Sunday, February 28, 2010

New, x5 -- 1/365


A new challenge – starting another 365 project.
A new goal – more off camera flash
A new blog template – to go with the new theme
A new style – My first self portrait
A new technique  - First time with this lighting approach. 

Strobist info - Main light camera right and second light behind me.  Different power settings and light modifiers for the 2 shots.  






Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Year In Review

As part of wrapping-up year one of my 365 challenge I’m taking an opportunity to perform a year in review by reposting my monthly favorites, along with the reason I selected it

Feb 2009 – Serenity
A tranquil location, beautiful blue sky, and being there undisturbed
Mar 2009 – They’re Back
Perfect timing. I caught him coming over the fence. It’s like he’s posing for the camera.
Apr 2009 – Inspiration
I learned a new lighting and setup technique
May 2009 – Chiclets
An all-time favorite
Jun 2009 – Burj Al Arab
A far off land, a famous landmark, a stunning photograph. June presented several good choices.
Jul 2009 – Dirty Ol’ Sneaks
The lighting
Aug 2009 -Liatris
The simplicity, color, and bokeh
Sep 2009 – Daisy Belle-RIP
The obvious choice. The hole created by her passing has not healed and she’s still missed.
Oct 2009 – Bubbles
Another all-time favorite
Nov 2009 – Thanksgiving
The softness, the lighting, the bokeh, but most important, its representation of family.
Because she’s got talent, she’s my number 1 fan, and it’s a great photograph.
Jan 2010 – Kiwi
Another month with several good choices but I really like my extension tubes and this was one of the better shots
Feb 2010 – Groundcover
It has an artsy flair, which is a quality I’m totally lacking. I wish I could acquire/develop it.

Friday, February 26, 2010

My 365 Experience

What a year its been!!! Some random thoughts in no particular order:

  • Overall, I’m thrilled to have taken on this challenge and ecstatic over the fact that I completed it. It’s an accomplishment I’m proud of.
  • Inspiration – Some day’s its soooooo difficult to find. It tends to come in spurts and you need to find it wherever you can. Some of my best inspiration and ideas came from my wife (Day 348), (Day 234), (Day 221), and (Day149) just to list a few of them. She deserves a massive thank you for her support, encouragement, and patience. Thank you Ana!
  • It hasn’t always been easy, or fun, and there were times when I seriously contemplated just giving up (day 248). Getting past that was very hard. It was a costly mistake with the camera repair, replacement tripod, and filter. Enough for pocket wizards and then some.
  • This is a time intensive, serious commitment. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I embarked upon the initiative, but I have only 1 regret – see day 248 above….
  • Support and encouragement – This comes from many sources but my virtual community has been so important. Your comments, suggestions, and help have boosted my confidence, provided tutelage, inspiration, and a host of ideas. So thank you Alan, Lance, Tim, and so many others. Special thanks to my daughter Emily for allowing me to reuse her work and being my number 1 visitor.
  • I feel that I am a better photographer then when I started.
  • I’ve learned some lighting techniques and have come to really enjoy off camera lighting. I recognize the need to learn more techniques and approaches. I tend to repeat my approaches.
  • Technique is more important than equipment. 85% of this is technique and 15% is equipment.
  • Visit the DIY Photography and The Strobist sites regularly as they are an excellent source.
  • I enjoy Photography 100 times more than Photoshop but you need some level of skill in Photoshop.
  • I wish I had a studio, even a small quasi one because constructing and dismantling your setups on a daily basis is de-motivating.

WHAT’S NEXT

For tomorrow, I want to do a personal “best of“ series by month. I’ll pick 1 photo from each month and repost it.


Beyond that… I will continue and commit to another year. My primary goal is to do more with off camera flash and multiple units. I have the radio triggers, the speedlights, the light stand, and an assortment of other gadgets so why not put them to use. I fear that if I don’t continue all of these will simply collect dust. I’d like to get a softbox and other light modifiers so please make some recommendations.



BTW - we got 9 more inches of snow. NYC got 26...

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Divine Request 365/365

More snow!!! I’m on the cusp of the 5-8 inches (13-20cm) and 8-12 inches (20-30cm). I’m hoping for less snow. It rained all day but has since changed over to snow. A good deal of the old snow was washed away today.


