Day 20 - Baby Baby

Well I made it to Ohio (very rainy, foggy, yucky drive) and got to take some pictures of my little peanut!  Love his little feet kicking in the background!  Cute Baby Warning - he may be the subject of the next few days photos - well either him or his big sister!

Day 19 - Choo Choo

So I had to cheat today... I had a TON of things to do after work tonight to get ready to head out of town tomorrow night for the weekend that I just had no time to take some new photos (I'm going to visit my 2 week old baby Beckett!). But a good thing that I had some nice shots in reserve! This was taken a few Friday's ago in late afternoon. I liked the overall composition, especially how you can see the track off to the left of the photo. Promise to have some great new photos this weekend!

Day 18 - Scooby Rescue Hero

Today I received both of my new lenses - woo hoo!  I bought a Canon 77mm close-up lens 500D and a Canon 50mm f1.4 USM.  I tried them both out tonight - but its clear that I need MUCH more practice.  For one thing, I have no idea what to do with my left hand that is normally working my zoom when I'm using my 50mm fixed focus!  This photo is taken with my Canon 24-105mm zoom lens with the 77mm close-up lens attached.  I didn't have my tripod with me, so I was having trouble holding still enough.  This was the best of the bunch - but still kind of fun. Scooby Rescue Hero will save the day!

Day 17 - Little Big City

Another Monday night after wine class and more scrounging around the house for photo opportunities.  Tonight I was playing around with the reflections of some decorative metal buildings.  The light in the mirror gives some soft warmth to the picture and I really like the warm brown hues overall.  I bought 2 new lenses over the weekend that are supposed to be delivered tomorrow - so stay tuned this week for some experimentation!

Day 16 - Iron Shadows

Today I was attempting to play with some texture as well as shadows.  I definitely need a lot more work with lighting.  My neighbor lent me an external flash last week and I tried it with these shots, but it just blew out the background to almost white and lost all depth of the image.  After my failed flash attempt, I got out my tripod to ensure some sharp shots.  I have yet to do any editing on the photos I post, but I think this shot could really be enhanced in Photoshop.

Day 15 - Miller Time

Today I spent a LOT of time in the rain.  I ran in an 8k race in Madison and it rained the entire time - before, during and after.  My shoes were so wet I had to wring out my socks when I took the off.  Anyhow - no opportunities for pics in Madison as the rain did not allow me to pull out my camera.  So tonight I went to a surprise birthday party for a co-worker.  It was held at a VFW so this beer sign was speaking to me.

Day 14 - Purple Power

Last weekend while driving over to take some pics of a local bridge, I drove past a house where the yard (a corner lot) was completely covered in these purple flowers (although I'm pretty sure they are weeds).  It was quite a site and one that I wanted to get back to for some photos.  It was a beautiful day today (in the 80s!) so I drove over to the house this afternoon to get some pictures.  I ended up with a lot of really fun shots but really liked some of the tight zoom shots.

Day 13 - Spring?

Went for a run after work, and at dusk decided that it would be a good time to take some pictures (bad idea).  Not finding much to work with, I realized that my neighbors flowers were starting to bloom so a little trespassing was in order (I like my neighbors - they really wouldn't mind!).  I couldn't get enough light so I didn't end up with any real keepers, but this one had a little spunk.  I found it visually interesting how the bottom and right sides were in focus, but the two main flowers in the center were not.  We are supposed to have great weather this weekend, so I'm looking forward to some fun photo outings in the coming days.

Day 12 - The Fridge

Got home late tonight and tired enough to almost not get a picture.  I talked myself into it, but was not feeling overly creative - so we ended up in the fridge.  Ask your waitress about the daily specials.

Day 11 - Color Me Crazy

Raining and cold all day today left me scrounging around the house for an interesting subject matter.  Looking for something with a bit of color to combat the gray day brought me to a box of Crayola markers.  My tripod wasn't handy and in the light I had, I knew the pictures were not going to be sharp, so I just kept snapping and hoped for some interesting shots.  The light reflection off the table really added an interesting dimension to the photo and the blur gives it an abstract sense.

Day 10 - Shoes!

Double digit days and still going strong!  So I've realized that Monday's are difficult because I have class (OK wine class) after work - and coming home and taking pictures after a few tastings can be a bit challenging.  Tonight I decided to work with one of my favorite subjects - shoes!  This is a fantastic and unique pair that I found in San Francisco about two years ago while on vacation.  They are carved out of wood and make me VERY tall - I love them!  As for the picture, I love the detail in the wood grain, as well as some of the refection off the floor.

Day 9 - Guinness

Today I made some Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Guinness Buttercream Frosting (feel free to contact me for the recipe!).  This recipe makes about 4 dozen cupcakes, so my subject was the finished product!  I ended up with a lot of fun shots, but really liked how this one showed many cupcakes with only one in focus.  And for the record - they taste as good as they look!

