Who among my readfers does 3D modeling and rendering?

A client of mine has a project that needs 3D modeling and rendering of industrial products. The work revolves around images for advertising, not CAD. I know that a few of my former students have been doing this, but my contacts are several years old at this point.

So, if you do 3D modeling, rendering and animation, and would like an interesting commercial project, let me know. I’d like to see samples of work.

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An old image which is worth re-posting.

 

I am lucky to be friends with quite a few peace officers.

Posted in interesting people, rkba, self-defense | Tagged , | 2 Comments

cz52

The legend

The reality

The pistol was a gift from a friend. Thanks to the recent arrival of 7.62×25 gun food, live fire review is coming.

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Co-worker Tiffany

One of the best features of working freelance is being able to pick the co-workers. While most of my models are local friends, all but one of my retouchers live elsewhere. Tiffany is the one local colleague. We go back quite a few years when I was teaching multimedia production courses at IADT college. Back then, she was a straight A student, serious and well organized. Since then, she’s retouched images, trained and managed other retouchers, and assisted on photo shoots. It’s great to be able to hand her a task and know that it would be done on time, well and usually better than expected.

sphix_compact_subcompact_DSC6865retouched

 

Here’s an example of her work (click for details). Pretty much all close-up photos require retouching, sometime for manufacturing flaws and always for dust and other contaminants. Much of these details are invisible to unaided eye but manifest themselves readily in 10 by 15 foot trade show prints.

It also helps that she’s former Army and current firearm enthusiast. She understands the terminology and can set up props correctly.

While some employers worry about people coming to the office with a gun one day, I know for a fact that all of my collaborators carry, and usually have a rifle with a vest in the trunk as well. To me, that’s a plus.

She’s helped me test fire a wide variety of weapons, often being the first person after the inventor or the designer to run a particular new loudboomer.

We even share the penchant for redundant targeting options, in this case, iron sights, Lucid HD7 red dot and Viridian C5R laser.

Since working with me takes up only about a third of her time, I’d like to recommend Tiffany as an excellent retoucher and graphic designer. She has worked directly for several of my clients and everyone was quite happy with the results and the reliability. She may be reached at tmreynolds9@gmail.com

Posted in art, interesting people, pistol, rifle, weapon | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Volquartsen solution for the left-handed.

Volquartsen Ultra Lite .22 is an awesome rifle, but the thumbhole stock is fairly long and designed purely for right-handed users. Fortunately, one minute with a screwdriver puts on an even lighter Hogue stock which is shorter and ambidextrous. Add a Gemtech rimfire suppressor, an Aimpoint T1 and Black Dog machine 50 round drum, and this becomes a pretty serious tool for steel challenge. And, just in case, Rudy Project eye protection.

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Savage Rascal, scoped

I’ve written about Savage Rascal before. It’s one of my favorite little rifles, tiny enough for kids but built well enough for adults to use as well. I use mine with the default peep sight and that’s good enough for 1″ at 25 yards. The walnut stocked version is both slightly heavier and slightly more expensive than the colorful plastic stocked models. It might make sense to put the balance of the weight and the extra money into an optic, like this store brand but surprisingly decent 2-7x. Being able to see the point of aim better translates into improved practical accuracy.

Combined with “quiet ammo“, it’s a very pleasant back yard plinker. It is equipped with sling swivel studs which can also be used for a bipod.

 

The lengths and the heft are about right for this 9 year old girl. She has shot other, larger guns, but this rifle is hers.

Posted in ammunition, rifle, training, weapon | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Drones in Nashville

I’d like to get up to speed on doing photos of and with drones. Is anyone near Nashville willing and able to show me the basics?

Posted in advice requested, camera and lens | 3 Comments

LP-E10 battery for Canon cameras

Who of my Nashville readers has a camera that takes such a battery?

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Refresher training.

Remington 870 Youth 20ga back in 2007.

I first took a shotgun class around 2000 with Greg Sullivan’s Defensive Edge in Minnesota. I was amazed at how much I was able to learn in a day. I’ve not done any shotgun training since. Time to remedy that deplorable condition.

