Snapping Daily: color

Showing posts with label color. Show all posts

I'm going to have to change the name of this blog. Coming up with a new photo daily has been a challenge and I think I've learned some valuable lessons from it. However, I think my daily posts are coming to a close. I'm thinking about transitioning to a weekly post consisting of a cohesive series of photographs. For example, one week I might work on self portraits, and another week I might shoot some still life in the studio. Once I finish the scavenger hunt, that will be the plan.

Lights at Night

11/09/09 #21

I always feel most creative when the sun goes down. I usually get the urge to start a new painting, write in my journal or rearrange my room after dark. I don't know why it never clicked with me earlier to employ the moon as my photography muse as well. I have discovered that there is something magical about night photography. It requires patience and experimentation. Its about letting the camera show you something you can't see. Its quiet, solitary and free. This is definitely a great realization that this blog has led me.

#22 & #26

11/05/09 #22 & #26

It was a full moon and a balmy 44 degrees out last night so I decided to tackle some more night photography. I really need to wear cuter clothes when I go out shooting because I always seem to end up in the frame.

Nothing much else to say about this snap so I'll share with you my digital archiving strategy. Storing all my photographs on my computer is tricky and I still don't have a perfect system down. But I have come up with a pretty good system for the photographs I take for this blog. I decided to implement a consistent way of naming all the photographs and organizing them chronologically. The photograph above is named 05Nov09_01.jpg. For the 5th of November, 2009, image 1 (I decided to name them for the blog posting date, since sometimes the snapping date is different.) All numbers lower than 10 get a 0 placeholder: instead of 5, its 05. I use an underscore instead of a space because when uploading photographs to the internet, the space can get lost in translation and result in an incomplete upload.

Now I just need to figure out a way to organize my snapshots, travel pictures, artsy photos, and portfolio documentation. Doesn't seem that hard, but when you have artsy photos from your trip to Greece, it gets a little complicated because it seems redundant to have them in two folders.

Scavenger Hunt

11/4/09 #7 An Interesting Doorway

Bow Wow

11/2/09 Jalopy Dog

When I rounded the corner to go upstairs to my apartment after class, I was greeted with this scene. I immediately reached into my purse and grabbed my trusty Panasonic to snap a couple frames.

Links:
Brodie
SuperFetch

Bundle Up

10/28/09 Nighttime Tree

10/28/09 Green Light

10/28/09 Red Light

It was fffffreeezing out, but I had a lot of fun experimenting with some night photography. I think the damp streets from the snowfall today had a nice effect.

Here's what I did. I hooked my camera up to the tripod and I set my Canon to "manual". I set the aperture at F29 (the lowest setting on my camera, curtains almost closed [see below]), and the shutter speed to "Bulb." The longest I held the shutter open was for 10 seconds and the shortest was about 4 or 5 seconds. I basically looked at the first frame I shot and adjusted accordingly.

Aperture: basically the curtains of the camera. This setting dictates how much light will be let in. F4.5 means the curtains are wide open. F29 means the curtains are shut to a sliver. The small number means lots of light, the big number means not much light. That is confusing to me so I always think of the number representing the curtains themselves. F4.5 means only 4.5 square feet of curtain is showing and accordingly, F29, 29 square feet of curtains showing.

Shutter speed: This setting dictates how long the curtains remain open. "Bulb" means the aperture is open as long as I have my finger pushing down on the shutter. Some common shutter speeds include 1/125, 1/1000, 1/10. These are fractions of a second. 1/10 is a slower shutter speed, 1/1000 is a faster shutter speed. More logical.

This was so fun, I'm excited about exploring night photography further. I only wish I decided to do so in the summer!

Catty-corner

Sorry about the lack-luster and less-than-daily posts lately. I've been distracted by school and feeling a bit un-motivated and un-inspired on the photography front. Its all part of the learning process. With a little more thought and planning, I think I'll be back in business. With the sun setting earlier each night, I definitely want to investigate nighttime photography further. Take out the Canon and tripod, find some interesting light situations and snap away. I also want to take advantage of the lighting studio on campus and do some interesting still life shots.

10/27/09 State & Main

In the mean time, a quick snap from my point-and-shoot. Catty-corner from my apartment, Narrow Gauge News Stand.

Links:
Not Caddy-Corner
Night Photography Tips

Squirrel Away

10/26/09 Tree House Squirrel

I go to campus at least twice a day for class and/or work. My goal has been to walk, instead of drive, for one of these trips. I figure, I only live 1 mile away and if this was Manhattan I would definitely be walking it every time. I actually don't mind the daily walk. I like a little fresh air and sunshine, even if its chilly out. By the end of the week I've walked 10 miles without a second thought and I might stumble across a photo opportunity or two.

This little guy was hiding in what looks to have been a tree house in better days. Its not the artsiest or most interesting shot, and some photographers might cringe at the thought of a photograph being described as "cute." I'm not one of those photographers. I can appreciate a good 'ol cute squirrel picture as much as a high art print.

(unrelated) Links:
Suzy Poling
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

Takeoff II

10/25/09 Cruising Altitude

Another aviation-related post today. I love traveling and flying has always been something I've enjoyed. My first time flying I was 13, by myself and on my way to Seattle to visit family. That was back in the day when your whole family could escort you to the gate and they served food during the flight. I remember thinking it was so cool to be looking down at the clouds. I have done a great deal of flying in the last two years. I've flown to Europe, back and forth from Rhode Island several times, from Omaha and to Vegas. I don't just enjoy the flying but also the process, and all the interesting characters encountered on the way.

