Day 44...The Moon Rising

THE MOON RISING

The resolution on this one isn't as great as I would like it to be, but it's still a pretty cool shot.  I'm always a little astonished how much detail can come out on the moon when you take a photo even with a fairly basic lens!  The moon is such a cool object to photograph and stare at.

I saw this when I was on my way home from work after I got off the bus.  I nearly drove off the road a couple times trying to get a good look at the dang thing!  I am quite pleased with the moon craters that you can see.  One day, I vow I'm going to get one of those really golden harvest moons that are just coming up.  I've never been a huge night photographer, but that's one fun thing about this project is that I get to look for things I've not done before.  I actually have a series from years ago where I did capture the lunar eclipse and I have a couple fairly decent plain moon shots.  I think having the tree in the foreground adds a little interest to the composition.

Well, I feel the warm weather starting to rev up, so things should start getting good!

www.photosfeaturingyou.com

Day 19...Sleepy Winter City

SLEEPY WINTER CITY

I'm not sure how I'm really feeling about this image/post at all.  I really want to try to get away from landscape and city shots all over the place.  But today was another one of those days that would have been perfect to strap on some snowshoes, go for a walk, and find some fantastic wintery wonderland to photograph.  However, due to the extreme inconvenience of me having to work full time at a JOB that is not photography, I just didn't have a decent amount of time to do what I would have liked to obtain my shot of the day.

But as  I was headed out to pick my daughter up, I saw the sun going down.  I really did NOT want another sunset photo.  But I thought if I waited just a bit longer, I could catch the blue hour, and I know how sparkly St. Paul can be when the sun goes down.  There are so many places around the city where I would love to position myself to get a good angle of the  city.  However, a lot of them aren't friendly to foot traffic, or I'd have to park far away and walk across a bridge or something that wouldn't exactly be safe.  

So tonight I decided to head up to Mounds Park and see what the city would look like right when the sun sank under the horizon and everything went blue.  This is what I got, your typical cityscape skyline.  I think it's nice, but I'm going to try to go in a different direction for a while and do what I set out to do in this project and stretch my imagination and creativity and skill so I'm not constantly posting photos of the sun coming up or going down, or photos of all the iconic buildings of downtown St. Paul.  

My goal this week is to do at least one great black and white shot and at least one great street photo.  We'll see how it goes!

www.photosfeaturingyou.com

Day 15...Sparkly Park

SPARKLY PARK

Today, I kind of feel like this image is a compromise, but I guess every day is not going to produce perfection.  This is where I wait for the bus in the evening.  This is as close as I could get to capture the essense of what it's like when the sun goes down there.  This is the same park I took yesterday's shot from but I'm facing south with the Landmark Center to my back.  

Rice Park is another one of those St. Paul spots that is just a place you love to go during nearly any season or weather.  The City took down the big blue tree that's normally the focal point of the lights during the holidays, but since the holidays are over, now it's just all sparkle in a non holiday way.  

Tonight it was snowing as I waited for the bus, and it was such a pretty winter evening, other than the fact that I was nearly freezing to death trying to get the right angle on my shot!  The reason I'm not significantly pleased with the shot is it just seems a little grainy, and just not as beautiful as I'd hoped, but it was the best of what I got today.  I think I've concluded that night stuff, unless I have more time, is just not my forte.

I would love for warmer weather to come now, and time for me to shoot something that is not so "St. Paul."

www.photosfeaturingyou.com

Day 12...Night Skyline

NIGHT SKYLINE

Tonight's shot is, again, one that's been done many times by many people.  But our lovely city of Minneapolis begs to be photographed, especially anywhere near the Stone Arch Bridge.  

Tonight I went on a little adventure and took shots from several different angles and got several different outcomes.  It was hard to select an image once again for each one had a uniqueness about it.  Tonight I ellicited help from my mom, and she helped me narrow it down to this one.

I've said before that I love to take images of the sky and the skylines of the city.  Tonight the weather was perfect for it, and the city was just sparkling in its glory.  Though many have photographed from this very spot and likely nearly this exact photo, this one is my own for my collection and I'm excited I had the oppotunity to get these shots.

