Physics is your friend

We did a lot of the physics of cameras and lenses this morning. I struggled with physics in high school, mostly because I took it too early, before I had the proper math background. But in Oswego I did a semester of the physics of light and a semester of the physics of sound. I think what I like best about physics is that sort of by definition what you learn there doesn't change. In the TV and radio and photography classes only about half of what we learned still applies. Composition and aesthetics and storytelling is still applicable, but cutting sound using a grease pencil and a razor blade is a useless skill. Developing film isn't that useful anymore either, though we are going to be shooting film this month. But we send it to the lab to get developed. What really hasn't changed, what really won't ever change, is how a lens works and how a sound wave travels and that sort of stuff. I was probably pretty annoyed back in the day that I was getting a liberal arts degree and so had to take all these classes outside my major in an effort to be well rounded. But really physics has proven to be the most useful class over the course of my career.

On a completely different note - or maybe only a slightly different note - I had what is likely to be my last paid shoot for a while. Saturday on the first flight out of Logan I went to Seattle. It was a gorgeous day out there. I spent the afternoon with Tiffany from Museum on Main Street shooting soccer games and talking to kids and their parents. When we did football and hockey those were high school kids. The skateboarding kids were middle school. The soccer kids ranged in age from 5 to 10. They were very cute and mostly inarticulate.

"What's your favorite thing about soccer?"
"Kicking."
"Do you think you'll play soccer for a long time?"
"Yeah."
"I've never played soccer before, what's it like?"
"...  ... ... fun."
"Great, thanks. We're going to talk to your mom now for a bit."

5 year old's soccer games are fun though. They're as likely to steal from each other as from the opposing team. And there was one girls game where I think they thought they were playing lacrosse. They just kept chasing the ball. They ended up a good 20 feet beyond the goal and just kept playing while all the parents and coaches were shouting "Come back, come back!" And when they finally got onto the actual field there was a lot of "No, your goal is that one over there."

It was a good day over all. I have a sun burn even. Then in the evening we went up in the space needle. When it was built it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Now it's the 7th tallest building in Seattle. Sadly I look dorky in the free picture they took so I won't be posting that. And then on Sunday I got the last flight back to Logan. Literally the last flight, they were holding taxis for us. And then they lost my checked back. Well, not lost, they knew exactly where it was when they looked it up for me. Albany. I offered to have my Dad pick it up, but they're actually going to deliver it to me this evening. So I didn't get home until about 1:30. And my morning class was fun so I was awake enough, but now I've got this 4 hour gap before my afternoon class and I'm trying to decide if it would be better or worse if I take a nap.