vertical

vertical

February 18, 2015

This week's challenge selection is vertical by Christine. Check out my pals for their interpretations on this theme: Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Lew, and Christine Anne.

This week's header is of a very shy cat. She's fine on top of the stack of kitty-carriers, but she'd rather I keep my distance. I liked these cat pics a lot, because the dim room gave me an opportunity to be creative with off-camera flash & manual focus.

"Mr. Craver, why are you on your belly, Sir?"

Cats perched in the kid's room.

Blindfolded games with the kids.

 

Puppy kisses. Posterized. (by remote control)

Here's an easy one... looking up at the moon.

Taking risks & getting real close... almost UNDER a skateboard.

Say cheese!

On the subject of saying cheese, how do you like the smiley face in my spaghetti & meatballs?

Wooden wise men.

Wedded bliss.

Shiny quarter... minus the glare. [click on image to enlarge]

 

Here's how I did the quarter: The technique is called "axial lighting." I shot through angled glass, and the side light shone on the face of the quarter by reflecting off the angled glass.

Addendum: more info about the gear in this tricky shot can be found in the comments.

something red

something red

February 11, 2015

This week's challenge selection is something red by Imac. Check out my pals for their interpretations on this theme: Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Lew, and Christine Anne.

Red. That's a tough color for electronic reproduction. I find that reds are often blown out and look over-saturated. But it's an attractive color for most of us. I have a friend who is color blind to reds. I suppose he doesn't mind, so long as he doesn't realize what he's missing.

The pic in this week's header is red berries. The birds who visit that bush like those berries, as evidenced by the missing fruit.

Male Cardinal. A favorite. [click any image to enlarge]

Just because.

My own camera is red, though I have long-since done away with the paper on the lens cover.

The reds are blown out here, but I liked that we have the cloth's texture & bokeh circles in back.

Red leaves from last fall.

Ketchup. Great on a burger, but not allowed on hot dogs.

It's tricky to get good color under fluorescent lights. She's a cutie, though. :-)

Playing pranks in the office.

spare time

spare time

February 4, 2015

This week's challenge selection is spare time. It was my choice. Check out my pals for their interpretations on this theme: Fishing Guy, Katney, Imac, Lew, and Christine Anne.

Based on these pictures, an alternate title could be, "Someone needs a haircut very badly." But no, it's not about the mop head. The common thread is library. The header pic is from my pastor's office library, where I'm looking at a book that several of us read together. Although I am not a fast reader, you can often find me studying because there is so much information readily available, and there is so, so much that I would like to learn! We can put it this way: I do not like to read per se, but I like to know, therefore I read.

(How can I enter these in our photo contest? They're supposed to be pictures from me, not of me. With the exception of the studio pic, these are all self-portraits. The other photos were taken with a timer on a shelf and desk.)

There is a steep learning curve for Photoshop, but I spend a lot of time doodling with it in this studio. I had been working with two people and asked one to snap this photo.

The information here seems endless! I have no idea what this book was though... I picked this spot because there was a shelf space where I can place my camera.

There are a couple photography magazines I like, but virtually any magazine has images that can be studied for light and composition.

I have spent many evenings at the library. It used to be that I would try to study at home, but I have such a hard time concentrating there, that if I really need to get things done, it's going to be more productive if I go to the library.

What kind of things do you like to do in your spare time? And, are you like me, that that "spare" time doesn't just happen, but you have to carve it out judiciously?