Day 48 – Life

Since I was in class on Tuesday, Sweetie and I are celebrating Valentine’s Day tonight. I left my DSLR at home, so I shot this one* with my iPhone and manipulated it a bit in Photoshop using a couple of filters and even some vignetting. See you all tomorrow!

* It’s a Hallmark bag.

Day 47 – Lighting class “quick fire” challenge

Our instructor was out tonight, but our lab assistant was there and between him and Jeff, they had an assignment for us for the night. The exercise we were given was adapted from Photo Workout: Flex Your Photographic Skills at Digital Photography Magazine online.

Light is critical to photography. Without light, you can’t take pictures! One of the keys to becoming a better photographer is to “see: the light and understand what it is doing within an image. The camera only sees the light and emphasized that light, even it it’s not flattering or beneficial for the subject. It is the job of the photographer to understand and properly utilize light for the desired effect.

ASSIGNMENT: Create an image using light as a creative or technical component to your composition. Illustrate how your light effectively interact with or within the composition (Does it affect the subject? Is it the subject? Does it provide movement? Does it increase or decrease the contrast Does it enhance the composition, if so, how?) You may use: natural, artificial, continuous, flash or any combination of them all. Your image must be shot in class time. Print one copy of your image, black and white or color. HAVE FUN!

Tips: Using the techniques that you have learned so far, find, create and/or use light in an interesting manner! Pay attention to both the quality and quantity of the light, and the effect it is having or producing. Look for spots of light, colored light, edge light, light contrasting with shadow or shadows themselves (as shadows are as much a part of light as the light itself). Look at the light, and what it is doing in your photograph. See how the light might be interesting in and of itself. Look at how light and shadows are interacting throughout the image.

So…

We were given an hour to go out and shoot, and then we were to come back to the lab to process and print one photo. We grabbed our cameras and out we headed out. I shot a lot of photos, and some of them su-u-u-cked, but I managed to shoot a few of interesting shots.

A light on the wall in Knowledge Center:

Palms near the windows in the Knowledge Center with sun shining through their leaves.

Outside the Starbucks located in “The Joe” (Joe Crowley Student Union) I saw a table stacked on another. The shadow the leg cast on the brick wall captured my attention for a bit.

Finally, I headed back to class and as I started to walk back through the Knowledge Center, these ceiling lights caught my eye:

So which picture did I choose to print? And did I choose color or black & white? And will I change my mind before Tuesday?

Day 46 – A bit of snow!

Well, more than a bit, but not a dumping. The morning commute was a bit of a bear, but we need the snow (and lots more, frankly). It was a busy, busy morning and I didn’t get to go outside until the sun was high in the sky and the melt had begun in earnest, but I managed to get a few good shots. I’m torn between the two of these. I love the pine, but I also really like the second with its textures and delicate buds peeking out of the snow. I’m also very happy with the sharpness of both. Click on photos for larger resolution and you’ll see what I mean. The second one’s flowers have exquisite texture. Exposing for snow can be tricky, and I’m not quite satisfied with that aspect of my shots. #2 seems a little warm, but neither do I want the snow to be too blue.

I’m posting early because after work I’m headed over to the UNR lighting studio to work on our third project with a couple of my classmates.

Day 45 – Trader Joe’s Flowers

Our receptionist always seems to have a vase full of flowers at her desk. This afternoon I was about to step outside to wander the grounds and shoot, but I couldn’t resist these colorful beauties. She told me she’d picked them up at Trader Joe’s and had told her husband to save himself $80. Gotta love it!

Day 44 – Stick a fork in me

I hit the ground running today and never had a chance to come up for air, let alone break away to snap any photos. Tonight I improvised with my mini-light studio and a dinner fork.

Day 43 – Fort Churchill

Sweetie and I took the dogs to Fort Churchill today. We’ve lived here for over ten years, and though we’ve talked about going to see it, we never have. Until today. Fort Churchill is a Civil War era fort built in the middle of the Nevada desert about 35 east of Carson City. It was a harsh post for the soldiers and many deserted.

I took lots of pictures and the ones that I liked best I have posted to my Flickr account here. This one I loved the most. I love the framing of the far window and the framing of the tree in the distance. I love the texture and the color.

Day 42 – Falconry!

We celebrated Darwin Day today. We gathered at the South Valleys library and had cake and snacks and listened to a lot of interesting presentations. We learned about neuroscience and the problem of the self. One fellow gave a talk on “Wrongness.” I gave a talk on science standards in the U.S. and Nevada. We watched a short movie on the Galapagos, played Evolution Trivia, heard some great music from Beagle and the FootyFish. The most unusual presentation was one on falconry. Two young men brought their birds (one hawk, one falcon) and told us about their hunting habits, how they socialize and interact with each other and with humans, how their nostrils have special baffles in them so they can breathe when diving through the air to capture prey. After the talk we all went outside for a demonstration which gave me an opportunity to get some up-close photos.

Day 41 – Tiffany Lamp?

Not really. Stained glass.

My husband has had this hand-made lamp for well over thirty years; far longer than we’ve been together. It was hand-crafted by a friend of his who died tragically at a very young age. You can imagine why this lamp is so precious and why it has such deep sentimental value to him. It has had its home in our living room for all the years we’ve been together.