Baby BJ

Some of you have already seen these images but I wanted to share on my blog.

Baby BJ is a newborn who wants to act more like a toddler. I love taking pictures of newborns! Cute cute cute.

These were taken in my home studio with window lights and reflector only.


Today Elli shared this blog with me: Gardening gone wild He has an interesting project called Macro in a Mason Jar. My jar isn't large enough but it was good enough to get a couple of close ones. Next time I'll play around some more.

Low Key

and so I'm back, unable to change my hosting domain or blog accounts yet. Hmmm, grrr
today's challenge is Low Key


I was enjoying the sunshine today so I took a walk in my yard.

and the sun does shine in N.W. Indiana, sometimes

Thorns


Reaching

D-362 The common object

No light today for outdoor shots, I was just bored. When that happens I take a common/ordinary object and try to find a different spin on it. I took these macro shots. What do you do when you are bored with your images?
Daily Shoot
#ds409 Make a photograph with as soft a light source as you can find or create.
Macro shot, used a soft box and the budget on a studio shared a few post back.

Move over . . . there's a new Queen in town.

the colors got a little funny after transferring them to flickr

and a bonus:
While putting my Christmas stuff away I thought this one deserved a second look.
She's pretty old, but holding on really good.



This is a great article for sources of Inspiration for photographers.
Sources of Inspiration

Images viewed: Professional Photographer

D-355 What will we do at the end of our projects?

I know I've brought this up before, but what are you planning on doing when your 365 day project is over? I have 10 DAYS LEFT!
After the 10th day I will take a very short break. Maybe a week or so. I'll catch up on some sleep and spend some time with my family.

I've had several suggestions that maybe I should write some tutorials on lighting. I'm no expert on lighting but I guess we can learn some more together. Any other suggestions?
When you come to my blog, what would you like to see? Learn? share? I am open for suggestions. I'll probably start writing some tutorials if there is an interest for that.

The daily shoot
#ds402 Make a photograph of a circular or round object today.

See the tree reflected in the bulb? Part of my home is also reflected in there.

I had several to chose from today

The colored reflections are not lights, they are jingle bells that are reflecting light.


bulbs, beads, lights and icicles all make for great bokeh.

Empty


Halo, the bearded dragon was content riding around on my son's head


Images Viewed: Sandra Nykerk

D350 -351 Ice Magical lights

We took a quick trip to Kentucky to visit my daughter for the weekend. We also took Isabella down there to visit with her mom.
Yesterdays Project 365 Facebook was "weather" we took a late night walk and I was amazed that everything was covered in ice and with the little available light, it lit the ice up magically.
The branches look like they have lights and the grass looks like diamonds.

D-349 Moody Lighting

“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.”
Carl Gustav Jung





It's been a long hard day and I had to try and find solace in my beads and candles, in the comfort of my home.

Todays daily shoot is: #ds396 Find a repeating pattern today and make a photograph of it.


I shot this with my macro lens 28-105 mm. It's an old metal one. Set the camera on a tripod, 1 second exposure, 4.5 F-stop, ISO 200. I had a candle on an amythest stone and the Christmas tree lit up in the background. This is the set up.


Wayne asked about my Macro lens before and wide open for this lens is 4.5F. It does not open to F3.0.
Levonne asked me why I put my logo on my pictures. There are several reasons, one of them being that I want people to know my work. Know that it belongs to me.
I also want my business name out there. The more people see my logo the more familiar they become with me. There is also the fact that logos make it just a littel bit harder to take someones photo, not impossible, just harder.

D-347 Bokeh magic

The daily shoot:
#ds394 Shoot wide open today. Make a creative photo that uses a shallow depth of field to good effect.

I'm feeling pretty sick so I wanted to post my photo of the day really quickly and go to bed. Not sure this is what I was going for but there it is. LOL

D-340 & 341 Good enough

This week has been hard to keep up with my daily posting. I continue taking pictures every day it's just the computer time I'm having a hard time fitting in. My son moved back to the area and he's been coming by to spend time with us. There is also the Holiday thing going on added to my job. So I'm a little crunched for time. These are not my best work by they are good enough and that's just going to have to do for now.




Macro shot:


Images viewed:Hard to believe this kid is only 20! What an amazing photographer and person. Joey L

D-336 Water and oil part 2

Heather from our Facebook Project 365 wanted us to use the water and oil from Art for our Friday challenge. So I tried to make it different but I think it's about he same.


I love how the beads I used on the floor turned out in this one.


just changing the items in the background makes a big difference in the final results.
I also spent a little time (enough to almost get frost bite on my fingers) in my garden. I told David then when I got home I saw this plant and the Nikon Angels sang to me. AAAWWWWWWWW LOL


I took enough pictures to end my 365 project for this year, but I know that's not how it works. LOL
Are you still enjoying your project? I have a list of things I want to try, I have enough Ideas to get me through the rest of the year. How's your project going? Need ideas? What are your plans when you complete the 365 days?

