Day 61: Instant Abstracts

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This morning I visited a site that was posted by @petapixel on Twitter. The site showed off examples of a photographic technique that I had never heard of...camera tossing. The basic idea is to set your camera for a longer exposure and toss the camera in the air as you release the shutter. The key to success is to make sure that when you toss the camera you also catch it before it crashes to the earth.

I shot about 20 of these before leaving for work and this was my favorite. I pointed the camera at a shelf full of Pez dispensers and did my toss. The rich colors really popped when exposed this way. Here's another from pointing at our sliding glass door. Anyway, if you like abstract art and you don't have time to paint...toss that camera.

Camera info: 24-70mm lens at 70mm. 0.8 sec at f/3.5. ISO 100.

Day 60: A long way to Tulsa

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Monday's are hard to fit anything into my schedule...like taking a photo. Anyway, I taught class tonight in Del City and on my way home I left the interstate for a quick tour of Bricktown. I've always loved the building Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse resides in and decided to do a long-exposure to capture some car light trails. The only problem is that at 10:00 on a Monday night, there isn't much traffic and so I had to wait around for a few cars to actually pass by.

While I was waiting, I got to have a nice conversation with a homeless gentleman whose 95 year-old father passed away this morning up in Tulsa. Apparently he chose to grieve by tossing a few back as he was quite lit by the time he made it to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this photo. It cost me $20 for a bus ticket to Tulsa...or perhaps more grieving if he didn't actually make it to the bus station. God bless his soul.

Camera info: Tripod mounted camera. 24-70mm lens at 34mm. 3.2 seconds at f/10. ISO 100.

Day 59: Busy

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We have this plant in our back yard that flowers once a year for about 1 week. During that time its tiniest of flowers is a busy spot for local bees and other nectar hunting insects. This guy was kind enough to remain still for about 1 second...just enough time for this capture. 90mm macro lens with a ring flash. 1/60 sec at f/16. ISO 100

Day 58: What the ant sees

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Our neighborhood has had an abundance of mushrooms for the last week. I found this one in the yard today as I was cutting the grass and since the underside of a mushroom is much more interesting (to me anyway), I decided for a low angle shot.

Camera info: 24-70mm lens at 70mm. Off-camera flash below the subject. 1/200 sec at f/4.5. ISO 100.

Day 57: Rock-n-Roll Dreams

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My daughter's friend Brayden was at our house this evening and any time someone walks thru our front door these days they have to agree to pose for my blog. Brayden was wearing a shirt that says "Bethany Rocks" and I immediately had the idea to make her a rock star. And because this is the night of Bethany's homecoming, it had to be purple.

Camera info: I put an off-camera flash with purple gel on a light stand and put it slightly behind and high above the subject. I took the shot from the floor hoping to get a "front row at a blues club" look. 24-70mm lens at 45mm. 1/200 sec at f/4.5. ISO 100. I used a couple of different smoke brushes in Photoshop to paint in the smoke effect.

Day 56: A future so bright

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Today's photo is a shameless plug for my real job. I work as a professor in the Professional Studies Department at Southern Nazarene University. Our business is about providing adult learners the opportunity to finish a bachelors degree by attending class at night and by providing a means to go to school while maintaining the responsibilities of work and family life.

Our students are typically with us less than 2 years. But during that time they have all their classes with the same group of people and they become really close to each other and form friendships that last beyond their days at SNU. About a month ago, I was contacted and asked to meet this evening to photograph Group 53 of our Family Studies & Gerontology program. Aimee, today's subject, is the group leader and she was a joy to work with.

As we were waiting for other students to arrive, I really enjoyed seeing the ones who had already gathered interact with each other as not just classmates but true friends. And since I had a camera in my hand, I took the opportunity to snap a few candids. Today's photo was one of these and to me it captures one of the greatest things about my job...getting to experience the contagious optimism of our students as they near the completion of a long time goal.

Camera info: 70-200mm lens at 110mm. 1/500 sec at f/3.5. ISO 100.

Day 55: This old horse

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I was on my way tonight to photograph some fresh bales of hay I'd seen earlier in the day when I saw a field of horses that were really majestic looking as the setting sun cast them with long shadows. As I approached the fence to take some photos, about six young looking equine came trotting my way. I assume they were expecting a treat of some sort. As I patted their foreheads and measured the sunlight, I noticed today's subject standing alone and at a distance. He/she moved much slower than the others and didn't seem to notice my presence. That's the horse I want to focus my camera on. I must be honest, despite having cared for horses in my youth, I really know nothing about them. I'm assuming this is an older horse and I apologize to the horse gods if I'm wrong in my assumption. But these days, it's the old horse I can relate to.

I think you can learn a lot from an old horse. Move slow and don't feel like every new thing that comes along requires your attention. Always have your friends near by, but never underestimate the value of a quiet moment alone. There's plenty of what you need to go around so share your pasture and don't feel like you have to fight for what's yours. And don't miss a good sunset by being stuck in the barn.

Camera info: 70-200mm lens at 200mm. 1/400 sec at f/2.8. Exposure compensation dialed down 1 1/3 stops. Saturation boosted in post.