Lamphere, Painting with Light, f-stop 4.0, shutter speed 20.0, ISO 1600

Although I had wanted the subject to actually be under the water as it was falling, this compromise seemed more practical. I had to set up my camera on a tripod amidst the flowing water, which made me somewhat nervous, but it turned out well enough. Somewhat problematic were the gels I decided to use, consisting of extremely thin and fragile parchment paper that would tear at even the mention of water.

Lamphere, Painting with Light, F-stop 3.5, Shutter Speed 15.0, ISO 800

As I ruminated with increasing frustration on the failures of my previous experimentations, my gaze became fixated on the magnificent and humbling assembly of the heavens. The idea of the wrath of God became the impromptu theme of the picture. What this man did to incur the incomprehensible wrath of The Father is beyond any man's capacity to understand. So I try not to think about it.

Pete "Daddy Dolla" Naiukow is an aspiring professional wrestler and Venue Consultant for Absolute Entertainment, a mid Michigan promotion company. Naiukow's persona in the ring is a subtle mixture of pimp and wealthy showboater. The essence of his character is arrogant and extremely narcissistic. The pictures seems to accentuate these traits significantly. I had some difficulty with the back light because I couldn't figure out how to lower the light enough to bounce off the wall without flooding the picture. I'm probably just an idiot and missed something obvious.

I learned that you can be very creative with lighting arrangements, but also destructive if unwanted light leaks into the lens. Details are the key to a good picture.

Phil Drops Out

Phil (name withheld by request) is an admitted drug manufacturer, distributor, and abuser. His prolonged drug experimentations have left him unable to function in society, so he has resorted to growing psychedelic mushrooms in order to survive. Phil lives with his friend Andrew and (Andrew's) pregnant girlfriend Sam. Andrew offered to let Phil stay with them if he provided him a computer and helped him start a batch of Psilocybin mushrooms. Phil agreed to these terms and the arrangement lasted without incident for nearly four months. At which point Andrew became increasingly frustrated with Phil on account of his lazy demeanor and self loathing disposition. Phil expresses anxiety about taking responsibility for his life, and often points to past psychological trauma as the reason why he can't seem to get himself together. But while he appears somewhat out of touch with his own reality, he fully understands that his current living conditions are a physical manifestation of the consequences of his past behavior. He knows what he did wrong, and he knows how to fix his own problems, he just doesn't know if he can.
To add further tension to the situation, Phil's hedonistic lifestyle is becoming more and more at odds with the family friendly environment Andrew and Sam wish to create for their forthcoming child. Phil is also feeling more alienated by both Sam and Andrew, who never let their growing animosity toward him be known. To this day he remains blissfully unaware. To classify Phil as a loser or junkie is to severely misrepresent and misunderstand the individual, but it's also hard to sympathize with someone who doesn't really try. He has said on multiple occasions that he has never really grown up, that his dependencies have left him in a state of perpetual ignorance.
At the end of March, 2009, Phil moved out of Andrew and Sam's apartment and began living with another friend a short distance away. The mushroom arrangement remained operational at Andrew's apartment until he was incarcerated for three months after failing a drug test. It remains to be seen whether or not they will start another harvest when Andrew is released in June.