Picture Day

Monochrome

2012-02-22T21:31:00.000-05:00

I have discovered a new interest. I beginning to appreciate the beauty of a monochrome (black & white) image. When I started this photographic journey I only saw pictures as color. Sometimes the more colorful the better the picture (or so the way the thoughts in my head formed). I'm just starting to understand the power of a well created B&W image. I know I have more to learn about this style of photography but I am excited learn and experiment. Here are a few of my favorites so far...

Grass Poker

2012-02-18T18:51:00.000-05:00

I found inspiration! I put my 365 project on hold earlier this week. I felt I was not using it as it was intended to be used. I'm still reading through my Christmas present book and finding it has been getting my mind in a better photographic mode. Once I finish The book I know I'll be able to restart my project with better focus.

In the interim I have found a Google+ photo theme that has my exploring with my camera with purpose and working at employing some of what I am learning in my book. There is a grass poker hash tag curated by Jules Hunter and Martin OBER which has been a lot of fun. I enjoy the pictures people have been posting to the theme and I find it fits a style of photography I like create. I think it helps that there is great interaction from the curators and other players.

Here are a few of my early hands in the game...

A 25% Break

2012-02-12T20:18:00.002-05:00

I have done 91 days on my 365 project and I think it is time for a change. Every once in a while I take a really nice picture but I feel I am just snapping pictures hoping for something good. There is no structure or purpose. I realize the goal of a 365 project is to get me to take pictures but just taking a picture for the sake of posting one everyday doesn't make any sense to me. I think I need to redefine my goal and possibly outline a plan to improve my images.

I just started reading the book my kids gave me for Christmas, Photographically Speaking: A Deeper Look at Creating Stronger Images by David duChemin. I have a feeling this book is going to take a few readings for everything to sink in but it has given me something to think about already. I'll finish reading it and reevaluate what I am trying to do.

My biggest hurdle will be overcoming the picture of myself as a non-creative person. I draw but nothing original, I am great at copying but struggle with original creations. I'm usually best at improving on something someone else has started...

Day 91

2012-02-10T19:59:00.000-05:00

Working from home today afforded me some extra time at the end of my day. I didn't have the drive home eating into my fading sunlight, although by the time I went outside the sporadic sun was behind a sky full of clouds. I hadn't planned any great adventure so I decided to go for another walk through the fields across the road from me. There usually is something of interest to be found.

I realize it is only the top of goldenrod but today it was out shining the sun. I have numerous pictures with the hazy sun in different positions in relation to my subject but I liked this one the best. With the sun only providing weak ambient light I didn't have to worry about hard shadows on the flower of the goldenrod and allowed me to still show the detail in the flower.

Better or Worse?

2012-02-10T14:32:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago I posted a picture of some ice in the creek. At the time I really liked the picture and used it as my 365 project picture for the day. This picture was another of my attempts at HDR processing using the Photomatix software. I basically let the software do its thing and added a few small tweaks in Elements when it was done.

After staring at this picture for a day or two I feel that I went too far with the processing and ruined the actual look of the ice. I checked out a few online guides/tutorials to basic HDR processing and didn't see where I might have gone wrong on that end other than a tendency for the HDR software to produce grey looking whites. Which is basically what I felt happened to this picture. I found where most HDR processing brings the finished picture into Photoshop or Elements to 'correct' the problem areas. Some of those problems being the grey whites, the addition of noise, etc.

I couldn't help trying to improve my original picture so I opened Elements, brought the first picture back in as well as the 0 EV exposure picture. I added the 0 EV picture as another layer in the original HDR picture. I set the blending to Hard Light and the Opacity to 75%. I think this dramatically changed the picture and for me brought it back to what I saw in the creek the day I took the picture. This picture is the non-cropped version.

I would appreciate any constructive criticism on how to better process the picture. I realize a lot of the choices we make as we process are to achieve a picture that matches either our memory of the scene or a vision we had when we captured the picture. Still, any tips for processing multiple exposures would be appreciated. Thanks.

Day 90

2012-02-10T05:36:00.000-05:00

Even though it is a lesson I am sure I will forget again it was important for me to suffer through it. On Wednesday I was playing with the camera in the creek down the road from my house. The last pictures I took where a three exposure bracket but I never changed the settings prior to putting the camera away.

Move forward one day and I spot a flock of turkeys coming through a field on their way to cross the road (insert joke here). I perform a quick u-turn in the road so I can grab a few pictures. In the excitement to capture them I just turned on the camera, pointed it at the turkeys and clicked the shutter. At the same time they made their dash and then short flight across the road. That is when I realized the camera took three pictures, two of which where incorrectly exposed. The turkeys were running so all three pictures had them in different stages across the field. They were also too far away in the shadows of the woods to get any more pictures. Lesson learned!

I was able to salvage one of the pictures. The truly disappointing aspect of this lesson is I was unable to take any other pictures yesterday and when I spotted the turkeys I thought my day was saved. Not a bad picture, but I would have loved to have clicked off a few more as the took flight and flew over the road. Next time I should be better prepared.

Day 89

2012-02-08T20:11:00.001-05:00

Today was another nice day but a little lacking in sun. The clouds would not give up any of the sky. I was going to have to spend some time tonight working on real work stuff so I cut out of work about thirty minutes early. In the long run work wins because I generally lose track of time when working from home.

My plan was to head back down to the creek for more ice and water pictures before heading to the gym. I remembered to take my little ten inch bendable tripod with me because I was thinking with the overcast sky I was going to get shutter speeds below my ability to hold the camera steady. I also thought that with the white ice/snow against the darker stream bed I might need to use multiple exposures to achieve what I wanted.

I have about ten to fifteen different views to process but the one I really liked was of a huge ice sheet against shallow water with visible rocks. I had the advantage of being able to setup about 4 feet above the ice on a large boulder. I am really happy with the picture I created.

I captured a three bracket set at -1/0/+1 EV which luckily for me my camera can do by itself. I brought the three images into Photomatix and used the Enhancer - Painterly option. I left the sliders as set by this options but brought the final image into PS Elements to tweak slightly. I adjusted the levels a little and added a high pass filter layer for just the ice. I used the soft light blending mode for the filter layer.

The resulting image is a little more 'enhanced' than I typically work toward but I think it works by highlighting the structure within the ice. The painterly option for the enhancer mode in Photomatix helped bring the stones on the creek bed into view and I think they contrast with the ice nicely.

Time to go see if I can create anything else with the other pictures I captured today...

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or critiques. Thanks.

Day 88

2012-02-07T22:34:00.003-05:00

Once again I end with a picture I did not start out with for my project picture. There was a beautiful sunset again tonight and I was over in town just before it hit the horizon. I intended to get another picture of the Rome Cable tower with the clouds and setting sun behind it. I had captured a similar view early in my journey with photography and thought I could improve on it with my new knowledge. I guess I have more knowledge to gain.

I just couldn't get the pictures to look the way I wanted. I was having a problem with noise due to the JPEG file format output by the camera. I worked at it far longer than I probably should have but I was determined to get a better picture. Eventually I turned to another picture to step away from my problem.

I had a picture I initially considered a throw away. I snapped it while waiting for the sun to move into position. I had no plans to process it but once I uploaded all the pictures to my computer there was a simplicity to it that I liked. The picture was basically monochrome to start which made my processing choice fairly easy.

It was just a stack of truck tires behind a parked truck but I really liked the detail in each tire. There was a lot of texture in all the elements of the picture and it was easy to make the whole scene 'pop'. I'm beginning to appreciate the possibilities of monochrome pictures. I have been on a recent run of B&W processing but the images are turning out pretty good.

Day 87

2012-02-06T21:18:00.002-05:00

It was another beautiful day here in Upstate New York. Even though my office is in the basement without any windows it was hard to work until quitting time knowing what a nice day was passing me by outside. As soon as the day was done I grabbed my stuff and headed for some pictures. I wanted to try capturing the water flowing over the small dam on the Oriskany Creek. The light wasn't the best but I took multiple exposures to try to compensate.

I used Photomatix to combine the three exposures using the tone mapping process. I few small tweaks to enhance the color and then a pass through DeNoise 5 to clean everything up. The picture turned out better than I expected, still not as good as I have seen online but I'm learning...

Day 86

2012-02-05T18:39:00.002-05:00

It was a quick trip weekend. We ended up leaving our house around 11:30am to make the 2.5 hour trip to my mother-in-law's house. We spent time with my brother-in-law and his family which was half the purpose for our trip. My wife's older sister also came over to visit with us and brought the 4 month old black lab we gave her around Thanksgiving. Love that dog! That was the other reason for our trip this weekend. It all worked out well and was a nice weekend to do some driving.

We returned home by 3pm which left me with some time to go out playing with my camera. I made a fast grocery run to get our supplies for the week and still was in the woods by 4pm. The Daily Shoot assignment for today was about liquids and I read a blog post about photographing water and ice. This all pointed me in the direction of the stream in the woods just down the road from my house. The sun was out providing just enough light to make this a challenge but luckily for me the stream is down in a ravine which blocked any direct sunlight.

I had a great time exploring the stream looking for interesting combinations of ice and water flow. I was hoping I could slow my shutter speed enough to get the water to look smooth. I wasn't able to get that glass look that I have seen in some pictures but I'm happy with the effect I did manage to capture. There was a huge assortment of ice formations which made selecting just one picture a little tough for me. The one I selected had some nice colors in the rocks just below the water.

I stayed away from a lot of heavy processing with this picture and tried a few new techniques I learned recently. I edited the picture in PS Elements 10 which I am learning more about every day. I cropped the picture to the 2x3 ratio which removed some unwanted areas in the top of the original. Due to my camera only saving in the JPEG format I ran the picture through DeNoise 5 to clean it up. I then adjusted the levels and increased the saturation slightly. The last enhancement I made to the picture was to create a layer mask for the ice and a high pass filter to just the ice portion of the picture. I learned this technique from Nick Gatens yesterday and not only did I discover more about Elements it allowed me to enhance the detail of the ice formation.

I have a couple of dozen more pictures involving the stream and the water/ice theme I need to process. I had a great time trying to capture these pictures. I'm almost hoping we get a little more winter so I can try this again.

