Day 31: Get Low

Well, I did it. I made it one month and took pictures every single day! I'm actually really proud of myself for doing it because there were definitely a few days there where I thought, "Self, you've got stuff you could pass off as today's pictures." But then I forced myself to just get out there and do it. And I'm glad. Of course some of those days, I probably should have just used something else because they were pretty crummy. And today's no exception. It is pretty hard to follow up yesterday's though (in my opinion).

Today's photo comes from the Book Nook again, and it draws inspiration from yesterday's photo. I really liked the low angle of the shot; it gave it great perspective. So I used the same low angle shot today, instead shooting up at our book racks. It's pretty cool, for the most part, but nothing spectacular.

1/8 sec. exposure at F/7.1. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I had to take it at a faster exposure. Because of the light in the store, the slower exposures were giving me some camera shake and blur. So I sped the shutter speed up and just adjusted the exposure in Aperture afterwards. It came out pretty well lit. I just really like the expanse that these shots can get into them. The Book Nook is a really big store front-to-back, yet I got almost the entire set of racks in this (obviously you can't to see the end, but you can see where it actually is). Plus I like the illusory nature of the photo. Depending on how you look at it, it's tough to tell what's really going on.

January's officially in the books, but you still have until I wake up tomorrow morning to comment for the contest. I will post the winner once I draw a name, so make sure you check back tomorrow. Good luck to those of you that have already commented (and thanks), and good luck to those of you that will comment tonight (the rest of you better). Ch-ch-check you later!

Day 30: Sometimes It's Right In Your Own Backyard

Greetins, peeps! Did you have pleasant Sundays? Mine was pretty great. I took a trip down to Pittsburgh (Monroeville and Shadyside to be exact). I hit up a couple of bookstores, found a used copy of the Postal Service CD ("Such Great Heights" has been stuck in my head the past couple of days, so I finally picked up a copy), had a delicious lunch (brunch, actually) at Quiet Storm (probably the greatest restaurant ever, even if you're not vegan like me), and went to Whole Foods (where I picked up the Tofurkey "Pepperoni" pizza that I've been wanting to try for a long time) and finally Trader Joe's. It was fun day, but it was full. I took a few photos while in Pittsburgh, but they were pretty lame. I was bummed about that, but then I looked out the kitchen window and the sun was bright (for a change) and getting low in the sky so the tire tracks were getting some interesting texture from the shadows. Here's what I got:

1/800 sec. exposure at F/3.5. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

If I was involved in anyway with the contest (I mean voting. Obviously, I take the pictures.) this would be my choice for favorite picture of the month. I love the angle of it. (Okay, complete aside here: I just finished eating the Tofurkey pizza. HOLY CRAP! It was delicious! Why did I wait so long to eat this?! It tastes like real pizza! I've made some pizzas before, but nothing like this. If you're vegan and you're looking for good pizza, this is it. I'm glad I bought two while I was down there. Back to the photos.) I love the texture of the snow. I love the color in this one. I love the small "sunburst". I'm definitely framing this one for myself. But that's just one guy's opinion! What do you think? Anyone changing their vote? For those of you that haven't voted, get with the program! Go here to see the rules, etc. Tomorrow's the last day to enter for January. Check back on Feb. 1st to see who the big winner is, and what photo they chose. But I'll see you all tomorrow before then. Qapla'!

Day 29: Is It Smoky In Here, or Is That Filter Happy To See Me?

It's a late one again tonight. And I even took the photos really early today. But here we are anyways. I had to post something online for class and I just finished that. But here we are anyways. Picture time!

I was at work. Yeah. I'm running out of things to take pictures of in there. Good thing I only work three days a week now. I need to stretch that junk out, yo. I found some more bottles in the back. So I took some pictures of them. Also, I was using my new diffusion filter again. It's a strange filter because it makes everything look blurry unless you get right up in the object's business. As shown here:

1/4 sec. exposure at F/3.5. ISO 800.
Click image for larger version.

When it's that close, you almost can't tell that I was using that filter. It's still pretty sharp, maybe just some small amount of fuzziness (a diffusion filter is supposed to give photos a softer, dreamy look. What do you think? Does this look like a dream? Yeah, I don't think so either).

As I said above, I'm running out of things to photo at work. And today I took pictures of the ceiling lights. But honestly, this picture is kind of cool.

1/40 sec. exposure at F/5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I think it's partially due to the filter in this instance. The blurriness definitely gives this something extra. Plus the way our lights are laid out (Can something be laid out if they're on the ceiling? How does that work? Anyone?) makes it cool too.

I'm heading down to Trader Joe's in Pittsburgh tomorrow. There's some cool stuff around that area so I'll do my best to have some great photos for you tomorrow. But no promises. And don't get your hopes up. I hate disappointing people. I bet you thought you were getting out of here without me mentioning the contest. No such luck, folks. Go here and read all about it. You only have two more days to get your vote in! What are you waiting for?! Go! Bon voyage.

Day 28: Weak Sauce

I'm beginning this blog with my utmost apologies. It's going to suck. I spent the day in Pittsburgh (but not any of the fun, photographable parts) so I didn't get a chance to take anything really great. I did pick up a new filter while out and about though. Today's photo did use it as well. It's a diffusing filter, probably better suited to taking pictures that aren't a lightbulb and its reflection.

