m. j. kelley's blog

More Chinatown, San Francisco, CA

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Office Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

"Hearts Helmet" in Chinatown

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:55:00 +0000

I was walking through San Francisco's Chinatown when I saw this couple dismounting their motorcycle. The woman put her helmet on a fire hydrant and I snapped a shot.

"Circle": A Frank Lloyd Wright Interior

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:34:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to photograph this cool building recently. This shot was inspired by one on the gallery's website.

Parrot Tulips in Monochrome

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:42:00 +0000

"Crossing Edges"

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

"Walkway No. 2"

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

I revisited this shot with black and white film after originally capturing it with a cell phone camera.

The original shot ("Walkway"):

"Array"

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Production Still from a Commercial's Set

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:00:00 +0000

I was the location liaison on this particular set for a commercial shoot. Part of my job was to snap pictures of the building before the crew moved everything around. I took this production still after the set dresser finished his arrangement. The director was Gregor Nicholas, and it was inspiring to watch him work.

Corridor

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Shot with Kodak T-max 3200 black and white film. Experimenting with the grainy style of this film. I really like its effect on concrete.

"Cube of Light"

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Continuing to experiment with 3200 black and white 35mm film. Shot with no tripod.

Best Conditions for Writing:

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

An environment where your cell phone has to be turned off.

Limited access to the Internet and no access to social media, chat or personal email.

A place where you have to sit for long periods of time in front of a computer.

Limited to no contact with other people or distractions.

This, for me, has been the ideal writing environment lately.

Escalator to Fog

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Photo taken on January 3rd, 2012.

Streetcar Tunnel before Midnight

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Pine Street at 7:20AM

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

More grain-tastic Kodak 3200 on a foggy San Francisco morning.

Old Federal Reserve Building

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Captured with Kodak 3200 black and white film.

Powell Street Station

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 06:13:00 +0000

Photo taken one hour before midnight on new year's eve 2011. Shot on super grainy 3200 Kodak film.

First Photo and First Omelette of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:19:00 +0000

Six egg omelette with bacon, grilled onions, jack cheese and sprinkled paprika. A nice way to start the new year and get my first photo of 2012 in. Happy new year.

"Grunge Box" created with Inkscape

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:24:00 +0000

I worked with Inkscape alongside a friend today and created this RSS box icon from scratch. There is a great listing of tutorials at the Inkscape Tutorials weblog where I discovered how to make this and other cool things. The great thing about an exercise like this is that it teaches you some useful techniques to employ in your own designs. Inkscape is a great vector graphics editor, and it's free. To learn more about vector graphics, there is a pretty decent wiki on the subject.

I made this box from the "Use Inkscape to Create a Grunge RSS Box Icon" tutorial. Enjoy!

New Sci-fi Movie "Rage of the Yeti" vs "The Thing"

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I had to laugh at the title of this new sci fi horror movie premiering November 12th, 2011 on the Syfy channel. However, I still maintain that nothing can beat John Carpenter's "The Thing" (1982), which will always be the ultimate 'snowy wasteland' sci fi horror movie.

(Update: 11/27/2011) Unfortunately, the embedded Yeti trailer no longer works, so I removed it from this post. I wasn't able to find the trailer any where else online. So enjoy "The Thing"!

On National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:54:00 +0000

Yes sir, November is National Novel Writing Month. Every year people gather to write novels together and sign up at nanowrimo.org. I've never been a fan of online writing communities. I tried some out in 2001 and found that I was much better off writing and tracking my progress offline. I carefully choose who I show fresh work to, especially if it is far from being complete. But that's what works best for me.

I say if it helps you write, do it. But then keep on going. Don't stop on Nov. 30th. If novels are what you want to write, write 'em, damn it! And write 'em year round. If you can make time for one month, you can make time for 11 more.

If you're going to sign up for this 30 day novel writing extravaganza, use it as an opportunity to learn about your own writing process. Your mission:

Find out what works best for you.
Do what works best.
Make it so you can do it the rest of the year.

