12/18/09
Recent participation in some photography forums has piqued an interest in doing a Project 365. Photography has been a hobby on and off for over 40 years and in the last 18 months my interest has intensified. So I've decided to jump in, give it a shot (no pun intended) and see if I can shoot every day for a year.

My expectations for this project are that it will provide motivation to expand my skills both behind the camera and in post-processing and provide a vehicle for experimentation. My photog pal Doug has been a great mentor, so I want to publicly say thanks; this is your fault (kidding of course).

It is going to be a learning experience, so any and all comments, critiques and encouraging words are welcome.

Thanks for viewing.

Jeff

Monday, May 31, 2010

Baby Blues!


5/31/10 - Day 164
Dinner at cousins Jerry and Cynthia's tonight.  I was so happy to capture these beautiful eyes of baby Rae.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Preparation


5/30/10 - Day 163
The old grill just gave out.  Put together this new baby today - an infrared heat model.  Instructions said to prepare it for cooking and I liked the nice golden patina on the stainless steel grates while doing so.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Window to the Sky


5/29/10 - Day 162
Picture perfect day in Chicago, so the Daily Shoot assignment, "Look up today and make a photograph of the sky. Cloudy, clear, or somewhere in between... ", works well.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Eight to Six


5/28/10 - Day 161
Finally had a chance to fulfill today's Daily Shoot.  My wristwatch of 25 years.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Paris or Vegas...?


5/27/10 - Day 160

You make the call.

Craps & Blackjack at Bill's


5/26/10 - Day 159
Good news is the tables were only $5.  Bad news is that it just took longer to lose the limit.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Penny Slots


5/25/10 - Day 158
Quintessential Vegas!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Just Like Guppies


5/24/10 - Day 157
Have you ever seen guppies give birth?  That's what I was reminded of when I saw this string of canoes & kayaks departing from behind the yellow Chicago Water Taxi on the Chicago River this afternoon.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Bug's Eye View


5/23/10 - Day 156
The rotating screen on the new Samsung TL500 is awesome.  It twists and turns and makes it pretty easy to frame atypical view angles.  This shot of flowers and finch feeders also is my Daily Shoot submission today.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Container & Contents


5/22/10 - Day 155
Today's Daily Shoot assignment #188: "Baskets, bags, and boxes: containers often go unnoticed.  Make a photo focused on the container rather than the contents." was perfect because I was able to shoot the container with the contents.

My Olympus point & shoot is good, but I was getting frustrated with the lack of control on exposure, shutter speed, depth of field, etc.  Read about this new camera just out with a fast f1.8 lens, good zoom and ability to shoot in multiple modes.  It was the same price as the lens I've been thinking about so am giving it a try.  Since I don't carry the dslr everyday, this looks to be a great alternative.

Hydrant Man



5/21/10 - Day 154
Yesterday's Daily Shoot assignment put a smile on my face so thought I would share it as an extra shot.  "Fire hydrants come in many colors and forms. Make a dramatic portrait of your local fire hydrant." 

Not only does this guy put out fires, but he also cleans up after himself.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Hole in the Sky


5/21/10 - Day 154
Flying into O'Hare today, we were dodging the clouds.  We landed under a ceiling of dark clouds.  Taxiing to the gate, I saw this bright spot and was able to get the camera out in time to capture it.

Being Led to Slaughter


5/20/10 - Day 153
A great bike ride today in San Jose and Morgan Hill, California.  In this shot, colleagues Andy and Paul were leading me to slaughter on the Willow Spring Road climb.  And with a broken rear shifter/derailleur, I only had 3 gears to work with.  See the mansion above Andy's head in the photo?  That's the summit!  36 miles with 1800' of climbing, sushi for dinner & Advil for dessert.  Thanks guys - it was terrific.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Puzzle Pieces


5/19/10 - Day 152
This aerial image of the California coastline looks like a couple of interlocking jigsaw puzzle pieces. Also works well for today's Daily Shoot: "Make a photo today that distills some simplicity from the complexity of the world."

