"Photography is truth. Cinema is truth 24 times per second." - 365 Project, Day 31

A friend of mine asked me to help her with a video resume idea she had.  Although I'm jumping at the chance to help her, I have very little videography experience beyond shooting bad singers at karaoke bars and shooting my cat chase his own tail.  I've learned enough to know the rules for photography don't overlap perfectly with those of video.

Lighting, composition and appearance are all relatively the same, but one of the simplest things, editing, is completely different.  (I just had a very odd thought.  Photography is not technically 3 dimensions, given that pictures are only on 2 axes (i.e. height and width).  If that's the case, can video be considered 3 dimensions, given the two picture axes and time axis?  Moving on.)  Whereas picture editing is only concerned with a minuscule amount of time concentrating on colours, exposure and detail, with video editing, time is infinitely more important and the other things enumerated have to be measured prior to shooting and cannot be as easily corrected post-process.  Though video is only shot at, say 24 frames per second, shutter speed is also a consideration when shooting with DSLRs, oddly enough (not to mention aperture and ISO).

We shall see how everything turns out and though the clip would be relatively short (say 30 seconds), my knowledge of the work ethic of he likes of Stanley Kubrick and Werner Herzog tell me this 30 seconds may prove to be quite the endeavor.

On to the pictures of the day, which show a very nice variety.

Frank

His note: This again is a gift from the melted ice on a sidewalk near my favorite grocery store... If you look closely at the melted water pattern it looks like the face of a cartoon monster.

Mandy

Her note: Net of trees.

Shannon

Her note: As I was waiting for the bus to come home, I saw these shoes.

My picture

On my way to work I took this shot and liked the composition.

For some reason, I want there to be rain tomorrow.  I don't think it'll happen.  I have the feeling it'll mostly be overcast, but we'll see.

"Where there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see." - 365 Project, Day 30

I had a thought.  This generally occurs every day, sometimes twice a day.  On this blog, there are four people taking pictures, and if I were to tell my compadres to take a picture of, say, blue, something of a theme would emerge for the day.  Yesterday, this mostly occurred by coincidence.  However, though all pictures would have something blue (obviously), we'd probably all have different pictures.

Imagine this.  Take 5, 10, 20 photographers and plop them in a location.  It doesn't matter where - a house, a famous landmark, a sports stadium, a concert hall - and give them all the same camera - again, no matter, Nikon D3X, Panasonic GF-2, Leica M9, Canon A3000 - and tell them to shoot whatever they feel like shooting.  Free roam for an hour or two (or whatever).  I would find it fascinating to see what pictures this experiment would finish with.  Would the landscape photographer take wide-angle shots of the scenery, and street photographer take pictures of the others taking pictures?  Or would they all change styles to try something different?  Just a small thought, but I wonder what the results would be.

On to the the pictures!

Frank

His note: I went to Mark's [Work Warehouse, clothing store] on St-Laurent blvd. today to get some suspenders (ya I'm really getting old lol).  Next to Mark's was a building where I found this shot.  This was so interesting I just had to try and shoot it.  At a quick glance it is a very innocuous, or pallid, picture.  But when you look closely the metal wire seems to be defying gravity; it should be hanging rather than standing upright.  It is not touching the wall either.  The shadows are collaborators here as well - they seem to split in 2 different directions.  The wire shadow points upward and the loop shadow points downward.  The sun was wonderful and warm today, let's have more of it!

Mandy

Her note: Jon's door.

Shannon

Her note: Went for lunch for a going away party and our table had a tap on it. Too bad it didn't work .

My picture

As mentioned before, today was very nice, and so alternate modes of transportation come out.  I saw this skateboarder waiting for the bus and he had a nice look to him, with the skateboard across his lap.  Unfortunately, he saw me taking a picture of him, but I like the angle and the way he's looking towards the camera.

I will probably be caught tomorrow again taking a picture of someone.  Tune in to see if I'll have a black eye because of it!

"Best wide-angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the ‘ah-ha’." - 365 Project, Day 29

We're almost a month in at this point, which is pretty amazing.  I was also pondering a few things concerning this.  One of them being this:  Some 10 or so times a week, I walk down the same streets, walking to and from work.  I walk past the same scenery almost every day and wondered how many ways you can photograph one thing and still make it different?