Day 85

2012-02-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

I was determined not to miss the morning sun today. We ended up getting a dusting of snow last night after the freezing rain stopped. There really wasn't enough to worry about but I view it as exercise so I shoveled the driveway. Actually I pushed the snow from one side to the other with my 4 foot pusher shovel. Hey, I was out at 7am walking back and forth which is exercise, right?

The sky was full of clouds when I started but as I finished up you could see the sun start to work its way through. My plan was working. I grabbed the camera and went for a short walk. I managed to get quite a few nice pictures and even captured a bracketed set to show off the colors in the sky. The picture I liked for my project was a macro of the property marker on the corner of our yard. It is just a rusted piece of rebar but I like the texture and color against the sky.

We are heading down to my wife's family farm today to visit with her sister and meet her brother to exchange a few things for our nephew. I usually have a good time down there with my camera so I'm looking forward to a nice day. I just hope the weather holds.

Day 84

2012-02-03T20:51:00.001-05:00

Wow, I have been home for over four hours and just worked my way to my project picture. To be honest I grabbed a few pictures of the birch tree at work because of the sunlight illuminating it against some great clouds but was anticipating going for a walk when I got home. As I'm pulling in the driveway the freezing rain was just beginning. The birch tree was going to have to be the picture.

My 4 hour distraction started when I spotted the 'Hack This Photo' post with a picture of the Portland Head Lighthouse. This is a lighthouse I have visited a few times and photographed myself. I haven't participated in this photo editing challenge before but couldn't resist the subject. I worked the picture through processing a couple of different ways and ended up learning quite a bit more about Photoshop Elements and processing possibilities. I have included the two pictures at the end of the post.

The birch tree picture I used for my project is very simple but has great detail within the tree and nice colors provided by the blue sky showing through the white/grey clouds. The processing on the birch tree was done completely within Lightroom and kept fairly simple. I think I managed to get quite a lot of it right in camera.

For comparison, here is the SOOC picture:

The first of my distractions for the 'Hack This Photo' page was processed very normally for me. I minor adjustment of the levels, a pass through DeNoise 5 and then a final pass through Adjust 5. I selected the Dynamic Brightness preset from the HDR Collection to get me started. I needed to tweak a few of the settings to achieve the look I wanted. I like what I ended with, but as I mentioned earlier, very normal for me.

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I decided to edit the picture again this time learning how to apply a texture and create a picture that looked more vintage and aged. I had just read a post from Melina Ilieva on how to add a texture and create a vintage look for the picture. This is the article I followed: How to make a photo look like an old photograph.

I am really happy with the way this second picture turned out and I was able to learn a few new things about Photoshop Elements. This gives me more options when I'm out exploring with the camera. I have a new trick in my bag...

Day 83

2012-02-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

There is a new theme on The Hobby Photographer's Photo-Theme Page for reflections. I've taken quite a few pictures where the reflection is the subject or the picture involves a reflection so this will be an easy theme for contributions. Also, Monday's are usually the day I get to contribute the most pictures to the daily photography themes on G+ with Mirror Monday being one I have no trouble finding subjects to photograph.

The barge canal is an easy subject for me because I have to cross over on my way home. Making my choice to stop even easier is the location of a parking area and nature trail right off the road I travel. Today was no exception since I noticed the warm weather had melted some of the ice and snow on the canal providing a fairly nice surface for reflections. I knew as I walked up to the overpass that I would be processing the picture as a monochrome image due to the overcast sky and lack of foliage to provide any color.

I first tweaked the picture in Lightroom to get the best color picture I could. I then passed the picture through Topaz Labs B&W Effects to help bring out the details in the picture. The results are a little more pronounced than I usually produce but I think it works well for this picture.

Day 82

2012-02-01T20:45:00.001-05:00

I was still on a macro/bokeh vibe for today and I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph. Yesterday as I was walking around the yard I grabbed a few pictures of some tiny red berries. I liked their color but the angle and composition of the pictures I had were not what I wanted. I got home a little later than I anticipated and walked straight out to the back yard to get my picture(s).

The wind was blowing just a little more than I would have liked but I managed to get the top down view of the berries that I wanted. The background winter grass was a better color than the white snow, trees and grey sky I used yesterday. I was able to play more with the depth of field on the top down view which suited what I envisioned.

Just for comparison here is the picture from yesterday that got me interested in the berries but just didn't work for me. To be fair I haven't processed this picture yet.

Day 81

2012-01-31T20:45:00.000-05:00

I challenged myself to find a picture without leaving my yard. It's easy to see the grand landscape or the beautiful sunset but there are pictures everywhere. Granted, not all of them are worth hanging on the wall or showing everyone you know but they are out there. That really is what I wanted from my 365 project. Learning to see the little pictures as well as the big ones.

Day 80

2012-01-30T21:37:00.001-05:00

I woke this morning realizing old man winter was trying to get his groove back. It wasn't a heavy snow but there was 4 to 5 inches that needed to be removed from the driveway. Early in the morning I usually tuse the shovel over the snow blower as not to annoy the neighbors too much. It has the added advantage of giving me some needed exercise. All went well and I thought it was going to be a nice day.

When left the house for work it was a clear morning but by the time I arrived 12 miles to the southeast it was practically a white out. We haven't seen snow like this all winter. I continued for the better part of the day. Around 2pm it once again cleared u and I had some great conditions for pictures. The only obstacle in my way was the snow in the driveway again that needed to be removed. I was a little over half done when I decided to grab the camera before all the light was gone.

To be honest the amount of snow wasn't as bad as I make it out to be in this picture. We probably had another 5 to 6 inches of the fluffy stuff. I liked the look of getting the camera low and exaggerating the amount of snow.

The sun was low and I might have had the white balance setting incorrect but by processing this as a B&W the picture actually works for me. I'm including the original and would appreciate any advice on how I could correct it. There was some interesting colors in the sky but I didn't capture them in the original picture.

This is a good learning picture for me. I struggled with it while processing before settling on a B&W process. I learned what can and can not be corrected with Lightroom and/or Elements.

Day 79

2012-01-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to get the Sunday errands done before the sun slipped below the horizon. That good fortune allowed me to venture out into the fields across the road to explore with the camera. I had a nice hour long walk before the snow started to fall. Of course, as soon as I returned to the house and put everything away the sun pushed the snow back and had one last light show before ending the day. It didn't matter, I think I managed to get a few nice pictures and I know I had a good time exploring.

I selected this picture from the few I really liked because of the colors. Currently my world is a mixture of browns and whites, so a little red and green brightened my outlook. Another reason for this picture is the definition in the leaves. I liked the saw-tooth edge and the clearly defined veins visible on each leaf. And then there is the amount of effort I put into getting this picture. I was moving a few branches out of my way and practically held the camera above my head to get this view. I had to work for it and I think it turned out how I saw it in my head.

This is another picture from my walk today that I liked. I know I over exposed the sky but I was intrigued by the condition of the apples. The few that remained in the upper reaches of the tree were full of texture and stood out with their faint red color. I could see evidence that the local deer had finished off any f the apples within reach or those that had made it to the ground.

I still have pictures to look through and process. It might be worth the effort to process my favorites and write up another entry unrelated to my 365 project. We'll see if I can make the time later in the week...

Day 78

2012-01-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

I looked up the word 'fickle' in the dictionary. I think it best describes my feelings toward my photography lately... fickle: given to erratic changeableness. Yesterday and part of this week I had the blahs, but today with the sun actually making a showing I am feeling better about it. It also could be due to finding a nice picture on my walk this morning.

We had quite a mixture of rain and snow over the past few days which has the little creek down the road flowing pretty good. I walked down to see if there was any good pictures involving the water and ice but stumbled upon this little guy. The sun broke through the clouds almost on cue to provide enough light and make the colors more vibrant.

I need to talk to my neighbor and ask if he would mind me walking up the creek through the woods behind his house. He owns most of the woods and I think there is just the right mixture of snow and open ground to provide me with some photographic opportunities. I'll have to check the weather first to see if the sun will agree to my plan.

Day 77

2012-01-28T05:56:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning to think there is a downside to returning home after a relaxing, enjoyable vacation. The scenes around me just pale in comparison to the views and pictures I had a couple weeks ago in Florida. I need to put those behind me and start looking for the pictures here back home. They were here before I left and they are still here, I'm just not seeing them.

I tried a few different images for my project picture but I'm not really happy with any of them. I processed one from each attempt and settled on an interesting railroad bridge. I end up going under this bridge whenever I need to stop in town after work. I believe there is a cool picture to be captured, I just didn't quite get it yet.

As you can probably tell from the picture the weather was just starting to make that turn to the nasty. It had been raining most of the day and just before dark it started snowing. I wish the weather would just make up its mind and pick one so we can deal with it and get it over.

I'm going to include the other two options I had for my project picture. The first I thought was interesting because the sign for the handicapped parking space was knocked down. It had me wondering what the story is behind this scene.

This last picture is the corner of my office. I was waiting for an installation to complete and was pointing my camera around the room. I think it would take me numerous trips to clean out my office if I was asked to leave... I've collected way too much junk over the years.

Day 76

2012-01-27T05:38:00.002-05:00

The day started out the same as it has been for most of the week, an overcast, gray sky with little opportunity for exploring outside. My office is in the basement without a window or view so I venture up to ground level to recharge with some natural light every few hours. I was encouraged by the conditions thinking by the time work is over I would be able to get some pictures I could process as B&W and they might turn out halfway usable. That all changed around 3pm.

The weather turned to rain/freezing rain and my chances for any sort of picture outside vanished. My usual lookout location is in our HR office since we share an interest in Disney. As we were discussing a particular requirement from NY State for wage information I noticed her Christmas Cacti were starting to bloom. We always joke that the darn plants never understand the time of year but it did give me chance to get a non-winter picture on a washout day.

Fluorescent lighting is never fun but I think I managed to catch the blossom's good side. Just some simple processing in Lightroom was all that was required for this picture. I cropped in close on the bloom due to its small size and the ugly walls in the office. A little increase in contrast and vibrance produced the picture I wanted to create. I thought about masking out the plant and replacing the background with a solid black color but I'm thinking that might be too much contrast.

