Night time

I'm finding myself fascinated by night photography right now. The end result is completely different than what you see at the time, revealing a whole new world. This is another image from the La Jolla shoot.

Patience

Sometimes patience is what you need to get the right image. Take this one for example. It is a 10 minute exposure, during which I was checking my watch every 30 seconds or so and thinking "is it time yet!" I'm glad I waited. Ending the exposure early would have resulted in a dark image with little contrast.

This was shot durung what was the "biggest full moon of the year". I was out shooting that night, and did not take a single picture of the moon. I figure that everyone is going to have that shot (especially when it was low on the horizon, although the colors at sunset were incredible). Instead I decided to use it as the world's largest nighttime light source. I will be coming back to this theme (night shots) over and over.

The calendar moves on...

Here are the past few day's photos. I may be a little late in posting sometimes, but I will try to catch up. I'm trying to abide by the spirit of the assignment, which is to keep creating new images, rather than the letter of the assignment (365 posts).

Indecision

Sometimes it's hard to settle on one image. Take these two for example. They both appeal to me in certain ways, and not in others. I like the runner in the top one, and the sun in the bottom one. I also like the fact that the sign is not in the bottom one, but I couldn't get an angle where I could get the pine tree on the side without having it there. Good thing about this is that I don't have to choose. I can put both images out there for consideration.

Studio on a budget

I put the first image up to show how I shoot my "studio" shots. I don't have thousands of dollars for equipment, and I'm trying not to show it in my photography. It's more about vision and simplicity than about tons of gear. It can be a little challenging to get the vision out of my head and into the camera, and sometimes it changes mid-shoot, but that is the fun.

Weekend

Here are the photos from a rainy weekend. Enjoy.

Thank you to my newest follower, Kevin L. Glad to have you on board.

The reason I'm doing this...

The reason I'm doing my Photo a Day assignment, especially since I've been shooting for over 20 years now, is to explore and learn a bit. I'm not deluding myself by thinking that every image I create this year is going to be a groundbreaking masterpiece. Many times I'll be coming back to a particular idea in order to refine it (like I mentioned yesterday). That is the reason for the project. I want to be able to look back after a year, and see growth and development as an artist. Or at least not to see repetitiveness or stagnation.

I know that some images will instantly jump out as "winners", while some may undergo many changes during the year and still not quite live up to what I had envisioned. I'm just trying to make more winners than not.

Thanks to Yves Rossy for doubling my number of followers-I'm up to two!

Inspiration is all around

This photo, my official first Photo a Day, is proof that if I look hard enough I can find inspiration all around. I look at this fence every day, but when I really LOOK at it, I see it in different ways. It becomes more than just a fence. It becomes patterns and texture.

I promise to try and not get all "preachy" about my photography. Sometimes I take an image because it has special meaning to me (like the statue), sometimes because it strikes a chord in me, and sometimes I just wander around clicking away hoping to get lucky. Most of the time it's a little bit of all of those put together.

My Style

My style, as I've thought about it in the past, is found detail. I can and do create images "from scratch", but most often it is the detail I find around me that fascinates me the most. Seeing something different from everyone else is what I find exciting about photography. Creating my own point of view, and sharing that with everyone else, is what keeps me going as a photographer.

Walls

Walls. I look at them. A lot. The way light hits, and shadows are cast, can give an ordinary wall a character all it's own. I pretty much guarantee that I will be including plenty of wall images in my Photo a Day assignment. And maybe a window or two from time to time.

A big thanks to arete113 for being my first "follower". I hope my work merits your continued attention.

What catches my eye...

I never know what is going to catch my eye on a certain day. It might be an unusual spot on a leaf, or a particular way the clouds look after it rains. I've learned, however, it is usually worth the effort to stop and grab my camera and get the image.

Photo a day

I have a little assignment I've given myself for 2009. I hope to shoot and post one good image every day during 2009. I also am going to shoot food images (which is an interesting choice for someone who has lost almost 90 lbs. since January) so I figure that will play into my "assignment" as well. I am looking to be as different with the images as I can, to stretch my creative horizons. We'll see what it looks like by this time next year...