Day 365 - Waterslide

Well, here we are.  Day 365.  What a journey it's been.  I've still got a lot of film to process and days to update but the actual picture taking is over for the year.  It's been a fantastic challenge and one I would recommend to anyone wanting to get better at photography.  I'm finishing off the journey with a picture of my nephew barrelling down the slippery slide today at our house.  I think the picture sums up how much fun the boys were having.

Technical:
Canon 7D Camera
EF70 - 200 @ 140mm
ISO 100
f/5
1/640s

Image Manipulation:
Vignette, Burn, Sharpen

Day 364 - Smelly Kid

I saw this really intriguing image while walking to pickup some lunch.  I had the iPhone on me so I snapped away.

Technical:
iPhone

Image Manipulation:
Curves Adjustment, Crop

Day 361 - Silent Bells

We went for a trip with Wendy's mum and Martin to place a plaque for Sue's parents.  Martin and I had some fun walking around with the cameras snapping away.  Here's one I took of the bell tower.

Technical:
Canon 7D camera
EF70-200 @ 145mm
ISO 100
f/2.8
1/250s

Image Manipulation:
Sepia conversion, Dodge and Burn

Day 360 - Sassy Girl

One of the few times my girl wanted to pose for me.  So sassy.

Technical:
Canon 7D camera
EF70-200 @ 135mm
ISO 100
f/2.8
1/8000s

Image Manipulation:
Dodge and Burn, Add purple to blacks, Vignette

Day 359 - Mango Circles

I was challenged to see if you can do circles in a mango and flip it out.  Here's the result.  I was the obvious winner.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF50mm
ISO 100

Image Manipulation:
Dodge and Burn, Vibrance, Sharpen

Day 358 - Lighting Christmas

We were told about an amazing Christmas lights display just around the corner from our new house so we went for a walk.  We just had to follow the constant stream of traffic.  It was spectacular but was very difficult to capture without a tripod.  The lights were an interesting subject but I have really changed my focus to include human interest in my images.  This is a perfect example where I captured a young girl frozen on the lights while the crowd is moving in the background.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF50mm
ISO 100
f/1.4
1/10s

Image Manipulation:
Crop, Dodge and Burn, selected sharpening

Day 352 - Tough Guy

Zac's had a couple of inclusions on the blog.  Probably because he doesn't mind posing in front of the camera.  Here is his new tough guy t-shirt from Wendy and I.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF50mm
ISO 400
f/1.4
1/250s

Day 351 - Mand Aid

What do you do when you slip while using a chisel?  Get some toilet paper, velcro strips, wrap it up and keep going.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF50mm
f/1.4
1/320s

Day 345 - Lunar Eclipse

Almost missed this event.  Lucky I needed to go to the toilet in the "wee" hours of the morning.  I ended up spending around 2 hrs capturing the second half of the lunar eclipse.  It was foggy and raining when I went to bed, put still and clear when the eclipse was occurring.  I did a HDR image for each phase of the eclipse to get detail in the highlights and shadows.  I don't have my HDR software at the moment so it was a bit of dodgy editing in photoshop.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF70-200 @ 200mm
ISO 100
f/8
Shutter from 1/200 - 2 seconds

Day 344 - Ready to Rent

Went into the property management office today to get the paperwork sorted for renting the house.  The house is almost ready to go.  Planning a big weekend to finish off the remaining items.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF17-40 @ 40mm

Day 343 - Finished Product

Took some shots today for the real estate office to start advertising the house out for rent.  It was great to look over the completed bathroom.  It's been a huge effort, but lots of fun and a real sense of achievement.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF17-40
ISO 100
f/4

Blog Update

Now that we have moved house, calendar is complete, house reno almost complete, internet back on and life returning to normal, I'm going to make a big effort to get the blog back up to date for the last month of my 365 day challenge.  23 days to go...

Day 337 - Pack a Punch

Had the nephews over today and we got stuck into some boxing.  The boys had a great time.  I managed to squeeze in between the boxing bag and the wall to capture this shot of Zac.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF50mm

Day 331 - Rolly Cow

We had the Toowoomba City Rollers open day which included the calendar launch.  I also played in an exhibition match on the team which was going to be called the Black Udders... hence why the subject in the photo is dressed like a cow.  There was some hay left over from another event at the show grounds so I decided to use it as a prop.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF50mm

Day 328 - House Keys

Got the keys to our new house today.  Did a pre settlement inspection with the real estate agent and asked if I could include her in todays picture.  I managed to get the her car in the reflection which added a nice touch.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF50mm

Day 316 - Airconditioning

We pulled the old shower out and this is the drain hole.  The cats were having a great time trying to shove their heads down the hole.  I took a shot and then realised that no light was captured beneath the hole so I decided to use my flash wirelessly and illuminate the ground below.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF17-40 @ 27mm
ISO 100
f/4
1/80sec

Strobist:
Wirelessly fired flash unit @ 1/2 power

Day 315 - Laundry Reno II

Another progress photo of the old bathroom demolition.  Wendy is so happy when she's destroying things... not so good fixing things.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF17-40 @ 17mm
ISO 100
f/6.3
1/80sec

Strobist:
Flash triggered remotely at 1/2 power

Day 314 - Reno Queen

Here's my evil beautiful wife.  She is very special... leaving it at that.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF17-40 @ 40mm
ISO 100
f/4
1/60sec

Image Manipulation:
Split Tone effect, remove effect from eyes.

