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Planning out the 100% perfect photo shoot can make you a better photographer. Here's how.
Think, for a moment, about every single photo shoot that somehow went wrong. The props you wish you had, the equipment you wish you could afford, the models you wish you could hire, the locations you wish you could scope out, light properly, and use as you please. Imagine for a second that you could hire the best make-up people, the best lighting assistants, the best stylists – everything you could possibly dream of.
Sounds insane, doesn't it? Perhaps not – There's a lot of limitations on your photography, but many of them will be entirely artificial. To find out what's actually holding you back, put away your camera, and grab a pen and a ream of paper.
I have done a lot of ad-hoc photo shoots. Glasses of water perilously balanced on top of books. Tripods that didn't quite reach high enough perilously balanced on top of books. Needing to get higher up, I'd stand on books. I guess a lot of my photo shoots involve books. Or stacks of paper. Or dodgy tripods.
Either way, I once had an imaginary photography teacher who I wish would have come up with the following exercise: Design your perfect photo shoot. Hold nothing back.
If you can dream it, you can do it
Think about the location – where would you do your shoot? Personally, I'd head straight back to Utah – and bring a polarizer filter – some of the best skies I've ever seen was in northern Arizona and southern Utah. Perfect, deep blue skies with tiny clouds dotted across the heavens, combined with the rich red sandy colours of the ferrous desert, and the deep black asphalt with its bright, pearly white stripes down the middle snaking its way through the landscape. To me, that's America – and I've only seen it once. It was awesome. It was amazing. And I want to shoot there again.
Arizona by me, on Flickr
So, you've got yourself a location and a perfect day – what's next? Seeing as I'd want to photograph late in the evening to catch the golden hour, I'd need a bit of help – specifically, I know that lighting is my weak spot, and I'd need a bit of help getting the lighting right – someone to hold some huge reflectors to lift heavy shadows etc.
One of the things that makes me a great photography blogger is that I know my flaws as a photographer. Of which I have many. Embarrassingly many, in fact. Truth be told, my faults are pretty much universal, and I haven't got any strengths beyond nattering on about things I'd love to be good at on this blog. (Prove me wrong by friending me on Flickr and favourite some of my photos already :-).
Nonetheless, I know that another huge weakness is that I'm rubbish at make-up. I had a brief stint of wearing black lipstick, but that's many moons ago, and it never looked good – so the next people I'd get involved is a good make-up artist and a hair stylist. Sounds poncy, but the photo shoots I've done where I had professional help look universally better, and if I'm going to put together my dream photo shoot, then hell, I'm going to take all the help I can get.
Finally, I need a concept. I'm a huge fan of surrealism and such, so here's my idea: The old Highway 66, rolling off into the distance. Sun is about to go down – golden light everywhere. There's a young lady standing there – in her mid-20s perhaps, with unfeasibly large breasts. The light hits her from the front and the right. She's standing there, in a pair of loose running trousers, legs quite a distance apart, one foot on each side of the centre line of the road. She's got bare feet. A sports-bra. A general Aura of Awesome™.
Completely gratuitous shot with boobies; Tina Nude 1, by me on Flickr
A wind machine is sending her hair flying in all directions, and a spot flash from behind is turning her hair into a fantastic glow. On her right is a perfect tiger, just standing there. On her left, a toy Fisher Price tractor with gloriously garish colours. She has a look as if this is the most natural thing in the world. The photo is taken from low – very low, in fact, so she and the tiger tower out of the tarmac. She's gorgeous. The tiger is gorgeous. The tractor just adds a very strong undercurrent of random.
The piece is called "Tiger, Tits and Tractor – Business as usual on Highway 66". Because I like crude. I like fun. I like unexpected.
Making it realistic
Once you have your 'perfect' dream, you can start turning it into reality. In my day-to-day job as a digital producer for a TV station, we'd call this exercise 'cutting scope': You find out what the base level of functionality you think would work, and then you take it from there. In the above, I can probably find a buxom friend of mine who would model for the fun of it. We could make do without make-up – or perhaps I can get someone to do that for fun. As for hair – it's entirely possible to go to a hair dresser and get it sorted for relatively cheaply.
As I'm stuck in rain-heavy London, I don't think there's much of a hope of being able to recreate the actual Highway 66 feel – and seriously, you ain't going to get much use out of polarizer filters in this neck of the woods. But there are some bloody gorgeous back roads running through forests nearby. Outside East London, Epping forest does the trick. Down south, the New Forest is awesome. Heading north, the Nottingham Forest is gorgeous. Out east (and abroad – ooh, amazing) is Wales, with tons of cool little places. You need to recce, and you need to get a bit lucky, but it's doable.
The point of this exercise is to see how good you can make something, and then start replacing. You probably can't get Nathalie Portman to model for you (although I know you want that – as do I), but there are lots of models who money can buy; and there are probably a lot of beautiful people in your vicinity who can model for you for your project – simply create a list with your ideals, and think hard at where you can replace the 'perfect' solution for one that is merely pretty damn good – because you'd be amazed at the results.
But what if…
But what if you didn't have to make short-cuts? What if you had an opportunity to make your full photo shoot, with all the bells, whistles, artists, models, and experts you need to realise your perfect photo shoot? Well, there is one way… The clever folk at Lenovo (Never heard of 'em? They took over IBM's Thinkpad range a while ago, and undid all the damage that IBM did to their own reputation. If I wasn't such a mac addict, I'd probably buy a Lenovo laptop) and Microsoft have a photography competition going – with a twist: You don't submit photographs, you submit ideas – and the best idea wins a semi-obscene $50,000 towards realising their photography idea.
Shaken, not Stirred by me, on Flickr
Rent a hot-air balloon or a helicopter; rent the most expensive cameras you can think of. Hire all the staff you need, fly out to any location in the world – imagine what you could do if you had $50,000 to spend on a single photo shoot. I know, it boggles the mind – but wouldn't it be awesome? Hell, who knows, for $50,000, you may even be able to convince Nathalie Portman to model for you.
So here's the deal: I want you to think hard, and to do the exercise above: Remove any financial barriers which might stand between you and your ideal photo shoot, and write up your perfect, ideal scenario. Then, if you are happy with it, submit it to Name your dream assignment – and, what the heck, post a comment to this post with the outline of your idea too – I'd love to hear about it.
On the even brighter side, I just might be one of the judges for this competition, so I'm looking forward to all your outlandish ideas.
Money-back guarantee
And what the hell – even if you don't win, I'm convinced that putting together an idea like this is going to make you a better photographer. In fact, if you're not a better photographer after writing down this idea, I promise you your money back. If you're not happy at the end of doing this, and if you don't feel that you have improved as a photographer as a result, I'll send you 3 sheets of blank A4 paper and a pen or pencil (which is, in fact, the money you've invested into your idea)…
Go on, you know it makes sense.
Do you enjoy a smattering of random photography links? Well, squire, I welcome thee to join me on Twitter - Follow @Photocritic
© Kamps Consulting Ltd. This article is licenced for use on Pixiq only. Please do not reproduce wholly or in part without a license. More info.


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Saturday Showcase May 14, 2011Posted by J. in Other People's Genius, Sticks and String.
Yesterday I was sitting here ruminating at the computer and a lady cardinal landed in the tree just outside. The sky was brilliant blue with big, white, cotton candy clouds and a gigantic bumblebee kept banging into the window screen. The leaves are almost fully "leafed" and the apple trees are in full bloom and the lilacs are just starting to open.
I'm not one to wax poetic about the rebirth of the earth, blah blah blah, but damn, that was a long-ass winter and I'm happy to feel the grass between my toes again, and even though the pollen is so thick right now it looks like it's snowing, I'm so happy to be able to open the windows I could shit mahself. I might even go crazy and make myself some barefoot sandals.
In honor of it feeling deliciously spring-y out there, even though rain is predicted for the forecast all week and the calla lilies aren't quite in bloom again, here are some really pretty things that make me feel glad that warmer weather is here.
- 1. Trillian42 - May 14, 2011
Those are all cute, but for some reason, the cabbage necklace just cracks me up! I kind of want one.

subset: commoncrawl


text: · Wednesday, March 8th: Awaken: For the month of March, we will begin each AWAKEN night with a battle of classes as we see who will win in our "Clash of Classes." After this time of fellowship and then looking at what love looks like in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, we will disperse to our grade specific, gender specific Core Groups as we share our lives - 6:45-8:30 pm in the Student Building. The subject this evening: "Love is not irritable" (1 Cor. 13:5)


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हाम्रो बारेमा
Living with ICT is the leading contemporary IT magazine of the nation (i.e., 'A' grade - Categorized from Press council Nepal). In position of global trends of media, Living with ICT provides a unique forum where academicians, educationists and students share their knowledge to fellow interest groups to satisfy their thirst of Information & Communication Technology. We believe in keeping pace with the cutting-age-technology to get achievements in this era of information and technology. Thus our vision is to build an e-society on accord of our slogan "Building an e-society".
The robustness of our readership and marketing strategies are visible through our presence in different National ICT events such as CAN InfoTech, ICT Expo, CAN Commtech, Word press Conference, & different IT related conferences and programs as an official media/magazine. Living with ICT organizes different programs, like workshop, expo and Award Ceremony. ICT (Startup) Award is our Largest & well recognized yearly Award program.


text: Since I am originally from the Bay Area, I love that I still get to shoot up there so often. It gives me a lot of trips up to see my family and friends, as well as explore new venues and new locations for photo sessions & weddings. This wedding was at Five Wounds Church in San Jose, and the reception was at Villa Ragusa in Campbell. I had never shot at this church before, but OH MY look how stunning it is! Not only was the wedding gorgeous, but it was hands down one of the most emotional weddings i've had the honor of shooting. There wasn't a dry tear in the house when Nicole was walking down the aisle, including myself. When she stepped into the doorway about to walk down to greet her soon-to-be husband, I had the chills as the setting was so stunning, the music being sung was breathtaking, and the look on Hitallo's face sealed the deal for me... I was a mess. Hopefully the photos aren't too blurry for you all since I was a blubbery mess the entire time.


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L Logan, Utah is located in Cache County. Home to about 49,000 people, this beautiful snowy city has a lot to offer their citizens and tourist alike. We are here to also offer something to the citizens of Logan, UT. We can offer hope, assistance and change.
Substance abuse problems are executioners, that claim lives on a daily basis. Drug addiction and alcoholism drag people to lows in life that can make people feel isolated and helpless. There is no reason to feel that way, because we are here to offer you assistance enrolling into a rehab program.
There are probably thousands of reasons that you can come up with to not go to rehab. But if you want to live, you should put all of those aside and enter treatment. Addiction will never go away on its own. You will not grow out of your drinking or drug habits once a chemical dependency is set in. Other than rehab, your only choices are prison or death.
When you call (866) 578-7471 , we can have someone help you get going on the road to recovery. Everyone's situation is different, and everyone's addiction is different. Which is why when you call, our representative will listen to your situation then help you choose the best course of action for you.
It can be confusing to get started in rehab. Not everyone knows the different between inpatient and outpatient rehab. Not everyone knows detox works. And not everyone knows the best follow-up programs to get involved with. We can help you with all of that, when you are ready to call.
Some people do not seek professional help for their substance abuse problem because they think they are past the point of help. That is your addiction playing mind tricks on you. It wants you to feel that you can never be happy again. That is not true. If you are willing to put time and effort into rehab than any addiction can be beaten. Almost any rehab facility will provide you with the environment and support you need to fight back against your addiction.
The hardest part of the recovery process is admitting that you have a problem and you need help. You can get that step out of the way in just 10 minutes by calling us. It is possible for you to change your ways; you do not have to keep giving in to your addiction. It has won for long enough, let us help you get your life back on track.
It's time to get clean and start a new life free of substances. Find use this search to find the right Treatment center for you.
Select the substance(s) that you or your loved one is currently dependent on. This will help us find the right facility for you.
Select the city and/or state in which you wish to go to for treatment. It is often helpful to travel for treatment, so consider somewhere away from home.
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Fighting back against your addiction is life-long battle. After rehab is over, it will be important to get involved in follow-up programs such as NA and AA meetings.
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A Family Run Business for over 10 years.
Greg Dills
Vice President and Owner of PAGE Power Systems, Inc., Greg grew up in the electrical industry. Starting as an apprentice in his uncles electrical contracting business, Greg has worked in all areas of the industry, serving a wide variety of clients. He brings a proven track record of nearly 25 years to the firm. With expertise in all phases of electrical construction, Greg holds an unlimited electrical contractors license in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.
Pam Dills
President and Owner of PAGE Power Systems, Inc., Pam brings to the company more than 15 years of business management and administration experience. In addition to running the office, Pam plays an active role in preparing bid requests and budgets, scheduling and coordinating employees, and researching product and services for current contracts.
Charitable Organizations
Page Power provides support to many of our local charity organizations in our surrounding communities, while supporting the many of the nonstop fund raising drives sponsored by our local churches and schools. Our customers keep coming back because of the quality of our workmanship and the great personal service we provide to our clients and surrounding community residents.
- Rotary Club of Gastonia
- Junior League of Gaston County
- Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County
- Rotary Community Garden
- Backpack Weekend Food Program


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Clark, J. S.; Tarasov, A. E.; Okazaki, A. T.; Roche, P. and Lyuty, V. M.
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We present high resolution optical spectroscopy and V band photometry obtained during the period 1987-2001 for the Be star X Persei/HD 24534, the counterpart to the X-ray pulsar 4U 0352+30. We find that throughout this interval X Per is highly active, with significant photometric and spectroscopic variability. We identify one episode of complete disc loss during this period (1988 May-1989 June), characterised by significant ΔV=0.6 mag optical fading and the presence of purely photospheric Hα and He I 6678 Å lines. Two further episodes of pronounced optical fading which did not result in the complete dispersal of the circumstellar disc were also identified (1994 October-1995 October and 1999 November-present). The emission line profiles of both Hα and He I 6678 Å also show significant variability. Cyclic changes in the strength of the peaks in both emission lines are observed, with periods ranging from 0.6-2 yrs - we attribute these to the presence of a one armed density wave in the inner circumstellar disc. Additional structure at large projected velocities is also present in the He I line - suggesting the presence of a significant density enhancement in the disc near the stellar surface (the "double disc'' of Tarasov & Roche). The evolution of the outer edge of the Hα emitting region of the circumstellar disc is followed during disc formation, and is found to increase rather slowly. This observation, combined with the presence of the one armed density wave and the rate of disc formation and loss all provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that the circumstellar disc of X Per is a viscous decretion disc, with angular momentum being supplied by an as yet unknown physical mechanism near the stellar surface.
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|Journal Item
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|circumstellar matter; early type stars
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|Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Physical Sciences
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
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|25 Feb 2009 11:18
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Can I just say I'm thrilled with all of the images we collected for May Inspire! From all around the country and the world you sent me photos of things that inspired you through the month of May. It's a veritable snap shot of Spring! Take a look at some of the highlights.
Added by larksnest
Added by melissageurts
Added by fromaggi
Added by peabomack
Added by figfarm
Added by mah_shad
Added by me (marionhousebook)
Thank you once again. I have to say that I do think apps like instagram really inspire us to find the beautiful in the everyday. If you haven't downloaded a camera app for your phone yet you might want to give it a try. You might be surprised at how addictive it is.
Now on to June. I can't say it is one I am looking forward to...getting back in shape. It's been a good two years (what with being pregnant and looking after a one year old) since I have done anything for my body. This isn't about losing weight or looking good but about strengthening my heart and muscles and feeling invigorated. First up...buying some new running shoes.


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#1: How do you qualify, we can help.
Criteria for admission into any Diploma or Advanced Certificate program includes:
- Attending the initial interview and receiving a positive recommendation of an admissions representative from our Student Services department.
- Having a fair understanding of the English language. Proof, beyond the interview process, may be required.
- Prospective students must be Grade 12 graduates, or equivalent, or have Mature Student status (18 years of age with at least one year out of high school) and subject to the discretion of the College Director. Mature Students and those who cannot supply proof of Grade 12 graduation, will be required to complete an Entrance Examination to properly assess their readiness to participate in their chosen career program.
Students need to be able to work with an individualized learning system. Foreign students who are not Canadian Citizens or permanent residents and are interested in any program of study greater than six months, must obtain a Study Permit with their Visitor Visa from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Please click HERE to visit our International Student page for details. Applicants must read and certify that they have received and read a copy of the College's Student Handbook, any updates and inserts as well as the Enrolment Contract. Some programs may also have additional entrance requirements or prerequisite courses.
#2: Choose a program that is right for you, we can help.
Start by viewing the different programs we have available Help me choose a program and their associated Key Performance Indicators which can be found here: KPI's. In addition student loan defaults can be found here: Default Rates 2017. Then, set up an appointment to meet with an Admissions Representative from our Student Services office to discuss the details and have a credit for prior learning assessment done at the same time.
#3: Financing your education, we can help.
There are many options available to you. If you are driven to improve your life through career education, you will find the financial means to make it happen with our help. Check out my financing options.


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Stuttgart was another car-themed leg of the trip so my brother could head to the Mercedes Museum — his main request when we were planning the trip. Sadly, the rain put a damper on a lot of our time in Stuttgart, but we still saw most of the city. I went to the art museum while he made his museum trip. It was under some exhibit shifting so there wasn't much. On the way out I asked the front desk lady if she knew of anywhere I could see some Bauhaus architecture (obviously I slacked in the research before getting there). She sent me to a jack pot! I took the metro to the outskirts; we actually went above ground for a while through the woods, which felt strange in a city. Constructed for the 1926-7 Stuttgart Werkbund Exhibition, the Weissenhofsiedlung (I'm glad this is a blog post because if I were actually talking about it, I would have no clue where to start on that word) was a complex of buildings that was the first one of its type to then be subsequently used as fully functional buildings on a long-term basis. Architects, many from the Bauhaus, were brought into work their magic. There was a fantastic explanation of everything in the Le Courbusier designed house, now museum. One part of the exhibit explained: "After WWI, during a period of exceptional economic and political insecurity, culture underwent a rapid upswing. The times were characterized by radicalism and avant-garde experiments." (Does this mean we'll see this in this politically and economically insecure time?! How exciting! Send thoughts my way if you see evidence).
I always love learning about Bauhaus era design and have found much inspiration from their firm dedication to their ideologies and how they opened up design to a whole new world of possibilities. I appreciate that my design education was immensely based on the curriculum setup by Bauhaus educators. Their graphic design and industrial design are things of beauty. And while it was cool to finally go in a Bauhaus style structure, I didn't love it like I expected to. I "get" that they were going for functionality and the ability to mass produce housing, but the house felt cold, stark, and in no way livable. Breaking with tradition is fantastic and cool to observe, but I think I much prefer to actually live in something a little cozier. Can modern be cozy?


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Ten years ago today (January 9, 2007), I was cutting across the show floor of CES when I heard the news that Apple had released the original iPhone. I remember select journalists travel from CES in Vegas to San Francisco for the press conference, before returning back to CES. CES was on its second day when the Apple release was made. Few companies have ever had clout sufficient to momentarily pull reporters away from an event like CES. Apple was the only one who had it at that time.
An interesting tidbit: almost 15 years earlier to the day (January 7, 1992), Apple's CEO at the time John Sculley announced the Apple Newton during his keynote at CES wherein he coined the term Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
To fully understand our view of the iPhone at the time, one should watch the original Steve Jobs keynote in its entirety.
In the first thirty seconds of his keynote, Jobs sets the historical stage by listing some of the world shifting products Apple has introduced (1984 Macintosh and 2001 iPod). He then goes on to say:
…today, we're introducing three revolutionary products of this class. The first one: is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second: is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device. So, three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls; a revolutionary mobile phone; and a breakthrough Internet communications device. An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone … are you getting it? These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it iPhone. Today, today Apple is going to reinvent the phone, and here it is. No, actually here it is, but we're gonna leave it there for now.
There are two things worth noting in the first 30 seconds of Jobs' keynotes. First, he pulls the actual iPhone from the front pocket of his jeans and no one in the audience can even process it quickly enough to really take notice. Secondly, it's worth reflecting on the three devices Jobs' claims to be combining. Nowhere in this list does he include cameras. Today, the camera is a major focus of differentiation for Apple. Entire billboard campaigns are dedicated to the camera features of the iPhone. But it would appear that Steve Jobs didn't foresee the smartphone replacing cameras, at least not in 2007.
To understand the full context around which the original iPhone was launched, consider also the first official Apple iPhone commercial. It was this one, shown for the first time during the 2007 Oscars on February 25th. It shows 28 or so clips, each with the character or actor picking up a phone and saying hello, followed by an image of the first iPhone and finishing with the text "Coming in June." The original Apple iPhone was first and foremost a telephony device. In his keynote, Jobs says, "We wanna reinvent the phone…Now, what's the killer app?…The killer app is making calls!" And I think most of us forget that visual voicemail didn't exist until the iPhone was created.
Apple officially released the iPhone in June 2007 and would go on to sell about 1.4 million units in that first year, compared to over 200 million in 2016. More than a year after the original iPhone went on sale, Apple would launch the App Store in conjunction with the release of iPhone OS 2.0 in July 2008. With this, Apple officially introduced third-party app development and distribution to the iPhone platform. Apple would go on to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, with seven million being sold in the September quarter alone. Steven Levy has a good write-up on his recent conversation with Phil Schiller about Apple's early internal debate regarding the openness of the iPhone. He writes:
Yet Schiller pushed back when I suggested that the iPhone's great moment came when Apple threw open the gates to developers and we learned that for every imaginable activity, as well as some previously unimaginable ones, there was "an app for that."
"That undervalues how earth-shattering the iPhone was when it first came to market, and we all first got them and fell in love with them," he says. "iPhone made the idea of a smartphone real. It really was a computer in your pocket. The idea of real internet, real web browser, MultiTouch. There were so many things that are core to what is the smartphone today, that created a product that customers fell in love with, that then also demanded more stuff on them, more apps."
Still, it is difficult to imagine the iPhone would have ever achieved the success it did without the accelerant of the App Store.
And still we have a very long way to go. Today about two billion people have smartphones, while another three billion or so have non-smart cellular phones. In just the last 24 months or so, smartphones have eclipsed traditional PCs as the most pervasive Internet-enabled platform. Today there are two billion in the world that are not connected. While we generally still see smartphones as the mechanism by which we connect the next billion, in the last 24 months we've witnessed the advent and acceleration of Amazon Alexa, which like the original iPhone, is a new iterative combination of hardware and service and connection. Perhaps voice interfaces platforms will enable us to bring the final two billion online. Either way, the next 10 years are sure to be interesting.


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In this morning's Observer, David Smith has a hilarious piece portraying me as the Briton who is challenging the web's endless cacophony. Enough already! I've apparently decreed:
But early copies have become a rallying point for dissenters with nagging doubts about the revolution of blogs, wikis, social networking sites and podcasts.
It would be nice, of course, if Smith was correct and I'd become the Pope Paul III of the digital counter reformation. But I'm not sure if digital dissenters really need a papal rallying point. The problem is that just as the digital revolution is challenging many of our most cherished political, cultural and economic principles, so its resistance is emerging from a broad variety of sources -- in philosophy, marketing, technology and literature.
I'm currently reading Benjamin Barber's excellent Consumed: How markets corrupt children, infantilize adults and swallow citizens whole. In a broader and more academic context, Barber makes the same arguments as I make in my book. Barber notes the descent of our culture into a free market induced narcissism in which we are what wear or drive or drink. It's but a short step from Consumed to The Cult of the Amateur. In the Web 2.0 world, our brands are personalized and transformed into channels. We are what we broadcast ourselves to be. Thus the infantilized nature of the blogosphere. Thus its corruption of democratic politics and traditional notions of citizenship.
Journalists are also waking up to the absurdity of Web 2.0 economic utopianism. In a sharply incisive commentary on CNN Money, Jim Ledbetter debunks the "theory" of abundance. As Ledbetter argues, the "economics of abudance" is less of a serious theory and more like the wishful thinking of Hayekian libertarians like Chris Anderson. Ledbetter wickedly suggests that digital cornucopian logic has "a short tail":
No matter what the Internet has enabled, abundance and scarcity continue to duke it out in a variety of arenas across the globe, and will do so, I predict, at least until I get a ten-hour-a-week job as a robot repairman.
Then there's Loren Feldman of 1938 Media, the charismatic videographer fighting from the trenches against the Web 2.0 hordes. Loren was in typically hilarious form earlier this week revealing the infantilized whining of Jason Calcanis about giving interviews to traditional media.
Benjamin Barber, Jim Ledbetter, Loren Feldman (not to mention the incomparable La Strumpetta), united as dissenters against the cacophony, united in saying enough already!


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Welcome to the Cornton
This website has been set up by CAPP (Cornton Action Planning Partnership) to showcase all that happens within the community of Cornton. Cornton lies on the north side of Stirling and is clearly defined as an area by the River Forth on one side and the railway line on the other. The area was substantially developed for housing after World War 2, changing its character from rural and agricultural to urban.
Click on the links on the right to find out more about the various organisations and groups that serve the Cornton community.


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The Holiday Edition - Week 2
This was the first year that my little one helped decorate our small Christmas tree. Though we always travel to Chicago to spend Christmas with family we still have a small tree in our apartment through the holiday season. The magic of the lights and his joy while hanging the ornaments on the tree was the subject of my installation for this week. I created a diptych to showcase a sort of split screen, highlighting both the small Christmas tree down the hallway and his up close and personal reaction to hanging the family ornament.
Please follow along the circle to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week. Next up is Kelly Roth Patton, my fellow New Yorker and dear friend whose skills for capturing alluring and romantic images are astounding.


text: Saat nonton ini, yang gue harapkan cuma satu: I do hope I can enjoy the movie as much as I can. In the end, it turns out I'm more than happy. Starting this year with "Another Day of Sun" from La La Land and never expected to close 2017 by saying "This Is Me" sung … Continue reading Movie Review: The Greatest Showman (2017)


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Improving Audio for Video Production
It's no secret that the world of video production has evolved exponentially over the last few years. With incredible filmmaking tools now available to everyone there is more quality video content being created and shared than ever before.
But how good is cinematic, high-definition video if the audio is lacking? Great audio can elevate and enhance the immersive qualities of a film or video, just as bad audio can ruin the experience, and distract the viewer. If you've ever filmed something and resorted to using the in-built microphone on your camera, you know exactly what I'm talking about!
Using a professional quality, external microphone will go a long way to improving the audio quality for your production. Choosing the right microphone however can be a daunting task to the uninitiated — just like camera lenses there is not really a "one size fits all" microphone (although some are quite versatile, just like lenses). Factors such as your location, recording equipment, framing and more will have an impact on which mic will best suit your needs.
The three most commonly used microphone categories in the broadcast world are 'on-camera' microphones, 'shotgun' microphones, and 'wearable' microphones (such as lapel and headset types).
The reason these microphones exist is to ensure that no matter where you are shooting, or what your chosen camera position and framing may be, you will always be able to follow the golden rule of audio engineering (and the single most important tip from this article) – to capture the best possible audio you always want to position the microphone as close as possible to your sound source. This is called achieving a good signal to noise ratio.
Signal to Noise Ratio
This is as important as knowing which direction to point the camera. In this term when we say 'Signal', we are referring to the sound you actually want to record (the actor delivering a line, the bride delivering her vows, the car door closing… whatever), while 'Noise' basically refers to everything else. The traffic in the background, other people on set, any reverb or environmental noise in the recording space and anything else that is secondary to your main source of sound is considered 'Noise'.
When you position your microphone close to your sound source you are maximizing the ratio of Signal to Noise. If you back away from your sound source, your microphone is now picking up more of your environment, lowering your ratio of Signal to Noise. The resulting audio will be full of distracting and surrounding sounds, and not focused on your main source.
By having an understanding of this golden rule, selecting the best microphone for your production should be a much simpler process. I'll quickly look at the positives and negatives of each below, along with what type of recording scenario they are best suited.
On-Camera Microphones
On-camera microphones are the simplest way to upgrade the audio quality of your camera. Models like the RØDE VideoMic Pro and Stereo VideoMic Pro have been designed specifically with DSLR cameras in mind, especially when used in a solo, run-and-gun type situation.
The VideoMic Pro is highly directional, which means it is very sensitive to sound directly in-front of the microphone, and less to the sides and rear, just like the shotgun microphones discussed next. This is perfect for interviews or any time you want to focus on a specific audio source. The Stereo VideoMic Pro is sensitive to sounds to the left and right, and is great for recording live sports, music, or natural outdoor ambience. We call this directional quality the microphone's Polar Pattern — all microphones of all types will have one, and it is an important thing to consider when choosing your microphone.
On-camera mics are compact, lightweight, affordable, and feature universal connections such as a standard hot-shoe mount, and 3.5mm microphone jack, which makes them compatible with most DSLR cameras and camcorders on the market. Within the RØDE product range The 'Pro' models mentioned above will also give you audio sensitivity controls, and bass-roll-off switches, mounted on the rear of the microphone for easy access while shooting. No more navigating menus on your camera while recording!
As these microphones sit on top of your camera, this may not always give you the optimum signal to noise ratio. If your subject is close enough to the camera (roughly two meters or seven feet) or you're simply recording the ambience of your environment, these microphones are perfect. For anything further away, you may achieve better results by getting your mic closer to your source using one of the following two microphone types.
Shotgun Microphones
Shotgun Microphones are very commonly used throughout all broadcast situations and are your most versatile option. They feature extremely tight and directional polar patterns, and are often mounted onto the end of a BoomPole, sometimes inside a Blimp for added protection from wind noise and vibration caused through movement. XLR is the common output connection for this type of mic, which is a more robust and secure connection used on more professional cameras.
It is common for shotgun microphones to require power, known as 'phantom power', which is typically supplied by the camera or recording device. A model such as the RØDE NTG2 is a self-powered microphone, using an internal AA battery. This allows for compatibility with a wider range of devices, including DSLR cameras. A professional grade model such as the NTG3 gives you superior audio quality, but does require phantom power from the device to operate.
The real advantage of a shotgun microphone is the ability to be positioned just outside of your shot, but much closer than you would otherwise be able to get if using an on camera mic. This increases your signal to noise ratio, and doesn't force you to alter your perfect shot or framing. Used in conjunction with a boompole, shotgun mics are the preferred audio recording method for television, and most outdoor broadcast situations.
If your shotgun microphone does require phantom power, this means you will need either a separate phantom power supply, or camera with XLR inputs that does supply phantom power. This could mean additional or larger equipment to carry around on set. A boompole operator will also need to assist on location, so this adds another member to your crew. If you are tackling a project solo, or need to move around in a run-and-gun type situation, a shotgun mic might be too difficult to manage and position correctly. Lastly if your framing calls for a very wide shot, and you cannot discreetly position your shotgun mic close enough to your sound source, this will result in a poor signal to noise ratio.
But fear not, the last type of microphone we will discuss is great if you need high mobility while discreetly being close to your sound source.
Wearable Microphones
The most commonly used self-worn microphones in a broadcast environment would be lavalier (or lapel) microphones, and headset microphones. They are designed to be small, discreet, positioned extremely close to your sound source and plug into a variety of devices such as wireless belt packs, or direct to your camera. The RØDE Lavalier, PinMic and HS1 mics currently give you eleven different choices of interchangeable connections via the MiCon system, to ensure you have full flexibility on set and can plug into pretty much any recording device or industry standard wireless unit available. The smartLav+ microphone was designed to plug directly into a smartphone (iPhone or Android) and give you a discreet, personal recording device in your pocket.
The key word for these microphones is discreet. Wearable mics are the ultimate solution for maximizing your signal to noise ratio and having total mobility at the same time. By placing the microphone and the recording device/wireless belt pack on the talent, they are not bound or restricted by long cables, and will sound crystal clear, no matter how far they are from the camera. This will add a level of professionalism to your videos that will make you stand out from your peers or competitors.
Wireless units, if you decide to pursue this option can be quite expensive and occasionally prone to interference or configuration issues. If you are a solo videographer or a small production team this can add considerable cost your budget. The smartLav+ microphone is an affordable solution but does come with one consideration; the audio will not be saved directly onto your camera, but rather on the smartphone itself. This means you will need to sync your audio and video recordings together in post-production. This may not seem like a big drawback to some, but if you are new to post production editing, this learning curve could add significant time to your production, which may also affect your budget.
Apart from signal-to-noise, no rules are really set in stone and you can of course bend them for a specific effect. Just like shooting video some decisions are made more from a creative standpoint than a technical one. Always try to monitor your audio on location to prevent any nasty surprises later, and if it sounds good to you, it probably is!
Mathew Piccolotto is a Product Specialist with RØDE Microphones with over ten years' experience in the audio field. RØDE provides a wealth of educational content on their YouTube channel, and are always available @rodemics to help you with any questions.


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Hey folks! Jen and I are both itching to type up some of our thoughts and emotions as we've traveled this path. Hopefully some of those posts will be coming soon. Here's a bit of info for the present.
- On Friday, Blake got all his scans done again. This Thursday, we'll hear what the doctor thinks about them. Hopefully we are cancer free and will be on a monthly check-up with a three month scan schedule.
- The joint pain went away. The doctor thought it was the steroids. Maybe. He was quite mystified actually and said that this wasn't a typical post-chemo reaction. He said to get a massage, which our great friend Shawn Baker provided. Since last Saturday, he's been off pain meds. His stamina is growing.
So in a hopefully not premature celebration, we are headed to Disneyland today. Jennifer's family all joined in and we're all getting annual passes. We hope and pray that we'll have a fantastic 2013 with no cancer and lots of Disneyland. That would be quite a change.


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A Google Street View Car got stuck in a tomato-throwing festival
"La Tomatina," a yearly Spanish festival that brings thousands of people together as they throw 150 tons of tomatoes at each other, got a special guest: a Google Street View Car.
While Google probably wanted to get some extremely immersive footage from the crowd's perspective, putting a car through the mass of people who swarm the streets on that day was probably not the best idea. People climbed over the car and it became part of the battle as we see from the photos that some tomato throwers posted on Twitter:
See more photos from La Tomatina festival:
See Gallery
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By Janet Mpambara
Team UCU that participated in the East African University Games constituted students from different disciplines. We set off for the games hosted by the Jomo Kenyatta University of Technology on November 15.
Before setting off to Nairobi, we converged at the dining hall at 11:30am where the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. John Senyonyi, and the DVC Development and External Relations, Mr David Mugawe flagged us off.
The Sports Minister, Janet Mpambara and her deputy Paul Matundo received the university flag and banners from the vice-chancellor as a reminder that we had to stage a spirited fight for medals.
The vice-chancellor told us that the university was grateful for the many times we have held the university flag high in sports and wished us the very best in the games.
He also urged us to maintain discipline, arguing that for many years, the university's sportsmen and women have been famous for their discipline.
Senyonyi said, "I urge you to keep that discipline while in Kenya. We are praying for you. We believe in you and we are proud of you." He later led us in a prayer before leaving for another commitment.
After the prayers, it was lunch time and we were soon treated to a mouthwatering buffet I could not have eaten anywhere else that day.
After the meal, we then had a meeting with the coaches and staff who gave us an orientation about our stay in Kenya. In the meantime, different coaches introduced themselves, simplifying our work.
We at least got to know who to run to in case of need.
At about 4:00 pm December 15, each of us got into our respective buses, buckled up our seatbelts, prayed and began the journey. Excitement filled the air as we jazzed endlessly and people's heads constantly popped out a little to gaze at the nature our country. I didn't know that Uganda was greatly endowed as we would later discover. We enjoyed the journey but by 7pm when darkness started sweeping the sky, jazzing had gone down.
In the bus where I was, everyone seemed silent. At that time like us, most of our phones had blacked out and those who had power banks had more friends.
On our way, we made a few stopovers to buy eats, airtime and answering natures' calls. By 8:00pm, we were at the border between Uganda and Kenya and got out for clearance. We were asked to present passports, national IDs and yellow fever vaccination cards and since we went prepared, we didn't take a lot of time.
As we entered Kenya, we were advised to exchange local Ugandan currency into the Kenyan shilling. But it was a devastating experience because someone who had about UgShs40,000 ended up getting only KShs1000 after the exchange? We realized that Kenyan money is a force to reckon with. But despite the currency shock, we were really happy.
In the meantime, as we conducted the currency exchange, some people rang home to check on their loved ones before we hit the road again.
The first few hours in Kenya were so quiet with a few people walking on the streets. We reached our final destination the following day at 10:30am. We were however shocked to learn as soon as we arrived that some games were starting that same day. Immediately, we put on our sports uniform earlier given to us at campus and hit the tracks.
Gosh! People were staring at our uniforms because they were cool. The caps and the shirts were of the same colours: navy blue and red and we had been asked to put them on with blue jeans. We rocked! Some of our teams had their first games that day and with the team spirit, it was only prudent that we supported them. The netball team was among those that played their first game on arrival. God is great because they beat their opponents 36-7. The basketball team also had a match were they also emerged winners.
This marked the beginning of our victories in different sports.
The following day, December 16, all the disciplines were playing. Zealous and with so much enthusiasm, we played to our level best. At the end of the day, we were able to make it to the fourth position among over 20 universities. I would like to congratulate the sportsmen and women for the good show. We soar like eagles.
I would also like to thank the administration, the sports department and the supporting staff for the continuous support towards the sports fraternity. I also want to thank the Guild President for sparing her precious time to be with us in Kenya.
In a special way, I thank Dr Senyonyi who never turns his back on us even when he has a busy schedule.
I now know and believe that victory is not only about how many medals you come home with, but rather coming back home knowing that you did your very best. For God and my country.


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boho wallpaper round-up - includes four free downloads!
When it comes to inspiration and motivation, I'm a highly visual person. I find it so easy to look at an image and be reminded to stay the course and work towards my goals. As I've been working on building in a sequoia, learning the ins and outs of business, I've relied on this trick to keep me going. One of my favourite methods is updating my computers' (because yes, I have more than one) desktops. So I've decided to find a bunch of my favourite desktop wallpapers for your enjoyment, all free to download and use. Just click on the image to grab the wallpaper you want. Enjoy!
Design Love Fest collaborated with Rachel Green to bring this splash of colour. A reminder to stay wild, bright and fun.
A pretty self-explanatory wallpaper from Brianna Rose. Sometimes we need a direct kick to get our asses in gear. So make it happen.
Jordan Brantley created this fun geometric pattern and reminder for Lovely Indeed. Most of you will know my workshop series Find Your Goal'd, so the gold foil-like details of this piece immediately bring my goals to mind.
Lastly, this combination of fun, bohemian pattern with a killer intention-setting quote by Joy Laforme. Ultimate wallpaper motivation brought to you by Jess Lively.


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Amit began his career at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley in New York and then Credit Suisse First Boston in London. In 2004 he incubated Swordfish Investments, a private equity/venture fund, and Swordfish Capital Management, an investment management company.
Alvaro Alvarez del Rio (Investment Director)
Athene Cronshaw (Finance, Accounts and HR)
Tarek AbuZayyad (Consultant)
Tarek has over 15 years experience in M&A, private equity, venture capital and asset management. He previously worked as a Managing Director at Berggruen Holdings, a family office and private equity firm and as a Director in M&A and Corporate Finance at Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York and London.
Rudra Dalmia (Consultant)
Rudra is a seasoned global investment professional with over 16 years experience in Private Equity, Financial Services and Investment Banking across Asia, Europe and the United States. He is a well known investment and socio economic commentator and has been featured in various publications globally.


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University Of Surrey
The scientific field of nutrition focuses on studying food's nutrients and other ingredients and how they interact with many processes in the human physique. Amongst these difficulties are the lack of details about food selections, a lack of understanding of nutritional info and its application to person circumstances, limited or tricky access to healthful foods, and a variety of cultural influences and socioeconomic constraints such as low levels of education and higher levels of poverty that lower opportunities for healthful consuming and living.
In most places, a nutritionist will have to have a degree in a simple science course connected to nutrition.Bachelor's degree holders in nutrition have additional opportunities to achieve a greater-level degree from dwelling. Other names for added sugars incorporate: corn syrup, higher-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup. If I found a new fruit and wanted to obtain out what it consisted of I would go to a nutritionist.
It is created to help restricted-resource audiences in acquiring the expertise, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior required for nutritionally sound diets, and to contribute to their personal improvement and the improvement of the total household diet program and nutritional effectively-being. The FNP has developed a series of tools to support households participating in the Meals Stamp Plan stretch their food dollar and kind healthful consuming habits like nutrition education. Nutrition research focus on antinutrients usually discovered in meals sources and beverages.
On the final page we go over foods that guard against cancer and other ailments and nutrition in medical education. The science of sports nutrition offers vastly with nutrients like vitamins and supplements, and organic substances like fats, carbs and proteins. For data on how to strengthen your HEALTH making use of top quality Organic Nutrition and Vitamin Goods, just take a look at the link under which has info on exceptional natural goods which are now obtainable in Australia!
Nutritional science investigates the metabolic and physiological responses of the physique to eating plan With advances in the fields of molecular biology , biochemistry , nutritional immunology, molecular medicine and genetics , the study of nutrition is increasingly concerned with metabolism and metabolic pathways : the sequences of biochemical steps by way of which substances in living points alter from one form to one more.


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By all means provision storage economically but don't put applications on a starvation diet. That's the message from 3PAR CEO David Scott.
His company has had thin provisioning (TP) for what seems like a long time. Now that EqualLogic has added it to the IP Storage (iSCSI SAN block and file) space and HDS is set on adding it to the high-end enterprise drive array space, David wanted to mention a few aspects of thin provisioning that matter (and that, naturally, 3PAR has got well sorted out).
1) Thin Positioning should support thresholds, alerts, or hard limits to warn about storage capacity consumption otherwise there will be a high risk that customers suffer application write failures from running out of storage capacity before the administrator realizes there is danger.
2) The implementation should have a way of automatically assigning disk capacity that has been added to the array into a Thin Provisioning pool. If not then the process will involve a number of administratively intensive, manual steps (creating RAID groups, splitting RAID groups into LDEVs, assigning the LDEVs to Thin Provisioning pools). This is a high level of overhead which any good Thin Provisioning implementation should avoid. It also adds the risk that the Thin Provisioning pool could run out of spare capacity before the administrator realizes it is out of space (especially if there is no alert facility) - again causing write and application failures.
3) If a supplier's implementation doesn't support Thin Provisioned volumes with remote replication software then it can't protect their applications using standard disaster recovery techniques. This is a basic requirement of any Tier 1 system.
4) If the performance of Thin Provisioned volumes is less than that available with standard volumes then customers will be very sensitive to the impact on their applications and will resist using it. Customers may have to do a lot of configuration work to manually spread storage capacity assigned to Thin Provisioning pools over lots of array groups, and even then will typically get performance results that are a fraction of that they get with standard volumes.
In summary, a bad Thin Provisioning implementation is worse than no Thin Provisioning implementation at all. Scott recommends that you should ask any supplier how their implementation stacks up against these points.
Naturally, 3PAR stacks up very well. Scott says it has all the thresholds, alerts and hard limits necessary to minimize the risk that you run out of capacity. It automatically grabs free disk space, just in time, to replenish its Thin Provisioning pools so as to eliminate administrator involvement and minimize the risk that an application runs out of disk space to which it can write.
It is fully supported by 3PAR's Remote Copy solution for remote replication so that the applications can be protected by disaster recovery arrangements. And finally, performance is not meaningfully different from that of standard volumes. Customers don't gain efficiency, only to lose performance. He makes the point that 3PAR's architecture was designed for the implementation of Thin Provisioning, not as a bolt-on.


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Dominic Walsh Dance Theater • 8"x10" Hardcover • Written by Dominic Walsh • Designed by Gabriella Nissen
Dominic Walsh Dance Theater • 8"x10" Hardcover • Written by Dominic Walsh • Designed by Gabriella Nissen
Book Signing at the Brazos Bookstore on Monday, May 23, 2016.
Meet Dominic Walsh at Book Signing. Please buy books to be signed directly from the Brazos Bookstore. Reserve your book online from the Brazos Bookstore at least 24 hours in advance. Call (713) 523-0701 to reserve books on the day of the signing.
This book is 8" x 10", hardcover with dust jacket, 178 pages. The book is signed by Dominic Walsh.
In this book Dominic Walsh, founder and artistic director of DWDT, reflects on his journey leading the company. The book features a collection of stunning photographs by Gabriella and other photographers capturing incredible moments from the company's repertoire. Dominic Walsh Dance Theater is a retrospective of the remarkable achievement of DWDT and a testament to the passionate vision of Dominic Walsh.
This book is available exclusively through gabriellanissen.com and the Brazos Bookstore.
Add To Cart


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Bang & Olufsen's Less Costly BeoPlay H2 Headphones Are A Thing Of Beauty/
If you've got an expensive taste for quality and fashion, you'd be more than happy to know that you'll now be able to get your hands on the uniquely designed BeoPlay H2 headphones. High-end audio connoisseur Bang & Olufsen has introduced a more affordably priced pair of quite stylish looking, portable on-ear headphones that offer a similar level of premium build quality and design as its larger over-the-ear BeoPlay H6 headphones.
The new BeoPlay H2 offer B&O's signature superior natural sound clarity using custom tuned 40mm drivers, and feature a flexible adaptive headband that automatically adjusts to fit your head, durable lightweight polycarbonate composite frame textured to look like aluminum and covered in rugged textile fabric designed to evoke a familiar clothing-like feel while genuine padded lamb skin leather ear cushions provide a comfortable and sound-isolating listening experience. Unlike the more expensive BeoPlay H6 headphones, Bang & Olufsen's new BeoPlay H2 aren't made from any metal materials, but do feature a detachable and interchangeable audio cable with an in-line remote and microphone for music playback control and headset functionality.


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French "Grinch" trailer25 Oct 2000
Premiere France has the French trailer for "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" available at their site. If you happen to think that the second US trailer has too many spoilers for your taste, than you should definitely skip this one because it features even more scenes with the Grinch. For those who simply can't resist the curiosity, here's the link:
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Downtown Bend Public Library
Free 30 minute consultations with local lawyers. Spanish interpreters are available the first Wednesday of the month.
Advance registration for appointments opens at 10 a.m., 13 days prior to the date. Advance registration does not guarantee the time of appointment, which run every half hour from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
All registrants must arrive by 5:15 p.m. to secure their spot and receive their appointment time. If you are not here by 5:15 p.m., your appointment will be forfeited.
If any walk-in spots are available they will be awarded by lottery at 5:15 p.m.


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Can't find a Scrapstore? Start one!
Staff, Volunteers, Management, Structure, Suppliers, Marketing, Press, Finance, Vehicles etc If this all sounds daunting, please don't be put off, even though there is alot to do, there's alot of help available to you.
Think you can do it? Start your own Scrapstore? Read our Scrapstore Checklist below.
- Scrapstore materials are predominantly sourced from businesses
- The scrapstores has a membership scheme
- The scrapstore is a not for profit organisation
- The scrapstore is a designated area of sorted scrap materials
- The scrapstore is accessible by members at specific and regular dates & times
If you answered yes to everything on the checklist and are looking to start a new scrapstore, one of the most important things is to check where other scrapstores are in your area and to contact them.
To do this, you need to go to the Directory page of our website.Type in your postcode and click on a radius of 25-50, check to see all the scrapstores in your area. All their details are on this page. You will need their support to become a member of the Reuseful UK network.


