Sunday 24 June 2012

Week 25 ~ Someone You Love


Week 25 ~ Someone You Love 

There was MOTH* insisting that I photograph our dog as that's the "Someone I Love", but really, I knew he saw this as his opportunity to feature in one of my photographic projects. He complained during Project365 that I didn't feature him in a photo, but that's not true at all. He was in one photo. And yes, it is also true that my dog features in quite a few of the photographs, as seen here, here and here. There are others, but I won't link you - you might see a trend developing. So during the week, I told MOTH to be prepared to pose for me, and that I wanted a standard portrait, nothing fancy dancy was required of him. What I didn't tell him was that I would actually be cropping his head out of the composition. Not because he's not photogenic, but because I think his rugby neck is more suited to having motor magazines poking out from it, like a magazine stand. (And my goodness, there are enough car magazines in the house to paper the walls so thickly that we wouldn't be able to fit in the rooms after they'd been papered. MOTH never throws out a car magazine, so if you're in need of finding out information about a particular edition of Wheels from 1982, he's probably got that so drop me a line if you need a copy of the article from page 14.) That and as I was planning the shoot, I thought it a great idea to match the Faceless Self-Portrait from back in Week 10. That way I can get them both printed and framed and hung in the bedroom for posterity.

I haven't upgraded my camera as yet, and seeing as I sold the 50D recently, I used the work camera, also a Canon, as it was more familiar to me than the Olympus Pen I have. After fiddling with all settings, taking the required shots then packing the lights and gear away, I realised that I had forgotten to set the camera to RAW. Gah! Never mind, I managed.

And in other news...I forgot to mention that my image Narrabeen Sunrise features on the Canon Academy website. How cool is that!

* MOTH - years ago, I remember reading Pat McDermott's very funny column "Family Matters", humourous tales about her family life, in the Australian Woman's Weekly. She used the term MOTH to refer to her husband. Meaning, Man Of The House, I admit that I wish I had come up with the acronym, but all credit goes to Ms McDermott. And all the other acronyms for referring to husbands - well, they just sound a little too twee. Yes, more twee than MOTH.

Saturday 23 June 2012

Week 24 ~ Sunset

 Week 24 ~ Sunset
Already a week behind and just when I had caught up with these posts! I really don't know how time is running away like this, as it feels as though it was only yesterday that I was caught up with things. I think with everything we juggle these days, our family, friends, work, hobbies - time just slips by at an ever increasing rate.

The theme for the week was sunset, and it's a shame that in the whole 7 day window, we didn't experience one of the glorious sunsets we had been seeing only a few short weeks ago. I was on my way from A to B when I realised that if I didn't stop and shoot this sunset, I wouldn't get another chance before the due date. I'm being a bit of a stickler with this project, as I want to shoot a new image for each week, rather than use an existing image (have I already mentioned that? who knows, as I can't remember what I was doing or saying on monday...)

Several weeks ago, I won an Olympus Pen E-PM1 in a HeadOn Portrait Festival photography competition, and I used it to take this photo. I have no idea about the camera settings, as I haven't had much of a chance to work out how  the controls works. And really, who has time to read the instructions... So, it's not much to look at, but it was the best I could grab in the small window of opportunity I had.

Friday 15 June 2012

The Big Catch Up ~ Weeks 13 to 23 of #Project52

I'm biting the bullet and catching up on all the weeks I've been putting off posting due to other commitments. I've come to realise, there won't be a perfect time to catch up, so I'm grabbing what time I can, and running with it.

 Week 13 ~ Yourself with 13 things 

Starting with Week 13 ~ Yourself with 13 Things: I had made notes of the 13 items I was going to be photographed with and if I remember rightly, I'd lost the list when the time came to actually shoot the brief. Gah! As it was Easter, I grabbed a whole stack of Easter eggs and then asked one of the Teens to stand in position while I set the camera and tripod in place, then I got him to help me with the chocolate eggs, making sure that all 13 were showing. It still took enough attempts to get it right, for me to feel the chocolate warming and melting in my arms. The best part? Having all these chocolate eggs to eat. I think I'm starting to see why I love shooting food.


~ endless summer ~

Week 14 ~ Sunflare: We spent 10 glorious days on the Mid North Coast of NSW and I love the countryside in this area. The flat and lush countryside is dotted and dashed with majestic Moreton Bay Figtrees and typical country fence lines. If there's a downside to the country roads in the area, it would be their narrowness, preventing the enthusiastic photographer from stopping and setting up camera and tripod to take advantage of the Australian country scenery. However, exploring some of the back roads, I happened to stumble upon some laneways that were just what I was looking for. I had to wait for the sun to dip below the clouds so that I could catch the glare and while I waited, a neighbouring farmer came over to see what I was doing. Once I clarified that I wasn't on a secret mission from the government to photograph some super-dooper secret project, and that instead it was a weekly photographic project, I was offered a cup of tea - such is the country hospitality! I politely declined as the sun was just about to appear below those pesky clouds and I didn't want to miss the opportunity. Tick - another week done.


Week 15 ~ Hands


Week 15 ~ Hands: Other than perhaps a baby's hands, there's something just as special about old hands; the work they've done,  the letters they've written, the fatigue they've felt, the love they've embraced and perhaps even lost. Mr and Mrs K's hands were perfect for what I had in mind. Mrs K posed for me quite a while back, as her feet were just what I was after at the time. This time, her hands fitted the bill and I've told her that one day, I may even get around to photographing her portrait!


