Sunday, October 18, 2009

Raging Water

Raging Falls at Sunset.

Week 10: Raging Water and How I Almost Went for a Swim with an Expensive Camera.

This is one of those shots I have to ask myself after I took it, was it worth it? I think so. I almost dunked my K-7 with 16-45mm twice, got my feet soaked and almost sent some kid fishing plunging into the water when I slipped :)

When I was in the water I grabbed the camera release instead on the tripod instead of the ball head adjustment lever and the camera flipped forward and plunged toward the water. Good thing my other hand was in front of the camera and was able to stop its fall.

It is hard to get a good angle on these falls from the shore, so I waded out to the middle and set up my tripod. I needed the tripod for the long shutter speed effect. I don't have a suitable neutral density filter so I set the camera to 1/10th second and multi exposure mode and took 9 successive images which the camera combined automatically into a final image. The multi exposure mode gives the same effect as a really long shutter speed, maybe like 10 or 20 seconds equivalent.

Would I do it again? You betchya, but I might be more careful on the mossy rocks. Crampons or something would help a lot as well as water proof boots. My pant leg is still wet.

Eric

Thursday, October 15, 2009

End to my 365 Day Project (a couple months late)

I finally finished my 365 days project. When I first started I hated pictures of myself and would never dream of taking pictures of myself. Which is why I took up this challenge, and I am glad I did. It was rewarding. I feel like I finally accomplished a year long project. Something I don't do very often.

The main benefit of the 365 was it kept me taking photos every day. I won't lie though, some weeks I just didn't care about it, but I did the pictures anyway and it kept me going. This next year I have something different planned. I want to take more planned/pre-meditated photos, as I think that is a big weakness of mine, I tend to take mostly candid shots.

My thank you goes out to Keitha and Jens that got me started on the project in the first place, and everyone else who has given me support. Especially my wife who is still married to me after the year :)

If you are thinking about doing a 365 self portrait project, and are hesitant to get started because you are afraid of how you look on frame. Don't be. Start today. To get over seeing yourself in the picture, take several shots from several different angles. You will find angles that are more flattering than others. Notice how I avoid the top of my head? The hair is thin and reminds me I am going bald. Same with my belly.

If anyone plans on starting a project and needs the moral support, feel free to add me as a contact on Flickr (follow one of the links below to get to my profile) and I promise to follow your 365 throughout the year :)

I had a great year, and thanks for looking.

I shot most of these with my Pentax DSLR, mostly the K20d, K-2000, and K-7 (since it came out). A couple of the shots below were with the 5d or Pentax 645 too.

Eric

Interesting shot stats:
Black and White 85
Hands/Feet: 57
Camera/Lens Included: 34
Reflection: 32
Silhouette: 20
Dangerous Weapons: 13
Film: 11
Eyes: 9
Martial Arts Uniform: 9
Shadow: 5
Fire: 5
Holding Film: 3
Topless: 2

Some of my favorites:
Obscured

IMGP5974

IMGP7216

IMGP8537

Christmas Window

A Bit of Warmth

The Power of Light 194/365

In the Forest of Fire and Ice 163/365

Forest of Thought 221/365

Empty Chair 257/365

Parachute 274/365

The Dark Side of the Alley 338/365

Bring It On 356/365

Almost There 364/365

The End 365/365