about & out... 365 project

I'm done...

2007-05-20T12:00:00.000+10:00

Sorry to say that 365 is no more. On the negative side, I have had endless trouble with Blogger crashes and not being able to upload photos. But on the positive, my business is booming and just don't have enough hours in the day to devote to this.

I will still post occasionally and I'm still keen to check out your posts so I'll still be around.

It was fun while it lasted and I feel like I have made some new friends as you've all let me into your daily lives.

Take care all.

On a parting note, here are a few of my latest (fingers crossed I can get these to upload).

Day 121

2007-05-02T19:05:00.000+10:00

Kissy, kissy.... My gorgeous Godson

Day 120

2007-05-01T12:05:00.000+10:00

My grandmother will turn 95 in a few months. She is without a doubt one of my all time favourite people. She is strong, loving, compassionate, funny, supportive, devoted, warm and kind. And I could go on and on in praise of this very special person. My Nan has always been there for me and I know she has made my world a better place.

This is a photo of my Nan ~ Elda Gertrude ~ and was taken, I'm guessing, in about 1913 or 14. She is here with her big sister.

Now this is one of the reasons I love photography so much. I can only hope that someone will look back at one of my photos in 93 years and have a reason to smile.

Day 119

2007-04-30T23:18:00.000+10:00

Well it's not wide-angle because I was running around today and didn't get a chance to pull out the camera until about 8pm. It's close-up, but it's not nature. Can you tell what it is?

ETA: Julie was close to right with her guess. I turned off all lights except one small desk lamp which I aimed at a CD. I tilted the CD slightly until the colours looked good and then took some shots. It was hard to get focus in the near-dark and I had to use a really slow s.s. but I thought the OOF ones were cooler than the sharp ones.

1/25 @ f/2.8 ISO 1600

Day 118

2007-04-29T23:13:00.000+10:00

Oh, I'm feeling the need to get out of my rut. I'm boring myself with nature close-ups. I'm off to find the wide angle lens that hasn't been on my camera for about 12 months!

Day 117

2007-04-28T19:12:00.000+10:00

A trip to the zoo seemed like a good idea for today. And it was. Although it's still raining we had a fun day and even manged to stay pretty dry. The only problem was trying to shoot and not get the camera wet - so most pics were from the indoors exhibits.

Day 116

2007-04-27T18:09:00.000+10:00

It's been raining now for days. I shouldn't complain because we've been in a severe drought here for a long time. But it's SO boring.

Anyway between showers I ran outside and had a play with some raindrops on leaves. This one was an experiment - deliberately OOF. Looking at it through the viewfinder the raindrops sparkled like diamonds. When I focussed, it lost the magic. So I unfocussed and shot.

Day 115

2007-04-26T19:22:00.000+10:00

This one was taken a while ago but I just wanted to show you where I woke up this morning. My friends live by the water and I stayed with them last night. I didn't have my camera with me (shock, horror!!) so I dug out this shot taken from their private jetty.

Day 114

2007-04-25T15:18:00.000+10:00

I was running around all day today and didn't even touch my camera. So here's one from a couple of weeks ago. Playing with late afternoon light.

Day 113

2007-04-24T18:11:00.000+10:00

Well not a very exciting post to celebrate getting my camera back. But what can I say, it's raining.

Bored, rain outside, foggy window inside and lamp light ~ this was the result. At least I made myself laugh :)

Day 112

2007-04-23T18:12:00.000+10:00

Well they have promised my camera will be back tomorrow. Yeah, I've heard that before. So another old one. This one is from the beach a few weeks ago.

Day 111

2007-04-22T19:15:00.000+10:00

Ahhhhh my camera is not back yet. I'm not coping very well without it. I really need to get myself a back-up camera!!! Another of the never ending series of "side of the road" photos.

Day 110

2007-04-21T10:10:00.000+10:00

Hopefully the last of this series from the side of the road. I should get my camera back tomorrow. It's been frustrating not having it. But I did take some Holga pics that I can share as soon as they come back from the lab.

Day 109

2007-04-20T11:06:00.000+10:00

Yet another side of the road photo...

Day 108

2007-04-19T17:03:00.000+10:00

Another from the side of the road...