1/800 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

And that's it. Really. I took a couple of pictures out of the car window on the ride home, but they all stunk. And then I fell asleep in the car; when I woke, it was dark. Now here we are. I promise I will try and make it up to you all this weekend (but you may have to wait until Sunday). Don't forget about the contest! I've got a few entries now, but who says I can't have a few more. Hey, I'm greedy. Tell your friends, family and pets. Make up accounts for all I care (okay, don't do that. That's cheating.). The first month is almost done. I'm honestly impressed that I haven't missed a day yet (minus last Sunday's unfortunate internet incident, anyway). Until tomorrow, auf wiedersehen.

Day 27: Water Boreding

Sup? Not much here. Just chillin'. Like a villain. I got some pics, yo. Okaaay, enough of that. I was at work today; we know what that means. Random photos! I just happened to glance at (through) my water bottle today and noticed the way it was warping the things behind it. A.k.a. something to take pictures of. I put a few objects behind the water, but they all came out kind of stupid. So I decided to get meta and wrote "Water" down on a piece of paper and put it behind it. Look! It's backwards. Oooooh.

1/15 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

1/10 sec. exposure at F/8. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

The real question is: why isn't it backwards in the picture on the right? Physics? Nope. I just wrote "retaW" on a different piece of paper so it'd come out frontwards. Okay. I'm finishing this one up now. Sorry it was kind of a lame post. But The Office is coming on now, so....whatever. Enjoy! And comment for the contest! Go in peace.

Day 26: Snow What?

Another day, another batch of fantabulous photographies. Welcome one and all to the oft imitated, never duplicated 136 Photos blog! Although if you think about it, isn't the whole point the duplication? Hmm... Food for thought. But now, photos for thought!

I did some snow-venture again today. It was snowing a bit hard for most of the morning and afternoon, but it was a little warmer outside so it was more of a wet snow. Which means it was sticking nicely to things. I got out around 5 p.m. or so. In other words, it was starting to get dark a little. I didn't feel like traipsing back inside to get my tripod so it was a bit hard to get the shot without a little camera shake. But I also took one with the flash. It's interesting to look at the two photos next to each other. One looks like a daytime shot, the other looks like it was taken in the middle of the night. I didn't change anything for the first photo; the second photo had some brightness adjustments: I turned some things up and others down. There were a few background branches showing up ever so slightly. So I blackened the entire photo. But then the plant with snow was a bit darker too, so I ended up turning something else up and it worked out the way you see it.

.8 sec. exposure at F/3.5. ISO 800.
Click image for larger version.

1/10 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

Now that I look at that first one again, I really like it. It's probably one of my favorites that I've taken so far in these first 26 days. What do you think? Is it one of yours? If so, leave a comment. You'll be entered into the contest (of which you can read details here).



I'm closing out today with one last little fun photo (what fun alliteration is!). As I was making dinner tonight, one of my roommates (Reggie) dozed off on the couch with his dog Molly (the star of Day 16's post). I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the two of them. It was just toooo precious. Awwww shucks.

.3 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 3200.
Click image for larger version.

His shirt came out a little bit grainy, but it's because I had to jack the ISO way up for this one. It was either that or use the flash, and I didn't want to wake him up. That would just be rude (and to be honest, waking him would have prevented me from being able to take a couple different shots too). That's all for today. I said that's all. Okay. You should really go. Stop reading. I'm done. Go. Leave.

Day 25: Really Pretty Minute

It's a late one today, but it's still happening today, so neh. I had a busy day, so I didn't have a chance to take any photos during the day. As I was leaving class tonight I was trying to figure out what I could take a picture of at night, being cloudy and dark and stuff. I pulled in at home expecting to take a random photo at home of something random. But then I was like, "Hey. Maybe I can take a picture of this?!"

2 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 800.
Click image for larger version.

I zoomed in and let the camera rest on the dash in front of the odometer, then revved the engine as the exposure was happening. The original image had a reddish glow around the odometer itself and the "arm" of the odometer wasn't solid. It took a while in Aperture, but I finally got it to be a solid block of color instead of a little block and some red and black lines. I actually really like how this one came out. The only thing that I'd maybe tweak on it is the very slight blurriness of some of the numbers (specifically 2, 3 and 4).

So.... one person has commented for the contest (Thanks, Jess!). Which means as of now she's got a heck of a chance of winning. The only way to improve your chances is to comment. So comment! And may the road rise up to meet you and all that.

Day 24: Today is Really Day 24

Okay, so now that I'm technically caught up. Here's today's one-derful photo!

20 sec. exposure at F/8. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

We have a stove top (obviously) back in the Kitchen Store at work. There's also an angled mirror hanging above it. We all know how much I like shooting through mirrors, so this photo was inevitable. At first I was shooting and getting a lot of reflection off the chrome from the ceiling lights. So I killed the lights in the kitchen store to eliminate it, but mostly because I really wanted the red of the burner to stand out from everything.

I messed with this one quite a bit in Aperture, again to make the burner stand out. What I really wanted to do was to make the entire image monochrome except for the burner (and maybe the light that informs us that the stove is on), but I couldn't get it to work (nor do I know if there is even a way to do it in Aperture. Something for the future, I guess). But I still turned down all of the color saturations as far as they'd go, except for the red. I left its saturation alone, but turned up the luminosity as high as it would go. This photo is the result of that. I also cropped the image down to remove some unnecessary background stuff (the floor, rub and a bit of vacuum tube) to make it only about the stove top. I like the fact that you can't really tell it's taken through a mirror unles you pay attention to the text by the burner knobs.