This September, I am heading to South Carolina to learn more about shotguns.  The specific course was recommended by Russel Phagan or KE Arms, a very impressive shotgunner. Suarez International has a controversial reputation in the US, while East European gunnies generally respect him for being non-PC. I’d like to see for myself how his instructors present the material. I will bring cameras along and try to do photos and learn at the same time. While there, I also plan on a refresher pistol course.

I am looking for suggestions. First off, which shotgun to bring?

  • Remington 1100 Youth 20ga (4+1, light, low recoil, simple manual of arms)
  • Winchester X3 Youth 20ga (8+1 with extended tube, low recoil, would have to get used to the operation before the class)
  • Vepr 12 with 5 and 10rd magazine, 12ga (fairly low recoil, heavier, different manual of arms from other shooters)
  • EAA MKA1919, 12ga (a little more kick, fairly light, would probably have to run EOTech on it, 5 and 10rd magazines)

With any of these, I would need some way to carry ammunition, either loose or in magazines. Again, suggestions are welcome. Would adding a Red Ring sight to either 1100 or X3 be worthwhile?

Posted in ammunition, pistol, shotgun, training, weapon | Tagged , | 8 Comments

M1911 in 7.62x25mm

 

(Updated August 24 with the link to much larger image)

Considering how often I’ve heard people profess a desire for such a pistol, it’s surprising to come across such a gun for the first time ever. It uses 5 shot 38 wadcutter magazines from Clark Customs. Custom work by Sam Hoster.

Posted in ammunition, pistol, weapon | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

John Lewis, a great man

John is as kind as he is brilliant — and that’s a mighty good start. He is one of my favorite people.

 

Posted in interesting people | Tagged | 1 Comment

Hot weather carry option

Glock 43 with Viridian R5 laser. Might work with something like this garter holster.

Posted in light/laser, pink, pistol, weapon | Tagged | 1 Comment

Brenneke slugs work well

Origin 12 shotgun with Trijicon RX30 sight (unmagnified 6.5MOA dot reticle), Brenneke full power magnum slugs.

Five shots at 25 yards, with the shotgun rested on a porch railing. The sight wasn’t fully adjusted at that point, we fixed it after this string and went to 50 yards next. 485 grain slugs at 1475fps would do a number on a foe, but were actually comfortable to fire from this shotgun. With the barrel below the centerline of the stock, muzzle rise was absent. Between the performance and the manual of arms being almost identical to a side-charging AR15, I am a big fan.

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This is why I look forward to Mondays

This video was made yesterday in my neighbor’s back yard.

Origin 12 home. My older video about it.

Another video from the same day.

Posted in shotgun, sound suppressor, weapon | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Magnified LCD hood for Canon T3?

I looked at B&H but could not find a single hood for the 2.7″ LCD. Any suggestions?

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Hogue retention holster for M1911: new on AllOutdoor

Lightweight paddle/belt convertible holster.

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Oil painting filter in Photoshop CC 2015

I need oil painting filter for a project. I have CS5 and CS2015 installed. The filter seems exclusive to CS6. Any suggestions on how to deal with this problem?

Thanks!

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A well-appointed Saiga 12

A friend brought his shotgun today and I was very impressed with how well it was set up. The sight radius is much longer than on the original gun, and ghost ring and circular protective hood around the front post work great for aerial targets. Polychoke gives excellent versatility with slug, buck and bird. Variable length of pull, stubby foregrip and improved pistol grip add up to a handy package. 12-round drum works flawlessly, is easy to load and doesn’t require an awkward support arm position.

Personally, I like drums for shotguns as they don’t subject plastic shells to much spring pressure, and because this 12-rounder is the same height as a 5-round box magazine.

Having a telescoping stock proved most helpful when he got back into armor. The main photo shoot was with Origin 12 shotgun, but it’s great when models bring their own weapons along.

Posted in shotgun, weapon | Tagged , | 4 Comments

ISSC SPA .22 rifle: new on AllOutdoor

ISSC SPA .22 biathlon rifle

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Our Lady of the Double Tap

Posted in interesting people, pistol, weapon | Tagged | 2 Comments