In modelling shoots, the intention is to take as many shots of the model as possible with somewhat-similar poses in the hopes to get that one perfect picture for the magazine cover, or billboard or what-have-you.  In landscapes, hdr and a few other types of photography, the best thing to do is to get an original angle or an otherwise different view to distinguish your picture from all the others.  There's also really only one way to take a picture of a particular valley unless you decide to cross it to different spots.

What I am asking is a little different.  Take one object, like a building or a crumpled up piece of paper and shoot it in as many different ways as you can.  I wonder how many times it could be shot before it gets repetitive, and whether a pro photographer would do any better than an amateur photographer.  Ponder that next time you're waiting at a red light.

Today's pictures are very interesting, in that 3 of the 4 have the same idea: putting the camera on something (or very near something) and shooting down that something's length.  Again, this is a total coincidence and I find it fascinating three of us had the same inspiration.

Frank

His note: This metal lamp post was about 30 feet high.  All I did was stick the camera on it and snap the shot.  As luck would have it, because this was not intentional at all, the reflection of the light on the post made it seem like the 4th light was subliminally part of the photo.  Serendipitous!

Mandy

Her note: Nifty angle, almost fell over.

Shannon

Her note: View of the Ottawa River.

Pat

My note: While I was waiting for a friend at the mall, I decided to take a few pictures to pass the time, and this is one of the more interesting pictures that came up.  This shows that even at f5.6, you can still have some pretty creamy bokeh.

I doubt tomorrow will bring the same, well, sameness as today, but you never know.  The weather is getting a bit warmer (a bit warmer) so hopefully I'll be able to walk around more to take pictures instead of only taking indoor shots.

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand." - 365 Project, Day 28

What is a landscape?  Admittedly, a simple question, and no doubt some of the more smarmy individuals would have a pleasant time answering this in equally smarmy ways.  I only ask because I find it, in my urban environment, quite a challenge to emulate the likes of, say, Ansel Adams (and to be fair, even if I were in the middle of Yosemite, I still wouldn't be able to emulate him very well, but you understand me).  I can easily climb to elevations of 150 feet - I only have to look out my window for that - but missing are the vast expanses of valleys and brush.  Instead, up to my horizon I see nothing but streetlights and houses; canyons are replaced by streets and the various animals are replaced by Honda Civics and bus commuters.

I would love to grab a wide-angle lens, my camera, and travel to the forests of Northern Ontaio or the plateaus of the Great White North, but alas, I'm stuck travelling at ground level surrounded by coloured concrete and various metallic objects.  The city is my landscape and I have to make the best of it.  My experience of wide-angle lenses have brought me wide expanses of condos and side streets, malls and city parks to very satisfying results.  In front of the right camera and at the right angle, cityscapes can be just as vast, intense and awe-inspiring as any expanse of land or piece of territory.  The urban is my landscape.

On to today's pictures, which show nice variety and imagination.  I especially enjoy Mandy's picture today.

Frank

His note: The world is full of textures; they are everywhere.  Look up, look to the left, look to the right or look down, you will find some.  For this shot, I had to look down.

Mandy

Her note: Spiders scare me.  Spiders have big egos.

Shannon

No note from Shannon, but I will say that I'm fairly to curious to know what's in that park to make it worry free.

My picture

Walking home (again), this seemed like an innocuous shot, but I ended up really liking it, except for that annoying election poster on the top left.

Tomorrow will be another cold day in Ottawa, but hopefully every weather forecast source I've seen will be wrong.

"Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art." - 365 Project, Day 27

I don't necessarily mean to plan it thusly, but it seems to happen once a week or so.  It's not my down time or anything, it just happens.  I don't really have anything to write about today.  This kind of thing happens.  Perhaps it is because of the long day (I was up much earlier than usual), and not for lack of pictures.  I must be tired, that's the ticket.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  Tomorrow, I will be more verbose, for those who like that kind of thing.

