May 29 - Alternate Boom

May 29 - Alternate Boom, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Yes, second photo from the same day, and same subject even. But dramatically different look. I don't think I've ever seen clouds like this.

Half expected a tornado or something after seeing these. Weird.

May 29 - Boom

May 29 - Boom, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

The weather did all the work for me on these (from Friday, just getting to posting). The sky really was this color, this isn't a color shift or saturation blowout. The overall look reminded me of a Pink Floyd album cover.

Sometimes my friend Greg and I complain about how we often end up at the Old Mill on our photo-a-day. But when the sky does something this amazing, it's not so bad to be shooting the same old places.

May 28 - Potting Stand

May 28 - Potting Stand, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

This one's all about color and composition. Sharp lines, curving lines, bright colors, muted rust colors.

If I can hit it, I really like late evening sunshine.

May 27 - 15 Minute Parking

May 27 - 15 Minute Parking, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Got to head out tonight after chores to do some shooting. Nothing clears the head like a bit of art at the end of the day.

Found this after searching for grafitti recommended to me by a co-worker. Never found what I was looking for, but found exactly what I was looking for in this frame-within-a-frame.

Only complaint is that one more light (LH window) could have been on, but other than that, I'm pretty happy with this shot. I agonized over the cropping, though. See an alternate version here. I think the version I chose highlights the content of the archway and the rolling sidewalk, while the alternate crop is nice because it shows the full light on the front wall. Also, the extra space allowed me to WB for the wall and make the brickwork really pop out.

Still, I think my choice for the post is "better". What do you think?

May 25 - In the Weeds

May 25 - In the Weeds, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Late in downloading this, so late in posting. This is alongside one of my favorite motorcycle rides, though there's no longer any motorcycles in our garage.

Just another horrible Central Oregon evening sky. Miserable here, I tell you!

May 22 - On the Air

May 22 - On the Air, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Out on a date, and liked the windows on this building. This is the side of the KPOV independent radio studio. Took a couple shots, but the sky was much brighter than the side of the building.

Ran back to the car, enlisted my wife as a voice-controlled light stand, and used a flash on wireless trigger to add some light to the wall.

I've seen in done before, but this is the first time I've used off-camera flash to balance the light in a non-portrait setting.

strobist info:

single 285HV, 1/4 power behind and to camera right, on cactus triggers.

May 19 - Tumbleweed on the Lawn

May 19 - Tumbleweed on the Lawn, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Felt good about taking a walk to go shoot photos today, and I missed some days last week, so I'm posting two shots today. I think this is my favorite, and would be my single choice between the two if I had to pick only one.

Feel good about this shot because I captured exactly what I intended, and nothing else. (Business pack background just out of frame.) Also because I got down on the ground to take this shot -- and it always feels like I've made the worthwhile effort on a shot if I try an angle that requires some effort. Seems like finding a unique view is a easy way to make your photos stand out. Maybe I should build some stilts before the summer festivals?

Oh, and I'm also super excited about a video project I signed up for today -- a movie called 140. I'm signed up to contribute 140 seconds of footage to this worldwide, twitter-coordinated project. Read about it here

May 19 (2) - Birch Shadows

May 19 (2) - Birch Shadows, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Ah. Vertical frame. Nice break.

Tried to capture the distinctive birch leaf shadows against the equally distinct birch bark texture. This B&W version looks almost exactly the same as it's color counterpart.

May 18 - Light Pools

May 18 - Light Pools, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

A virus has been chillin' in our household for the past week or so, so the hectic-ness has zapped my creativity. Or my time for creativity.

Anyway, back out there with the lens pointed at stuff.

Thanks to my similarly exhausted wife for supporting me and this project enough to kick me out the door (or at least say, "well, OK") when I asked if I could go out shooting tonight.

May 10 - Light and Dark

May 10 - Light and Dark, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Ok, liked how I didn't go nuts with shallow DOF on this close-up of our curtains. But I notice another trend of horizontal shots, so I'm gonna have to mix it up.

Took lots of photos this weekend, but nearly all were of family, so off-limits to this blog.

This was kind of a Hail Mary kind of shot, the end of a long day, I was having my 11pm pizza+beer, and liked the interplay of light and shadow. Seems photo of the day should have some balance of complexity of the shot (to advance my skills) and simplicity (since it's supposed to be grabbing the camera and shooting, not fussing over so much that I don't take the shot, or feel too busy to setup.)

This was more on the snapshot end of that scale.

