Challenge: Reflection

Okay, look. I never intended to wait a whole month before the next challenge. I've been sort of busy. By the way, if anybody else wants to post a challenge, go right ahead and do it. Don't wait for me!

For the next week, reflect on reflection as a challenge. See what I did there? Hoo boy.

If you want to get right down to it, you could probably take a picture of damned near anything for this challenge. Everything visible reflects or absorbs different wavelengths of light. It's how we see...things.

But if you could get a picture of a reflection of somebody reflecting? Bonus points, there.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do over the next week...providing you're not at GDC...

Doors

I have always loved the idea of secret doors, trap doors and secret passages in a house.  Our current house has one, which is amazing, especially to my kids.  For the most part they have not seen what lies below the trap door to our crawlspace, so their imagination fills the void.  So much so, that the youngest (who is 3) would not participate in this shot because of the "monsters" that were down there.  This shot took quite a while to setup, involved moving a dresser, propping the door up, having the thing that was propping the door up fall into the crawlspace, propping up the door again, and me contorting myself in a 3' x 3' area.  The auto focus caught her hair, as usual, but I actually like the softer look.  

Doors

I didn't have time to set anything up this week for my challenge picture, which is fine. I had hoped to get something interesting over the weekend. You be the judge.

Every year I shoot the dress rehearsals for the Park District's Dance Arts program. It's a bit time consuming, but I find it very rewarding. I shot both of these during a rehearsal on Sunday.

Coming Home

Not much better than coming home to this kind of greeting.

Ironically, as this photo was taken, my son was actually trying to close the door on me and push me outside!

Doors

I'm a point and shoot kinda guy; well, in terms of subject matter. Adjusting camera elements and image composition is something I always do, but my subject doesn't usually concern me - I've got some rad shots of nothing at all. For these challenges, I'm having to think about what I shoot, which is something I don't normally do. 

My background is nature and landscape photography, so very rarely am I aiming at people (or dogs in this weeks case). 

I didn't get as literal as a door this time, but I thought that framing Annabelle through one of our side tables gave the illusion of crossing a threshold into her space. 

That was my justification for this "door".

I hope the strong framed silhouettes not only lead your eye to her, but they make a distinct threshold that separates the two of you. This is the "doorway" I tried to create.

Second image is more of a context thing, getting a feel for the side table I shot through.

Love,
-Jonathan

Challenge: Doors

I thought I'd give us a little breather in between challenges. I hope you're cool with that. I really enjoyed everybody's pictures last week, and thank you very much to everybody who participated. I hope you have the time to shoot more.

I have a new challenge for you:

doors

Honestly, it's stuck in my head. I don't know why. I thought it would be the first one I posted here, but I went a different direction. So even though I've had this one in mind for awhile, what intrigues me is that I still have no idea what I'll do with it.

There are all kinds of doors - both physical and not. Opening one gains access to something new or familiar, great or terrible. Or, as is more often the case, not actually very interesting. The camera itself has a door in it. You open that door and let the image burn itself into a sensor or film. The weird thing about an SLR is that the doors it contains mean that you never actually see what you just took a picture of. It's a weird sort of machine. It closes one door so it can open another, and in the meantime you just have to hope the thing did its job right or that you gave it the right instructions.

I used to get a bit of a thrill opening doors I may or may not have had permission to, shedding light on something that would have otherwise remained hidden. I'm not saying I ever uncovered anything actually compelling, but it was fun anyway.

I'm grasping at something I can't really articulate because I'm not very smart. So, yeah, doors.

lunar new year

I spaced out on when this was due, I took a few random images at the Lunar New Year celebration at the public library the other day. it's the year of the horse now. Anyway, this was taken with my phone, something I've never really done before. I liked the natural framing of dad's arm on the kid in front of me. It's not a great shot of what's happening but at lest sells the hectic crowded nature of the event.

Beginning

This was quick and dirty, couldn't come up with a good idea.  This is a shot of a book called Star Wars Frames: http://starwars.com/watch/star_wars_frames_trailer.html  Beginning of the book, movie, and trilogy.  I originally wanted to get more of the over all book focused on one specific point and try to capture that tactile feeling that a book has in your hands but nothing worked.  This is the most interesting shot that I got during that session.

There are two books, one for episodes I - III and one for IV - VI.  As an experiment I tried taking a sheet of plexiglass between the two books and tried to capture a "ghost" image of Vader on top of young Anakin but it didn't come out as strong as I'd have liked.  It was an interesting experiment though.

Beginning

Here's my image - a quite literal one at that.

This morning I had the rare opportunity to wake before Lily. I laid pretty still, gazing toward the window's light. In that moment, I realized I was living my composition.

Hopefully it feels raw, unfocused, and even vulnerable. 

I mean, I was half naked.

The outcome isn't really what I wanted, but it was nice to have the camera out again (sorta). Maybe this is the beginning of me investing in some better equipment. Thanks for the challenge and your eyes.

Love,
-Jonathan

Beginning

So here's my picture for the first challenge.

I've been playing video games for most of my life. I've also been playing with cars, and for even longer. When I was a kid, I played Pole Position with a plastic racing helmet on my head.

Simon is only three, but so far he's following his dad: obsessed with cars and now racing them, at least in video games so far.

Anyway, I have my thoughts on this picture. I'd like to hear yours. Please. It wasn't really fair of me to take a picture of my son for the first one. Critique the picture, not the kid!

Beginning

So this isn't the most profound statement or anything, at least maybe not on the surface.  I decided the way I'd like to participate in these challenges is to go about my usual shooting routine, and choose an image that suits the theme in some way.  I like to be spontaneous, rather than set up shots.

Here's why I chose this shot for this week's challenge.

On Wednesday, while sitting at Seven Saints partaking in the weekly whiskey lunch, I noticed the lighting on the folks at a table behind us.  I happened to have my camera handy so I snuck in a few shots of them while they were chatting and looking at the menus.  This is not something I've been comfortable doing, taking pictures of strangers.  I didn't ask permission, I didn't apologize afterward, I just took a picture of something I felt was interesting and in the moment quite striking.

So in away, this shot represents 2 beginnings: the beginning of a stranger's lunch break, and the beginning of a personal effort to do more street photography.  I love capturing candid moments, and just taking life as it's happening.  We'll see how it goes :)

Canon EOS T3i
1/125 @ f/5.6, ISO 1600
55mm

First Challenge: Beginning

Good afternoon! So we have a few people interested. I love it, and I love you.

I'd like to start off with our first challenge. It's what you're here for, right? It's not a terribly imaginative concept:

beginning

Let's try a week for the first one. So let's see what you come up with by next Monday, the 3rd. Cool?

If you're still not really sure what you signed up for, take a picture with the above theme in mind. I don't really care whether you post one picture or ten. Spend the whole week setting up a complicated studio shot in your basement, go shoot that thing you always wanted to or just carry your camera with you throughout your day. If you can't do this one, don't sweat it. No pressure.

I don't care whether your picture is shot with your phone or a space telescope. I will really only impose one rule: anything you post here for a challenge needs to be shot after I post that challenge. The whole point here is to shoot something new, not drag out something you've already done...which was exactly what I started this blog off with. Give me a break. It was an example.

So go forth and take pictures. I mean, please. I'd really like to see what you do. Everybody in the list on the right has permission to post and reply on this blog, so when you shoot something just put it up here.

Thanks!