"I don't speak emotionally about my pictures. That's for other people to do. I will say that I love my photographs. That's what keeps me going. That's what keeps me ambitious." - 365 Project, Day 338

It was intensely misty/foggy today and this is the best example I took.  It's quite difficult to take a shot of mist without making everything look white.  Even in post-production, tweaking the photo is pretty tricky.  You don't want to overdo it because it ends up looking fake, or not as misty as you want it to.

I'll explain.  Here is my shot for today.

This is the best shot of mist I've ever taken.  I'd prefer it if that apartment building in the back was a church (not to mention that it would make more sense in the shot) but I'll take what I can get.

Here's a slightly different tweak, a tiny bit darker:

And here's yet a slightly darker one:

My shot for the project is the brightest one and shows the least detail, but that's how misty it was.  Making the shot clearer also messes up the foreground, which is now completely dark and unrealistic.  The tombstones really didn't look at all like that.

My first edit is the least clear and distinctive, but is also the most realistic as to what I actually saw.  Editing through mist is a tough thing to do, and I think I found the right balance.

Onto the last month.  Thanks for sticking with me, and hopefully you'll stick around for longer.

" Very few people have 20/20 vision and the lens of a camera is always resolving action more finely than we can see it." - 365 Project, Day 337

From lack of inspiration to too much inspiration, it's a shame the planet doesn't balance photo-ops as much as it should.  Rain seems to be something that creates a lot of picturesqueness, as is snow.  (All precipitation, it seems, is good for photographers.)  Sunsets and sunrises seem to provide no end to photographic opportunities,, as well.

As such, what do you do when you're overloaded with opportunities?  Do you try to capture everything, or do you try to get the gist of what's going on?  Do you accept that you can't catch everything and just shoot what you can?

Here were our opportunities.

Frank

His note: This car has not moved all winter.  It was burried in much thicker snow but some of it melted.

Shannon

Her note: Working late... time for a break.

Myself

I always enjoy snowstorms for various reasons.  One of them is their propensity for being interesting to shoot.  There's constant movement but there's also consistency in this chaos.

Tomorrow is a new month.

"In photography, like in all things, there are people who can see and others who cannot even look." - 365 Project, Day 336

If one could stroll down to the corner store and purchase a can of inspiration, would this product sell?  Very well, I, and possibly many others, would assume.  This miracle can of inspiration might seem, well, inspirational; however, caveats follow.

In this free market of purchasers, would it inspire these purchasers in different ways, or would it conjure up the same thoughts in all individuals?  Would it inspire in all situations equally?  In addition, would this company of companies that found this miracle recipe ever run out of their godsend of a product?  Would their be elitists turning up their noses to this type of product, saying they don't need such hogwash?

If this product is such a popular commodity, one would assume addiction might become an outcome - and possible some may develop tolerances to inspiration.  Quitting this miracle would then require a patch, or if one had the courage to suddenly cease this can of inspiration, would your body lack all inspiration until such a time it may slowly, incrementally, produce levels of inspiration that equate pre-can normalcy?

Such are ramblings of a tired madman and should quite possibly not be taken seriously.  Instead, look at these photogaphs.

Frank

His note: Reflextions.

Shannon

Her note: Ice cream with M&M's

Pat

My note: I'll make no qualms about this shot: it's not very good.  I stayed up late because of work (don't ask), and woke up late and didn't do much else for the rest of the day.  It was one of those days that I also didn't notice anything worth shooting.  The only good thing about this shot is that the noise gives it some sort of texture.

Last day January tomorrow, and we start the last month of this project the day after that.

"Some of my best work is done when I'm half asleep." - 365 Project, Day 335

I said I was looking forward to the next few days, which is true, but they won't leave much chance for photographic opportunity.  This is what distinguishes a photographer from an artist, I think.  How do you take photographs of something when there's not much to shoot?

Gavin Hoey has a "15-Minute Photo Challenge" he posts from time to time.  He has 15 minutes to take the best shots of his surrounds possible.  They're a nice learning tool, and though he does go to interesting spots to take his pictures, this is a nice exercise in photo-taking.

The last time I tried this challenge was last June, I think, and I realised my S95 buttons didn't work anymore, so it wasn't the best experience.  I could try to do this again, but the -20C wouldn't be the best conditions.  I'll try it again soon.

