One

A challenge that was presented to us at the Beloved Collective in LA by the lovely and talented Samm Blake was entitled 'One'.

We were supposed to take a photo using the theme of 'one', preferably in a style or format that is different from our standard work and submit it to a certain email address by Oct 15.  This is my piece.  It is called 'The Word'.  This woman was speaking about her religion, beliefs and the importance of following the Word of God.  Although I am atheist, I appreciate her passion for her beliefs and respect her conviction.

Without further ado...

The Word

Day 30: Door | 30 Day Challenge

Made it!  I had one or two days there where I wasn't sure it would happen, but it did!  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that yesterday was in fact Day 30, so I don't have any special picture to bring the whole thing full circle.  I think I'm ok with that :)

50mm 1.4, f/1.4, 1/250sec, ISO 800, no flash

Some observations:

- Low-light shooting is hard.  Doable, but hard.  

- Quickly flagging, editing, and posting the best of a bunch in LR: my time from downloading the image to posting it online has probably been halved.  This will be useful for a photography career :)

- Another lens would be lovely.  More variety, more sharp images... yeah....

- I am (almost) never to busy to just take one photo and post it, so I should just go ahead and do it.

- Next time I'm doing this during the summer so I'll have more daylight photos (yay!)

- I really like details and narrow DOF.

- Simple is good.

- Shapes and lines are good.

- I can avoid 30 days of mostly food pictures!

- I routinely take photos that are rotated about two degrees off... I never, ever, EVER take a level photo.

- Don't be afraid to try moving the clarity slider BACKWARDS!!!! Who knew? Sometimes it works.

- Never leave home without the camera.

Hope it was enjoyable for you and thanks for following :)

Day 29: I heart my letterpress | 30 Day Challenge

I just love my tiny press.  I like the sound it makes, the smell of the ink, the history of it, the worn-off paint, the heavy iron, the mechanics of it... it's really a great piece to be able to own and work off of.


So, in honor of my press, Day 29: I heart my letterpress!

50mm 1.4, f/1.4, 1/15sec, ISO 1600, no flash

Days 26, 27 & 28: Vogel | 30 Day Challenge

So yes, Vogel State Park in Georgia.  We were there Saturday through Monday with a group of Bo's friends, but I didn't actually get back to Gainesville until Tuesday morning... and I drove straight to work.  So I really still feel like I just got back even though tomorrow is Thursday.


Saturday we spent most of the day around the park and had a nice group dinner in a warm cabin with some wine and a fireplace.  Sunday a couple girls got up and did a 5am hike... we slept in until the ripe hour of 9am.  We had our breakfast, washed the dishes, got some more firewood and got ourselves ready and then it took a while for everyone to get themselves (and their tiny children) ready.  So we had a leisurely family-friendly hike late in the afternoon and I spent some time taking photos while Bo was exploring potential bouldering areas just off the trail.  We had another lovely evening and planned a more serious hike for Monday morning.  Mountains here we come!


Well... it rained all morning.  Rain and rain and rain.  So we checked out, hung around until everyone else was on their way out as well as the rain slowed down and went up to Brasstown Bald.  It was incredibly foggy, which was really quite nice.  It was one of the few times you can feel totally safe while experiencing weather on a mountain. Apparently the view is really great from up there and you can see four states, but we could barely see each other so.... maybe next time :)


As before, the first one in the group gets the exif data and is the one that I'm using for the challenge.


Saturday

28-135 3.5-5.6 @75mm, f/5.6, 1/13sec, ISO 400, no flash, probably with polarization filter

My requisite sunflare shot (oh I have many from this trip!)

Pro tebe, Vašo!

Sunday

28-135 3.5-5.6 @135mm, f/5.6, 1/32sec, ISO 200, no flash, polarization filter

Monday

28-135 3.5-5.6 @90mm, f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 400, no flash, no filter

Day 25: Mask | 30 Day Challenge

This past weekend we were in Georgia attempting to experience the mountains.  We didn't have much luck for a number of reasons, but at least we were up there.  The next post will feature shots from the trip... but at least now you know why it's taken me so long to post :)


I took this shot at Bo's house on Friday evening.  The theme for the current DGrin challenge is 'Unique or Ordinary', so I decided to do a photo of one of Bo's masks.  I'm really not a big mask person myself, but he has one or two (which are only mildly freaky) so I thought it might work.  


I'm also really tired, by the way... so if my writing seems not quite right, that's why!


Yes, photo.  Here it is:

50mm 1.4, f/2.0, 1/8sec, ISO 1000, no flash

Day 24: Nighttime | 30 Day Challenge

I almost didn't make this one, folks... I am so tired right now.


For this photo I laid down in the middle of the street and shot at ISO 3200.  I came back in and stacked five frames in photoshop to try to reduce some of the noise.  It didn't reduce the noise as much as I'd expected... I guess that's part of the learning process.... it was my first time stacking. 