Links:
Jeffrey Milstein
Window Seat

First Snow

10/21/09 Snowy Picnic

A nice ethereal dusting of snow seems to always produce good photos. It enhances shape, texture and contrast, but only when its light enough. Huge blankets and large drifts of snow just bury it all.

Links:
50 Winter Photographs
Hermes Sarapuu

Gaaaatorade...

Colored Glass 2008

I haven't taken any new photos in the last 5 days, but here are a few from last year. I needed to take some photos last minute for a project. I was milling around in my kitchen and saw the all the different colors of Gatorade I bought on sale that week. I rigged a backdrop using the white backside of some gray mat board I had lying around and just went to town using all the different colors of Gatorade with different glassware in our kitchen.

Links:
H2O!
Dale Chihuly

Cameras Gone Wild

One of my biggest pet peeves in photography is the unnecessary use of flash. I use the flash on my camera maybe 10% of the time and really only in snapshot situations. I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies this afternoon, and decided to snap a couple shots as they were cooling on a tea towel. I decided to try out the "flower" setting on my camera, since I wanted a nice close-up. After the first shot, I remembered why I never use the flower setting, I can't disable the flash. I changed the setting back to its usual "no flash" and got the photograph I wanted.

Flash 10/13/09

No Flash 10/13/09

The first photograph is fine, we can tell its a cookie. But then compare it to the second photograph and you can see how the flash from my camera flattened the image and got rid of the detail. The soft, natural light coming through my kitchen windows enhanced the texture of the cookies and the towel.

Photography is, at its core, capturing light. That is why I think lighting is the number one thing that can make or break your photograph. In beginning photography class, we had an assignment called "light." The task was to take common objects and make them aesthetically pleasing through the use of light and that project produced some of the most beautiful photographs of the semester. Do a little experimenting, pretend you're in a museum or at a play and turn that flash off. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Links:
Strobist
Kodak's New Sensor May Eliminate Flash

Its a toss-up.

So I definitely enjoy shooting on my roof, if you haven't noticed by now.

Today I wanted to take advantage of the weather, my roof and the setting sun. So I took the 'ol Canon out for some fun! I set my shooting mode to Sport, the self-timer to shoot 10 frames in sequence and started tossing. All together I took about 300 frames or 30 sets of 10 exposures, another reason to love digital. I tossed the camera about 3 times with each round. It was so much fun, I could have shot another 300 frames but my battery said, "No."

I then loaded all the photos onto my Mac and went through, deleting a good 80%. I got a little motion sick going through all the frames so quickly during the initial edit. I then edited down even further. I didn't flip or turn any of the pictures. I left the orientation up to the camera.

Here are some of my favorites:

I absolutely LOVE the one with my shadow on the AC unit and the wall. I couldn't have planned that one if I wanted to. This is such a fun exercise. You have no control over the images. You have to let go and throw caution to the wind, literally.

And if you were wondering...no, I didn't drop my camera once!

Link:
JPG Magazine

Breakfast

Sunday Morning 10/11/09

This is a photograph of my breakfast this morning. One of the ideas I had for my thesis involves taking a picture of everything I eat. But that might mean I would have to eat something besides cereal for every meal.

Links:
What Rachel ate today
Lisa Homa, food stylist

State & Main

Alamosa Bedroom 10/10/09

My photography often serves as a reminder. One of my most precious possessions is my memory and I try my best to preserve it. I think back on my childhood and wish that I had more pictures and more journal entries to clear up the foggy images in my head.

Earrings & Bracelets 10/10/09

Photographing my room and its various contents began in Rhode Island. I took pictures of my dorm room for my photography class. My goal was to investigate just how I made that tiny space a "home" for the school year. It wasn't so much about the individual items I chose to bring with me, but how I incorporated my past into my present. I displayed my favorite photographs of my family, but I also put up new pictures of my new friends. I hung my necklaces on the wall as usual, but this time on a hook my Dad rigged for me when he helped me move. And although I bought a new comforter and pillow, my blankie was still the most important part of my bed.

Candles 10/10/09

Photographing my bedroom isn't about documenting the stuff I keep there. Its about capturing a setting. I can look back at the photographs of my bedroom on State & Main (above the coffee shop) and remember my last two years of school. My mind will be jogged with the memory of the ups and downs, the excitement and fear and even that stupid boy I liked.

Links:
Design*Sponge Sneak Peeks

Rooftop Textures

Alamosa is a far cry from Manhattan but with the right gust of wind from Thai House next door and the ambient noise of sirens screaming outside my window, my downtown apartment has a slight resemblance to the Big Apple. I especially love the rooftop access from our avocado green applianced kitchen. It isn't anything special. No deck with safety railing and definitely no classy patio furniture or fire pit. With all the soft spots, navigating across the roof to drop the trash into the dumpster below is like walking upon a newborn baby's head. Nonetheless, the roof was a major selling-point when I decided to move in. I love plopping down in my folding camp chair with a cigar, a rum-spiked beverage and just watching the traffic below.

10/9/09 Roof Tar

Texture is one of my favorite things to photograph. Smooth, rough, repeating, inconsistent, I love them all.

10/9/09 Dented Texture

Texture is what gives objects character, makes them interesting to look at. I'm not so much interested in the actual object but, instead, its textures.

10/9/09 Rooftop Pipes

I want to make the viewer aware of texture and I want them to think about the textures they see every day but overlook. I have an appreciation for the simple beauty in life and I wish to share it with others through my photographs.

10/9/09 Rooftop

The day I move to New York City is not close at hand. Until then I will just have to close my eyes and imagine that that honking horn is a yellow taxi cab and not a Dodge Stratus.

Links:
Paul Strand
Family Dinner

Snapping Daily

Self Portrait (again)

Something Metallic

#9 and a New Name