That about does it. Thanks for stopping by like I know you all do on a regular basis, everyday, sometimes three or four times a day. Make sure you comment on your favorite picture for the January contest. Only a little over a week left. If even one of you comments at this point, your chances are pretty good that you'll win. Because, you know, no one else will be entered. But comment anyway, I'm really looking for feedback. It's a big reason that I'm doing this thing. Be harsh. I want to get better. You can be nice too, but only if you really like the picture. Godspeed.

Day 23: A Day Late and A Dollar Short

Hello blog-world! Sorry again about yesterday. But I did take pictures and have every intention of posting last night, but our internet went out in the house. So I'm doing yesterday's post right now and I'll do today's post as soon as this one is finished.  We have a theory that it's so cold out at night that it's literally freezing our internet from working. It was -8 when I woke up to go to work. Did I mention that our pipes froze as well? Yeah, so no shower for me yet today. Oh, and my windshield cracked from the cold yesterday too. I'm having a great couple of days, let me tell you.

But there is some good news to share. Unfortunately, I didn't get to share it on the day it happened (yesterday, the 23rd). I'm an Uncle! Officially, anyways. I've had "nieces" and "nephews", but this is my first blood nephew. So congratulations to Heidi and Jayme. And everyone else, say a little welcome in your brain to Kohen Andrew. Hopefully I'll get to meet the little bugger soon. Anyways, on to the photos.

I drove into town (town meaning Indiana, PA) just before sunset to take pictures. There's a church that sits high up on a hill, and I've always wanted to see what kind of view and pictures could happen from up there. Well, here's one:

1/80 sec. exposure at F/6.3. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

Not bad, eh? I was a little bit disappointed with the actual sunset, but it's still a nice vantage point to get clear of trees/
buildings/
cars/etc. I also took a series of shots at different exposures to try some HDR again. I think this one came out the best of any of the HDRs I've done so far. Still not as cool as some HDR I've seen, but it's a step in the right direction. I've shown all of the photos below, with the final image (obviously. It's still watermarked) being the composite HDR image.



1/13 sec. exposure at F/6.3.
ISO 100.



1/50 sec. exposure at F/6.3.
ISO 100.





HDR composite.
Click image for larger version.



1/200 sec. exposure at F/6.3.
ISO 100.





Okay, I've spent too much time trying to make those pictures line up evenly. So, deal with it. The next post will be fairly short. Just had some fun at work today and took one picture (well, several of the same). Thanks for your patience with my stupid internet. Don't forget about the contest. Seriously. No one has commented yet, which is basically telling me that no one is looking at the blog. So I'm going to call you all pooper-heads since no one will read it anyways. Sayonara!

My internet is down so I can't post. My phone will only let me type here. Two posts tomorrow.

Day 22: Ooo! A Penny!

What it is, readah?! Here we are. Day 22. And what a day it's been. It was -4 degrees outside when I left for work this morning. That's cold. Very cold. I'm still attempting to not feel chilled. But at least I've got pictures and this blog to distract me, I suppose.

Today's photos (3 today!) come from work at the Book Nook. I found this strange little wood thing in the back. I'm not exactly sure what it is or what it's used for. A rack of some sort. Anyway. That's not important. Here's the first photo of it.

1/60 sec. exposure at F/3.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I set the wood thingy (as it shall heretofore be known) up on some paperbacks so it was angled down towards the counter. I think it gives it a nifty, optical illusion look. The right side looks like it could be resting on the counter, but then the left side has shadow below it. If you focus on the farthest part of the wood thingy it looks like it might be sticking out of a wall. Kind of fun, eh?

For the next picture, I spent a long time in set-up. I tried balancing pennies on the spokes of the wood thingy that were sticking up. It was ridiculously difficult to complete. I'd get one penny on and in the process of placing the next one, would bump the first one off. That went on for quite some time. Eventually I got a couple to stay on.

1/40 sec. exposure at F/3.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

As you can see there's a big difference in color and tone between these two photos, though both were taken in the exact same light at almost the exact same camera settings. The first image (the one without the pennies) is, for the most part, the way the image looked straight out of camera. But for this one, I wanted to pull some of the yellowish out of the counter because I wanted the copper color of the pennies to stick out more. So I adjusted the white balance in Aperture (I don't remember exactly which way I moved the sliders. I think I turned the Temperature down some.). I also like the "optical-ness" of this one. I really like close shots taken at wide-angles. It makes things skew out of perspective a little. Almost fish-eye-like, but not quite as crazy.

1/20 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

In this last shot, I moved the wood thingy to the edge so the pegs that the pennies were rested on were hanging off of the counter. I wanted to get in below it. Of course, though I tried to be as careful as possible, the pennies fell off during the move so I spent another insane amount of time getting them back onto the pegs. I'm not sure exactly why I decided to output this one in monochrome. Looking at it now, I don't think it gives the picture any "more" than it would have had in color. I do like how the peg has a reflection in the penny. They were pretty shiny. I don't know how well that showed up in the color version, so maybe I'll use that as my excuse for monochrome.

I took a bunch more photos of the wood thingy and the wood thingy with pennies. Some of them are pretty okay, but these three were my favorites. Speaking of favorites, why haven't you left a comment for the contest yet?! Admit it. You all hate me, don't you? I knew it. I'm crawling back under my rock now. *sniff* *sniff* Buh-byeeeeeee.

Day 21: Say, What's In That Drink?

