KnightLife Studios

A Swing Bridge- Grand Ave, NewHaven

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:08:16 PST

Trains with The 50mm & Opteka Semi-fisheye

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:43:28 PST

50mm lens w/Opteka semi-fisheye lens

50mm Lens (same distance)

So, I've been playing with my Opteka, HD2 Macro- semi-fisheye lens.. and learning some new and magnificent things. To get the true fisheye look I have to pair the lens attachment up with the 15-55 kit lens that came with the T3i... but I've always wanted to use it with my 50mm lens. Why?.. well for one thing it's one of the best lenses ever. I love the bokeh of the lens... the sharpness of the lens and i love that I can take pictures from f1.8 all the way up to f22. So, when I paired the lens up with the 50mm, i thought that i could put it down to the lowest aperture and shoot away-- i was wrong. What I got was some weird blurry fuzzy looking pictures. Why do i say weird.. because everything looked clear in the viewfinder... but not so much when i switched to live view or snapped the picture. So, again.. not knowing too much about what I was doing .. I put that idea aside for a little while-- until last week. I went for a aperture of 5.6 and "boom goes the dynamite"-- the sweet spot. perfect bokeh... clear and crisp. So, I guess that's because of the elements/glass in the attachment that I have to kick up the aperture. Anyway-- that's what I've learned. Also I learned just how much closer the lens attachment allows me to get to an object. The two pictures above were taken from the same distance, .. one with just the 50mm and one with the lens attachment.

No words

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:31:42 PST

The Early Morning Train

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:13:30 PST

One side of Downtown New Haven

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:32:15 PST

Sunset- North Haven

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:28:12 PST

So, I've fallen back in love with the Opteka semi-fisheye lens attachment for my canon t3i.after using it a few months ago I wasn't too excited about it because of all the lens aberration... but i think I've taken care of that. You still get a lot of junk on the edges.. but by using a smaller aperture, you cut back on most of the soft focus and aberrations. These are some sunset shots from North Haven-- behind the Toys R Us plaza if you know the area. So, in short it must have been user error-- yea I'll admit it. It is also a really good macro lens.

Christmas Scenes on the Street: Wallingford

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:03:48 PST

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:58:33 PST

Merry Christmas and God Bless You! See you in the New Year

Luke 2:14 (King James Version)

^"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Pictures Of Airplanes

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:35:33 PST

     I'm pretty sure that while taking these pictures I came close to getting arrested. It's not that I was doing anything wrong-- I was taking pictures off Airport property and away from any signs that say keep away.. or no parking. But I was a little paranoid-- plus I'm a black guy -- or dark skinned person pointing a black thing at an airplane while it's taking off from an airport with dozens of people on board. I'm just saying-- from 100 yards away who knows what I look like.
    Anyway, I found spot to take pictures in the parking lot of a closed down business... the fence boarders Bradley International Airport's runway.... after taking pictures of the first plane that took off a security vehicle came speeding down the runway at-- i'm guessing about 110 miles per hour. The engine was pushing as hard as it could.. then there was a 20-30 minute break between flights. In that time I saw my friend the security guard's car at least three more times. I was a little spooked. Now, I like taking pictures of anything with wheels and an engine--- airplanes may soon become my favorite. i hope you enjoy these pictures. At first I wasn't too axcited about the pictures because of all the the trash on the grass in front of the runway--- then I bumped up the gain and saturation-- Wow. Take a look.
     One of these was my wife plane-- as you can tell I miss the days when you could wave good-bye to your loved ones before they get on a plane and watch their plane taxi and take off!

Knight Out With Bokeh

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:43:11 PST

Wikipedia: In photography, bokeh is the blur,or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."^[8]

Hartford: Adriaen's Landing

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:21:55 PST

A Photographer's Christmas Wishlist; The Top 10

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:08:16 PST

   So, It's Christmas time! and it's time to start thinking about the pro- or amateur photographer in your life. Get them something nice, something memorable and something that they'll take with them on every shoot. I've gathered a list of the top 10 photo gear gifts that will likely take your photographer's skills to the next level and possibly even make them some money. While gathering this list I have to admit that none of these gifts are in my photo closet. I'm not being paid by anyone to push their product... but that's the point. These products aren't in my closet and i suspect they may be in very few closets. But, they're all items that I think are cool enough to throw on a wish list... and I suspect that I'm not alone.

