Day 23

Self-portraits are not my most favorite thing in the world. Many photographers prefer to be behind the camera than in front of it. In fact, some take pictures for this very reason. I'm not that shy, but I've seen way too many pictures of me that make me wary of photos. That being said, I had an idea with this one and it worked out well, after only a couple of tires. Self-portraits can be tough to do right. This one came out almost exactly as I had planned.

Things I've learned: I really would like to explore the self-portrait area more. I find it kind of challenging, but it is also neat to try to come up with different ways to photograph yourself. I think I'll be taking more of these in the future.

Canon 30D w/ 50mm 1.4 lens @50mm
1/160 sec
f/1.4
ISO 1250

Day 22

Just as a disclaimer: We don't ever bathe our 2.5 year old in the kitchen sink. I really have a lot of great photos to share today, but this one is here because I want to remember it. I remember when we first gave Liam a bath in a sink and how tiny he was. This is my tiny little baby now, growing up and sticky with marshmallow all over him (which is why he got this rather efficient clean-up tonight).

Things I've learned: Not related to this shot, but today I realized how critical it is to keep tabs on your camera settings when making decisions to make changes to things such as exposure compensation or using extreme aperture settings. Sometimes, forgetting about those things can ruin a shot (or even a whole shoot), or just simply make your life harder. I need to figure out a way to remember this more efficiently.

Canon 30D w/70-200 f/4 lens @126mm
1/60 sec (burst mode)
f/4
ISO 1600

Day 21

Today I asked myself the question, "what am I going to photograph today" and with one glance down, I saw the answer. I've been photographing a lot of babies lately, which might explain how this image stood out so quickly to me.

Things I've learned: I've recently had to use a flash until for some of my photography in people's homes. I'm finding that I can get some extraordinary good photos with it. On the negative side, I hate the added weight and other factors (such as constantly weighing in on the technical aspects of the photo, rather than the vision of the image) that come with it. It's a love-hate relationship.

Canon 30D w/50mm 1.4 lens @ 50mm
1/100 sec
f/3.5
ISO 800

Day 20

Today we took a trek to our favorite Dairy for some yummy ice cream and our weekly supply of milk (Dairy milk rocks!) I took plenty of photos, but this one captured best the way I felt standing there with the silos reaching up into the beautiful blue sky.

Things I've learned: I took only one lens with me, thinking it would be all I needed. But the age-old saying came true for me, "The lens you want/need most is the lens you left at home". I really saw some great landscapes that would have been amazing with wide shots of the sky and farms. Oh well. Now I know why I should take all of my gear with me...even on trips for milk and ice cream. :-)

Canon 30D w/70-200mm f4 lens @70mm
1/4000 sec
f/5.6
ISO 400

Day 19

This was kind of a last-minute shot for the blog. Not much to say about this image, but that I'm still trying to figure out the physical impossibilities on the head-to-body ratio of Dora the Explorer. Just amazing.

Things I've learned: This photo reminds me of a technique I once read about for taking photos of a television to avoid the weird line that shows up on older tv sets: you have to use a slow shutter speed (like 1/30th or 1/20th), which I did not. I also learned that I need to check my ISO more often.  Oops.

Canon 30D w/50mm 1.4 lens @50mm

1/200 sec

f/1.4

ISO 1600

Day 18

This probably won't be the first model train or toy train photo I post. A good friend of mine has been collecting trains for over 30 years and this is just a glimpse of his amazing setup. My children also have come into an abundance of Thomas the Tank Engine stuff, and I admittedly turn into a kid myself when they play with them.

Things I've learned: It's kind of neat the kinds of images that can be made with a wide aperture. Especially when you have no other choice. The lighting was terrible in the room where this train set was, and I had to shoot at high ISO's and even dangerously slow shutter speeds to get this shot, but when I finally got around to checking it out, I kind of liked the results. 

Canon 30D w/ 50mm 1.4 lens @50mm

1/50 sec

f/1.4

ISO 1600

Day 17

My daughter has been practicing on her scooter lately, and I wanted to try my hand at an action photography technique called panning. The idea is to follow your subject to keep them sharp while the background blurs, showing motion. It's kind of tricky to do, but it was fun to try, both for me and my daughter.

Thing's I've learned: For me, it seems like 1/60th of a second was the prime shutter speed to set up to. I also found more keepers shooting in jpeg and burst mode.

Canon 30D w/ 70-200 f/4 lens @113mm
1/60 sec
f/11
ISO 100

Day 16

Just so you know, this cake was "okay" it would have been better, but the plastic bunny mask wasn't very sweet and was incredibly tough to chew...just kidding.

What I've learned: Don't trust image stabilization. I was shooting without really worrying much for my shutter speed because I had image stabilization on. There were some shots that I took that were still blurry, even at decent hand-held shutter speeds. Technology is no substitute for good technique and skill.

Canon 30D w/18-55mm IS lens @55mm
1/30 sec
f/5.6
ISO 800

Day 15

This photo is the product of both persistence and luck. Luck, because I needed something quick to photograph for this assignment, and persistence because once I got started, I got rather absorbed into the project and spent a while getting exactly what I wanted. This flower is about the size of my thumbnail, and it was one of many that my daughter had picked and put in a small vase.

