Photo Of The Day 01/03/09
A very overcast day. I knew going out on a walk the light today would not be very dynamic so any interesting photo would have to be made with interesting composition or subject.
We put up some colored balls on a tree in our front yard. The weather took most of the paint off of them. I went to get a photo, knowing I would be seen in the reflection. Olivia came to see, so I made her join me. 
Camera: Pentax K20 50mm prime lens ISO 400 Aperture f/3.5 Exposure 1/80
BlackBerry Flipping
While at the park today I was inspired by a photo made by Chase Jarvis. (web) It was made on his iPhone and looks to me like he flipped the phone as the shutter clicked. (link) I thought, my BlackBerry takes really crappy photos and has a long delay between hitting the button and the shutter actually going.
My idea was to hit the button and flip the phone to see what I could get. After a couple tries I got two that are interesting. Both have my girls in them. The first is Olivia chasing Lily, running from the photo’s right to left. The purple blob is Mia.
The next has Olivia & Mia standing in front of a pine tree with leaves all around on the ground. So what do you think? Add your thoughts in the comments.
Photo Of The Day 01/02/09
My photo of the day today was taken while on a walk with Lily and the girls. Mia loves the park, so we had to stop and play for a little. I took a number of photos during the walk and while at the park. I even tried to go a little artsy and made a kind of cool photo of some tree branches (link) but I really prefer the pure joy captured on Mia’s face while she was swinging.
Nothing fancy in the photo set up. I shot aperture priority and used a couple previous swings to get the focus down. I then locked the focus and waited for Mia to swing back. Snap and I was lucky she was smiling and her hair was all over the place.
Camera: Pentax K20 50mm prime lens ISO 200 Aperture f/3.5 Exposure 1/1000
My New Year’s Goal: Photo of the Day 01/01/09
I was asked if I had any new year’s resolutions today. I rarely do, so my first instinct was to say “no.” But then I paused and thought. “Is there anything I want to be different a year from today?”
I want to be a better photographer. (more…)
My “Photo Of The Year?”
At the end of the year there are always posts about one’s photo of the year. I have never really thought about having one photo of the year, because almost all of my photos are more for memories then they are for great art. After all, how is a dad supposed to decide if the horseback riding photo is better than the sprinkler photo?
This year is different, someone else decided. This year Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri (BBBS) chose one of my photos to use on their annual New Year’s Card. Perhaps you remember this photo?
The gift of song.
The children at UCCC gave their annual Gift of Song concert last week. As is typical I was there with my camera, but this time I also brought along a audio recorder. Throw the photos and a short music clip into Animoto and this is what comes out.
As usual Mr. Z lead the celebration and all the classes had a chance to show off their own vocal talents. Mia was in quite a mood, posing for me when she saw my camera, but focusing hard most of the time to know when it was the Supernovas’ turn to perform.
To see all of the photos from the 2008 Gift of Song, please visit my SmugMug gallery.