I'll have to keep an eye on its progress and get an updated picture once the plants are in full bloom...

Day 75

2012-01-25T17:40:00.001-05:00

The weather the last few days has not been very conducive to my photographic efforts. The sky has been one color... grey. I'm beginning to think the sun has changed its mind about visiting us again. It was a good run and we enjoyed it while it lasted but now I have to find a way to stay motivated when the views out the window are blah!

I stopped along a corn field on my way how from work to see if I could make something out of the rows of corn stalks left after the harvest. My plan was to use whatever picture I create for another entry in the Hobby Photographer's Photo Theme of lines in landscape pictures. I'm not positive it works but will see what everyone thinks of it.

The original image did not have a lot of color which lead me down the B&W processing path. I started by combining a three exposure bracket of pictures because I thought it would help maintain the definition in the dark tree line as opposed to the white snow covered field. I also thought it would help me keep the features in the snow. I then converted the combined picture to B&W and experimented a little with some diffusion in an effort emulate the overcast, hazy feel to the day.

Day 74

2012-01-24T18:23:00.001-05:00

Yikes! What was I thinking!

I ended up working from home today so I could ferry my daughter to school for her English regents at noon. I assumed that would provide me with some extra time after work to explore with the camera. My sad attempt was an epic fail due to a slight mist in the air. I even spent 10 minutes trying to follow a little bird around the inside of our pine tree but he never stopped long enough for the camera to properly focus.

What to do for my project picture. Do this, no, did it before. How about this, no, seems too familiar. How about a self portrait? No way! Just isn't me. I barely post pictures with me in them as it is but to do it on purpose... no, I don't think so.

Well, maybe if I try this pose where I'm staring down at the computer as if I'm struggling with a program. OK, that happens every day so I know what it should look like. How do I do it? Point and shoot camera, small table top tripod and the simple timer... OK, let's do this before I chicken out...

The glare on the glasses is intentional. I was hoping it would capture a little more of the screen but it is what it is. Baby steps! The next one will be better... hopefully!

Day 73

2012-01-23T20:36:00.005-05:00

It turned out to be a fairly warm day here in Upstate NY although overcast and very grey. I ended up running a few errands after work but forgot to bring the camera along just in case. This left me with no light to go exploring with my camera. I did like the light from the city of Rome that was illuminating the clouds. I ventured outside with the camera and tripod to try my hand at some longer exposure pictures.

Trying to capture the view from the end of the driveway was not as easy as I thought. I'm sure it was a combination of the camera's abilities and my own (probably more my own). With a little tweaking in Lightroom this picture didn't turn out too bad. I'm posting it as my project picture for the day as a reminder of the learning I still need and the attempt of trying something different.

Day 72

2012-01-22T10:05:00.000-05:00

I decided to get off my butt and outside early today. Not the greatest decision considering how cold it was, but it did allow me to get a few nice pictures during the sunrise. You never know what a Sunday is going to bring and what you will be doing so I thought it best to explore with the camera before the rest of the family crawled out of their beds. I do know that one agenda for me today is to find a pair of gloves I can use with the camera. Challenge accepted!

I walked down the road this morning in the direction of the rising sun. I endured the cold wind in my face because I knew the walk back would definitely feel warmer. There are snowmobile trails throughout our county and luckily for me there is one that crosses the road close by. Being able to walk the fields on the hard packed trail was better than trudging through the snow that would have surely been over my boots.

There is always a moment as the sun rises where the sky is a multitude of colors. The effect is helped here by the presence of some low cloud cover but it does make for vibrant pictures. Very little processing for this picture. I added some contrast, a little clarity and toned down the vibrance some in Lightroom. I also needed to remove some of the noise I always seem to have when there is an abundance of sky in my pictures. I'm sure it is due to my camera only saving JPEG files. Looking forward to upgrading to a little better camera soon.

I was fortunate that a couple rebel snowmobilers decided to venture off the marked trail and cut across the field in the direction of my house. It allowed for some additional exploring without having to retrace my steps along the road. The higher the sun reached in the sky the colors dramatically changed which gave me this picture about 15 minutes after the one above.

By the time I finally reached the road on the other side of my house I noticed the this view across the valley. It is taken about 90 degrees from the sunrise pictures and again presents a totally different look to the morning.

Day 71

2012-01-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

Sitting at the computer this morning I was not confident that I would have a good day with the camera. It was overcast and snowing with the potential to keep inside all day. Of course, if I had just checked the weather forecast I would have known it was going to clear up by this afternoon. I wasn't that smart this morning. I'll use the excuse that the coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

We had plans to drive out to the NY State Fair Grounds in Syracuse for the Salt City Antique show which I thought might provide some photography potential. I brought the smaller Sony with me as it fits in the inside pocket of my coat on the off chance I would be able to use. Antique dealers do not like people taking photographs. Everywhere I looked there were signs up stating 'No Pictures!'. All was not lost, there was still light when we left the show...

A friend at work suggested we try Quaker Steak & Lube for lunch if we do venture out to the show. It is just up the road from the fair grounds and I can tell you now it was worth the trip. The food was better than I anticipated and I enjoyed all the cool props throughout the building. I did manage to sneak a few pictures and almost considered using one for my project picture.

We eventually made it home with about an hour to spare before sunset. The temperature did not get above the mid teens but there was no wind which allowed me to wander around outside for a longer time before my finger tips begged for warmth. The sun was not obscured by the few clouds in the sky and produced a brilliant orange hue on everything. I particularly liked the look of the fence at the property line (a favorite subject when stuck at home).

I liked the color and texture of the post in the foreground. I tried a few different angles but felt this one with the remaining fence posts blurred in the background made for the best composition. I kept the processing simple on this picture. It was fairly close to what I wanted straight out of the camera. I added a little contrast, a little clarity and a small temperature change after cropping to a 2x3 ratio. I realized when I was all done and happy with this picture that I have used this before at the start of my project. I like the picture above better than the earlier one.

Here are a few of the pictures from the interior of the Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant. The first is a little busy looking and I had more than an amble amount of lights in the picture!

The second one is of the neon sign hanging on the wall in the top left corner of the first picture. I let the camera automatically adjust for the brightness and then adjusted the exposure a little more to get the background to disappear.

Day 70

2012-01-20T17:52:00.000-05:00

I guess the bone head play yesterday was for the best. Today turned out to be a nicer day to take pictures outside. It wasn't any warmer but at least the sun was out and there was better light. I returned to the scene of yesterday's picture, the cannon in front of the fire house and managed to get better views then before.

I don't actually recall when the cannon was erected but it is a fitting symbol for the town's namesake, General William Floyd. I live in the Town of Floyd in Oneida County, New York. William Floyd was born in Long Island and served in the Suffolk County Militia during the Revolutionary War. He was an original signer of the Declaration of Independence and served as a member of the House of Representatives for New York. He eventually moved to our area of the state settling in the hamlet of Westernville.

There was a wide range between the light and dark areas of this scene. I did not want to lose any detail from the darker cannon so I set the camera to take a 3 bracket set (-1/0/+1). I combined the pictures using Photoshop Elements but the resulting image was still a little dull to me. I used Topaz Labs Adjust filter to brighten the image and intensify the colors.

I have quite a few more views of this cannon. I think I'll see what else I can create. I know there is a history theme on G+. I'll do some more research and see what I can create. Looking up the info about William Floyd has peaked my interest. I've lived in this area for over twenty years and I'm still discovering new info. Time to do more than just take up space...

Day 69

2012-01-19T18:11:00.000-05:00

Alright, I'll admit it, it was a stupid thing to do. I could make excuses but in the long run I wasn't focused on the task at hand. I stopped on my way home from work to take pictures of a cannon on display in front of the town fire hall. It was overcast and snow on the ground but the dark cannon would stand out nicely against all of that.

I grabbed 10 - 15 pictures from various angles and felt good that I would be able to create a picture for my 365 project from the images I captured. When I got home I plugged the camera into the computer and started the process of transferring the pictures. I don't even remember what I did to distract myself and interrupt the process but I saw the pictures on the screen, unplugged the camera and proceeded to delete the memory card. As soon as I returned my attention to the computer I realized I never clicked the 'Import' button. Aaahhhh! What a bone head mistake!

I lowered my head, grabbed the camera and started wandering the house for a new subject. My son just went back to college yesterday so his room was fairly empty. I noticed this game on the floor and thought it would work as my new subject. I liked how it seemed to jump off the blue carpet. I stepped away about eight feet so the flash would not be as strong and clicked away.

After yesterday's success at creating a landscape picture for my project and the Hobby Photographer's Photo Theme I was looking forward to processing the cannon pictures. I have wanted to stop and photograph the cannon for quite a while now but always seem to drive by. Hopefully there will be an even better day soon to return and get the pictures I lost today.

Lesson learned! No more immediate deletion of the camera's memory card until I am absolutely positive I have the images on the computer...

Day 68

2012-01-18T19:46:00.000-05:00

Today was the day to get out and use the camera during daylight! I had to take the day off from work to drive my son back to college in Potsdam, NY. It is a three hour drive each way with plenty of scenery. The drive up to college would be the scouting phase and then on the solitary return trip I would be able to stop for pictures.

I was not disappointed. The weather in the early morning was overcast and snowy but by the time we left the house the sun was out and the clouds were disappearing. There was not much traffic on the roads which allowed me to stop at the various locations to take my pictures. This picture is from an abandoned set of tracks just north of Lowville, NY on Route 812. I actually stopped to get a picture of the bridge looking the other direction down the tracks but liked this view better. It's true. Always look behind you after taking the picture.

I also chose this picture because I wanted to contribute it to the Hobby Photographer's Photo Theme of 'Lines'. The theme is about using lines in landscape or city photography to enhance the mood or lead the viewer's eye through the picture.

This picture works for me on multiple levels. There are the obvious lines of the tracks and then the telephone poles but the over growth on the right creates another line all leading in the same direction. I'm going to have to stop here again once spring returns to get this view when everything is not as drab looking.

Day 67

2012-01-17T21:11:00.001-05:00

This will probably come off as whining but I just didn't have the time today to explore with the camera. I ended up searching the house again for a subject to photograph. What I ended up using was our Olszewski Disney Gallery of Light shadow box of Snow White Kissing Dopey. I chose not to try to photograph the entire piece but focus on the inside scene.

