Off Topic Photo

Cache Community Emergency Watershed Program

2011-10-28T16:08:00.003-06:00

Episode 43 of The County Seat series focuses on water management in Rich and Cache County.

First Malia Bascom investigates Bear Lake. Not in search of the monster that locals believe lives in the lake, but how the lake is used for flood control and irrigation and the important role it serves in keeping the agricultural lands from drying up.

The rest of the show looks into the canal restoration project in Cache County. Two years ago a landslide took out part of the canal system. On Oct. 3rd the record of decision was made by the NRCS as to which alternative will be used to proceed with the Cache Community Emergency Watershed Program.

A golf metaphor...

2011-10-23T22:04:00.001-06:00

I look at this picture that I shot today of my cousin Tyler and I can't help but remember how exciting a time it was to be graduating High School. Things are far less stable now then when I graduated in 2001. Who would have known the changes that would take place in a decade.

I've never played a game of golf but I have been on a couple courses and watched people as they try to hit a home run and get that perfect game. I can't help wondering though if golf wouldn't be a wonderful metaphor for life. Looking out across a wide expanse toward a place that you want to get the ball to go, and that through some coaxing, eventually you will get that little ball closer, closer, and eventually into the hole. Every once in a while you get that hole-in-one. However there are the times when get stuck in a sand trap.

Right now I feel like I hit that damn little ball as hard as I could, but had no idea where I wanted it to go. I hope my cousin has a better plan but for right now he has a clean score card and a bag full of clubs.

NBHA & Best' N West Finals 2011

2011-10-02T15:58:00.000-06:00

Another great barrel race is done and past. It's hard to believe another barrel race season has past. I set up my lights in a different pattern that allowed me to shoot several different positions in the arena which made for some exciting photos.

On the way home on Sunday, I saw this rail car sitting in the beautiful light cast by the sun as it was about to set. I decided to take a quick detour to get a couple shots before we set off down the road.

I imagine this as one of the rail cars I rode on as a child at the Hogle Zoo or Lagoon when we would go on the adventure train ride.

Ramblings I wanted to include in my webpage Bio, but was too wordy

2011-05-14T14:08:00.002-06:00

Below are some of my ramblings about how I think I may have come about being a photographer.

As a child I liked to pretend. I spent many happy hours building things, or putting on shows, and basically getting lost in my own little world. I would like to thank my parents and teachers for allowing me to live creatively.

As I think back I don't know that I was ever that interested specifically in photography but I've always been a story teller. My first grade teacher Ms. Flemming used to say that I was going to be the next Steven Spielberg, and in fifth grade I sent a letter to George Lucas asking for a job at Lucas Arts.

Some time has passed since then and I have had many great experiences in the technical field of computers; producing local televison shows on recreation and county politics; and large format printing. Mixed among those experiences I was always doing something with a video or still camera.

It wasn't until 2002 that I discovered the magic of photography and the wonder of creating visuals by controling light. So, I consider myself a late bloomer in terms of being a photographer. In fact I look at the stories that many other photographers tell about how they got started and I think wow what would it have been like to grow up with a camera in hand. However, as I think about it now I did grow up with the same experiences as many other photographers, I just didn't have a camera at the time. In my mind owning a camera, any kind, is the same as owning a time machine.

Thank you for reading my rambling, I look forward to meeting you in person and learning a little about you as well.

Happy Trails,

Derek Dowsett

Mr. Off Topic

Fwd: County Seat : Episodes 1-2

2011-01-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	County Seat : Episodes 1-2
Date:	Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:00:03 -0700
From:	Derek Dowsett <derek@thecountyseat.tv>
To:	chad@thecountyseat.tv, derek@thecountyseat.tv

Dear County Seat Supporters,

We are excited to get the County Seat project underway for 2011. Hopefully you have seen promos for the new show on Channel 4. You can connect to you tube to see the promo that is currently running by clicking here.

I sent out a list last week of topics that we will be covering in the coming year, but I would like to give you a quick run down on the first three shows. If you are interested in being part of one of the upcoming stories or round table discussions please email me and let me know. Here's what we have coming up on the County Seat during January.

Episode 1:
Feature: An introduction to County Commissions and Councils
Round Table: Preview of Legislature 2011
Feature: Jail Funding
Round Table: Discussion about Jail Funding (State contracts vs. inmates sentenced directly to county jails.)

Episode 2:
Feature: "The Money Trail" (How counties collect money and what it is used for)
Round Table: Conflicts between State and Counties involving tax dollars
Feature: BLM revoking county RMP's
Round Table: Discussing the above feature

Chad Booth and I are working together closely to make this project a success. If you need to contact either of us we can be reached at chad@thecountyseat.tv or derek@thecountyseat.tv or call 435-668-1187 with any questions or comments. If there is any interest in being involved in any of these topics or you have something pressing that you want covered during the legislative session please let me know ASAP so we can begin working on it. Thank you for your support on this project. If there are additional contacts that I need to be aware of for future mailings please let me know who those people are. I want to keep all of you well informed on what we are doing so that you are all part of this project.

Sincerely,

Derek Dowsett

Producer,
County Seat
--

Horse Events Inc.

2010-08-19T13:34:00.001-06:00

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

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2010-07-12T22:04:00.000-06:00

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

A World Without Rules

2009-07-13T10:12:00.001-06:00

In Plato’s story about the ring of Gyges there is a question posed about a ring that makes the wearer invisible. Glaucon states that if there were such a ring, and everyone had one, then there would be no way to know the just from the unjust. He also posed that man would be at the mercy of the unjust. This is in a world where man is assumed to be mostly evil.

I think that a world where we had no rules to govern our behavior would be similar to the scenario that Glaucon poses. The similarity is only that the ring would create a world where the rules don’t apply; however there are still rules. I think that the outcome in a world completely devoid of rules would be different, because I don’t think it is in mans’ best interest to be evil.

If rules were to disappear from our society I think there would be factions who knew the old rules that would band together, and try to keep those values alive.

If we were to assume that we as a species would lose all memory of our rules that govern behavior then we would see a drastic de-evolution of man. It would be similar to the early days of the species, but rules would slowly introduce themselves into our world.

Darwin suggests that our ethics have evolved along with our societies. I think it is in the best interest of people to work together towards a goal. In order to work together they must have boundaries. Upon these agreements we start to build a code of ethics for a group of people. In our scenario, in a world without rules, there may be those that would run amuck. It could also be argued that these same people would run amuck even if there were rules in place. However, people would band together for safety. One of our needs as humans is safety. I think that having a group of people you trust is part of that safety. As more and more people begin to band together governments would start to be built.

I think that survival, or at least progress, as a species would be impossible with out some sort of rules that govern our behavior. Even the cells in our body must behave under some rules. When they get out of line the other cells in the body either destroy them, or they will eventually destroy the organism and themselves. A world without rules could be the end of the species.

A world without rules may be possible, but it would not remain that way for long. Eventually rules would begin to come into existence again. Since we are intelligent beings and have the ability to look back at our past, and imagine our own futures; it is only natural that we would evolve with the most complex rules that govern our own behaviors.

Why Good People Do Bad Things-First Draft

2009-07-08T16:08:00.000-06:00

We are inundated with stories of people in power that are acting unethically. Men like Bernard Madoff will be remembered for their terrible injustice towards their fellow man. What causes a normal human being to venture from the ethics of society, and in many cases diverge from their own morals.

We will explore some of the hurdles to ethics. Then we will look into how to clear these hurdles and keep to the ethics that we share as a society.

In order to understand the pitfalls that await us it is necessary to understand three aspects of how people work. First there is the way that the world works. Many times we overlook that our decisions will lead to more than one effect. Sometimes in the interest of making decisions more manageable we only look at one aspect of the decision. This leads to over looking consequences that would otherwise lead us towards a different conclusion.

When there is a low probability that there will be a problem we tend to over look the problems that can arise. It was a similar decision process at Ford that ignored the Ford Pinto fires. There were few enough cases of death that the company felt it wouldn’t be necessary to recall the vehicle. This decision kept a deadly car on the road. A decision that we can see now wasn’t ethical, because the company could have avoided the problem.

Sometimes decisions are made that don’t take into account all of the stakeholders. In order to treat people with respect it is necessary to take into account all of the people involved.

