In September at the age of 37 I had my first complete eye exam and first pair of glasses ever.I had basic exams throughout my school years but never a full on exam.
In the 8th grade my vision started to get a touch fuzzy but I never did anything about it. Having had a lot of operations through my life util my teen years I got sick of doctors and developed a fear of"what will the doctors find if I go to one again?".
Over the years I guess my vision steadily got worse slowly bit by bit and I never really realized how bad it had gotten until the exam when the optometrist part of the test where she did the part of the test where she used the Phoropter for the "Same?Better?Worse?"part of the exam and I eventually saw things perfectly clear for the first time since 8th grade.
A week later I picked up my glasses and put them on and it was like a whole new world as I saw leaves as individual leaves,signs weren`t blurry,the smallest details were sharp as a tack.
I have not done any of my photography really for at least the last couple of years or so.Apparently my bad vision had a lot to do with that without me realizing it until I noticed myself gaining new inspirations from things I was seeing and actually started to pick up my cameras that have been gathering dust.
So,fellow artists...if you find yourself with any vision problems but are afraid of doctors or what they might find,go see your eye doctor.
I found out that my eyes are perfectly healthy outside of the blurry vision.
Also, I feared the glaucoma test because of the puff of air being shot onto my eye but this doctor did a much simpler test where they touch something to your eye to test the eye pressure.The doctor uses a simple eye drop to numb your eyes so you don`t feel anything.
If you schedule an eye exam just look for an eye doctor who uses the non-air puff test.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
My next big project #2
I wanted to make this new blog for those who have read my last blog about my upcoming project with Tim who has Lukemia and to talk about another project I have in mind. I have not been able to start the project with Tim as of yet.
One more project I have in the works is titled "Controlled Chaos". This project stems from my work as a cook in many restaurants over the last 20 years.
Controlled chaos is a term often used in the restaurant business to describe the appearance of absolute chaos in a busy restaurant kitchen during. In a well run restaurant kitchen with the right kitchen staff it may seem like chaos to someone not involved in the restaurant business but everyone has their place and job and is actually very much in control.Hence the term Controlled chaos.
Many people seem to have an impression that their food magically gets delivered to their table without much of a clue of what actually goes on behind that kitchen door the waiter or waitress brings your food through.
In actuallity many restaurant kitchens are considered cold if the tempurature is below 100 degrees. Add to this the the wearing of a thick linen chefs coat and often a linen chefs hat(toke) or some sort of head covering,heavy duty footwear.
Cooks get hurt, some often work 12-16 hour shifts, miss their childs birthday party, their anniversary, go years without a vacation. It is nothing like you see on the food channel where everything is calm and easy going.
So,one of the other projects I will be doing is showing the reality behind the scenes in restaurant kitchens.
I have been granted permission by the owners of a well known restaurant group in the Sacramento area, which owns over 10 very well known Sacramento area restaurants, to shoot this series in their restaurants.
Having worked in two of their fine dining restaurants I know some of the people I will be photographing. I know what makes them tick in their kitchens, what makes their tempers flare. Knowing such things will hopefully make for some good photographs.
I meet with the owners later this month.
One more project I have in the works is titled "Controlled Chaos". This project stems from my work as a cook in many restaurants over the last 20 years.
Controlled chaos is a term often used in the restaurant business to describe the appearance of absolute chaos in a busy restaurant kitchen during. In a well run restaurant kitchen with the right kitchen staff it may seem like chaos to someone not involved in the restaurant business but everyone has their place and job and is actually very much in control.Hence the term Controlled chaos.
Many people seem to have an impression that their food magically gets delivered to their table without much of a clue of what actually goes on behind that kitchen door the waiter or waitress brings your food through.
In actuallity many restaurant kitchens are considered cold if the tempurature is below 100 degrees. Add to this the the wearing of a thick linen chefs coat and often a linen chefs hat(toke) or some sort of head covering,heavy duty footwear.
Cooks get hurt, some often work 12-16 hour shifts, miss their childs birthday party, their anniversary, go years without a vacation. It is nothing like you see on the food channel where everything is calm and easy going.
So,one of the other projects I will be doing is showing the reality behind the scenes in restaurant kitchens.
I have been granted permission by the owners of a well known restaurant group in the Sacramento area, which owns over 10 very well known Sacramento area restaurants, to shoot this series in their restaurants.
Having worked in two of their fine dining restaurants I know some of the people I will be photographing. I know what makes them tick in their kitchens, what makes their tempers flare. Knowing such things will hopefully make for some good photographs.
I meet with the owners later this month.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
My next big project
* Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control I will be unable to do this project, at least not with this particular family.
For those interested in what I have coming up as far as themes and projects I have decided on my next big project which will be an ongoing project.Hopefully this will begin in the next week or so.
