"I married the model, so I still pay for the shooting..." - 365 Project, Day 275

Take my picture today.  How much would you pay to have it displayed?  If anybody paid more than a buck and a half for this thing, I'd smack them.  My picture from June 28th, for example, is a different story.  Not that anybody would put that picture on their wall besides possibly myself, but it's certainly a nicer shot than today's.

The point being, pricing your work if you want to sell it is tricky.  When you're hired to do a job, say shoot a wedding, it's relatively simple.  The people hiring you are basically renting you, your equipment and your expertise for the day, so figuring a base price is not too tough: the price of gas to get you there, the price of renting your camera, lenses and lights (and whatever else you have) for the day, and the price of your time for editing the work, among perhaps a few more considerations.  It takes a while, but is pretty simple.

When, on the other hand, the work is your own, and you want to sell it to others, it's difficult.  Because it's a photograph, it's very easily replicated, unless paintings, which have to be original to be worth much, and so quantity comes into play.  The time you spent setting up and visiting and revisiting the spot to get the perfect picture also has to be considered.  It comes down to how much it's worth to you, and how cheap it is, considering how many other people are selling posters of their photographs.  I suppose it also has to be nice enough to hang on a wall, as well.

Our work today.

Frank

His note: Part of a duct tape roll.

Shannon

Her note: This is what we will be wearing for Boxing Day.

(Shoes?)

My photo

I was mostly in non-public places today, and so the chance of whipping out my big boy 7D was very small.  Instead, I'm choosing this blurry shot of some dried peppers in honour of the crazy people from Black Friday, choosing to pepperspray other people in the face to get at stupid things that happen to be cheap for that particular day, as opposed to buying it six months earlier when it's on sale for the same price.

I'm half looking forward to tomorrow.

"No one makes less sense than famous photographers. It's a good thing they have chosen a visual medium, as words are not their strong suit. Has anyone ever seen a collection of quotes full of as much useless pomposity as these?" - 365 Project, Day 274

This is day 274 of a 365-day project, so the delineation between start, finish and no more project, is pretty clear.  On March 1st, the project will be over.  This is easy.  What if the boundaries are slightly fuzzier?  I always hear of photographers having project, such as going to third world countries to bring their plight to more people, or specific portraits, or what-have-you.  How do these photographers know when their projects end?

Is there some point where the photographer loses interest, or can't take it anymore, or is ordered to stop by someone?  Does this person stop whenever they feel they have enough material for a project, or do they keep going until they find this one special shot that will make the project memorable?  Is it as simple as, say, I'm going to do this for a week and then stop and see what I have?  I suppose I just have to start such a project and see how it goes.

Here is the ongoingness of our project.

Frank

His note: These trees seem to be guarding the door.

Shannon

Her note: I meant to send this pic awhile ago and totally forgot I took it. We were greeted by this guy at a Halloween party.

Me

It was rainy outside.  I just wanted to make that clear.

Today, at work, a customer gave me a hug.  I made her day, more than I know, apparently, and she made me smile.  It was reciprocal, and worth every semi-negative occurrence that may have happened.  Let's hope tomorrow is similar in its overall output of positive

"Received an email today saying Canon may announce a new lens on or around December 6, 2011." - 365 Project, Day 273

Let's pretend, for a simple moment, there is a photograph.  (There may be more than one, to be true, but in this particular thought we will concentrate on simply one.)  Let's take this photograph and postulate it is the best photograph ever taken, ever, of anything - unequivocally, objectively, unquestionably the best.  (Such a thing, obviously, is quite impossible, but this being my own personal thought experiment, humour me and don't resist this point.)  The one caveat of this thought is that no one has yet seen this picture.

How would the community of worldly (and not-so-worldly, but still pretty talented) photographers react?  The obvious: they would discuss this photograph and try to view it.  The not-as-obvious: would they alter their workflow?  Will they stop their work until the photograph has a viewing, or will it push them to strive for better quality?  Will it simply, on the other hand, do nothing, having photographers say their photos reflect their own life, and simply brush off this perfect photograph.  Personally, I don't think it would change my output too much, though I would like to see this magical be-all-end-all piece of work.

Here's our perfect work for the day.

Frank

His note: One of my favorite Tweetys.

Shannon

Her note: My neighbour's Christmas lights.

My work

I was trying to show how dark it was this morning.  I shot this at the settings I usually shoot at in the mornings, ISO100 at f/8 and 1/160 of a second.  For those who care, it would be properly exposed if I pushed it two and a half stops brighter.  It's been more or less the same for two days, and I'm curious know the next time the sun will show itself.

Let's also pretend tomorrow is now.

"Synonym for the word 'photographer': shooter, camera bug, lensmen, lenswomen, send out a camera." - 365 Project, Day 272

A few years back, I visited Egypt.  I went to Cairo, Alexandria, Siwa, Luxor, Hurgada and back to Cairo to leave.  It was a 15-day trip and I came back with a really nice, amber, chess set, and about 600 photos.  The thing with all those photos is that they were taken with a film camera.  I don't remember how much it cost to develop all those pictures but I know I was surprised when I realised how much it was.

My point is, today, if I were to go back on the same trip, how many pictures would I take?  I should theoretically be able to take a lot more now, given how many pictures can be stored on a memory card (or, for that matter, on a laptop), so would I take the same ones, or different ones?  Well, I suppose they were in part be different given how dunes in the Sahara change, but the idea remains the same.  Also, with a slightly better camera and more variety in focal lengths, would my pictures be, overall, be better?  There are a few shots I took that I loved, but would my equipment now allow me to do more?

Here's out inspiration for the day.

Frank

His note: A cute gift from my friend from New Zealand.

Shannon

Her note: Laying down after a long day, this is all I can see.

Me

This was not a day with any lengthy moment of free time, and so this is what you get.  It's smaller because my phone can't do 1x1 pictures, and the shape of this thing was pretty strange.  It's got nice texture, and in black and white it looks pretty interesting.

I am glad this weekend is over.  The week should be better.

"The camera sees more than the eye, so why not make use of it?" - 365 Project, Day 271

I was wondering something.  It's probably not all that fascinating, but I had a thought.  What would an artificial intelligence photography?  Say you give a camera to a supercomputer that has been programmed to take photographs, what would its style be?  Let it roam free outside and how would it compose its shots, and would it prefer monochrome over colour?

Computers are doing more and more work and are being programmed to do all these things, and research into robotics and artificial intelligence is advancing very quickly.  How will robots distinguish themselves in the photographic world?

Here's what we non-robots shot today.

Frank

His note: Was cleaning my sports card collection and saw these two cards of my favorite.  Decided to post them for today's picture in his honour.  To this day, he is still he only defenceman to win the scoring championship, and he did it twice!

Shannon

Her note: Mmm, strawberry margarita.

Me

I've noticed in the past few days my pictures have been extremely bright or extremely dark..  The trend keeps going today.  This is vaguely what the morning sky looked like today, with a bit of contrast tweaking.  The clouds were thick and the sun looked like the moon through them.  I found this look a bit more striking, given the sensor on my phone isn't the best.

Today was tiresome, tomorrow will be the same.

"Photography has no rules, it is not a sport. It is the result which counts, no matter how it is achieved." - 365 Project, Day 270

When shooting in a studio, the photographer has all the time available to them to be as picky as they want to.  Every little bit of the picture has to be considered, and there's no excuse for imperfection or sloppiness.  Is there a form of photography where these are forgivable?

Lomography is a movement that aims to be imperfect, so I'm not considering this.  Would a street photographer have a better chance of being recognised than a landscape photographer or a photojournalist or even a sports photographer, with slightly blurry pictures?  I suppose the clearer the picture, whatever the style, the better it is, unless you're going for the blurry look.

Here are our pictures, blurry or not.

Frank

His note: I hate when police cars park next to mine.

My Photo

I took a different route home and got some nice shots, but this one stood out.  It's dark and mysterious and I like how the colours in the reflections.

Tomorrow will be, uh, tiresome.

"Photography concentrates one's eye on the superficial. For that reason it obscures the hidden life which glimmers through the outlines of things like a play of light and shade. One can't catch that even with the sharpest lens." - 365 Project, Day 269

Andre Brenton said that surrealism tried to combine elements of the conscious and subconscious worlds together.  How often do dreams affect photography?  For that matter, how easy would that be.  I've had dreams and written film scripts based on them.  I've had strange happens in my dreams.  I've never been photographically inspired by my dreams.

I suppose it depends on the dream, and whether or not you have the opportunity to replicate this kind of dream.  Dave LaChappelle is known for some wacky shots, and I'm sure his dreams have at least partly influenced some of his work, but how much of photography is pushed by unconscious thoughts?