1. The The Lens Cap Strap Holder at the Photojojo Store!
       Kickstarter.com is an awesome website that has spawned a couple of the gift ideas on my list. The first idea and probably one of the most simple and interesting ideas that I've seen in a while is this Lens Cap Strap holder. I don't like losing things, and I have to admit I have already lost a couple of lens caps. The lens cap for my older canon sx30 is long lost-- never to be found again. One of my lens's was so old that it didn't have a cap anymore. i bought a new replacement lens-- but lost it within the next month. I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached. That's kind of the idea behind this. Don't lose your lens cap-- and don't use some silly string to attach it to your camera-- just attach it to your camera strap. Not all Photographers use camera straps, but I absolutely detest that little dangly thing that lens cap companies offer as a way to keep from losing the cap. It's a great idea, but only if you don't plan on changing your lens anytime soon. i don't have one of these, yet, but I can imagine attaching this to a belt, camera bag, backpack or purse if you don't want to use a camera strap. An amazing idea. I only wish I had come up with it first. This Lens cap keeper should come with every lens kit.(and it's made in the USA)

2. Buy the Camera Table Dolly at the Photojojo Store!
   Number 2 on the list is the Camera Table Dolly. The Camera Table Dolly is built by a company called Pico-- PhotographyandCinema.com.For the most part, -- when I'm shooting video,-- I like to lock down my shots on a tripod or shoot from the hip. So, I'm always looking for way to make my shots smoother. For example, if I want to get down close to the ground and follow my cat around or my sister's dog i have to get really creative in order to stay smooth.. then I only end up with seconds of usable video. For about $100 this little dolly kit can change all of that. My only thoughts about it: Someone should really put a motor in this thing... and if you check their website-- they've already posted some videos of some really cool ways to personalize the kit. Yes, someone has put a motor on it. This can really put the moving into your moving pictures! (Another awesome perk- made in the USA)

3. Buy the The Pocket Pod at the Photojojo Store!

    next on the list is an interesting way to stabilize your camera if you are shooting video or pictures. Most cameras come with sophisticated software and hardware that will reduce blur in pictures and stabilize camera shake. But, if you are planning to play that video back on a screen larger than the size of an iPhone you may come down with home-video-sickness. That's when you have to close your eyes or look away to keep watching a video without feeling sick. This is one of those products that I'm not 100% sure I'd use all the time. But if I'm on vacation with the whole family and have to worry about making sure kids don't get lost, wallets don't get stolen.. i don't want to be lugging around a tripod. It's retractable, can fit right into your pocket, purse or backpack. It basically works by creating points of contact to stabilize the camera.

4. EZ-Steady Professional Hand-held Stabilizer

If you find the this in your stocking this Christmas-- someone really loves you. It'll put you back about $300 or the price of a iPhone or a cheaper camera... for that price you get a cinema quality steady-cam that can fit in your backpack. This is another Kickstar.com project. So, you'd be supporting an American company and an entrepreneur. Take a look at the video.. it speaks for itself. i just think it's a cool design. It's probably more for the videographer than the Photographer. But with so many DSLR's now able to shoot high quality video.. a lot of photographers may want to have this in a cabinet somewhere ready to roll.

5. Dolica 62' Aluminum Tripod

My last gift suggestion to keep your camera steady is a tripod. I'm not going to recommend a Manfroto tripod-- but what some are calling the next best thing-- the Dolica's 62" Aluminum Proline Tripod. I found this one on Amazon.com for less than $40. Manfroto is going to put you back at least $100. This isn't your normal consumer Tripod, but it is sold at a consumer friendly price. Most consumer tripods come with all those extra rods that connect the legs in the center. Without them.. you are allowed to configure your tripod in a great number of new ways... lower and more stable that those cheap tripods.