Day 107

2007-04-18T07:39:00.000+10:00

Doing the 365 challenge has certainly made me take more notice of the world around me. Yesterday I was running about 20 minutes early for a session in a lovely suburb overlooking a National Park. I managed to fill that 20 minutes (and could have happily spent at least another hour) playing at the side of the road. A wonderful mix of blackberries, ferns, grass and wild flowers.

More to come in the next few days. I wont be taking any new shots as my camera is going in for maintenance/cleaning (ahhhh sand ~ the penalty for my love of shooting on the beach).

1/200 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 200

Day 106

2007-04-17T21:48:00.000+10:00

Well, I'm on a roll with the beach theme. So here's another one. The golden sun reflecting off the wet sand late this afternoon. I did a fabulous maternity session at the beach ending with some silhouettes against the sunset. The light was sensational.

1/650 ~ f/5.6 ~ ISO 100

Day 105

2007-04-16T20:20:00.000+10:00

At the beach again this morning.

1/200 ~ f/4 ~ ISO 100

Day 104

2007-04-15T15:28:00.000+10:00

Self portrait...ha ha

I'm trying to make the most of the beach because winter is on the way. I'm not a fan of the cold. This is from my early morning walk today.

1/200 ~ f/5.6 ~ ISO 100

Day 103

2007-04-14T14:19:00.000+10:00

I have been playing with an action made and very kindly shared by Tammy.

Here's a photo from the other day. I was supposed to be working so don't tell anyone I was at the beach with K & J (LOL).

#1 Tammy's Urban Vintage Action

#2 Robyn's High Key Portrait Action

#3 SOOC

Day 102

2007-04-13T09:02:00.000+10:00

I recently read about a technique for macro photography on Michael Brown's blog. The image is created by handholding the camera and simply cramming the lens into a flower. I had a play with this today. I don't have a real macro lens yet but I still had some interesting results. This was the one I liked best. I crammed the lens into a clump of grass.

1/400 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 100

Day 101

2007-04-12T09:36:00.000+10:00

A bit of colour on a dull day....

1/400 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 200

Day 100 - WOOHOO!!!!!!

2007-04-11T19:21:00.000+10:00

Well I made it ~ 100 days. Only 265 to go... I took some photos of the Opera House through this arch earlier in the year but the exposure wasn't very good. So I tried again and I am much happier with the results this time.

1/500 ~ f/22 ~ ISo 200 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 24mm

Day 99

2007-04-09T19:48:00.000+10:00

Playing with candles and the camera.

1/125 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 400

0.5s ~ f/4.5 ~ ISO 400

Day 98

2007-04-08T10:17:00.000+10:00

What's the newest addition to my camera bag? No it's not the 5D, no it's not the 85mm 1.2 lens, and no it's not the macro I desperately want.

Meet Ralph ~ He's a $1 squeaky dog's toy from the pet's ailse in the supermarket. He's awesome for getting eye contact from babies and toddlers (at leat the first 3 or 4 times LOL).

~ he was named by a 2 y.o. boy from my last family session.

Both 1/60 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 200 ~ window light

Day 97

2007-04-07T10:04:00.000+10:00

More rain. This is quite abstract. It's the rain hitting the window ledge and bouncing back up. I used a quite strong colour pop action and I was quite happy with the results. The SOOC was a bit flat and dull.

It's best viewed at full size - just click on the image to enlarge

1/250 ~ f/3.5 ~ ISO 800

Day 96

2007-04-06T16:49:00.000+10:00

It rained today! Inside looking out...

Day 95

2007-04-05T22:45:00.000+10:00

Boring, boring, boring... But it's a photo!!! Some days inspiration just eludes me.

Day 94

2007-04-04T17:22:00.000+10:00

Wow, on the countdown to 100 days now. I don't think I've ever stuck at anything for this long. Just wish I could be as consistent with going to the gym or dieting LOL.

Day 93

2007-04-03T19:40:00.000+10:00

A twirly vine and shallow DOF. And to answer those who ask if I shoot with a macro lens, the answer is no. I shoot 99% of the time with the 28-70L 2.8 lens. It has a macro setting but it's not really a macro lens. I had an awesome maco with my film camera and I miss it. A good macro is on the list but because it's a "for fun" lens and not a "for work" lens, it'll have to wait.

1/80 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 500

Day 92

2007-04-02T22:22:00.000+10:00

Have you ever chased butterflies with your camera? If you have you'll know it's no easy task to actually get one to land in the right place at the right time. So when one lands right next to me when I have my camera in hand, I shoot. Even if it's a car window that it lands on. It's not incredibly sharp - focus is out and I didn't have time to change ISO and ap. But I don't really care. I've got my butterfly!!!

1/320 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 800

Day 91

2007-04-01T14:36:00.000+10:00

Now I promised myself this blog wouldn't contain photos from my work sessions - it's a just for fun one. But I couldn't resist posting one of the out-takes from yesterday's session. I always suggest a couple of outfits for my location shoots. But with 4 kids, changeable and unpredictable weather and a very keen mum, we ended up with a heap of clothes. This is DJ with half (!) of them - LOL. What I hadn't told them was that the beach we were going to was a bit of a walk away and they had to climb over/up/down wet slippery rocks.

DJ and Michelle if you're reading this, the proofs are almost ready.

Day 90

2007-03-31T19:56:00.000+10:00

Did an awesome family session this morning. 4 kids from 2 - 11. It was so much fun. I'm in the middle of p.p. now but need a break. So I've just been catching up on everyone's blogs. Some lovely work from lots of you - it's amazing how many people are still regularly doing POTD. I know we all miss a day here and there, but we're still going. YAY for us!!!! Thanks for those that are still commenting too. It's much appreciated.

This one is from a garden near the beach where I did my session. I snapped it while waiting for the family to arrive.

Day 89

2007-03-30T10:13:00.000+10:00

This tree is amazing. The branches are bright bright red. It has bright red berries at some times of the year and other times (like now) it is totally bare.

f/2.8 ~ 1/250 ~ ISO 100

Day 88

2007-03-29T12:23:00.000+10:00

Not sure if this is a leftover from last Christmas or getting in really early for next....

Day 87

2007-03-28T12:14:00.000+10:00

Making the most of the flowers that are still around. Unlike most of you we are coming into the colder months now.

1/100 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 800

Day 86

2007-03-27T19:35:00.000+10:00

Another from my daily "about & out" walk.

1/250 ~ f/4 ~ ISO 100

Day 85

2007-03-26T19:31:00.000+10:00

All of this made by the tiniest little spider. What a work of art....

1/200 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO200

Day 84

2007-03-25T19:26:00.000+10:00

I have no idea what this is. Walking under a tree I looked up and shot this. I love how it turnd out.

1/400 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISo 250

Day 83

2007-03-24T08:11:00.000+11:00

Just one more from the wonderful Indian journey....

Day 82

2007-03-23T07:46:00.000+11:00

Well, I've been felling a bit nostalgic since I started to go through old photos. One thing I think I don't to enough is go back and look at the old stuff. It used to be boxes of prints in the top of the cupboard, now it's folders on the hard drive and on CD/DVD.

So this leads me to today's photo. This is a temple outside of Jaipur in India (May 2005). I love this photo and I love the memories it brings back to me of an amazing journey that changed my life. It's a very long story and I wont bore you with the details, but it was here that I realised that to be truly happy I needed to follow my dreams... One of those dreams was to be a photographer. And I'm on my way!

I'm going to have this printed BIG and put up in my office to remind me every day why I'm doing this...

Day 81

2007-03-22T19:51:00.000+11:00

Pelican on street light in the sunrise. OK, not really!!! I amused myself tonight by compositing a boring pic of a pelican (actually on a street light) onto a sunset sky I took a few days ago.

Day 80

2007-03-21T18:18:00.000+11:00

Walking along a pathway at the beach I saw this little critter in the distance. I did get some closer but I thought this one was the cutest.

ETA: he's a lizzard of some sort

Day 79

2007-03-20T18:02:00.000+11:00

Thanks for the kind comments on my attempts at different p.p. techniques over the past few days. But now it's back to new photos from my daily walks.

Day 78

2007-03-19T19:15:00.000+11:00

More work on my pp. Which one? Help me decide.

Day 77

2007-03-18T22:36:00.000+11:00

Lomo action used on another old photo. This was taken in Tasmania (island state at the bottom of Australia for those who don't know). It's a beautiful part of the world and also where I was born and raised before I moved to Sydney.

Day 76

2007-03-17T21:44:00.000+11:00

Old photo ~ new process, continued...

