Week 2: Stand and Deliver

I had the opportunity this week to attend the dress rehearsal as well as the three performances of "Stand and Deliver" at the high school. It was difficult choosing just one image from all of the photos I took, but I liked the blur and action in this shot. This photo is not edited.

"Calculus was not made to be easy. It already is." -Jamie Escalante, Stand and Deliver

Week 1: A Little Light

I started the blog off simply by photographing the light from a mini disco ball I forgot we had with the help of a mirror to reflect.

"In pop or rock you can make a fast song or a slow one, but in disco there is really just one rhythm." -Giorgio Moroder

New Year = New Challenge

It is hard to believe it is already 2012. I know we say that every year and yet it is true. Time does not stop and we need to take the most of every day. I really would like to start this blog back up again, but decided to start on a smaller scale this year between school, work, family and friends. A 52 photo challenge seems more feasible. With this new year and new challenge I also decided it was time to update the blog a little bit too. I may try a couple different things, but for now it is different enough.

I figured this would also be a good time to mention I recently got Lightroom 3 which I am very excited about. It is going to take me a little while to learn, but I already love some of the features and can see how it will make editing quicker. I may start editing my photos more than I have in the past especially over this next year as I use it.

Coffee for the Day

I can not believe how fast this semester has gone! Only a couple finals stand between me and winter break. I have learned quite a bit in my photography class and plan to go shoot more with my digital again. I'm also  going to attempt a 52-project for the next year. Between work and school this should be doable. I'm still working on a theme to carry on for the year, but I'll have a little more time to think about it soon.

Until then I decided to include a photo with today's blog. This is the new coffee cup my sister got me for my birthday this past weekend. Not like I needed another reason to drink a cup of coffee in the morning, but to use it is a good excuse.

"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems." -Paul Erdos

Photography Class

As I sit here before going to bed this evening (or morning now) I thought I should really update this blog! I apologize for everyone who was looking at my daily posts. There are probably 15 or more pictures that I didn't upload before life took over again.

Even though I haven't kept up on a daily photo (I plan to attempt this project in the future again), I have been enjoying a photography class this fall. When things settle down a little I will scan a few of the photos I have taken on to this blog. In a little over 5 weeks I have learned quite a bit about all of the manual settings and appreciate my DSLR even more. When I'm able to use that instead of my Minolta Maxxum 500si (which is a pretty good SLR camera that I got secondhand). I also was able to get an awesome 50mm lens that also works on my Sony Alpha 200 DSLR. A nice addition to my photography equipment.

Even though the 365 photo project became a little much I hope to start using this blog again more. Make a few more posts instead of disappearing for 4 months (I believe) again.

I can't end this post without a quote either:

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller

Day 154: Clementine Box

I couldn't resist a photo of the wooden box clementines my mom bought came in. The quote doesn't match, but really liked it.

"I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try." -Nikki Giovanni

Day 153: Painting with Light

I want to try this again, but photos with long shutters are pretty awesome. It's a lot of guess and check though since you can't see the finished product until after the photo is taken. I did crop this photo since the light was only on about two-thirds of the picture. I tried some other things and then decided to try one with just the swirls and curves. This was the last photo I took that night and knew it was the winner.

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." -Henry Ward Beecher