blagophilia » 365-esque http://www.blagosphere.org/larry For the Love of Blagging Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:21:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Day 7 – Incense Stick http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/181-day-7-incense-stick/ http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/181-day-7-incense-stick/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:15:27 +0000 larry http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/181-day-7-incense-stick/ Day 7

Day 7 - Incense Stick
This picture is something of an experiment. I am still learning how to use my Lens Baby Composer and working to capture something more dynamic. I figured I’d try to get both the growing ash stack and some of the smoke. Unfortunately the stack collapsed right after this.   
About the setup
I used a simple navy blanket with a book tented to create the backdrop. I left the mug in there because I thought it might be interesting. In hindsight I’d have removed the mug and darkened the background a touch to make it black. I think I really need to pick up some black velvet to make nicer backgrounds.
I used my tripod for this shot, I set the camera on it’s side and took some shots. Following the directions for the Lens Baby, I went into Aperture Priority mode and ended up using the #4 Aperture ring. It gave the best overall look I thought.
The tricky part is understanding how the selective focus ends up distoring the shot around the “sweet spot.” I am slowly getting used to it but I need more work on understanding positioning. Luckily I can light up all the focus points on the camera to understand my placement a little better.
I do like how I was able to capture some of the smoke and the red of the hot part of the ash. I need to do more work to make it more dynamic regarding the smoke though. A black background would suit it better I imagine. Well I may revisit this idea in the future to see if I can do better. I am so out of practice.

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]]> http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/181-day-7-incense-stick/feed/ 0 365-esque : Day 6 Seattle Otter http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/180-365-esque-day-6-seattle-otter/ http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/180-365-esque-day-6-seattle-otter/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:55:20 +0000 larry http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/180-365-esque-day-6-seattle-otter/ Day 6

Day 6: Seattle Otter
I picked up this Otter carving in Seattle on my recent trip. Anyplace I visit if I can get a little statue or carving from there I will. It’s my way of taking a piece with me to remember. I was kind of hesitant to pick this piece up because of how it was made though. I still think about it.
The piece is carved by a native american artist from the ash from the Mount St. Helens eruption back in the 80’s. I like how the piece looks but, if it really is from that volcanic ash, it feels a little ghoulish. This ash was made from an event which killed 57 people, and did $2.74 billion in damage. Anytime I look at the piece I think of my vacation in Seattle, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also think about what happened when the eruption occurred.

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]]> http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/180-365-esque-day-6-seattle-otter/feed/ 0 Days 4 & 5 – Working Hard and Smelling the Flowers http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/178-days-4-5-working-hard-and-smelling-the-flowers/ http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/178-days-4-5-working-hard-and-smelling-the-flowers/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:10:29 +0000 larry http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/178-days-4-5-working-hard-and-smelling-the-flowers/ Day 4 – Working Hard

Day 4 - Working Hard
This is my desk at work. You can see I am working really hard, laptop aside. Friday’s are always late nights for me. I bring my laptop to work so I don’t actually ue work resources to screw around. I don’t want them snooping me anyway.

Day 5 – Small Flower

Day 5 - Small Flower
It rained today. After the rain I decided to venture out and take some pictures. The light tends to be the softest and the best for photographs after a good rain. Today is a picture of the flowers in the planter my neighbor has next to their garage. I like the little flowers. This one was all by itself.

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]]> http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/178-days-4-5-working-hard-and-smelling-the-flowers/feed/ 0 365-esque – Day 3 – Light in the Dark http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/177-365-esque-day-3-light-in-the-dark/ http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/177-365-esque-day-3-light-in-the-dark/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:17:23 +0000 larry http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/177-365-esque-day-3-light-in-the-dark/ Day 3


Day 3 - Light in the Dark

Ceiling fans have always fascinated me. Watching them spin or just sitting there idle. I have one in my spare room. The room was kind of dark and I just had the light on. I spanned a bunch of pictures and this one caught my eye. The halo effect is kind of neat I think.

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]]> http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/177-365-esque-day-3-light-in-the-dark/feed/ 0 365-esque Day Two – Lens Baby Bag http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/174-day-two-lens-baby-bag/ http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/174-day-two-lens-baby-bag/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:01:49 +0000 larry http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/174-day-two-lens-baby-bag/

Day Two

Day Two - Lens Baby Bag


This is a pretty simple shot really. I took right after a meeting. It’s the bag for my newest lens, a Lens Baby Composer. It’s a cool lens, it lets you do a kind of selective focus to determine a sweet spot to where you want to focus in the picture. It’s taking a little getting used to. I took this picture with that lens.
This shot is in a way representative of the way what I’d rather be doing – taking pictures in this case is supported and, unfortunately, surrounded by my work. It’s a fact of life in todays world I think. I know I try hard to not let my work define me but in the end it does to a large degree. Here’s to hoping I can find a better balance.

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]]> http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/174-day-two-lens-baby-bag/feed/ 0 365-esque – Day 1 http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/172-365-esque-day-1/ http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/172-365-esque-day-1/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:21:25 +0000 larry http://www.blagosphere.org/larry/172-365-esque-day-1/ I decided to start a new photo project today. It’s a 365 type thing. I am going to start today, 8/25/2009 and finish on 8/25/2010. The pictures will be posted on flickr and blogged about here. My criteria are simple.

  1. Taken on the same day as posting.
  2. Can use either my iSight, iPhone, or Canon.
  3. Must be something encountered in my life – no setup shots.

Day 1

day 1 - Me

It’s just me. I thought it would be a good way to start things off. This project is really about me, about what I see, what I can capture, what I am feeling at the moment I snap the picture. It’s been a long month for me.

A lot has happened, things I did not expect and some I saw coming. Things which make one tired and make me think of what came before. You see me here, I’ve not slept more than 5 hours a night in the last three weeks. I’ve been spending my weekends at the hospital with my mother, who may be dying. Am I sad? Sure. Am I tired? Of course. But is the world a place of darkness, despair, and no hope? Of course not.

I sit in the light, and while tired I will survive. I can’t do anything but.

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