I can’t believe I completed the year. Tomorrow I plan to share some thoughts on my 365 experience.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sunset From The Sky 364/365

The first shot was taken at 6:32pm, the second at 6:39 just before the plane entered the clouds and the final one at 6:50.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A Day At The Beach 363/365

To be young, innocent, and carefree. I had an opportunity for a tranquil moment to sit on the beach and watch this young boy chase the birds, collect shells, and skim rocks over the waves. It was 72 degrees (23C) with broken clouds but I had to go back to work…

Monday, February 22, 2010

Who’d a Thunk It? 362/365

Rocks buried below ground!!!! Next time you need a rock just look for the signs pointing the way. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself, this is too unreal.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Off To Naples 361/365



Too bad it’s Naples Florida and not Naples Italy. It’s a short business trip and they don’t have any snow there…. These are a few quick snaps from the plane and here you’ll find a few more.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Northern Goshawk 360/365

This juvenile was feasting in my backyard this afternoon. Bird – It’s what’s for dinner.


I was not happy with today’s pictures because any shaded snow came out blue again. This is the second time I’ve had this white balance issue and I’m not sure what’s causing it. It’s frustrating as hell.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Stuck 358/365

It’s 9:30pm, I’ve yet to pickup my camera and I have no clue what to post. Doing what all 365’ers do, I wondered aimlessly around the house looking for something, anything. Finally, I stumble upon a piece of Lenox and figure out a creative way to light it so that its more than a snapshot….

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Baby’s Breath 356/365

Valentines Day brings many photos of the obligatory red rose. Nearly every bouquet of roses contains greens and tiny white flowers named baby’s breath. These rarely get any attention and that’s why I choose them.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Beach Sunset 355/365

I went to the snow covered beach hoping for a spectacular sunset. It didn’t happen. It was cold, windy, and anticlimactic.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Colored Ice 354/365

These are hanging along side my front porch. To capture the shot I hung the rose gelled flash from the soffit using Christmas light hangers and rubber bands. Then I set a ladder on the front porch to gain some height.


I attempted this back on Dec 22 but I’m happier with these results.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Etched Glass 353/365

Playing with the extension tubes again. This is an extreme close up of my front door.


The red near the bottom of the frame is my car parked 30 feet way. The dark strip down the center is a telephone pole across the street.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Out of Control 351/365

The description is about me as I’m going to do something I haven’t done before as part of the 365. Post a dozen shots for the day. My white balance problem from yesterday simply disappeared, which is good but unexplainable.


It snowed for 23 consecutive hours and I ended up with 15 inches (38cm) of wet heavy snow.


Panoramic of my backyard

A view from the ground looking at the walkway pavers and the wall of snow

The wind chimes taken at 1:30am, shortly after it stopped snowing– these were a recent 365 subject

A lonely pine tree across from the Post Office

A Rose-of-Shannon in my yard. I like the way the snow sticks to it

Icicles forming on the bush

Our Zen Garden, updated from yesterday

Maple tree in the front yard – also updated from yesterday

A lone leaf I found in the snow

The bird feeders. They’ll need to find an alternate food source for the foreseeable future.

PUNISHMENT

This is what happens when you leave your car on the street and the plow comes. I suspect we won’t see the car again until May.

The lanterns around my front walkway


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

SNOW 350/365

It’s been snowing for 21 hours and we have over a foot (30+cm) of the very heavy, wet stuff. I took about a dozen photos today and had trouble with the white balance on most of them, which forced me to perform some editing. I know to slightly underexpose my snow shots but this is the first time I ended up with cool (blue) snow.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Monday, February 8, 2010

Groundcover 348/365

The little bit of snow we received the other day is still lingering due to the frigid temperatures. Groundcover will soon take on a different meaning as we’re expecting another 12-16 inches (30-40cm) of snow on Wednesday.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Snow & Ice 347/365

This is the cover of my pool, frozen solid, slick, and sprinkled with wind blown snowdrifts.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Just A Lil Bit 346/365

We had a major snowstorm that passed 10 miles south of where I live. They received 24-32 inches of snow. Me, I got just a light dusting.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Up Close 345/365

I don’t know the name of this but the leaves start out red/yellow and then turn green.


Thursday, February 4, 2010

Watch Out, The Yellow Ones Don’t Stop 344/365

NYC taxi’s have a notorious reputation of being reckless, dishonest, and having a lead foot. The title of this post is a quote from the movie Elf, staring Will Ferrell as Buddy. Additionally, this is my follow-up to post 342 (Panning).

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Lost 343/365

Where am I going and which one of these am I supposed press? Without a doubt, it was that kind of a day.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Panning 342/365

Maybe I should have titled it “Practice” because this is trash. Even sadder is the fact that this is the best of a bad lot. I clearly muffed the timing because the taxi was supposed to be clear and sharp. Among the many mistakes I made with this photo was believing the 3” display on the back of the camera. I’ll have plenty of opportunity to redo this one.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Wind Chimes 341/365

The most significant aspect of this photo is that I got out of the house. Something I need to do more of.