Hi, my name is Eugene (above is a picture of me, thinking about my next shot; the image was taken in St. Petersburg, Russia). If you are reading this section, then you probably want to learn more about me. Currently, my hometown is in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA, though I was born in a city over 7,000 miles away from where I currently live.
Over the last six years, I've attended undergraduate and graduate schools on opposites sides of the country (at Georgia Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology). Most recently (December 2009), I graduated with a Master's degree in Quantitative and Computational Finance from Georgia Tech. I am currently looking for a full-time job in a finance related field...
Besides photography, I also enjoy reading (particularly classical literature), writing, and following the Atlanta Braves on a daily basis. One of my life philosophies is to never stop learning. From my undergraduate and graduate studies in Biomedical Engineering, I am very interested in science. I'm especially intrigued with neuroscience and cognitive studies, in terms of how we (humans) think, interact, and make decisions.
What is Erudite Expressions?
Erudite Expressions is my (daily) photoblog. At most, I post one picture a day. I've been doing it since April 24, 2006. I picked the name Erudite Expressions for my photoblog because I wanted to associate my photoblog with learning. Erudition, defined: the depth, polish, and breadth that is applied to education from further readings and understanding of books. When I created my photoblog, it was my intention to profile something noteworthy about the images I posted (whether I learned them from scholarly books or other reputable sources). When I travel, I usually write things down (famous museums I visit, streets I walk upon, etc.), and I reference many of my pictures with these specifics. Of course, over the years, I've realized that it's impossible (or unnecessary) to add erudite musings to the captions of my posts. Sometimes, I let the pictures speak for themselves, with hardly any commentary.
My Involvement with Photography
My first exposure with photography was seeing my dad develop his own photos from a film SLR. We converted one room in our home to a darkroom, and it was awesome to dip the photos in chemicals, hang them up to dry, and then place them in photo albums. I also got a film camera for my birthday in when I was eight or nine, but I think I broke that camera very quickly.
Fast forward about eight years. My interest in photography was re-invigorated after I received my very own digital camera as a high school graduation present. It was a 2MP Olympus D-520 (some photos posted on this photoblog taken by that camera include my shots from San Francisco, Verona, and New York City), and it served me well for about two years. After that camera, I switched over to a 3.2 MP Olympus C-3020 for a few months; I used that camera during my vacation to London. The next progression was using the 5MP Panasonic DMC-FZ20, which I still consider a superb SLR-like camera. Some of the shots I took with the Panasonic posted on this photoblog include vacation photos from Seattle and Vancouver.
Then, after graduating with my Bachelor's degree (in engineering, of course) from Georgia Tech, I received the Canon Rebel XT as a present. I've been using the Canon Rebel XT until July 2008. In July 2008, I upgraded to the full-frame Canon 5D; most of the images posted on Erudite Expressions since July 2008 were taken with the Canon 5D.
Personal Views
This photoblog is my view of the world. Most of the pictures I take are in colour, but I sometimes think that certain shots (one example here) are more dramatic when presented in B&W.
A majority of my images are available for prints. I am a firm believer that images are meant to be viewed on paper (as opposed to the computer screen), so I have printed 30'x20' posters of some of my favourite shots. However, most of my prints which I have framed in my room are 12'x8'. You can see an example of my prints here. For more information regarding prints, see my prints blog: http://printsbyeugene.com.
Update (June 2009): There are now two options to order prints. The first option is via the 'purchase a print' button at the bottom of the entries (those images which aren't for sale don't have the 'purchase a print' option enabled). Using that option, you will be able to order metallic prints, which are created by Mpix. A second option to order prints is via the 'purchase a print' option above the photo. Purchasing prints via that option is carried out through the Fotomoto service. You can purchase from Fotomoto with confidence. I have also set up a system whereby you can order limited edition prints for the larger print sizes.
Finally, if you have an event that you would like photographed, please contact me by e-mail [elbelbelb2000@gmail.com]. I am available to photograph weddings and portraits (formal and informal) in the past, and people were very happy with my work :).
Prints
As mentioned, the majority of my images are available for print. The prices listed on the 'purchase' page for those images available for print include shipping and handling charges for those orders placed within the continental United States (NOTE: I can ship to anywhere in the world, but please inquire about shipping costs if you don't live in the continental United States). I use an awesome external lab to make the prints, and the prints are shipped via first class mail. Prints sized 8'x10' or larger are printed on Kodak Professional Ultra Endura paper, designed to last for 100 years in a typical home display. Again, more information may be found on my prints blog.
Archives
COLOUR | B&W
My Equipment
• Canon EOS 5D digital SLR - a full-frame 12.8 megapixel digital SLR. I also use the Canon Rebel XT.
• Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 lens - the first lens I owned, not seeing much use these days.
• Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens - my most used and my favourite lens.
• Canon 35mm f/1.4L lens - my new lens, which I am using for wedding and portrait photography.
• Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens - my most recent addition, which I am using for wedding and sports photography.
• Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens - my primary portrait lens.
• Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens - called the 'plastic fantastic' for a reason; however, I don't use this lens enough.
• Canon 580EX flash - the ability to shoot strobes with this flash is pretty cool.
• Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG macro lens - my cheap-o lens used for baseball games and other sporting events (looking to sell this lens).
• 30 gigabytes worth of CF cards - because memory is cheap, but memories are priceless.
• Lowepro SlingShot 100 AW bag - very awesome bag for my camera gear; my typical load: Canon Rebel XT attached to Canon 17-40 f/4L, Canon 100mm, Canon 50 mm, Canon 580EX flash, battery chargers, and CF cards.
• Dell Inspiron 600m - my previous laptop which takes 5.5 minutes to boot-up.
• MacBook Pro - boasting a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a glossy 15.4 inch display, this laptop is the centerpiece of all my post-processing work.
• over 4TB of external hard drive storage - one can never have too much back-up.
Software I use
• Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended - my software of choice for most post-processing work.
• Irfanview - primary tool for Windows; used for resizing/resampling images and sharpening images for web.
• Adobe Lightroom - amazing program to manage and edit RAW images.
For more info regarding my tools, see this photoblog entry.
Terms of Use
I put a significant amount of time in capturing and post-processing the images which are featured on my photoblog, Erudite Expressions. Please do not steal the images. You are welcome to save the images to your hard drive for personal viewing, but please do not save and upload my images to external sites, including (but not limited to) facebook, myspace, or your own personal webpage (at the very least, if you are going to use my images without seeking my permission, attribute the source and link back to my photoblog). Please note that the text and digital image files on Erudite Expressions are subject to United States and international copyright laws.
Questions?
Anything I didn't cover? Send me an e-mail. Also, if you find a spelling or grammar mistake anywhere on this photoblog, please let me know; I am a stickler for writing in proper standard written English.
In closing
I am not a big fan of feeds, but if you are interested, my atom feed is here: http://elbelbelb2000.blogtog.com/atom_6297.xml
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Have a nice day!
Please vote for Erudite Expressions at the 2009 Photoblog Awards:
