Merry Christmas....

I couldn't pass up a chance to have a little fun with the ornaments. 

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas and New Year!

A New Start!

I'm back!

Well the 365 didn't work out as well as I hoped.  It started to become a chore to post everyday.  That really wasn't the issue...The real issue was that I felt like I was just posting any garbage picture that I shot that day.  So I put the blog on the shelf for a while; but not my camera!

I've been taking a ton of pictures with a focus on the technical side of photography.  Color, white balance, and exposure have been a few of my greatest struggles.  I've been working on those as well as adding strobe lighting into the mix.  My intention is to get this blog moving again.  Hopefully I can update a couple times a week with a new picture or two. 

Sometimes I am glad I drag my camera with me everywhere I go.  This was on a recent flight and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch this shot. 

5-4-10 Yogi...

Photogenic little guy!

Grand Canyon Hike to Havasu Falls...

Last week we took a 4 day hike to the Havasu falls.  Its about an 11 mile hike with over 40lbs strapped to your back.  It's a little bit of work but the sites are incredible.  Going through here will make one feel very small.  This is honestly my first trip to the Grand Canyon...And I don't think there is any other way to see it!

Havasu Slideshow

I'm trying to get back to daily blogging...I swear!  My main monitor on the PC took a crap so I'm trying to work around that...

4-11-10 Friends....

Nothing too special here... We went for a hike today and I liked this pic.  This is one of the few that I get to be in!

We are trying to get ready for our trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  I will be taking my camera! 

4/9/10 - Summer is around the corner...

It's warming up...Soon we will be sitting by the pool enjoying the heat.  Then after 2 weeks we will be ready for the cool weather again...

I'm looking forward to getting back in the pool.  It's warming up slowly.  Till tomorrow....

4-7-10 - Wild Flowers

These things are all over the place...Not quite sure what makes them so wild?  None of them tried to flash me and scream woo hoo!  Oh well...maybe these aren't so wild.

I'm trying to get back on the ball and post daily...I'm trying!  Till tomorrow...

4-4-10 Hiking...

Went hiking today with a few good friends.  We went to Lost Dutchman Park at the base of the Superstition mountain.  It was surprisingly busy for being Easter.

The wild flowers are blooming away.  $500 fine for picking them!

Here is a shot from just below the peak.  It's amazing what you can see from up there!

I've found that photography and hiking are pretty compatible hobbies!  I now just need to get some wide 2.8 glass!  Till tomorrow...

4-1-10 Tree Abstract

Ahhh....The days are getting longer.  I can actually get home before the sun sets.  Once I got home...I dropped my stuff, grabbed the camera, and went for a walk around the neighborhood.

It was nice to get out and go for a walk with the camera again. Hopefully I'll have a chance to do that more often as the days get longer and unfortunately...hotter!  Till tomorrow... 

3/28/10 Road Trip...

Went on a spontaneous road trip today with some friends.  We ended up in Sedona and Jerome. We walked around for a bit and checked things out.  This is one of my favorite shots of the day... This sign is on the side of a cliff and there isn't much to trespass on...Maybe the little lizard can't read!

Since I've been slacking on the posting...I will add a few extras today!

This one was one of my favorites too!  I liked the doors and the lens flare just happened. I kind of liked it! 

Sedona landscape....

I honestly don't know what kind of tree this is.  We also have white ones around.  This is the first that I've seen the red/pink ones.

This one is just random...If you know why I took this...Then you know me pretty well...I bet only a few are going to know what it is right away. 

My all time favorite band is TOOL and the lead singer, Maynard James Keenan  has a vineyard and makes wine.  He has a shop in Jerome that sells only his wine. I had to stop in and check it out.  I also had to buy a little trinket to say I was there...

3/25/10 - Inked Out....

Everybody has the day this happens.  You need to print and the ink has run dry.  Never fails!

Sorry this isn't a little more interesting.  I'm super tired and it's been a rough day.  I'm headed for bed!  Till tomorrow....

3/24/10 Caught off guard...