The funnest part about photographing the Minneapolis skyline and including its surrounding bridges at night is the difference in all the lighting and colors.  And I especially love that in the area that we were in tonight, just a few steps one way to the left or right or a few steps up or down the stairs, and the city looked completely different.  

This project is coming along way better than I expected and I can't wait for each passing day to see what comes to mind and comes to life in print.

www.photosfeaturingyou.com

Day 11...Light Writing

LIGHT WRITING

You would think that with the weekend would come time, time to get outside in the light of day and find something to photograph.  But today, it just wasn't in the cards for me.  On my way home from driving my daughter to soccer this evening, I contemplated how the whole day went by without me taking my photo of the day.

I had been near downtown Minneapolis this evening where the nighttime skyline looked amazing, and I certainly had enought time to pass to get out there and shoot.  However, in the haste of leaving for our dinner date tonight, I didn't think to bring my camera.  So I stared at that gorgeous skyline thinking of a missed opportunity.

But as I drove through the neighborhood on the way home, I saw the few leftover holidays lights the neighbors still had burning, and wondered to myself if I could pull off one last photo using holiday lights without it appearing holiday themed.

This is what I came up with....light writing.

I've seen it done before, of course much more elaborately and well done.  It took me a few shots to get the aperature, shutter speed, white balance, and the speed in which I drew with my light source all coordinated, but I think it turned out pretty fun.  I want to try again with possibly helpers and a tripod and better light sources, but that likely won't be until it's much warmer outside.

Hope you like it.  I know it's out of the ordinary course of landscapes, etc.  But that's what this project is about for me...experimenting, trying to push my limits.
www.photosfeaturingyou.com

Day 5 ... Holiday Lights on the Move

HOLIDAY LIGHTS ON THE MOVE.

After this day, I'm going to start taking this project a little more seriously and put more time into my shots.  Tonight, I was entranced by these holiday lights as I drove by, but I don't have a tripod so thought I'd just go a little crazy with them.  I figured, what else can you do with lights when your options are limited with no tripod?

I think it's fun to take shots of lights that are moving (such as a still shot with auto lights as streaks).  I don't know that I particularly like this shot, but I've been pretty limited with my time.  I guess you can stare at it and try to wonder what it would look like if it were still.  And if neon is your thing, this might work for you.

It's going to be deathly cold tomorrow, but I'm determined to get a daytime shot!

www.photosfeaturingyou.com

Day 3 ... Experimental, maybe not super artistic or appealing

Experimental, maybe not super artistic or appealing.

With my busy schedule and living in a state where there is a limited amount of sunlight during this season, I am quickly realizing that the time I have to complete my daily photo is going to really push my creativity limits.  

I, again, did not have a chance to get around to photographing until the sun went down.  And then I realized it was snowing outside.  I sat here looking at the big beautiful snowflakes falling and feeling a little bummed that it was nighttime.  Then I thought, hey, why not do something a little experimental.

I've taken photos outside during snow, and I've often become annoyed at the interference of the snow in the photo when the flash catches it.  However, tonight, I feel like my experimental shot is actually kind of fun.  

This is a shot from the front porch of my home.  Maybe not super artsy, but I like the porch lights and the snow.  It screams MINNESOTA.

www.photosfeauturingyou.com

Day 2...Goodbye holidays

Goodbye holidays.  

The holidays are over for me.  I took my Christmas tree down a couple days ago.  I guess I just grow tired of it after weeks of preparing and celebrating.  But there's something I just love about Christmas lights and there are still some glowing in my neighborhood.

I feel like I had to really stretch myself for this shot today in many ways.  

One, I don't have a tripod and shooting at night is not ideal under those circumstances.  Two, how do you photograph Christmas lights and not create a cliche looking shot?  Three, it was absolutely freezing outside and I nearly got frostbit on my shooting finger!  

But this is what I came up with, and I think it's kind of pretty. I always like a little Bokeh, and it worked great for me tonight.  

How's that for color in the dead of winter?

www.photosfeaturingyou.com