Here's what we shot today, whether influenced by dreams or not.

Frank

His note: My attempt at drawing Einstein's funny moment.

(You mean his trying to disprove quantum mechanics wasn't funny enough?  What, too geeky?)

Shannon

She had no inspiration today, so she took a shot of my shot from yesterday.

My shot from today

I wanted this picture to look overprocessed and I think I accomplished that.  The day was extremely dark from morning to evening and so I had to do a lot to brighten up this image.  I'm trying to evoke a dreamy feel, though I think I'm failing in that aspect.  I am happy with the overall look of the picture, considering the original image.

I'm really happy that I actually got a Franz Kafka quote during this project.  I find it strange, but I'm happy about it.

"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety." - 365 Project, Day 268

The flip side of yesterday's coin is having a dearth of photographic opportunities.  Now, this in itself, anybody will tell you, is nowhere near a bad thing.  On the contrary, the only possible thing one would have to worry about is the space in your memory card, and ensuring there's enough space to encompass your inspiration.

The other main issue is whether you're limited in the showcase of your work.  Today, for example, I have a few nice shots, but I can only pick one.  In a bigger venue, say a gallery show, where you have a couple dozen pieces, you're a bit freer to choose, but you'd still be limited in the number of photographs to display.  Such is the curse of inspiration.

Seems like inspiration was a bit one-sided today, as you'll see shortly.

Frank

His note: First snowman I see this season, had to take it.

Shannon

Her note: This is what we woke up to today, and it will all be gone by the weekend.

My stuff

So, we've all seen the view from my balcony before, but this time it's bright!  Though it's bright, I figured it would be the best way to show the morning we woke up to.  It was pretty bright, but there's only one way to show whiteness, and that's with white.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  More snow, or less.

"Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art." - 365 Project, Day 267

What happens if you simply can't get the shot you want?  Will you stay in that spot until you get it, or will you give up and move on?  Will you come back the next day, or the day after that, until you get that shot?

I suppose these answers depend on the type of shot you're going for.  If it's something candid, then once lost, it's gone.  If it's more of a landscape-type shot, then you have until an asteroid hits your subject to get the shot you want.  It must also depend on they type of character you possess.  If you're determined (or, for that matter, somewhat spoiled), you'll want that shot because you want it, and if possible you'll do whatever you have to in order to get it.  Otherwise, you'll realise it can't be had (or are somewhat impatient) and move on to the next thing.  I suppose the answer to my questions is yes and no.

Here's what we got today.

Frank

His note: Skype-ing with a friend from Australia.

Shannon

Her note: Pretty soon, we will be able to build these guys outside as mother nature is bringing us some nasty weather.

(Shannon, we've been through this: it should be a lot colder by now.  Be happy we're not under 4 feet of snow.)

(EDIT on the 23rd.  Like today.)

Myself

As the title suggests, I didn't really know what to do.  I would have been happier with a shot I couldn't get, as opposed to not having a shot at all.  I'm not really sure what I was going for; I probably wanted the gravestone in between the bars to signify something but I didn't have a camera and my phone has too wide an angle.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Onto tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll have more inspiration.

"Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness." - 365 Project, Day 266

When I was travelling through the Philippines, I noticed something somewhat disheartening.  This country is very picturesque, with mountains, meadows and lush forests.  However, every time you see human contact - a village, a house or even a shack - there is garbage everywhere along the roads.  This is not merely junk by the side of the road to be picked up by the city; this is pollution.

I keep thinking this contrast of pretty and gross would make a nice series of shots, and if not get people to help the Philippines, at least consider how to help their own city, or at least neighborhood.  This is the power of a simple photograph (or, in some cases, a few of them).  This is someone my intention with my picture today: it's nothing big, but it is garbage by the side of the road.

Here are also the happier things that Frank and Shannon shot today.

Frank

His note: Man from UNCLE in a case.

Shannon

Her note: Roezell was shooting down some helicopters today.

Pat

I somehow found it interesting that this toilet became a de facto garbage can simply by being out in the street.  There were garbage bags near it, but a few people didn't seem to care much about that little fact.  It's not too much of a big deal, given all of this will be picked up in a day, but it could easily be much worse than this, and become that way very quickly.

Like I said yesterday, I think I'll like tomorrow, as well.