Due to the lighting conditions inside the box I once again used a 3 exposure bracket and combined them using Photoshop Elements photo merge exposure option. It isn't the same as a dedicated HDR program like Photomatrix but it gets the picture most of the way there and then I just need to tweak it.

The manual tweaking just wasn't working for me. I turned to Topaz Labs Adjust 5 filter to apply a 'Photo Pop' HDR effect to increase the detail and bring out the colors more. The light inside the box produced a hot spot in the center of the picture which I adjusted out slightly by decreasing the brightness locally.

Tomorrow I need to return to a more typical picture. I'll have more opportunities as I am taking my son back to college and it will be a 3 hour return trip by myself. Looks like I'll be bringing the camera and spotting places to stop on the drive out.

Day 66

2012-01-16T22:23:00.003-05:00

There is only two hours left before this day slips into tomorrow. I have never had such a hard time capturing my project picture. I had an idea that I just could not execute on. My wife had received a bottle of Grey Goose vodka for Christmas and I thought it was a very interesting bottle for a picture. I was also thinking I could use the opportunity to learn more about Topaz Labs ReMask 3 filter. Needless to say, I have more work to do in learning the program as well as how best to photograph a translucent object.

Overall it was a interesting learning experience for me. Trying to setup a place in the kitchen with barely adequate lighting and a make shift background cloth was almost beyond my patience level. The picture is not one of my favorites but I'm going to use it for today's post as a reminder of the process I went through and what I still need to learn.

I found some black cloth to use as a background which I thought would provide enough contrast with the bottle to allow me to use the ReMask 3 filter. I eventually gave up with the filter because I could not get a sharp enough mask in quite a few areas around the bottle. Some of my problem might have been the lighting, I'll have to experiment more when I have more time.

I went with a three image photo merge exposure process in Photoshop Elements to create my final picture. I ended up adding some clarity to bring more detail to the image and words on the bottle. I guess looking at it again as I write this it isn't too bad, just not the image that was in my head when I started to create this picture.

I'll try revisiting this bottle when I learn more about both the software and lighting.

Day 65

2012-01-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

Driving over to town to get bagels for breakfast I couldn't help but stop to take this picture. Lucky for me there was no traffic on the road because the shoulder was very narrow and I could't pull over to get the car completely off the road. This is a picture from the end of the runway looking toward the hangers of the old Griffiss Air Force base in Rome, NY. The steam/smoke trail from the power plant was hanging low to the ground probably due to the extreme cold (-15F).

Smoke Trail - Day 65

All the processing was done in Lightroom with noise reduction done in Topaz Labs DeNoise 5. I cropped the outer fence out of the picture and changed the aspect ratio to 16x9. I increased blacks and added some fill light to bring out the detail in the snow. My exposure was a little dark so I added some brightness but also added contrast to bring out the color in the sky. To get a little better definition of the steam/smoke trail I increased clarity. Here is the original for comparison...

Days 55 to 64

2012-01-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

Time once again to play catch up! Spent a week on vacation thoroughly enjoying the time away from work and the cold northeast. Was very spoiled by the weather in Orlando with most days near 80 the whole time we were there. Traveling is generally a big hassle and the return trip was no exception. I'm just going to spend the weekend getting back into a normal routine and try not to daydream too much about my home-away-from-home, the Beach Club resort in Walt Disney World.

I was able to keep my 365 project going while on vacation, which should be no big surprise as there is a plethora of photo opportunities in Disney World. I was helped out by the fact that I'm usually an early riser even when I don't need to be, so I was able to go out for walks in the morning as everyone else was getting ready. Well, enough rambling, let's get to the pictures...

Day 55 - Holiday Door

Getting ready to leave the next morning for our vacation I was scrambling to find a subject for my project picture. The historic church at the end of my road is always decorated for the holidays so I drove down and grabbed a few pictures. I decided to focus on the red door with the decorations since the there was too much noise in the rest of the image.

Day 56 - Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

We spent the night at my mother-in-law's house since we would be flying out early the Saturday morning. With everything else going on I almost forgot to get my picture so I roamed around her house pointing the camera at anything interesting. I typically see this saying portrayed by monkeys so the ducks caught my eye. I quick pose on the table and I stayed on track.

Day 57 - Standing Watch

Once we arrived at the Beach Club resort we dropped off our stuff in the room and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the last night of the Osborne Family Lights and Fantasmic before it closes for a refurbishment. Walking out to the Yacht Club's lighthouse to catch the ferry I spied this perched on one of the posts. He was not intimidated by people at all. I was about 3 feet away when I took this picture.

Day 58 - Blue Waves

Soarin'! I love this ride and our first full day in a park was spent in Epcot. Grabbed a fast pass and headed out for other adventures. When we returned there was a small delay in the fast pass line and I just couldn't stand there under these lights without taking a quick picture.

Day 59 - Ornate Sign

Sat down near the restrooms next to Pirates of the Caribbean and the first thing I notice is the wall. The color and texture had me at 'Hello'. Then I noticed how ornate the sign was and the wonderful detail in the tiles. That was all she wrote folks, photo taken!

Day 60 - Fading Beauty

We were waiting in line to see Mickey over in Camp Minnie-Mickey at the Animal Kingdom which allowed me to play with the camera. Actually I was just getting ready to take pictures, really! I really liked how this one turned out with the dark background. I think it enhances the colors of the foreground subject.

Day 61 - Light and Leaves

This lamp post was visible from the balcony off the living room of our villa. I really liked the black post against the colors of the fallen leaves. My plan was to get a picture at night with the light on but my attempts all failed. I blame the camera... lol.

Day 62 - Flower Bokeh

On one of my morning walks I stopped taking pictures across the lake and focused on some of the flowers I could find along the walkway. This one was just too vibrant to pass up although I still couldn't resist a little Boardwalk bokeh in the background.

Day 63 - Snow Post

Back in the northeast on Thursday night and this is what I wake to Friday morning! It wasn't as bad as I want to make it out but after a week in Florida I wasn't ready to deal with the snow. This was just a quick picture out the back door at my mother-in-laws before packing up the car to finally get back home.

Day 64 - Slant

I was still a little off my game today. Most of it was spent working on all the pictures I brought back with me from vacation. I also had to spend a couple of hours replacing the back brakes on my car. I'm too cheap to let someone else do it since I am more than capable. It was close though considering how cold the garage was going to be. I survived and then about an hour before sunset I tried going outside with the camera. I think I lasted all of ten minutes before running back inside. I did manage to get this picture before my finger tips turned numb.

I should be back on a regular schedule tomorrow so hopefully I can keep this blog up to date with my progress along my 365 Project journey. No promises though... ;)

Day 54

2012-01-04T20:16:00.002-05:00

I made a decision today! Yes, your applause is appreciated... thank you. For the last 53 days I have been taking pot shots with my camera hoping to get a picture for this project. There were a few days where I actually thought about a picture and planned how to shoot it, but for the most part it has been pot luck. I don't think this is the actual intent of the project. Have I been learning about my camera, yes. Have I been learning about composition, yes. Have I been learning about exposure, yes. It just feels like I needed something else...

Now for my decision... The Hobby Photographer's Photo-Theme Page runs a bi-weekly theme where each photographer can submit three pictures for review. At the end of the two week period everyone votes for their favorite picture. The winner has bragging rights until the next theme's winner is chosen. I decided to submit photos for each theme which will focus my on creating at least three pictures with a goal in mind. I think this will help me with composition and the peer review/exposure will help me improve my overall skills. This week's theme is Abstract...

Abstract Words

I ended up taking this picture during lunch at work today. I stacked up a few small books and placed this article I printed off the web so it was sloping up toward the light source. I set the camera to the largest aperture, turned on macro mode and adjusted the focusing to be 7 meters. I set the camera on the desk at the bottom of the page, focused on the top words and clicked away. A little processing in Lightroom, a pass through the B&W Effects filter and I have my project picture. Now all I need is two more abstracts by the 14th.

Rule of Thirds

2012-01-04T18:18:00.002-05:00

Scott Thomas, fellow Upstate NY photographer, has a great blog, Views Infinitum where you can read about his journey into photography, view great pictures from around New York State and learn about photography concepts. I just discovered he uses his blog to run photographic assignments to help newbies like me improve their skills.

This weeks assignment is about the rule of thirds. You can read about it on Scott's site by following this link: assignment 17 rule of thirds. As an added bonus attached to this assignment Scott will be picking a random winner from the submissions to participate in an online photography e-class. I'm feeling lucky, are you?

Rule-of-Thirds

This was a picture I took early in my 365 projects. As Scott mentions in his blog I purposefully composed the picture following the rule-of-thirds but as you can see from the original below I needed to crop the picture to achieve the image I wanted. There was also a little tweaking in Lightroom to improve the mood and tone of the picture.

Original straight out of camera

Day 53

2012-01-04T04:47:00.000-05:00

Single digit temperatures and a losing battle with the sun left me with inside objects for my project picture. I've discovered when shooting inside in low light I need to always use the tripod to ensure a sharp image. I'm just not very steady at slow shutter speeds. I also wanted to try more bracketed shots with the thought of combining them using Photoshop Elements - Photmerge Exposure option.

I found this fragrance diffuser on one of the end tables and it looked like it would catch the light nicely while providing a nice contrast to the wood grained top. The automatic bracketing does work on my camera if you need longer exposure but I was able to get around this issue by setting the exposures manually. Luckily for me I didn't move the camera in between shots.

Once I had the three exposures merges in Elements I did a small adjustment to the levels and adjusted the contrast. The picture didn't turn out that bad and discovered another nice background to photograph objects against. After reviewing the in camera pictures of this object I tried another bracketed shot of a candle topper with the candle lit to provide some contrasting light.

Looking at this image today I might have done a different crop to better highlight the detail in the top but overall this image works for me too. This opens up more possibilities for exploration and with winter starting to set in here in Upstate NY, I'm going to need a lot more indoor subjects!

Day 52

2012-01-02T21:36:00.002-05:00

I took the tripod out of the car when we had to travel over the holidays and today I am regretting that it hasn't made it back into the car. I stopped at the cemetery in the village to get a picture of the stone house and wall at the front. I have been passing this building for months since my interest in photography thinking it would be a great subject for a picture. I was not disappointed after stopping.