'Cause baby, it's cold outside. It really is. My digits were frozen quite heartily at the end of today/tonight's photo experience. And it only took place right outside my front door! This is a photo I've wanted to take for some time now, but it's always been either snowing still outside or melted and gross looking in the yard. But after last night's heavy snow fall and a clear day/night today, I knew I should get it while I can. Both photos were taken exactly the same way, but I messed with the second one in Photoshop (I just turned the White Balance Temperature all the way down). It gave it the blue hue that made it look more moonlit than the warmer tone from the porch light (the actual source of the light).

40 sec. exposure at F/7.1. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

40 sec. exposure at F/7.1. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

I've officially read approximately 1,000 pages in the past four days. It's been really fun, let me tell you. But at least I'm learning I suppose. Speaking of, it's time to get back to it. Make sure you check out the contest running until the end of the month. And tell your friends too! K, I love you, buh-bye!

January Contest

Hey folks, just wanted to give a quick post for the contest that will be running between now and the end of January. Everyone that leaves a comment will be entered. Basically just leave a comment on either this post or the post where the photo is located telling me what your favorite image from January is. On February 1st I'll put all of the names of people that have left a comment into a bowl and draw one at random. The winner will receive a free 8 x 10 print of their favorite image! So tell your friends and tell your family and tell that stranger you just passed on the street. I want to get as many people as possible into the drawing. See you later today with your regularly scheduled posting.

Day 20: I Honestly Almost Forgot...

...to post today. In the excitement that is a Thursday night featuring new episodes of Community and Parks and Recreation, I completely forgot until now that I still needed to post today. So here I am. I have two photos to share today, both of the same object, just different views of it.

The object is the number keys on the cash register at work. The first photo was taken directly above the keys at a perpendicular angle to them. I was conscious in my decision to blur the numbers on the keys. I kind of like how this photo came out actually. The only thing I was unhappy with was the shadow on the bottom third. The shadow was created by myself and the camera because of where the overhead lights were shining. I tried to shield the top half with my left hand to balance it out, but it ended up being too shaky/blurry and too dark overall.

1/6 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 400
Click image for larger version.

The second photograph, as I said, is also of the number keys on the cash register. For this one, I tried to keep it a bit more in focus and I shot from a different angle--lower and off to the right. I think what I like most about this one is the depth of the keys. They look like they are much larger than they actually are. Because of the shadowy, dark area between the keys it gives the keys a height that another angle couldn't give. But maybe that's just me tooting my own horn.

1/5 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

That's Day 20 down. Only 345 more to go. Make sure you check back tomorrow for a special post on the end of month contest as well as some more photographies by me. We're getting dumped on with snow so it'll either end up being a walking around, adventure day or a stuck inside, what am I going to take pictures of day? Only one way to find out what happens next! See you next time on One Huuuundreeeeed Thirty Six Phooooootohs-ohs-ohs-ohs-ohs.....

Day 19: Who's That (Creepy) Dude?

Let me preface this post by saying, "My brain is fried." I've literally spent approximately 7 hours of my day today reading. About the avant-garde. It was dense. In other words, please forgive the brevity of today's post.

Today's photo involved some more flashlight fun. I have a bathtub in my bathroom that has never been used. Mostly because our water is gross. I don't want to sit in it, regardless of how relaxing it may be. It sits in the corner of the bathroom and there's a mirror on each wall that it rests in. So I set the camera up and climbed in. I wore a black hooded sweatshirt (dip dip dip) so, in theory, the only thing that would show up in the image was my face. I mostly pulled it off. There are a few other things that creeped into the image and I probably could have gotten rid of them in Aperture, but, like I said, my brain is fried.

20 sec. exposure at F/10. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

So that's that. And this is this. Sorry for doubling up on short posts the past two days. Until I get caught up on my reading this weekend they'll probably be this short. So like I said the other day (yesterday? I can't even remember), please bear with me. Au revoir.

Day 18: Oooh. Those Look Comfortable.

It's Day 18 and I also have 18 days left in my Aperture trial. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. I didn't plan it so it must be fate. Class started today. And it was pretty much the best class ever. Here's a quick recap: attendance, syllabus coverage, and then we watched Citizen Kane. And that's it. And next week we're watching another movie. And the week after that too! We're not even doing any reading (except for maybe a chapter here and there) until the second half of the semester. Basically what this means for all of you is that I should hopefully have plenty of time to snap some snaps for the blog!

But not today. Unfortunately I only had time to take one picture (we'll, I took a few of the same thing, but this was the best of those). Here it be.

.3 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

This is of a couple of chairs in the Graduate Lounge. There are actually 3 in a row, and someday after class (so people won't come in and look at me strangely) I want to go in and get a photo of all three with the brown wall behind. Maybe I'll find someone to "model" and sit in one of them too. We'll see. For now you get a strange close-up of the arms with some tacky orange cushions in the background. Enjoy it. Or don't. You're not bringing me down today. I spent class watching a movie. Do you understand the awesomeness of that?! Whatever, jerks. See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

Day 17: Bowling for Pics

Well hello there, strangers. How does it go for you this fine evening? I'm doing wonderfully, thanks for asking. New episode of Chuck tonight was pretty good. I enjoy that show immensely. Class start tomorrow. I hope to also enjoy those immensely. Now, onto the show.

I found a couple of ceramic fruit bowls back in the Kitchen Store today. They had really cool, twisty designs. So I brought one of them up to the front counter to take some pictures.

1/8 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

The only thing I changed in Aperture was a little cropping to the image to center it and to remove my fingers from the bottom left of the image (I was balancing on a stool trying not to fall; my hand was steading me). I kind of like how this one came out, but I really like how the next one came out.

.4 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I am a little bummed that the blue bowl is a bit blurry. I tried to clean it up as best I could in Aperture, but it could only do so much. This will be another one of those pictures that I come back to and retake in the future. We have a table in the back with a red table cloth, so I set the bowls on top of each other and put them on the table cloth. I like the colors in this one. And I really like the red in this. I didn't change anything with the colors in post. Some of the other photos I took of this bowls had a lighter, pinkish, washed-out red look, but this one came out really strong red. I just wish I had realized how blurry the blue bowl was going to be so I could have adjusted it while still at work. But at least it'll give me something to photo on another day at work.

The last photo of today is my first attempt at doing some HDR. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Basically what you do is take the same photo at varying exposures, and the HDR software composites the images together for a unique look to the image. I used a program called Photomatix. There's a plug-in for Aperture. Right now it's in a trial version so there's watermarks on the image until I can afford to buy it outright. But it still gives you an idea. I definitely will need to read up some more on before I do anymore HDR. Some photos I've seen that use HDR are really cool. And this one is okay, but not quite as nifty as some things I've seen around.

I took some of the exposures from the sunset photos of Day 9. I think I still the like the original image that I posted that day over this HDR image, but like I said, I want to do some more practice and reading before giving it up all together.

3 images composited in HDR using Photomatix.

Okay. The Cape is on now. I'm not sure how I feel about this show yet. The premiere was a bit ridiculous, but the one after that was a little better. It's got some potential maybe. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Day 16: There's a Dog On It

It's Sunday Funday! You know what that means?! No? Oh, well neither do I. But I've got pictures of dogs today so that must mean something. Well, one dog, multiple pictures. My roommate Reggie's dog Molly to be precise. For a dog that never wants to get off your lap, it was surprisingly difficult to get her to sit still long enough to take photos of her. My other roommate Adam had to subdue her with back scratches. The nice kind. Wow. Soooo, let's get to it shall we?

The first photo I took holding my camera in one hand and her squeak toy in the other. I also used my camera's built-in flash today for the first time since I bought it four months ago. She was moving around so much I didn't have any other choice. I'm usually not a huge fan of using flash when I can avoid it. I like the warmer tones of natural light, but these actually came out pretty decent today. Right situation, I guess.

1/100 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 100.
Flash used.
Click image for larger version.

I only noticed afterwards that I was actually focused on her nose. So the toy and her nose are clear and then it gets a little fuzzy. If I had gotten the focus point more around her eyes I think I would like this one a little more. But hey, she was yanking on that toy with a ferocity reserved for small dogs so I didn't have a ton of control over my camera at that point.

The next shot I took while Adam was scratching her back. I filled her head with as much of the frame as I could. I kind of like this one, if only for the detail the camera gave in her hair. I tweaked a couple of things in Aperture with this one, too. I turned the exposure down slightly and darkened the highlights as much as possible. The reason for this was the brighter spots in her fur. They were really the only part of the image I wasn't really happy with. It was just the reflection of the flash off of her. With a mounted flash, I could have aimed or bounced the flash so it wasn't headed straight at her, but I was just using the built-in. One direction with that guy.

1/100 sec. exposure at F/6.3. ISO 100. Flash used.
Click image for larger version.

The last image that I have for today isn't anything that great. In fact, in other circum- stances I probably wouldn't have added it to the blog. But this one isn't necessarily about the actual photo than the "look" on her face. When I was scrolling through the LCD afterwards, I just started cracking up at this one. She's got this, "Seriously? You've got that in my face again?" look in her eye.

1/100 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 100. Flash used.
Click image for larger version.

Expect some more shots of Miss Molly as the year progresses I'm sure. Especially early on, as the winter continues. When I'm stuck at home due to weather, she'll certainly make a nice model. That is when she sits still. Remember to check back at the end of this week as I'll have a nice little contest for (all 2 of) you as a thanks for reading my little bloggie poo. But now? I'm out!

Day 15: Ice, Glass, and Other Things That Have Color But Aren't See Through

Well, well, well. Here we are again. The good news is, you get three photos today to help make up for only giving you all one yesterday. The bad news is, they're still not necessarily that great. I took one first thing this morning and the other two I took at work. Here's number one!

1/13 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 200.
Click image for larger version.

When I was grabbing a bowl for cereal this morning I glanced out the kitchen window and the sun was coming up over the trees. I ran and grabbed my camera to take some shots before it got too high (and before I ended up being late for work). I kind of like how this one came out with a couple of flecks of light in the icicle. I'm not exactly sure why/how there's a circle in the sun, but I kind of like that too. Sometimes I wish I knew what I was doing more...

Today's second and third photos were taken at work today. I was messing around with several different shots today (I downloaded a HDR plug-in for Aperture, but the things I was taking in the store didn't come out that great in HDR. Stay tuned though.), but these are the two that I like the most.

The first happened almost by accident when I was on my way back to take the second. I just glanced to my right and saw a lot of different colors next to me.

1/15 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 800.
Click image for larger version.

It took some finagling to get rid of all of the letters and blacks in the image (and a little black still shows up, but... hey I'm not perfect!). These are the edges of all of the crossword/
wordsearch/
fill-in magazines that sit on the front shelf of the rack. So there's that one...

And now here's today's numba three. We have a ton of different kinds of glass bottles in the back of the store. These were on the shelf closest to the floor which meant laying down. I also moved a couple of baskets that sat behind them so that only the faux-settia's colors were in the background.