This one is from my second PB session about 18 months ago. This is a beautiful 16y.o. I had the absolute pleasure to photograph. She was so obliging and did anything and everything I asked of her.

This is p.p.'d with a Blended Duotone technique. I love the nice golden glow it gave her skin.

Day 75

2007-03-16T21:33:00.000+11:00

Another old photo ~ new treatment....

I took this in my first week with the 30D. I was still working out focus (wish the eyes were sharp!).

I love this one. It's Dad in his workshop/shed. The original photo was a bit flat so I used an action I've been reading about lately - The Dragan Effect. It's dark (too dark???) and moody and enhances character on faces. It actually emphasises lines and wrinkles - so don't tell my Dad I've done this LOL.

Day 74

2007-03-15T20:27:00.000+11:00

No new photos today. I went for a trip down memory lane last night when I was archiving/backing up old files. I found some photos that I love but have never done anything with. So I also trawled through some PS tutorials and actions that I have downloaded over the last couple of years. For the next few days I'm going to match an old photo with a new p.p. technique/action.

First my good friend Nicky p.p.'d using a Painting With Light technique.

This was the second photo ever with my 30D...

Day 73

2007-03-14T16:31:00.000+11:00

I wasn't inspired today. I took a few but they were blah... So I'll share a few more of the adorable James from the beach at the weekend.

I just love the saggy nappy (diaper for those of you non-Ozzie) and the "squidgy" bottom of the first one.

various s/s ~ various aperture ~ ISO 100 ~ All SOOC except for crop and sharpen for web

Day 72

2007-03-13T17:55:00.000+11:00

More fireworks last night. Again I have no idea what the occassion was. This time it was over a different part of the harbour which is more visible from my home.

I did some traditional shots and then something a bit different - I wondered what would happen if I hand held with a really long exposure. The answer is above.... Interesting? Creative? Just a Mess? Be honest!

20s ~ f/14 ~ ISO 100

1/30 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 1600

Day 71

2007-03-12T19:47:00.000+11:00

What's with this tilt??? It's Ok in moderation but I feel like I've overdone it lately. Straight horizons for a while...

Anyhow, here's a shot from the ferry across the beautiful Sydney Harbour. A great way to travel!

Day 70

2007-03-11T19:50:00.000+11:00

Well what a way to celebrate day 70 of the 365 challenge.... Summer wont last much longer but while it's here we'll make the most of it. This is my BF and my Godson enjoying a day at the beach.

I was really pleased with my colour today. This is SOOC except for slight sharpening and crop.

1/4000 ~ f/3.5 ~ ISO 100 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 65mm

Day 69

2007-03-10T13:25:00.000+11:00

I had a visitor today. I left the back door open and he just wandered in. And expected to be fed!!! He sat looking a the fridge and then at me and then back to the fridge. Subtle? No!

So, softy that I am, I poured him a bowl of milk. Ungrateful animal! He sniffed it, looked accusingly at me and wandered back outside again.

Oh well at least I don't need to worry that he'll become a regular visitor, he's off looking for someone who'll offer a menu more to his liking.

1/320 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 320 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 70mm

Day 68

2007-03-09T17:06:00.000+11:00

Every few weeks there is some kind of celebration in Sydney that warrants fireworks. Usually I have no idea what the occassion is. That was the case last night when I heard them start. So I just grabbed the camera and headed for my bedroom where I get the best view of the skies over the harbour - although it is through the trees and between houses!

1/100 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 1600 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 70mm

Day 67

2007-03-08T15:18:00.000+11:00

This is my adorable Godson. I actually took this one a few days ago and didn't like it. But I tried a different conversion and it definately improved it.

Day 66

2007-03-07T15:49:00.000+11:00

A little early morning colour....

1/500 ~ f/5.6 ~ ISO 250 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 70mm ~ Urban Acid action on low opacity

Day 65

2007-03-06T18:34:00.000+11:00

Best friends...

1/250 ~ f/4 ~ ISO 400 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 50mm

Day 64

2007-03-05T18:35:00.000+11:00

Couldn't get out to take any photos today as it rained all day. So here is a bottle of bath oil my friend gave me for Christmas. Sometimes the littlest things give us the most pleasure. How good is a long soak in a hot bubble bath - especially when it smells like Chanel?

Day 63

2007-03-04T13:38:00.000+11:00

What can I say? More closeups of plants...