I attempted to take a 3 exposure bracket without the tripod and the resulting picture had too many ghosts. The Photoshop Elements program did a great job aligning the building but the background trees had ghosts. I adjusted my strategy to the processing. I started with the normal exposure image and processed it through Topaz Labs Adjust utilizing the Heavy Smooth HDR filter. A few small tweaks to the levels and contrast once back in Elements to produce the final image.

The next time I pass through the village with some cooperating light I will be stopping to explore this building and surrounding stone wall more closely. There are some iron fences in the stone wall that look promising. It is snowing out now, maybe tomorrow will be my next chance.

Top 10 of 2011

2012-01-02T05:53:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Levi Moore posted about selecting your top 10 pictures of 2011 into a separate album which he would list on his blog (Your Top 10 Photos of 2011) in a collection of photographic goodness. Although I had only started taking photography seriously this summer I decided it would be good to see what I had created over the past six months. The thought just crossed my mind that I should also include those pictures here as another record of my growth(?). I'll let the images speak for themselves...

#10 - Writer's block

#9 - Simple and delicate

#8 - Unbelievable colors

#7 - Refusing to give up

#6 - Silhouette

#5 - 4 image panoramic over Mohawk River

#4 - Alone

#3 - The path less traveled

#2 - Cold morning

#1 - Apple field

Day 51

2012-01-01T22:12:00.002-05:00

I made a conscious effort to get outside early and explore with the camera. It wasn't the best conditions but there had to be some pictures out there, right? There was! I knew there would be. I just used it as an excuse before today, but not any more. I guess it is going to be part of the new year's resolutions... get out with the camera even when it doesn't look perfect.

I took the damp morning as an opportunity to get pictures involving water and/or water drops. My first few attempts did not end well. Due to the overcast conditions I had to slow the shutter speed down and once I looked at the pictures on the computer I realized I just couldn't hold the camera steady enough. Normally that would have been the end of it, but not this year. I grabbed the tripod, headed back outside and was able to capture quite a few good pictures.

This is a portion of a chain holding the extinguishing cap on a lawn torch. I really liked the wet black look against the brown branches of a lilac bush. Once I started examining the chain closely I found the reflections in the water were even more intriguing.

I chose the square format to help balance the picture and to remove some excess white space. With the lighting conditions I also shot 3 bracketed images at -1/0/+1 with the thought of combining them in Elements. Once the image had the detail I wanted via the exposure photo merge I passed the it through Topaz Labs Adjust filter to add a slight HDR look.

I have a few more water macro shots from today that I will probably be posting tomorrow for the Macro Monday theme on G+. I needed to keep a few in my back pocket to use at a later date.

Day 50

2012-01-01T08:01:00.002-05:00

I want to say there was not a lot of opportunity to get outside with the camera yesterday but sitting here typing the words I know that is just an excuse. When it is overcast, rainy and foggy or if the weather is not pristine I have a hard time motivating myself to use the camera. I'll have to work on that...

Around lunch time I went out to grab a picture of the fog that just wasn't going to go away. I had a vision in my head that a moody picture would sum of the feeling for the day and thought a fog filled picture of the woods would do just that. There was not much sunlight making its way through the clouds so I knew the colors in the picture would be subdued. Even as I took the picture I knew I would be processing it as a B&W or monochrome image.

The only adjustment in Lightroom was to crop the picture to a 16x9 aspect ratio and then I used Topaz Labs B&W Effects. I generally start with one of the presets in B&W Effects and then tweak them to get the image I see in my head. For this picture I used the Traditional - Warm Tone II Smooth preset. I didn't want to enhance the detail in the picture because I thought that would ruin the mood. I didn't make any further adjustments beyond the preset, it captured the look I wanted.

Overall, I'm happy with the result. The finished image was what I was looking to achieve. I'm still experimenting with the camera and different styles. I will say I am becoming a bigger fan of monochrome images. I have a feeling the B&W Effects plugin will be getting more use than I originally thought.

Day 49

2011-12-30T20:56:00.001-05:00

The weather wasn't cooperating today and I wasn't sure if I would be able to get outside with the camera. In the early afternoon I decided to setup a picture inside as a backup plan even though I was still going to try for something outside. Luckily around 3pm the sun started to fight off the clouds which allowed me to go for a short walk in the field across the road. I was amazed at the green I was able to find among the snow. This is the one I liked the best.

With the snow in the background and the sun not very strong I was a little worried I would blow out the highlights. I got lucky with the exposure and didn't have to do any recovery in my processing. I bumped up the black, added some contrast and increased the saturation slightly.

I was able to get quite a few nice pictures on that short walk before the disappearing sun and numbing fingers sent me back home. There was a general recurring theme of using snow as the backdrop but they all work for me.

I also found some interesting moss growing on the side of a tree. It was about 5 feet off the ground facing the prevailing winds but that didn't stop it from being the most vibrant object outside today. There was some fungus on the same tree which looked interesting but I was unable to get the right focus with the zoom I was using. That will be a project for another day.

Now for the picture I actually had to think about and setup as my backup picture. Maybe it is because I'm such a Disney nut and maybe it is because we have way too much Disney stuff in the house but lately those are the items I turn to in a pinch. The plaque is a much used quote from Walt Disney but still one of my favorites and the figures are Jim Shore. The second one of these pictures is without the quote and processed as a multiple exposure HDR image with PS Elements (didn't turn out too bad).

Day 48

2011-12-29T19:54:00.000-05:00

This morning I noticed that the clouds were gathering before sunrise and might help the sun put on an early show. Even though it was 16 deg F outside I walked down to the end of my road to get a better view. I wasn't disappointed. I was able to capture a few great pictures before my fingers started to feel numb.

When I got closer to home I ventured down into the yard next to the fence to see what I could find. The blowing snow from the day before had coated one side of the fence posts and the soft, early morning light provided just enough contrast for some more pictures.

I was pretty happy with this picture right out of the camera. I did crop the picture because I think the framing couldn't be improved. I did play with a few settings to bring out some of the details in the snow and the wood. The last modification was to process the image through a sepia filter which really added to the quality. everything was basically brown or white so it was an easy switch. The sepia processing preserved the detail in the edges of the snow better than if I had went with a straight B&W processing.

I'm including the original picture as a comparison. I think it is interesting to see where I started and where the picture ended up when I was done.

Day 47

2011-12-28T20:10:00.003-05:00

Today winter decided to make its presence know in Upstate NY. I didn't think I would get the opportunity to get outside with the camera which meant I needed to get creative inside. I watched a video this morning by Ben Russell where he talked about colors, framing, etc. After yesterday's picture involving color I decided to try something a little different. Complimentary colors are suppose to provide great contrast and bring out highlights so I borrowed a green scarf from my wife and photographed it against a red chair cushion.

I processed the picture through Topaz Labs Adjust 5 program to correct the white balance and make the colors a little more intense. Not a bad first effort but I do think I need to practice some more.

My Bad! Days 35 through 46

2011-12-28T12:48:00.000-05:00

I suppose I could blame it on the holiday season or the fact that work was crazy hectic but the truth is I was lazy. I always said to myself that I would post to the blog tomorrow, which as everyone knows never comes. Now I am sitting at my computer looking toward the task of catching up for two weeks of missed posts. I believe the best solution is to place the pictures here for anyone to review and start fresh with today.

Without much further ado, I present the missing pictures...

Day 35 - Ornament in my office

Day 36 - Old friends

Day 37 - Cold morning

Day 38 - Sunrise water tower

Day 39 - Tinkerbell

Day 40 - Disney books (inspiration from Mel Peifer)

Day 41 - Going with the theme of late

Day 42 - Abandoned building

Day 43 - Strength

Day 44 - Sunset colors

Day 45 - Shadows and light

Day 46 - Hazy and lazy

Going forward I will put more effort into keeping this blog up to date and will attempt to expand on what I include for each picture. It will be a challenge but I do accept it... lol!

Days 33 & 34

2011-12-15T22:18:00.001-05:00

Living in the north does create a challenge for doing a 365 project once daylight savings time returns to normal and the days naturally get shorter. There just isn't enough light during the day to get out and photograph in if you are also trying to work a regular job. Day 33 was even more of a challenge with my lunch time and hour after work already spoken for. I did think it would give me an opportunity to try some night photography and I had one particular image in my head I wanted to get. A local bakery has an unique billboard sign out front to attract drivers into their store.

Trying to get this picture from the parking lot of the bakery just wasn't going to work. You would be too close and there would be even more light flare. Luckily there is a post office across the street with the perfect angle to take this picture. It also had the advantage of being elevated compared to the bakery which helped me too.

Day 34 was shaping up to be a complete wash out. It had been raining since I woke up and didn't appear like it would stop. Five minutes before I was ready to leave work everything changed. The rain stopped, the clouds opened up and the sun put on a final show for the day.

I didn't take the chance that this scene would last until I got home. I threw everything into the car, grabbed the camera and stood in the front lawn at work snapping pictures. It turned out be the right decision! The sky show was over before I made it home.

Day 32

2011-12-14T05:07:00.001-05:00

I had about an hour between the end of work and my dentist appointment yesterday which I thought would provide enough time to walk around town a little with my camera. Walking I did, picture taking, not so much. After the sun sets I learned it isn't easy taking pictures without a tripod. I just couldn't hold the camera steady enough to get clear pictures. The only one I was fairly happy with was of the holiday lights on the side of a parking garage. Coming into Rome from the south this view is visible to all.

I ended up taking a shorter walk than anticipated and vowed I would do it again but with a tripod in tow. I did mange one other picture but I had to play with it a little to make the out of focus condition not as noticeable. I zoomed in extremely close and I like how it turned out but I'm wondering if more of the building would add to the picture.

I should have some more time after work today. Now I just have to decide where to go for the best opportunities.

Day 31

2011-12-13T05:56:00.000-05:00

That didn't last long... a day late again! Well, discipline be damned! At least I get to it eventually.

It was a great day considering it was the 12th of December in Upstate NY. I had an opportunity to go exploring with the camera during lunch and then I made the effort to stop at a few places on the ride home. I had seen this path from the road over the weekend and the midday sun was creating a great symmetric shadow from the fence on the path. I knew I wasn't going to be able to capture that image but I thought one of the trail going off into the distance would be good.

I wanted to enhance the moody feeling of the location so I added some blur and selective focus to the image. I have used this before on a similar shot from the summer and it does change the picture to be what I wanted. Sometimes it isn't about the sharpest, clearest representation of the scene but an interpretation of what your are feeling. It still comes back to capturing the emotion and creating that connection to a memory.

Day 30

2011-12-11T18:54:00.001-05:00

Yep, I'm trying to break the habit of constantly being a day behind on these blog posts for my project. I'm taking the time tonight to write this so hopefully it will turn out OK. Usually my ramblings about the picture flow more easily the next morning in the sleepy fog, caffeine induced clarity at the start of my day.

I missed an opportunity to catch the sunrise this morning. I hadn't planned ahead and was at a lose for where to go to get a nice picture. I felt I had done the sunrise views around the house and wanted something different. By the time I made up my mind the sun had rose too much and the great early colors in the sky were gone.

My project picture today was a happy accident. I had been sitting in front of the computer viewing my Google+ stream when I just picked up the camera and pointed it at the Xmas tree. I zoomed in to the maximum of the camera and reduced the shutter to 1/2 second. As the camera was capturing the image I shook my handle slightly to see if I could create light streaks in the image. It worked! After a few more attempts I ended up with this picture which looked like little hearts to me.

I think next time I'll drink more coffee before attempting a same day blog post. The words just flow better then... lol!

Days 28 & 29

2011-12-11T08:16:00.001-05:00

I keep falling behind! I never feel like my day is busy but when it comes time to crawl into bed I wonder where the time disappeared to. My picture for day 28 ended up being something totally unexpected. I had a few ideas in mind when I left work that day but the picture I ended with was really a happy accident of circumstance. I was waiting in the drive through line at Wendy's when I noticed the lights on the outside wall. I really liked how the light illuminated the cover and created a deep contrast between the bricks and the mortar.

The day 29 picture was once again the result of me having to take my car in to the garage to get the same sensor fixed. Luckily they have been doing all the work for free since the initial investment never corrected the issue. The time the car was being worked on allowed me to walk around exploring with my camera. There were snow clouds approaching and the sun was trying its best to fend them off.

Day 27

2011-12-09T18:10:00.001-05:00

The day was shaping up to be a wash out for taking pictures, but about an hour before my work day was over the sky cleared and the sun was shining brightly. I didn't stay any longer at work than I needed to and ran out with my camera to capture the light. I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph... the water tower at the Central New York Psychiatric Center. There is a road about a mile from the tower that offers a nice view through a clearing in the woods. I drove straight there and parked the car.

I hadn't counted on the zoom of the camera not quite being strong enough to bring the water tower closer to me but I still liked the effect of the sun's light on the tower. A few clouds in the sky would have improved the picture but beggars can't be choosers. To reduce the impact of the bright blue sky I decided to include the silhouette of the tree which was about half the distance to the water tower. I think it works. At least I know a great spot for the future when I get a stronger camera and lens.

The sun and the moon were in a great battle of showing off. The setting sun in the west with a brilliant orange hue to the sky and the rising moon in the east with a nice magenta color to the sky. I raced in the car to get closer to home which gets me out of the valley and in a better position to see both views. I didn't quite make it for the moon but the even after the sun set it helped produce this image.

I liked the tree silhouette (again!) and the contrails in the sky behind the tree. Over the next couple of days I'll have to try and get to my vantage point early enough to setup for the battle. I just have to get the clouds to take the evening off again.

Day 26

2011-12-08T05:47:00.001-05:00

I wasn't positive about posting day 26's picture. I actually didn't get it posted until a day later. I processed and uploaded the picture to my album but just didn't feel it was worth a post. That was until I woke this morning to find I had a comment on the picture in my album. That totally changed how I was feeling. It definitely broke me out of the funk I was feeling yesterday.

I was exploring in the basement at work and found my way to the phone room. I didn't turn on the lights and relied on the light coming in the door from the hall. I played around with long exposures (+20 seconds) of the PBX equipment. There were a lot of circuit boards with colored LED stats lights and I wanted to see what I could produce. Then I spotted this view of the terminal for programming the PBX. The monitor reminded me of the computer I learned to program on in the early 80's. I also thought it cast some great light on the objects on the desk. Looking at it again today, I do like it.

Day 25

2011-12-07T04:48:00.001-05:00

The unexpected sometimes is what you were looking for. I had to work from home (for various reasons) and was able to fit in a little camera work throughout the day. My original plan was to use a picture of one of our ornaments on the tree. I had a few to pick from but nothing was standing out as the obvious choice.

Sitting in the big comfy chair in the living I noticed the lamp across the room from me with its slightly ornate neck and the shadow it created on the wall. I snapped off a few pictures testing various exposure settings. The big reason the lamp turned into my picture for the project has just as much to do with what I learned in processing the picture. I have taken many pictures at higher ISO settings in low lighting inside but never managed to remove the induced noise especially within the lighter colors. It all came together when I was working on this picture... now I have another tool in my bag of tricks.

Toward the end of the day I was trying different angles and compositions on various decorations around the room when one of the pictures had a portion of two candle holders with some great effects from the flash. I quickly moved a few decorations out of my way to create this picture.

I still had those ornament pictures I had taken throughout the day. This one just brought our tree together in one image... Disney, homemade and yearly ornaments for the kids. Plus who can argue with 'red ornaments on a green Christmas tree...'?

Well, my plan to be more thoughtful about my picture selection fell through for today. Hopefully I can make it work going forward, but I'm not going to worry about. The pictures tend to jump out at me anyway...

Day 24

2011-12-06T04:54:00.001-05:00

Ho Ho Ho! I'm still in the Christmas spirit which probably explains why I stayed with a Christmas theme for day 24. Or maybe it had something to do with running home after work to hang the outside lights before the bad weather kicked in. Normally I don't get everything prepared ahead of time to do the work without freezing my finger tips off. We had sun and 50 degrees so I wanted to make sure I could enjoy the hanging of the lights ritual.

We also decided I wasn't going to hang the mish mash variety of lights that made the house look like it was on some bad drugs or couldn't make up it's mind. I picked up some new cool white LED lights at the store over the weekend which should bring our house into the modern age. Once I was finished I couldn't resist getting the camera out and snapping a few pictures. Of course, they were not the typical 'here is my house decorated for Christmas' pictures, they were up close, macro, short depth of focus pictures, but I liked them.

The weather forecast isn't very promising for today, which is going to force me to be a little creative for my next picture. Hhhmmm, going to have to do some thinking on this one...

Day 23

2011-12-05T05:18:00.001-05:00

Tis' the season! I had put the Christmas tree up the previous night and our plan was to hang all the decorations after a day of shopping. The shopping was a success (when isn't, really?) and a couple of hours after we returned home the tree was complete. Luckily for me I managed to play with the camera before we got started. I had seen some nice pictures online of holiday lights all bokeh'd out and wanted to give it a try.

I don't think it turned out so bad, but it was not as easy to achieve as you would think. You really have to work to get an auto-focusing, point & shoot camera to stay out of focus on a subject. I ended up focusing on the carpet, not letting up on the shutter switch and turning the camera toward the tree. More than one attempt was unsuccessful. I'll have to try this picture again next year when hopefully I'll have an upgraded camera.

Day 22

2011-12-04T19:59:00.001-05:00

If I can get this posted before midnight then I am not too late. Well, maybe just a day late but no more! I was out exploring in the yard seeing what jumped out at me for my day 22 picture when I noticed the horse (Sonata) next door staring at me. I swear she knew I had a camera and didn't move until I took her picture. It didn't turn out that bad so I decided to make it my project picture for the day. Trying to expand beyond my normal pictures.

I also managed to spend enough time outside to make way way into the golden hour. The only downside is the clouds just were not going to cooperate. I ventured across the road to the field my neighbor allowed the state to turn into a migratory sanctuary. They built three small ponds which are frequently used by the geese and ducks as they travel. I haven't process those pictures yet as I feel I have done that scene before but I did keep them for future use.

The picture below was taken back in my yard using one of the fence posts to help focus the camera. I didn't want the sky in sharp focus because there was a picture picture with the color rather than the texture of the clouds.

I couldn't resist this picture. Something about trying to grab a small focused area on the clothesline while still keeping enough of the remaining picture with enough focus not to be lost in the background. Next spring I'm going to have to tray this one again with some clothes hanging to see how that looks.

I was also out in the morning getting pictures with the light snow that fell the night before. They both involve the fence since it was the only thing in the yard with any of the snow remaining. One is some ice hanging under the top rail which had great detail within it and a cool view of the yard. The second was the melting snow which was crystallizing on the rail and had great texture.

I'm actually looking forward to this winter. I can see lots of play time for me outside with the camera. Just hoping there isn't too much snow or I'll be spending my time with the shovel instead!

Days 16 - 21

2011-12-03T10:42:00.001-05:00

I know, I have been very negligent in posting my project pictures. My everyday activities keep getting in the way. You're right, that is not a good excuse but it is the best I can come up with at the moment. This will act as a catch-me-up post and then I will work at being more diligent in writing up my experience. I let it slip and I rode a long way down the hill before I stopped. Where did I leave off...

Day 16 - Take my son back to college day

We didn't get started on the 2.5 hour trip back to college as early as I had hoped but it worked out for the best. We returned to Potsdam, NY in time for lunch and he ended up taking me to a little Mexican restaurant in town. It was a great burrito, actually more than I could eat and we now have another place to return whenever we are in town.

The trip home was overcast with a slight rain coming and going but I did manage to get in a few stops at places I have been trying to visit. As I got close to home my route takes me along the Black River Canal, a northern expansion to the New York State Canal system, running between Rome and Carthage, NY. This picture is one of the old locks along that canal.

