Note: This meeting was originally scheduled to happen in June, 2009 but had to be postponed until this month.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Richard Ressman takes photos as a volunteer for an infant bereavement organization, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Parents of stillborn or dying infants need only call Dr. Ressman and he will drive to a local hospital, set up a small studio in a hospital room, take photos and produce prints as well as a CD and DVD that the parents can treasure. At the June 10 COBA meeting, Dr.Ressman, an Area Coordinator and Certified Trainer for NILMDTS, will present information and photos highlighting his experience with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Attendees will be given information should they be interested in joining and working with the organization. (www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/)

Richard Ressman bought his first Nikon camera in 1969 as a Surgical Intern in Chicago and has been taking photographs since. He developed and printed his first photos in his eleven by seven foot Intern’s call room. In 2002, he changed careers from that of orthopaedic surgeon to full-time photographer. Exhibits include three photos in the eMotion Pictures Exhibit sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons which traveled to San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, and Madrid, Spain. He had a photo of Bo Diddley in the 2008 eMotion Pictures Exhibit in San Francisco.

He practiced orthopaedic surgery for thirty years before becoming a full-time photographer. He did everything from operating on fractures to replacing arthritic knees and hips. Dr. Ressman recently traveled to Viet Nam to donate all his unused surgical equipment. He got two companies to donate thousands of dollars of equipment, and as a volunteer taught surgical techniques to surgeons in Ho Chi Minh City. His reason: The Vietnamese people suffered enough during the Viet Nam-American war and he wanted to give something back to the Vietnamese people. It was a rewarding experience for everyone involved. He now calls himself a Photosurgeon: that’s an orthopaedic surgeon who aspires to do photography on the cutting edge. Some of his work can be seen on his website www.photosurgeon.net.

How Accurate Are Your Prints?

How happy are you with printouts from your printer or from your favorite print provider? At the last COBA meeting, we had a long discussion about various printers and printing providers. Now’s the time to test and compare them with your fellow COBA members!

1. Go and download the 60MB COBA Test Print Photo from Sam Linville
2. Print an 8×10 photo. Either do it yourself at home or take it to your favorite print shop. Do not perform any color correction yourself in Photoshop.
3. If you are having this printed out, try to get two copies done at different times.
4. Compare with your fellow COBA members, who will be doing the same!

Perhaps after this meeting, you’ll change print providers!

Meeting Location

COBA is now meeting at SmugMug offices in Mountain View.

SmugMug
67 E. Evelyn Ave, Suite 200
Mountain View, CA 94041
http://tinyurl.com/apnhvz

It was great to see so many of the Facing East dancers at the event, though many of them were unfamiliar to us. It’s been awhile since Rae last danced for FEDM. As you know, we’ve been busy with our documentary film, Autumn Gem. Count Aileen, Claudine, Perry (she’s so tall now!), Elizabeth, and of course Sue Li-Jue, among the dancers we enjoyed reconnecting with.

The benefit had two musical performances by Joe Venegoni and Yumi Thomas, whom we last saw back in November, 2004, at a performance at Varnish Art Gallery in San Francisco. That was around the time Rae and I were doing our wedding invitations, and I was sporting quite a mustache! Funny then, that I won a hair styling appointment at Prez Inc. Hair Salon in Oakland during the silent auction. I’m not sure how I’m going to change my hairstyle, but when I do… I might just have to get a look different from what I’ve had in the past! We shall see.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos from the Tenth Anniversary Facing East Dance & Music Benefit Party!

Photos from Randy’s 34th Birthday Party:

Here’s a sampling of photos that I did take during the keynote and at the WWDC 2009 Beer Bash held on Thursday. See you all next year!

Here are photos from the event!

WP-SmugMug

I’ve written a plugin to integrate your SmugMug galleries into your WordPress blog. I will go over the features of WP-SmugMug and solicit feedback for the next version.

• http://tow.com/projects/wordpress/wp-smugmug/

Current Event Photos

Have you seen a photo in the news recently that caught your eye? Why? Was it the technical execution, the subject matter, or artistic value?

Bring the source of the photo (magazine, newspaper, or URL) to the meeting and let’s have a group discussion.

Here are some sample photos:

• Cosmic Hand
• Storm Clouds
• Thirty-Year Old Execution Photo

Before, all of the cables were on the ground in one tangled mess. I routed many of the power cables using flexible tubing, and I tied the speaker cables to the back of the TV stand. Check out the photos below to see the transformation!

To speed up getting these photos and entries up on the web, I’m using my portable, mobile Internet setup along with my camera and Eye-Fi card. It’s great at getting photos up immediately during an event.

Here are photos from the evening’s events in San Francisco: