The Vietnam War - The Beginnings

Normally I would try to do an anniversary post on the actual date in question but I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing this weekend and tonight was kind of a slow night, so I'll do it tonight.  While I like messing around with my action figures and lighting, I can't wait for the weather to get a little nicer and it to stay lighter a little longer so that I can wander around for pictures.  Until then, we have this.

 On March 8th, 1965, 3,500 US Marines were deployed to DaNang in order to protect US air bases that were already established in South Vietnam.  This was in response to some attacks on US military personnel that were already in country.  This marks the first US Combat Troops that would be deployed to the Vietnam War.  Granted there were "advisors" there prior to that, this would mark the official entry into the War.

By December of 1965, this presence would increase to 200,000 Troops.  Initially, these troops were used to defend US air bases and what not but they were soon deployed to conduct offensive operations against the Viet Cong.

 Gradually, the presence of US Troops would increase.  They were pretty effective but were hampered politically.  Initially, the Vietnam War was popular with the American people but as they started to see that the politicians didn't really have a plan, they wanted to bring the troops home (sound familiar?).

 In 1969, the US started what was called the "Vietnamization" of the War.  This was where the combat operations of the US would decrease while the South Vietnam Military was increased.  This also marked the time where US combat troops were returned home.

 By 1973, the remaining US ground troops were brought home.

 The Vietnam War ended with the occupation of South Vietnam by North Vietnam in 1975.

 Over the course of the War, the US would lose 58,303 people and another 303,644 were wounded.  The War also divided the country as it continued to drag on.  The toll on the Vietnamese was higher.

 The effect of the Vietnam War on the US military is a continuing legacy.

Personally, I think the people that served in Vietnam got a pretty raw deal.  They were looked down upon by veterans of other wars because it was a war that was lost.  However, I think that it was our politicians that lost the war and not the soldiers.  They had no real plan of dealing with North Vietnam as they weren't willing to take the battle to North Vietnam (with the exception of the bombing campaign).  Granted, that would have caused issues with the Soviets, but I'm of the opinion that if you are going to commit the blood of the nation, you should be prepared to achieve some sort of victory.

Darth Vader, Only You Could So Bold....

I set out at the beginning of the year to try to do at least a photograph a day.  Currently that is a bit of  challenge as it is getting dark when I leave work and the weather right now isn't the greatest.  So I figured, I would use this time as a time for experimenting with different things.  One of the easiest things to experiment with is lighting and different angles of lighting.

 So the first shot is just using the normal lighting in the room.  I kind of like it but it doesn't have the cool effect.

 For my next shot, I decided to use back lighting.  I think Darth Vader is a kind of silhouette guy and he has one of the most distinctive shadows in movie history.

 Next I was trying to evil under the face lighting.  Not really sure about this one.  I may have to mess with this angle more to get the effect I'm looking for.

 Direct light from the flashlight.  I like this one better than the first one.

 Next I tried a colored piece of plastic.  I was trying to get the effect that his lightsaber was the only thing producing the light.  I kind of like this one.

 But I think I like this one more.

 Then I pulled the camera out to get a fuller shot of him.  First up is the natural lighting of the room.

 Next, the flashlight.

 And then backlit.  I think I like this one the best of the bunch.  I can almost imagine the scene where he comes out in Empire Strikes Back.

 Then I figured I would add Luke to the fray.  He's in his outfit from Empire Strikes Back. 

 Next I was trying the backlit shot.  I kind of like the effect here and it almost reminds me of the scene from the movie.

 Just trying a different angle of the light.

One more light from overhead.

I may try to research film noir style and try to recreate that.  We'll see how that goes.

Messing With Light and Shadows

In keeping with my attempt to do at least one photo a day, I figured I would use tonight to do some more messing with the light pen and different lighting angles.  While I think I get cool pictures out of this, I think it helps me understand light and my camera better.

 My first subject was a model 747 that I have.  I was going to do trains again but I decided that I don't do planes on here enough and the 747 is a pretty good subject. 

 The plane is wearing the United Airlines "Friendship" Livery.  This was the scheme that was common in the late 60's through the 70's.  The airline traces its lineage to the Varney Air Lines in 1926.  It started as an air-mail service and morphed into passenger service.  It also traces it's history to the Boeing Air Transport which was an airline run by William Boeing formed in 1927.  In 1928, Boeing merged with Varney and a couple other airlines to form United.  Eventually, it would expand into the airline we know and love today.

 The development of the 747 began in the early 1960's when the US Air Force was looking for a heavy cargo aircraft.  Boeing lost out the contract to the C-5 Galaxy designed by Lockheed, however Juan Trippe of Pan Am was interested.  He was looking for a plane that was larger than the 707.  It first flew in 1969 and the first plane was delivered to Pan Am in 1970.  The bulge on top of the fuselage used to hold a lounge.

 Sadly, this plane is being phased out in favor of the twin engine jets.  It is a very nice looking jet.

 The plane from a different angle.

 For this shot, I was messing with the shadow.  This something I'm going to have to explore more in the future.

 My next subject is one of my action figures.  He is depicting a British paratrooper from the Falklands Conflict.

 Just messing with different angles of light.

And a picture of the shadows.  Again, I'm going to have to mess with this some more.

Messing Around With My Trains

Because I'm trying to do a picture a day and it is still winter, I'm going to sometimes use this opportunity to experiment with things.  One of the things I've messed with in the past is taking pictures with a flashlight.  This gives me the opportunity to control the direction of the light and I think this will help with more proper photography.

 First, I just used a straight out picture.  This would probably be the normal angle for me to take a picture of a train.  Since I was just messing with things, I didn't get the full engine in the picture.

 Then I tried the front of the train, I didn't realize that I would get a sinister looking shot out of it.

 Just a different angle.  This would be one that I couldn't get with a real train unless I was on an overpass or something.

One more from the front but a little lower angle on the camera.

I'm going to have to try this again but with the tripod so that I don't have to use higher film speed.

The Shadow of the Fork

After lunch, I was playing with my fork  little bit. 

I kind of like the way this looked against the table.

Messing With the Light

Night photography can look very awesome if it turns out right.  But for it to turn out right, you either need a tripod or a very stable place to set your camera.  Night time exposures are typically measured in seconds rather than fractions of seconds.  Because of this, every bit of motion in your camera will be captured and this is why some night shots tend to look blurry.

However, there are times when you can use this to your advantage and get some really neat effects.

 For instance, you have this nice stylized picture of the Renaissance Center.  I didn't move the camera so much that you can still tell it's the Ren Cen.

 Sometimes you can get two or three Ren Cens.

 As I was taking the pictures, the Birchglen decided she wanted to appear on my blog.  Sadly, I'm not nearly steady enough to pan with her, but if you look at the bottom of the picture, you can see her red port-side light.  You can also see her running lights.

 I used a slighly shorter time for this picture. 

Since Chris was driving, I tried to get some freeway signs.  I love the motion effect.

I guess that's one thing I like about using a digital camera.  I can try stuff like this.  If it doesn't work, I'm only out some electrons.  If it does work, I have some nice abstracts.