1/4 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 800.
Click image for larger version.

I kind of like this one. A little. I don't know. I've been taking so many pictures lately, I can't tell what I like and what I don't. Which is what you people are for. So come on! Comments! Feed me!

Classes start this coming week. I have a feeling that this semester is going to be crazy--much crazier than I had originally thought. So I will do my best to keep up with picture taking. I may end up having to put a couple of days together and/or share some of the photo "b-sides" of days past that were shared on that day. But we'll see. I definitely want to keep doing this every day, but I'm aware that it might not necessarily be a possibility. So bear with me until I get into the swing of things. So long, suckas.

Day 14: A Night of Music and Wonder; or, I Wonder Where the Music Is

Good evening, followers. I'm sorry to report that I only have one image to share with you tonight and it's a bit blurry and not all together thrilling. But I had a busy day, and I had to "play" at the Book Nook tonight so it'd didn't leave much time for photo taking unfortunately. Of course, I ended up sitting around waiting for people to come into the store to play for and took a few snaps while doing so. Had I had my tripod with me, this may have been a better photo, but alas it were only me and my shaky-stance crouch.

.5 sec. exposure at F/5. ISO 1600.
Click image for larger version.

I had to crank the ISO way up just to get a fast enough shutter speed to reduce the blur this much. As a result of that, though, I had to turn the exposure way down in Aperture. That's about all I messed with in there. 

Sorry this is such a weak post. But that's two weeks down! Woo! Yay me! See you laters, crocogators.

Day 13: The Lack of Birds and B

Today's photo adventure taught me two things. One, birds are waaaay smarter than me. Second, Elderton, PA has a surprising number of white/beige/cream colored buildings. To talk about the first point, I found a bunch of birds perched on some shrubbery behind our house. I was ninja-like in my quietness, but everytime I got close enough to take a picture, they flew away. So then I moved to the other side of the shrubs (the side they were on originally), hoping they would land there and I could then take the picture. But no, they landed on the other side. I went back and forth for about 10 minutes before giving up. In other words, Brandon is dumb, Birds are smart.

After that ten minutes, I walked around Elderton looking for something good to photograph with all of the snow we got. Trouble is, everything in Elderton is neutral toned. It doesn't stand out. But lucky for you, I did find (well, it wasn't hard) a fire hydrant in front of our house.

1/60 sec. exposure at F/3.5. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

It's a nifty picture, but nothing special. I just like the way the red stands out from the snow in the background. Not much else to say about this really.

I did take some other pics while walking around E-town, but not much worth posting. And by that point, I was chilled to the bizz-one and needed to get inside.

Never fear, my little bloggies, I've gots one more pic to share from today. We're starting to get some icicles forming off our roof, and in particular this little gem was dangling off our back porch light. So when Reggie and I got back from a grocery trip, I grabbed my camera, flipped on the light and took this photo. The only thing I changed in Aperture with this shot was I turned the exposure down as far as it would go.

1/4 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 200.
Click image for larger version.

I think it gave it a better depth being darker in the background and the lines of the siding going into said darkness. It also toned down how bright the actual light was. I really like this one, if I may say so.

That about does it for this January day. It was nice to get out and walk around, even if I didn't get too many decent shots. Thanks, as always, for stopping by. Make sure you check back towards the end of the month for a fun little contest that I'm going to run (I mean, obviously you all come every single day, but just to make sure). See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

Day 12: Lines and Balls and Balls In a Line

Good evening (day, night, morning, weekend, whatever time period you're celebrating when you read this). Another day at work today means another day of thrilling pictures. Or rather, another day of getting creative with what constitutes a picture. This is the end of the introduction for today.

This first photo was taken in the back of the store, or what we in the biz refer to as The Kitchen Store. It's full of wire-rack shelves with plexiglass for kitchen gadgets to rest on. That's what this is a photo of. I did my best to guesstimate (haha, good rhyme) what the focus and zoom should be, then held it under one of the shelves and pointed up. This is actually the first photo that I took this way, and oddly enough it's also the best one. The rest didn't come out nearly as good; they all felt less abstract and more just photos of some wire shelves.

1/40 sec. exposure at F/5. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I shot in RAW today (yes, I know. I said yesterday that I was going to stop that, but I wasn't entirely thrilled with how the images came out yesterday, so I figured I could shoot in RAW and if something needs tweaked I can choose to do so, but will try and leave things alone for the most part). The only thing that I changed in Aperture was a little White Balance (altered the "Temperature") and a slight change under Curves. Other than that, this is pretty much how it came out. Kind of cool, I guess.

Today's second photograph comes to us courtesy of our little hamster friend's grooming room (see Day 3's  post). I took the little mirror that we have and set it down on the counter. I took a couple of other photos with it of light fixtures/the ceiling, things of that nature, but then I swung around to the other end of the counter to try and get the giant, colored ornaments that we have hanging from the ceiling as decoration into the mirror shot. Well, as it turns out, when you look at this mirror from a certain angle, it actually makes the view distorted like so:

1/5 sec. exposure at F/6.3. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I am going to try and take this shot again the next time I'm at work using a tripod. I think it would have been a much cooler shot if the edges of the mirror were less blurred (it was hard to hold the camera still with the angle I was shooting at). I got one to come out with a sharper mirror, but the colored balls didn't look as good. But it reminded me of when they put down a black circle in cartoons and it makes an instant hole to fall into.

