Category Archives: 365 Project

Day 242 – Yesterday was a bust

Busy – from before dawn until the time I went to bed. Didn’t even get to pull my camera from the bag. So, I have to pull something from another day.

I took this a couple of days ago . . . Nina farting around in the backyard, hoping to find a lizard under the roll of chicken wire.

 

And here is another one of the still life photos I shot the other night.  I created shadow by holding a board above the light and using it to block light falling on the foreground. I like what the pepper is doing in the stem of the wine glass.

 

Day 241 – Still Life with Peppers

Practice, practice, practice!

UPDATE:

Set up for first two: Soft box to camera left at a 45º angle. About 5 feet in the air, angled down slightly.  Reflector card to right of peppers.

Third shot: same but dropped soft box a couple of feet. You can see the change in direction.

Set up for wine glass shot: Moved soft box light so light reflected off backdrop through wine glass.  White reflector card held above and to right of objects for fill.

White continuous backdrop (which is a window shade, $11 at Walmart) for all.

Also, I’ve started a Still Life gallery at SmugMug which will give you all the details on ISO, aperture and shutter speed.

Day 238 – Side-light

I would have preferred to use Sweetie for this, but he was busy taking the dog to the vet.  And it’s not as though I can go drag someone in off the street. Once again, my light study involves me.

Day 237 – Fun with Photoshop: Smudge Stick Quickies

It’s been a full day and I didn’t get home until nearly 9 tonight. So I grabbed my camera and flash and snapped a few of the dogs.  Though the originals shots were fine, I added a Smudge Stick filter to them in Photoshop, just for fun.  It is subtle, but there is more pop and contrast.

Nina. Filter: Smudge Stick

Buddy. Filter: Smudge Stick

Day 236 – Morning Sun and Afternoon Portrait

I usually shoot midday or late afternoon during my work week, but this morning I looked out my office window and saw some awesome morning light. I grabbed my camera and headed out for about five minutes.  I love the golden glow.

And late this afternoon I did a little experiment with myself.  I’d read this article, The Ultimate Guide to Zone Focusing for Candid Street Photography, at Digital Photography School and wanted to play with it a bit. These were shot at 1600 ISO, f/8, 1/30s.  To start, I focused the camera on a spot about five feet away. I then adjusted my camera according to the technique in the article, balanced the camera on my printer and set the timer to release the shutter. Voila!  I was in the focal plane!

Day 235 – Buddy

Buddy is my sweet boy and he loves to get attention from me and generally sticks close to my side, but when I bring out the camera he gets shy. Getting him to look at the camera can be a challenge, so when I get a couple of good shots of him, I’ve got to share.