concerts.
Black and White: Kodak T-Max (1995-2003), Ilford HP5 Plus 400 (2007-2008), as well as the pseudo-B&W Kodak BW400CN (2007-2008) and Ilford XP-2 (1995-2008), depending on the situation or venue. I also tried Ilford Delta 400 for a short time.
Did you shoot color film and then grayscale it?
No, almost never. Film shots of mine that are in black and white were nearly always shot that way, on black and white film, and were intended to be seen that way. Color photos, likewise, were taken using color film and were intended to be seen in color.
How do you decide whether to shoot color or black and white?
The choice is made based on the result I want to get. At live shows, I also take into consideration the type and intensity of the lighting. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, and every situation is different.
Did you process / develop your own film?
No. I live in an apartment and have no darkroom, and have never had a darkroom. I shot the film and then took it to a lab and told them how I want it processed. The photos on this site are either scans from film prints on photographic paper (color and contrast adjusted), or in rare cases scans made directly off the developed negatives.
Will you ever go back to shooting film?
No, because it's too expensive and it's gotten too difficult to get quality film processing. I may decide to use film on comparatively rare occasions for the sake of nostalgia, but I don't see myself ever going back to it as my primary medium.
Which photos on the site were shot on film and which are digital?
All photos on this site taken prior to September 1, 2008 are film shots with a few exceptions. Everything from September 1st onward is digital except for a very few shots taken on various film formats for the sake of nostalgia. Some photo gallery pages mix both types of media.
Do you shoot for a magazine?
No. Just for myself, and for this site, and on occasion for other people.
Do you sell prints of any of the photos on this site?
Not as of this writing.
Who are the people in the pictures on this site?
Various people I have met or known over the years, and members of local bands.
How long have you been taking pictures?
Since 1995.
Where did you learn photography?
From experience, mostly.
What does the "20 - 30 megapixels" line mean?
20-30 megapixels is the approximate quality level needed to approximate a good, optimally exposed black and white 35mm film stock of ISO 50-100, shot with a good camera.
Why do you wear earplugs to shows?
The answer to this one should be obvious.
Why are you against circumcision?
Take a look at "The Unacknowledged Trauma" and you'll see.
Do you have a Myspace page?
Yes. It is at http://www.myspace.com/paoprod.
Do you have a Facebook page?
None that's public.
Do you have a Twitter page?
No.
Do you write?
No, not really. I have written a few things over the years, some of which are posted on this site, and I did draft the first part of what was to be a novel from 2001 - 2002, but I have since moved away from writing and have no plans for any new writing projects in the foreseeable future.
Will you be posting any excerpts from the unfinished novel?
This is a possibility, but uncertain as of this writing.
Have you ever performed anything you've written?
No.
Are you going to perform anything you've written?
No.
Have you ever performed anything?
I read three times at Bill's Records and Tapes, twice in 2002 and once in 2003, reading other people's work each time.
What was the title of your photo chapbook?
Portraits.
Are there any copies left?
Yes, there are four left as of this writing. All of them are my own personal copies.
Will Portraits be reprinted?
No. However, an electronic version of the book can be viewed in the Projects area of this site.
Do you play any instruments?
I have a drum set that I have played occasionally.
A CB percussion five piece starter kit.
Do you play in a band?
No. I was supposed to help form one a long time ago, but it didn't work out.
What's your favorite local band?
Now, that would be telling!
What kind of music do you listen to?
Oldies, classic rock, hard rock, metal, thrash, swing, punk, 1920's / 1930's jazz and pop recordings, traditional / New Orleans-style jazz, a little old country, a little rockabilly, a little classical, a little of other genres depending on my mood at the time.
Where were you in tOUCHED?
I appeared in the first scene, getting out of the driver's side back door of a car, and in the subsequent graveyard scene as one of the mourners.
Where can I find Dementia and tOUCHED?
For Dementia, you can contact Chris Craft at the official Saint Productions website, or drop me a line for ordering information. tOUCHED has been officially abandoned and is not scheduled for release.
What are you using to record people for the Open Mic Project?
A Sony TC-377 two track 1/4" tape machine. Some recordings were made on a TC-399 model.
Why are you recording on tape?
I had a tape machine and never had a chance to use it before. And recording on tape leaves a more permanent physical record of what was done, not just a file on one's hard drive or a series of ones and zeros burned onto a CD / DVD that will be unreadable years down the road due to bit rot. Mainly, though, it's an excuse to use the machine for something other than taking up space in my closet.
What do you use for editing the recordings?
The recordings are transferred to digital format as 96kHz uncompressed WAV files, and processed using GoldWave version 5.12.
I know a good poet or open mic artist. Are you looking for more people for the Open Mic Project?
Not really. The project is intended to be an ongoing concern, but I'm pretty much limiting it to people I know personally.
Are there CD's or chapbooks available for any of the people featured in the "Open Mic Project" area of the site?
Johnny O. has published issue #6 of the Mad Swirl 'zine, available through the Mad Swirl website. Most of the others have published chapbooks at one time or another, but most of these are out of print and largely out of circulation.
What are you using to record the videos on this site?
