More bokeh and Light

The daily shoot today is: The Daily shoot
#ds395 Yellow is great at grabbing attention. Make a photograph today where the primary subject is yellow in color



I'm still feeling under the weather but I was not happy with my first set of shots, or maybe it's because the subject is just blah . . .
So I pulled out the flash and shot through the umbrella - The bouquet of flowers I got last week is well past it's prime. Time to get rid of.

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-333 Peak into my world

or at least a peak into my living room.

#ds380 The Golden Ratio has been used in art for millennia. Use or illustrate the Golden Ratio in a photograph today.

The fact that you can see my whole living room in that bulb was a nice surprise. I was concentrating on the Christmas tree bokeh.


In 36 days and I would have completed the second year of this project. I have accomplished the goal that I set out to do - Improve my photography. I feel pretty satisfied that I have accomplished that, there are several more goals that I still need to accomplish. Tonight I need to spend sometime brainstorming and putting pen to paper (away from the computer), to see what unravels.


Do you set yearly goals? Do you track your progress throughout the year?
The end of the calender year and the beginning of the new year always get me to writing things down. I do however constantly update my goals. Is there a specific time of year that you decide to revamp your goals?


Images Viewed: Another site that's well worth a look at: Visual Meanderings

D-332 Halo

I'm calling it quits early tonight. I'll catch up on blogs tomorrow.
. . .night zzzzzz

Halo





Images viewed: Sid Black's Flickr

D-328 Thankful part 2

There is so much to be greateful for. I'm Thankful for family and friends, health, art, love, technologies. books . . . the list can go on and on.
Just taking a few moments to appreciate it all.

#ds375 Make a photograph today that documents your family or conveys how you think of your family




bounced flash off of the ceiling



Images Viewed: Urban & City Photography: 70 Dramatic Examples These are well worth a look at.

D-274 Fading Beauty

Macro shot of the white rose that was rescued from my yard last week. The beauty in it is quickly fading


Off camera flash to the left of the flower bounced off of the ceiling.

Nikon D-300 User's Manual 169
Images Viewed: Whitebox blog
Still reading Photography Foundations for Design and Art

On a personal note: I had a portrait session cancel today and it was such a beautiful day I wanted to take advantage of that hour after work so I put on my running shoes and I ran 3 miles. 3 MILES! It's the first run I've done since my knee surgery in April. I'm not feeling any pain and it was such a powerful time. I was able to clear my mind and focus. I'm hoping to be able to keep up this activity that brings me so much joy.

D-228 Izzy's Senior Shoot

Typical of a photographers kids, Izzy, my youngest starts college next week but we are just now getting around to his senior shoot. He graduated Calumet High School May 2010. He finally made the time for ol'e mom. No cap and gown and no change of outfits. O.K. O.K. I guess I'll take what I can get.
THE DAILY SHOOT: Today's number is 5. Make a photo that illustrates the number in some way, either literally or abstractly.
5TH MONTH
This one was taken at his old high school. I really like this one.


I was going for a more urban look so we went to a small city right before dark and got some nice ones. This one even included the moon!


Read the Nikon D-700 Users Manual pages 128-131

Images viewed(revisted a couple of my favs): Martin Schembri
Brian Palmer

D 213-215 . . .and the beat goes on

We took off Friday to Illinois with the sole purpose of doing a Senior shoot for 2 young ladies.
I must say it was worth the trip. We had a great time and got some amazing images. They'll have great senior image for their open house.

I used a new technique learned on Ed Pierce's Photovision of shooting in sunlight using the speedlight on -1 1/3 EV, aperature mode. I think it really worked. Up until this point, flash has not been my friend.

Alexandria


Sarah


and one of my favorites of the day:


They are cousins and my daughter and niece. I cannot believe they are Seniors! Thanks girls we had a great time and captures some AMAZING images.

and finally . . .
#ds266 Challenge: Sympathy can be difficult to express in words. Make an image suitable for the cover of a condolence card
The Daily Shoot
and I almost forgot to add this one:

We've turned my craft room into an "office" for my photography business. This is the bench David & his father built. David and I upholstered the lid yesterday. It serves as a seat and storage space. Love the new color of my office.

D-173 Picture perfect

Sunday's Challenge at the Daily Shoot: Make a photograph with a photograph. Find a cherished print and compose it in a larger scene.

I did off camera flash again. Like Greygirl25 said yesterday, the learning curve is tough. I agree with her but I am determined to learn off camera flash. Flash shot through umbrella to camera right.

I added my favorite Christmas lights to the background and a slave with a blue gel on it, across the scene behind the picture.

Picture perfect

Picture perfect, originally uploaded by Sandra Marek.

this is just a small corner of this frame/image but I was trying to be creative.

Images viewed: Joe Buissink
The last day for sure. I just finished looking at his last portfolio folder.

Nikon D-300 pages 188-189

D-170 Beauty in the gutter

The daily challenge - #ds221 Make a photo of elements that are strikingly different from one another to add tension and interest to your composition.

I've found myself taking 2 sets of images for the daily shoot challenge lately. One is just a quick - anything that would satisfy the challenge, the other is more thought out and better executed. I forgot today was Theme Thursday at Tasra Mar This lady always inspires me and motivates me to do better, not just in photography but in other aspects of my life as well.
The reason I've taken on some of these challenges are best described by Tasra herself, "Theme Thursday is meant to challenge you to photograph something outside your comfort zone, something different, something new. You might never photograph the same thing again, but you can say you did it and at the end of the year, you’ve stretched your creative muscles in ways you might have known possible." That's why I've taken on some of the Daily Shootand Tasra's challenges.



Nikon D-300, 50mm, F/16, 1/60s, ISO 400, flash.
My reading corner:
Nikon D-300 User's Manual Pages 179-182
Wedding Photography Book read
Images viewed: Joe Buissink