Things I've learned: I really need to get my sensor cleaned. This was hot at f/8 and the dust is really starting to show on my sensor. This turns into a lot of work when I'm not shooting wide open.

Canon 30D w/ 18-55mm kit lens (reversed)
1/20 sec
f/8 (DOF preview button held down during lens reversal)
ISO 500

Day 14

This is Liam. He's the little guy around here, and he's pretty elusive sometimes when it comes to pictures. He likes to suck his thumb, so I have a hard time getting good shots of him without his thumb in his mouth. Today we wandered into the path of a sunlit window and I managed to get a shot. He even gave me a little grin.

Things I've learned: The use of reflecting light can be very flattering with portraits. I took some other shots as well of my daughter, and asked her to hold a white piece of paper under her face, and it reflected the sunlight and eliminated some shadows from her eyes that would have been there due to the strong light of the sun. 

Canon 30D w/70-200 f/4 lens @ 200mm

f/4

1/200 sec

ISO 640

Day 13

This morning I, along with several other Hershey Christian school teachers had our property "forked", as some sort of lame senior prank for April fools. Since I don't have a front yard, they just left piles of forks on my steps, car, and window boxes. 

Things I've learned: Students will drive a long ways to pull a prank (I live about 30 miles from the school). My kit lens is capable of producing really decent images at times, and I shouldn't discount it when I want to make a good photo.

Canon 30D w/18-55mm IS Canon lens @55mm

f/5.6

1/100 sec

ISO 400

Day 12

 

 

Today I needed every excuse possible to get out in the sunshine. I went out for a short walk on the school campus and found this photo waiting for me.

Things I’ve learned: This was one of the last photos that I took before heading back inside. I took it more as a “just one more shot” feeling, and it turned out to be “the” shot. I’m glad that I did that. Never underestimate that last “for good measure” effort. It might be your best.

Canon 30D w/70-200mm f/4 @200mm
f/6.3
1/500th sec
ISO 100

Day 11

This photo pretty much sums up the weather today. I like how the colors show through though. The colors remind me that there is hope beyond the dreariness. Probably a great thought for this Easter week, and as we approach Good Friday. Despite Christ's torture, suffering and death, he understood that there was hope beyond it all.

Things I've learned: There are lots of things around my house to photograph. Sometimes I get lost in the idea of traveling the world and photographing things, when in reality, there is plenty around here to see. I just need to look harder.

Canon 30D 50mm f/1.4 lens @ 50mm

f/2

1/60 sec

ISO 800

Day 10

This is Isabel at 3 weeks. I had another photo that I was planning to use, but this one was too irresistible for me to pass up.

Things I learned: Earlier I found myself frustrated with my camera because I had the shot envisioned in my head, but I was too impatient to stop and think of how to get it. Thus, I missed a few opportunities. Patience plays a big part in achieving your vision. Now I have to remember that.

Canon 30D 50mm 1.4 lens @ 50mm

Aperture: f/2

Shutter: 1/250

ISO: 800

Day 9

Today was Palm Sunday. Our church handed out these crosses made of Palm Leaves made by Africans as part of a missions project. The Africans make these crosses to earn money to feed their families. 

What I learned: Another difficulty of the 365 project is to remember that I need to take a photo each day. I'm eventually going to mess up somewhere and forget, or be put into a situation where I don't have my camera to take the shot. I'll have to deal with that when I do, but for now I'm happy to have a week's worth done. 51 more weeks to go.

Canon 30D 70-200mm lens @73mm

ISO: 250

Aperture: f/4

Shutter: 1/25 sec

Day 8

This picture was taken today at a birthday party. The theme was baseball. They had hot dogs, popcorn, and even a baseball pinata. Everyone had a good time.

Things I've learned: I'm really starting to enjoy my 70-200 f/4 lens a lot. Even in less-than-ideal lighting, I'm finding that I can get some pretty sharp photos with burst mode. It is really great for capturing candids at events like parties without getting in everybody's face. 

Canon 30D 70-200mm f/4 lens @ 131mm

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/4

Shutter: 1/160th

Day 7

I remember back in High School that my teacher taught us about clouds. He taught us that if you look into the sky and see several different types of clouds, that it indicates a shift in pressure. We just enjoyed a few days of 60 degree temperatures recently, and now the prediction is a possibility of snow overnight. I’d say that’s a shift in something. Either way, I hear that there are 70 degree days approaching for next week, so I’m looking forward to that.

Things I’ve learned: Wide angle lenses are fun to use when shooting pictures of skies and landscapes. I even think that exaggerated perspectives that wide-angles can give are worth the use of one now and again. I also learned that my camera sensor is extremely dirty, because when I use apertures around f/8, then I see all kinds of spots on my images, which I have to clone out. Gotta get that sensor cleaned.

Day 6

Today when I was scavenging around for a photo, I found a really neat piece of artwork that a senior had done. I thought it was really neat, so I took some photos.