Day 17 - Bad weather, what picture can I get day

The weather did not allow for any excursion during lunch today and by the time I got home my outside options were disappearing quickly. My daughter had 'borrowed' this night light from her Grandma and I decided to sit down in the hall with it to see what could be done. The static picture of the shade was cool with the included scene and colors it created on the wall but I wanted to be able to show the movement. The top down picture worked but then the profile really sold it for me. My only trouble was deciding which to use for my project picture. Creating the picture below allowed me to learn some more about my software as well as hopefully tell a story.

Day 18 - Keep looking inside day

Mother Nature just didn't want me to be outside again. Or maybe I just didn't want to take on the adventure, either way I turned inside again once I was home from work. I'm a big Disney fan (if you couldn't already tell) and I wanted to try to use these Jim Shore figures for my project picture. At first I tried to create a panorama of all of them on the shelf but it just wasn't working out. The vivid colors were going to work for me no matter what I did so I decided to go for the chorus line picture with a shallow depth of focus. It works for me and it keeps the rest of the room out of the picture, which my wife appreciates.

Day 19 - Inspiration from another 365 project

Today I had a thought for a picture which was inspired by Simon Kitcher. He recently re-started his own 365 project and has been photographing glass sculptures. His wonderful pictures pushed me in a different direction which turned out fairly well. I played with a light and mosaic candle topper to produce the picture below. The smaller squares which are more in focus are on the backside of the topper as seen through the front. I really liked the colors and glimpses of light that the mosaic tiles provided.

Day 20 - Not done with mosaic candle topper day

I didn't even try to go outside today. The candle topper was calling me back. This time I lit a small tea candle and placed it inside the topper. The candle's light provided a different look to the patterns and colors from the previous days picture. Of the numerous pictures I took with the candle this one with all the crackling within the glass was my favorite. The diffusion of the flame within the different squares was what I was looking for when I thought of creating this picture.

Day 21 - Finally a worthy sunrise day

Some days you just walk into it... As I was getting ready to leave for work I noticed the sunrise and the colors it was producing in the sky. Combine that with a light frost and my camera was calling. I had about 10 minutes before I had to leave which had me racing around my yard to capture all the images that kept shouting at me. For this one a put the camera on the walk and shot up through the frosted grass. The out of focus trees with only the sky colors to provide a background is what prompted me to pick this picture for today.

Whew! I'm all caught up. Not as painful as I thought it would be. My memory isn't the greatest but returning to these pictures to write this post brought me back to each day without a problem. I guess my wife is right, I only remember those things that interest me.

Time to go find day 22's picture. It's out there, I'm really curious as to when it will jump out at me...

Day 15

2011-11-27T06:35:00.001-05:00

The start of my third week! It might not seem like much of an accomplishment but this is very good for me. Sometimes work or life have a habit of consuming my day and my projects end up going out the window. I think this photography project will be different because of how much fun I am having. I guess once the mind's eye is unlocked it is hard to but it away. I see pictures everywhere I look!

It was another trip to the garage for my car to attempt a fix on the faulty sensor. They really have been trying and I have to give them a lot of credit for sticking with it and doing everything they can to make this right. It was also a beautiful morning and I took the time to go exploring on a trail behind most of the shopping plazas that run along the Mohawk River. It was definitely worth the walk. This picture is from the beginning of the trail ad I really liked the lone pine tree in the distance framed by the brush on either side.

I did see evidence of other people walking and a few tire tracks which I assume are from bikes. I know the path is used in the winter for snowmobile riding. My wife also informed me that it is the same path used by someone who robbed the bank and then drove off on a four wheeler. Luckily for me no one else was awake that early on a Saturday.

I'm not exactly sure why these leaves jumped out at me. It could just be the color against the browns all around. I think the texture and the detail in each leaf also brought the camera up for a picture. Not exactly an exciting image but I like it.

I found these two guys sitting on a fallen tree about half way along the trail. The sun was making its way through some clouds and the trees to highlight their perch. I've discovered over the past few months that I really like getting pictures of mushrooms/fungus. There is some incredibly detailed varieties to be found and they always make for an interesting picture.

Toward the end of the trail the land on one side was almost as low as the river itself and there was a large swampy area to provide some pictures. I couldn't pass up this picture with the reflections in the water. It looks quite busy reviewing it now but at the time the sun was lighting the tops of the trees and offsetting the darker reflection which just had to be photographed.

This last one was just to prove that even late in November there was green to be found in Upstate NY. Actually I really liked the detail on the edge of the leaves. I took two pictures of these leaves, one with the sky as the background and then this one. I liked the green against the darker background which showed off the detail much clearer than the lighter background.

It was a great trail to walk and one I will do again as the seasons change. I'll be able to find plenty to keep my camera busy. Maybe next time I'll explore the other end of the trail (I stopped about halfway so I would have time to make it back to the garage).

Days 11 - 14

2011-11-26T05:41:00.001-05:00

I decided it would be better to get caught up with this blog by combining all my missed days into one post. There is no need to stand on ceremony. My daughter and I traveled out to my parents houses for the Thanksgiving holiday and neither of them have internet access. I seriously think I went through a little internet withdrawal but I'm sure it was good for me.

My day 11 picture is the result of me playing with the camera flash in the house. The weather outside was not cooperating which forced me to get a little creative. This is a camel bone jewelry box my wife brought back from Baghdad. It is sitting on a camel wool blanket she picked up while in Afghanistan. My first attempt at using the flash totally washed out parts of the box. I learned I needed to back the camera away about 3-4 feet so the flash would not be so intense.

On day 12 we were at my Dad's house for dinner before heading to my Mom's to spend the night. While waiting for everything to be ready I just had to run outside as the sun was setting. The place sure has changed over the years from the memories I have of growing up but the apples in the orchard still remain. With the sun on the fallen apples I thought a low perspective would be interesting for this picture. I added some selective focus in Photoshop to enhance the effect.

Waking up on day 13 at my Mom's house the weather was again being difficult. It was an overcast morning but I wanted to walk around the farm reminiscing about the days spent playing outside. Not all the pictures turned out as well as I had hoped but I really liked this look down the pasture. Most of the property is over grown now and I wanted to try to capture that with this picture.

We ended up getting back home late on day 14. I missed a chance to photograph a nice sunrise but the time spent talking with my Mom was more important than having to 'grab a picture' on a schedule. After unpacking I did manage to run out as the sun was setting to get the beautiful colors within the clouds. It feels a little like a cheat since I have taken this picture numerous times. I don't want to be strict with the picture a day idea if I have to force a picture out of the camera but if it turns out OK I'll post it!

I should be better at posting each day now that one holiday is over and the next one hasn't been cranked up to full yet. As long as I can get out and scratch that itch to take some pictures each day I'm not going to kill myself trying to get them posted but will work them in as I can.

Day 10

2011-11-21T20:51:00.001-05:00

Today's lesson is about what we see and what we remember. I was out at sunset grabbing some pictures in the great fall light when I passed by our pool deck. The steps had some great shadows from the railings and I immediately thought it would make a great project picture.

After looking at the picture on the computer I wasn't so sure if it was what I saw outside. Should I have processed it differently? How do I capture what I saw? Something caught my eye, whether it was colors, shadows, texture, or something else. There is a symmetry and an abstract pattern that I like but it just doesn't jump out at me.

Even though I wasn't entirely thrilled with the picture I posted it as my 365 project picture for the day. It was the one I thought I would use when I was taking pictures and I stuck with it. The picture did get a few +'s and encouraging comments which has me feeling a little better about it. Still, it was a good lesson for me about the picture you take and the memory of taking it. They don't always align later.

Day 9

2011-11-20T19:12:00.001-05:00

The sunrise was just too nice to pass up this morning. I hesitated for all of 2 seconds once I saw the color of the sky and the clouds. I threw the cinnamon rolls I was making into the oven and ran outside with my camera. I had about 15 minutes to grab some pictures. I didn't really have a defined plan like I did yesterday but I was able to get quite few nice pictures.

I really like this old lamp post in the back yard at my mother-in-law's house. I have tried taking pictures of it before but I never had a sunrise like this before. I liked the idea of getting the sun directly behind the post while silhouetting the ornate top against the sky. I actually have another picture from this same perspective but the background is in focus and the post is not. Of the two I think this one is a better picture. Maybe I'll process the other one and post it as well.

There was just something about the clouds and sun that made everything look so much better. The silhouettes just had great definition and the color of the sky played well with the darker subjects. It was a brief slice of time but well worth it.

Day 8

2011-11-20T18:44:00.001-05:00

I know, I'm really late with this post. I have a good excuse though, really! OK, so it isn't that great but we did go out of town to a place with no internet connection so I at least have that.

I did go out on Saturday morning and get some nice pictures with the snow still on the ground. I had an idea and I think it turned out OK. Ever since I started this 365 project I have had this thought in the back of my mind and it finally made it out to a place I could find it. It was a part of a quote that I eventually had to look up on the internet, but I feel it sums up my philosophy for my project.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” - Greg Anderson

My idea for the picture to accompany this quote was to photograph my foot steps in the snow. Luckily for me the snow we received on Thursday/Friday had not melted yet. It took quite a few tries to get the picture I wanted.

The difficulty for me in taking this picture was keeping my own shadow out of the frame. Now that I think about it I should have brought out the tripod and placed it farther away while using a little zoom. Next time I'll know better.

I also made it around to all the ice and icicles still fighting for survival in the rising temperatures. Some turned out pretty nice but I really liked this one I found on the fence post. There is just a lot of interior texture to catch the morning sun.

I did try to go out in the evening once we were settled in at the family's farm but the sunset was uninteresting and my attempts just didn't cut it.

Day 7

2011-11-19T08:40:00.001-05:00

One week down and 51 more to go.

So far I am happy with how this is going. It is causing me to think a little more about what I want to photograph and actually plan ahead of time. It hasn't always worked out but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. We haven't moved into the busy holiday season yet, so I am anticipating a few bumpy days ahead. I guess the point is not to fret a missed day here or there. It is about improving my skills, not a contest for the number of consecutive days with a picture

The snow we received overnight provided some great opportunities for pictures. I waited until just before sunset and it really paid off for me. Not only was the light the best it could be but, the temperature had moved above freezing which changes the look of the snow and ice. I chose this picture because of the amount of detail on and within the ice. I also liked how it wasn't a typical icicle...