A common theme in many of these sex scandal cases we see is that the participants think that no one will find out. It’s easy to think that if no one finds out than what’s the harm. The next step is to ask oneself if this came to light how will the public react. If it’s not something you are willing to share. Then it is a bad decision.

Many times it may seem easier to push a decision through with the aim of fixing something right now. The problem of discounting the future is that there might have been a plan that would have created a solution that would have worked out better in the long run. The irresponsible government spending that we are seeing is aimed at fixing problems right now. There seems to be very little thought of how it will be paid for in the future.

There are decisions made that can effect a whole industry, and there is little thought paid to what those effects may be. For years in the ATV industry they have shown commercials of the machines tearing through the forest and driving through the mud. They did this without taking into account that while this may sale machines, it hurts the image of the sport.

Lastly there are situations that may be completely out of our control. In these cases it is necessary to work through it. Blaming yourself or others rarely accomplishes anything. In some cases it just is, what it is.

In the grand scheme of things it is easy for us to say we will avoid risk at any cost. It makes more sense to identify the acceptable risks, and figure out what can be traded off to maintain a balance.

Part of the reason we feel inundated by evil acts of people is that is what we are interested in. Good people doing good things aren’t of interest to us. When a problem happens it is easy to get caught up in the cause of the problem rather than to identify what the outcome of the problem is.

We also have our own theories of people we have to deal with. There is this “us” and “them” stigma that we all carry. Ethnocentrism and stereotypes cause some of us to view people a certain way, and we use that as an excuse to treat them differently.

We also carry our own theories of ourselves. The illusion of superiority leads us to focus on our strengths and ignore weaknesses. That’s why you will see people who like to talk about their success, but will quickly blame someone/something else for their failures.

Another pitfall is that we forget to take the good with the bad. We think nothing bad could or should happen to us. When it does we are on the hunt for someone to blame, so that we can get back up and standing.

There is also the belief that we can control things we can’t. This puts you in a situation where you will be disappointed.

We may think that we contribute more than we really do to a company. This may create a feeling of entitlement. I deserve this because I’ve worked for it. I’ve seen this behavior from employees and myself. In my own experience I’ve felt under appreciated because I felt like I did most of the work. Whether this was true or not I need to be able to step outside myself to evaluate.

Over confidence in oneself leads a person to present information that isn’t necessarily correct, as if it were fact. This can lead to trouble when it’s not based on solid facts.

In order to improve the ethical decisions that we make it is necessary to evaluate the quality, breadth, honesty, and to be aware of the dilemmas you might face. When your decisions are made on solid facts they will be better than acting on hunches. Considering the wide range of consequences for an action will also help you to make a better decision. Being honest with yourself and others. Tell it all, tell it now, and tell it once. Don’t believe you can fool anybody. The truth will find its way to the surface.

Another good tactic that presented itself to me in the reading came from the article on Mark Sanford. Rushmore Kidder, the author of the article, suggested that maybe we should plan for ethical dilemmas that might present themselves. If we are ready for the attacks, and we have a plan then maybe we can avoid some of the ethical pitfalls that await us in the real world.

Improvisational short- No decison has but one outcome.

2009-07-08T11:25:00.000-06:00

Look for a video to follow this in the not so distant future...

Back Story

I'm currently in an ethics class in school. We are learning that one of the pitfalls of management decisions is that the future is often discounted. Look at some of the problems that we face today. Many of these are problems that have been around for a long time. Sometimes we make decisions that don't take into account the big picture.

Sometimes these shortfalls in looking at consequences in our decisions lead to ethical problems. I recently read about an article about the Ford Pinto. These cars were killing people in low speed crashes. Ford knew that there was a problem, but concluded that the incidents were infrequent. They also assumed that no one would find out the real problem because there were other variables involved. Ford also discounted that people would care about safety. They assumed this wasn't a top priority of people over saving money. By only examining part of the big picture it was decided that the problem didn't warrant a recall. The Ford Pinto killed people, and in reviewing the incident it is clear that by ignoring the consequences an unethical decision was made.

In this improvisational act I would like to introduce decisions into a scenario and show how their effect doesn't work in a linear fashion.

