May 6, 2010 - As the school with the third largest statistics department in the U.S., Texas A&M University has a history and tradition of graduate education in statistics that dates back to 1963. The school has produced over 700 Master's and Ph.D. graduates since it's inception, and now has a goal to aggressively promote the TAMU Distance Learning program. This department has a strong tradition of theoretical and interdisciplinary research with an internationally recognized faculty.  In addition to their on location courses, the statistics department  now offers an online distance learning program.  The online courses provide the same course materials and exams with the flexibility to fit a schedule that may not allow for in-class instruction. 

Posted by on May 06, 2010

January 10, 2010 - Over the past two days, Houston has been experiencing a cold snap that has plunged temperatures into the low twenties. My blood must have thinned out over the years because twenty degrees here feels far colder than the same temperature up North. I learned to take the cold seriously after a pipe burst in our kitchen wall in 1999, causing several thousand dollars in damages. So, as we watched the cold front move Southward on the TV weather map, we insulated the pipes on the outside of the house and relocated some potted plants indoors.

By Sunday afternoon I thought the worst was over. It wasn't. When I returned home at 3:00, I found water bubbling down the exterior wall of our home. I shut the water off and went inside, where I found the laundry room and my study flooded. Over the next two hours we moved everything outside to dry, and mopped up most of the water. A couple of small circulating fans did most of the drying.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on January 12, 2010

December 22, 2009 – Earlier this month we got a call from an international oil field services company asking us to bid on a virtual photographic tour of their new offshore workboat. This is no ordinary ship. It is the world’s largest coiled tubing vessel, and is truly spectacular in both the size and the technology it employs to service deepwater oil wells. The virtual tour sample they sent us showed a traditional 360 degree panoramic photography, best known as a “QuickTime VR Tour”.

These panoramic tours have been typically used by real estate agents to provide prospective homeowners with a better understanding of a property. I have never been a big fan of this type of photography, because the quality of the images are usually poor, and it seems more of a gimmick than a truly immersive experience. Some tours may require a plug-in be downloaded, which can reduce the size of the viewing audience as many people just won't (or can't due to company policies) do it.  I decided to use this bid opportunity to see if anything new was happening with panoramic photography. I was blown away by what I found.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on December 27, 2009

November 28, 2009 – When the Nikon D5000 debuted last summer it looked like the perfect camera for me. It has the image processor of a D300, along with a 2.7” title/swivel LCD screen. The fact that video can be recorded at 720p, it allows for interchangeable lenses and can shoot at 4 frames per second were just icing on the cake. Since I like to shoot both down low and high over head, I have come to rely heavily on the tilt screen in my Panasonic FZ50. So I felt the D5000 (on paper anyway) should give me everything I needed for just about any shoot I would have to do.

Besides, my Nikon D200 was starting to show its age, and a quick review of recent sales on eBay confirmed I could sell my D200 outfit (body, winder and a couple of accessories) for about the same price as a new D5000. I listed it, and seven days later sold it for $55 more than I needed for the new camera. Amazon was among the first online stores to have the new Nikon in stock, so I bought it just slightly under its list price (shipping was free).

Over the next several months I had a chance to use the camera, but in each case, it was usually an important shoot and I didn't want to risk any problems.  I just did not feel confident enough with the D5000, so it came to each shoot as my backup camera, and typically saw only light duty. The Panasonic did all the heavy lifting. I have used the FZ50 so much over the past two years, I don’t even have to think about it – it has truly become an extension of my hand. What I really needed was a full day with the D5000 in a real world, non-critical shoot.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on November 29, 2009

November 24, 2009 – Dallas Shooting Supplies is a relatively new web based shooting supply company. The company is owned by Morgan Richie and Vic Cherubini Jr. who both have a passion about rifles and weaponry. Vic was coming home for the holidays, so I asked him to bring some of his guns so we could do a photo shoot.

I had not seriously photographed weapons before, so in preparation of the shoot, I spent a couple of hours scouring the web for ideas on composition, lighting, and tips on how to make guns look their best. The best sources turned out to be stock photography sites, all of which had hundreds of examples showing guns at their finest.  I collected my favorites and used these images during the shoot for guidance.

Unlike most things we shoot in the studio, these objects have the capability to shoot back. I am quite comfortable handling guns, and respect their power. At age 11, I participated in the Brooklyn Boy Scout Marksmanship Program, and every Saturday for two years we took the LL train to the US Armory in Bedford Stuyvesant.  The first two weeks of the program were all about gun safety, and I can still see Mr. Prebble pointing to the NRA sign on the wall with the three basic rules we all memorized by heart:

• ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
• ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
• ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on November 25, 2009

September 9, 2009 - Usually when we get a call to do a photo shoot at a client's location, we get a shot list of images that are needed specifically for a web site, brochure, trade show, etc.  So when we got a call from Tim Wold, president of Wold Marketing (a B-2-B Ad Agency in Conroe, Texas) we were surprised to learn there would be no shot list for this particular shoot.

Wold's client, Cook Compression, had recently acquired Mechanical Field Services LP (MFS), and Cook needed some photos for the corporate library.  Tim said we would be going out after "Shots of Opportunity".  At first I was not sure of exactly what gear to pack, but when Tim said to think of the shoot more of a photojournalism assignment, I packed lighter then I would if we were going for a specific shot or series of shots. We were not sure what we were getting into, but decided to treat it as an "adventure" and make the most of it



Posted by Vic Cherubini on September 06, 2009

August 14, 2009 -  at epic any excuse to get a new piece of photo gear is good enough for us, so when a new client asked us to help with an animation showing the shot peening process on their reconditioned Sucker Rods - we invested in a 4" 0 Photo Softbox Lighting Tent. It was the first time we used this piece of equipment, and we were very pleased with the results.  So here is the back story to the product photos shown here.  We also did some 3D modeling of the metal rod which is included as well. .  



Posted by Vic Cherubini on August 14, 2009