Night Drive

There's a formula in my head...
driving, dark, lights and blurring lines mixed with inertia and speed. The experiment will continue.

Liftoff

We took the snowshoes out for a run now that there's finally snow. 


As we scampered about we strolled across some snowboarders laying down a jump. This shot was nearly as wide as I wanted, but I like it! Even close, it captures good movement, tells a story, shows the jump.

Soft Winter

The look of winter finally arrives...
...Snow on the Wasatch, cold air warmed by sunlight. If you duck into the shade all that warmth just snaps out of you.


Something about that winter air magnifies the beauty of what's around you.


How?

Make - SONY
Model - NEX-5N
ExposureTime - 1/800 seconds
ExposureProgram - Shutter priority
ISOSpeedRatings - 100
MaxApertureValue - F 5.60
FocalLength - 55.00 mm
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal

Suffering

26 Jan., 2012 - 


Suffering. I saw a great program on the #Buddha, very inspiring.

Olympus

25 Jan. 2012 - Olympus. 


This is Mt. Olympus, it towers above me all day, visible from windows around my office. Due to its size, position, the sun does not rise above it during the winter until almost 10 AM. This morning I caught clouds, shadows and the rising sun. 


How?


Sony NEX-5N, Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4.
1/250 
f/5
Tiffen graduated ND filter 0.6

Icedrop

Braving the constant drip of ice water on my shoulder... 

I fitted a #Minolta #Maxxum #35-70mm 1:4 #macro#zoom onto my #sony #nex and worked on capturing water dripping from ice...I like this one. 


How?
Raise the tripod, high, focus on a waterdrop (not an easy task), crank the shutter speed to 1/4000 and go into continuous shooting mode.


I took almost 400 photos in 5 minutes.
And I got wet...not in any good way either!

Oni and Rope

23 Jan. 2012 Oni and rope. 


Jules was setting up her magnificent 366 project shot. I walked into the room and Oni was playing with a bundle of purple hemp rope. I thought "cute!", so I went downstairs, grabbed my camera and prepared to catch her in the act.


As usual for a cat, she did not cooperate. Jules was far more interesting than the rope.


I have to applaud Oni on her taste. I like to watch her too.

Playin' In The Rain

Jan. 21st, 2012 - 
Playing in the rain. We finally got some damn weather here behind the #Zion #Curtain (It's actually snowing now). The camera and I got a bit wet taking this, but I love the way it turned out. 


How?
Shutter speed 1/4000, f/16, using my Sony NEX-5N and the faithful old Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4.


I cropped the picture in a bit to focus on the center with the rain drops.

Atomics

This is not the picture I intended to take...
Something else was destined, then I saw the explosion...


How?
We have this humidifier downstairs, running. I was a bit close to pull the picture into focus, but that was okay. Plumes of vapor rose from the device. I snapped the picture not expecting anything, but the light beams played through the mist.


I started to work, pulling details from the image; it didn't take long for the whole thing to go "apocalyptic".

Winter Tracks

I like this one because of the mountains...
We finally got into the night, storm clouds hanging low, threatening snow. Train tracks seemed like a good idea and the lines fit into the theme of another project.


How?
I used the faithful Sony NEX-5N with my favorite lens (a Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4) attached. Stick it on a tripod, que up the remote and a 30 second time exposure.


Seems like it worked (although I did bake the lights a bit with some color contrasting...I wanted the bokeh to pop a bit more.)

Maneki Neko in Blue

Blue means Health!


The legendary Blue Maneki Neko is a rare creature, even if its native habitat, where it hunts small unfortunate creatures of lesser appeal and skill.


How?
Blue LED spotlight on clear, bluish tinged MN. 
And a lot of chum...one must always chum Maneki Neko!

Goddamn log on fire!

Log on Fire 

It was captivating...that log, on fire. Its flames licking across its rough surface; consuming it, devouring...eating it. Yeah...fire. On a log. 

How?

I took a picture of a log!


<click!>


Ta-da!
Log on fire!

Snowy Blue

Jan. 16th, 2012 - Snowy Blue. 


Today was the first real day of decent snow we've had all winter. I saw the sun shining, snow falling and rushed outside. 


How?
I decided to shoot this with the "Tilt" function active -- it created a dreamy, almost surreal image. 


The white flecks you see aren't spots on my lens...they're snow, captured mid-flight.


Shot with my #Sony #NEX-5N and #58mm #Minolta #Rokkor f/1.4

Hi!

Jan. 15th, 2012 - "Hi" 

Tonight was busy...some production work, fixing dinner, publish and then do a pic for Creative. I was seriously at a loss tonight. But, it turned out! 

How?
I used my trusty #Sony #NEX-5N and a #50mm #Oreston lens and a 30 second time-exposure plus a blue laser pointer.

Maneki Neko Photo Bomb

I wanted to take a picture of my new Singing Bowl...


I composed, moved the tripod, adjusted the bowl, did everything the way I wanted. Just as a I snapped the picture, JUST as the Maneki Neko (good luck cat) lept into the picture.


Photo bombed!


How?


I don't know! It just lept into the picture!!