I've noticed that I've had lots of really warm-toned images happening recently... some of that will probably change soon as we'll be heading to the mountains in Georgia for the weekend and hope to encounter some snow and bright blue skies.  I likely won't be posting until Tuesday since I won't be back until late Monday night.

50mm 1.4, f/2.0, 1/5sec, ISO 3200, no flash

Days 22 & 23: Letterpress Prep and Printing | 30 Day Challenge

I ordered a new plate from Boxcar with some Valentine's day designs and it was due to arrive today (Wednesday).  I spent Tuesday evening getting all the paper ready so that once the plate arrived, all I had to do was divide it up and get to work.  I am proud to announce that the entire floor of the front room/studio area is covered in freshly-printed items.  I'll be adding these and a handful more of new items to my Etsy shop over the next couple days, so feel free to stop by and take a peek.


So, the photos:


Day 22: Paper

28-135 3.5-6.5 @47mm, f/4.0, 1/6sec, ISO 1600, no flash (crazy processing in Lightroom)

Day 23: Printing Frenzy

28-135 3.5-6.5 @60mm, f/4.5, 1/100sec, ISO 400, flash@1/8 bounced off ceiling

A sample of some of the items:

Day 21: Fence

There was actually a little bit of daylight as I was walking home from work yesterday.  I managed to snap this before it got too dark...

28-135 3.5-5.6 @135, f/5.6, 1/10 sec, ISO 800, no flash

Days 17, 18, 19, and 20 | 30 Day Challenge

Well, starting Thursday evening, I had some internet connection issues and then I was out of town for the weekend and just got back home.  I figured that since there was so much to post, I would just put them all into one.  


I have to admit that I am happy to be on the home stretch at this point.  I have enjoyed the challenge so far and feel like I've started to learn something about my shooting style, but it does add a little stress to my day to come home after a full day of work and then come up with an idea for a photo... especially when it's been a slightly less than stellar day and I am not really in the mood.  I do think that it is important to push through those moments and do what you set out to do.  Sometimes those moments force me to get creative and the result something I wouldn't have otherwise done, so they have their merits.  This challenge does force me to keep my eyes open and to focus on details that are easy to overlook.  


Day 17: The necklace.  Beth made this for me!

50mm 1.4, f/2.0, 1/30sec, ISO 800, no flash

Day 18: Decent Pizza.  Not the best shot ever, but if you go to a pizza place with hand-tossed dough, then you just have to get this shot... even if you do have to use a really show shutter speed and it comes out kinda crappy. :)

28-135 3.5-5.6 @28mm, f/3.5, 1/30sec, ISO 3200, no flash

Day 19: Leaves.  Now that it's nearly February, we're starting to see a handful of colorful leaves here and there.  Florida is so weird.

28-135 3.5-5.6 @135mm f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 400, no flash

Day 20: Geometry.

28-135 3.5-5.6@ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/20sec, ISO 400, no flash

Day 16: I heart my kitchen aid | 30 Day Challenge

Yeah, it makes me happy.  


I participate in the DGrin photography challenges from time to time and the current theme is 'chocolate', so it goes without saying that I have to participate in this one!  I also have to make a cake with my shiny new kitchen aid in order to do so.  Life is rough, I know.

50mm 1.4, f/2.8, 1/40sec, ISO 400, no flash

Day 15: Mist | 30 Day Challenge

Welcome to the midpoint of my 30 day photo challenge.  I wish I could have produced a more stellar image to commemorate the event, but I ended up having a bad evening last night and just snapped this quickly.


It is starting to warm up and it was quite humid last night.  The lights shining on this field filtered through all the mist in the air and gave the area a mysterious feel.


Here's to a more successful day 16!

50mm 1.4, f/2.0, 1/20sec, ISO 400

Day 14: Ti Amo! | 30 Day Challenge

I should really do this again sometime in the summer... I feel like every shot that doesn't happen on a weekend happens at night.  I guess it's good for me to practice at night, but it would be nice to have a little more daylight to work with.


Tonight I was downtown and took a photo looking down the alley to Ti Amo.  Those of you who know Gainesville and Ti Amo know that it is a wonderful place to eat and has a lovely wrought iron gate that they close every night at the entrance to this little alley.  


I shot through the gate to get this one.  I did soften it just a touch to enhance the mood of it, but the colors were not manipulated.

50mm 1.4, f/1.4, 1/25 sec, ISO 3200, no flash

Day 13: San Felasco | 30 Day Challenge

Sunday we went for a long walk at San Felasco.  The weather was perfect.  We made a few discoveries including an old cement and metal structure that looked like some kind of shallow cistern system, bitter orange trees, places that deer had been rubbing on the trees and peeled the bark off of, giant old live oaks, and we even found a horseshoe.  Animals were everywhere, which was quite nice.  We saw probably four or five armadillos that were totally oblivious to us, a woodpecker, we heard a turkey, and saw about 30 deer.  A lovely Sunday, if I may say so.