A Sony CCD-TRV87 Hi8 Handycam (NTSC).
What programs are you using to put the videos together?
The analog to digital transfer is done using a Canopus ADVC-100 external DV converter and Adobe Premiere. For cases where the audio is from a separate analog source, like the Sony TC-377 reel-to-reel machine, any needed processing of the audio is done using GoldWave. Non-linear editing is done in Premiere, and any effects are added through Premiere and / or VirtualDub. How the final encode is made depends on the target format. For DVD's, the encode to MPEG-2 is done by frameserving out of either VirtualDub or Adobe Premiere, or sometimes through both together, into TMPGEnc, with DVD's being put together using DVDLab Pro. For the Flash versions presented on this site, the Adobe Media Encoder is used in conjunction with Adobe Premiere. If the target format is Windows Media format, Microsoft's Windows Media Encoder is used. I don't currently encode anything to the RealMedia or Quicktime formats.
How do you decide which artists / musicians to feature on this site?
Generally speaking, the bands and performers featured here are personal favorites of mine.
How can I contact the artists featured on this site?
Most of them have Myspace pages. Or you can Contact me.
How can (band) be mentioned on this site?
You can send an e-mail listing the name of the band and the schedule for any appearances including venue name, date, and cover charge, if any, and I will add it to the "Upcoming Events" page. I am also willing to post links to band Myspace pages or other sites, provided you are willing to post a link to this site.
Do you mind if I use any of the pictures on this site?
It all depends. If you're in one of the bands pictured and want to use a picture on a flyer, etc., I will probably be okay with this and agree to credit me and/or this site.
Will you post any band photos without the watermark / copyright notice?
No.
Can I submit a picture of (band) for the site?
Currently I am not featuring performance photos that I have not taken myself (this is, after all, a vanity site intended to show off my own work). You are welcome to send information promoting your band's shows and I may include it on the "Upcoming Events" page, provided you are willing to link to this site.
Do you / Are you going to feature downloads of songs?
This is very unlikely.
What is Knife Six Productions?
Knife Six Productions is the combined effort of Alex Pogosov, a Dallas area miscreant with a vision, and various other, equally fiendish contributors, most notably, Max Blair, Peter Orozco, and Dallas Farrar. They have been working on bringing you, the public, many informative and entertaining treats in an effort to raise awareness of the local music and art scenes, as well as of Dallas history and numerous other local curiosities. Visit the website at knifesix.com. [summary courtesy of Alex P.]
What is D.E.E.P.?
D.E.E.P. (the Deep Ellum Enrichment Project) is a grassroots organization of individuals committed to fostering social development and community unity in Dallas's historic Deep Ellum district. They were also known as "Save the Scene."
What was the Town Square Project?
The Town Square Project was a series of community gatherings dedicated to increasing the visibility of local performance artists, musicians, and visual artists in a block party setting. The brainchild of John Hardy (of Holy Diver fame) and Alex Bevil, it took place in Deep Ellum on the last Saturday of each month.
What is Death List Five?
Death List Five was a local poetry / art magazine published and edited by Joey Cloudy and Jolee Davis. "The Voice of the Lunatic Fringe."
What did you use to design this site?
Which browser is this site optimized for?
All pages on this site were manually coded in HTML and JavaScript. I use Opera for all coding and design, so the site will generally render at its best in that browser. I test all pages for compatibility with Internet Explorer, Firefox/Netscape, Google Chrome, and Safari, so all should work well with some minor differences in page rendering between them. I'm not a professional web designer and this site is what it is.
What screen resolution is this site optimized for?
1024x768 is the optimal resolution for this site. 1280x768 (widescreen) is also supported, but resolutions higher than this are not recommended. The site can be viewed at 800x600, but this is also not recommended.
Why are some of the links in the "Open Mic" area not working?
Nothing happens when I double-click on a photo to enlarge it. Why is this?
Either your popup blocker settings are too high, or you have JavaScript disabled, and the browser is not executing the onclick="javascript:" commands used to open the new windows. This site makes use of JavaScript on most of the pages in the "Photography" and "Open Mic Project" areas, and these pages will not work correctly if scripting has been disabled or if an overly aggressive pop up blocker is in use. In order to enlarge the photos in the galleries, or view the poetry transcriptions, you will need to re-enable support for scripting or lower the settings for the pop up blocker. I promise there are no pop-up advertisements on this site.
I don't see any video on the "PAO Productions video" page. Why is this?
The videos are presented in Flash format. If you are not seeing anything when you try to play a video, ensure that you have the appropriate plugins installed for playing Flash files (available via the Adobe website. If after installing the plugin you are still not able to view the videos, or the page is not working properly, then you may have JavaScript and/or frames disabled in your browser. The video page makes use of JavaScript to control the player and uses an inline frame to display a descriptions of each video when played. If these features are disabled, the page will not function correctly.
Do you have plans to include any video clips in Windows Media, QuickTime, or RealMedia format?
Not at this time.
How often will this site be updated?
There is no regular schedule for updates. If you would like to be notified when this site is updated, you can subscribe to the mailing list.
Why did you decide to create this site?
Why not?
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This page last updated on 5 January 2010 at 11:44 PM.