Project 365 - Week 7 "Noir"

Here we at the end of week 7. I really enjoyed this weeks set of noir photos since I've always found the style intriguing. Anyways, I went the route of not only shooting the visual style but even pushing the film noir feel common to some of cinema's older pieces. It was fun, but also led to some late nights. I did learn a lot on a technical level. I learned to use my MacGyver barn doors (two cut matte boards) on my flash which really helped in controlling the light. To further achieve the heavy contrast and shadows I really pushed the use of dodging and burning as well as curves in Photoshop.

Well, I hope that you all enjoy. I have to give thanks again to my wife for not only being a model but also helping with some of the not so easy shots.

If you would like to see a theme or subject for a week, please leave a comment and I will gladly do what I can to make your ideas into a week theme.

Day 43 - The Case

Day 44 - Le Femme Fatale

Day 45 - Secluded Meeting

Day 46 - The Stake Out

Day 47 - Late Night's Work

Day 48 - The Interrogation

Day 49 - Gateway's Veil

Project 365 - Week 6 "Self Portrait"

Hey everyone. Its that time again. This week in 365, my series spawned from a single photo. The first shot taken was an idea that I had swimming around in my head and almost immediately after taking it the thought occurred to me for this weeks set. The idea was to do a week long self portrait of things that I enjoy doing. Every shot has an element of myself in it along with an activity that I enjoy doing: exercising, reading, drawing, gaming, growing and caring for plants, listening to music and of course, photography.

I have to say that from a technical standpoint, this series was tough. This is do in large part to the fact that without a remote shutter release, self portraits involve a lot of jumping from camera to scene and staging myself in less than 10 seconds then checking the photo and repeating said process. Thus, I have on my list of things to get, a new shutter release cable.

I hope that everyone enjoys this weeks additions. I'm excited to move onto the next weeks photos, we'll see what they hold.

Day 36 - Apollo Creed

Day 37 - Reading Rainbow

Day 38 - Figure Drawing 101

Day 39 - Wii Zap Ya

Day 40 - Cradle the Baby

Day 41 - Soundwaves

Day 42 - Through the Looking Glass

Tonto Bridge and Pinetop

Well, this is the first non 365 post in quite a while. I'm glad for the change and am really happy with what I have. A couple of weekends ago, we made a trip to Pinetop to spend a few days with some friends. The trip itself was spectacular. Being my first time to Pinetop, I was amazed at the beauty of the area.

On the way we made a stop at Tonto Natural Bridge. My wife and I can never pass up the opportunity to visit the area and soak up the sheer awesomeness of the natural formation. It's actually fun revisiting the same spot for a third time now. It never ceases to amaze, but also provides some growth for me in my photography. Having gotten some shots before, I wanted to try for a few new things. I'm extremely happy with what I got and am actually proud of the growth that I can see in my work from the last couple of visits.

After finishing at Tonto, we finally made the rest of our journey to Pinetop. I loved the entire area for the ease that it took to find yourself away from civilization. Just a quick 10 minute walk from the front door places you in the woods separated from any of the daily sights and sounds we grow accustomed to. One such walk found me roaming around the small pond below. We even ventured on a couple of Elk drives in which we were able to come across a family of elk, a deer, and even some wild turkeys. Needless to say, I was in heaven. I have to thank Pete and Marina for letting us stay with them and putting up with my desire to find some elk (sneaky little punks).

A small interesting side note, was our find on the drive home. We came back on Route 60, through Globe. Our primary intention was to drive the Salt River Canyon, but our find of Seneca Lake was very unexpected. Barely noticing it going 60 mph, we were able to pull off and eat lunch in this abandoned camp. I was ecstatic at the chance to photograph some derelict buildings and even try out my hand at some infrared shots. The shot below I felt was not only the best, but also conveyed the feel of the whole area.

I hope everyone enjoys the photos. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them or email and I'd love to answer them.

Project 365 - Week 5

One month plus five. I'm excited to say that I'm a month in and still photographing. The achievement was hard fought too. I had a struggle with some of the photos this week. It can definitely be a test to work in time crunches, often limited to shooting indoors due to lack of any sunlight. But here we are at the end of the week with seven new photos to present. I had no real theme this week, but I did lean towards architecture given the days that I could shoot with some natural sunlight. With this milestone done and passed, its time to move forward and push my creativity a bit more.

Day 29 - Sideways

Day 30 - Startower

Day 31 - Westside Indians

Day 32 - Blue Whisp

Day 33 - Conehead

Day 34 - Behind the Lens

Day 35 - Pillars of the Earth

Project 365 - Week 4 "Legos"

Its that time again. This weeks photos are all done. The first two shots are from my trip to Pinetop, AZ. We didn't get back until Monday night so I took the time to take some photos while in Pinetop and on the way home along Route 60.

The remainder of the shots were taken of some of my old Lego sets that I had in my apartment from last weeks theme. I was wanting to play around with them and create scenes using some of the sets. What can I say, I'm a big kid that still likes to play with toys.

Day 22 - Glass Pearls

Day 23 - Rear Window

Day 24 - Rebel Scum

Day 25 - Reach for the Sky

Day 26 - Begin Your Attack Run Now

Day 27 - Remember the Legoredo

Day 28 - Exciting is Hardly the Word I Would Choose