The metaphor that I'd like to use for the scenario is rainstorm (decisions), a large river (TIME), and ripples (Effects). The rain hits the water and causes small ripples that travel across the surface and interact with other ripples. This is all happening while the water's surface is in motion. I think that this metaphor illustrates that the decisions we make can cause effects that are infinitely hard to keep track of. The illustration here is of course to make us think a little bit more about our actions and their long term effects.

What do you think?

What would be a scenario we could try this on?

What kind of people should we involve?

Thanks,

Derek Dowsett

Paul Mitchell Hair School Class: Building your Portfolio

2009-06-17T16:36:00.000-06:00

Future Professionals,

I had a great time teaching your class today. I hope that the information that I gave you will help you in your future successes. Please give me some feedback. I'd love to go more in-depth on the camera work if any of you are interested.

I've included the outline from the class here on this site in case you want to go over anything.

There was something else I forgot to mention in class. If you have a friend that can take some good pictures of you working that might be useful as well. Make sure you explain to the client what you are doing.

Thank you for the opportunity to come and teach your class.

-Derek Dowsett

Introduction:

AGS: Off Topic Paul Mitchell Promo

How Long does it take to build a client base?

What’s the hardest part about building a client base?

You need something tangible that you can hand to potential clients, so they can see what you are capable of.

Crash Course in Photography

We’re going to talk about what we want to focus on with Hair and Makeup.

You are going to take some pictures, and we will look at them as a class.

I’m going to show you what to do with those pictures.

Basics of Photography

Light

· The Camera sees light different than we do.

o Aperture – Controls the amount of light that enters the camera through the lens.

o Shutter Speed – Controls the length of time that light is allowed into the camera.

o ISO- The sensitivity of the sensor or film to light. The higher the ISO the more sensitive it is to light.

o White Balance – Compensates for the different color of light sources. The difference between daylight and indoor lighting.

· Light modifiers (Making a simple reflector)

· Finding a good light source INDOOR / OUTDOOR

Camera

· Using the camera (Work with students that have brought their camera) Q&A

Composition

· Rule of Thirds

· Background / Foreground

· Vectors

o Graphic Vectors- Lines that occur in the frame that lead the eye to the subject.

o Index Vectors- Something that is pointing in an absolute direction. Finger point/ Arrows painted on the ground.

o Motion Vectors- Perception of movement across the screen. Determined by the framing.

Shooting the Model

Typically a Head and Shoulders shot.

· Focus on what you are trying to show-off. Use vectors to help pull the attention to what you intend the viewers to focus on.

· Keep your subject at ease. You have just done their hair and makeup, so you already have a connection.

[Activity] Carry out a photo shoot. In Groups of 3 or 4 (Depends on how many cameras we have)

[Discussion] Look at the photos we took in class and talk about them.

Portfolio / Look book

Pass around different portfolios and talk about what works and what doesn’t

Keep your portfolio in mind when you are shooting for it.

Use the same rules for your look book that you would with your portfolio. The Hair/ Makeup is what’s important.

Conclusion:

The Camera, the Shoot, and the Portfolio all work together to create a tangible way to sale your talent.

Please write down 5 things you learned today, and share them with your partner.

If you have a free minute please visit my blog and tell me what you thought of the class, or please ask questions.

http://offtopicphoto.blogspot.com/

www.offtopicphoto.com

derek@offtopicphoto.com

www.mopshots.com - an online look book that you can submit styles to or look at for inspiration.

Ashley and David

2009-03-09T20:24:00.001-06:00

Fun engagement Session

Still figuring out this Blogging thing.

2009-03-01T19:16:00.001-07:00

I've had a hard time coming around and understanding the whole blogging thing, and now I'm finally doing it. I hope that I can paste some interesting material for you to check out. I guess if you're reading this then you are at least here. Quit reading this post, and check out the videos off of animoto from my two latest shoots. I will be posting summaries of my shoots as little videos. Let me know what you think.

-Derek

Paul Mitchell design school

2009-03-01T19:12:00.001-07:00

Fashionshow coverage

2009-02-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wedding Expo St. George UTAH

2009-01-26T21:20:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to thank all of you brides that came to the Wedding Expo and came by our booth. Keep an eye on your emails because we will be drawing names from the Bridal giveaway every couple of weeks.

If you liked the booth and our work please get in touch with me. I would love to shoot your wedding or any other special photographs that you may have.