Day 313 - Multi-Tool

What can't you do with a hammer and pry bar.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF17-40 @38mm
ISO 100
f/4
1/60sec

Day 309 - Chocoholic

Combine sisters, chocolate and a camera and this is what you get.  Wendy shouldn't be eating chocolate so her younger, more mature sister was trying to stop her from eating it.  I don't think she was successful.

Technical:
Canon 7D
EF70-200mm

Day 303 - Night Light

We had a crazy storm tonight.  I've always wanted to try and capture a lightning strike and I managed to do it on my second shot.  The photo doesn't have a beautiful city skyline, or ominous rolling clouds or even correct focus for that matter but I captured a lightning strike, so I'm happy.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
ISO 100
EF50mm
f2.8
5sec

Day 302 - Good Cause

Justin is raising money for Movember.  If you can help him, visit http://au.movember.com/mospace/1325372/  I'm sure he will appreciate the donation.  I had an awesome time taking photos while on the Saturday morning club ride.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF70-200 @102mm
ISO 250 (forgot to change that back)
f/2.8
1/640s

Day 301 - Lightbox

Been meaning to do this shot for a while but it wasn't until I received some slides that I decided to get my act together.  This was taken with slides placed on a lightbox.

Ken: Not sure if you knew but there were some slides with photos in the box marked "blank slides".  I noticed some shots of Ash and Andrea in there and also a nice picture of Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Mick.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
ISO 100
EF50mm
f2.8
1/200sec

Day 300 - Macro Madness

I have been wondering about one of the lenses I received off my grandfather and only realised its usefulness once I was searching for a reversing lens ring to attempt some macro photography.  It was bit of a give away with the macro adjustment slides on the lens and bellows setup.  Holy cow can I get some shallow depth of field with this sucker.  Extremely handy having a Canon mounting ring on the lens too!

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
Leica Macro Bellow Lens
ISO 400
f/2.8
1/60s

Day 298 - Passion

This shot comprises of 4 exposures through a Nikkor lens (reversed to make it a macro lens) and between each exposure I moved the lens around a little further in a circular pattern.

Technical:
Recesky Film Camera
ISO 400

Day 297 - IronBark

Technical:
Recesky Film Camera
ISO 400

Day 296 - Camera Lesson

I had the pleasure of teaching someone how to use their DSLR today.  We were practicing using manual mode and her beautiful children were modelling for us.  I managed to snap a couple of pics on my camera while she was testing and got this cheeky shot.

Technical:
Canon 7d
ISO 100
EF70-200 @ 75mm
f/2.8
1/400s

Day 295 - Point of View

Technical:
Recesky Film Camera
ISO400

Day 294 - Outside In

Technical:

Recesky Film camera

10 Exposures (last exposure with a polariser filter)

Day 287 - Liger

Here's a close up of one of our Liger's.  I don't usually get shots of Killer because he is camera shy but this time I got him good with the macro lens.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF50mm
ISO 400

Image Manipulation:
Sharpen, Curves Adjustment for eyes

Day 282 - Addiction VI

My final shot in the addiction series.  Thanks to my grandma who was only to happy to model for me and eat a lolly for the sake of photography... and kept eating them after I finished.  Addiction?  I think so.

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 281 - Addiction V

Fifth image in the series.

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 280 - Addiction IV

Forth image in the series

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 279 - Addiction III

Third image in the series.

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 278 - Addiction II

Next in the series on addiction.

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 277 - Addiction I

The start of a fortnightly challenge with the Recesky film camera.  This time the theme is addiction.  I think this one is self explanatory.

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 270 - Sushi Soldiers

Had lunch today at the Sushi bar and was trying to finish off the last couple of shots so I decided to snap what I was about to eat.

Technical:
Leica SL
Kodak BW400CN
ISO 400
90mm Leica lens

Day 269 - Beauty Is In A Smile

I spotted a family walking down the street, ducked in and out of shops and I thought they would be wonderful to photograph.  I had already missed out on a few opportunities during the day so I didn't want to miss another chance so I sat and waited for them to get closer.  I asked the mother if I would be allowed to photograph her kids and she was only to happy for me to go for it.  Unfortunately the shot I took of the young boy didn't work because he blinked, but the young girl was beautiful.  A gorgeous smile came across her face and she held it while I tried to get focus.

Technical:
Leica SL camera
Kodak BW400CN
ISO 400
Leica 90mm lens
f/2.8

Day 265 - Objects and Shapes

I spotted this shot which had a vase and garden ornaments in it... I didn't realise I still had a camera in frame.  It's the first shot where I actually placed the Recesky camera down on a firm platform as to increase the focus and clarity.

