Obey or Disobey?

DPR Trail - North

I so wanted to disobey this sign.  However, snowshoeing alone, I decided that wouldn't be the prudent course.  Last time I didn't follow my gut, I came home with a torn achilles.  No repeats.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f1.6  1/2100  4.2mm  ISO32

Photographed 1/31/21

10th Hole

52Frames - Week 5 - Horizon Lines (Extra Credit: Break the Rule)

First big snowfall this year, so I went out to snowshoe and make first tracks.  Normally, I walk this hole from tee to green, but on this day went from green to tee in order to make this shot.  Note, the bird flock is real, not composited.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2.4 1/720 1.54mm ISO25

Photographed 1/26/21

Can't Get Enough

C.London52w4 - A Day in the Life

From the C.London website: “Choose one day this week where you will document the entire day - from the moment you wake up, to the moment you go to sleep. Aim to take at least one photo every hour. At the end, cull it down to no more than 10 photos which tell the story of your day. Then, choose just one hero photo which sums it up in its entirety.”

Wednesday is my favorite day of the week; it’s the day we babysit for our 18 month old grandson.  The day started early with a pickup from his house and the trip back to our place.  Morning playtime and then disaster struck.  All bundled up ready to go outside, he tripped & fell into a metal sculpture and got a cut between his eyes at the bridge of his nose.  No photos of that episode!  Things got better after his nap (during I was able to check email, etc.).  Then lunch, a hallway hike at our condo, reading time and his new favorite, the “boo-pa” (iPad).  And of course, late afternoon TV time of his favorite, Daniel Tiger.  Ended the day with dinner, his bath & bed.  I spent the next few hours culling 103 photos down to 10 (Flickr - Day in the Life) and zeroing in on the “hero shot”.

Oftentimes when he is sleeping over at Camp Mimi & Pops, we end the day with some TV time watching Daniel Tiger. One of the few times he sits still. Since 90% of my day was spent with him, his story is my story for A Day in the Life.

Apple iPhone 12 @ f1.6 1/40 4.2mm ISO400

Photographed 1/27/21

#clondon52, #clondon52w4

Connection

There is always more to learn in photography.  Although I’ve been interested in this craft since high school (some 55 years ago), I never had any formal training other than the occasional workshop or online software course.  Workshops I have attended focused on the creative side and provided bursts of energy to expand my horizons and enhance my skills.  I’ve been missing those opportunities for connection during the pandemic.

And then I found C.London Photography when searching for a new 52 Week project for 2021. Chelsea’s approach to photography resonated with me and I’ve taken two of her excellent online workshops; “Seeing Like a Photographer” and “Visual Storytelling”.

The first workshop included a two photo exercise…1) make a photo of what’s in front of you, and 2) with intent, use composition, color and story to make a second photo of what's in front of you. This is photo #2.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f1.6 1/60 4.2mm ISO 80

Photographed 1/19/21

States of H2O (Alternate)

52Frames - Week 4 - Alternate (Water)

Was able to capture two states of water in this image, solid and liquid.

Sony A6600 @ f16 1/160 50mm (75mm equiv) ISO6400 Off-camera flash

Sony 50mm f2.8 Macro

Photographed 1/21/21

States of H2O

52Frames - Week 4 - Water

I tried to accomplish three things with this image:

1.  Represent the three states of H2O - liquid, solid and gas

2.  Depict the USA colors joining together; with leadership in the White House, perhaps now we can truly be the UNITED STATES again.

3.  Try my hand at compositing 4 images in Photoshop.

Sony A6600 @ f9.5 1/160 50mm (75mm equiv) ISO6400 Off-camera flash

Sony 50mm f2.8 Macro

Photographed 1/21/21

Two Right Hands

Discovered this on a neighborhood walk. Why? How? Those are the questions that came to mind.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f1.6 1/800 4.2mm ISO32

Photographed 1/18/20

Wall O' Boots

C.London52w3 - One Room

From the C. London website: "Similar to last week, we’re going to explore a space which is maybe overlooked on any given day. Choose a room in your home and try and show its personality in one photo. This doesn’t need to be a sweeping wide-angle view of the entire space - maybe it’s one corner of the space that sums it up entirely. Want to play this one on hard mode? Choose a less-lived in space, something like the bathroom or kitchen, where maybe there are fewer bits of decoration."

Hallway Closet. It was an empty room when when we bought the place and custom designed it to house my wife's boot collection.  I don't complain about her boots...she doesn't complain about my cameras.  To capture this image, I pulled out my 12 year old D90 and fisheye lens.

Nikon D90 @ f5.6 1/40 10.5mm (15.75mm equiv) ISO200

Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8 Fisheye

Photographed 1/15/21

Sweet Moment

Chicago, IL

I was just making random candid shots and was fortunate to catch this one of mama and son.

Sony A6600 @ f2.4 1/60 35mm (52.5mm equiv) ISO2500 

Sony 35mm f1.8 OSS

Photographed 1/10/21

Eyeball to Eyeball

52Frames-Week 3-Get Low (Extra Credit: Leading Lines)

It’s been 68 years since I’ve viewed the world from the perspective of this little guy.  I try to “get low” with our grandson as much as I can whenever he comes to Camp Mimi and Pops.

I’m taking the 52Frames extra credit for the orange lines in the carpet leading to the orange patch on his coat.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f1.6 1/60 4.2mm (26mm equiv) ISO500

Photographed 1/13/21 #52Frames, #52Frames_GetLow

A Frown Runs Through

Wright Woods

Mettawa, IL

My summer photo was made from a different angle; hence a different title.  A contrast in seasons.  https://jeffm211-p52.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-smile-runs-through.html

DJI Mavic Mini @ f2.8 1/240 4.5mm (24mm equiv) ISO100

Photographed 1/9/21

Winter Trail

Mettawa, IL

Forest Preserve trail on a beautiful winter afternoon.

DJI Mavic Mini @ f2.8 1/320 4.5mm (24mm equiv) ISO100

Photographed 1/9/21

Six Days a Week

C.London52w2 - One Object

From the C. London website: "We’re going to start by recalibrating a bit. So, for this week, I’d like you to choose an every day object - something you see regularly, but maybe don’t put a lot of thought into. Take that object and photograph it in a way which showcases its unseen importance. You can go as far as to stage it entirely, or just take a photo of it in its natural habitat. The main goal here is to look at it with fresh eyes."

The Mailbox.  It holds joy, sorrow, news, packages and junk.  Checking it is automatic; never really thinking about why & how it works.  For as long as I can remember, it's been reliable...until 2020 when the USPS was thrust into political manipulation.  In 2021, normalcy will return.

Sony A6600 @ f8  1/60  24mm (36mm equiv)  ISO2000

Sony E 24mm f1.8 ZA

Photographed 1/9/21

Transmission

52Frames - Week 2 - Leading Lines

The original idea for this shot was much different; focusing entirely on the tower itself.  When I saw the poles lying on the ground and changed my perspective, I knew the original idea was history.

I'm also claiming the extra credit for 4 or more leading lines: 1) poles, 2-4) wires left, center & right, and although subtle, 5) brighter clouds following the line of towers.

Sony A6600 @ f8 1/90 10mm (15mm equiv) ISO50

Sony E 10-18mm f4 OSS

Photographed 1/7/21

Afternoon Boost

Chicago, IL

On the way to pick up my grandson, I stopped for a strong cup of coffee knowing the caffeine hit was needed to keep up with him the rest of the day.

Sony A6600 @ f8 1/60 24mm (36mm equiv) ISO125

Sony E 24mm f1.8 ZA

Photographed 1/5/21

Tools of the Trade

I am excited about joining the C.London 52 Week Photo Challenge community.  Many thanks to Chelsea for providing this platform.

C.London52w1 - Setting Goals

From the C.London website, “In the next year we will challenge ourselves as photographers and artists. Setting goals is the first step in that journey. Right now in this moment think about what you’d like to achieve. Are you hoping to get better at portraits? Maybe you want to be able to document your travels more coherently? Maybe you just want to give yourself a new hobby and artistic outlet.  

For our first week, set a goal and make a photograph which shares and documents that goal. We will revisit this midway through and at the end of the year.”

My photography goal in 2021 is to become a better visual storyteller.  Every picture has a story.  It may be factual.  It may be fictional.  It may be intentional.  It may be accidental.  It may be superficial or it may be deep.  But it’s there, somewhere.  I hope that my photos evoke questions about and/or connections with the stories.

So here we go!  2021 tools are ready, but is the creative eye ready?  Time will tell…and your comments and critiques will be most helpful.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f1.6 1/13 4.2mm ISO125

Flash fired

Photographed 1/1/21

New Year, New Gear

52Frames - Week 1 - Self-Portrait

Here we go with Year 2 of 52Frames.  Last year, I did a street selfie for Week 1 since street photography is my genre of choice.  With Covid surging, that was not an option for me this year.

So instead, I decided to try something I'd never done before with a new tripod, flash and wireless trigger.  Here's the first attempt at a high contrast portrait with off camera flash; #22 of 27 taken.

Sony A6600 @ f4.0 1/60 35mm (52.5mm equiv) ISO100

Sony E 35mm f1.8 OSS

Photographed 12/30/20