As with the quarry, I'll just post several images and count the first one as my requirement for the challenge.  I know this shot is fairly abstract and isn't really a picture of anything specific, but there is something about it I really like.  Maybe the negative space, lines, and the depth implied by the shallow depth of field (i.e., focus on one narrow plane so everything else is out of focus... the further away from that plane you get the more out of focus other objects become).  The color to this on is only very slightly modified.  I brought down the saturation a bit, but the original shot did have this warm, soft hue to it.  


I have started to use manual focus when working in an area of intricate detail at varying levels... imagine branches on a small tree or a situation like this that is just full of twigs, vines, and spanish moss.  I usually immediately find something interesting to focus on using the auto focus, but then I turn that off and slowly turn the manual focus ring to pick out something interesting at every plane that I might otherwise have missed.  It's really a good exercise for anyone working at a very narrow depth of field, I think.  You see things you hadn't expected.

50mm 1.4, f/1.8, 1/80, ISO 200, no flash

Don't these look like they are straight out of a Dr. Seuss book?

Day Twelve: Newspaper | 30 Day Challenge

Saturday we hung out at a coffee shop for part of the afternoon, so I took a quick shot of our paper.

50mm 1.4, f/1.4, 1/30sec, ISO 800, no flash

Day Eleven: Bikes | 30 Day Challenge

Gainesville is a big bike town, so here is my tribute!

50mm 1.4, f/1.4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200, no flash

Day Ten: Sky | 30 Day Challenge

This was the view out of our office window tonight.  Can't complain.

50mm 1.4, f/4.5, 1/20sec, ISO 200, no flash

Day Nine: Pancakes for Dinner | 30 Day Challenge

So I got home from work tonight a little after 7 tonight.  I'm tired, I've got stuff on my mind, the guinea pigs are in full freak-out-for-no-reason-other-than-because-pig-one-is-squeaking-so-pig-two-is-squeaking-so-pig-one-is-squeaking-even-louder-it's-a-vicious-cycle mode, and I have been blowing my nose and hacking up a lung every day since 2010.  You have no idea how lucky you are that I haven't given you a picture of a pile of used tissues to look at.  


Anyway, I was not looking forward to cooking tonight and so I said "Screw it.  I'm having pancakes."  Fortunately for me, pancakes are incredibly easy to make, I had one egg in the fridge (thank goodness!), and they are one of my all-time most favorite ever foods.  I have a t-shirt to prove it.  It's purple.  So here they are.  You have no idea how hard it was waiting to eat them until AFTER they'd had their picture taken.  I am enjoying them now with some real maple syrup and I have to say that they are pretty stellar.  I used some coconut water, a ton of vanilla, and some kefir in the recipe... mmmm...

28-135mm 3.5-5.6 @53mm, f/4.5, 1/250sec, ISO 200, on camera flash w/diffuser

Day Eight: Safari | 30 Day Challenge

Last night I spent some quality time with two of my best friends.  In a month or so, Meredith will be leaving to spend a year and a half in Tanzania doing dissertation research.  Beth and I are going to travel over there to see her in late summer/early fall.  We're all quite excited about this adventure.  At dinner last night, Meredith put together a suggested itinerary for us.  It has a safari on it.  How can you beat that?  SAFARI!

28-135mm 3.5-5.6 @70mm, f/5.6, 1/25sec, ISO 1600, no flash

Day Seven (barely!): Pencils | 30 Day Challenge

Yikes!  Just barely made it!  I was sketching out some new letterpress designs and then next thing I knew it was 11:48pm.  So, with my twelve remaining minutes of day seven, I managed to take a photo of my drawing pencils and rescue my 30 day challenge from the brink of failure one week after starting it. :)


So, given that I had 12 only minutes I couldn't aim for anything too spectacular... but I kinda like the way this came out.  The ISO was super high, which gave it the grainy look you see in this photo.  I think it works here, though.  So yay!  Here's to saving the day ;)

28-235mm 3.5-5.6 @100mm, f/5.6, 1/13sec, ISO1600, no flash

Day Six: The Quarry | 30 Day Challenge

Today we were out for a Sunday drive in my lovely little car and found an old limestone quarry near Haille.  We had to get out and explore, of course.  We probably spent an hour down there walking around, throwing stones into the clear aqua water to try to guess how deep it was, watching fish, looking at fossils that fell out of the limestone, and enjoying the quiet.


Since it was so different from what you normally see here in oh-so-flat central Florida, I took quite a few shots.  We'll call the first one 'The One' for the challenge... even though it's a diptych... the rest are just bonus. :)  I was experimenting with trying to get a film feel to some of these images, so I embraced the sun flare and yellow-green tones in a handful of the photos.  The color of the water made a lovely background for some detail shots as well.  I would love to do a photoshoot here sometime...

28-135mm 3.5-5.6 @50, f/5.6, 1/400sec, ISO 400, no flash, polarization filter