Technical:
Recesky camera
ISO 400

Day 264 - Our Shot

Wenz and I were playing around with the plastic toy camera (Recesky) and took a shot of us thinking it wouldn't turn out.  We were to close, unsure of framing, moving to much, and poor light.  We instantly loved the shot once we saw it developed.  The shots nothing special, it's just the moment that made it special.

Technical:
Recesky camera

Day 263 - Inner Beauty

I decided to walk a different way to work today to see if I could spot a shot for the blog.  A recent fire at the Boogie Shack provided the inspiration I required.  Guys were working on the site but as soon as I turned up with the camera, they seemed to disappear.  I decided to frame up a blossom tree in the foreground against an ugly burnt out building.

Technical:
Leica SL camera
Kodak BW400CN
ISO 400
Leica 90mm lens

Day 262 - Work Haze

It had to come, back to work after three weeks holiday.  Fires have been running down the range and sending a haze across the city.  I have been wanting to capture some streets and general imagery because its always interesting looking back at your parents/grand parents photos and seeing what places looked like back then.  I made sure I had some information in the shot (70 Neil Street) so you know where it was taken... just in case the digital information in the picture is lost.

Technical:
Leica R4s camera
Kodak BW400CN
ISO 400

Day 261 - Recesky

Absolutely loving this thing.  You have to pre-visualise what the images are going to turn out like and then you can compose your image to suite.  It's so simple, insert bright day, somewhat interesting subject, point, hit the shutter button... done.

Technical:
Recesky Twin Lens Reflex camera
Kodak 35mm colour film

Day 260 - CJ & Chiya's Wedding

Had an awesome day at my little brother's wedding.  Beautiful day, great subjects, food and four cameras.  What else could I ask for.  Here's a shot I took from the Leica R4s.  Unfortunately I missed focus (by a long way) on a few shots.  I can't work out how I did that but the lesson learnt is take it slow and make sure I have focus, otherwise there's no point in taking the shot.  I had the negatives printed on metallic paper which gives a beautiful look to black & white.  Unfortunately that doesn't translate over to digital when scanning.

Technical:
Leica R4s camera
Kodak BW400CN
ISO 400
f/2.0
1/60

Strobist:
Drinks frig placed left of subject

Day 259 - The Painted Label Band

Went to catch my brother playing in his band tonight.  I've been meaning to catch-up and take some band shots for some time now.  It was extremely low light so I tested the capabilities of the new lens.  I'm impressed with the way I managed to layer this image.  The stage lights coming up underneath the drummer gave an added moody look.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF70-200 @ 185mm
ISO 3200
f/2.8
1/40

Image Manipulation:
Black & White conversion, Curves

Day 258 - Close Inspection

Finally starting to finish some rolls of film.  This was a shot of Derek inspecting the Recesky roll of film.  I thought it made a great shot... to finish another roll of film.  This is how the boys printed the metallic paper.  Usually they would trim the paper down to size but I like the look as it was.  Looks like a polaroid.  This is a big moment for Derek, second time on the blog.

Technical:
Leica R4s camera
Kodak BW400CN
ISO 400

Day 257 - New Toy

Bit of a play on quality here.  I shot a picture of my new toy, the Canon 2.8 70-200mm Image Stabilisation lens, from a $20 build yourself eBay camera called a Recesky Twin Lens Reflex Camera.  I love the natural blur to the edges and the harsh vignette you get from the plastic lens.  Definitely a favourite alongside the Holga.  Oh yeah, and the Canon lens is pretty good too.

Technical:
Recesky Twin Lens Reflex Camera

Day 256 - Dump Run

Was out at the dump trying to find some props for a photoshoot and came across some weird stuff which I thought would be an interesting image through the Recesky.  You be the judge.

Technical:
Recesky Twin Reflex Camera

Day 255 - Chronicles of Change

Construction of the new Chronicle building has been heating up so I though I would capture a stage of construction and try to revisit the site again at a future date.  You really notice in this image how the plastic lens blurs off at the edges.  Helps to focus the attention on the centre of the image.  Not always the best for composition however.

Technical:
Recesky Twin Lens Reflex Camera

Day 254 - Shutterbug Competition

I entered my shot from day 217 into a local photographic competition and was a little surprised to find out I was one of three finalists in the hobbyist field which means my image will be on display at the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.  It was pretty cool seeing my image printed in a large format.  I was a little late getting to the awards.  I literally just found a seat, then they called my name out and had to walk up on stage.

Technical:
iPhone

Day 253 - Wonderings

I went for a walk on my own today in search of a worthy photograph for the blog.  I backtracked along the walk I did previously and found a side track which lead to a beautiful little waterfall and pond.  I spent most of my time in this spot picking the best angles to capture the scene.  I've also for the first time moved away from relying on auto white balance and fixing up in post if the colours wrong.  I'm now shooting mostly daylight or cloudy settings depending on the conditions.

Technical:
Canon 7d camera
EF70-200 @70mm
ISO 100
f/32
8sec