May 8 - Grillin'

May 8 - Grillin', originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

I love when spring breaks in Central Oregon. Some 70 degree days for a while, then some snow, then some rain, then another wave of warm. And each warm evening, it's just too tempting to roll out the BBQ and cook like a caveman.

I saw the new green grass through the grill, the spots of sunlight, and thought this perfectly captured the feel of the evening.

By the way, if your idea of BBQ involves perfectly shaped briquettes (or propane!) you're seriously missing out. My last birthday I got a Weber grill to replace our rusting gas grill. At the same time, I discovered real charcoal. Big, mis-shapen, odd-sized hunks of mesquite. It smokes. It sparks. It crackles. It burns hot, then gets cold. But the result is delicious, and the process exciting.

C'mon, SUMMER!

May 7 - Battered but not Broken

May 7 - Battered but not Broken, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Life seems busy lately!

This is a mailbox that has seen better times. Still got the address on it, and I guess it's still in use. Some spring blooms in the park behind it added some color, and the 50 kept the background less cluttered than it was.

Thanks to my dog for helping me keep the camera still. Holding your camera with the leash arm is like the exact opposite of using a tripod. Bumped the ISO for this reason.

Nice evening for a walk, though. Ah, spring!

May 5 - Mark and Ang / Strangers # 003

May 5 - Mark and Ang / Strangers # 003, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Mark and Angela were brave enough to be my third strangers for this project. I have my weimaraner to thank, as she "introduced" us. They've got a younger and much more energetic weim who entertained our pup while I took the photo.

Thanks, guys!

So here's where I highlight areas for improvement:

• I used a flash on this, but was so fired up with nerves that I left the camera in Av mode and so the shutter was WAY too fast to synch. So the flash was more for effect than results.
• I need to include more of their personalities and environment in the shot. This ain't MySpace.
• Use the white balance card, Luke.
• Talk more, relax, and take more shots. I think I only had 5 shots to choose from.

This picture is #003 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com

May 4 - Driveby

May 4 - Driveby, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Artistic? White balanced wrong? A odd attempt to capture a rainbow?

I like it. It's one of my favorite colors, so I pretty much forgive everything else about it.

Raindrops keep falling on my head......

May 3 - Water, Energized

May 3 - Water, Energized, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Sorry to my family for making them wait. I couldn't miss the shot at this steaming bowl of baked sweet potatoes and apples, backlit by the evening sun.

I need to cool my jets a bit with the shallow DOF. I did take some shots with a smaller aperture, but I liked the steam best on this shot.

Also need to figure out a better way of keeping things straight when leaning over. I wasn't aiming for the "high fashion" tilt on this shot.

May 2 - A work in Progress

May 2 - A work in Progress, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

Oh, did I forget to post a photo yesterday?

Took a reduced-size photo pack out today for our mountain rescue recertification. Fully intended to spend the afternoon shooting photos of rescuers after our team completed our test. However, a speck of dirt stuck under my eyelid since last night cancelled that plan.

A visit to urgent care took care of the eye problem.

On the way to a post-recert party, I noticed this row of multicolored wheelbarrows lined up along a newly constructed berm. Behind was a brilliant rainbow. Unfortunately, I couldn't get an angle that got all the wheelbarrows but not the utility poles and houses in the background.

But like I told my wife, It's the stopping to make the attempt that really makes me smile.

April 30 - It Beats the Alternative

April 30 - It Beats the Alternative, originally uploaded by wasabi_peas.

I've spent the last 1/2 hour agonizing about whether to post this or not.

Took a quick walk today to get some licorice and hopefully run into a stranger for my long-overdue stranger # 3. Maybe it was cold, maybe it was the wrong time, or maybe walking near work just isn't the place to find subjects.

Full disclosure, there were some guys from the homeless shelter, but I'm just not feeling like that's the right direction for the stranger project. It seems invasive to walk into their space for my personal gain.

I did notice this balloon stuck in a tumbleweed in a dry canal. Took one shot, and found that I couldn't really get a position to get the idea I had in mind.....well, without getting muddy. And I didn't care much for the colors.

Went out for an errand after work, and still didn't run across anyone.

So anyway, definitely feeling like this was a low-quality photo. But this blog is NOT my portfolio -- it is a journey. I DID take my camera out, and I did try to capture my vision.

Enough self-abuse. I did run into some really inspirational stuff today, totally what I needed today. So my main reason I decided to post this shot is so I could also redirect you to some great stuff.:

Vision. An Attempt to Clarify
How I Got to The Why.

I discovered the author, David duChemin, when I finally signed up for Twitter to follow Chase Jarvis and Zach Arias. I hope you find some inspiration in one or both links. I sure did!