Tim Duncan Offers To Drive NBA Players To Polling Place On Election Day

SAN ANTONIO—Spurs center Tim Duncan sent an e-mail message to his fellow NBA players Tuesday volunteering to use his 1992 Buick LeSabre to chauffeur anyone "who needs a ride" to his assigned polling place to vote in the 2008 presidential election. "It's our responsibility to cast that ballot so that our democracy may continue working properly," wrote Duncan, adding that he was confident that every eligible member of the NBA was registered to vote and had been closely following all the 2008 races for months. 

"There's no need to feel pressure to tell me who you're voting for—that information is between you and the voting machine. All I ask is that you please be at the curb on time, buckle up, and treat my car with respect." 

According to Duncan, the "huge response" has forced him to schedule two separate trips, whic he has detailed in a Google calendar and shared with all participants. -The Onion

girlfriend

i decided, i want a girlfriend.

is that lame?

she has to be really gorgeous.

and has to make me smile.

and be nice to me.

has to laugh a lot; sarcasm, eh, i don't mind so much, as long as it doesn't permeate the relationship.

she needs to be a Christian, yes, yes.

that's the most important thing. 

she needs to not want me to buy her everything; yes, im going to be a gentleman and buy her things, but i don't think one should have to spend a ton of money to make his girlfriend feel loved. there are other ways for that. :p

and someone who doesn't have to be with me 24/7 would be nice.

if we saw each other a few times a week, that would be awesome. 

texting all the time is good.

talking on the phone is nice, too. those, we can do all the time.

yes.

i have a person in mind, but i have a feeling that person doesn't have me in mind. oh well.

this is just an idea. 

i guess, success

so tonight (tuesday night), marlon and i went downtown to put this idea (last post, he's the brains) to work.

and i'd say it was a success.

i made almost $50 in less than an hour.

and i started around 9:15pm, on a tuesday night.

now if i start around 7pm, on a friday night?

the thing is, this is just working off tips.

so that's cool.

i need assistants.

ill buy you one dinner, and you get the privilege of hanging out with me.

haha. just kidding about the last part - but i'll get to know you better, and you'll get free pictures of yourself in the end.

tara

is the best. 

period.

she is always willing to model for me, no matter what.

and i like that.

PLUS, she's drop dead gorgeous.

so how can i say no to that?

so, here's a thank you, for all the help you've been, and will be, in helping me get my photography career off the ground.

someday when im doing that maxim shoot, ill call you. ;)

a plan to make lots of money

is what i have.  

so my goal is a new nikon d700. 

i just can't work with the crappy high iso performance that my d70 delivers. 

so i really do need the d700 if im to offer better image quality to customers.  

and it would really help to be able to take eight images a second.  

so, here is this idea i have:  

i walk around (with an assistant willing to work for free, or probably a free dinner) downtown, offering to take on the spot portraits.  

i figure most people walking downtown will be dressed for an evening on the town anyways; this goes for single people, couples, families, you name it.  

$10, and you get three images.  

guaranteed satisfaction.  

how will i guarantee this? i

'll edit the pictures on the spot, and they can see how they like it (on my laptop).  

they don't pay till they like it.  

they'll have the images later that same evening.  

so in order to be more professional, i made business cards. 

and, all with the help of marlon, set up my flickr so that it will now be forwarded to http://www.davidteran.com/  

anyways, point is, i am going to be needing assistants about twice a week, maybe three times - for about two or three hours at a time. 

like i said, i can't pay you more than a free meal.  

so, if you'd like to help me get this (expensive) camera, drop me a line.  

all that you would be doing is walking around with me, holding a flash.  

hopefully ill be able to draw a crowd, and then these sell like hot cakes.

forwarding website

is up.

woohoo.

www.davidteran.com

it's real.

d700

gosh.

is it wrong to get turned on by a camera?

that was a joke.

i want that thing so bad.

it's consuming me.

which is bad.

guitar-string-putting-oner-failure.

yeah.

ugh.

i actually put them on perfect, and it played super nice (man, it was nice having a fresh set of strings on that martin for the first time in, what, six months?)

and they weren't cheap strings - elixir, lights - $15 a set. 

anyways.

i played them, and they sound GORGEOUS.

thing is, last night, i was in a rush, so i left off the cutting of the top portion till today.

when i wouldn't be so rushed.

i started cutting all the strings (only the top portions, the 'left over'), and got to the B string, and literally told myself in my mind: "don't accidently cut the string, be careful!" 

but no, i cut the B string.

which sucks.

cause that i know of, they don't sell just solo strings.

as tara likes to put it: -_-

d700 on a credit card?

so im seriously contemplating getting a nikon d700, putting $450, and a nice $450 birthday present from my parents, down towards the camera, and only have to pay $1500 ($2400 from amazon). 

no interest or payments for the first 12 months. 

i know i can pay that off in one year.

wow.

nikon d700.

here i come.

ok scratch that

saw V was stupid.