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PowerPoint: Killer App?
Did PowerPoint make the space shuttle crash? Could it doom another mission? Preposterous as this may sound, the ubiquitous Microsoft "presentation software" has twice been singled out for special criticism by task forces reviewing the space shuttle disaster.
Perhaps I've sat through too many PowerPoint presentations lately, but I think the trouble with these critics is that they don't go far enough: The software may be as much of a mind-numbing menace to those of us who intend to remain earthbound as it is to astronauts.
PowerPoint's failings have been outlined most vividly by Yale political scientist Edward Tufte, a specialist in the visual display of information. In a 2003 Wired magazine article headlined "PowerPoint Is Evil" and a less dramatically titled pamphlet, "The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint," Tufte argued that the program encourages "faux-analytical" thinking that favors the slickly produced "sales pitch" over the sober exchange of information.
Exhibit A in Tufte's analysis is a PowerPoint slide presented to NASA senior managers in January 2003, while the space shuttle Columbia was in the air and the agency was weighing the risk posed by tile damage on the shuttle wings. Key information was so buried and condensed in the rigid PowerPoint format as to be useless.
"It is easy to understand how a senior manager might read this PowerPoint slide and not realize that it addresses a life-threatening situation," the Columbia Accident Investigation Board concluded, citing Tufte's work. The board devoted a full page of its 2003 report to the issue, criticizing a space agency culture in which, it said, "the endemic use of PowerPoint" substituted for rigorous technical analysis.
But NASA -- like the rest of corporate and bureaucratic America -- seems powerless to resist PowerPoint. Just this month a minority report by the latest shuttle safety task force echoed the earlier concerns: Often, the group said, when it asked for data it ended up with PowerPoints -- without supporting documentation.
These critiques are, pardon the phrase, on point, but I suspect that the insidious influence of PowerPoint goes beyond the way it frustrates scientific analysis. The deeper problem with the PowerPointing of America -- the PowerPointing of the planet, actually -- is that the program tends to flatten the most complex, subtle, even beautiful, ideas into tedious, bullet-pointed bureaucratese.
I experienced a particularly dreary example of this under a starry Hawaiian sky this year, listening to a talk on astronomy. It was the perfect moment for magical images of distant stars and newly discovered planets. Yet, instead of using technology to transport, the lecturer plodded point-by-point through cookie-cutter slides.
The soul-sapping essence of PowerPoint was captured perfectly in a spoof of the Gettysburg Address by computer whiz Peter Norvig of Google. It featured Abe Lincoln fumbling with his computer ("Just a second while I get this connection to work. Do I press this button here? Function-F7?") and collapsing his speech into six slides, complete with a bar chart depicting four score and seven years.
For example, Slide 4:
"Review of Key Objectives & Critical Success Factors
· What makes nation unique


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Dr. Sue Paterson
Sue has worked as a forensic toxicologist for over 30 years. Her career has focused on offering a service to HM Coroners. Over the years Sue has dealt with a wide variety of cases including several high profile ones both for the police and Coroners.
Her unit not only provides a routine service but is actively engaged in research. This research is focused on the problem of interpretation which is the biggest challenge in forensic toxicology. She has published 28 papers, 9 of them in the last five years, all in quality journals.
Sue acted as an assessor for CRFP from 2002 until 2009 and had taken over the role of lead assessor just before it was brought to a close. She probably carried out more assessments than anyone else; it took considerable time and energy. Sue expended the time and energy doing this because she was committed to the aims of CRFP. As an assessor for CRFP she always used the SOFT Guidelines as the standards against which she carried out her assessment. However Sue felt she should not be deciding this alone but the standards should be discussed and agreed by all concerned. It is this that initiated the collating of the guidelines which we have now all agreed.
Her experience and commitment to the profession, as demonstrated by her work for CRFP, make her a worthy candidate for a post on the UKIAFT Council.
Deputy Chair
Simon Elliott
Dr Simon Elliott has over 20 years' experience in forensic toxicology and is a Consultant Forensic Toxicologist and Director of Global Forensics at Alere (now part of Abbott). He is also a Visiting Professor in Forensic Toxicology at King's College London. He was formerly the founder and Managing Director of Forensics Ltd (Alere Forensics, formerly ROAR Forensics) in Malvern, Worcestershire, UK 2008-2017. Dr Elliott previously worked as a Clinical Scientist in the NHS at Birmingham City Hospital for over 10 years specifically involved in clinical and forensic toxicology as Section Head of Forensic Toxicology. He holds a BSc degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bath and a PhD in Biochemical Toxicology from the University of Birmingham having studied gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in his thesis. He is a Chartered Scientist and European Registered Toxicologist as well as being an active member of a number of professional bodies, including the Forensic Science Society and Royal Society of Chemistry in addition to being a founding council member for the UK & Ireland Association of Forensic Toxicologists (UKIAFT).
He is the author of over 60 scientific publications and articles and has presented cases at international meetings and presented evidence in both Civil and Criminal Court. He has also advised the World Health Organisation and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
Dr Duncan Stephen
Duncan is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist/Forensic Toxicologist within the NHS at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. After training as a Clinical Scientist in Aberdeen, he took up a senior post with a specialist interest in forensic toxicology from where he later progressed to his current post as consultant. He has reported on over 7500 cases and has been called as an expert witness to both the Sheriff and High Courts in Scotland. He teaches to medical and science students in biochemistry and toxicology at the Robert Gordon University and University of Aberdeen. His teaching commitment to clinical and forensic toxicology also includes his office as an examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists.
He completed a BSc in Biochemistry and Pharmacology and a PhD in Molecular Toxicology at University of Dundee along with an MSc in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Surrey. His professional qualifications include both fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists and American Board of Forensic Toxicology, and diplomate board examinations in both clinical chemistry and toxicology of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. He is a Chartered Clinical Scientist and is state registered with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK.
He has been an active member of both UKIAFT and TIAFT where he has attended and presented at meetings over the years. He is also an active member of the ACB, AACB, AACC, AACT, AAFS, CSCC, RSC and RCPath.
As an elected member of the UKIAFT Council, he is keen to promote forensic toxicology to stakeholders and the users of our services by supporting the development of accredited practices and appropriate training within the discipline.
Mr Peter Streete
Peter has worked within the field of toxicology at the Medical Toxicology Laboratories (formerly "The Poisons Unit") for over 34 years. He has progressed from an initial position as a trainee technician to his current position as lead scientist and head of Clinical & Forensic Toxicology. For the past 25 years Peter has been actively involved in the provision of Forensic Toxicology Services, primarily associated with work for Coroners. His work in the field of volatile substance analysis has allowed him to provide both analytical data and missing case data related to fatalities to the Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA) Mortality Project for many years now. Monitoring of concentrations found in overdose with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and more particularly ibuprofen, helped proved the comparative safety of the drug and was part of the reason why Ibuprofen was allowed to be sold 'over the counter'. Peter also undertook the ibuprofen determinations in a case where an uncorrectable acidosis caused by ibuprofen resulted in what may be considered as the first fatality resulting from Ibuprofen alone.
As a participant in the UKFT Forum and UKFT Network, predecessors of the UKIAFT, Peter has welcomed the opportunity to play a part in the establishment of a structure and standards for Forensic Toxicology in the future.
Other Committee Members
Mr Simon Cosbey
Simon has worked for over 30 years in Forensic Toxicology and has been actively involved in the UK & Ireland Forensic Toxicology Network since its initial formation around a decade ago. He has attended most of the meetings (chaired/hosted as required) and has actively contributed with the evolution and development of the group. Simon is also a long-standing TIAFT member and has attended/presented at many international meetings over the years.
He is particularly interested in developing best practice in forensic toxicology, particularly through focused and structured professional development. His entire career has centred on forensic drugs and toxicology casework at Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI) and was responsible for most of the analytical innovation within the section until recent years and provided much of the leadership drive during the evolution of the section during the 1980's and 1990's. As Head of Department he managed and led the scientific direction of around 20 staff. He has reported many thousands of cases over the years and is currently involved in the training and development of new reporting officers.
Mr Mike Scott-Ham
Mike joined the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory in 1978 which then merged with the Forensic Science Service in 1996 and he is currently the Principal Forensic Scientist for Toxicology. Mike has dealt with several thousand cases covering all aspects of forensic toxicology (RTA, ATD, DDU, Criminal Toxicology inc. poisonings, Coroners Toxicology) including many of a high-profile and/or complex nature and has made a large number (100s) of court appearances, including Coroners Courts, Crown Courts and Magistrates Courts.
Other experience includes undertaking casework and attending court for the defence and also foreign countries and he was attached to the Abu Dhabi Forensic Science Laboratory in 2007 to help train and prepare their Toxicology Section for accreditation (successfully obtained at the first attempt in 2008). Mike also trains and mentors new Reporting Officers for Toxicology and peer reviews other Reporting Officers statements. He has lectured on many occasions and is also a senior mentor on Expert Witness Training Courses.
Along with a colleague he published two key papers concerning an in-depth study of the toxicology findings in >1000 cases of alleged DFSA in the United Kingdom in the "Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine" Vol. 12 (2005) 175-186 and Vol. 13 (2006) 107-111. Mike reviews scientific papers and books for the 'Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine' and "Science and Justice". He is a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists, The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists, London Toxicology Group and an associate member of the Royal Society of Medicine. Formerly he was an Assessor for the now disbanded Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners
Mrs Sarah Tarrant-Wooding
Sarah has worked in Forensic Toxicology for more than 14 years. She joined Forensic Alliance, now LGC Forensics, in May 2001 as a Forensic Analyst and worked in all aspects of the laboratory process, including sample extractions, instrumental processing, troubleshooting and method development. She started to report cases in August 2003 and now reports the full range of case types including coroner's cases, RTA, alcohol technical defence and serious and specialist crime, and has been involved in a number of high profile cases. She has attended court on numerous occasions for both the prosecution and the defence.
She has led a team of reporters and undertaken training, mentoring and supporting junior reporters alongside reporting casework, and provided advice to police forces on all aspects of toxicology and in particular the use of Toxicology within the National Framework and other tenders. In September 2013 Sarah set up InSpired Toxicology offering defence work, training and casework support to a range of clients. Sarah is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and has a Diploma in Forensic Medical Science.
She has organised and hosted several meetings and conferences and is particularly keen to encourage the sharing of knowledge with others practising forensic toxicologists.
Susan Grosse
Susan has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Analysis and a post graduate diploma in Forensic Medical Science. Following a post-doctoral research position in Pavia, Italy, Susan joined Forensic Alliance, now LGC Forensics in 2003 as a Forensic Toxicologist.
Susan has worked in the analytical field of forensic toxicology and has trained as a Reporting Officer, covering a wide range of case types for Coroners and Police Forces around the UK. She has also worked as a locum Forensic Toxicologist for the Government of Bermuda. She has attended court in the UK and overseas.
Susan currently spends her time training and mentoring analytical staff and junior reporters at LGC Forensics, writing and peer reviewing statements and looking into improvements, new methodology and technology for the analytical laboratory.
Nel Brahma
Sunella has worked as a Forensic Toxicologist for over 18 years. She joined the Toxicology Unit at Imperial College, formerly Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, in 1995. Working here for 5 years as an analyst in the field of Coroners Toxicology, she gained experience in sample extraction, drug screening and drug quantitation, and in a variety of instrumental techniques.
She went on to gain an MSc in Forensic Science at Strathclyde University in 2001 before becoming a Forensic Scientist in Toxicology with the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), formerly Lothian and Borders Police, where she performed toxicological analysis, prepared court reports and attended court as an expert witness for morbid toxicology, criminal, road traffic and alcohol technical defence cases.
She progressed to her current position as Team Manager for the Toxicology Section within SPA in 2009, leading a team of 13 scientists. She is responsible for the scientific direction of the team, providing guidance and support to her colleagues and advice to Police and Procurator Fiscals in matters of Toxicology. She continues to take an active role in reporting casework and attending court.
Sunella enjoys the challenges thrown up by the changing face of modern Toxicology but recognises that to meet these challenges there is need for the toxicology community to come together to share their experiences and knowledge and also a need to support the science through quality and training. She hopes to use her experience to contribute and positively influence the future direction of Forensic Toxicology though UKIAFT.
Past Committee Members
- Professor David Osselton (Chair)
- Dr Gail Cooper (Secretary)
- Mr Simon Cosbey (Treasurer)