Today's pictures:

Frank

His note: I could not resist.  This is the back of a $2 mirror I bought for my desk 6 months before I retired.  I do not need it anymore, except for taking this picture, of course!

Mandy

Picture is pretty self-explanatory, and pretty nice-looking.

Shannon

Her note: Since we had the meeting this morning and I worked all day I didn't know what to take a picture of. Decided on gift cards.

My turn

This morning walking to work (way too early, might I add), I was watching the sunrise.  I suppose this could have done with another HDR treatment, but I wanted it slightly more realistic.  I was also shooting handheld, and I didn't want to try to align the pictures.  I just wanted the picture to be darker, with the rays of the sunrise shinning through.

Again, tomorrow will see more words in this post.

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." - 365 Project, Day 26

What do you shoot, pray tell, when you have nothing to shoot?  Today was Earth Day, and in my looking for photographic opportunities, I told myself I was going to wander my neighborhood during Earth Hour in the hopes of snapping, well, whatever I found.  The slight problem was, well, the problem was plenty-fold, but I'll just mention two.  One, the people around here either didn't seem to know or didn't seem to care they were supposed to shut everything in their homes off.  My neighborhood's lumen output didn't differ much from any other 8:30-9:30 period during the year.  My second main gripe is that mother nature has decided to stay nippy a few extra days this Spring (which, by the way, is getting quite annoying, especially this late in March).

Alas, I don't really consider myself a creative person (which is more than likely the reason I prefer shooting landscapes and street photography over, say, portraits and fine art photography, and why I don't edit my pictures that much, if at all), which makes this weather-induced house arrest a little on the frustrating side of the spectrum of induced house arrests.  My living space is just so vast, and though I have tons of artifacts of varying practicality and usefulness, I am quickly running out of non-exterior things to shoot.  Mandy suggested I do some water drop photography, which is a nice idea, though knowing myself, my kitchen (which is where I would attempt to pull this off) would soon end up akin to a 'World's Deadliest Catch' episode, and my cat would not need to bathe himself for the day.

Therefore, I ask you again: what do you shoot when you have nothing to shoot?

Frank

His note: There are so many opportunities to take photos this time of year.  I was out walking close to home today (BTW that early morning wind was cold) and took several shots of this telephone pole.  This was the best (I think) of all of them.

Mandy

Perhaps a social commentary on the rising gas prices, or perhaps the faded colours want to recall a more primitive time when gas was abundant and cheap, and not totally a consideration when buying a new vehicle.  We will never know, as Mandy didn't really know what to write about for this picture.

Shannon

Her note: This brings back memories.

Me

If I wanted to be intellectual, I would remark on how I took this picture of the lights during Earth Hour and relate that to power consumption and the meaning of Earth Hour.  Actually, though I did take this during Earth Hour, I just thought these lights looked nice.

Ah, so that's what people photograph on a day like this.  I'll take that into consideration and take something more interesting tomorrow.

"I love the medium of photography, for with its unique realism it gives me the power to go beyond conventional ways of seeing and understanding and say, "This is real, too." - 365 Project, Day 25

Digital photography has greatly expanded the convenience and accessibility of photography.  There is now no need to wait an hour, or two, or two days, before seeing your Ansel Adams moment.  All you need to do is press the little play button on the back of your camera.  Digital cameras have also greatly expanded the possibilities of what is possible to the amateur.  (Indeed, my S95 has a 'miniature effect', which copies somewhat accurately what could otherwise only be done with a $2600 tilt-shift lens.)  With the possibility of digital photo editing, as well, the creation of terrific pictures is far easier.  High dynamic range pictures lend themselves perfect to digital editing, and though they've become a lot more popular in the past few years, the idea of HDR imaging dates back pretty much to the birth of photography.

Photography had its birth-of-sorts in the 1820s (1826, generally accepted) and by the 1850s, some photographers were shooting, for example, seascapes and skies with different exposures (given that plates of the time couldn't capture both sea and sky adequately) and combining the results into one photograph.  Thus, HDR was born.  Images of nuclear blasts also utilised this same process in order to have detail within the blast and outside of it.  Humans are an ingenious bunch, and they will always figure out a way of getting what they want, be it in photography or other endeavours.