Adaptive Reuse


5/18/10 - Day 151
I don't know the whole story, but this building was in the way of the Petco Park grandstand in San Diego, so the stadium was built around it.  Now the building itself has been converted to skyboxes overlooking the field.  This is a great ballpark located right in downtown San Diego.

Monday, May 17, 2010

View from 2A


5/17/10 - Day 150
I was shooting out the window, through the clouds, on approach today and looked up from the camera.  Interesting profile and lighting made this image better than the typical "out the window" airplane shot.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Peering


5/16/10 - Day 149
Daily Shoot today was a self-portrait.  Since my five month Project 365 anniversary is coming up this week on the 19th, thought I would accelerate the self-portrait day and accomplish two milestones with one shot.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Flower Explosion


5/15/10 - Day 148
Wanted to experiment with the zoom movement technique I've read about.  Also, the lilacs are starting to bloom and I wanted to capture them before rain or wind takes them away.  Decided to kill both those birds with one stone.  Thought this resultant image might be a good one for today's Daily Shoot.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Divine Window?


5/14/10 - Day 147
Kind of bizarre today.  Walking to the office from the train, I saw this sun spot encircling one window on a building two blocks away.  Pulled out the point & shoot, zoomed in as far as possible and finagled the exposure best I could.   Wondered who that window belongs to?  Later, I checked the Daily Shoot assignment and it related to shooting shadows. My shot was ALL in shadow except for the one sun spot, effectively the Daily Shoot inverse.  Submitting it anyway.

Prior to starting my Project 365 last December, I probably wouldn't have even noticed, or certainly not appreciated, this photo opportunity.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Another Crappy Morning


5/13/10 - Day 146
Another night and morning of thunderstorms dropping 2"-4" of rain on the Chicago area.   Wiper blade shot is for today's Daily Shoot.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Vino


5/12/10 - Day 145
Cooper's Hawk wine club Pinot Noir opened by a Hop Kiln Winery corkscrew; the start of a great dinner.  Also, good subject matter for today's Daily Shoot.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Abandoned


5/11/10 - Day 144
In keeping with today's Daily Shoot assignment, this is definitely a "tool" often required during spring in Chicago.  Wonder why this one was abandoned?

Monday, May 10, 2010

Train Reader


5/10/10 - Day 143
Today's Daily Shoot was "Pay attention to your surroundings today.  Make a photo of something you walk by every day without noticing."  Took a couple of potential shots during the day, but saw this one as I was finding my seat on the train home.  I converted it to B/W to enhance the contrast between an "old time" image and the e-reader.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

And It Ends Up Here


5/9/10 - Day 142
Last in the series of AT&T U-verse photos.  Nap time on Sunday afternoon...even if it is Mother's Day.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

It's Controlled From Here


5/8/10 - Day 141
Keeping with the AT&T U-verse theme, this shot is of our digital remotes.  And yes, you counted right!

Friday, May 7, 2010

It Starts From Here


5/7/10 - Day 140
We had AT&T U-verse installed today.  9 hours later, the TV, phones and internet were all up and running.  So far, so good.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Shadows on the Grid


5/6/10 - Day 139
I read the Daily Shoot assignment before leaving the house this morning, and at the train station took some shots involving the brick paver grid.  Not often am I fortunate enough to capture the day's shot so early!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Taxi!!!


5/5/10 - Day 138
Was on North Michigan Avenue this afternoon and decided to hop the water taxi back to the office.  It was a beautiful day on the Chicago River.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Whole Wide World...


5/4/10 - Day 137
...in his hand.  A little different twist on today's Daily Shoot assignment.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Moab on the Wall


5/3/10 - Day 136
Today's Daily Shoot assignment was the perfect excuse for me to show one of my favorite photographs of Delicate Arch in Moab.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Sea of Fallen Flowers

5/2/10 - Day 135
Every year when our crab apple tree blossoms, either wind or rain take the leaves down prematurely.  This year was no exception.  Looking down the driveway at an oblique angle provided a bright spot of color worth capturing.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Not Quite the Look...

5/1/10 - Day 134
...I was going for when getting a haircut today.  But it looks pretty stylin' on Kim.