Bryce Propheter's Blog

Hello world!

brycepropheter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:19:22 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Yosemite!!

brycepropheter — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:40:00 +0000

I don’t know that I’ve ever been anywhere as gorgeous and beautiful as this place. It’s so crowded with people and yet so serene. It’s an old, mostly-permanent place that continues to change. Pictures cannot and will not do it justice. But I tried.

View from the bottom of Bridalveil Falls

Lower Yosemite Falls

Upper and lower yosemite falls

Half Dome from Glacier Point

Killing Time

brycepropheter — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:15:00 +0000

I’m a teller at a First Credit Union and we had been especially slow for awhile. I was looking for ways to pass the time. Our computers basically have everything that could even resemble entertaining removed from them, with the exception of MS Paint. So I decided to draw something, but what? I looked around and decided that the easiest thing to draw would be what was right in front of me. So I did. And this is the result. Nothing spectacular, but it turned out OK.

Awe struck

brycepropheter — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:37:00 +0000

I have been extremely bored with my daily routine lately. So yesterday I decided to get out of the house, drive up the mountain and take some pictures and just enjoy the fresh air. I was supposed to shoot my cousin’s engagement photos this weekend but he had to cancel. So I decided to practice a little bit and experiment so I’d be ready next weekend (maybe.)

I went to one of the places I was going to do the shoot at (near the Snowbowl ski area) and made some self-portraits. Since I don’t have a remote trigger for my camera, this invloved a lot of running back and forth and setting the timer, realizing I stood in the wrong spot, closed my eyes, etc. Needless to say, I got tired of the charade after awhile and was considering packing up the strobes. Then the wind blew my umbrella over and broke it, so I had no choice.

I took a few more pictures without any flashes and then decided to just sit under a tree and enjoy the sunset that was about to take place. The slight breeze and 70 degree weather made it all perfect. The smell of the pines around me combined with the beautiful show of reds, blues, and oranges in the sky above me put my mind at ease.

I moved to Flagstaff for this exact moment. I wanted to be in the pines, in cooler weather and free from the smog that clouds the cities. In that moment I remembered the freshness of all those things upon first moving here and wondered how I could have all this in my backyard and never enjoy it…

The first photo above is/was an attempt to capture how small I feel when looking at the bigger picture, the one below was along the same lines.

Anyway, I managed to get some decent shots, but I think the best part was watching the sunset without a lens framing my vision.

This last photo is an HDR image, which means it is three images combined (one overexposed and one underexposed) to creat more detail in the highlights and shadows. I really like the way this turned out. It was the image I had in my head for my cousin’s engagement photos. Only she would be leaning against the tree staring at him with him over top leaning into her and staring into her eyes…. woulda been good!

Lastly, real quick I experimented with overpowering sunlight with two strobes into an umbrella a couple weeks ago. I really like the dark blue it gives the sky. This was the best of my experimentations.

All these pictures and more on my flickr

Let’s get down to business

brycepropheter — Fri, 15 May 2009 05:53:00 +0000

I recently created these in order to help in my quest to more seriously pursue photography.

Website

brycepropheter — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:56:00 +0000

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated this thingy known as a blog. I miss writing so I thought I’d try to resuscitate it. Problem is, I don’t know how to do mouth to mouth.

Oh well. Anyways I’ve got a cool new site that my pictures are on. (woohoo!) check it. brycepropheter.com

That’s it for now. Ta-ta!

Uncommon Knowledge.

brycepropheter — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:23:00 +0000

I’ve served at Applebee’s for almost two years now and it’s still amazing to me how ignorant some of the people who eat out are. So I thought I’d let read some facts I’ve learned through my time spent here. There’s alot more than this, but you’re not interested, I’m sure.

1. In Arizona waitstaff make $3.75/hr. That’s usually about enough to cover the taxes and other deductions taken out of our checks.

2. Here’s a general breakdown of how (most) servers view tips.
25% or above- great service
20% average-good service
15% poor-below average
10% terrible
<10% is not even acceptable. servers typically write these people off as ignorant. This is how servers view tips. Even if you don't see it quite that way, when you leave a tip, it tells them what you thought of your experience. Let's keep in mind modern expenses. (Gas is close to $3 a gallon.)

3. The gratuity added onto a large table is a server’s safety net. It’s the bare minimum you should be paying them only for their time.

4. YOU ARE NOT THEIR ONLY TABLE!! This is one of the biggest complaints every server has. Remeber that they are probably juggling at least two other tables and can’t spend 20 minutes at/running for your table only. While we get paid to be courteous, it makes the job alot more enjoyable when you are too.

5. We don’t cook the food. Duh! If it isn’t right/tastes bad, tell us! We can’t read minds. But whether you choose to say something or not, don’t take the taste of the food into the consideration for a tip.

6. On a related note. Tell us if you have a problem. Who knows, we might be able to remedy it. Leaving a bad tip and a note is a lot less helpful. I, personally, would like to know what you thought was bad so that I can fix it in the future.

If you read all this, thank you. Pass it on because you’d be surprised if you knew the people who don’t. Honestly, I wouldn’t know any better if I hadn’t got the job, so I thought I’d help you all out as well.

Pledge of (blind) Allegiance

brycepropheter — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 22:19:00 +0000

(I don’t know why I’m brining this up now. But I’ve thought alot about it and this is what I believe.)

“I pledge allegiance, to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic, for which it stands: one nation, under God, indivisable, with liberty and justice for all.”

As a child I recited this sentence every day before class, never truly understanding the purpose or meaning behind something so excessively and mindlessly repeated. The phrase “under God” is often brought up as a source of controversy and called unconstitutional. While I haven’t exactly decided my position on such a view, I believe something else. The Pledge of Allegiance itself is hurtful at least and unconstitutional at most. Before you grab your pitchfork and seek out my front door, hear me out. America is founded on principles of equality and freedom. Why should young school children be encouraged to recite a pledge about a country they don’t even know if they believe in yet. Call me unpatriotic, but I believe the most unpatriotic thing we can do is try to force someone to think a certain way. If America’s ideals are worth it, they will stand the test of time without the help of a mind numbing pledge. Instead we should encourage children to think for themselves. Question established priniciples of government. Research the alternatives to a democracy. Learn how America really works. Only then will we truly be able to appreciate what we have. Only then can we truly love our country. Only then will America be filled with patriots.

For this reason, while you stand, placing your hand on your heart and uttering a sentence you have probably thought little about. I will stand. Hands at my side, mouth shut, in reverance of the flag and the country it stands for. But refusing to pledge allegiance to something other than my Savior himself.