365 Project - Day 54

Merry Christmas! As I shared in my previous blog, one of my favorite things about this season is the opportunity to enjoy the children's concerts. This photo is from the Newtown High School Singers Christmas Concert. This was a fun evening for the families of the 21 teenagers who participate in this auditioned a cappella group. The only sad thing about the evening was that my son, Aidan, did not sing a solo. He sang with the group and he played piano as the accompanist for several of his friends. He told me that he was too stressed learning the pieces for the piano to even join in singing the smaller group songs. He did a terrific job playing the piano and everyone was fabulous. Another wonderful holiday event.

This photograph was taken from my seat near the front and below the stage. I was only able to capture a portion of the group and the lighting was not the best. From my seat, my son looked green under the lights in the back row - a lovely kermitish look! Though he memorizes the songs, I sure wish he would remember to bring along his Singers notebook!

Best wishes for a blessed holiday! Merry Christmas!

Today's Photo: "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing"

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:8



EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 400
35mm
f/2
1/45

365 Project - Day 53

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the various children's Christmas Concerts. I am enjoying them more this year than ever. I am more fully in the moment, relaxed, listening to the words, watching the kids and absorbing each individual experience without preoccupation. I believe that is the combination of both my retirement and "lessons learned from the fall." I need to be practice - no not practice - but be more mindful. I encourage it. I thoroughly enjoyed the shows!

All of the kids did such a nice job performing at the Sabrina's Encore Productions student event this year. My younger son sang "White Christmas" including Irving Berlin's original lyrics that are rarely sung. Everyone appreciated having a proper understanding of the song and, of course, he is a thorough storyteller:
"The sun is shining, the grass is green,
The orange and palm trees sway.

There's never been such a day
in Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it's December the twenty-fourth,—

And I am longing to be up North ..."

My eldest son, the more dramatic one wanting to tell the tougher side of truth and tug on everyone each time he sings, sung "Christmas Shoes". Leaving many a mom and some of the kids, both boys and girls, in a heap of tears.

They were both fantastic. I had awesome seats for sound that were terrible for photographs. I recorded each of their sessions on video as usual. Then snapped this photograph after the show while everyone was mingling. You see, a gal with a cast is no good at mingling, so there's plenty of time for me to look for an opportunity to grab a photograph. I chose this one of the combination of the poinsettia with the piano in the background as a nice, subdued symbol of the music and beauty of the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes!

Today's Photo: "Merry Melody"

From "Christmas Shoes" by Alabama
"I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love as he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy to remind me what Christmas is all about"



EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 1000
35mm
f2.4
1/45

365 Project - Day 52

Holy Smokes! I've gotten so far behind in my blog that I had to rely on my photo dates to determine which pic comes next! The reason for the delay? 70 young people and their head shots. I did not want this project weighing on me through the holidays. This is the first Christmas in 32 years that I have been entirely work free and I didn't need to muck that up with a photo project, much as I love it! So, it is finished! I am now free to fully enjoy and embrace my family! So excited. Whew that was a lot of work ... now back to the photo of the day a few days ago.

I have been eying this sword as it stands propped up against the deep red wall in our family room for some time. Many days I think, "I really want to capture that. Humph - I'll have to try some time." And then just as quickly the urge is gone and I move on. I was determined on this day to succumb and start a journey with the sword and the wall. The sword is quite heavy and I do not have the mobility I need to get creative, but once I heal from my broken leg, I expect to develop a unique dynamic between the sword and the wall.

For now, this simple red - on - red will serve as my starting point. This was a quick photo taken using my on camera flash. I was in a tight space at the time, between my couch and the wall, without the ability to back up to bring the full sword into view and without a tripod on hand to leverage slower shutter speed. For selfish reasons, I chose not to increase the ISO above 400. Lots of opportunity for improvement and that's a good thing.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes!

Today's Photo: "Passion's Sword"

“When love beckons to you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.” Kahlil Gibran



EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 800
50mm
f1.8
1/250 (on camera flash)

365 Project - Day 51

I received an email from Nikon Learn & Explore the other day. An article on how to shoot the classic holiday light bokeh effect quickly caught my eye. I immediately read it and decided that I would complete a holiday bokeh project before the end of the week. Our Christmas tree has been up with lights only for some time and it seemed the perfect opportunity to get the bokeh correct in a completely uncomplicated environment before we clutter the tree.

The project sounded so very simple. I was excited to give this a try. As I glanced around the tree to determine which side to photograph, I worried that the lights were too big, not colorful enough and there was too much space between each strand but nevertheless, I was committed - this was the time. I placed my camera on the tripod, defocused the lens and went for it. I was shocked when I saw "Christmas bokeh in the first photo". Now that's a well written article ;-) I still wish I had more lights and more colors, but this was a good start.