Thanks for the words of encouragement yesterday. I just need to push myself to get out and try new things. As Lulu said that is what this challenge is about. Time to leave Rutsville and get creative...Tomorrow LOL

Day 62

2007-03-03T18:30:00.000+11:00

It's getting hard not to be boring with POTD. Anyway here's yet another flower....

1/250 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 200 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 70mm

Day 61

2007-03-02T17:01:00.000+11:00

I took this yesterday. Been busy doing boring admin stuff for my business and barely left the house today.

1/1500 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 100 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 65mm

Day 60

2007-03-01T19:31:00.000+11:00

Was doing a session in a local park and had to stop so the baby could be fed and changed. So I wandered around and discovered this. Wish I'd had my macro lens with me. This is one you really need to click on and enlarge. My little critter looks a lot like a black blob otherwise.

1/250 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 100 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 70mm

Day 59

2007-02-28T18:31:00.000+11:00

No more Holga for a while. I'm still only averaging about 3 out of 12 that are OK. Anyway it's back to the photos from my "about & out" walks locally.

1/250 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 100 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lense @ 55mm

Day 58

2007-02-27T11:45:00.000+11:00

More Holga

Can you tell what this is?

ETA: It's a really cool bar/restaurant. My friend had a birthday party there. The round things are chinese lantern-type light shades and the yellow is lighting behind the bottles at the bar. This was taken during the day using the Bulb and Cloudy settings on the Holga. The standard Holga has one s.s. settings 1/100 and the modified ones also have Bulb (hold the shutter open for as long as needed - pretty much guess work unless you carry a light meter). It also has only two aperture settings f/8 (cloudy) and f/11 (sunny).

Day 57

2007-02-26T06:06:00.000+11:00

Holga rose.

Crazy grain, weird perspective, strange in-camera crop, light leaks, dust, scratches, fuzzy focus, weird colour, odd vignetting.... perfect... LOL

Day 56

2007-02-25T06:44:00.000+11:00

It's Holga time again!!!

This is such a wonderful change from digital. It's so unpredictable and uncontrollable. Love it!

Day 55

2007-02-24T18:29:00.000+11:00

Firstly thanks to those that have hung in there with me and are still commenting. It's very much appreciated. Next sorry I haven't been commenting as much as usual for the past week. I've taken on a few major projects with my business and I'm struggling to keep up with everything.

I've cheated today - this was shot about 2 weeks ago but I processed a heap today that I'd overlooked at the time.

1/80 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 320 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 50mm

Day 54

2007-02-23T18:28:00.000+11:00

Just something from the front garden.

1/200 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 320 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens ~ 62mm

Day 53

2007-02-22T18:32:00.000+11:00

I was out and about with camera but no tripod (stupid) last night. I thought this would be a total reject cause the ss was 0.3 second!!!!! and handheld (don't normally even attempt to handhold at anything slower than 1/60). It actually looks kinda OK at this size but I wouldn't get this one enlarged!!!

This also qualifies for the weekly challenge "high ISO" as it was shot at 1600.

0.3s ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 1600 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 24mm

Day 52

2007-02-21T15:55:00.000+11:00

Lets just see what's lying around the backyard....

1/320 ~ f/2.8 ~ ISO 250 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens ~ 70mm

ETA: used a slight blue hue to cool it down

Day 51

2007-02-20T18:18:00.000+11:00

I'm going to have to take this one again sometime. I totally underexposed the arch so it was just a black blob. I lightened with curves and levels (using masks) but it is REALLY grainy. I like the composition and that it is an unusual view of our Opera House. Any suggestions on correctly exposing something like this?

1/1600 @ f/5.6 ~ ISO 100 ~ Canon EOS 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 65mm

Day 50

2007-02-19T18:24:00.000+11:00

This is getting harder to keep up as it gets busier and busier. Apologies for not commenting as much in the last few days. I promise to come back and look at everyone's blogs in the next few days.

POTD is also not very inspiring I'm afraid.

Day 49

2007-02-18T12:23:00.000+11:00

Quick post today: Lunch

Should have straightened and tweaked levels/curves as it's all a bit off, but no time. This is SOOC just resized, cropped and saved for web. Must run, things to do....