A lot of people complain about HDR photography and how bad it looks.  Sometimes it looks horrid, true enough, but if done right, it looks spectacular.  Besides, its origins are not with the digital age.  It dates back over 150 years, and its intentions were very noble and very simple to begin with.

I only say this because of my contribution to today's post.  I'm not saying it's a good picture, I'm just saying.

Frank

His note: Part of the wall that holds grocery carts in the Loblaws MacArthur parking lot.

Mandy

Mandy didn't have a blurb but she did say it was pretty tough to get the angle right without getting too much (or not enough) sun on the sidewalk.

Shannon

Her note: Mmmmm Aero bubbles

My picture

So, needless to say, there's a ton of work done on this picture.  It's an 3-shot HDR image taken outside my window.  It's my first proper HDR shot (i.e. not done in-camera), and I'm not too impressed with Luminance (but that's not important right now).  For example, the software couldn't handle the 18MP size, and would only spit out a 12MP version of the pictures.  After goofing off in Luminance a bit, I boosted some of the colours in Lightroom.  I don't usually edit my pictures too much other than tweaking brightness and switching to black and white, but with this picture my idea was to go crazy.  Mission accomplished, I believe.

Tomorrow should not be as exciting for me in terms of taking pictures, as the weather outside seems to refuse to warm up.  I might have a boring picture tomorrow.  You've been warned.

"Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution." - 365 Project, Day 24

I wasn't very much in the mood to write something yesterday, but I did have an idea for this preamble.  For reasons I don't need to get into at the moment, I watch an episode of America's Next Top Model yesterday.  That unusual for a few reasons, but the main reason being I don't care much for reality shows, least of which involving a bunch of self-important women 18 to 26 years old whining and gossiping like high-schoolers.  (To be fair, I don't think that all models in that age bracket are like that, but the ones in that particular episode didn't show the best qualities in human existence.  Such are reality shows, I suppose)  In any case, the show involved the models in a photo shoot with a leopard cub.  (On a side note, the photographer was using a Canon something, which is a bit strange in portrait photography, as I've heard many times Nikon produces better skin tones.)  They each had their own shoot, and the judges kicked one of them out based on the, ahem, best shot of each model's shoot and choosing the weakest photo.  I call shenanigans on the photos they chose being the best shot, but that's another story.  My main point of this is that, assuming these are the best shots, knowing cats, this baby feline will do anything but co-operate with anybody.  The photographer also has to find the best angle and direct the model, as the model can't see what shots are being taken.  Kicking a contestant out based on one shot is somewhat unfair, especially considering the prop involved.  It could easily be argued that, in this case, the model had the least important role in the whole affair.  I suppose I could tell myself it's only a television show and leave it at that.

I seem to think too much on inconsequential things from time to time (to time).  For easy proof of this, just ask me about the deeper meanings in the first 'Starship Troopers' movie.

On to the pictures before I start thinking too much again.

Frank

His note: I had no idea an abandoned glove could be the subject for a photo.

Mandy

Her note: Took a little walk around the block and saw this reflected in a puddle. Literally STOPed me in my tracks. HAHA

Shannon

Her note: This was given to me from my four year old niece.

Myself

I had no real inspiration today for a few reasons, but mostly because my S95's battery died and I couldn't take any shots with it.  It was too late and chilly to walk outside, but I did remember I had a stack of DVD and Blu-ray players in my bedroom that might make an interesting picture.  This is the result, for better or for worse.

Tomorrow will be better.

"If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event...what kind of film would you use?" - 365 Project, Day 23

Ask me tomorrow about America's Next Top Model.  That's all I'm gonna say.  Don't ask.  Not now, at least.

Frank

His note: A bridge.

Mandy

Her note: I loved the way Billy was lying today, the light, the angle.  Very nice.

Shannon

Her note:  Mmm. Corona

(Pretty self-explanatory.)

Me

My note: Long exposure while I was waiting for the bus.  Nothing much else today.

So, this day ended pretty late.  I will see you all tomorrow.  Good night!

"The quickest way to make money at photography is to sell your camera." - 365 Project, Day 22

A couple of days ago, I talked about street photography and its element of danger.  That statement made me think (unusual, I know).  What, then, is the safest form of photography?  Though this question may seem silly at first, let us explore the possibilities.

Portraits?  Well, it may seem safe enough, but with all those cords, wires and lights, it's easy to trip on something and have a spotlight crush sensitive parts of your body.

Landscape photography?  Oh, it may seem pretty innocuous, but when you're up high enough taking a picture of a valley below, there's always a boulder looking down on you, ready to pounce on your fleshy substance.

Macro photography?  Looking at bug or flower or what-have-you, your concentration is far from anything else around you, except for that little piece of something.  The time is then ripe for you to be smacked by a truck, or scalped by a crop-duster.  This hobby is not so safe now is it?

I could go on, but the consequences are pretty clear.  I suppose, then, that we can all agree that photography is probably the most dangerous hobby in the world.

That silliness is now over, so let's see what dangerous work has been produced today.

Frank

His note: Tried a little Warhol imitation.  Although it didn't turn out, the idea is there.

Mandy

Her note: The sun decided to shine brightly in the afternoon, despite the late unexpected snow. It made for a really great high key antique-like portrait done in sepia.

Shannon

Her note: Hmmmm wonder what a cow is worth?

Pat

I walked outside for a little while today and saw this old, weathered garage door.  I like the texture and figured it would be a nice picture.

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - 365 Project, Day 21

It is pretty fascinating to view various websites and see how many people fancy themselves photographers and think they are ready for the big leagues.  If they were anything else - cooks, doctors, plumbers, or even taxidermists - they would certainly not be able to call themselves as such.  It is extremely easy to call oneself a photographer - literally as that is needed is a camera (and perhaps a memory card) - and it is even easier to have to talent as one.  I make no qualms about my own talent, or lack thereof.  I started this blog to take pictures, try new things, see the world in a different way, and hopefully become a better photographer.  Indeed, everybody on this blog hopes the same.  Nobody is tougher on my photography than my own self.  However, I like to imagine that the basics of photography have crammed themselves into my skull.

There are certain rules to follow in photography.  One may retort, well, rules are made to be broken, or even, some pictures break the rules and are terrific.  Though I cannot contradict this, I will point you to this thought. Take two photographers, one who knows the rules and breaks them, and one who simply doesn't know the rules and breaks them.  The former will break the rules for effect, and knows how to get the desired feeling by breaking certain rules.  The latter will break the rules not even knowing what they are, and though one or two of their pictures may be good, it is by luck and not by talent.  I ask, which one of these will come out with consistently better photos?  The rules are there for a reason - as in any field.  Rules help and they're great guidelines; breaking them must require very valid reasons.  One would never shoot a landscape completely out of focus, or take a portrait where the ears, instead of the eyes, are tack sharp.

There may not be rules for good photographs, but there are rules for good photography.  Art is subjective, true enough, but a bad picture is a bad picture.

After having said that, here are today's pictures.  One thing I noticed is that Mandy's picture was taken with a Nikon D200, which isn't her own camera.  You like it, Mandy?  Also, Shannon has two pictures, which are a set.  Also, if you cannot see that it has snowed again today, I will tell you that, today, it actually snowed quite heavily.

Frank

His note: As the song says, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... Can I add, dammit!!!

Mandy

Her note: Sitting in the snow, freezing my butt off, I was waiting for a Blue Jay that frequents out peanut feeder. To my surprise this little fella showed up and modeled for me.

Shannon


Her note: When I came in to work this morning this is what I see out my window.  Then as it turns this (the first picture) is how close it gets.

Pat

This is a picture of one of my keys on my keychain.  One, I don't have a macro lens, and two, I had nothing more interesting to shoot.  Tip for cheap macro photography: take a prime and a zoom lens, zoom the latter as far as it can go, and on both, switch focus to manual and focus them to infinity.  Put them glass to glass (so that the camera mounts are as far apart as possible), and snap away.  The problem is that the depth of field is ridiculously miniscule, but if you have something nice to shoot, it will look extremely interesting.  Be ready for a lot of trial and error, though.