After comparing my photograph with the one in the article, I believe I need to re-process mine to de-saturate, but for now, I'm pleased.

Best wishes !

Today's Photo: "The Magic of Christmas"

"Great little One! whose all-embracing birth
Lifts Earth to Heaven, stoops Heaven to Earth."
~Richard Crashaw



EXIF: Nikon D7100
50mm
ISO 100
f/1.8
1/60

365 Project - Day 50

I may be the only one, but I do not enjoy the taste of Fortune Cookies. I do, however, enjoy reading the fortunes. I'm a little superstitious in that if I open one with a good fortune, I feel obliged to eat at least half of it to be worthy of receiving that fortune! Okay, now that I've put that in words, it sounds even sillier than I imagined.

A good, meaningful fortune can be encouraging. I have kept several taped to a card in my bedroom. Several weeks ago, I had a terrific introductory discussion with a group of people. It was the highlight of my day and later I lazily opened a Fortune Cookie that was lying out on the counter. The message read, "Today, your life has changed forever." I choose to believe that was more than a coincidence.

We have Chinese food at least twice a month. It's a family favorite and I often wonder if we order more than the norm for a family of 4 because we are always given around 10 cookies. Anyway, this is a first attempt at a Fortune Cookie photograph. It has been on my list for some time (since we typically have an abundance of cookies), however, this was not as well planned as it could have been. I will "schedule and plan" a more organized shot.

For now, enjoy and best wishes!

Today's Photo: "You need not worry about your future"

"Only learn to seize good fortune, for good fortune is always there." Goethe



EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 400
50mm
f2.4
1/90

365 Project - Day 49

My lovely husband was shopping at Costco the other day, walked past the flower stand and thought of me. Well trained, right? He walked in with a bouquet of the most interesting flowers in bright pink, bright orange and a bluish purple color. Not a combination I would have expected, but definitely eye catching. I have been so busy with Christmas and other projects for the 365 that I actually forgot about this bouquet, though. In fact, we did not put them in water for the first 24 hours.

I initially tried photographing the variety of flowers against a white backdrop and then switched to this dark blue wall. I then placed 1 stem of each color in a vase to photograph separately. While I like the trio of flowers and the radiant mix, I preferred this singular stem. I chose this photo, because I like the subtle mix and blend of the blues with both the flower and the background. The change in temp and tint is attractive to me. This was photographed with the camera on a tripod and the speed light off camera, bouncing off the ceiling angled slightly toward the flowers.

I do wish I had more of the leaves in front in focus, but it is still my fave of the day!

Best wishes!

Today's Photo: "I thirst for you"

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

365 Project - Day 48

It is difficult to explain the experience of photographing 70 children in a single afternoon. I can begin by stating that being organized was essential, as was being flexible. I arrived 45 minutes earlier than I had said I would. Yet, as soon as I arrived, little children wanted their photos taken since I was to start at the end of their meeting. I was early to set-up and because I knew I needed more than the planned 30 minutes to photograph 15 small children.

With a prepared cast/shot list in hand, I relied on my own children to take turns ensuring their friends and fellow cast members were lined up and ready to enter the makeshift studio in rapid succession. We needed to move quickly, plus I wanted the kids to have a moment to get comfortable and I wanted to be thorough, ensuring everyone had a good cast photo.

Overall, things went fairly smoothly. My kids were mostly helpful. Every so often they forgot their responsibilities and fell behind or left me to fend for myself. Not surprising, but aggravating. By the last session, I was running behind, but managing to stay sane.

I did not take a break, working straight through from 12:45 until 5:15. We took time to change the lighting when we shifted from the small children in Cinderella to the older kids. We changed from a single speed light to the speed light + the Einstein E640. I also took 30 seconds to stretch. Other than that, nonstop! Only living and breathing the session.

The only technical issues were adjusting the Einstein since I had not prepared correctly in the final prep and because the room was small and dim. (Did you notice the problem in yesterday's blog?) The other issue was that my SB700 recycle time slowed down midway through the session. I have not sorted out that issue.

Though harried and crazy, I enjoyed it. Who knows, maybe this could be my thing. I am sharing one of my son's headshots from the session. By the way, they were the absolute worst subjects of the day. Go figure!

Best wishes!

Today's Photo: "All the world's my stage!"

A confession - I probably should include the "before" photo. I spent quite a bit of time trying to determine why the photos imported from View NX2 to Lightroom darkened dramatically. When I posted the question in the LR community the response was simply did I have Active D-Lighting on? Yep, I did. And, yes, I went over every camera setting multiple times. Just did not worry about this one since it hadn't previously been a problem. Now, though, I'm happy about the error. I'm enjoying the editing process and the discovery of the details in every photo. I have always embraced a challenge - can I get it right? I believe so.


"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV



EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 160
50mm
f/5.6
1/180 (headshot lighting kit)