2012 365 Project

Subtle Variations – The Calling

Posted on January 20, 2012 // Leave a Comment

I posted a landscape shot of a local park covered in fog titled Weeping Dream a few days ago. It’s those subtle variations in camera location that can drastically change a photograph; I mean, I must have moved my tripod three to four inches to the right to get this starburst light. It doesn’t sound like much, but it really does create a different mood by moving just one step over.

Ok so this example is relatively far away from our subject matter and four inches makes a pretty substantial difference – imagine getting close up to something and moving four inches… chances are, you wouldn’t even be photographing the same subject anymore! So, a general rule is that the closer you get to your subject (think macro photography), the more your composition will change by making subtle variations in camera location.

The Calling

These two photographs are similar in so many ways, but to me, they’re also very different. I honestly cannot even choose between the two and pick a winner so The Calling deserves its place in my portfolio as well.

I love how the light starbursts through the tree limbs and calls out for attention. It’s dreamy and euphoric almost as if you’ve sniffed some fairy dust and drifted to this dreamscape. Everything flows and you feel The Calling from a higher power…

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Fog, Landscape

Minimize and Simplify – Frosty Yin Yang

Posted on January 19, 2012 // Leave a Comment

Simplify, simplify, simplify! I find that it is more pleasing to fill the frame with your subject and to minimize and simplify everything else. Doing this will help your subject jump out at the viewer.

Giving your viewer just enough information to distinguish the focal point can add interest to a photograph. Lead them, but let their imagination fill in the blanks.

You should also always pay close attention to contrast in your shot because the eye is led to the brightest or most contrasty area of the picture.

Rules are meant to be broken, but understanding the fundamentals and why you chose to break them is even more important.

Frosty Yin Yang

It’s cold out there and frost is forming everywhere! Today’s photo is about frost, and the underlying concepts are to emphasize contrast, simplification, and dynamics.

Diagonal lines usually create tension, but I think that this example is harmonious because it’s evenly black & white; each "wedge" complements the other just like a yin yang balances its own energies.

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Abstract, Nature

Fog Blankets – Weeping Dream

Posted on January 18, 2012 // Leave a Comment

The weather has been unusually erratic the past few days and its drastic changes have helped shape my creativity and really let my imagination run wild. First it’s ice, now fog blankets. I love fog – it’s like natures natural light diffusor. Now, try to say that five times fast.

Lately, it’s almost as if I have a sixth sense for these weather shifts and will know before it changes – only by an hour or two; that little bit of time is still more than enough to shape my vision so as long as this keeps up, we’re in for an epic year of landscape shots.

Weeping Dream

105mm focal length compression, check. Tripod, check. It’s dark outside, of course. Mirror up, yes. Remote trigger…definitely. I scouted this quiet park with my trusty Mag Light for at least an hour and got acquainted with my favorite vantage points. Subtle nuances in location can make for an extremely different photograph so I’m working every angle.

Did I mention it’s pretty much black outside and I can’t see but a few feet in front of me at any given moment; I’m lost in the fog, but I can see Weeping Willow branches in a dream like state dangling in the not-too-far-out distance collecting moisture from this dense blanket of fog. Diffused light sweeps through the trees and makes it as if they’re glowing. I’ve got it. It’s a Weeping Dream.

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Fog

Pioneer Woman Style – Pasta With Pancetta and Leeks

Posted on January 17, 2012 // Leave a Comment

In case you were wondering, Pioneer Woman is a fantastic chef by the name of Ree Drummond. Her recipes are delicious and her humor is off the wall. Each recipe usually has its own backstory with hysterical ingredient references to butter, bacon fat, or wine; I feel like I’m already on a first name basis with Ree and I have never even had the pleasure of meeting her.

I am a little out of The Food Network loop, but I’m pretty sure Pioneer Woman even has her own cooking show now. A side note… I don’t really own any recipe books, but if there were one book I’d purchase, it would have to be The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I’d be even more grateful if I happen to find a signed copy.

Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks

I mean, who doesn’t love salty, creamy, cheesy goodness over pasta?! I have been making Pioneer Woman’s Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks for almost two years now. The flavor is absolutely divine and the meal works well if you’re in a pinch for time because it is pretty simple to prepare and cook.

Now, I don’t know if its my inability to move quickly in the kitchen or slice like a ninja (I’m not a chef), but Ree’s prep times seem to be impossible to replicate. This particular recipe calls for five minutes prep, but in my reality, it is more like fifteen. I’m attributing my slowness to uncut Boar’s Head Pancetta and inferior kitchen swiftness.

Do yourself a favor and check out Ree’s cooking site. Dinner is waiting…

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Cooking

Teavana Tea Anyone? – Emperor’s Clouds and Mist

Posted on January 15, 2012 // 2 Comments

Updated for 2013

Teavana tea shops have been popping up all over the map and for good reason. Their tea is fantastic and fresh! Over the past few years, I have amassed a pretty decent collection of greens, oolongs, and black teas. Each one is unique so its important to have a good variety on hand for when the mood strikes. There is nothing better than steeping a pot of green tea about an hour after dinner and sitting down on an oversized cushy couch with a laptop in hand relaxing the night away.

Emperor’s Clouds and Mist

Green teas come in a variety of different complexities; some are vegetal with a strong earthy taste – think grassy here. Others can be mild and bring back a touch of sweetness to your palette. Emperor’s Clouds and Mist is a delicately soft green tea that adds a touch of honey to its taste. I suppose this can be indicative of the region its grown or how it is harvested, but that’s what I taste here. I’m a fan of Teavana tea and most recently, a newer tea shop called DAVIDsTEA, which can be found in the NYC village at 275 Bleeker Street.

Mix Your Teas to Create Flavorful Blends!

Teavana is all about mixology and their iPhone app will give you suggestions to create new blends! I particularly love black teas that have chocolate undertones combined with dried fruit like acai and blackberry. Write this down… this blend is to-die-for and was my own creation!

Combine equal parts of Golden Monkey black tea with Wonderberry Chocolate Truffle Oolong Tea. This blend is not listed under the pairings section, but it really should be. Try it! You won’t be disappointed!

Speedlights for Detailing Tea

In the spirit of everything speed light from class yesterday, I decided to mess around with an off-camera strobe and try to extract as much detail from these tea leaves as humanly possible. My SB900 was placed on the floor in line with the tea and in pretty close. Notice the soft shadows? iTTL mode was also used.

Filed Under: 365 Project, Lighting For Photography // Tagged: Still Life

Location Lighting Workshop With Rick Friedman

Posted on January 15, 2012 // Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of attending a location lighting workshop instructed by photojournalist Rick Friedman this past Saturday. This class crammed a four day curriculum into 6 hours of nonstop lecture and group activity. Rick taught speed light fundamentals, how to mix ambient light with flash, on-camera flash techniques, and studio/on-location set-ups with octaboxes, softboxes, ring lights, snoots, grids, gobos, beauty dishes, and sweeps. Reflectors, sun screens, home depot solutions, and other various tools were also introduced.

Rick Friedman is high energy and extremely passionate about photography and it shows in his lectures. We barely had time for lunch and I’m okay with that because I wanted to maximize my time and get the most out of the 6 hours.

Rick Friedman’s Lighting Course Modeling Shot

Unique Photo and Rick come prepared; we even had a model to shoot during our break-out sessions. This photo was shot with a single Dynalite studio strobe inside a RiME LITE Octagon Softbox and a Home Depot foam core reflector @ camera right.

Filed Under: 365 Project, Lighting For Photography // Tagged: Lighting Workshop

Christmas Tree Star Topper – Flower Abstract

Posted on January 13, 2012 // Leave a Comment

Tomorrow is a sad, sad day. The Christmas tree is finally coming down and making its way to the trash. All those days of coming home from work and enjoying that winter pine scent will soon be a distant memory. This year, the tree was especially small, but it made up for its size by overpowering the room with pine tree scented bliss; I can’t tell you its type, but I do know it was not a Frazier fur. Our Christmas tree had a star topper this year, which added a little bit of color to the already festive red, white, and green lights.

Blur Your Focus to Create Light Bokeh

The weather has finally turned cold and windy which is capable of sending chills through bones so what better way to introduce memories of warmer weather with an abstract flower from the Christmas tree star topper! This technique is simple to do with any sort of light. Simply switch your camera to manual focus and pull the lights OOF (out-of-focus). You can make this as dramatic as you like and for added punch rip the shot with a fast shutter speed to render your lights in a sea of black like I did here.

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Abstract, Flowers

Key West Butterfly Conservatory

Posted on January 12, 2012 // Leave a Comment

It’s extremely tough to pull yourself away from island time once you’ve had a taste. Key West, FL did just that and then some.

There are tons of activities to enjoy on the island depending on your mood and adventure level. These are in no particular order and this list is more of a brain dump than anything… you can rent wave runners, swim, scuba dive, tan, lounge, eat wonderfully, watch the sunset, explore the downtown art scene, party, shop, kite surf, build sandcastles, take sandcastle building lessons, sleep in, drink from coconuts, eat the inner carpel from said coconut, dance in the rain, or lay on the beach, get pampered and drink cocktails all day.

Yeah, Key West is that awesome. 🙂

Feel Like a Kid Again Chasing Butterflies

Key West also has a butterfly conservatory that will make you feel like a kid again. I chased butterflies for at least an hour and left with a free cardboard sticker cutout of a Blue Morpho butterfly on my shoulder. The elusive Blue Morpho is difficult to catch with its wings spread wide, but if you do get lucky, that beautiful blue shimmers and glitters like you have never seen. It is a great color for an import tuner car if I ever owned one.

I happened to stumble upon this aerial view of a butterfly and was drinking in the view; it was the iPhone to the rescue to capture this shot… This phone/camera combo is super handy in a pinch in case you were wondering.

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Nature

Church Architecture – Day 13

Posted on January 12, 2012 // Leave a Comment

Church architecture is always very beautiful, even if the structure is old and falling apart. I am drawn to the stained glass, the old stone work, and its moody and ethereal lighting.

My immediate surrounding area is filled with gorgeous churches that light up the roads on which they reside and I am constantly pulled in their direction to take a few photos. My initial intention was to go inside, but it was too late and the doors were closed and locked. I thought church doors are always open for visitation? Oh well, there’s always next time.

For today, I captured a night shot of the exterior church architecture highlighting the front door and its elaborate stone work. I think the deep black sky really helps pull the building into focus.

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Church, Nightscapes

Flower Photography – Day 12

Posted on January 10, 2012 // Leave a Comment

Everyone loves flowers; they are beautiful to look at and they add that little bit of vibrance to any room when they’re freshly cut. Flower photography is popular – especially when one is shot close up. The pistils (those little tentacles in the center of a flower) are remarkably detailed. Get close enough and see for yourself!

I really enjoy visiting the botanical garden in Ringwood, NJ after Memorial Day – there is so much to see and you can literally spend a few hours just walking around. I’m going one step further this coming year; I’m bringing a blanket to sit on for lunch and a soccer ball. Did I mention the field is huge?

A White Daisy Crop

I’m sharing a crop today of a flower that was photographed this past summer. No macro, just a pretty white flower with nice background bokeh from a 50mm lens.

Filed Under: 365 Project // Tagged: Flowers