Week 4: January 27

Back to some color! The theme of "gentle repetition" has been on my mind this week. I do quite a bit with repetition but this week the repetition of dewy grass in the late afternoon sun is what inspired me. Ever since starting my Project 365 over a year ago I have become acutely aware of what lighting creates my favorite images and now when I notice the light outside is "just right" I grab my camera and shoot! On this particular day I really wanted to test out my new (to me) 85mm so I whipped it out. Probably not the best lens for this shot but the bokeh is definitely pretty.

Week 3: January 20

What's this? Two black and white photos in a row? Since I'm participating in three different Project 52 groups (can't pick just one!) I have three themes to pick from. This week's themes were geometry, abandoned, and shades of gray. I kind of like the idea of abandoned, but I was inspired by the metal coffee dispenser at Indoor Play Park of all things. You just never know where inspiration will hit you! This photo is actually really awesome in color, it's reflecting the rainbow of colors from the toys etc. but sticking with the shades of gray theme I converted it to black and white.

If this doesn't float your boat I did post a collage of super cute photos of my kids on my personal blog yesterday which you can see HERE. Not that I'm biased by the cuteness or anything.

Week 2: January 13

This week I was working with the themes of Cold and Together. When I saw that there was snow in the forecast this week I was pretty excited! As soon as I saw the flakes coming down Tuesday afternoon I grabbed a black shirt from my closet and ran outside with my camera to play with my "ghetto macro" technique and get some macro shots of some snowflakes. Unfortunately our snow was more of icy rain and I couldn't seem to catch any intact snowflakes, but the resulting images are pretty interesting anyways. They remind me of diamonds!

And just because I feel like sharing some more...

Week 1: January 8

I know I'm a bit behind in starting my project 52, but I kind of wanted to finish my Project 365 from 2010 first! I'm participating in a couple 52 week groups so I may borrow one of their themes every now and again for inspiration. This week's theme is "new beginnings" and I thought that this weekend's maternity session with my good friend (and fellow photographer!) was super fitting.

2010 Project 365: A Reflection

I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for completing this project. It wasn't always easy and I oftentimes would be headed to bed when I'd remember I hadn't taken a photo yet. Turns out that creativity can be hard to come by when all I really want to do is go to bed! The best part about this project was how it improved my photography. Practicing every day really has its benefits! Not only did I improve on the technical aspects I also had the chance to explore composition and all the basic design principles I've had pounded into my head in my zillions of art classes I've taken in my lifetime. I think I've gotten better at post processing my photos and I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now.

Through this exercise it became pretty apparent to me that I really enjoy photographing details and LOVE capturing sunshine. If only I lived somewhere the sun shines more then three months a year!

I thought it'd be fun to take a look back at some of my favorite photos over the year. I'll try and post my favorite for each month. Which ones are your favorites? I'd love to know!

The shoes. This is still my wallpaper on my big beautiful monitor. I love the perspective and how you can tell our personalities just from this view. My pink girly girl in the middle, my rough and tumble boy with patches on his jeans, and my no nonsense and goes with everything brown converse.

I love how the focus is on the piece of sidewalk chalk and not on Ethan. It tells the story.

Ah the pears. They just make me happy. I think it's the green, or the jaunty way the middle pear is leaning. All I know is that I love it!

Isn't it interesting how it can rain AND by sunny at the same time? Quite the phenomena. I'm glad I got suitably soaked for this shot!

Oh the drama! The moody black and white, the songstress, and piano. So different from my usual repertoire but it was oh so fun!

I can't explain what it is about this photo of Grace that I love so much. It could be the cookie crumbs, or the typical Gracie expression. I suspect a combination of the two and the abundance of sunlight makes me keep wanting to stare at it!

This photo totally reminds me of summer when my kids bring me vast amount of wild daisies while I lounge in the shade and yell at them to stay away from the poison oak. I think I miss summer!

I adore this photo of Grace. I have a zillion photos of Ethan that I love because he's easy to photograph and smiles easily for the camera. Getting Grace to smile for the camera takes a lot of effort so getting a candid like this one in our backyard totally makes me ecstatic! This is the last photo I took of her before her eye surgery so it stirs up a lot of emotion. In fact just writing this is making me tear up!

