A new site

Greetings to my followers. I've decided to host my own blog so that I can use a template that is more appropriate for a photo blog. You can now find me at: http://potd.lightsmithphoto.com/

I have an RSS feed that you can follow. It is: http://www.lightsmithphoto.com/pixelpost/index.php?x=rss

Just a note...if you are accustomed to reading the text to go with my photos, it is now found under the menu link "details". There is also a menu link to leave comments.

Day 106: The Palms

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A newer establishment near NW Highway and N Council.

Camera info: 70-200mm lens at 85mm. 1/160 sec at f/3.2. ISO 400.

Day 105: Artifacts

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artifact
Pronunciation: \ˈär-ti-ˌfakt\
Function: noun
something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially : an object remaining from a particular period

camera info: 90mm macro lens. 1/200 sec at f/2.8. ISO 800. Ring flash fired.

Day 104: Families are Fun

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I've had so much fun in the last week shooting 4 different families. What's made it all the more enjoyable is that they are all friends of ours. Today I present the Flemmons family, Frank, Beth, Maddie & Gibson. This is a family that for many years I said hi to when passing in the halls of our church or when our daughters went to each others birthday parties. But this last year we got to know them better and again I'm am so thankful for a new friendship that has developed.

Frank & Beth are two of the most down-to-earth people I've ever met. And in the short time I've known them I've been amazed at how they've handled a variety of ups and downs. They are a model of grace and I hope that I have learned from them.

Camera info: 70-200mm lens at 115mm. 1/60 sec at f/4.0. ISO 400.

Day 103: November

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I've always loved this pecan orchard on the north side of Lake Overholser. It reminds me of a trip I once took with my dad to a plot of land his father had given him. As a teenager, he had planted pine trees on it with the intent of selling them as Christmas trees. He soon joined the Air Force and never returned to harvest those trees. Instead he took me there near the end of his life and we walked among these perfect rows of towering trees. Today on the way to work as I was driving thru the fog I thought of him and I thought about this orchard.

Camera info: 24-70mm lens at 25mm. 1/40 sec at f/8.0. ISO 100.

Day 102: Lessons learned

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Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. – Ansel Adams

After 100 days I decided to make a few notes of what I've learned in this project thus far:

1. Accountability can foster creativity. The fact that I committed to this project and I know that at least a few people are going to show up each day has forced me to keep going. As a result, I've found that I have this stressful edge that keeps pushing me to try new things.

2. Great photos are much more rare than I thought. The Ansel Adams quote above is very true. Before this project I would look at galleries of photos and think that the photographer only took great photos...every time. I've learned that the less than great photos are like steps along a path that you can't avoid to get to those rare photos that you love.

3. Technically perfect photos can be really boring. Mastering the settings on your camera is important, but just because a shot was perfectly exposed and composited doesn't mean that anyone wants to see it.

4. I'm lazy. While this exercise has forced me to do and to go, I have found that I often opt for the easiest way of obtaining something over the best way of obtaining it. There are a few examples where I have transcended this condition, but for the most part I know that I should be working harder.

Camera info: 24-70mm lens at 70mm. 1/2500 sec at f/3.2. ISO 100.

Day 101: Tried and True

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Well this has been a great week for taking photos outdoors and today I got to take some family photos for Rick & Susan Martin, some of my favorite people in the world. Yesterday I posted on Facebook that I was thankful for new friends and today I posted I was thankful for old friends. Tomorrow, I'll be posting that I'm thankful for tried and true friends. At the top of that list are Rick & Susan.

Tried and true friends are those who you can be most like yourself around. They are friends who know you at your best and your worst and yet love you anyway. These are friends who are never too tired or too busy to help you when you need it most and who are the first ones there to comfort you in bad times or celebrate with you in the good. For over thirty years now this is what the Martins have been to me.

Camera info: 70-200mm lens at 80mm. 1/40 sec at f/4.0. ISO 100. A tricky part about this shoot was the fact that the subjects were wearing mostly black clothing. The camera's metering sees a dark scene because of the black and will tend to overexpose the image. The whole time I was shooting I was adjusting the Exposure Compensation and for this shot I dialed it down a full stop.