1/500 @ f/2.8 ~ ISO 200 ~ Canon 30D ~ 24-70L lens @ 24mm

Day 48

2007-02-17T09:20:00.000+11:00

Do you ever just get caught up in taking photos and forget how strange you must look? I was shopping at the Fish Markets this morning. I was so engrossed in taking photos that it took a while to notice that people were looking at me like I was some sort of crazy woman. Who takes photos of dead fish????

Day 47

2007-02-16T16:17:00.000+11:00

Holga of the day: Sydney Harbour Bridge. I've become quite the tourist with my Holga. It's forcing me to take wider angles because it doesn't do closeups. Although having said that check this out - it's hilarious! http://www.toycamera.com/tech/macro.cfm

Photo of the day: Fast Food....

Day 46

2007-02-15T16:12:00.000+11:00

Photo of the day: Another Creepy Crawlie. I used Shelly Keefe's Dramatic B&W action on this (thanks Shelly). The sky was totally blown and looked quite blahhhh in the colour version. I quite like what the action has done.

Holga of the day: This is the swimming pool, by the harbour, that I swim at most mornings. Still lots of light leaks. In the words of the guy who did the scanning "your Holga leaks like a dog". Personally never seen a leaking dog, but I get what he means. He actually said "throw it away". But NO WAY. I love it!!!

Day 45 - Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T15:49:00.000+11:00

Hi all. Hope your loved ones are good to you today. I treated myself yesterday (my V'Day present to myself) to a professional scan of my Holga 35mm negatives. So for the next few days I'm going to post a HOTD (Holga of the day). They will obviously not be taken on that day but the timeframe from shooting, developing, scanning and p.p. means they were probably taken 1-2 weeks ago.

Here's the first: Sydney Harbour from the ferry (not a bad way to travel!!!)

Day 44 - Red

2007-02-13T18:20:00.000+11:00

Well here's my take on the weekly challenge: Red. I took lots of red things today but this one appealed the most - a bit different I guess.

1/800 @ f/2.8, ISO 100, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L lens @ 70mm

Day 43

2007-02-12T19:31:00.000+11:00

Rain, rain, rain, rain.... Today was the wettest day for 12 months. I only managed to slip outside for a few seconds between showers to snap this. If you look carefully you can see my reflection in the drops. This might be the closest you ever get to seeing a self portrait LOL...

1/500 @ f/2.6, ISO 500, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L Lens @ 70mm

Day 42

2007-02-11T11:20:00.000+11:00

Rain on a Sunday should be banned!!!! But I really shouldn't complain as we're have serious drought problems here. And of course it's making me get into proofing yesterday's session instead of going to the beach. Can you guess which one I'd prefer???

So before proofing I took my POTD (and calibrated!).

Day 41

2007-02-10T15:09:00.000+11:00

Is anybody still out there? I hope so. Your comments and encouragement have kept me at this, as hard as it's been to do some days.

Oh well I'll keep at it. If you like what I do, drop me a line. If you don't I love cc as well. I want this to make me a better photographer.

Day 40

2007-02-09T17:51:00.000+11:00

Woohoo - 40 days!!!!

This fella hangs out in my backyard. He doesn't really like to share it with me and seems to feel like I should stay away while he's sitting in the sun - you can tell by the look he's giving me. I don't know where he actually lives but he's at my place every day.

1/8000 @ f/2.8, ISO 1600 (whoops), Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L @ 70mm

Day 39

2007-02-08T18:18:00.000+11:00

OK, it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, right????

I'm not going to do a full week of backlighting but instead do at least one backlighting session each week. It's too hard at the moment to do what I originally intended - for various reasons.

So instead here's today's POTD taken at a gift shop I love. These guys appealed to me - love tigers!

1/50 @ f/2.8, ISO 1600, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L @ 70mm

Day 38

2007-02-07T16:59:00.000+11:00

Well I didn't get much of a chance to do much with my backlighting challenge. I just snapped this one quickly before a massive storm blew in (apologies for the boring subject).

I'm now huddled inside away from the thunder and lightning and the hail.

I used Evaluative metering. I was going to try the other metering modes but the rain beat me. I also want to experiment with my grey card for exposure and custom WB. Oh well, there's always tomorrow....

1/800 @ f/2.8, ISO 100, Manual, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L lens @ 58mm

Day 37

2007-02-06T11:58:00.000+11:00

I've been feeling like my photography is getting better over the last 12 months. Partly through client sessions and partly, more recently, through challenging myself daily with POTD.