Day 8 - The Bridge

Woo hoo - I made it a week with on time postings!  It's kind of funny now - I will see something interesting to take a picture of while I'm out shooting something else and I stop myself because I might want to use that subject for a different day!  So today's image is from a series of shots that I did of a bridge in Wauwatosa.  I had a lot of very nice, but boring, straight on shots of the bridge with an archway on each end - but ultimately, I really liked the focus on the wooden railing in the foreground.  I especially love how the green in the wood really shows in this photo.  Although this could be mistaken for a fall shot - it was indeed taken today when it was a 65 degree spring day!

So far none of my shots have been edited - but stay tuned as I start diving into Photoshop more!

Day 7 - Snafu

Ahhh Friday has finally arrived, and a beautiful one at that.  Tonight I met my dear friends Todd and Mark at Indulge - a wine bar in Milwaukee - YUM!  Fantastic atmosphere, great wine list, and wonderful food (we had a cheese flight and a chocolate flight in addition to many wine fights!).  Fortunately or unfortunately, I took a lot of pictures tonight - many of which were contenders for my picture of the day.  But since I can only choose one, I have some great ones left over.  So if I ever need a picture to "cheat" this year - when I was not able get out and shoot on that particular day - I may just use some of these - but I promise I'll fess up!

Day 6 - Put a Cork In It

Day 6 brought a beautiful spring day here in Wauwatosa.  While out for a run tonight, I spotted a great stone bridge that will surely be the subject of a future post.  Meanwhile, I needed a subject for today's post.  It was getting late when I finally had a moment to take my photos so I was limited to things around the house.  I settled on using one of my vases of wine corks - and am pleased with the shots.  I particularly like the reflection of the corks along the edge of the vase.

Day 5 - Zoom Zoom

So I've been wanting to play with the second curtain sync function on my camera - which is supposed to be able to capture the fun look of the trailing car tail lights at night.  Well my timing was all off - or I was just doing it wrong - so I added in my own "feature" of zooming while the shutter was open AND second curtain sync was enabled.  A fun technique to play with - not the most eye-catching photo.

Day 4 - Hut...Hut...Hike

My goal for Day 4 started out trying to capture a mid-air jump, but the lighting outside combined with a subject that was only interested in jumping about 4 times quickly changed my direction!  Instead I ended up with a series of fun "mid-action" running and playing shots. I narrowed them down to about 4 favorites and this one won.  If you look closely you can see 2 feet, 2 hands (with gardening gloves) and a football!

Day 3 - Pencils and Brushes

Day 3 brings lack of creativity on subject matter (hence my jar-o-make-up utensils), but it did demand that I pull out my tripod due to low lighting on a stool in my bedroom...errrr - studio!  Colors are a bit on the warm side (photo is unedited) and I was having trouble getting a zoom that I liked that would remain in focus.  Perhaps a new lens is in order!! :-)  I promise to be more creative tomorrow!

Day 2 - Bunnydew

Well day 2 (and Easter Sunday) and I spent a good portion of it in the car (traveling to/from various family events).  Dinner at my aunt and uncles' brought me this subject matter - a honeydew melon carved into a bunny and 'stuffed' with fruit salad.

Photo is unedited but could use some lightening, the melon seems a bit flat. Overall, fun pic for Easter - thanks Laurie for your creative carving skills!

My Equipment

In case anyone is interested, I thought I give a brief overview of the equipment I am currently using. I love my camera, but one thing is for sure - there is always something new on my "photography wish list"!

• Canon EOS 40D SLR
• Canon Zoom Lens EF 24-105mm 1:4 L IS USM
• MacBook w/ Adobe Photoshop CS4 & Adobe Lightroom 2
• Kodak point and shoot (no guarantees that some of my photos over the next year won't be from this camera!)

I will try and note some of the specifics about my posted shots. Not all of them will be edited, but I'm also working on my Photoshop skills - so hopefully many will!

Day 1 - Just Leaf It Be

So here we are on Day 1 - the pressure has been on all day!  I'm up in Northern Wisconsin surrounded by the Nicollet National Forest so surely there will be some photographic opportunities.  After about 500 shots, I narrowed it down to a few (picking just one can really be hard!).  The winner is from a series of shots I took of some leaves that managed to make it through the winter in tact on the tree.  They were such a unique pale color amidst all the brown of early spring.  I loved the way the light and shadows give the fragile leaves some structure.

Well, one day in and I'm even more excited about this project!

**And for any of you who enjoy wine ~ check out my Project 52 (from the links section).

On Your Mark... Get Set.... Shoot!

On Saturday, April 11, 2009 I will begin my Project 365 - to take and post a photo every day for the next year! Joining me on this journey is my best friend of 25 years Amy (follow her 365 project from my links section). I am looking forward to a fun yet challenging experience and hope to become a better photographer along the way! Check back often to follow my progress... here we go!