I have a co-worker,Jorge,whose mother married her second husband Tim ,a United States Airforce fighter pilot a few years after moving to the United States from one of the most poor towns in Columbia.
Tim and Jorge`s mother live just a couple of miles from me.
When Tim got out of the Air Force he started a very lucrative business making parts for engines of all types and whatever other type or metal tool or part anyone needed.
Tim, missing the rush he would get while flying fighter planes, decided he wanted to build his own airplane and with the help of a friend still in the Air Force he came up with a design for the airplane. He began making all of the parts for the airplane himself.
Soon after he began his project he was diagnosed with Leukemia and had a series of strokes.Luckily the strokes were somewhat minor and he mainly just has a slight speach impediment.
However, his Leukemia has reached the point where the doctors can no longer do anything for him.
Tim never let this stop him and to this day, when he has the energy, he spends hours in his garage making parts and putting his airplane together knowing he may not finish it.
I am going to be photographing Tim throughout the building process as well as during everyday normal activities.Documentary style.
If Tim and the family permit it, this series may lead into his medical care and possibly the funeral.
Upon complettion of this project I will provide the family with a chronological album of the photographs.
For those interested in what I have coming up as far as themes and projects I have decided on my next big project which will be an ongoing project.Hopefully this will begin in the next week or so.
I have a co-worker,Jorge,whose mother married her second husband Tim ,a United States Airforce fighter pilot a few years after moving to the United States from one of the most poor towns in Columbia.
Tim and Jorge`s mother live just a couple of miles from me.
When Tim got out of the Air Force he started a very lucrative business making parts for engines of all types and whatever other type or metal tool or part anyone needed.
Tim, missing the rush he would get while flying fighter planes, decided he wanted to build his own airplane and with the help of a friend still in the Air Force he came up with a design for the airplane. He began making all of the parts for the airplane himself.
Soon after he began his project he was diagnosed with Leukemia and had a series of strokes.Luckily the strokes were somewhat minor and he mainly just has a slight speach impediment.
However, his Leukemia has reached the point where the doctors can no longer do anything for him.
Tim never let this stop him and to this day, when he has the energy, he spends hours in his garage making parts and putting his airplane together knowing he may not finish it.
I am going to be photographing Tim throughout the building process as well as during everyday normal activities.Documentary style.
If Tim and the family permit it, this series may lead into his medical care and possibly the funeral.
Upon complettion of this project I will provide the family with a chronological album of the photographs.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
My Bio
My name is Ray Cornett. I am a 36 year old self-taught photographer residing in northern California in the small town of Davis, just west of Sacramento.
I come from an artistic family and have been doing some form of art for as long as I can remember.From drawing to painting, pottery and photography. Although I do still have an interest in all of those my focus,no pun intended, has pointed more toward photography.
My first attempts at photography started at about the age of ten shooting anything I found interesting from flowers to people to inanimate objects with an old Kodak Brownie I purchased for two dollars at a garage sale. Then, in my early teen years I moved on to my parents Yashica Electro 35 35mm camera which I seemed to have comandeered and still have to this day.
In 2001 I began to do photography on a professional level shooting models for fashion, glamour, the occassional wedding, whatever paid the bills. However, my passion has always lied in the more fulfilling artistic side of photography, which has led to several local showings of my prints. As you can see my subjects of interest vary widely but my focus is to provoke thought, get people talking, make the viewer see things in a different way and hopefully inspire others to be creative whether it be through photography, drawing or another creative visual art form.
I have many more short series and on going projects in the works and I also plan on self publishing a series of books of my art photography.
Over the last 5 years I have experimented with alternative printing processes. I am considering editioning my prints or perhaps only edition a select few. However, due to my printing and editing techniques mimmicking traditional darkroom techniques, as apposed to most photographers who make and edit one image and make all prints from that single edit session so that they are all identical.
I come from an artistic family and have been doing some form of art for as long as I can remember.From drawing to painting, pottery and photography. Although I do still have an interest in all of those my focus,no pun intended, has pointed more toward photography.
My first attempts at photography started at about the age of ten shooting anything I found interesting from flowers to people to inanimate objects with an old Kodak Brownie I purchased for two dollars at a garage sale. Then, in my early teen years I moved on to my parents Yashica Electro 35 35mm camera which I seemed to have comandeered and still have to this day.
In 2001 I began to do photography on a professional level shooting models for fashion, glamour, the occassional wedding, whatever paid the bills. However, my passion has always lied in the more fulfilling artistic side of photography, which has led to several local showings of my prints. As you can see my subjects of interest vary widely but my focus is to provoke thought, get people talking, make the viewer see things in a different way and hopefully inspire others to be creative whether it be through photography, drawing or another creative visual art form.
I have many more short series and on going projects in the works and I also plan on self publishing a series of books of my art photography.
