unregimented.com – Brian Paris

It is the start of a new month and my life is getting a fresh start here in Doha. I just moved into a new apartment. It is a lot smaller than my old place, but it is nicer. I’ve got boxes everywhere, and I’m not quite sure how I am going to arrange everything. I don’t really like moving, but I am taking it as a time to make some changes in the rest of my life also.

I have lived a pretty dull life while over here, but I think that after two years it is time to change it up. I am planning on getting a little more settled in this place. I need a good comfortable chair, a computer desk, and maybe some bar stools for people to sit by the kitchen counter. I am getting organized and hopefully will get more done. I will be working on some creative projects. Writing, Photography, Web, and maybe some Film Making. The money is nice over here, but I need to keep up with the creative side in order to be happier.

I also need to get healthier. Eat good food. Exercise. And do all that good stuff.

It has been a good couple of years over here, but let’s see if I can make it even better.
Happy August!

I got a chance to visit Asheville. It is such a great town, but most important was that I got to see Joy. Here are some pictures.

Went to Dubai for a week earlier this month. I was there for Gulf Photo Plus. It was a great week full of good workshops. I got a chance to work on some HDR stuff with David Nightingale. I really like his less over the top philosophy of HDR work. Also did a portrait retouching workshop with him. It was nice to get a few techniques for retouching. I also got to see how someone handles a mixture of experience in one class. There were some people who had never used Photoshop and others who were very good with it. I worry about teaching groups that are that mixed.

The last part of the week was spent with Zack Arias for an On Location workshop. Big fan of this guys work. He works a lot with musicians out of his Atlanta studio. That would be a good time. He is an example of what I like about photography, someone who knows his stuff technically so that he can pull off his creative vision. It is hard to find tech and creative, but I think Zack is great.

I picked up a couple of DVD workshops while I was at the conference so that I could continue my education beyond the week. Zack Arias’ One Light DVD is a great resource. I have already learned a lot from it. Not really impressed with the video quality, but the information is good.

You can see some of the photos that I took over the week on my photography site (photography.brianparis.com)

Went out to the camel races today. It was a really odd experience. Don’t know why I was expecting something similar to a horse race, but it was rather different. We didn’t sit in the stands. We were in a bus that was on a roadway on the inside of the track. When the camels started we would follow along the way in the bus (or others in a car). They also don’t use jockeys anymore. Instead they use robotic riders with remote controlled whips. The owners ride along on the outside of the track in their SUV’s with the remotes whipping the camels to hurry up. I checked the speed of the bus and we were going 35-40 kph following along with the lead camels.

Here is a picture of the start of one of the races where I got out of the bus:

Start of a Camel Race

2009 is almost over and I look back on the last year to see how things went. Well it doesn’t really compare to last year, but it wasn’t too bad.

Spent the year here in Doha. I have really enjoyed the job. The students are great and the equipment is great. Working to put all of that together to get the school started here in Qatar seems like an accomplishment. I am glad that it is off to a good start, and I have been very impressed with the quality of the student work.

Made a couple of trips to the states. First in April to check out the Evanston campus and attend NAB in Vegas. Both provided a lot of useful information that was used in preparing the equipment list for here at NU-Q. The second trip was to LA for a week of RED training at their first official REDucation week. Very informative and gave me a great understanding of the RED one cameras that we are using.

Financially the job has been great. I achieved my resolution of getting out of debt. That is a huge weight lifted from my life. I remember how close things were to collapse in 2008, and don’t want to be back there again. Now I need to start saving.

I have learned a lot this year. Learned new programs, audacity, InDesign, soundslides, and others. I became more familiar with Journalism and Cinematography. I am really comfortable on the RED work flow. I didn’t make it to certification classes for Final Cut Studio (almost made it this month), but it looks like I might be able to do that early next year.

Creatively, I have been writing a poem everyday since April, but it hasn’t really felt satisfying. They aren’t very good and just feel like a hassle. I’m on 264, so only about 100 left. I plan on finishing up, but I wish it had lead to the goal of getting the creative juices flowing again. Other than that not much has happened creatively this last year.

I haven’t done much for my health this year. Pretty much staying level, but I need to get better with that.

Probably have to give myself a C+ this year. I’ll have to step it up a notch next year.

I just started a new website. It is a pop culture and arts zine. It will have articles on Music, TV, Movies, Arts, and Nightlife. Check it out and let me know what you think. Sounds and Colors: Arts and Culture Zine

Al Jazeera English did a story about Qatar’s goal to become less reliant on an Oil and Gas economy. Part of that mission is why Education City is here. The story features some of the students that I work with here at Northwestern. I am even in there for a brief second.

Paycheck just got deposited in my account. There was a little extra money in this one to make up for some tax stuff. It was just enough to give me more money than I owe. I finally have no money. Woo. It is nice to be back in this position finally. I haven’t spent any money in the last year in hopes to be debt free by the end of the year, and it looks like I am a couple of months early.

Been writing poems everyday for 183 days now. I am half way to my goal of a year. Some are good, most are bad, but at least I am writing something. I think I’ll start looking into picking a few to rewrite and polish. Still have plans to put a book together of some of them when I am done.

In a surprising vote, the Chicago Olympic bid went down first in today’s vote. Rio took the top spot and will host in 2016. I kind of thought they might get the games since they have never been held in South America before, but I thought Chicago had a stronger shot. I didn’t see them going out first. I don’t know where I will be in 2016, but I was thinking I might be back in Chi town by that time.

I guess I’ll just have to settle for a Cubs World Series. I’m sure that will happen soon.