"I think landscape photography in general is somewhat undervalued." - 365 Project, Day 265

I've mentioned before I so urban landscapes, given my currently living in the city.  I'm not sure if landscapes are undervalued, but it seem the focus is on other things.  To be fair, most of the world has been available for photographers for more than 150 years or so.  If one wants to photograph, say, a film premiere, there is only a 2- or 3-hour window to do such a thing.  Landscapes, then, become slightly less important, as, say, the Hollywood sign will be there tomorrow.

The danger is that, because there are movie premieres, sporting events and various other, fleeting, things to shoot, landscapes may be relegated to the back of the mind, and only important if all other things are shot.  In that case, who will do landscapes?  The bright side, though, is that there is already 150-plus years of landscape photography to admire if people don't get around to it for the next 150 years.

Frank

His note: Goodbye landline... finally.

Shannon

Her note: Early morning meetings sure aren't fun.

Me

Once again, I was walking outside at night for this one particular shot, but got sidetracked.  To be fair, it is Sunday night, but trying to find any stretch of time where this generally-busy thoroughfare contains absolutely nobody - car, person, bike, bus, what-have-you - is nearly impossible.  It's an empty busy street.

The next couple of days, for some reason, seem nice to me.

"A new era in the physiological investigation of linguistic sounds was opened up by X-ray photography." - 365 Project, Day 264

Is there a new type of photography that can be invented?  Photography can be now done in virtually every wavelength of light, from infrared to ultraviolet.  Light field photography captures the direction of rays of light, making it possible to focus later.  X-ray photography allows everything from scanning your body to seeing the universe at large.  Is there any type of thing we haven't yet photographed?

Perhaps I can't think of anything because it seems like everything's been photographed.  I suppose, if string theory is correct, for example, there are more than 3 dimensions, and then photographs of that might be possible, but first we need to enter the realm of subatomic photography.  Perhaps something like taking pictures of a cross-section of wire, and analysing the signal it's carrying might emerge.  Or maybe taking picture of the curvature of space/time.  I suppose a new type of photography will eventually emerge, though we can't really see what that might be, given our limited view at the moment.

Here's our simple old regular photography for today.

Frank

His note: From the window of my car in a carwash.

Shannon

Her note: Laughed when I saw this van with eyelashes.

Pat

Another day with few opportunities, but I did get this.  I just liked the way the shadows ran, but there's not much more to see in this picture.  I boosted a few things to give the picture a certain look, but it only ends up looking as bland as it should probably look.

"I like to feel that all my best photographs had strong personal visions and that a photograph that doesn't have a personal vision or doesn't communicate emotion fails." - 365 Project, Day 263

One small pet peeve I have is, not so much (as other photographers dislike) that everybody with an SLR calls themselves a photographer, but that people think they need an expensive camera to take good pictures.  It's undeniable that a better camera will make it easier to get a better picture, but you can get great shots with bad cameras.  It just takes vision and a willingness to learn.

Once you get a good camera, it will not promise perfect pictures, no matter the price.  You need to want to learn how to get the most out of the camera, and you need to learn how to use the camera.  A lot of people either don't seem to want to realise that, or simply believe that.  (A lot of people also seem to lack understanding of the concept that not every camera can do everything as well as every other camera.)  Once you get the equipment under your control, you can start spreading your vision through your pictures, and only then will you generally be happy with your photography.

I'm happy with my picture today.  I believe it shows my love of the subject matter.

Frank

His note: First Friday frost.  I don't like it.

Shannon

Her note: The new plastic money.

(For those curious, this would be a one hundred dollar bill.)

My picture

This is one more in my line of sunrise pictures, though I have more sunsets to my name.  I like the sun behind the clouds and the effect it gives to the clouds.

"I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them." - 365 Project, Day 262

Someone said something at one time to the effect of money makes the world go round, but do other things have that effect?  Say there could be no photographs or videos taken for one 24-hour period (given, videos are essentially a series of photographs).

The obvious thing would happen: wedding photographers, portrait photographers and the like would not be able to earn any money that particular day, but it goes beyond that.  Not only could Hollywood not shoot movies (which, according the individual, may either be a good or bad thing) and the local news wouldn't be able to broadcast, but also, traffic light cameras would not photograph red-light runners and surveillance cameras would not be able to watch thieves or other wrong-doers.  People wouldn't be able to skype/facetime/videochat with whomever they generally do this with.  A drunken night out would have no way of being remembered the next day.  Doctor's couldn't operate on knees, torsos or countless other body parts, perform various other procedures.  Bomb disposal units would have to rely on their own hands instead of sending out robots to disarm strange packages.  Scientists wouldn't be able to photograph microbes, or galaxies.