6. Rokinon FE 8mm F.3.5 Fisheye Lens

Now lets get into lenses. I could recommend a 50 mm canon/nikon , 85 mm, 35mm or even a canon, tamron or sigma zoom lense (70-300mm, 50-200mm, 55-250mm) if you're wondering)... but I won't that would be the obvious pick right? You can find one of those for between $130 and $250. Instead in this review I'm looking for gifts that are a little outside the norm. Rokinon's 8mm F/3.5 Fisheye Lens for Canon or Nikon is what I'm talking about. If you know anything about Fisheye Lenses they give a photographer a different view.. something more like what we think fish see when they swim around. You get a 180 degree viewpoint. It only has a Aperature range of 3.5 to 22.. but that seems pretty standard for most lenses. It could be a good close-up camera with a focusing distance of 12 inches. One thing to remember-- this one is built specifically for crop censor cameras. Most DSLR cameras -- like the T3i pictured here--are crop censor expect for the top of the line DSLR's. The top end cameras are usually full censor. I have to point out.. this is a manual lens with no auto-focus. So, you'll be giving your photographer a real workout-- a good thing if their up for it. But here's the difference. The Rokinon lense is less than 300 dollars.. you'll pay twice as much for a Sigma 8mm fisheye, and 4 times as much for the Canon 8-15mm fisheye lens (that's the L lense.. they also sell and $800 version of it.)

7. Fotodiox Canon EOS Macro Extension Tube Set Kit for Extreme Close-up,

I'm not sure if your Photographer is into Macro photography or not (who isn't right?) But these macro extension tubes are cool for one reason: their affordable. They'll turn any one of your current lenses into a macro lens. It don't contain any glass.. so you won't lose any picture quality.. but it works kind of like a magnifying glass. If you put the magnifier close to your eye... what you're trying to see doesn't really look too much bigger.. but the further you get it away from your eye-- the bigger that object will appear.. It comes with adapters to fit on nearly all of Canon's cameras.

8. CowboyStudio LED Macro Ring Flash Lens Mounted Flash for Canon

If your photographer friend is going to be a Macro Photographer-- they're going to need some Macro Lighting. CowboyStudio LED Macro Ring Flash does the job. The ring flash gives you a nice even light on your subject-- no shadows. And if you're taking a portrait... you'll get a perfect circle in the eyes of your subject as well. I could have recommended a speedlight flash, but most photographers will already have a flash that works for the job their doing. The newer one come with that nice wireless technology already built in. Another bonus idea would be a remote flash trigger.

9. The Wood Camera iPhone 4/ iPhone 4S Case

Just about everyone has an iPhone these days. And if you're photo-geek has an apple in their pocket, .. .the wood camera Case might just be the perfect gift. There is a saying out there -- something like "The best camera is the one you have with you." My family accuses me of always putting a camera in their face.. now I can prove them right. Seriously though, I think it's cool. One thing i noticed about the design. The iPhone now allows you to take a picture with the volume up button. If someone is looking at you take a picture with this case-- it'll look like you're holding the camera upside down. This is a cool way to one-up all those people with Nintendo controls, tapes and other retro-looking cases. This case uses real wood... engraved with lasers and made from Walnut wood which is a fast growing wood that is not in danger.

10. Memory Card

And the last gift that I can recommend is pretty easy. A 32 Gigabyte Memory Card. Having enough memory for a shoot is essential. I've been working with 8 gigabyte cards that can fit between 150 and 200 RAW format pictures.That's not a lot of pictures if you're planning to take pictures at a wedding, or concert or other event. The perfect stocking stuffer. One thing to think about when picking a memory card is speed. It really pays off to buy a memory card that isn't going to slow down your camera's burst speed. It only takes a second of delay to miss that perfect shot.