Over the last 5 years I have experimented with alternative printing processes. I am considering editioning my prints or perhaps only edition a select few. However, due to my printing and editing techniques mimmicking traditional darkroom techniques, as apposed to most photographers who make and edit one image and make all prints from that single edit session so that they are all identical.
Why I chose photography
A few times I have been asked the questions "why do you do photography?"and "Why do you think photography so popular and interesting among its viewers?".Perhaps I can attempt to answer both questions at once.
My initial interest in photography began when I was 10 shooting candid photographs of family with a little Kodak Brownie that I bought for 2 dollars at a garage sale.At first it was the usual, capturing of moments and memories, that caught my attention.
Having been involved in art classes in school from kindergarten on I eventually saw photography as another medium of artistic expression.I began shooting flowers in vases,shooting tall buildings laying on my back when I went with my father running errands downtown - anything I saw as interesting. Looking back, especially at shooting the buildings while laying on my back I can see where a lot of my love for the abstract comes from.Showing things as they are not normally perceived to be, different angles most do not see an object from, making people have to think to figure out what something is.Macro photography, whether just close up to show part of an object or show a small object in full detail at a larger size is also something I enjoy as,again, I like to show things as they are not often seen.
I feel most do not take the time to notice the smaller details - the small things that complete the "big picture" which is why so many have trouble figuring out what some of my abstract photographs are of.
As for why I think photography is so popular and interesting to those who enjoy viewing it is perhaps that it gives people the ability,or better yet, the permission to stare-as long as they want.
How often have we seen something in passing and wished we had the time to look at it in more detail? How often have we seen someone so interesting that we would love to be able to just look at them but were raised with the thought that staring was rude.
Humans are curious creatures and staring is not done out of rudeness but mostly just to take in more detail and information about what we are seeing.Taking mental notes, if you will.
With a photograph you can stare as long as you like at that old man with the interesting features and deep wrinkles walking down the street,that section of the coast that you were driving by at 65 miles an hour.
My initial interest in photography began when I was 10 shooting candid photographs of family with a little Kodak Brownie that I bought for 2 dollars at a garage sale.At first it was the usual, capturing of moments and memories, that caught my attention.
Having been involved in art classes in school from kindergarten on I eventually saw photography as another medium of artistic expression.I began shooting flowers in vases,shooting tall buildings laying on my back when I went with my father running errands downtown - anything I saw as interesting. Looking back, especially at shooting the buildings while laying on my back I can see where a lot of my love for the abstract comes from.Showing things as they are not normally perceived to be, different angles most do not see an object from, making people have to think to figure out what something is.Macro photography, whether just close up to show part of an object or show a small object in full detail at a larger size is also something I enjoy as,again, I like to show things as they are not often seen.
I feel most do not take the time to notice the smaller details - the small things that complete the "big picture" which is why so many have trouble figuring out what some of my abstract photographs are of.
As for why I think photography is so popular and interesting to those who enjoy viewing it is perhaps that it gives people the ability,or better yet, the permission to stare-as long as they want.
How often have we seen something in passing and wished we had the time to look at it in more detail? How often have we seen someone so interesting that we would love to be able to just look at them but were raised with the thought that staring was rude.
Humans are curious creatures and staring is not done out of rudeness but mostly just to take in more detail and information about what we are seeing.Taking mental notes, if you will.
With a photograph you can stare as long as you like at that old man with the interesting features and deep wrinkles walking down the street,that section of the coast that you were driving by at 65 miles an hour.
My Bio
My name is Ray Cornett. I am a 35 year old self-taught photographer residing in northern California in the small town of Davis, just west of Sacramento.
I come from an artistic family and have been doing some form of art for as long as I can remember.From drawing to painting, pottery and photography. Although I do still have an interest in all of those my focus,no pun intended, has pointed more toward photography.
My first attempts at photography started at about the age of ten shooting anything I found interesting from flowers to people to inanimate objects with an old Kodak Brownie I purchased for two dollars at a garage sale. Then, in my early teen years I moved on to my parents Yashica Electro 35 35mm camera which I seemed to have comandeered and still have to this day.
In 2001 I began to do photography on a professional level shooting models for fashion, glamour, the occassional wedding, whatever paid the bills. However, my passion has always lied in the more fulfilling artistic side of photography, which has led to several local showings of my prints. As you can see my subjects of interest vary widely but my focus is to provoke thought, get people talking, make the viewer see things in a different way and hopefully inspire others to be creative whether it be through photography, drawing or another creative visual art form.
I have many more short series and on going projects in the works and I also plan on self publishing a series of books of my art photography.
Over the last 5 years I have experimented with alternative printing processes. I am considering editioning my prints or perhaps only edition a select few. However, due to my printing and editing techniques mimmicking traditional darkroom techniques, as apposed to most photographers who make and edit one image and make all prints from that single edit session so that they are all identical.
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