Here are our challenges for the day.

Frank

His note: I'm very impressed with this duet by Lady GaGa and Tony Bennett.  Especially her performance.

Shannon

Her note: As the day went on these got longer.

My shot

Today's shot (and tomorrow's for that matter) are nothing special.  There doesn't seem to be anything catching my eye, and so the mundane takes over.  (To be fair the weather isn't helping much, either.)  I've taken far too many sunset pictures, so I tried doing something a little bit different, though I don't think I accomplished much of that.  In any case, here's what I took.

Tomorrow is going to be more of the same.

"Photography is the beauty of life, captured." - 365 Project, Day 334

I had a friend visiting and we ended up taking pictures.  I don't often do portraits, or work with people when I'm taking pictures and it's quite a different experience.

Personally, when I go walk around to take shots, I'm listening to music or a podcast while I'm walking around, and don't really hear what's going on.  Not that I have any issues interacting with people, but when I'm taking shots with strangers around I'm not really looking to strike up a conversation.

Not only that, but during a portrait session, you have to give direction, which is easier said that done.  It's all nice and good to say, smile, and start snapping, but it's better to joke around and try to get a natural reaction, and everything about the frame and subject's position has to be considered.  It's a different experience for me, and I'll welcome it again if it happens.

Here's what we shot today, direction or no direction.

Frank

His note:

Shannon

Her note: Took a pic of the mess on the street and like how I got a flash of the snow

Myself

I had a friend visiting this weekend and we ended up goofing off with my cameras.  This is one of the better shots we ended up with, along with a bit of editing.  It was a fun time.

I'm looking forward to the next few days.

"Many people ask me why I am always carrying my cameras, or ask me why I am taking pictures. I often ask them, 'Why do you eat?'." - 365 Project, Day 333

Yesterday I talked about performance, so I figure today I'll talk about size.  It's impressive what companies have been able to do with photography.  Cameras are powerful, they're small, and they can so much more than simply take blurry pictures of the subject.  When there's speculation that Lytro is trying to adapt their light field camera for cell phones, the world has truly become miniaturised.

SLRs are getting smaller, compacts are tiny and cell phones are a viable camera substitute for a fun night out.  Companies still find ways of putting more and more zoom and more elements in smaller cameras every year. Fuji, for example, announced a compact camera with 21x zoom.  Now, I can't vouch for the clarity and quality of the pictures that will be produced, but it is an amazing feat, nonetheless.  I simply can't wait until I see Panasonic's 'intelligent zoom' mode in cell phones, and see quality pictures with 2x, or 3x or even 5x zoom inside a cell phone.

With our cameras of various sizes and weights, we took these shots.

Frank

His note: Can you tell freezing rain makes parking lots icy and slippery?

Shannon

Her note: At Fan Fair for the All-Star Weekend!

Pat

One of the first pictures I posted was vaguely similar to this.  This is more of a close-up and a bit better overall, I find.  I've grown a bit and I like tight framing more than I did.  There's something creepy about this picture, and not seeing what's around this tree helps create the right eerie mood.

What's next?

"The restless photographer, never seems to have enough equipment." - 365 Project, Day 332

One big thing people want with their cameras is great low-light shooting.  I find this funny, because A) people want the smallest camera possible with the most zoom, and B) people generally don't want to spend, say $450 (the price of the Canon S100) for their camera.  This is another issue I've touched on before, and not the subject of this post.

What is pretty impressive is how companies are really pushing the boundaries of what camera sensors can do.  The Fuji X-Pro 1 and the Canon G1X really promise incredible results, and with the samples that have come out, those promises seem to be realised.  Fuji promises their APS-C sensor will outperform full-fram sensors, and Canon is positioning their G1X to go toe-to-toe with compact system cameras.

We'll see where this all leads, but all I can say I'm glad I never really shot film, because there's no way film cameras can perform as well digital.  When a small compact camera can shoot usable shots at ISO6400, that says something about how far technology has come along.

Here's what we did today.

Frank

His note: "One little, two little, three little elephants."

My shot

To get the effect I wanted, I'd need a D3s.  Someone was having fun with spot lights (and I can't venture to guess who), and I tried to capture them in an interesting pattern.  That didn't work, so here's what I ended up with.

... I don't know how to finish this post.