Man September was a tough call. I chose this one as my favorite because I adore the colors. The ones of my husband and his cousins after Opa's funeral is a very close second.

October isn't any easier to pick from! I guess fall is my sweet spot. I love the bright colors in this one as well and the detail I was able to get on the spider web. Do you know how hard it is to focus on one of these things? Pretty dang difficult! Also loved Ethan as a hamburger and my favorite from his 3 year old portrait session.

This one may be my favorite from the entire year. In fact it's been printed on a 16x24 canvas and is hanging in my living room because I love it so much! I'm pretty sure most moms would understand my love for a photo of my children wearing clean matching clothes, looking at the camera at the same time, showing physical affection, and to top it all off are smiling. Yes I'm in love with this photo because I love my kids! The colors and beautiful sunlight are pretty nice too :) And while pretty purple flowers don't compare to my love of my children, this photo speaks to me too.

The photo from Christmas Eve is my favorite from December. Everything about it is beautiful to me. The fantastic colors, the tree light bokeh, the sparkly glasses. It's all good.

As for the question of what I'm going to do now you'll be happy to know that I'm not giving up the idea of a year long project entirely. I'm too burnt out to do another Project 365, so instead I'm going to give a Project 52 a try this year. I figure one photo a week should be no big deal after a photo a day all year last year! I'll probably continue to use this blog for sake of continuity. Look for the first week's photo soon!

January 7: Day 365

I did it! I produced a photo every day of the year for 2010 and I have to say I feel pretty proud of myself. I wanted a grand finale for the project and I thought that ending with a self portrait (the same way I began) would be a fitting ending. So without further ado, the last photo of the 2010 Project 365:

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 160 mm
ISO: 100
Flash: Off Camera, Softbox

I think I've come a long ways...here's my self portrait from Day 1 for comparison:

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/50 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 40mm
ISO: 400
Flash: Off

January 6: Day 264

In an effort to avoid the late night desperate search for a suitable photographable subject I hauled myself out to brave the mucky backyard with my camera. Despite my willingness to get my shoes muddy I struck out finding something interesting to photograph. The dead of winter doesn't exactly inspire me as much as the glorious sunlight of late afternoons in the summer and fall. Still, there was some sunlight so I wandered over to the neighbor's yard and borrowed their hummingbird feeder. The pretty green glass was just what I needed for a dose of sunlight in my photography. I miss the sun!

I can't believe tomorrow is my last day of this project, the end is near!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/800 sec
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 100
Flash: Off

January 5: Day 363

It occurred to me this morning that I have yet to share a photo taken with my super neglected kit lens (18-55mm that comes with all Rebels) other then my ghetto macro shots. I thought it might be a fun challenge to myself to use it instead of my trusty Tamron or nifty fifty. Naturally, I didn't get around to my photo until this evening and I was too lazy to hunt down my external flash so I fished out my super deluxe $.49 white poster board and shot this in my bathroom. Pretty much anybody could set this shot up! Since I'm missing my sweetie I chose his shaving brush as my subject. Plus I like the contrasting textures and creamy colors. So now I can say I've used all my lenses in my arsenal (the way they are intended to be used!) for this year long project.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

January 4: Day 362

The cat we love to hate, Dexter. He was loving up on me while I was laying in bed trying to get his photo on the window ledge. I need more then three inches between me and my subject!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

January 3: Day 361

6I know, not the most interesting photo but it's almost the end and I had a LONG day of getting stuff done after being gone for 2 weeks. I deserve a break. This is an agate from the beach on our bathroom counter. I like tone on tone.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

January 2: Day 360

The best part about coming home after a long Christmas break? Reading all our Christmas cards!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

January 1, Day 359

9I got a new roll of seamless paper for Christmas and I wanted to show my inlaws my nifty new traveling studio setup so I did some photos of them and some of Lucy, their new puppy. This one is my favorite, love the lick!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 45 mm
ISO: 160
Flash: Off Camera, Softbox