As you can see, it snowed today, near the end of March.  Cross your collective fingers so that no more frozen precipitation shows itself (or, if your sadistic, so that there's more).

"Look, I'm not an intellectual - I just take pictures." - 365 Project, Day 20

I remember walking around on a Saturday night in downtown Ottawa, looking for something to shoot.  During that particular time of the year, Ottawa nightlife is not horrible, and the area I was in had street magicians, jugglers and suchlike.  Of all the pictures I took that night, one stands out in my mind.  It's one of a street magician, in the middle of his trick, looking at the participant (who is off-camera).  The look in his face is, in my mind, part intensity, part concentration, but also part desperation.  Now, this last part may only be in my own mind, but I see this.  The people standing around this magician admiring his work were watching me take pictures of the card trick he was doing, but they probably didn't see what I saw.

When I walk around taking pictures, I wonder what people think.  I should qualify this by explaining something.  When I'm taking pictures of random things, I couldn't care less what people thing.  They just see someone taking pictures.  What I mean is where I'm in street mode, looking to catch an everyday picture of people doing mundane things, they sometimes spot me.  I've missed some quite nice pictures, not wanting to alarm someone looking at me.  Sometimes, in not-so-nice neighborhoods, people seem to want to sock me for looking at them, let alone taking a picture of them.  When someone sees me taking a picture of them, I sometimes wonder what goes through their mind.  I suppose it depends on the state of their thoughts and the way they think.

It seems like being daring is an important part of street photography and the (to be quite honest, somewhat relatively minimal) danger is at least one way of getting a great photograph (though, honestly, not a hard prerequisite).

This has nothing to do with the pictures today, but I thought I'd mention it.

Frank

His note: This telephone pole has seen better days...

Mandy

Her note: Backache therefore... Shot glass + Ceiling lamp = This

Shannon

Shannon didn't have anything to say about this, but she just wanted you all to know this was her floating candle.

Pat

I see this every day walking back home but it caught my eye today and thought it would make an interesting picture with the brickwork and the lonely satellite dishes.

Onto tomorrow, and we will see what comes of it!

"The best camera is the one you have with you." - 365 Project, Day 19

True enough, whatever you have with you is the most ideal instrument of capturing the particular moment.  Would that I could, I would have my 7D perpetually strapped to my hip (or, as I've said previously, walk around with an M9 around my neck, were I the owner of such).  For reasons that should be self-evident (mostly something along the lines of looking like a complete tool), I choose to forgo such a strategy.  However, and at the risk of crossing the creepy/bizarre line, I have my S95 with me at all times.  I never know when an opportunity for an interesting (or more frequently, not-so-interesting) picture will show itself.  Though this is not the best camera around (and arguably not the best compact camera around), I am, quite often, able to get exactly, or almost exactly, the snapshot I want.  Any fault in the picture is utterly and completely my own (as evidenced by my picture today).  In terms of composition, angles and colour, I enjoy it (and even the funny Canon white balance I find appropriate for this picture).  In terms of clarity and detail, well, I shall deftly skip that part and segue into today's pictures.  Look over there!  Photos!

For some reason, I particularly enjoy today's pictures.  They show little things in life that people see every day, but that most people don't notice (except, of course, perhaps that buggy picture).  Though their subject matter is pretty bland, they all look pretty interesting.

Frank

His note: Sitting in the dentist's chair waiting for a teeth cleaning, I saw all her tools of the trade neatly lined up.  I thought it would make an interesting pattern.

Mandy

Her note: Apple loves to sit on the steps and look out onto her yard. Usually done in between squirrel chasing.

Shannon

Her note: As I was heading out a horse and buggy pulled out in front of me.

Myself

Forgive the blurriness of the picture but I had to use a ridiculous shutter speed handheld on this dark road.  I wanted to get the line of streetlamps down the middle, but I found this angle with the cars on the side a bit more interesting.

Another day gone, another four pictures up.  Tomorrow is Sunday and I honestly, and quite justifiably, have no idea what it will bring.  Let's go headlong into Sunday!