Things I learned: Even though I thought the art work was really neat, I most enjoyed the details and the textures of the piece itself. One of my favorite things to do when taking photos is to find curious details and highlight them. Sometimes deconstructing the scene can be more fun and visually appealing than the scene itself (although I still thought the whole art piece was cool).

Canon 30D 18-55mm IS @ 33mm
Shutter: 1/15 sec
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO: 800

Day 5

This is a shot of my wedding ring, which is very special to me. I will have owned it for 10 years this coming June. I could probably take a bunch of photos of just thing ring alone, I like it that much.

Things I’ve learned:
Probably one of the greatest challenges for me in doing this 365 photo project is going to be answering the question, “So what do I take a photo of today?” Finding inspiration can be very difficult to do each and every day, but that is one reason why I am doing this project. I want to be able to push myself to new levels with my camera. On a technical note, this picture was shot using a reversed 18-55 kit lens as a macro shot. The shot wasn’t working out with the lighting until I used an external flash bouncing light from the ceiling.

 

Canon 30D 18-55mm IS lens @ 55mm (reversed)
Aperture: 0
Shutter: 1/125
ISO: 400

Day 4

I've been wanting to get this shot for a while now. I've seen this tree on my commute to work, and right away I knew that I would need to get a picture with it. I really want to explore different angles and perspectives with it, but time and circumstances make this difficult. You may see this tree again in some future shots. I've got other ideas, and the sky won't always be the same.

Things I've learned: Sometimes I need to put aside my laziness and just stop the car and get the picture I have in my head. I do a lot of scanning while driving and a lot of the time I'm inspired, but too lazy or whatever to just do what needs to be done to get the shot. I'm thinking that if I can overcome this I might be able to get a lot more of my vision into my shots.

Canon 30D 18-55mm IS @55mm

ISO: 100

Shutter: 1/1600 sec

Aperture: F/5.6

Day 3

This photo captures pretty well what I do all day at work. My 13” Macbook Pro takes a beating both figuratively and unfortunately, literally. I’ve actually had it fall out of my photo backpack 4 times due to my own stupidity. The only damage it sustained all four times were some dents and scratches. It is an amazing machine and I would recommend one to anybody.

Things I learned: I love to get close to subjects with my 50mm lens, but it has a limited focusing distance, which makes it difficult. I had to get back about a foot or so to capture what I wanted. Sometimes this does get frustrating when I would like to be closer. I’m actually considering picking up a close-up filter for my canon gear, which would allow me to do Macro when I feel like it without purchasing a dedicated macro lens.

Canon 30D 50mm F/1.4 @ 50mm
F/2.8
1/320 sec
ISO 1600

Day 2

Today's photo is, like probably most of the photos on the blog for the next year, is completely random. I didn't even notice this airplane, except that my 2-year old son was excited enough to point it out. Thankfully, I still had my 70-200mm lens mounted, and was able to grab a shot as it flew overhead.

Things I learned: Grab shots are fun, but they aren't always the best way that I like to make photos. I enjoy being prepared and somewhat cognitive about my photography. The only thing I do feel that I did purposely for this photo was the actual composition. However, sometimes the best shots are not the ones we plan to make, but that happen in front of us in the moment.

Canon 30D 70-200mm F/4 @ 200mm
1/4000 sec
F/4
ISO 200

Day 1

So, for my very first post, I thought that it might be good to get a photo of our new baby, Isabel. Her birth this year will probably be my most memorable event of Spring 2010. 

What I've learned: One recent thing I've learned is that if you want a shot at an exposure that is slower than you can hand-hold, if you fire off shots in burst-mode, sometimes you can get a sharper shot from one of the bursts. The lens that I used with this shot was my 70-200mm, and it only opens up the aperture to F/4. To get an adequate shutter speed for non-blurry shots, I need to usually have the shutter speed at 1/320 of a second or faster. Fortunately, shooting in burst mode allowed me the option to capture the shot a little better without a wider aperture or adding more light.

Shot with Canon 30D w/ Canon 70-200mm F4 lens @ 126mm

Aperture:F/4

Shutter: 1/50 sec

ISO: 800

I've got a project, and I need your help.

So now that I know some of you are actually reading this blog, I've endeavored to find a good series of topics to post on. After much deliberation, I've come up with an idea: A 365 Photo-a-Day project. I've been wanting to do this for some time, but didn't know how I could keep myself accountable. That is where you, my readers, come in. If I am not posting regularly, please give me a poke in the ribs in the comments. I've heard that this kind of project can be difficult to keep up, which is why I'll need your help.

 I'm going to be posting a photo a day with a little background on each photo. Probably most of the pictures won't be too inspiring, but the idea is to keep shooting, and from this process I will also be sharing what I've learned along the way. Perhaps you can glean something from this journey too. Anyways, I'm going to go out today and get a shot of something, so be on the lookout for something to kick off 3/20/2010.

Is anybody out there?

This is just a test post to see if anybody actually reads the blog anymore. I need feedback people. If you are reading this blog, please drop me a comment so that I know. I've not updated it in some time because of my assumption that everyone has fallen into the Facebook abyss. :-)