-_-

saw V tonight!

finally, tonight is the night!

im excited, and nervous at the same time.

i can't wait, actually.

!!!

people ask me why i love taking pictures so much

well this is part of the reason; capturing beauty.

BTW I'm Voting For Mccain / Palin

i need

a new, super​ hot (​lady)​ frien​d to talk with.​


pros:​
im not expen​sive.​
you never​ have to buy me thing​s.​
you can have a new texti​ng buddy​.​ 
im willi​ng to hang out whene​ver.​


cons:​
no sexua​l relat​ions will be avail​able.​ 
im movin​g to calif​ornia​ in janua​ry.​


yes.
a super​ gorge​ous girl would​ be nice.​
a blond​e.​
becau​se i want an ameri​can wife.​


apply​ insid​e.​
-​David​

i just had this dream

i just woke up and showered, on my way to work this morning, and i am trying to figure out who this girl in my dream was.

she was brunette, skinny, extremely pretty.

and she followed me around all the time - it was weird.

i was still back in high school, but i drove a nice car.

anyways.

girl of my dreams, come find me.

im curious to know who you are.

senior portraits.

set price​ = $300 + sales​ tax + extra​ for gas if im going​ to trave​l.​ 

this inclu​des print​s.​
most other​ place​s will charg​e a lower​ sitti​ng fee, but the print​ price​s will be throu​gh the ceili​ng.

if you are looki​ng for studi​o portr​aits, then i am not the way to go; i shoot​ on locat​ion,​ where​ you want me to meet you, ill meet you. 

you get 50 point​s to use with the stand​ard $​300.​ 


1 point​ = 4 walle​ts

1 point​ = 2 4x6'​s

2 point​s = 1 5x7

3 point​s = 1 8x10

ill take as long as neede​d to make sure both you and i are happy​ with the resul​ts.​ 

tara

i had another shoot with tara today.

these always go well, because she's just completely photogenic and drop dead gorgeous.

don't believe me? check for yourself:

anyways.

we were shooting at the mcnay, which is absolutely gorgeous i must say, and there were a few other photographers around. i felt stupid, because i had my little d70, and $25 umbrella and stand, and there they were, with their assistants and california sunbouncers, d3's, and 70-200 f/2.8s.  

but then there was one thing that completely made my day, and even more so tara's. 

there was this certain lady, all decked out in a three piece business suit - with some sort of white, clay mask on her face. it was hilarious. even more so was the poses she was holding for the longest time. 

tara seriously couldn't stop laughing for a good ten minutes; and later when we were eating at panera's, she started laughing again for so long. that made my day.

and i realized, when someone is riding with me, i suck at directions. 

all because pablo needed a ride home

yeah.

it's insane the opportunities that are opening up, and might open up all because pablo needed a ride home from austin. 

yaaaah.

praise Jesus.

it's raining

really hard right now.

it's not supposed to rain today.

or tomorrow.

ugh.

i have a photoshoot tomorrow.

i think im going to go to the mcnay, and then ill try shooting on the greens over at brackenridge park.

hopefully it dries up a little by then. 

cause im super excited for this shoot. 

latest and (greatest) pictures

here are three pictures i took this week.

enjoy.

new macbook pros

yes.

they are pretty nice.

but i am thinking, about selling my macbook pro (2.2GHZ), and building myself a mac desktop.

something like this.

but sell my mbp for $1500, and make a powerhouse with that.

i wonder how i could live with that - no mbp, or even laptop for that matter; or maybe i'll get a cheap mb.

yesss

so i told my parents about 'bill highsmith' - they seriously just laughed.

told me what a joke this guy was.

not to pay attention to him.

so, i'll do just that. 

ignore him.

just to confirm it, bill.

i called my doctor, and he assured me that i am in no ways yours.

/closes door to pedophile. 

apple is supposed to update their macbook/macbook pro line today.

yessss!

you might want to keep up to date with that.

and i think i have a few shoots scheduled this week.

one today.

another sometime this week, and im definitely meeting this 'candice' to get see about another shoot; thing is, she seems to be a professional model of some sort.

which makes me nervous.

at least all her pictures look like they were done in a studio - and she links to a professional photographer, that's dang good.

we'll see.

supposedly

marcos loved my pictures.

which makes me extremely happy.

this is going to open so many doors.

it's insane.

all because 'pablo needed a ride home.'

see what happens when one makes himself willing and available? 

so now, this presents itself: do i try and make it on my own? with God's help, of course.

or do i submerge myself in schooling for three years?

bill highsmith, again

i don't like you.

i don't want to talk to you.

i don't want to give you the benefit of the doubt.

you're creeping me out.

no wonder you once told me your 'son' hated you.

i have pictures with my parents at the hospital, when i was born.

i have a birth certificate that states my legal, biological parents.

your act is getting old. 

