Category Archives: 365 project

Day 83

Posted by Mike on
There is a new theme on The Hobby Photographer’s Photo-Theme Page for reflections.  I’ve taken quite a few pictures where the reflection is the subject or the picture involves a reflection so this will be an easy theme for contributions.  Also, Monday’s are usually the day I get to contribute the most pictures to the daily photography themes on G+ with Mirror Monday being one I have no trouble finding subjects to photograph.
The barge canal is an easy subject for me because I have to cross over on my way home.  Making my choice to stop even easier is the location of a parking area and nature trail right off the road I travel.  Today was no exception since I noticed the warm weather had melted some of the ice and snow on the canal providing a fairly nice surface for reflections.  I knew as I walked up to the overpass that I would be processing the picture as a monochrome image due to the overcast sky and lack of foliage to provide any color.

I first tweaked the picture in Lightroom to get the best color picture I could.  I then passed the picture through Topaz Labs B&W Effects to help bring out the details in the picture.  The results are a little more pronounced than I usually produce but I think it works well for this picture.

Day 82

Posted by Mike on

I was still on a macro/bokeh vibe for today and I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph.  Yesterday as I was walking around the yard I grabbed a few pictures of some tiny red berries.  I liked their color but the angle and composition of the pictures I had were not what I wanted.  I got home a little later than I anticipated and walked straight out to the back yard to get my picture(s).

The wind was blowing just a little more than I would have liked but I managed to get the top down view of the berries that I wanted.  The background winter grass was a better color than the white snow, trees and grey sky I used yesterday.  I was able to play more with the depth of field on the top down view which suited what I envisioned.

Just for comparison here is the picture from yesterday that got me interested in the berries but just didn’t work for me.  To be fair I haven’t processed this picture yet.

Day 81

Posted by Mike on

I challenged myself to find a picture without leaving my yard.  It’s easy to see the grand landscape or the beautiful sunset but there are pictures everywhere.  Granted, not all of them are worth hanging on the wall or showing everyone you know but they are out there.  That really is what I wanted from my 365 project.  Learning to see the little pictures as well as the big ones.

Day 80

Posted by Mike on

I woke this morning realizing old man winter was trying to get his groove back.  It wasn’t a heavy snow but there was 4 to 5 inches that needed to be removed from the driveway.  Early in the morning I usually tuse the shovel over the snow blower as not to annoy the neighbors too much.  It has the added advantage of giving me some needed exercise.  All went well and I thought it was going to be a nice day.

When left the house for work it was a clear morning but by the time I arrived 12 miles to the southeast it was practically a white out.  We haven’t seen snow like this all winter.  I continued for the better part of the day.  Around 2pm it once again cleared u and I had some great conditions for pictures.  The only obstacle in my way was the snow in the driveway again that needed to be removed.  I was a little over half done when I decided to grab the camera before all the light was gone.

To be honest the amount of snow wasn’t as bad as I make it out to be in this picture.  We probably had another 5 to 6 inches of the fluffy stuff.  I liked the look of getting the camera low and exaggerating the amount of snow.

The sun was low and I might have had the white balance setting incorrect but by processing this as a B&W the picture actually works for me.  I’m including the original and would appreciate any advice on how I could correct it.  There was some interesting colors in the sky but I didn’t capture them in the original picture.

This is a good learning picture for me.  I struggled with it while processing before settling on a B&W process.  I learned what can and can not be corrected with Lightroom and/or Elements.