The list can go on for much longer, but I think my idea is sound; photography is kind of as much necessary as money or anything else, because if cameras didn't work, people wouldn't see.

Here's what we saw today.

Frank

His note: For you Beatles fans out there, number 9, number 9, number 9.

Pat

What I would have preferred for this shot is not having anything other than my cat sitting on my front speaker.  I did edit the picture to take everything out, but decided on keeping the picture as real as possible.  I still like the way it looks, with Tux simply looking at me amid a big empty wall.

I will try plowing into tomorrow head on.

"One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind." - 365 Project, Day 261

I'm not finding any inspiration today to write something.  I wonder if there's a correlation between daily inspiration for photography and for writing.

In any case, here are our pictures for the day.

Frank

His note: More trickery.  Took a photo of the exterior wall of the Airplane Museum in Rockliffe and flipped the image, then put a light blue screen between the two identical images.

Shannon

Her note: Jack all curled up and ready for bed.

Mine

Just as I was walking around today, so was this fellow.  He stopped to say hello, then disappeared around a house.

I think I won't like tomorrow, but I hope I'm wrong.

"Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world." - 365 Project, Day 260

They say photography is a reflection of yourself (or so I've read in so many photography quotes), so what does it mean when all my street shots have people far away from me?  We create our own world through out photography, and it should reflect our thoughts, beliefs and aesthetics.

I don't necessarily feel disconnected from this world, though sometimes I wish certain people would be disconnected.  I like the loneliness factor associated with a very small person is a very wide shot, though most of the time I don't feel lonely.

It's a strange and possibly probing though, though I don't like going into this any long consdering I've done too much introspecting in the past.  For now, I'll just enjoy photography.

Here's what we enjoyed.

Frank

His note: Don't know if this hole was man-made or carved by nature, but either way I thought it was interesting.

Shannon

Her note: Taking a picture of a picture that is on my camera.

(I'm not sure why you didn't just send me the picture that's on the camera, though it is an interesting concept.)

Me

This is probably a better shot for me than for you guys.  Two young ladies were walking down this street and one of them stopped to take something out of her bag.  It's kind of strange given the street is not in the best neighbourhood, they were not going to take a bus and it's not really a night were people go out to meet friends (let alone the fact that they were not going into a residential spot).  I think I creeped one of them out (the one not in the picture) because I was taking a picture of them, so I assume I was the type of person they were hoping to avoid.  It may not have even been worth it given not many people will notice this lady unless she's pointed out, as well.

I should have a brighter picture tomorrow.

"With photography, you zero in; you put a lot of energy into short moments, and then you go on to the next thing." - 365 Project, Day 259

Workflow is a part of any photographer's output, and whether you edit your pictures in any way or not, there always is some decisions being made about what pictures are good and what pictures are not.  If you choose to edit your pictures, you go into every individual shot and decide how it can be better.

Today is the first time I've edited more than 4 pictures at any one time, having gone through all the pictures from the Christmas party.  I don't know how much time I spent, but it had to have been about 3 hours straight picking, sorting and tweaking all of them as best I could.  I'm very happy with the results, as most photographers should be.

Here's what we are happy about.

Frank

His note: These things are popping up all over the place.  I guess Christmas is on the way!

Shannon

Her note: Lots and lots of mini bottles of coke.

Me

My note: Just a lonely tree on a lonely road.  I walk walking back home and liked the way the light shown through in the tree leaves.

It's onto tomorow now.

"What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time." - 365 Project, Day 258

A few days ago I wondered how many pictures were taken on drunken nights out.  Today, I wonder what  my graph would be if one could plot the amount of pictures I take every day.

Over the course of a year, are there specific days that would spring out, or would some random days be more productive?  Also, would my own graph match up with anybody else's?

Here are our pictures for today.

Frank

His note: My reading lamp.

Shannon

Her note: The camera I was using at the work xmas party.

Pat

At the Christmas party, I was the de facto photographer given I had my camera.  I enjoyed taking longer exposure shots.  This was my favorite.  It doesn't show who anybody is, but it shows them moving.  It was a fun night.

Next!