Week 50 - Angled Steps

The pickings for this week were very slim. I've got photographer's block, even with the help from The Daily Shoot to try and inspire me.

Another of my DailyShoots gets picked for the project. These are our blog-famous reno'd stairs:

Two weeks left of Project 52. Unfortunately, the really good possible shots will come the week after the last posting when we take a trip to Toronto and visit the zoo and other sights. That's a bit unfortunate. I'm sure I would have a great shot to finish it off with.

I'm still debating whether to start up another Project 52 or go for a 365.

Hello from Posterous

I am debating on moving my blog over to Posterous. I really like the way it handles my photographs as well as Flickr sets.
All of the entries have been imported into my Posterous blog. For the time being I'll keep both locations and have Posterous auto-post over to the Blogspot location to keep them in sync. If you're reading this on Posterous, click on the Project 52 or Daily Post tabs and have a look at the Flickr sets. If you're not reading this on Posterous, or you're not sure, click here: http:/scottpaterson.posterous.com

Week 49 - Hot Dog

Week 49 - Hot Dog, originally uploaded by Twister65.

I threw this shot together quickly for The DailyShoot earlier this week. The assignment was to take a picture of food (duh). I nearly forgot until after we were finished eating supper. As luck would have it, there was a lone hot dog left in the pot.

It was barely warm, but good enough to use for the shot. I don't normally dress my hot dogs up this much; I tend to keep it simple and just put mustard on them. But, as I noted in the comments of the photo, I needed more colour.

I fired off four of five shots before putting the hot dog out of its misery (I ate it) :)

Apparently this month is National Hot Dog Month in the U.S. and tomorrow is National Hot Dog Day.

It is/was a coincidence.

Week 48 - Marbl(u)es

Marbl(u)es, originally uploaded by Twister65.

This weeks pick was easy and was from another DailyShoot.com assignment.

The theme was "blue". I first started with taking close-up shots of my daughter's eyes. By definition, they are blue, but I wasn't able to get them to "pop" and look as blue as I would have liked them to be.

My son suggested his marbles. He got a selection of blue ones, I grabbed a sheet of white paper from my printer, and we went out to the front patio to see what we could do.

After leveling the table, we placed them on the sheet of paper in whatever layout would keep them from rolling around. I fired off various shots with my 18-200mm lens, switched to the 100mm for a few more, and then back to the 18-200mm.

In the end, the best shots came from the 18-200mm. Had I taken the time to use a tripod with the 100mm, I'm sure I could have gotten some good ones.

This was all natural lighting from a somewhat cloudy and hazy sky. The only adjustments I made to the image was a crop and a slight boost to the saturation to bring out the blue a little more, all done in Picasa. :)

I'm very pleased with the results. It's one of those photos that makes you want to keep looking at it.

More than a pretty face

The other week, Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” was on one of the free movie channels. We decided to watch it and see what the big deal was about.

I have to admit, it was a pretty decent show. But that’s not what I’m writing about.

The guitarist was really good; her name was Orianthi Panagaris. She really kicked ass. My wife questioned whether it was the same “Orianthi” that sings a pop song that she happens to like.

Out came he laptop and my daughter did a search.

Sure enough, they were one and the same.

I’m more of a “rock’n’roll” kinda guy, but I don’t mind most pop songs. I had to find out what else she sings and/or plays.

I found out some really cool facts about her as well as some videos of her playing less pop-like material. To quote Santana from that linked web site:

"It's not cute any more. It's seriously ass-whupping. If I was going to pass the baton to somebody, she would be my first choice."

I had to add her album to my collection. Having recently acquired an iPod Nano, I picked up “Believe (II)” from iTunes. On it, she also does a instrumental guitar duel with Steve Vai.

I love this one listener review from iTunes:

As a fan of heavier music (generally screamo and metal), I was impressed by the skills of Ori, from the first album “Violet Journey”, up until Believe (II), her music is continuously high on my playlist.

She’s like a bridge between the pop and rock gap.

Look ‘er up and give ‘er a listen.

Week 47 - Wax Monkey Frog

Wax Monkey Frog (47/52), originally uploaded by Twister65.

We visited the Canadian Museum of Nature on Monday, along with my sister and her family. It was the first time I've been to see the exhibits. I did go once for a wedding a long time ago. It was the first time for all of us since they renovated the museum and built the large glass structure – now named the "Queen's Lantern" – to replace the stone tower that was sinking.

One of the exhibits was frogs. These little guys are Wax Monkey Frogs and look so laid back. The second coolest frogs were the Poison Dart Frogs, but I messed up the exposure settings on my camera so the photos didn't turn out very well. :(

Week 46 - Beach at Voyageur

Beach at Voyageur, originally uploaded by Twister65.

An ending to a great week of camping with my family and friends.