The Beach, Milford

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:27:50 PST

It has been pleasantly, but unseasonably warm here in New England. So a couple of weeks ago I was able to take a trip to the beach.

testing the camera

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:24:02 PST

They say the best camera is the one you have with you. That can now finally be said of our cell phones since most of our cell phones have more megapixels than more 200 and 300 dollar cameras ten years ago. I remember my first cell phone had a .5 megapixel camera on it. The next one had a 3 megapixel camera on it and I thought I was doing something. I also remember the rush to get digital cameras and everyone was recommending that you "don't by a point and shoot camera unless it has at least 5 megapixels. " I know because I was one of those that got caught up in the "Black Friday" hype to get one of those cameras. That was only about 5 years ago. now my iPhone 4s has a 8 megapixel camera and can shoot HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos. Honestly, some DSLRs don't have have that capability. So, the review of this camera is all relative. In a few years (or less) it'll all be obsolete.
With that being said, It's kind of hard for me to separate my mind from the camera that takes the picture. I kind of expect my Canon to perform better than my iPhone. But the truth is, .. in some instances the iPhone might be the better tool. All of the pictures below were shot on my iPhone and some were uploaded to instagram for a little editing. I think depth of field is amazing, sharpness is precise. A great feature is being able to AE/AF lock (auto focus and auto exposure lock.)Apple has also done a great job with the last software update-- allowing us to treat the phone like a camera with the shutter button right on top (the volume button.) I still find myself tapping shutter button on the screen sometimes instead of using the new shutter button. Nothing can perform in lwo-light like our eyes (animal or human). But cameras are really starting to come close with the advancement in sensor techniques.

Walk around the Elm City

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:55:36 PST

Photography starter kit must have's

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:59:47 PST

Okay so now that you have your fancy -fresh new DLSR now you have to start thinking about what is going to really make your pictures stand apart from someone else. I was in that position myself. Here's a list of items that I have purchased to get me going. I used Amazon.com to keep my costs down. For example: If I were to buy the Garry Fong diffuser at a local store, I'd pay about 20 bucks. On amazon I'd pay about 10 dollars less with shipping. So, here's my list:

Opteka LP-E8 2000mAh Ultra High Capacity Li-ion Battery Pack for Canon Digital Rebel T2i Digital SLR Camera (Electronics)

I really don't see any huge difference between this battery and the more expensive canon battery that came with my Canon T3i (600D). If you are using this battery as a backup then you'll love it. Basically it gives me enough time to charge the Canon battery. At some point i figure I'll invest in a battery grip. For now, this is good for me.

Cheaplights NPT-04 Wireless Speedlight Trigger (Electronics)

from the moment I took this thing out of the box it worked like a charm. All I had to do was turn my flash on--- press that little button on top and the flash would fire. It is a little puzzling to me because there is no where to put batteries on the Speedlight trigger. I worry only because I fear that one day it'll just die on me and i won't have any backup. but for now it works great. I'm learning to embrace flash photography & with this little guy added to the wireless receiver i have, I hope to have a lot of fun. Now I just need a couple of more flashes.

Op/Tech 18" SLR Rainsleeve for Digital & Film Cameras with Lenses up to 7" Diameter, 18" Long (Electronics)

I love taking pictures of weather, the outdoors etc. But I don't like that my camera is not rain/weather resistant. maybe one day I'll upgrade to the 1dx, but for now I'm protecting my investment. This is Rain sleeve is a good way to protect your investment. When i saw it online I imagined that the rain sleeve was going to be smaller more form fitting, but the rain sleeve is huge IMHO... but not in a bad way. There's plenty of room if you have one of those super-telephoto lenses. It's kind of awkward if you only have a 50mm... but the drawstring on the end of the rain sleeve does the job. It keeps everything sealed in and dry. I've used it once so far. When I was searching for weather protection I was looking at some of the other rain sleeves that allow you to put both hands on the camera and have an area for you to lock in your tripod. Again IMHO, ... that's not all needed for the average street photographer. I just stuck my hand up the sleeve got a real good grip on my camera and was very comfortable walking around trusting that my camera was dry.

On the other hand because the rain sleeve is so big, I can't imagine having any problems using a tripod with this product. i also can't see spending much more on protection for a camera unless you are going deep sea diving.

