David's Project 365

[davidc]

These have been growing in a clump near my house and I wanted to try to go for a shot that wasn't macro and had a distinct look and feel, to move away from a "record shot" style of image. Played about with it for quite a while and though it's not 100% what I was after, I'm still fairly pleased with it.


White Flowers - 160/365 by cedarsphoto, on Flickr

[davidc]

Rockstar - had a shot in mind with a bright reflected light in the shades and copious lens flare. Was fun setting it up and playing about. Feels like I've been churning out average/filler shots lately so it was nice getting time to setup/practice some strobist work.

Strobist - YN560II left and right on 1/16th through umbrellas, YN460 behind aimed at the wall on 1/16th power and an LED ring light front on full power - had hoped that to generate a nice ring reflection but it didn't


Rockstar - 161/365 by cedarsphoto, on Flickr

[davidc]

Not what I had planned for tonight but plans changed and I was forced to make do.
It's starting to get irritating that I don't have time to do interesting shots and have to "make do" with filler


Get To The Point - 162/365 by cedarsphoto, on Flickr

[Mike Farley]

Not what I had planned for tonight but plans changed and I was forced to make do.
It's starting to get irritating that I don't have time to do interesting shots and have to "make do" with filler

You have my highest regard for undertaking a PAD project while holding down a full time job and I understand your frustrations when time is against you. There have been a number of occasions for me when inspiration has been lacking and I have had to force myself to pick up my camera. Sometimes the shot I create reflects this, sometimes not.

Producing quality work is demanding and one of the surprises for me has been how long it sometimes takes to work through the output from a shoot, selecting the best images, processing them and then choosing just one to publish. The benefits are that with constant practice, I am learning what works and am sometime surprised by what does and what doesn't. Even if the results are not what you would wish, you cannot fail to improve and I am sure that you will find the experience invaluable.

[davidc]

Thanks. I agree that the motivator to get out there and shoot is overall a benefit but it's the self-inflicted standard I'm trying to maintain that means when I don't feel like I'm learning or having fun it gets disappointing. Take last night. Technically the shot is fine. Emotionally, it does nothing for me. It's an exercise in DOF. Non-photographers seem to think it's nice but anyone with a flashgun and basic knowledge of photography could do the same. I didn't learn anything from it - nor did I put something I had learned to novel use - and I didn't really have fun taking or posting it. Cast iron definition of filler

Overall enthusiasm for the project isn't waning, I still WANT to do better and enjoy the highlights. It's just, well, crap like last night that annoys me. I was spending the evening trying to do shots for the "Celebration" theme which didn't work at all, an utter failure. Which if I wasn't doing the project would be fine and I'd try again another night. But because I have to shoot and my idea didn't work I need to then raid the kitchen for a macro shot, stay up late shooting and processing and uploading... Macro is something I like but it's more and more becoming a "fallback" shot when inspiration is not forthcoming and that kind of shot is not why I'm doing this!

Anyway, slightly more venting than I'd planned there. I have no idea what to do today so expect a closeup of a fork or something.

[Paul Heester]

I like how you have given room for this image to breath (not sure thats the right phrase here). The plain background with its stripes of textures can really be appreciated.

Multiple birthday parties to attend today gave barely any time for a shot - snuck out of a child's birthday party when I saw someone playing with his dog. A miserable, overcast day demanded black and white really.

You can just about make the ball on the left hand side, in the air.

[Mike Farley]

I went into this knowing full well that I would generate my fair share of detritus. If I have half a dozen or so cracking shots by the end of the year, then I reckon that I will have done well, but the real benefit will come from the lessons learnt from the experience of using my camera over an extended period.

As I approach the half way stage, I am already thinking about next year and whether I will want to continue. Part of me says yes, but I am aware of how much time the project is consuming. Maybe I will downgrade to a PESO, but I will see closer to the time.

[davidc]

I'm considering doing a 365 of food, with the caveat I can't do a meal/food more than once

Aside from the angst when I have when no inspiration, the second biggest problem is when I'm doing something I like, such as the smoke photography, I can't pursue it because I need to tear down the setup ready for something else the next day! I'm trying to do a ton of celebration themed shots and the first just wasn't working - I wanted to try more ideas but it was too late and had to do a very average 365 shot instead.

Current plans on my list are

Project 52 - quite a strong contender.
Project 50 - 50 days, 50 shots all with a 50mm lens. But I want to be full frame before I do this and I ain't doing it with film. This will be HARD.
100 Strangers - coming close to starting this, I want to approach 100 strangers on the street, chat to them, shoot their portrait then host a custom website to document the experience. The thought of talking to a stranger to ask for their picture is quite simply terrifying so shall be an immense learning experience.

I think I'll finish this 365 first though

[Mike Farley]

I'm considering doing a 365 of food, with the caveat I can't do a meal/food more than once

Aside from the angst when I have when no inspiration, the second biggest problem is when I'm doing something I like, such as the smoke photography, I can't pursue it because I need to tear down the setup ready for something else the next day! I'm trying to do a ton of celebration themed shots and the first just wasn't working - I wanted to try more ideas but it was too late and had to do a very average 365 shot instead.

That is one of the downsides to a daily photo project, the relentless treadmill aspect which makes maintaining quality difficult, particularly when you have limited time. Another is the feast and famine aspect, where it is possible to have plenty of contenders one day and nothing the next. One option would be to publish similar images taken over a number of days, which might get a bit repetitive for your followers, but would allow you time to explore a theme.

Current plans on my list are

Project 52 - quite a strong contender.
Project 50 - 50 days, 50 shots all with a 50mm lens. But I want to be full frame before I do this and I ain't doing it with film. This will be HARD.
100 Strangers - coming close to starting this, I want to approach 100 strangers on the street, chat to them, shoot their portrait then host a custom website to document the experience. The thought of talking to a stranger to ask for their picture is quite simply terrifying so shall be an immense learning experience.

Personally, the first two sound quite easy, especially if you allow the focal length equivalent of 50 mm for cameras which do not have a 35 mm full frame sensor. Good luck with 100 Strangers if you ever do it - phugging as opposed to chugging?

I think I'll finish this 365 first though

Good idea!

[davidc]

I'd missed your reply somehow, but would only really disagree with a project 52 or 50 being "easy". I think it depends on the standard you intend to achieve

With the 365 I've come to terms with a certain amount of filler, but with a P50 I could plan all 50 shots ahead of time meaning the standard ought to be higher. The P52 I have even more time to plan, shoot, tweak, reshoot so I'd expect my quality to be even higher still. I'd certainly not be doing any macro filler stuff!

Anyway, I'm a few days behind so on with the catchup