This is Maggie.  She is my friend's dog.  I've been trying to shoot different things and expand a bit...This isn't exactly what I had in mind but Its going to work. 

 I've been having issue with my PC and my internet over the past couple of days and it seems like everything needed to be done in the past 3 days.  Oh well... We are back on track!  Till tomorrow...

3/23/10 The Roll...

I am trying to catch a story with this one.   I'm not quite getting what I want.  I'm going to keep the story to my self until I feel that I can capture it the way I want. 

I've tried a few different things here...I still don't have what I'm looking for...Stay tuned.

3/22/10 Dash

This was an accident.  For some reason I thought it was interesting...at least the most interesting for the day...That will give you an idea of what the rest of the pictures looked like.

I was just moving the cam and shot the dash.  Oh well.

3/21/10 - Fueling Up!

Once again...I ran short on time and was desperate for a photo.  I was getting ready to feed my face with a delicious vanilla cream protein shake and stopped to grab the camera.  This didn't quite turn out the way I wanted.

Tried to get the powder in focus and blur everything else.  I think I went too far with the aperture and ran out of patients.  I was hungry!  Till tomorrow...

Sorry...My internet was down last night, so this is a little late...

3/20/10 - Make sparks fly....

The other day while in Lowe's...I remembered that I needed new flints for my striker.  After I put one in and struck a few sparks...I got an idea!

This shot was one of the first ones I shot.  As the flint wore in, the sparks went kind of flat.  This one was one of the most interesting.  Till tomorrow...

3/19/10 - Tumble dry if needed....

So this is one of the ideas that I had during my break.  I got home from work early and figured I would try it out.  The hardest part was figuring out how to rig it up.  This was inspired by the refrigerator picture. 

There was a little difficulty with getting enough light inside the dryer.  I tried the flash but I lost the motion of the towels.  The lights in my laundry room are florescent an the combo made lighting difficult.  I think I'm going to have to come back to this one with more light inside and the same light outside.  The picture is noisy due to the high ISO I had to use to get a decent exposure. Looks like I need a faster lens!  I liked the concept.  Till tomorrow....

3/18/10 - Hungry?

So...I'm back!!!  I took a little break to get things in order around here.  I wanted to get this going again.  I've got a lot of questions regarding the blog and was pleasantly surprised by everyone's interest.  Thank you!

This isn't my best stuff, but it is my new roommate and he looks hungry.  I set up this tank for our old Beta fish.  Unfortunately after about 4 days in his new place...He threw in the towel.  R.I.P. Mater. 

It feels good to be shooting and posting again!  The break was a little longer than I expected.  I did get a few good ideas though.  Keep your eye out for them.  Till tomorrow...

3/10/10 - I'm Still here!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and my 365 is on my mind.  With a few personal bumps in the road and work being really busy...I took a few days off.  I hope to be recharged and posting again shortly.  Stay tuned!!!!

3/7/10 - Sunrise

To allow the dawn of a new one....

i want to say thanks to a great friend for the inspiration for this series. Thanks brother!  Till tomorrow...

3/6/10 - Sunset

The sun sets on one horizon....

3/5/10 - Sorry....

I didn't have a chance to get a shot in today.  I didn't even have a chance to turn on my camera.  Between working late and attending to some personal matters...It just didn't happen today.  Stay tuned...Till tomorrow...

3/4/10 "Hollowed" be thy name....

61 of 365 - I have to admit it...I cheated on this one!  this is a shot that I took a while ago and didn't do anything with.  Tired today.  Need to get some sleep.

I went back through some of the images that I had and found this one.  I like it for some reason.  Its not that exciting...It's simplicity may be the attraction for me.  Till tomorrow....

3/3/10 - Computer....

So recently my computer has been giving me drama!  The monitor has been turning on really slow and flickering...I'm also almost out of hard drive space.

So for today the drama queen PC is the winner!  I sat down to check e-mail and the drama started...So I figured that maybe a public embarrassment will make it work right.  We'll see!  Till tomorrow....