Nova

I took a picture of this lamp, see?


It really started out as the picture of a lamp, a bokeh picture of a lamp. After staring at it for a while, thinking "I like NOT this bokeh!" I decided to turn it into an explosion...of stellar proportions.


Yesssssssssss....


How?


Damn! That's a lot of writing. (Hmmm....)


Ah! 


I used Photoshop!

Lemons

What was that saying about life and lemons?


Whatever it was the whole thing was a damn lie! If life gives you lemons then you're probably fucked. 


Try to sell them...you could at least buy a Big Mac!


How?


High ISO, very high shutter speed (the NEX-5N cranks up to 1/4000...so I used that) and a lot of light. 


If you can't tell, there was only 1 lemon used. So I guess I should say I used a lot of layers too (with a bit of cross processing to make it look a bit more colorful).

The Ghost Tree

This tree eats Missionaries.


It's a vile tree...unless you don't care for missionaries, then it's a good tree! It also has a taste for BYU students and staff.


That's why I took a picture of it.
Unfortunately, I did not manage to catch it feeding.


How?


I don't know...I suppose it grabs them with its branches and, um, digests them...through the process of, um, photosynthesis...yeah. That's it.

Equipment

Sometimes...


...the less said, the better.


How?


Trial and error. I made a DIY snoot for one of my fluorescent lights; it shrunk and broke the bulb (thinking through cold meds...bad!)

Circled

With a mind full of mud...


...I set out to take a picture of my childhood.


.the end.

Water Colors

I was sitting in the car, in a parking lot...


...still feeling like crap. The sun was beginning to fall towards the horizon; I held my water bottle to the "not quite" golden light and an idea emerged.


I held my phone to the water bottle and shook it.


How?


I use #Vignette for #Android on my HTC Incredible2. The nature of a camera phone's CMOS sensor allows you to create unique images by utilizing the "wobble effect" (look it up!)


Use the "normal" filter in Vignette and voila!

Damien

One day my mom came home and asked me if I wanted a kitten...


...They had been born in a tree and my mom climbed up, got them down and took them into the kitchen and brought me over a few weeks later. 


I set a bowl of food down, watched the kittens gather around and scramble for a place at the bowl. They were cute. They were adorable. They were scattered like little mewling bowling pins when one of their siblings plowed into them, stood in the food bowl, made himself look big and hissed.


"I want THAT one!" I said.


A few years later he was run over by a truck. In the time I had him, he'd learned to open doors, say my name and do things I'd never seen a cat do. If he'd lived a full, long life I think he'd by my boss by now.


This is a statue a girlfriend gave me after he died.


How?


This was shot with my #Sony #NEX-5N using a #55mm #Rokkor #lens. Static lighting was used in front and behind a white muslin background.

Paper and Fire

I often burn myself when there's fire involved...


Tomorrow. I promise I'll go to the doctor tomorrow. Until then you get to put up with my stunted creativity! 


How?


I lit a piece of paper on fire after scribbling on it with a Sharpie!


Thoughts?

Blue

Still stuck under a cloud of gray and haze...


Creativity is tough when you're swimming through Jell-O. The head falters, the normal flow of ideas runs sluggish. Even when it all seems flat some uncertain vein yeilds inspiration.


How?

This was shot with my #Sony #NEX-5N using a #58mm #Minolta #Rokkor lens. This light overwhelmed the camera even with the aperture closed down and the ISO set to 100.

Color Theory

...so I'm sitting at my desk...


...when this idea springs. 


"Hey! You! Yes, you, the sick guy sitting at your desk eating a salad. Why don't you slap the fisheye on your camera and take of monochrome picture of your color theory poster!"


It must have been the cold medicine.


How?


This was shot with my #Sony #NEX-5N using an #8mm #Rokinon #fisheye lens. #Creative366Project+Creative 366 Project. I switched the camera to monochrome and did some additional tweaking in Capture One and Photoshop.

A Cup, a horse and a mask walk into a bar...

A Cup, a horse and a mask walk into a bar...


Yeah, still sick. Sorry folks, you're stuck with "shit around my house" shots (and bad puns).


I just liked the elements, colors, different depths of objects and they're all reflecting natural light from a south-facing window at about 3pm. 


How?


Another "mild HDR" shot. Jules and I are slowly working through some Trey Ratcliff tutorials, so I'm playing around without overcooking the shot. 


Again, 3 photos in a bracket of +/- 3. All are a 1/4 second time exposure at f/5 through a Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 lens on my Sony NEX-5N. I processed the three photos through Photomatix Pro and tweaked in Photoshop.


True, there was no real need to do this as a time exposure or HDR...but the whole purpose of this 366 Project is to experiment and learn.


Thoughts?

This is a Dark Ride

This is a Dark Ride


So, it's New Year's Eve, 2011. A nasty head cold has me, forcing a cancellation of plans and the liberal application of medicines.


At some point this photo popped into my head. I waited until the new year rolled in and took the shot.


How?

This is roughly a 4 second time exposure, 3 shots, bracketed +/- 3 stops. I used Photomatix Pro to merge the HDR and tweaked in Photoshop.


Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments?