Photo A Day Project 365, Success!!!

My year long project has now finished. It was a great success. I only missed a few days here and there and I made all sorts of amazing photographs that I would have totally missed otherwise. I have learned a totally new way of looking at the world and now constantly notice all sorts of things I would have missed before this project. I also got a huge amount of practice and opportunities to expand and improve my photography. This project has taught me so much and has also been a great way to record my year. I now have a wonderful collection of artistic and journalistic photographs from my entire year.

I have enjoyed this project immensely and have made some very wonderful photographs. I am planning on printing a selection of my best photographs from this project in a book so as to have a physical record of this project, a portfolio of my work and an artistic product to sell. I will post here once I have finished all the formatting and photo-picking.

I have also started a new project for the year 2012! In my Weekly Photographic Challenge project I won't be trying to make a photograph every day but will try to create a photograph in my mind then see if I can find a way to make it with the camera, The idea is to have each photo or collection of photos be a more challenging self assignment. For example one weeks challenge might be to make a photograph of the full moon rising above the cityscape or what I am doing for my first week capturing the creation of bread. You can find my blog for this Weekly Photographic Challenge at this link, http://58.colorlightphotography.com/ , or through my website.

I hope you have enjoyed following this project and hope you will also enjoy my new one.

Sincerely
Colby Abazs

Day 365 Science Guy

Science Guy

I volunteered at a first night event in columbia MO. we stood around and greeted people, held open doors and answered questions. And we got to watch the science show for the kids. But really it was not only for kids and was loads of fun. I as usual was trying to photograph everything and made a few that I liked. This one is my favorite because it is such a great representative photograph of the science show. He would blow on the bucket and a huge cloud of smoke/steam/whatever would come billowing out and all the kids were scrambling to try and touch it. Really great fun and this photograph shows it all.

Day 364 Downtown Church

Downtown Church

I was walking around downtown columbia looking for the post office and checking out the sites. It was a nice overcast day providing nice soft light and interesting backgrounds. The clouds were a little gray in this photograph but the soft light was still nice. I like the composition with the different layers of the church both in height and depth. I do wish the peak of the middle spire didn't intersect with the main spire.

Day 362 What Is It?

What Is It?

I was having a real low motivation today so late at night I decided to photograph a really boring lamp. It is one of those kinds that points up and bounces the light off the roof. I placed it under a particularly low roof and played around with contrasty shaped I could make. I actually ended up having some fun with it all and I think I made an interesting photograph if not an especially spectacular one.

Day 361 Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake

Laura's family has several birthdays right around christmas, this was one of them. I like all the different ways everyone is going after the cake and what really makes this photograph for me is how the one little girl is looking directly at the camera even though no-one els is paying the least bit of attention. This girl doesn't really like me although she would occasionally let me be in the same room as her or even in a chair near her. I think she is just taking her time getting to know me first.

Day 360 A Walk Along The River

A Walk Along The River

Today a bunch of laura's family and I went on a walk along the river. It was very enjoyable and not too cold and we saw a dead coyote. I like this photograph because I like the angle looking down the fallen tree at Laura and a cousin walking along it with the river and city in the background.

Day 359 Holiday Candle

Holiday Candle

There were lots of candles burning this holidays much to my pleasure. I like this photograph because I like the composition and how the red and green tablecloth harmonizes well with the red candle wax.

Day 358 Knotted Log

Knotted Log

My attention was drawn to this rotting log that has some pretty colors and designs. It was getting dark and I wanted a shallow depth of field so I switched to my 50mm lens. I really like how the subject, the knots are the only thing in any sort of focus and are dramatically near the bottom. I do with the blurry background near the top was a little more smooth and less sticky.

Day 357 Squeakers

Squeakers

As I like to call all ginnypigs. I decided Calico would be my model today. Laura helped keep him from running away and I made a bunch of neat photographs. This one is my favorite because her eye is in good focus and I like how she is peaking from laura's arms.

Day 356 Balloon Games

Balloon Games

I think everyone at some point in their life plays some version of keep the ball, or balloon, off the floor. These two girls were playing all sorts of versions that got increasingly challenging. I like this photography because I think it was good timing and has a neat point of view.

Day 355 Lone Goose

Lone Goose

This goose is actually one of a large flock, the reflection of one other member can be seen in the very top of the photography. I spent a few minutes trying to make a good photograph of one of the geese flapping its wings but non of them turned out real great. I also really like the composition of this photograph that follows the rule of thirds very well and is very simplistic.

Day 353 Winter Rose

Winter Rose

I finally went to the effort to try out my new photography tool a spray bottle. I used it on a rose that was sitting around to add nice water droplets to my macro photographs. I tried so many different variations and I liked lots of them. I figured out how to use my flash with my extension tubes which helped incredibly with plenty of light and less worry about camera shake, although I still had to use a tripod. I tried many different lighting setups some of which I fired to main flash through the petals straight at the camera. I ended up decided I liked this one best because it is the best one that shows the interkit center of the rose.

Day 352 Apple

Apple

No I am not talking about apple the company but about the amazing fruit. I decided I wanted to do some more macro photography today and there just happened to be a fruit basket. I photographed all sorts of fruits but this one of an apple turned out best. I like the extremely shallow depth of field and how that highlights the texture of the apple and the dark stem. After the fact I realized I should have tried out my newest photography tool a spray bottle. It would have added neat water droplets, well maybe next time.

Day 351 James Birthday Fish

James Birthday Fish


Lauras little brother had his birthday party today. His actual birthday isn't for another two days but we had some fun and he opened some gifts. I of course was photographing it all and I love this photograph. Laura gave him a fish and the look on his face when he first saw it is depicted wonderfully in this photograph.

Day 350 Basketball

Basketball

I was at Scattergood today transitioning to Laura's house. We stayed for the first part of the home basketball game which meant it was photo time for me. Lise wanted me to make photographs of Tremayne but he didn't play right away so I just photographed the other players. I like this photograph because it is simple without the crazyness of a mass of players. It is also a good action shot catching the moment right before he threw the ball. Though I do wish he wasn't looking away from the camera.

Day 349 Alpaca Party

Alpaca Party

I was tasked with making photographs of my aunts alpacas. Unfortunately we arrived after it had gotten dark so I had a more difficult task ahead. I used my flash off camera but it was direct because I didn't have anything to bounce it off of. The next challenge was focusing because I, and the camera, couldn't see enough to focus. I ended up using my headlamp to provide enough light to focus then the flash would fire for the photograph. The alpacas didn't especially like me being around or the flashes flashing but I managed to get a few interesting images. Somehow they did usually manage to blink right when the shutter went off. I like this one because the one alpaca is sticking its head up above all the others around it.

Day 348 My Parents

My Parents

I finally wrestled my parents into helping me practice my portraiture by being my models. I quickly set up my DIY studio and started photographing. Lise, my mom, was the most photogenic but also the one who thought she always looked bad. David, my dad, was the one that couldn't give just a simple smile and had to do something funky every time. But I did manage to make a few decent photographs, this one being the best that had both of them. They are both smiling, looking at the camera, in focus and they have their glasses not on their faces but on their heads.

Day 347 Pine Cone

Pine Cone


I think this $10 investment in photography may be my best deal to date. It opens up all sorts of really amazing, unique and creative photography opportunities. I had a very hard time getting this photograph to work because the lights were all so close and bright that it was bouncing off the table and into the lens and causing a huge amount of flair. I managed to reduce the flair to an acceptable level by laying the pine cone on a black piece of paper. I played around with all sorts of light angles and like this one best because most of the light is only on the very tip of the pine cone thingys? which makes them stand out and adds depth.

Day 346 Kitty Cat Ear

Kitty Cat Ear

I was having fun with my just arrived extension tubes that allow me to do some super macro photography without buying a $600+ lens. They have their limitations but are defiantly worth the $10 I payed for them.  I made the classic coin macro photographs but then I made this on in passing with a slow shutter speed, fast moving cat, and a high ISO it somehow turned out. And I love it. It is abstract, contrasty, great in black and white, and just a cool view of the world.

Day 344 Bentleyville

Bentleyville

Tonight I got to walk the Trail of Lights. There were A LOT OF PEOPLE!!!. Not preferable since I wanted to take my time and make photographs. I did manage to sneak a few in and this one is my favorite because it shows the massive tree and the little sled dog post office village which fits the season more that many of their displays. All in all a good experience but probably would have been better on a quieter non-saturday night.

Day 343 Friendship Bracelets

Friendship Bracelets

Laura has been making and selling hundreds of these friendship bracelets. She is marketing to a new store and needed some photographs so I decided that I would set up my studio and have that be my photo of the day. This is the one I picked because I think it is the most colorful one that still shows the details.

Day 342 Sing Along

Sing Along

I went to David's, my dad, choir performance tonight. It was good music and entertainment and at the end there were a few song that we could sing along with. I took it as a great opportunity to get some nice people photographs. The lighting was difficult because it was very low and I didn't want to disturb everybody by using my flash. This is my favorit although I had a hard time deciding between the portrait and landscape version. I love the selective focus with the shallow depth of field on the center person.