Anyway, kind of cool I think. I don't know if all mirrors would do this, or if it's just this one because it's cheap. Either way, I do enjoy reflective photography. You can take the same types of photos, but doing it through a mirror always seems to make it a smidge better. Agreed?

Well, the roomie just put on Family Guy's "It's a Trap", which I've already watched, but want to watch again because it makes me chuckle. Seriously, this one made me look at Ewoks completely differently. Those are actually some really crazy little dudes. Ok. May the Force be with you. Always.

Day 11: One is Not the Loneliest Number

Happy day with lots of ones, everybody! I have two pictures for you on this fine evening (filled with a crap ton of snow (with more to come) here in PA). I didn't shoot in RAW today. I felt like I was getting away from some of the things that I really want to get better at by using Aperture as a crutch. Well, not completely, but I do feel like I was less concerned with what I was taking pictures of because I knew I could at least make it look "cool" in Aperture. So I went back to regular shooting for today. I'm not giving up on Aperture completely; it's a really great tool to have in my arsenal. But I do want to get back to being more selective in what I shoot.

As I said above, we be gettin' dumped on as I type this. A couple of hours was enough to cover the sidewalks in downtown Indiana. So I trekked (well, stepped) outside at work and snapped some shots of the recently walked-through snow (I wasn't going to shovel the front for the 10 more minutes the store was open. It'll get moved in the morning when I get back.).

1/10 sec. exposure at F/4.5. ISO 100.
Click image for larger version.

It's not the best angle, but I didn't want to step out from under the awning because the snow was coming down pretty good, and I was afraid of water damage on the camera. But still fun, kind of. I guess. What do you people want from me?!

After my drive home (which took forever, not because the roads were bad, more because people feel the need to do a quarter of the speed limit when snow starts falling no matter how clear the roads are), I parked my car and let some snow fall onto my windows. I zoomed in real close and focused on the water drops on the window and pointed towards a street light. I like this one okay. Actually, I wish I had taken this one in RAW, because it could have had some cool results with tweaking (and technically I can tweak the JPEG, but it doesn't seem the same to me).

1.6 sec. exposure at F/8. ISO 400.
Click image for larger version.

I work tomorrow (it's my last day for a couple of days), so once again I'm not exactly sure what I'll take pictures of (is reading this statement getting as old for you as it is for me writing it?). Maybe with all of this snow we're getting something will present itself. But we'll see. Enjoy all your ones today; you won't get this many again until November. Peace out.

Day 10: Ugggghhhh....

Yeah, so it looks like it's gonna be another boring post day. Nothing I took pictures of came out good today. Which means it's a one photo day. And I apologize for this one even.

1/15 sec. exposure at F/6.3. ISO 400.
Click here for larger image.

This is a picture of a leaf, but it's not a real leaf. It's a fake one. But not a leaf-like fake leaf. It's glass. Confused yet? Good, it'll distract you from how stupid this picture is. This little guy hangs down off of a windchime in the back of the Book Nook. I held it up so the ceiling lights shone through it and snapped the picture. Of course, I messed with it in Aperture, because it's what I do lately. I do like the way the veins became very bright green, but the rest of it is dumb. I tried to change things so that the veins stayed bright and stood out like this, but the rest of the picture dimmed away, but I couldn't get it to work. What's left is this piece of work.

Again, I apologize for the weak sauce that is today's post. I wish I could say that tomorrow or Wednesday will be better, but I'm at work again so let's face it, you might get a crappy couple of days worth of photos. But make sure you check back, I promise I'll get back to some good ones soon! Don't let the door hit you on the way out. No. I mean it. It swings shut in a very violent manner.

Day 9: The Ins(ide) and Outs(ide) of Photography

Welcome! And happy Sunday! It was a superbly nice day out today, but it took me a while to get motivated to take any pictures. But it's okay because 1) I finished cleaning my room and bathroom, and 2) I ended up getting some really great sunset photos. To be honest, it's hard to not get a good sunset photo. Call me unabashedly romantic, but there's just a lot of beauty to be found there.

Alas, today's first photo was taken inside. I stare at this shower head every day when I'm getting ready. I still haven't actually installed it on my actual shower, so it's just resting on the ledge by my mirror. I really love curved, reflective surfaces. They make things look crrrazy. Like me, see?!

.5 sec exposure at F/7.1. ISO 400.
Click here for larger image.

I set up my camera on the tripod, then leaned in really close during exposure. Then, in Aperture, I cropped my actual self out of the photo, so only my goofy reflection remained. I played with the white balance and some other settings a bit, trying to get my orange shirt to stand out a bit (it was pretty dark and shadowy in the original file). I also played with the touch-up tool as well. There was a white stain (paint, I think) on the shower head that showed up and made it look like I had half of a white mustache. It actually took it away pretty nicely. I don't think you can really tell it was there at all, except when you blow the image way up. It's a very handy feature, that was extremely easy to use (literally, just point and click on the trouble areas).

For the next image, I finally got some motivation (at least the picture taking kind) and got outside. When I was taking the trash up to the street for pickup, I notice the sun was about to set and it was a very clear sky so it had some great potential. I ran back inside and got all bundled up, packed up my gear and grabbed my tripod. I walked around for a while near our house and eventually found this shot on the other side of 422 heading out of town. It was also the only spot I was really able to find that didn't have some sort of structure in the shot (building, guardrail, electrical/telephone wires/posts).

1/5 sec. exposure at F/16. ISO 100.
Click here for larger image.