3/2/10 - Flower

61 of 365 - Today was a hard day to get motivated to shoot for some reason.  All day I carried my camera and didn't really have anything jump out at me.

This flower was back lit by the sun and it caught my eye. All the reflections off of the leaves are a little distracting.  Nothing real exciting...Sorry.  Maybe better luck tomorrow.  I need to get a polarizer for my 50mm.   Till tomorrow. 

3/1/10 - Handled

60/365 - Payton and I went for our Monday night walk.  On the look for something new and different to shoot.  I didn't find anything spectacular...Just a handle.

 

The light, spiral, and rust highlights caught my eye here.  Till tomorrow...

59 of 365 - Staring Down the Storm

Rain...Rain...And a little bit more rain.  We have been having a wet spring here in AZ and the weather provides interesting back drops for the photography...

I'm pretty sure that everything behind this flower is sky.  I thought it was a good contrast between the two subjects in the photo.  Till tomorrow...

58 of 365 - Locked up...

57 of 365 - Superstition

A couple of good friends got married tonight in front of Superstition mountain tonight.  I got a few of the mountain as everyone normally shoots it.  Tonight the moon was just shy of full and offered a unique perspective of the mountain.

I did a quick edit of the photo and it's a little on the grainy side.  Might have to see if I can clean that up a bit....It's late and it will work for now. You can see a halo from the moon and the little lens flare from the moon.  I thought it was pretty interesting.  

Congratulation to the Tindles! Wishing you all the best! Love you guys! 

Till tomorrow....

56 of 365 - Boots...

The creativity is flowing a little more freely now... This shot isn't entirely mine...I ran across a similar image the other day and found it to be very interesting.  While trying to mimic the shot...A whole new set of ideas started flowing.

 This wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be..Trying to get the impact and angle I was looking for was a little tough.  Eventually, I think it worked out.

Thanks to Nicole for featuring my blog as her "Blog of the Day"!  Till tomorrow...

55 of 365 - Pain In Beauty

The contrast, between the scenery around this pinpointed spot of pain, was eye catching. There was a poem in the frame.  I really didn't want to disturb it. 

 This is quite a dangerous road along these mountains.  Unfortunately this wasnt the only memorial along the road.  It's very sad to see.  Till tomorrow....

54 of 365 - Metal Head

So...I had the creativity bug hit me at 10PM.  Originally I had another photo picked out for today's post then we watch "Metal Head" on Palladia and I was hit with and idea.  I'm starting to feel creative again. I bought a new book today so we'll see if it leads to anything.  Here is the result of "Metal Head".

I think this is a little more of the creative direction I'd like to go.  I think it's a step in the right direction.  Till tomorrow...

53 of 365 - King Of The Mountain

We went for a walk tonight as the weather was getting crazy.  We were dodging rain drops off and on.  Payton climbed up on this faux rock at the park.  The clouds were nasty behind him and the sun was baring down at the same time.

 This shot is a little unconventional because of the exposure.  I think it works here.  I had a few other exposures that weren't as dynamic and they just didn't have the excitement with both sides of his face exposed.  I also tried a little fill flash off camera.  That was a littler better.  This one is going in the "experimental" folder.  Till tomorrow....

52 of 365 - Objcts in Mirror...

Sometimes all you get to see of a beautiful sunset...Is what you see in your mirror...

I need to make a change...My pictures are getting boring and lack creativity.  I'm trying to push through a rough spot.  Till tomorrow...

51 of 365 - The Storm

I left work tonight after being teased by the clouds all day through the window.  Just had enough sun to pull something off.  Right as I finished taking these shots.  Work called and wanted me to come back in...

This isn't the most exciting shot...but its the best I shot today.  Till tomorrow...

50 of 365 - Weight of the World

Just shooting around the house..Trying to find something neat.  This one is a little soft.  I missed the focus a touch.  It didn't totally ruin the shot.

I'm becoming fond of black and white shots.  I will have to experiment a little more.  Till tomorrow.

