No Truth In Advertising 32/365

Since it cost $29 it cant possibly be free.  This crappy picture was taken on the NYC No. 1 train with a blackberry.

My Morning Pick-Me-Up 31/365

I’m the type that needs my morning cup of Joe to start my day.  Hazelnut is one of my favorites…  

Strobist - Flash camera front, slight elevation above subject at 1/64 power.

The Brides Bouquet 30/365

She waits, anticipating the march down the isle, climbing the stairs to the altar….

Strobist - flash camera left at 1/64 power 

Desk Set 29/365

This is one of the accessories that helps keep me organized.  I like how the mesh genuinely looks like a barrier. 

Hanging Pearls 28/365

Catch Light 27/365

Doesn’t she have the prettiest blue eyes?  My daughters have a collection of American Girl Dolls.  Mostly they just sit on the shelves, look pretty, and collect dust.  

Elmo 26/365

Growing up my oldest daughter absolutely loved Elmo.  She still does but at her age its not the same.

Floral Textile 25/365

A throw pillow from my daughters bed.  

Strobst- defused, handheld flash set at 1/128 power, radio triggered. 

Umbrella Drinks 24/365

The drink is long gone but the tacky umbrella still remains.

Seven Point Five 23/365

This clock was part of an award I received way back in 1990.  I think its still running on the original C cell battery.

Fire Island 22/365

The beautiful weather and a visit from my dad provided the perfect excuse to head to the beach.  We trekked to Fire Island for a great day of fresh air and sunshine.  Here's a link to a Flickr Set with some additional shots.

The House Across The Street 21/365

Taken through the sheer curtains of my bedroom window. 

Boa 20/365

My wife had a great idea, venture into our daughters room with camera in hand.  There’s all kinds of cool stuff in there, one simply has to look.  This is hanging on her mirror.

Why do red items over saturate so easily?

Extension Tubes 19/365

I found myself explaining extension tubes to a co-worker.  I’m not sure he got it.  Hopefully this will help. 

Wire Rack 18/365

I got a whole lotta nothing tonight.  It’s a napkin holder and a piece of cardboard.  I aimed the flash through a roll of paper towels to shape the light. 

Meet Granny 17/365

Granny Smith, that is.  No time tonight so I needed to do something quick......

Wild Horse 16/365

This is my attempt to apply what I learned over the weekend (and leave my comfort zone).

Strobist – Speedlight 1 camera right elevated and shot through an umbrella at 1/8 power.  Speedlight 2 camera left with blue gel at ¼ power shot through 3 glasses of water.  I used a flag (a.k.a. foamboard) to minimize speedlight 2 from bleeding onto the bottle & glass.  The variations in the blue light and the shadow a few inches over the wine glass are a result of stirring the water glasses just before shutter release. 

Faux Fruit Take II 15/365

Its been raining like hell all weekend so I thought I’d play more.  I used the same object as yesterday (this probably violates some sacred 365 rule) but moved it to a different room.  This time I used 2 speedlights to balance out the lighting,  It took some experimentation to get the power settings right as my radio riggers don’t support ETTL.  I definitely learned a few things….

Stobist  -  Canon 580exII camera right at 45 degrees, shot through an umbrella at 1/64 power.  Vivitar 550 camera left with DIY grill and defuser gel set at 45 degrees. 

Faux Fruit 14/365

Forgot the subject, this is about lighting.  I ordered a cheap umbrella from Amazon.com and this is my first experiment with it.  Test shots of this subject with a bare flash produced stark lighting and lots of sharp shadows. There’s no need to show them, we all know exactly what they look like.  Look closely, the lighting is soft, even and there are no shadows.  If this is typical I’ll use it often and wonder why I didn’t order one a long time ago. 

Cheap Umbrella 

Natures Defuser 13/365

Its an unknown type of large leaf house plant that happens to be blooming right now.  I wanted to capture the flower but it took me awhile to figure out how I wanted to light it. 

Strobist – 580exII directly behind subject at 1/64 power.  Shot at f/5.6~ 1/125sec~ iso200~ 40mm in manual mode.

Pinhead 12/365

Two shots taken with 36mm extension tube.  One with a tiny crumb from a cupcake.   I'm not especially pleased with either one.   I should have skewered an ant, a fly, or something recognizable.  I have 300+ days ahead of me to revisit this. 

Ralph’s Medium Creamsicle 11/365

In my opinion, Ralph’s Italian Ices are hands down, the best!  They have about 100 different flavors in the water and cream variations.  I prefer the cream because the flavors are richer.  Try Ralph’s, you won’t be disappointed…. 

Snackin’ 10/365

Going healthy tonight, especially after last night’s calorie buster. 

3 pieces of white foam board, speedlight at 1/16 power camera right with DIY grill. Shot at f/5.6~ 1/100 sec~ ISO 200~ 24mm in manual mode. 

Indulgence 9/365

Homemade chocolate supreme brownies with walnuts, warmed to perfection. Topped with a double scoop of vanilla ice cream, Hershey’s syrup and sprinkles.   

Strobist - Canon defused 580exII, camera high left at 1/32 power.  I should have added a bounce card but my treat was waiting....  

Rusty Grapes 8/365

Sounds like a potential name for a band…  Instead, it’s the back side of our chiminea.

Sun Catchers 7/365

We had beautiful spring like weather today so I went into the backyard looking for something to shoot.  Nothing is growing yet so I went for the only other items that have color…

Air Fern 6/365

It was another night spent hunting for a subject…  I found these on a bookshelf in the office. 

Strobist – Defused flash camera left at 1/16 power. Shot at f/8~1/125~45mm~iso650 in manual mode

Escaped Convict or High Fashion Prison Garb 5/365

I was waiting for a friend outside Sushi Time when this woman walked past.  She was just a few steps from me when I noticed her. By the time I got my camera out & ready she had already passed but I managed to get off 1 quick shot.  

One piece orange jumpsuit, purple bag, and black boots.  I can’t help but wonder if she just escaped from Riker’s Island, the NYC jail.

Crotch Rocket 4/365

I found this at work in the coffee pantry and figured it could serve as tonight’s post. I’m very pleased with the lighting as it came out even, soft, and without any glare spots. 

Strobist – Canon 580exII on a monfrotto super clamp at 1/32 power and manual zoom to 105mm mounted high and camera left with a DIY grill.  Canon 50D f5.6~1/60~67mm ~iso 200 in manual mode.

Microscopic Photography 3/265

That’s what this reminds me of, but its not.  It also appears to be in B&W, but its not.  It’s the wall of my shower, but I shinned an LED flashlight through the etched shower doors.  The cooler LED light passing through the amber tinted glass is apparently cancelling out the warm colors of the wall & glass. 

Eiffel Tower 2/365

In golden miniature…  I haven’t played with my extension tubes for a few days so I found a way to mix macro with off camera flash.  Surface and background made from construction paper.

Strobist – Canon 580EXII camera left at 1/128 power.