Gary Fong Puffer Pop Up Flash Diffuser (Electronics)

Let Me just explain why I bought this diffuser. I recently bought a Canon 600D (T3i.) I was hoping to be able to use a flash that I had been using with an older model SLR canon (yes an old 35mm film camera). I soon found out that hooking it up to my new camera would make the flash work, it wasn't necessarily any better than the pop-up flash that came with the camera. This is a much better option... One tip for you newby photographers out there. If you hate the pre-flash tests that the camera goes through before taking the picture, use the * button to lock in that flash exposure for the next picture and for pictures to come. You'll be able to take more pictures consecutively. The Gary Fong puffer diffuser gets rid of all that nasty-ness that using a flash creates in low light situations and makes using it as a fill-light a dream. By the way I'm one of those photographers that will do all he can to try and take a picture using the light that is available before leaning on a flash for help... unless it's a studio photoshoot. This makes it easier for me to lean on a flash.

Interesting way to take Fall Foliage Pictures with an iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:40:47 PST

Believe it or not this is a regular old picture of an iPhone sitting on a picnic table at a park. I have the aperture opened way up. It blurs everything out.. even the home button. I think it's a cool unexpected shot

A Fiery Red Tree: Fall is still here

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:50:10 PST

I love these pictures of this fiery red tree in New Haven. I wanted to, but didn't even have to travel far to find this tree. The Amazing think about it though, .. this was the only tree on this block with these bright vibrant colors. It wasn't on my regular route to and from work, so sometimes it pays to take a detour. I'm guessing this is some kind of maple tree.

More Fall Foliage Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:00:23 PDT

I didn't do enough leaf peeping this year. The foliage didn't seem to be as amazing as years past, then we got a couple of storms that blew all the pretty leaves to the ground. This is some of what I found the other day. Late October and still a lot of leaves on the trees.

Opteka Semi-wide Angle Lens

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:07:30 PDT

A couple of shots that I haven't had a chance to post yet from a couple of weeks ago. This is from the top of East Rock in New Haven. I'm not only trying out Canon's raw photo format, but I was also trying out a semi-fisheye lens from Opteka. It basically just screws onto the end of the lens. I like the effect in some cases, but it has it's limits. The attachment causes a lot of color fringing and blurring around the edges of the photograph. Bokeh is still good, ... but if you try to zoom out too much you'll see the edges of the lens. it's actually pretty good for close-up shots and for very wide angle landscape shots. I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect it would make for some cook videos. That might be all I use it for in the end. I'm more looking forward to getting a Sigma or Tamron 18-200. The Opeteka wide angle was screwed onto the end of the 55-70 that came with the camera.

Canon EF vs. EF-S Lens with an Opteka Fish-eye

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:03:00 PDT

So I'm still exploring my new Canon D600 (Rebel t3i). I'm trying to get to the point where all of the Lenses that I used on my old EOS 630 SLR work on the new camera. I keep running into hitches here and there. First there was the error message on 70 - 210 telephoto lens. That problem I chalked up to not only the damage that has been done to the lens over the years (one bad drop that bent the lens prevents the gears in the lens from focusing to infinity. So, I'll be using that lens on rare occasions.

The next problem that I attempt to tackle is with an opteka semi-fisheye/macro attachment lens. It screws onto the end of most lenses. I used to use it with my 50mm 1.8 EF, but when I tried to use it on this new camera the only thing that I got was super blurry pictures and a camera that had a hard time focusing on the macro level. I originally thought I had a fungal problem in the 50mm lens. I almost cried. In fact, the originally title of this post was going to be " I think I have a fungal problem in my lens. I did some investigating and thank God I didn't decide to take the lens apart. I shined a nice bright light into the lens in a dark room and found no fungus.

So what could be the problem? Do I blame Opteka (too easy) and give up? No way. Plus it's too expensive to just buy another lens... especially if I want a macro and a fisheye lense. I don't know if i'm the only one with this problem or what but it was pretty hard to find information on this. So, I temporarily gave up until I found a 58 to 52 converter ring.

I connected that bad boy to the kit EF-S lens then attached the Opteka to the end of that and bingo, bango, bongo--- problem solved. No problems in macro and great pictures when in semi-fisheye (although with some color fringing.) Only one problem-- how do I explain it? I had to figure out the differences between the EF and the EF-S lens... aside from the 20 years or so between their release. What I got was a bunch of gobledey-gook on Wikipedia about double gauss lenses.-- this was interesting :

Cameras supporting EF-S, however, have more clearance, allowing lens elements to be closer to the sensor than in the EF mount. The "S" in EF-S stands for "short back focus", which means that the rear element of the lens is closer to the image sensor than on regular 35 mm SLR cameras. The proximity of the rear element to the image sensor greatly enhances the possibilities for wide angle and very wide angle lenses, enabling them to be made smaller, lighter (containing less glass), faster (larger aperture) and less expensive.

But what really caught my eye was a chart listing all the EF lenses including my 50mm 1.8. here you can see clearly that the 50mm was not intended to be macro lens. So I'm sure attaching the Opteka to the 50mm EF was throwing the optics in the lens way off.

I also don't think the lens in necessarily broken, but with the Opteka attachment on... it seems to have a very, very, very short range of focus that immediately falls into bokeh-licious heaven. Some shots might work with a tripod... but the focused area will still be narrow. I hope that helps someone.

Shot with a Canon 600D with a 50mm 1.8 EF lens and an Opteka Macro attachment

Shot with a Canon 600D with a Canon 18 -55mm EF-S lense and the Opteka macro attachment. problem fixed

Extra Info.

Canon EF 50mm lens

The EF 50mm lenses are a group of normal prime lenses made by Canon that share the same focal length. These lenses are based on the classic double-Gauss lens, with the f/1.8 being a standard six-element double-Gauss with an air gap and powers between element 2 and 3[1] and its faster cousins adding additional elements[2].

The 50mm focal length has been widely considered to match the field of view seen by the human eye.^[7]When pairing the EF 50mm f/1.8 II to a Canon DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor, photographers must apply a focal length multiplier (also known as a crop factor) in order to get the effective 35mm field of view equivalent. Most entry level Canon DSLRs come with a crop factor of 1.6x, which effectively turns the 50mm focal length into a 80mm field of view (50 x 1.6 = 80mm).

Finally Fall Colors

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:13:31 PDT

So, everything finally fell into place. I found a place where the colors were really showing on the trees and there was something interesting enough in front of those trees to capture in a lens.Today was a perfect day to take pictures. Here, I was able to capture the beautiful blue sky against the reds and yellows on the trees and in the tractor. Unfortunately this has been an hard year for foliage photos.. (for me anyway.) But, I still haven't made a trip up north. I might end up missing it this year. Hey, If you haven't already... hit the subscribe button, like us on Facebook, Twitter (@camknightpro & @jayklef5) and don't miss a shutter shot!

Chic for LEAP: My long list of favorite photos

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:04:01 PDT

I'm just realizing that I've posted the pictures for Chic for Leap on Facebook, ut i forgot all about my blog. Here's a look at some of my favorite shots from the weekend. The rest can be purchased or viewed at photomerchant.com . I might have a photo-hoarding problem. Once I hit the shutter button, it's hard to hit the delete button.

Sunrise: New Day, New Mercies

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:04:26 PDT

Occupy New Haven

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Knight) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:15:35 PDT

What can I say about the people at Occupy New Haven?-- they are an interesting bunch but pretty normal and civilized for tent dwellers. I'm not sure what I expected. I've been to protests before, but this wasn't anything like that. It seemed like a city within a city. If you've ever seen any of those cheesy tv shows like Conan where they are trying to make it look like it was filmed in 500 BC-- there were like random little kids running around.. people cooking on pots and meeting, talking, generally hanging out, .. making signs... But it did seem very community orientated and organized. I met a couple of people there. One guy claims to be some kind of Spanish language tv producer. I took a picture of a big group that claimed to be teachers. The rest I didn't really get to know. But it was definitely interesting. I might make another trip down there soon.

For those who don't know New Haven is one of those cities that has a lot of have's and a lot more have not's. It may be even more pronounced with the landscape of the city. You have Yale University which takes up a big chunk of the downtown area. It is always bustling with students and what not. But then you drive just bast the Apple store and the yale book store and you're pretty much in the hood. Then you have your affluent parts of own scattered throughout. So, with that being said. I didn't see anyone on this particular day that "looked like me" but i do hear their message and i know they are fighting for people like me.

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