GET OUT OF MY LIFE.

mwitt

october 11.

austin, tx.

marcos witt.

yeah, it was pretty awesome.

i went and was able to take pictures of him.

he is such an awesome guy, just on a personal level; now put him in concert, and still, he is a phenomenal singer.

my d70 really has crappy high ISO performance, i've learned.

anything over 500 ISO, and i'm just not happy - even 500 ISO is pushing it, honestly.

and it makes me jealous at the high ISO performance of the d700, shown at 25,600 ISO! 

oh well. i can't be picky.

i had my brand (new) 85mm, and was exceptionally pleased at the quality of those pictures.

and i also had my 24mm, which is always fun to use, except when you are in low light, and you have to bump your ISO past 1000.

pictures are being processed as i type this, so check my flickr soon. 

here is a guest pass, so you can ALL the pictures; this will only last for a few days, so get it while you can!

when voting this november,

the most important question you can ask yourself is:

who would al qaeda vote for?

the answer alone should affect your decision.

if nothing else.

"grant search"

so i fell for a scam, im embarrassed to say.

"SIGN UP NOW FOR $2.95 AND WE'LL SEND YOU INFORMATION ON HOW TO RECEIVE GRANTS FROM THE US GOVERNMENT FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!!"

yeah.

stupid me, i fell for it.

they had a pretty dang convincing spiel, and i am sad to say i fell for it.

i noticed random, unauthorized withdrawals from my bank account, and so i called IBC - they hooked me up with the right people, and supposedly it's all cleared up.

ugh.

im so pissed.

85mm f/1.8

so i got this opportunity, to trade my 50mm f/1.8 for an 85mm f/1.8, and if anyone knows lenses, they know that that is a  great deal.

it was great, except the aperture blades are broken, so it can't shoot anything other than f/1.8 - it can't shoot closed, basically.

so, here is how it happened.

i had been looking at that exact lens for a few months now, but i wasn't ready to dish out $350-425 for anything used to new, so i just waited - tried to post my 24mm f/2.8 for sale, see what i can get out of that, but it just wasn't working.

so then i have a wedding saturday, which by the way, went really well - thanks for asking.

that 85mm sure would have worked wonders, but i got by without it.

afterwards, i went to michael f's birthday party, even though i knew it was pretty much over, i had to give matt some cash.

i congratulate mike happy b-day, and then we just start talking, and somehow his broken lenses comes up, and i joking offer to trade my 50mm for the lens.

suddenly, he is like 'really? are you serious man?' and i stop and think, and im like yeah! definitely! 

i only paid $110 for my 50mm, so i can get another one for less, used. 

so im happy now that i got this lens.

im going to see what i can do to get it repaired; the local place i called said it would be about $70-90, so that's really cool.

basically, for less than $200 im going to get a working 85mm f/1.8; ill buy another 50mm, used probably, and then get the 85mm repaired. 

now about using that lens, i think im going to college station tomorrow night with tara, to see abandon. 

and then saturday, im going to austin for a marcos witt - maybe. we'll see if i can get off work.

put it either way, im super excited.

and today all my lighting gear is supposed to come in!

well, my primitive gear, i mean.

an umbrella, a light stand, the hot shoe/PC adapter, and some other stuff, so i can control the flash from off camera.

im really hoping i can get this look with just this gear, and an sb-28dx.

we'll see.

good things are to come!

accepted!!

yes.

i got my acceptance letter today, in the mail.

i was super excited about that.

i just need financial aid.

:/

and that thought just popped my happy bubble.

one picture i was happy with

was this shot.

it's just really nice, i think.

changing my oil

sure is a pain in the butt.

i didn't think it would take so long, but sure enough, it took about an hour.

-_-

i don't know why - definitely retarded.

oh well.

now i know how to do it.

next time ill pay someone to do it for me.

wedding photography

D&M had a wedding yesterday.

actually, our first one.

it was pretty cool.

and i think it went by really well.

really, really well, actually.

so, hopefully we can get a few more weddings under our belt now!

i don't remember

the last time that i had a full night of sleep.

or that when i woke up - i  felt fully refreshed.

i had been getting into the habit of going to be around three am this week, and then waking up around ten.

well, last night was asleep by nine:thirty, and woke up at seven am.

and i feel dang good.

FAFSA

i just found out (i think), that i am eligible for 45% of tuition aid from FAFSA.

yeah. 

i won't be greedy, but a lot more would be extremely nice.

let us pray.