I messed around with very few things in Aperture for this photo. The biggest thing I did was try to darken the bottom half of the shot (you could still see snow/ground/the bottom of the trees) to help bring out the colors in the sky more. Other than that I didn't really tweak too much. Like I said, sunsets are pretty hard to screw up. And I don't know if this technically follows the Rule of Thirds, but I tried to get it so the dark part was along the bottom third and the colorful part ended at the top third. My own interpretation, I suppose.

All righty-roony. Another day, another photo adventure is completed. I'm finally getting into the swing with this I think. I knew once I got into the habit, things would be a little easier. I'm at work the next three days, so I'm not exactly sure what I'll be photographing so stay tuned. Hasta luego, mis amigos!

Day 8: Close, But No Cigars

But I do have a broom and a couple of bottles of balsamic vinaigrette! Once again, I was at work today so I was pretty limited with what I could take photos of. So I decided to find some things a go all macro on them. That's right, it's Close Up Day!

The first image I took was of a couple of bottles of balsamic vinaigrette. I shot in RAW again today, so postprocessing was done in Aperture. I'm not going to get into any details today with what I did in Aperture, though. Mostly because I forgot to keep track like I did yesterday!

1/13 sec. at F/5. ISO 400.
Click here for larger image.

I turned a lot of elements way up. I wanted to wash out the counter in the background to make it really, really bright. I also wanted to emphasize the yellow on on the tops of the bottles. I think that it came out okay, but there's some noise in the shadows of the yellow that I'm not happy with. I messed around with it, but that was the best I could get it. If anything, it gives it more of a warm, painted feel, I guess.

Today's second photo was a close-up of the bottom of a broom. It had some really white dust on the bottom of the bristles that contrasted nicely with the dark of the bristles themselves.

1 sec. exposure at F/5. ISO 400.
Click here for larger image.

I'm actually really happy with how this one came out in Aperture. I wanted to maintain some blurriness (from slight camera shake), but I like that the left, darker areas are very sharp. This is definitely some artsy-fartsy stuff, but I still like it. I think it's cool how things can come out when you get in really close to them. I think I'll definitely be doing some more of this, especially at work where my photo options are pretty limited.

That's all she wrote today. I'm still hanging on to a bit of a cough, but I'm going to try and get outside tomorrow and get shots in the snow. It's still a nice, soft, clean snow. Not too gross or dirty yet, so I want to make sure I get out while I can. Thanks for stopping by, and ya'll come back now. Seriously. Come back so I don't feel like this is a waste of time. Please?

Day 7: RAW Said the Bear

Well, Week 1 is official over and done. 51 more of these bad boys left to go. Today was another RAW shooting day with some time spent in Aperture after. Let's get to it, shall we?

It snowed quite a bit in Indiana today. But it was a nice, peaceful snow. Great big, slow falling flakes. Unfortunately I was stuck at work, so that means I was limited to photos of things in the immediate vicinity of the store. Like this parking meter for example.

1/125 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 100.
Click here for larger image.

The image on the left is the original, unprocessed image. This is how the image came out when I just loaded it into Aperture and spit out a JPEG.

Here are the steps I went through to get the image on the right:
1. Under White Balance I turned the Tint down from 41 to 23 and the Temperature up to 5728 K.
2. Under Levels I moved the Luminance slider to .07.
3. Moved the sliders under Curves to the position shown in the below image.

That's all I did to this image. I'm not sure what most of those things actually did to my image. I was basically moving things around and watching what it did to the image as a result. I still don't think it's anything special. I do like the redness of the brick and I think the snowflakes stand out more in the image on the right.

In the next image, I tried to shoot up at the sky. It was completely clear at this point, but was still snowing pretty heavily. I wanted to try and get the sky and the snowflakes falling, but (other than a few specks) not much is shown. So what I ended up doing with this picture in Aperture was try to get the sky a strong blue, and to enhance the golden color of the lamp. Here are the two images.

1/2000 sec. exposure at F/5.6. ISO 100.
Click here for larger image.

Once again, the image on the left is the unprocessed image and the one on the right is the resulting image after I ran it through Aperture. Here are the steps I went through for this image:

1. Moved the Curves sliders to the positions shown in the below image.

2. Turned Highlights up to 34.23. (Found under Highlights and Shadows.)

3. Under Colors, turned Yellow Saturation up to 28.5, Luminance down to -13.5 and Range down to .50.

4. Turned Blue Hue up to 32.8, Saturation up to 53.1, Luminance down to -25.3 and Range down to .50.

And that's it. As you can see, the image still has a few flecks of snow in it. The other thing you might notice is that in the original image, you could make out the image on the flag off the lamppost. Once I tweaked the image, both the post and the flag became silhouetted against everything else. I was conscious of this when I was messing with the image. It became more important for me to get the blue and gold to stand out of the image and less about keeping any other detail. What do you think? Did I make it work?

I'm not sure what I'll do for tomorrow. I really like shooting in RAW and messing around with Aperture, so no matter what I'll probably continue to do that. I don't know that I'll get into much detail with what I did in Aperture unless it's something I think is worth mentioning (i.e. I find a really cool tool in Aperture and want to share it). Still waiting for some suggestions as to what you guys want to see me shoot also! My one roommate will be home in a few days with his dog, so I'm sure she'll make it on here at some point in the future. And we're supposed to get some more snow over the next couple of days so I'd like to get out and shoot some stuff in that as well. Thanks for stopping by as always. Happy weekend!