285 - Pomaceous Fruit

From 365 Project

Red and green pears on an iridescent carnival glass dish. This still life gave me some more practice on still life photography using a multiple off-camera flash lighting setup. If you're a regular follower of the blog you have seen a few of these recently. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100, 30mm prime lens, 2 off-camera strobe flashes set at 1/16th power and a micro LED Litepanel to highlight under the rim of the carnival glass.

283 - For a Buck

From 365 Project

We went to Target today and just inside the door where the bins of neat cheap stuff are I found these cool glow in the dark bracelets for $1.00. They are actually 12 thin plastic tube chemical light sticks in four colors with little connectors. This is a long exposure picture of the four loops I made set in motion. Canon Rebel XTi, 2 seconds @ f/5.6, ISO 200, 50mm lens.

282 - Night Drive

From 365 Project

Out for a night drive with the camera and fish eye lens. This shot was made possible by using a nasty clamp to mount the camera hanging upside down from the center of the sunroof opening. You never know what I'll try next to get a picture. Canon Rebel XTi, 1.6 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 200, 8mm fish eye, remote shutter release.

281 - I've Seen the Light!

From 365 Project

Wannabe Green? The compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) is one way to help save the world. If each household in the U.S. swapped out one 60 watt traditional lightblub it would save enough electricity to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads. Houses in the U.S. have 50 to 100 sockets, imagine if they all had the mighty CFL in them. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/250 sec @ f/20, ISO 100 with two off-camera strobes, one with a green gel. Thanks to Fast Company for the facts and figures and to Strobist.com for the lighting concept.

280 - Spider-in-a-Seashell

From 365 Project

I know that I've really been creeping out some of my regular followers with close-up spider pictures. But I just had to do this one. This is the Spined Micrathena orb-weaver spider. I've noticed two in my yard this fall for the first time, although I understand they are very common in Virginia. The females build large elaborate webs in forested areas about five feet off the ground. So if you're in the woods and walk into a web, most likely its the work of a Spined Micrathena. Fortunately they are harmless to humans but I'm sure that's no comfort to the arachnophobic among you. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/100 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 50mm compact macro lens and micro LED litepanel.

279 - Spooky

From 365 Project

Halloween is coming up fast, so we brought down the decorations and they inspired this picture idea. Those three sets of eye balls blink in random patterns so it took a few tries to catch all three lit up at once. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, 50mm prime lens.

277 - Candy Corn

From 365 Project

Candy Corn is a sign of the season at our house. Invented in the 1880's, American's buy about 20 million pounds of candy corn each year. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/250 sec @ f/20.0, ISO 100, 50mm compact macro lens. Two off-camera strobes, a micro Litepanel LED and a Light Shed were used in the setup.

267 - Uassuming Commonplace of Nature

From 365 Project

This is how William Wordsworth referred to the daisy in 1802.
To the Daisy
With little here to do or see
Of things that in the great world be,
Sweet Daisy! oft I talk to thee,
For thou art worthy,
Thou unassuming Common-place
Of Nature, with that homely face,
And yet with something of a grace,
Which Love makes for thee!

Canon Rebel XTi, 1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, Lensbaby Composer with +4 macro adapter.

266 - Shaking Like a Leaf

From 365 Project

I often hear the expression "shaking like a leaf" to describe when someone was nervous or frightened. I was taking a macro photo of this fern tip tonight and put a lot of effort into capturing a tack sharp image. I used my tripod, focusing rail and carefully waited for all of the movement to stop before using a cable release to fire the camera. I got some nice sharp macro images but they just weren't satisfying. So I took another photo just after slightly taping the fern stem to put it in motion and I really liked the effect. I hope you find it pleasing as well. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/3 sec @ f/10.0, ISO 400, 65mm macro lens at 1X magnification. Back lighting from a Micropanel LED.