Day 341 Beaver Chew

Beaver Chew

I went out on a walk to the lake today. I got to walk on the ice to the beaver lodge where I could see through the ice more easily and there were photogenic beaver cut sticks/logs. It was wonderful low lighting just before sunset with a fresh snowfall on the ice.

Day 340 Holiday Bow

Holiday Bow

No this is not the type you shoot people with but what we put on our wreaths. I learned how to make them this year and I did manage to do it alright but never really enjoyed it. This one is made by my mom though because hers are much prettier.

Day 339 Dry Dishes

Dry Dishes

I do really enjoy photographing simple things sitting around and making them look spectacular. This time I chose to focus on the dish drying rack. I got a few ones I like.  For this one I like the diagonal and very shallow depth of field crossing the diagonal on the way the silverware is laying putting the focus dead center on the round tablespoon.

Day 338 DIY Portrait Studio

DIY Portrait Studio

I converted my DIY product studio into a portrait studio. The lights weren't the brightest and the background, sheet, was all creased. But I did get lots fo practice and used my camera tripod as a light stand so I could move one of the lights around to mix things up. I made hundreds of photographs in just an hour or two. I first tried out doing self portraits which had a multitude of challenges mostly around composition and focus. Then Laura agreed to pose for me and after much deliberation I decided that I would use this photograph for the day. There were a lot that I liked but something about how she is interacting with the camera caused this one to keep jumping out.

Day 337 Curling

 Curling

I had my one day a year of curling at the Wolf Ridge Bonspiel. I really enjoy curling and it has been unfortunate that I have not been somewhere that there is curling. But at least I still get it once a year at this event. I like how both of them are kicking off at the same time and how the photograph is framed so that you can invision them sliding through the photo and out the left side.

Day 336 Recharge!

Recharge!

I am a big fan of rechargeable batteries. I decided I wanted to photograph some of my rechargeable batteries and was trying all sorts of compositions and layouts. I finally tried it with them standing up and immediately scrapped all the rest. At first I had it in a 4x6 ratio but much prefer this square shape.

Day 335 Cell Phone

Cell Phone

I have been using my DIY studio a lot lately. I have primarily been photographing all sorts of random things around the house and it  serves the side purpose of being a record of my stuff incase it gets lost or stollen. This is my cell phone which is soon to be upgraded to a smartphone.

Day 334 Green Headlamp

Green Headlamp

I have really loved my makeshift studio. It has helped open up all sorts of nice photographs that I can make late at night with simple items from the house. I got this headlamp for my birthday and like it a lot. It did take some getting used to though because the lower brightness light is green. I am now totally a fan and only occasionally use the bright white light. i made lots of different photographes of it trying to find a balance between the flashlights light and my studio lights(house lamps).

Day 333 I Heart You Nut

I Heart You Nut

I have been carrying this nut around for over a year now after picking it up thinking it would be a neat thing to photograph. I finally made my first photograph of it. I like the way that it looks like a heart and how there are two dark "eyes". I also enjoyed using my table studio.

Day 332 White Rail

White Rail

This is a brand new railing installed in my grandparents house. There was something about the interaction between the stark new wood with the dark paneling around it. I also really like the way the railing creates a diagonal line moving away through the frame.

Day 331 Burn Chair Burn

Burn Chair Burn

This is my grandpas chair that he has used for as long as I can remember. Finally he got a new chair but still would not get rid of the old one. Now he has moved it out and we thought it only fitting to give it a grand farewell. And let me tell you, well actually show you, it burned.

Day 330 Grandma T

Grandma T

I got to have another thanksgiving feast today, this time with my family. This photograph is of my grandma who claims that she never looks good in photographs. I obviously had to prove her wrong and I think this photograph does it.

Day 329 Forestry

Forestry

Today I am at my grandparents house and one of our tasks is to do some tree maintenance. This photograph is of my cousin trimming the branches off a tree he just fell. I like the composition and the way the chainsaw is spitting out sawdust.

Day 328 Turkey

Turkey

Today is thanksgiving and my family joined a few other families for a afternoon feast. I of-course had to make some photographs and was smart enough to do it before I got distracted by eating. This is my favorite one because I like the crisp golden color of the cooked turkey and I like how you can see a dark black hole from where the stuffing came.