Week 16 ~ Animal

Week 16 ~ Animal: I've been wanting to do a Before and After bath time shot of our little dog for quite a while. I have to say, that's why I love projects like this, as they force you to get around to taking the shots you've had in mind but never seem to getting around to taking. Our little dog hates having a bath - as you can read from his expressions! I did make these shots even harder for myself by using the Lensbaby Composer and f2.8 aperture disk - talk about making life tricky!


Week 17 ~ technology

Week 17 ~ Technology: So it looks as though I'm continuing the diptych/triptych thing for another week, but in this week's challenge, I wanted to show the technology from 3 cameras. The image on the left was taken with my Canon 50D looking at a Kodak duaflex camera looking at my iPhone. And the iPhone had the camera app switched on so you can see it looking at the Kodak. The image on the right was taken using my iPhone. When the Duaflex first came out in the middle of last century, I wonder who could foresee that a compact camera would also be able to make phone calls, have all sorts of information available at the tap of a couple of keystrokes, allow you to play silly games with friends from far and wide, and listen to your favourite music! Wouldn't you love to know how the camera will evolve next?!



Week 18 ~ Long Exposure

Week 18 ~ Long Exposure: Here's another reason why I love technology and the iPhone and all those software developers who come up with all sorts of apps to keep people like me from getting anything sensible done. Now I know there's "Art" and then there's "art" and I'd like to think that the humble Slow Shutter App has managed to capture something that is closer to the former than the latter. If I remember rightly, that week was pretty hectic and with little creative time available,  I have been finding that more and more, when all else fails, I turn to the iPhone camera apps to help me out. Other than some minor colour tweaking and then mirroring and piecing the images together, the Slow Shutter App performed amazingly well. It helped create just the image I had imagined.



Week 19 ~ Shoes

Week 19 ~ Shoes: Anyone who knows me knows I love shoes and when I saw these shoes a few months back, I knew I didn't need an occasion in order to buy them. I mean really. Look at them. They have silver glitter soles! I really don't think I need to go into any other explanation here. And they were on sale.


I heart tea and biscuits

Week 20 ~ Bokeh: If ever there was a photographic match made in heaven, it would be the Lensbaby and Bokeh coupling. Adding an aperture disk I had made with an old fridge magnet and punched with a heart craft punch, the only other element needed was the obligatory fairy lights in the distance to really showcase the shaped bokeh.



Week 21 ~ something pink

Week 21 ~ Something Pink: I'm sorry, but I really don't like the colour pink and I struggled for inspiration for this theme. Many thanks to the very patient Miss M who was more than happy to pose surrounded by pink doughnuts and marshmallows and pink coloured sugar. To be honest, I have no idea what I had in mind and that is clearly reflected in this sickly pink concoction. I had flashes going off left and right and it was all very high key and yet.....never mind. Pink never was my colour.


Week 22 ~ Flowers

Week 22 ~ Flowers: Back in my comfort zone of shooting flowers, I really needed to put the pink pastiche behind me! And I can tick another "To Do" off my list, as I've wanted to shoot a bunch of roses from this perspective for a while now. Some weeks are simpler than others and my constant aim is to always shoot a new image for the week.


Week 23 ~ Close Up I

Week 23 ~ Close-Up: Well, well, wouldn't you know it. Another flower. This time a teensy tiny tea rose. I really am pressed for time at the moment, with a hundred and one things calling for my attention and unfortunately some things have to give. The batteries for my flash gave up during this shoot and the spares were also flat. Oops, forgot to charge them. I have to say, it was quite a meditative exercise, shooting the tea roses, and I would have continued, had it not been for the flash failure. Never mind.

And with that, I think I'm caught up. Apologies it's taken so long to post and that it is now so long to read. I miss regular blogging, but you'll be pleased to know I do a lot of in-head blogging, for all that's worth ;) . And I really do need to try harder in future ;)

Saturday 2 June 2012

Drawing Day 2012

So, it's that time of year again where we take the time to doodle, draw, jot and generally immerse ourselves in this pursuit of picture creation. If you're like me and drawing isn't really your thing, then the last time you drew something may have been a while ago. Or maybe you say you can't draw, yet find yourself addicted to that "Draw Something" game! Whatever your talents, it's that time again - International Drawing Day where the goal of  1,000,000 drawings on the Drawing Day website is once again set.

 Drawing Day 2012

This year, the promotion for this event has been a little quiet (at least I think it's been quiet - there's been barely a mention in social media about this), in fact I really only stumbled upon it by chance last night before heading to bed. Maybe we're all preoccupied with life, that we simply don't have time to indulge in some downtime. And that's a sad thing indeed.

I went to bed wondering what I was going to draw today, and in that in-between stage of sleeping, dreaming and being awake, I had this little vision of a girl in a mouse hole and decided to try and draw her - thankfully, I remembered this morning and set myself the task. It took me quite a few hours to draw this, and I don't find the whole drawing thing a comfortable past time, yet I force myself to focus and push out of my comfort zone no matter what. I know the perspective isn't quite right and neither is the shadowing but this is pretty much what I saw sometime during the night. Drawn on plain photocopy paper and using a HB pencil I then scanned it into PS then spent some time digitally colouring it.
Drawing Day 2012 colour
 A while ago, I stumbled upon the following sites that will hopefully inspire you to pick up the nearest writing implement, paper and start getting creative. You may even enjoy the process :)

Super Obvious Secrets That I Wish They’d Teach In Art School
Never Be my Friend
Dead Flies Art
Draw 23   
Big Sharpie Doodle 

 

Don't forget to upload your drawings to the Drawing Day 2012 site - have fun!

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