D-324 Water & Oil equal art

The daily shoot:
Daily Shoot 371
Find or make a reflection in a window today and shoot through it to create a layered composition.

I guess I didn't really follow the rules because it's not shot through a window but it is shot through a glass. I got the idea from Alison M Photography.




and during the experiment this abstract came to life




You can read the how to here E-zine

Images Viewed: Alison M

D-311 Get a little closer

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. We've been kind of busy but trying to enjoy the weekend, even had our first snow of the season.

took that from the door.

The daily shoot Sometimes, the best advice is to get closer. Today, get really close to your subject. Use a macro lens if you have one.
These are all macro shots - love getting close

Window lighting

The main reason I love buying myself flowers is . . . I'll always have a subject to pose for me. LOL


Beautiful imperfection

and I even managed to get an abstract image. Love the colors in this one


Read several articles on lighting and shooting pictures in dark places. Also viewed images on flickr.

I created a Facebook page for my photography business. If you get a chance "like" it and support me there. Thanks.

I'm loving your comments and wish there was a better way to interact with you all.

D-296 Tic Toc . . .

The daily shoot

#ds341 Illustrate the idea of time in a photograph today. Be as literal or abstract as you want to be with your interpretation.



I'm nursing a bad back. Good meds - It's gonna be an early night for me. I'll catch up on blogs tomorrow.
Nighty night.

D-288 Surviving the fire

“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” Bill Cosby

The daily shoot
#ds333 Fire is dramatic, as it its effect. Make a picture of a flame or something changed by fire or flame.




Images viewed: Blair Phillips Photography

D-287 Upside down

the daily shoot: Think upside down & really change your view point. Make a photo where you or your subject is upside down.

Macro shot of water drops as they come out of the faucet. I then turned the picture upside down. I added a few items in the background for color - the unexpected surprise was how you can see what the items are in the water drop. Candy corn, colored paper, apple and a pepper.



and without the extra items:


Images viewed: Blair Philips

D-279 Velvet Petals . . .

“We’re falling like the velvet petals/We’re bleeding and we’re torn/But God is in the roses and the thorns.”



Sometimes the daily shoot seems a little strange to me but because the whole point of participating is to be challenged today's challenge:
ds#323 Bathrooms are full of hard surfaces, textures, and personal implements. Find an inspiring photograph in a bathroom today.

Nothing inspiring or creative in my bathroom so this is what I came up with.


Read Nikon D-700 User's Manual Pages 170-184
Images Viewed: Mi Belle Wedding Photography

D-276 & 277

The daily shoot: #320 Simplicity is economy. Make the simplest photograph you can today. Take things out until you can't remove anything else.




and today's


Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Images Viewed: Google Flower Search

D-273 Just plugging away . . .

The Daily Shoot #317 Power plugs are ubiquitous. Can you make a creative photo of such a common thing? Try it today!
Not sure how to make a power plug interesting and creative so I played with lights.





Reading "Photography foundations for art & design" by Mark Galer

Nikhil asked about the lights in yesterdays post . . .they are a string of "Christmas lights." They are bokehed in the background. Aperature today is F/4.5 yesterday F/1.8

D-261 Sunflower

Bought myself a treat

I love sunflowers. They remind me of sunshine.

I've also been inspired by Imogen Cunningham. Her eye for detail is simply exquisite and I wonder how she captured details like she did in 1901, without all of the technology.

I've been reading "Portraits" by Terry Hope

With those 2 inspirations, I'm feeling motivated to do some black and whites.

Who inspires you?

D-230 Tools of the trade. . .

2010/08/25: Make a photo of a tool today. Screwdriver. Pliers. Computer. What's the tool you find most important on a daily basis? #ds283

My tool "of the day" is this antique straight razor. Not necessarily important to me on a daily basis however it does make one think of history and how far we've come.

Imagine shaving your legs with one of those.
I know the right tools are of the utmost importance in getting terrific photographs, however if you never bother to take the time and learn your "tool" then you would have wasted great resources.

I shot this one in low light, same settings as yesterdays, I converted to black and white then I colorized. I also added a layer of texture (from my own collection). This one used to be bright green.


Images viewed: Jordan Chan

D-229 Low key

The daily shoot today is:
Make a low key photo today with lots of dark areas. You might need to use exposure compensation to make it work.

I found this article that talks about low key lighting.
Low-key lighting requires only one key light, optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector. This type of setup is usually shot against a dark background.
I used my Nikon D-700, Macro lens, one studio light with a snoot on it pointed directly at the flowers, a reflector to the side of the flowers. Very little Photo shop work just adjusted levels and sharpened for web. Created the storyboard in Photoshop elements 7.



Read Nikon D-700 Users Manual pgs 129
Viewed images: J & D