text:
Three Essential Dimensions of Jazz Fluency/
Follow these guidelines and start making sense of your soloing
This chapter is excerpted from the book Anatomy of a Melody: A Jazz Improv Primer
Copyright © Javier Arau. All Rights Reserved.
Scroll through the lesson below, or download the lesson as a printable PDF
INTRODUCTION - "Carving your Path"
Why do you play jazz? Do you dream of playing like a particular up-and-comer or a legend from decades past? Do you aspire to play through challenging pieces of repertoire, perhaps equating mastery with Coltrane's "Giant Steps"? Are you trying to develop your own concept and become a lick-free innovator? Regardless of your ultimate goal, you can reach it more easily by keeping in mind three dimensions of jazz fluency. Each is essential to developing a deeper and more meaningful improvisational concept.
DIMENSION 1 - "Coloring inside the lines"
Dimension 1, "Coloring inside the lines," should sound familiar. It is quite often the only technique that improvisers learn. It involves understanding your scales and chord tones so fluently that you can play a matching scale/chord within each measure of the composition. A basic approach to chord/scale matching looks something like this (Ex. 1):
Ex. 1: ii-V-I chord progression in F Major, including chord/scale relationships
The chord progression here is a basic II-V-I in the key of F major. The first staff system indicates the chord symbol and beats per measure. The third staff system illustrates the parent scale of F major, which can be played across all three chords. Above that, the second staff system provides basic scale matches for each chord. Each scale here is a mode within the parent key of F major and includes only notes that are also in the F major scale.
When improvisers outline harmonies in common time, chord tones are quite often placed on the strong beats 1 and 3, and non-chord tones are placed on upbeats or weak beats 2 and 4. As each chord changes, the matching notes on strong beats tend to change, too. This is the epitome of coloring inside the lines. Chord/scale matching could be compared to the simple visual arts concept of "color by numbers," but in the hands of an accomplished and creative musician, what is created often can be a perfect melody.
Case study
Louis Armstrong' solo on "St. Louis Blues" (12-bar Blues in F-sharp)
Ex. 2: Louis Armstrong, "St. Louis Blues" (mm. 1-7)
Louis Armstrong was a master of playing a simple melody that very clearly outlined the harmonies of the composition. In the above excerpt of his solo on "St. Louis Blues" (Ex. 2), nearly every pitch Armstrong plays is a chord tone.
Chord/scale matching extends far beyond simple chord/scale associations. It also can involve elements of chromaticism and other melodic devices. Below is an example of Charlie Parker playing over Now's The Time, the classic 12-bar blues in F (Ex. 3). Parker places chord tones on strong beats 1 and 3, diatonic non-chord tones on weak beats 2 and 4, and chromatic non-chord tones on some select upbeats.
Case study
Charlie Parker's solo on "Now's The Time" (12-bar Blues in F)
Ex. 3: Charlie Parker, "Now's The Time" (mm. 1-4)
Does chord/scale matching help attain successful results? Certainly. Perfecting the art of chord/scale matching is an involved process that requires a strong sense of tonic, an understanding of how to play a parent scale through multiple chord changes, and fluid application of suspensions, enclosures, sequences, and chromatic alterations to chords.
Ultimately, though, chord/scale matching can limit creative options. Neither Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, nor any other jazz master stuck strictly to it. While it is an essential musical technique, other approaches are also significant to achieving improvisational success.
DIMENSION 2 - "Own your line"
Chord symbols should not dictate all your melodic options as a soloist. You are the improviser. You must own the chord progression. The chord progression should not own you. When you "own your line," you are in control of your melody. You are charting your own path through the composition in often unexpected ways. At times, you may be coloring inside the lines, matching the given chord tones and scales. At other times, though, you may be superimposing alternate chord progressions (a.k.a. implying hidden changes) or highlighting unforeseen points of tension and resolution. To begin to understand how to "own your line," take a closer look below at some classic examples of players implying hidden changes within a chord progression.
Case study
Miles Davis' solo on "So What"
Ex. 4: Miles Davis, "So What" (2nd chorus, mm. 1-9)
Miles Davis himself provides one of the clearest examples of how to "own your line" in his iconic "So What" solo (Ex. 4). Before examining his solo in detail, let's take a look at the composition as a whole. "So What" poses a significant challenge. The chord progression (Ex. 5) is so sparse and simple that the task of crafting a meaningful improvisation becomes quite daunting. This is a composition where milling across the form on two matching scales won't be very interesting.
Ex. 5: "So What" formal outline, chord progression, and basic chord/scale relationships
A careful analysis of Davis' solo (Ex. 6) reveals that he uses notes that can be found in the D Dorian minor scale. While the chord progression of the composition dictates a single chord, Dm13, Davis implies a move through two harmonies—C major and D minor. He arpeggiates a C major triad for the first 6 measures of his phrase. Then he resolves his melody to the D minor chord tones A (m. 7), F (m. 8), and D (m. 9). This is an example of a soloist using hidden changes to enhance an improvisation. Both the C major triad and D minor triad are present in a Dmin13 chord (Ex. 7), but it takes a clever mind and confident ear to stare down that Dmin13 and play an entire opening phrase in C major.
Ex. 6: Analysis, Miles Davis, "So What" (2nd chorus, mm. 1-9)
Ex. 7: Dmin13 includes both D minor and C major triads
Case study
Charlie Parker' solo on "Ko Ko" (a.k.a. "Cherokee")
Take a look at the following "Parker-esque" line (Ex. 8):
Ex. 8: Bebop line over "Ko Ko" ("Cherokee") (mm. 47-50)
It's a pretty decent bebop line, following quite a few textbook twists and turns. These include the use of the leading tone over Cm7, the dominant bebop scale over F7, and a diatonic enclosure over the root of the B-flat chord toward the end of the phrase. (If you are not familiar with these techniques already, you'll learn about them in future studies.) While it may follow the "rules" of bebop, there's something you should know about this line: Charlie Parker never recorded it. Here's the version Parker played:
Ex. 9: Charlie Parker, "Ko Ko" ("Cherokee") (mm. 47-50)
Do you see the difference in the two versions (Ex. 8 & 9)? It's all in Parker's note choices in the middle measure, over the F7. Let's take a closer look:
Ex. 10: Charlie Parker, "Ko Ko" (m. 48)
Try listening to these eight notes out of context (Ex. 10). They sound pretty "outside," don't they? Now notice how remarkably tonal and "inside" his line sounds in context (Ex. 9). This is largely because Parker chooses to govern his melody with tonal bookends. He demonstrates full creative control, beginning with a direct match to Cmin7 and ultimately returns to tonal consonance by resolving to Bbmaj7.
What is particularly fascinating here is that Parker appears to defy fundamentals of music theory with nearly every note he plays over the F7. Considering Charlie Parker was a founding father of the bebop language, this example forces us all to take notice. What exactly was he envisioning here?
Was he thinking this? (Ex.11a):
Ex. 11a: Analysis 1, Charlie Parker, "Ko Ko" (m. 48)
Or maybe he was thinking this (Ex. 11b):
Ex. 11b: Analysis 2, Charlie Parker, "Ko Ko" (m. 48)
We'll never know what Parker was really thinking when he played that particular measure. But we do know that he was considering his melodic line first and foremost. He faced a world of creative possibilities when constructing his melody. He was not limited by the chord movement; he was owning his line. The end result is a phrase that is inspired, unpredictable, and perhaps also a bit dangerous!
Charlie Parker explained his approach: "I realized by using the high notes of the chords as a melodic line, and by the right harmonic progression, I could play what I heard inside me" [1]. There is certainly evidence for his claim of using the "high notes of the chords", but this may not encapsulate Parker's method entirely. After all, at times, Parker navigated harmonies by staying quite tonally grounded (see his solo entrance on "Now's The Time", Ex. 3). However, as the "Ko Ko" example illustrates, he did not shy away from the adventure of implying other harmonies, many of which derive from upper extensions of chords.
Case study
John Coltrane's solo on "Chasin' The Trane" (12-bar Blues in F)
Ex. 12: John Coltrane, "Chasin' The Trane" (mm. 9-11)