Sounds simpler than it is... but hang in there. Write. Write. And write some more!

Here's some nice sentiments on NaNoWriMo from S. Misanthrope: Stupid of the Week #3: National Write a Novel Month.

Sunset Landscapes from San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I was out walking with my wife through the city on a Sunday evening when we witnessed this sunset over the ocean. The day had been really hot, October being San Francisco's late summer this year, and the clouds began to form in front of the sun.

(Camera: Pentax K100D Super; Lens: SMC Pentax 50 - 200mm f/3.5; Settings: 1/90 sec, f/19, ISO 200)

(Camera: Pentax K100D Super; Lens: SMC Pentax 50 - 200mm f/3.5; Settings: 1/90 sec, f/22, ISO 200)

Moody and Empty Glass

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I did some speculative product photography for my company Dexter Washington and captured this shot as a test shot. I was working with a 50mm 1:1.4 prime lens.

(Camera: Pentax K100D Super; Lens: SMC Pentax-M 50mm 1:1.4; Settings: 1/3000 sec, f/10, daylight balanced, ISO 200)

The Four Eyed Gor Monster

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:00:00 +0000

A monster named by and created for my daughter in Inkscape.

The Ups and Downs of Script Writing for Beginners: A Review of "Tales from the Script"

noreply@blogger.com (M. J. Kelley) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Tales from the Script is a collection of sit down interviews with prominent screenwriters who have made money at their craft. If you're any kind of beginning fiction or screenplay writer, this movie is worth watching for insight into the business and the reality of working in the film industry. But not just the film industry, a lot of what these screenwriters describe and the advice they give is generally applicable to almost any other kind of creative writing.

I think writers with 5 years or more under their belts, who have experience with rejection, submitting, finishing stories and scripts, and completing many, many drafts, probably won't find any new advice or insights in this film. So if you've spent time in a writing program, reading books for writers, or doing the hard work in the trenches, many of the points in the movie will be familiar to you. But if you're interested in starting a career in screenwriting, you may find the movie helpful in making your decision.

There are some moments when the "writing process" and " what makes a good script" are briefly discussed. But this is not the primary focus. The movie is mostly about what to expect from the job. The primary position it takes is "This is what you're getting yourself into, so be prepared and don't have any delusions about it."

It was enjoyable to see masters like William Goldman and David S. Ward and prominent writers like Frank Darabont, Steven E. de Souza, Guinevere Turner, Shane Black and John Carpenter speak about the ups and downs of the film industry. A total of 50 screenwriters speak in the movie.

Here's a summary of some points that stood out to me:

It doesn't matter how good you are. It's extremely hard. Success is close to impossible.
For most people it can take 10 years to break into the industry.
Chances are high that your script will be rewritten, changed and altered by someone else.
Some successful screenwriters in this movie have written more than 30 scripts only to have 2 or 3 sold.
Selling a script doesn't mean it will get made.
You only need one person to like it.
Approaching your writing like it is a full time job is greatly beneficial.
Persistence and hard work can pay off, but it is best not to be attached to what the end product will be.
Get ready to draft and redraft and draft some more. The movie mentions that Peter Shaffer drafted Amadeus around 40 times for the screenplay version. And Antwone Fisher states that he drafted his first script over 100 times.
Get used to rejection. Embrace it. Grow thick skin.

If you're new to writing scripts and fiction, you might think the above is pretty harsh or depressing. And if publication and making money is all you want out of a career in writing, I would suggest finding something else you love about it. Because the thing(s) you love about it will keep you going until you gain that monetary or commercial success. I think you have to believe you'll make it. But you also have to keep in mind the realities of the business. Most of the time your head will be buried in the work itself. And the majority of writers spend many years submitting before they find success if at all. You got to love it. You have to make sure you do.

Here's a clip from Tales from the Script: