Quiz! letters

I wanted a nice graphic to go with the weekly quizzes in my Intro to Photography class. So naturally I figured the best thing would be a banner made of photos.

Except for the close-up of Jenny’s eye, I took all of these photos specifically for this project. Then I used a poster mock-up from Adobe to give them a nice frame.

Best of the 365 Blog - May 2017

Wildlife turned out to be the theme for May.

Early in the month the bees returned to the tree in our front yard.

Nikon D7000, 300mm (75-300), 1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 800, cropped

At work a goose set up camp under a tree right next to the sidewalk.

iPhone 7

This is Boris, one of the strays we feed. She can be elusive, but this afternoon she patiently posed for a long-distance portrait.

Nikon D7000, 200mm (75-300), 1/60, f/5.3, ISO 1600, cropped

When the cat takes possession of what you're working on, all you can do is take pictures of the cat.

iPhone 7, modified

My grandpa’s old musical slide rule, now mounted on the side of a bookshelf.

iPhone 7

I managed to catch some good photos of a squirrel on our deck eating a slice of bread. One of the other photos got edited into a squirrel holding a protest sign.

Nikon D7000, 300mm (75-300), 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 1600, cropped

Two piñatas that managed to survive last June’s birthday fest. And of course maneki neko.

iPhone 7

And at long last I made it to my 365th straight photo. Out at the stadium I looked around for something that said “365,” but the closest I could come was five off.

iPhone 7, modified

360 Bar light adjustment

iPhone 7, cropped and altered

For my 365th day in a row, I went in search of a scene with “365” in it. And I ended up settling for 360.

Cropped and straightened, this wasn’t a bad shot. Except for one thing: to get the light levels adjusted properly for the shot as a whole, I had to make the interesting part (the folks behind the counter) too dark.

Enter Photoshop. I masked off the stand’s window (easy enough, as it was close to a simple rectangle). Then I could adjust the light levels separately.

For my blog, this wasn’t a problem at all. But if I took this picture for a newspaper, odds are this kind of alteration would be considered an ethics violation. Even though the result produced a photo that accurately reproduced what I saw when I took it, masking is considered a slippery slope for folks whose reputations depend on publication of unaltered images.

Here’s the photo as shot:

iPhone 7

Best of the 365 Blog - April 2017

April was a quiet month, mostly spent at work or at home.

A cat toy abandoned on a heating grate made an interesting study in patterns and lines.

iPhone 7

This is a close up of gel pens in a rack. I used an off-camera flash to get the odd side lighting.

Nikon D7000, 80mm (35-80), 1/125, f/32, ISO 200

When I moved the bird seed boxes off their shelf to refill them, I found an interesting example of texture and rule of thirds.

iPhone 7

I got a mini fridge for my office, just big enough for six cans of DMD.

iPhone 7

April 15 found us back at the ballpark for another season in the sun. This is the well-worn number on the back of my seat.

iPhone 7

Easter eggs, naturally.

Nikon D7000, 45mm (35-80), 1/1250, f/4.2, ISO 200

Here’s something I’d never seen before: two pennies in a Ziploc bag of water, hanging above the drive-thru window at China Feast. We looked it up later and found that it was there for good luck and good fortune.

iPhone 7

It seemed like this might be useful photo clip art for future projects.

iPhone 7

Easter eggs

Nikon D7000, 45mm (35-80), 1/1000, f/4.2, ISO 200

Happy Easter!

A carton of Easter eggs gave me an opportunity to do a little selective focus. With the aperture open that wide, the depth of field is fairly narrow. It’s a nice effect, particularly with the spring green in the background.

Pens and bottles (flash and transparency)

Nikon D7000, 42mm (35-80), 1/125, f/25, ISO 200

This week I decided to play around a little with off-camera flash. I also wanted to shoot some pictures of subjects with a mix of color and transparency.

The photo above is a close up of a rack of pens. I put the flash off to the right and triggered it using a remote.

The photo below is of colorful bottles on a glass shelf. The flash is below the shelf.

Nikon D7000, 42mm (35-80), 1/125, f/25, ISO 200

Best of the 365 Blog – March 2017

No dramatic spring break photos this year (we stayed put for the whole week). But a few good ones from our regular environs.

On the drive to work I noticed that someone placed a birdhouse in one of the trees between the highway and the river.

Nikon D7000, 28mm (28-200), 1/250, f/8, ISO 200

Sunbeam cat. A rare good shot from the iPad.

iPad Pro

Clipboard in a paper rack.

iPhone 7

The Kansas City Rowing Club’s dock, on the day we cleaned the boat yard. This was my first time out there in more than a year.

iPhone 7

Glass skull, close up.

iPhone 7

A lion from the Pompeii exhibit at Union Station.

iPhone 7

Toward the end of the month I did a whole week of cats. Usually cat pictures are a sure sign that I didn’t photograph anything out in the world and needed a photo op somewhere around the house. But for these seven days I concentrated specifically on our feline friends and family members. This is the Dutchess, an outdoor stray in the mood to pose for a picture.

Nikon D7000, 80mm (35-80), 1/200, f/5.6, ISO 400, cropped

 And at long last spring is officially upon us.

Nikon D7000, 300mm (75-300), 1/40, f/5.6, ISO 100