John Coltrane also used hidden changes. Many of these lines took the music to places that sounded much more "outside" than Parker's "Ko Ko" line. Check out the line Coltrane played on "Chasin' The Trane," a 12-bar blues in F (Ex. 12). This line covers measures 9-11 of the 12-bar form, moving through a II-V-I progression. The harmonies implied in each measure remain outside of the governing II-V-I harmony.
One analysis of superimposed harmonies reveals the use of a tritone substitution (C#min7 resolving to F#7) (Ex. 13a). With no tonal bookends present, as there were in Charlie Parker's "Ko Ko" line, the line maintains an "outside" sound until the end. Coltrane made the artistic choice to direct his line in such a manner, ending his phrase at a point of tension.
So, why does Coltrane's line still sound "good"? It may be because he is so deliberate in defining his hidden changes. For example, he ends this phrase exactly on an F#7 arpeggio. This occurs unambiguously in measure 11, at the end of the blues chorus, a point in the form where tension often mounts naturally. He also continues his thought with his next chorus (not excerpted here), offering some closure with a clear return to the F tonic.
Ex. 13a: Analysis 1, John Coltrane, "Chasin' The Trane" (mm 9-11)
The above analysis is only conjecture. Labeling hidden changes has its pitfalls, since we can really only guess what the performer was intending. Could it be that Coltrane was really implying this chord progression (Ex. 13b)?:
Ex. 13b: Analysis 2, John Coltrane, "Chasin' The Trane" (mm 9-11)
Again, we may never know, but just like Parker, Coltrane manipulated the composition to serve his improvisational line, allowing his creative impulse to shine.
Case study
Illinois Jacquet' solo on "Flying Home"
Illinois Jacquet's solo on "Flying Home" (Ex. 14) takes the concept of chord superimposition in a radically different direction. "Flying Home" favors quick harmonic movement, with chords usually moving every 2 beats. Rather than making an effort to outline the chord progression in minute detail, Jacquet simplifies his melodic role over "Flying Home." Jacquet keeps to a general key center, using notes that stem only from parent tonic major and minor pentatonic scales (Ex. 15). In this case study, the hidden changes are AbM6 and Abm6 chords (Ex. 16).
Ex. 14: Illinois Jacquet, "Flying Home" (mm. 1-8)
Ex. 15: A-flat Major and Minor-6 Pentatonic Scales
Ex. 16: Analysis, Illinois Jacquet, "Flying Home" (mm. 1-8)
The above examples only present the tip of the iceberg. Like "coloring inside the lines," the study and application of hidden changes is complex and deep. It requires a firm understanding of voice-leading and chord extensions, along with developing greater insight into music composition and structural architecture.
DIMENSION 3 - "Communicate and elevate"
The art of jazz stems from communication with others. With dimension 3, in which you "communicate and elevate," you are now making artistic choices that impact the collective performance of the ensemble. By listening and interacting deeply with your bandmates, you can elevate your performance to new heights. This notion can be summarized by that classic line, where the bandleader stops the band and says, "OK, that was alright, but now do it once more with feeling!" Sonny Rollins and Max Roach communicated masterfully with each other, as is seen in this next case study.
Case study
Sonny Rollins' solo on "St. Thomas"
Ex. 17: Sonny Rollins, "St. Thomas" (mm. 1-5)
Sonny Rollins, in the opening line of his tenor sax solo on "St. Thomas" (Ex. 17), repeatedly accents the upbeat (the "and") of beat 2 in each measure. Now check out the context of this performance: The whole piece opens with a solo groove established by the drummer Max Roach, who plays a tom-tom pattern emphasizing the same upbeat (Ex. 18).
Ex. 18: Max Roach, "St. Thomas" (mm. 1-5, drum intro)
By the time Rollins begins his solo, it sounds as if he has picked the tom-tom pattern up from Roach—in the fashion of a relay runner grabbing a baton—just as the pattern has
faded away from the actual drum kit. Would Rollins have played this rhythm if he weren't entirely engaged with Roach's drumming? Ultimately, the music that improvisers make can be greatly influenced by what is played in the moment throughout an ensemble. Without this level of communication, a performance might rarely elevate into anything meaningful and memorable. Can you think of other great performances where you can hear and feel this involved dialogue?
CONCLUSION - "Awareness and adaptation"
These three dimensions address a big and rich picture. Each can involve more than a lifetime of study and practice. The pursuance of all three will lead to lasting success in jazz improvisation. Coloring inside the lines (dimension 1) will help with precision and fluency. Owning your line (dimension 2) will help you break free of the constraints of the written chord progression. Perhaps most significantly, neither of these two will matter much if you fail to communicate and thusly elevate (dimension 3).
The historical examples presented have helped illustrate how performers have approached each step, but significant questions remain:
- Can a player begin to color outside the lines (dimension 2) before learning to color inside the lines (dimension 1)?
- Is it really possible to learn three approaches simultaneously, or is this really meant to be a sequential process?
A player first should get familiar with a single chord and scale (dimension 1). However, even in the beginning stages, the player can imply hidden changes (dimension 2) and play it all with feeling while listening and reacting to his bandmates (dimension 3).
Can a beginner take the Dmin13 chord on "So What" and immediately learn to imply over it a C major triad? Yes. That approach is not only feasible, it is also necessary to understanding how to solo over a chord progression like "So What." On the other hand, can a beginner solo in Coltrane's manner over "Chasin' The Train," implying chromatic hidden harmonies at a quick tempo? Most likely not. And that's OK. Even the more advanced player would not be able to carve a solo line like Coltrane's until he has explored more of his options while coloring inside the lines on an up-tempo 12-bar blues.
Fortunately, there is evermore room for growth within each of these three dimensions. It is wise to build a step-by-step road map, either on your own or preferably with a trusted mentor, but to set an entirely dogmatic path would be short-sighted. Along the way, questions will arise and the map may change a bit, depending on a person's aptitude and specific interests. That's an expected and valuable part of the process, and wonderment will abound along the way. The jazz path might be elusive, but the journey itself can be spectacular.
Louis Armstrong, "St. Louis Blues"
Various Artists. The Best Of Ken Burns Jazz (Columbia/Legacy, ASIN B000050HVJ).
Charlie Parker, "Now's The Time"
Charlie Parker. 1945-1953 (Giants of Jazz, ASIN B0000060Q4).
Miles Davis, "So What"
Miles Davis. Kind Of Blue [Original Recording Remastered] (Sony, ASIN B000002ADT).
Charlie Parker, "Ko Ko"
Charlie Parker. The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (Savoy, ASIN B00006H6A6).
John Coltrane, "Chasin' The Trane"
John Coltrane. The Best of John Coltrane (Pablo, ASIN B000000XMN).
Illinois Jacquet, "Flying Home"
Various Artists. Priceless Jazz: Sampler 5 (Verve, ASIN B00000IGUF).
Sonny Rollins, "St. Thomas"
Sonny Rollins. Saxophone Colossus (Prestige, ASIN B000EGDAI4).
- Arnaud, Gérald, and Jacques Chesnel, "Masters of Jazz." (Edinburgh: Chambers, 1991) « return
Javier Arau is the founder and director of New York Jazz Academy, a widely recognized NYC music school. He also leads the Javier Arau Jazz Orchestra, is an active multimedia composer, an author of works on music theory and improvisation, and an artist-endorser of Virtuoso Saxophones. Arau has performed as saxophone soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and has been featured in The New York Times, DownBeat Magazine, and Saxophone Journal. His compositions have received awards from ASCAP, BMI, DownBeat Magazine, and IAJE and are published by UNC Jazz Press and Dorn Publications. He earned degrees from New England Conservatory and Lawrence University. Personal mentors have included Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Joe Henderson, George Garzone, George Russell, Jerry Bergonzi, and Bob Brookmeyer.
ABOUT Anatomy of a Melody: A Jazz Improv Primer
With his forth-coming book, Anatomy of a Melody: A Jazz Improv Primer, Javier Arau sets out to unlock the mystery of jazz improvisation by addressing creative elements of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form. Supportive historical examples are used throughout the volume, and material covers both fundamentals and more advanced concepts in jazz styles. Intended to be a "how-to" primer in improvisation, the reader can apply the insights gained from this study to further the pursuit of jazz mastery.