Scion FR-S at the Chicago Auto Show

I saw the FR-S at the show on Saturday. I’m SO excited for this car. It’s ridiculous.

I didnt like the wheels from photos I saw online but after seeing them in person they look pretty good, surprisingly.

The exhaust is a bit small, but most of us getting this car will be swapping it out anyway…

I really like the interior as well. I don’t really want a car with a whole bunch of gadgets and buttons for this and that. I just want to get in and drive. This interior looks like it is meant for business with basic controls; head unit, AC, traction control, and windows is about it.

Change

I just wanted to post today about something that could potentially mess up this blog.

I had a talk with another photographer yesterday about my photography, blog, direction I would like to head etc… and I have a better idea of how I want to approach things from now on. At this point the name Keep Goin Nice just isn’t going to work for me anymore. SO…. In the next couple days this blog will be renamed to Dustin Faulkner Photography, and I think the URL is going to be dustinfaulkner.com.

I’m not quite sure what is going to happen when I do this. Will you all become followers of DFP when it switches? Will my blog just get lost to you? I have no clue.

I just wanted to let everyone know though. So you don’t think I’m just gone if you lose my link or still have a link for Keep Goin Nice and cant get here. Just look for my posts under photography. I’ll be around.

I’ll end this off with a couple more photos…

Lazy Day Posting…

On Tuesdays I don’t have class, so I’m just sitting here watching, of all things, Cupake Wars. It started out with my girlfriend liking the show because she wants to start her own cupcake shop, but I actually like the show now. No homo.

So, while I’m doing that I have some photos from yesterday I didn’t share.

First, like I said yesterday I LOVE shooting textures, and the veins in leaves are interesting to me.

I never go into the woods without my KA-BAR… Never know when you might need a knife/saw… Or just a weapon to protect yourself against anything. Which is why i have a “fighting knife”… It’s the small one, with 5 1/2″ blade that is partly serrated. The handle can also be used as a hammer.

I thought it would be neat to carve out KGN in the snow/ice with my knife…

Keep Goin Nice!

Brotographers Rap – Bokeh is Bangin’

This video came up on my news feed from Brotographers and it’s sick. Check it out! Canon FTW!

AACH DEE ARR! kind of….

I wanted to kinda go back to my roots a little bit today. Ever since before I had my own camera I would look at photos online and loved the look of HDR photos. When I got my camera I instantly wanted to learn how to make an HDR photo. I started experimenting with photos I took in HDR and layering them over top of the standard correctly exposed image. Playing with opacity and blending modes helped me achieve a look I really liked. Its not quite HDR but yet it is at the same time. I got the new Photoshop (CS5 at the time) and found the HDR toning feature it had and thought well I don’t need to take a REAL HDR image anymore! It saved time and it didn’t really matter because the end result I wanted wasn’t a TRUE HDR image anyway. So why not? right?

I would do this with every photo I took because I found the photos I took just didn’t look sharp and clear without it. Nothing looked right to me without playing around with HDR toning anymore, but recently after I came across some new actions I found that the actions made my photos nice and crisp and I didn’t bother with the HDR layers. I like the photos I’ve been putting out but just wanted to go back for today. Let me know how you feel about them!

I loved the texture in the bark of this pine tree. I think texture is one of my top choices to photograph.

I wasn’t sure how this one was going to turn out just because I’ve tried so many times to take a good photo of this trail and I’ve failed every time. I just really liked all of the colors in this one, and the HDR layering gives it a sort of surreal look. I don’t think it’s too much though.

Oh, and, just to be clear, the HDR images that I used in these photos are pseudo HDR images. They were created using the HDR toning feature in Photoshop CS5, and then layered with different blending modes applied over top of the original images.

Bridge Panorama

Here is a shot (shots) I took yesterday while I was out snapping photos. This is the bridge crossing the Wisconsin River to get to Boscobel. I wish the old bridge was still here. It would make for an even better photo. It was one that had arches and it was greenish colored and rusty. But, I still like the shot.

But sharing this photo gives me an idea. Maybe in the near future I’ll take more photos from around my town to just show you all what Boscobel is like.

If you follow me, I will follow you!
Keep Goin Nice!

Simple Sunday | Jan 29, 2012

From now on I would like to do Simple Sunday. Simple Sunday will be 2 photos that I have taken during the last week that I feel can be defined as “simple” in their own way.
Click the Simple Sunday logo above to view the photos!

New Look

Today is the first time I’ve been clean shaven in oh, 3 months or so. I can’t believe it’s been that long. Anyway I just felt like I needed to change it up. The chops were getting boring to me. I also started taping my plugs yesterday. 1″ here I come.

My Drums For Sale

I have been trying and trying and trying to sell my drums for almost 2 years now. I really need the cash at this point so someone please take them off my hands!

http://madison.craigslist.org/msg/2804357120.html

“I have a Pearl Masters MSX that I bought brand new 6 years ago. Pearl stopped making this set the year after i bought mine i believe. It is now called the MCX…

the color is amethyst. and its beautiful.

its a 5 pc fusion set and will come with all the stands needed, including the tom stands (this set doesnt have the ugly looking tree coming out of the bass)
also will come with Zildjian ZXT hihats, and ride, an Avedis 18″ thin crash, 20″ china, cowbell with mount, a bag for the cymbals as well…
single bass pedal that came with the set, with a case
pork pie zebra/silver big boy throne
kaces soft cases

this is the set sitting at Kepharts music store in Dubuque, Iowa… I brought it there for a consignment deal, so if you are SERIOUSLY interested get a hold of me so i can get it back home for you to pick it up

I have over $5 grand invested in this drumset, but I am selling it for $3,000 OBO… i need to sell these ASAP as i need to work on my car….

Get a hold of me for more pics or to stop by and take a look! text dustin @ 608-485-1392 “

Even if you aren’t interested would you be willing to share this on Facebook or reblog this so I can sell these quickly? I would really appreciate it! This is a beautiful drumset and I really want to see it go to a good home.

Panorama

I just thought that today with my free time I would give some panoramic shots a try since I have never done it before. The first shot I tried was just this plant out behind my house. I take photos of these plants a lot, but I have no idea what they are. Anyway, This photo is 9 shots stitched together in Photoshop, and then my usual editing. It doesn’t have that ultra wide feeling because there are 3 rows and  3 columns of photos. So it basically is a very large version of a normal photo… I still like it though.

Now, this photo I LOVE! It’s a pine tree near my house in the woods. This photo is 20 shots stitched together. The tree just seems SO tall. I mean, it is tall, but this photo makes me feel tiny. Hopefully it is a decent size for you all to actually see it. My monitor is very large so it’s not a problem for me. So, I’m sorry if you can’t see the whole photo without scrolling.

I only liked these two out of the bunch I shot today, but you’ll be seeing some more panorama from me in the future because I think it’s pretty fun and it has an interesting look to it.

Don’t forget to click follow to be updated when I post more photos!
Keep Goin Nice!