Day 327 Improve Studio

Improve Studio

I put together a makeshift studio today. It is very small and only suited for for small product type photography. It was also surprisingly easy to find the pieces and assemble. I made it from a large map using its white back and a few clamp household lights with fluorescent bulbs. This setup is somewhat limiting and more difficult to use but with work and patience can make some very professional work. I am glad I put it together because it is letting me practice this type of photography and teach me what I want when purchasing more advanced tools for the job. And I am making some nice photographs. This one is my favorite from this session because I like the white, verses gray, background and the clear contrasty but not overly shiny light on the frosting. Below I attached a photograph showing my setup with takes up a space about 1meter square in a corner.

Day 326 Teapot

Teapot

I like tea but what I really like is hot coco. I decided to photograph this teapot even though I have done so on multiple occasions before because it was in a new environment and I wanted to try out some DIY(Do It Yourself) flash modifiers. I really like this photograph of it  because it shows the teapot in good light and has a great background. You can see the stovetop, chimney pipe and stone wall all things that for me are integral parts of the hot coco experience.

Day 325 What?

What?

I don't really know what to title this photograph. There really isn't anything that relates the floss with the jars of lentils other than they happened to be sitting next to each-other. I do however like the absurdity of it and the balance of color and brightness between the bright white floss container and the darker colorful lentils. I also intentionally made it an especially tall photograph to enhance the abstract composition.

Day 324 Snow Fire

Snow Fire

We had a HUGE bon fire today. As the grand finally of my kinda birthday party we burned the 10x10x20 brush pile from clearing an area to expand our gardens. It was massive and really neat especially because there was lots of snow on the pile which made the really dense steam and would tower hundreds of feet into the air. I like this photograph because is showed the raging inferno of flame combating the snow in a chaotic rage of smoke and steam.

Day 323 Micro Study

Micro Study

My mother was doing some cleaning around the house and dug out this old microscope. I thought it made a very neat dramatic thing to photograph. I like this one because of the low angle and the contrasty angled light.

Day 322 Dove

Dove

I got these chocolates for my birthday! They are very tasty. I was looking for something to photograph late in the day. I had some trouble getting them to stack the way I wanted. I was finally able to get the words to be legible and the blue to not be totally washed out.

Day 320 First Snow

First Snow

We got our first real snowfall today. We have gotten flurries before but nothing that stuck. I was very excited because my birthday wish was to have snow and I got it! Everything was beautiful with snow clinging to every branch and surface. I right away went outside and started playing in the snow and building snow guardians and starting a quincy. I like this photograph because it shows the snow on everything and you can see far down into the valley.

Day 319 Solid House

Solid House

I have made simular photographs of our house before but this one stood out. The main thing I like about this photograph is the dramatic feel created by the wide angle lens making the building imposing, and the clouds reflected in the windows.

Day 318 Hungry Gold Fish

Hungry Goldfish

We recently moved our goldfish from there outdoor pond to an inside tank. We drain the outdoor ponds for the winter so that they don't freeze and break. It is very fun to actually be able to see the fish now that they are stuck in a small space. I decided I wanted to photograph them eating because I liked how they flited about when they came up to the surface to get the food. i ended up getting this photograph that I love because I got it right as the fish was eating the food.

Day 317 Money and Power

Money and Power

I have found myself photographing money on numerous occasions through this 365 project. It is somehow very photogenic. I like this photograph because of how intently the eyes are looking through the image and the interaction of the coin and bill.

Day 316 EverGreens

EverGreens

We have gathered mountains of evergreen sprigs. We only take about 9 inches of the end and have been harvesting from the same trees for over 20 years. I like the chaos of all the different twigs going every which way and yet it is simple showing only those greens.

Day 315 Making Holiday Wreaths

Making Holiday Wreaths

Every fall my family makes and sells holiday wreaths. This year Laura and I joined them. We got to hike through the woods gathering greens then sit and weave those greens into beautiful wreaths. This photograph is of Lise making a wreath. I like the perspective looking over the shoulder and how you can see much of the wreath already done and her hands preparing another bunch.

Day 314 Split Rock Shines

Split Rock Shines

Today is november tenth the day that the Edmond Fitzgerald sank. It is also the day that the beacon is lit to commemorate the lives lost in that shipwreck. It is a big event that hundreds of people come to see and photograph. I arrived a little later that I preferred, hours before the light was going to be lit, and there were already masses of photographers lined up with their tripods. You can see one such line below. I searched around finding the compositions I wanted then picked a spot to start. I waited awhile for the light to be lit and then started photographing. I moved around wanting to get different compositions and exposures. Unfortunately it was cloudy because it is also the full moon today and it is rising somewhere behind those clouds. I did however get many photographs I am happy with and this is one of my favorites. I like having the waves hitting the shore adding to the drama of the dark cloudy sky with the light shining through it all.