I also liked the bokeh effect and the contrast it provided with the clear, light ice. I remember the first time I was able to achieve this effect. I was pretty excited but not entirely confident I remembered how it happened. Now I just have to be aware of how often I use it and try not to abuse the technique.

The next picture is a composition inspired by Mike Shaw's The Leaf Series. I'm hoping my imitation of his pictures is seen as a compliment. I don't believe I achieved the look with the same success as his but it was cool that I recognized the setup when I found the leaf in the driveway while shoveling.

The last image is another macro of melting ice. This one I was trying to capture not only the look of the ice but the affect of the sunlight. There is also a droplet forming at the tip and is about half way to falling off. I find myself looking at the reflections/refractions within the ice and droplet.

We have to take a short trip to drop off my sister-in-laws new puppy and I'll be without an internet connection for a part of the weekend. I'll get caught up on Sunday evening.

Day 6

2011-11-18T13:52:00.001-05:00

I'm really late with this post. The last couple of posts have been late by a few hours but this one is pushing it to a whole new level. This is what I get when I decide to work from home. It throws me out of my daily rhythm and I tend to play catch up all day.

Yesterday I made a decision to stay in the office during lunch rather than fight the weather. My idea was to play with light and shadows on various objects around my office. I think it went fairly well and I had a few pictures I was happy with. There was even one or two that I would have considered for my 365 project. That all changed on the drive home...

Walking to the car I couldn't help but be fascinated by the sky. There were dark clouds and a great orange hue highlighted in . I stopped numerous times to grab different images as the sun and clouds played hide -n- seek. Review the pictures on the computer I just knew one of them was going to be my project picture for the day.

This second was only about a mile from my house. I had to maneuver the car carefully to the side of the road so I could grab this picture. I have overcome my initial inhibition about pulling this car stop routine and don't even stop to think about it anymore. When I see the picture, if there is a place to stop, I do!

This last image turned out much better than I anticipated. It is a four image panoramic view of the sunset over the Mohawk River. I didn't think I should get out of the car considering the traffic going by me, so the four pictures where done hand held. I'm really happy with this one!

Day 5

2011-11-17T04:12:00.001-05:00

Refusing to give up

This isn't exactly the image I had in mind when I started thinking about what I wanted to do for day 5 of my project. My plan was to go walk around the village of Whitesboro, NY during lunch. There is a nice little park, some interesting buildings, a couple of cool fences and I was positive it would provide a great source for pictures.

There are a few photographers that I have circled on G+ that post pictures of their walks through their city. I'm not sure I would classify them as 'street photographers' but they always have interesting results. Those types of pictures were what I was hoping to get from my little excursion during lunch. The weather once again did not get my memo about my plan and dropped a little rain on me just after I arrived. I was able to grab a few pictures around a fireman memorial in the park. My failed attempt did prove to me that the idea was solid and on the next nice day I will be returning.

My initial thought driving back was to grab some pictures inside but heading to the front door I noticed some of the flowers along the walk were still putting on a show. The few early frosts had not convinced them to leave for the year so I put down my stuff on the desk in the lobby and headed back outside. The rain had not yet started in full so I was able to get a few pictures before my camera started getting too wet.

I'm not sure if it is just a coincidence but the only Chrysanthemums that were still in bloom were the red ones. The other colors had already given up for the year, which was OK with me because earlier in the summer they were the ones that provided me with interesting pictures. I have also found that as much as I like a nice floral image, add a few rain drops and I can't stop taking pictures.

Here are a few of the other pictures from my excursion that I was happy with...

Another look at the same mum

The last rose at the fireman memorial

Day 4

2011-11-16T04:02:00.001-05:00

Once again I found myself having to get creative to take a picture near the end of the day. I had even planned out a location to visit during lunch but it did not turn out as I had hoped. There is a memorial next to a small pond with a fountain at the intersection of two main roads in New Hartford, NY. My initial plan was to visit this little park, snap a few pictures using the fountain as a background and enjoy a little time away from work. Little did I know that there is no parking near this memorial. I am not even sure where the closest place to park would have been. No problem, I needed to go to Rome, NY for a dentist appointment after work I'm sure I can find something new to photograph in the city.

Wrong! I drove around Rome trying to find this garden area I had heard about (sad that I have lived in this area for 21 years and do not know it very well at all!) but the light and my free time ran out before I discovered its location. That was OK. On the drive home from the dentist I had an idea to go out in the dark to play with the camera and flash. My initial attempts a few weeks ago were promising but there is still some concepts I think I need to figure out. This is the picture I was most happy with.

I think there was the opportunity for some other interesting pictures but my execution was not that great once I saw them on the computer. As an exercise in using the flash, I did come away with some new knowledge and an interest to learn more. Which is really what this 365 Project is all about. Here is the other picture in contention for the day.

Standing outside in the dark trying to review each picture on the back of the camera I thought having the barb wire fence in the image would be good. In practice though, it didn't work. I'm thinking if I had it lower in the picture and was able to remove some of the flash highlights it would have been better.

Like I mentioned earlier, it was still a good learning experience and I definitely want to try again. When I consider that into the equation, maybe the day worked out better than I initially thought. Hopefully today will be a different story...

Day 3

2011-11-15T04:15:00.001-05:00

I'm a little late getting this post up. Yesterday just disappeared so fast. The weekend was interrupted from its usual schedule so we ended up having to go out last night to finish up our normal errands. Anyway, day 3 of my new journey didn't quite go as planned.

I was looking to get out during lunch with my camera but the weather was not in the mood to cooperate. Seeing how my camera does not have and weather protection and I was without a method to keep it dry I was limited to exploring when I got home. This limited my options due to the shift back into standard time. I would only have 30 - 40 minutes after work before the light would escape me.

Luckily for me I had a fairy routine task to occupy my mind at work after lunch which afforded me the time to think about the image I wanted to capture. I was still fascinated by the fungus I found on the fence rail yesterday and thought a nice macro image would be a great addition to my project. As soon as I pulled into the garage I grabbed the camera off the front seat and went hunting for that macro. The late day combined with heavy cloud cover worked against me and required a much longer exposure than I could manage by hand and I didn't have time to run back for the tripod. Next time I'll be more aware of my environment.

Thinking I would be unhappy with the pictures I took of the fungus I switched to plan B. One of the photographers I found on Google+, Tom McLaughlan, developed a style he has termed 'ministract.' It is a combination of minimal and abstract photography. I really like what you can do with it and my second choice for my project was to get a picture in that style. Here is what I created...

After a few failed attempts with ideas I had thought of at work I 'discovered' this image while sitting down to think about my next idea. The wicker chairs in the breezeway had some great color and wood grain, especially against the white of the door. This is a smaller crop of a section of the chair side. I liked it and it became my day three picture.

Here are a couple of the pictures I did manage to salvage of the fungus on the fence rail. The first is a straight up macro which I converted to black & white. The cloudy sky wasn't helping my light situation and the normal color of the fungus was lost but I think the structure and texture show through.

This second picture of the fungus came about due to my frustration with holding the camera steady. I remembered seeing some images on the web where the photographer purposely moved or rotated the camera while the shutter was open. I experimented with rotation to see what it would produce and was happy with this one.

Even though I felt a little rushed trying to get some usable pictures at the end of the day, the eventual 'take aways' were pretty good. I also learned that having a plan (or two) is the way to go but always be on the lookout for the unique opportunity that sometimes is only in view when you aren't looking.

Day 2

2011-11-13T20:42:00.001-05:00

I'm off to a good start, two for two OK, maybe that was a little easy. I guess a streak doesn't start until after day three. The good thing about day two is I practiced a little patience. I was out very early this morning catching a very colorful sunrise but I refrained from posting (or downloading) any of those pictures.

I was able to get back out later in the day during the golden hour. It really earned its name today. There were scattered clouds in the western sky and just about forty minutes before sunset, the sun poked its face below the layer producing some awesome orange light. I only had a little time before it would be over so I walked around the yard exploring how the light played on various objects.

I was fascinated with the neighbor's fence and was able to get a nice image of one of the posts with a tree in the background. I really liked it when I was lining it up and I took more pictures than I normally would to ensure I had my day two picture.

I did like one of the other pictures I was taking of the fence. If I look back over the pictures I have taken recently and pick out my favorites there will be quite a few with a narrow depth of focus. I'm not sure if this is a bad habit to be in but I do like how they all turn out. I will need to be more aware of it in the future so I don't fall into a rut.

Tomorrow is suppose to be a little rainy so I might need think of opportunities at work to play with the camera. I've been practicing there, so my chances are pretty good.

Day 1

2011-11-12T21:13:00.001-05:00

I pulled the trigger on this project and I didn't hesitate.. first day's picture posted before noon. There was still a lot of light left in the day but I was really happy with this one so I ran with it.

The sun was working its way across the yard melting the morning frost so I headed outside before it was gone. My goal was to catch some sun off the ice structures in the grass. I tried a few different patches and a few different angles before the early temperature had me running inside to get warm.

Going through the pictures didn't yield as many great images as I had hoped. The one above though had a little surprise in the middle that I just loved. Not sure if it is just my mind playing a trick on me or there really is a turtle face in the ice... either way, this one was a keeper!

I think I'm off to a good start. I'll do my best not to run out of gas on this one. It will be a challenge when the snow starts to accumulate here in Upstate NY, so I guess I better start thinking of creative ways to use my camera.

365 Project

2011-11-12T20:50:00.001-05:00

Today I started a 365 Photography Project! If you are interested you can find more info about the group I joined here: Group/as - 365 Project A Photograph a Day and also here: 365 Project, both of which are moderated/curated by Simon Kitcher. Basically, the goal is to publish a photo a day for one year. I discovered this type of project from the photographers I follow on Google+ and finally jumped off the fence to begin mine.

I have been exploring photography beyond the vacation picture taking phase since early July. My original goal was to learn a little bit more about photography so I could improve the images I bring back from my Disney World trips. I had been wow'd by some of the Disney photographers I discovered online and wanted to improve my pictures.

I must have awoken an innate interest because it has been a fantastic summer! My camera has been a constant companion for months. I have found more excuses to explore my corner of New York State and discovered there is a lot to capture in a picture. Now, I'm excited to start this project and see what else I can learn...