But I still find myself either avoiding some photographic situations or doing them and being disappointed with the results. One of these is backlighting. I SUCK AT THIS. So I'm challenging myself to do a FULL WEEK of backlit subjects - yikes!!!! - starting tomorrow. My rules: 1. No fill flash; 2. No reflector; 3. Manual settings.

If anyone else is struggling to find subjects for POTD, I challenge you to also try a week of what you're worst at....

Anyway here's today's POTD which covers the Week 2 challenge "Shoot something that you have never shot before". Here it is just in case anyone has missed it: 52 Challenges. Thanks Bree!

Do you know what it is???

ETA: Deidre was right. It is a reflection on the water. I was walking along the jetty to get a ferry home and the sun was shining through the boards. I thought the reflection on the water looked cool.

1/80 @ f/4, ISO 800, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L lens @ 70mm

Day 36

2007-02-05T15:14:00.000+11:00

HI!!! It's Ricci. I found out my suprise was an over-night at the Zoo and I took a lot of pictures and had lots of fun. We did a night walk, patted animals and slept in a tent. Then we got up early and did another walk where we hand fed the giraffes and saw many other animals waking up.

I would also like to thank every one that commented on my photos and I also think (hope) that with practice I'll become as good (or better) photographer than my auntie.

By the way if you don't know what my strange creature is it's a Tapir and it's Endangered

C ya

Hi Robyn now. Ricci has gone home now and I'm exhausted - now it's recovery time! The week really flew by and I had great time. Thanks all for the comments. Ricci had a great time playing POTD with us all and the comments meant a lot to her.

Day 35

2007-02-04T16:34:00.000+11:00

We went to the Fish Markets this morning. The idea was to get some of Ricci's favourite things for a picnic lunch. So a whole lobster, lots of prawns, some cheese, bread rolls, chocolate and cherries later we found ourselves a shady spot under a tree in the park. What a feast we had. Yum!!!! After lunch Ricci went swimming.

Now we're off to a SURPRISE! I'm not telling Ricci where we are going. So she has to wait to find out. She keeps asking for clues but I wont tell. More details tomorrow....

Ricci's POTD will probably come from tonight's surprise (many photo opportunities).

ETA: We're back from the surprise and here's Ricci's POTD taken at Roar & Snore (more details and more photos in Day 36's post).

Day 34

2007-02-03T18:13:00.000+11:00

Well it was a quiet start to the day as we didn't have a very good night and we were both tired. But we managed to get out later in the day and went for a walk around Luna Park.

Again Ricci has done a storyboard. Click on it to see full size.

And I'm going to admit to a bit of cheating. I didn't actually take the other one today. I took it on the way back from the aquarium on the ferry (two days ago). I tried to take the same shot today but I couldn't get the angle right from the wharf - need to be down at ferry level.

Day 33

2007-02-02T17:19:00.000+11:00

Today we visited a few pet shops and the bead shop. The pet shop visit resulted in two new additions to the household - Lindt (a dark chocolate coloured bug eyed fish) and Shades ( a gold and black bug eyed fish that looks like he's wearing sunglasses). Ricci named Shades and I (of course being the chocolate addict) named the other after my favourite swiss chocolate.

Later we spent what felt like 27 hours in the bead shop while Ricci chose which beads she wanted to make into earrings. At least it gave me a chance to do POTD.

Ricci's photo is an elephant I bought home from Jaipur in India last year. She spent a while posing him in different ways and then decided to put him in a jungle-like environment.

Day 32

2007-02-01T19:36:00.000+11:00

At the aquarium. Thanks for those that commented on our day at the zoo yesterday.

Again Ricci and I were out and about playing tourist in Sydney. We caught a ferry to the aquarium and then had a lovely lunch of prawns and mussels at a restaurant next to the harbour.

It was more chllenging taking photos today because everything was behind glass and we both ended up with lots of glare. Anyway, here's Ricci's turtle and a fish (??? not good on fish identification) from me.