264 - Double Nickel

From 365 Project

Today is my birthday so I thought I'd try to pay tribute to the occasion. This macro close-up of two nickels, one of the old series and one of the new series, shows the toll that the years take on coins as they bang together in pockets, cash drawers and vending machines. I hope nobody takes a 1X macro photo of me, I suspect I've fared worse than the nickels. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/60 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200, 65mm macro lens. Lighting provided by two manual strobes on either side fired through the white sides of a Light Shed. I used slightly different power levels, one at 1/4 and one at 1/8 to help contrast the coins. Converted to black and white in Photoshop Elements using Silver Efex Pro.

256 - Hot Tubbing Under the Stars

From 365 Project

This is the view looking straight up from the center the spa in our backyard. The arbor was designed and built by my brother in 2002. After a tough weekend of yard work, replacing the spa's circulation pump and painting the guest room, an evening in the spa was just what we needed. I wasn't even nervous about taking the camera into the spa, - well I was a little. Canon Rebel XTi, 0.6 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 800, 8mm fish eye lens.

255 - "Do or do not...."

From 365 Project

“Do or do not...there is no try.” My favorite Yoda quote and a photo of one of my favorite PEZ, the 2003 Limited Edition Green Crystal Yoda. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/1250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 85mm prime lens on a tripod. Lighting Yoda for his portrait was fun. He is standing on a Micro LED LightPanel, providing up light, there is a three LED stick-on light position behind to help separate from the background and a green laser pointer positioned above and behind to light up the crystal head.

248 - Eye Contact

From Heart Concert

Made eye contact with this concert photo of Nancy Wilson of Heart as they headlined the American Music Festival at the 5th Street Stage in Virginia Beach. See more of my Heart concert photos in this Picasa web album. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/600 sec @ f/2.2, ISO 1600, 85mm f/1.8 prime lens.

246 - Aliens?

From 365 Project

This small flower has an almost alien feel to it. It comes from a stringy vine that appears in August on a number of my bushes. It is very small and delicate. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/250 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 65mm macro at approximately 2.5/1, lighting with off camera strobe at 1/64 power.

235 - Butterfly to Be?

From 365 Project

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. ~Richard Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller Shooting macro photos has opened my eyes to so much. I was getting ready to pull this stringy vine that had grown up through my camellia bush, when I noticed it had these delicate blossoms. As I was photographing those I saw this little caterpillar on on the leaves. He turns out to be the photo of the day. Canon Rebel XTi (400D), 1/250 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 2X macro, manual off-camera flash at 1/64 power.

231 - World Photography Day!

From 365 Project

Today is World Photography Day, yea! Thanks to @Pleyades for the heads-up tweet this morning. Photographer's love their gear and I'm a real gear geek. So I took this photo of my favorite rig, the Canon 40D with an 85mm, F1.8 prime lens. Even though we love our gear, a photographer's #1 pet peeve is when someone looks at one of their pictures and says, "wow that's a great photo, you must have a really nice camera." While gear is important, a good photographer can make a great picture with a cell phone camera. Canon Rebel XTi (400D) 1/250 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200, 50mm macro lens. The subject was in a light tent and illuminated with two strobes.

230 - Fisheye Myrtle

From 365 Project

I know some photographers don't like those "silly circular" fisheye lenses. I don't use mine every much but it can produce some unusual results. This is the old crepe myrtle in my side yard at dusk. I used the camera's pop-up flash to light the tree and of course it falls off rapidly towards the edges of the extreme wide angle producing an even more pronounced circular framing. Canon Rebel XTi (400D), 1/60 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 8mm focal length.

226 - Flame Out

From 365 Project

I was trying to get a macro photograph of a match at the instant of ignition. I got a few nice shots, but it is really hard to get the exposure just right because the match burns so intensely during that first brief moment and each match lights a little bit differently. After looking at the photos, I actually liked this shot best, just after the flame was blown out. What do you think? Canon Rebel XTi, 1/160 sec @ f/5.6. ISO 200, 50mm macro lens.

222 - Uncanny Resemblance

From 365 Project

I just received my latest issue of PEZ Collectors News in which an article pointed out the uncanny resemblance between PEZ Boy and Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor of Illinois. You know what that means, a picture of the day highlighting the still much admired PEZ Boy, a star in his own right. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/200 sec @ ~f/4.0, ISO 200 using the Lensbaby Composer with +4 macro lens and the star shaped creative aperture.