49 of 365 - Revved up....

After a long day at work...it's hard to materialize the ideas that you had during the day.  Sometimes you need to get resourceful. I think that's what happened here.  Really didn't have a chance to plan anything out or even a chance to think about it.

 

 I took this in the driveway when I came home.  Extended exposure with a little rev of the engine.  The image is a little blurry due to the revving.  I'm gonna need gas soon. 

  

I added this second one from the stop at the grocery store.  I used a 30 second exposure on this shot.  I set my timer so I could get out of the car with out any movement.  I the camera was sitting on the front seat pointing at the moon.  Not a shot you see everyday. Till tomorrow....

48 of 365 - Street Performer

I'm cheating tonight...I tried a few shots that really didn't work.  I'm tired and taking the easy way out...At least I'm honest...That has to count for something.

 

This guy was playing for hours while I was walking around.  He had some interesting songs.  Till tomorrow...

47 of 365 - Big Blue

Had the chance to go out today and enjoy some warm weather...Sorry east coasters...I really didn't mean to rub it in.  I've been interested in architectural photos lately so I went out to see what I could find.  The lines and the colors make this one the most interesting one of them all.  A struggle was created for me at the bottom of the image.  I cropped the bottom lines out and the image looked like there wasn't a place for it to start.  My opinion is that the lines show a little more depth to the photo and give a basis of what you're looking at. So as you can see...I left it in.

I also took a few shots of a street performer.  My nerves got the best of me on that one.  I'm still a little shy when it comes to shooting strangers on the street and I missed the focus a bit.  He was very cool with it...I think the buy off with a dollar helped too!  There were also a group of chatty homeless people.  I really wanted to talk to them and take some pictures...I just felt like an ass rolling up to homeless people with this camera in my hands.  I'll have to work on my approach on that one.  There could be a great photo-journalistic shots in there.  Sorry for the long post...It took a long time for the photo to load and I had time to burn.  Till tomorrow...

46 of 365 - The Stump...

I have...Well more like had a palm tree out in the front yard.  Due to a dirty  repair in the drip system...Dirt clogged the nozzle for this palm and it didn't make it.  I've been waiting for it to dry up, since it also consumed y shovel on the first attempt to pull it.

 

The sun was setting when I shot this and it was really pulling the color out.  I also liked the texture.  This didn't come out quite the way I intended...Out of the ground or in the photo.  Till tomorrow.  

45 of 365 - Mums

Fresh flowers beg to be photographed!

 

Not quite as vibrant as the orchids but just as bright. Till tomorrow...

44 of 365 - Raiding the Fridge

I've been wanting to do a self portrait...This isn't exactly what I had in mind but I think it works.  I managed to pull this off in about 4 shots and the first was with the wrong lens.

I truly enjoy shots like this and they are great fun. This one is totally off the wall and I think most will get a kick out of this.  Till tomorrow...

43 of 365 - Wanna Piece of Me?

Endless entertainment!

Till tomorrow...

42 of 365 - Nut and Bolt

Nuts and bolts.  Found these on my gate on the side of the house. I should have cleaned them up a bit first.  Nah...I think it adds to the image.

I've always like things like this.  I like the "industrial" look and feel.  That may be way I am pulled towards architecture.  Till tomorrow....

41 of 365 - On Cloud Nine

The weather today was quite interesting.  The clouds rolled in and threatened with rain...In the end they were just that...Threats.  The clouds that came in with the weather were interesting to the south west.

 

The layered clouds played with the light.  Clouds that lurked in the shadows of the others basking in the sun.  I had to stop for a while to actually see what was going on...I felt like I was missing something through the viewfinder.  The picture doesn't do it justice. Till tomorrow...

40 of 365 - At The Car Wash

"There are 10 interesting things to photograph, within 10 feet of you at all times" - Chase Jarvis

 

I think Chase's quote holds a lot of weight.  Having a camera with you to capture it is also a plus. I don't go far without mine any more.  This was a simple trip to the car wash.  Till tomorrow...