I've been tagged

2007-01-31T18:46:00.000+11:00

I was tagged by Gina and
Tammy

Anyway, here are 6 wierd things about me:

1. I have hundreds of pairs of shoes but only wear a few of them
2. I start hobbies all the time and get sick of them really quickly, usually after spending lots of money (with a major exception - photography - that obsession has lasted over 20 years)
3. I'd be fine if I was shipwrecked on a tropical island because I could live on seafood and tropical fruit and be perfectly happy - as long as I was washed ashore with a crate of chocolate!
4. I love raw carrots but HATE them cooked - they make me gag
5. I have my intellectual, non-fiction and the classics at the front of my bookcase and the trashy romance novels hidden at the back
6. I'm usually really neat & tidy but sometimes my bedroom can look tike a tornedo has passed through

I tag: Allison, Melissa, Nicki, Monica, Barb, Renee

Apologies if any of you have already been tagged, it's hard to keep up.

And I also want to share one more from the zoo today - couldn't help myself, I really couldn't choose just one. He's ugly but I think he's also quite cute.

Day 31

2007-01-31T18:05:00.000+11:00

A day at the zoo. Ricci and I spent many hours trudging around the zoo today. I ended up with sore feet and we both ended up with too many photos. It was a hard choice to narrow it down to just one. Ricci has a storyboard to show you and I managed to decide on one.

My settings: 1/500 @f/2.8, ISo 1600 - Indoors with artificial light - Canon 30D, 24-70L @ 70mm

Day 30 - Circles

2007-01-30T09:35:00.000+11:00

I just realised I hadn't done the weekly challenge "Circles". So here's a lovely old lamp at a friend's place (cheated slightly 'cause I took it last night but processed it today). I also haven't done any B&W (except Holga) so far.

So here's my B&W circles (although they are more balls than circles, but never mind).

1/320 @ f/2.8, manual, ISO 800, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L @ 70mm

Day 29

2007-01-29T22:00:00.000+11:00

Another one that is rather abstract. I really need to broaden my horizons and start taking different types of photos. I'm pretty stuck on close-ups and Holga for this challenge. Of course there's the client sessions but I'm trying to avoid resorting to using these.

I'm really excited because tomorrow my 12 y.o. niece arrives from interstate to spend a week with me. We have lots of plans - zoo, aquarium, ferry rides to the beach, shopping (pet shop), shopping (bead shop)....LOL. Her name is Ricci and as she is a keen photographer she will probably get a kick out of posting a POTD as well. I'd really appreciate it if you could send some comments her way. And you'll really make her day!!!!

Day 28

2007-01-28T17:19:00.000+11:00

So who is still playing? Nearly the end of month 1. Haven't missed a day yet. I'm so proud of myself. I usually have trouble sticking to things like this.

Anyway, if you're still with me it's been lots of fun. Thanks to everyone who has kindly commented.

Today's was taken early this morning. I woke up way before I needed to and was just going to go back to sleep when I saw this sunrise out ofmy bedroom window. Just had to jump up and grab the camera. Not the best composition, but I love the colours.

Day 27

2007-01-27T19:46:00.000+11:00

It's amazing what you find in your street when you really start to look. This challenge has certainly made me look out for photo opportunities. I see them everywhere now - usually when I don't have my camera.

1/500 @ f/2.8, manual, ISO 200, Canon EOS 30D, 24-70L @ 70mm

Day 26 - Australia Day

2007-01-26T18:51:00.000+11:00

Happy Australia Day LOL

Nothing artistic, creative, technically correct or even remotely good photography. Just a bunch of snaps of Australia Day on the most beautiful harbour in the most beautiful city in the most beautiful country....

If you look closely (pointing arrow is a dead giveaway) you'll see that I didn't even take some of these. Yes that's me hiding behind the Australian flag with a glass of wine!

Day 25

2007-01-25T19:06:00.000+11:00

This was the best of the film from the Holga yesterday - check out the grain in the sky!!

I'm still struggling with major light leaks and most of the film is no good. I'm Googling lots and found some forums and websites with some hints that I'll try.

Anyway it's lots of fun and I'm getting at least a few that are OK from each film, so I'll just keep experimenting...

Day 24

2007-01-24T21:59:00.000+11:00

Well back to the drawing board with the jewellery photography. I'll try the suggestions I was given yesterday and (maybe) post another attempt at some time.

Meanwhile I'll get back to something I enjoy and I'm better at!!!

ETA: more Holga's to come tomorrow. Taken today and sent to the lab for processing.