Project 50 - Week 1 Update #2

Ok, I'm nearly done with my Week 1 project!  I started with nearly 700 photos, and after 3 rounds of cuts, I got it down to 28 shots.  I'm editing them now and should have them ready to post soon.  My quandary is, how am I going to display 28 shots?! I've thought of a few options:

1) Just post all of the photos here and you can look at them one at a time.
2) Create a Flickr Set with all of the photos in it.
3) Create a gallery on the AntTree.org site.

I'm not quite sure what option I like the best yet, but I'll keep thinking about it as I edit the photos. 

Here's another one that I just finished:

 

Enjoy!

Ps: I'll be posting these "updates" on my AntTree Studios Facebook page rather than my personal one, so if you want to follow along with the "workflow", please go to the AntTree page.  When the project is completed, I'll post it on both pages. 

Project 50 - Working Week 1

For my first week project, I'm doing a bit of a "homage" to last years Photo 365 project.  Last year, when I started my Photo 365 project, it was on July 4th and I used a photo of some fireworks going off above the Berkeley Marina.  One of the shots that I got was a really neat, abstract photo and when I saw it, I just knew that I wanted to get more shots like that.  So, this year I specifically tried to get more "abstract" photos of the fireworks going off (not that I minding getting any that were not blurry, but I was trying to get a strange blur effect).

I'm hoping to create a gallery of 20-30 of the best shots - but its taking a bit, because I got about 700 photos.  After the first wave of sorting, I've got it down to just over 200, but still a lot of work to go!  Here are a couple that I think will make it:

Hope you all like them!

Photo 365 - Day 306 (FasTrak)

Day 306 (May 5th, 2011)
Title: FasTrak

Honestly, I'm not even sure that I really like this particular shot, but for some reason it really amuses me.  When I look at it, it reminds me of the FasTrak lanes on the Bay Bridge heading into San Francisco.  I guess that's amusing, because they are not fast, nor are they particularly "on track" (you have to swerve between many lanes to get into/out of the correct lanes).  So, yeah, my 'abstract joke' via photographic medium. 

Subject: Even more cubes, although smaller, with dots. 

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 253 (FlowerMelon)

Day 253 (March 13th, 2011)
Title: FlowerMelon

This is the last of the watermelon shots.  At first, I put this one in the "reject" pile, because I just really wasn't happy with it, but when Theresa saw it, she said it looked like a "Watermelon Flower" - and thus was born; the FlowerMelon.  I admit, after giving it a second chance, it's not such a bad picture. 


I hope you like it!


Enjoy

Photo 365 - Day 218 (One Ring)

Day 218 (February 6th, 2011)
Title: One Ring

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try you just can't get a "perfect" picture of something.  Take my wedding ring for example - I love it.  It looks cool has this nifty design and does fun things with reflecting light.  But not on film.  I tried taking a ton of photos of it to show off how the cut angles bounce light around, but no success.  So, rather than calling the session a "wipe" I decided to use Photoshop to show, abstractly, how it makes little rainbows of light.  Its not exactly the same, but that's why I call it abstract!  Woo!


Enjoy

Photo 365 - Day 176 (Negative Killer)

Day 176 (December 26th, 2010)
Title: Negative Killer


Completing my "fun with modern art" trifecta, I saw this display.  I'm not really sure how I feel about it, because in essence I think that projecting photographs is good and I generally appreciate anytime a photographer gets featured in a museum.  Conversely, I'm not sure I can count Mr. Buckingham as a photographer, because most photographers that I know (not mixed-media artist mind you), wouldn't create an exhibit which sole purpose is to destroy the photograph over time. 


Basically, Mr. Buckingham took a photo of a man on horse (via slide film) and placed it into a slide projector.  That's been on for nearly 10 years now, with the purpose of using the light (which is quite strong) to slowly destroy the image.  When I saw the exhibit, the image is nearly impossible to identify. 


I'm not really going to say one way or another whether this is "art" or not (or perhaps it started as art and has now changed).  I'll leave that judgment to each viewer, but I will say, sometimes a horse is just a horse.  Even when its not. 


Enjoy

 

Photo 365 - Day 161 (Doorways and Windows #3)

Day 161 (December 11th, 2010)
Title: Doorways and Windows #3

 This is the third in my Doorways and Windows session, and I have to say I'm still enjoying them.  I feel like I'm channeling my inner "lego builder" from 25 years ago.  Hmm.  That gives me ANOTHER idea!  Time to dig out the legos!  I'm sure I could think of all kinds of silly photos with them. 

As for this one, it is again of the small bead containers, only more of a close-up shot (compared to 1 and 2, which were more wide-angle).  I'm still very much enjoying the light and dark elements and how the are playing off each other.

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 159 (Doorways and Windows #1)

Day 159 (December 9th, 2010)
Title: Doorways and Windows #1

I've decided to do a little more abstract work this week (continuing from the previous days shots).  I'm starting with just playing with shadows and lighting on a small scale.  I'm using a rotating platform and a fixed, single flash to give a really contrasty effect and really exaggerate the shadows and highlights.  These are small "bead" holders (the itty-bitty beads that crafters use to make bracelets and the like). I personally like how it goes from a nearly white in the top left to a near black in the bottom right.  Totally meant for that to happen (lie). 

Enjoy!

Artist of the Day - Day 14 - Man Ray

Man Ray; Toaster whistles gray boards of light. 

Man Ray.  I almost just want to type a paragraph of just crazy words and I think that might do for a good description of Man Ray (and I bet he would enjoy it).  Man Ray was the father of (or at least Uncle) of modern surrealism.  He used photography (as well as just about any other medium) to create works that were, to put it kindly, created using more dimensions than we can see. 

For me personally, I really like Man Ray’s work, because he really embraced (and in effect, showed me and countless others) that there is no such thing as a “mistake” when creating art.  He used photography and its technology in such a way, that when first perceived it might be seen as a mistake or “wrong”.  He would over develop photos, place objects on the photo paper to alter the image and countless other things that showed art is so much more than just a “Step 1, Step 2, Step 3” process.  It’s more dynamic and random than we can ever know. 

 
Wikipedia
Works by Man Ray

Photo 365 - Day 136 (Geek #5)

Day 136 (November 15th, 2010)
Title: Geek #5


Well, we are nearly to the end of the Name That Thing 2 adventure, and I have to say its been a lot of fun!  Yesterday's photo certainly confused a few folks, but at the same time I think a lot more people got it right than I was expecting!  I blame those darn Intel commercials!  Yesterday's photo was of: CPU (Microprocessor) Chip! (AMD CPU in this case).  The following answers were also deemed correct: "Computer's Brain!" and "Master Control Program Chip" (bonus Tron reference points were awarded!). 


Congrats on all the correct guesses!


Today's picture is just mean.  Its a Geek Level 5 photo, but the good news is its not the last of the photos - I have one more tomorrow that's really neat and not too hard to get!  But today's is tricky.  Its also a bit abstract, so that makes it a bit more difficult.  But, I like the photo, so it gets a chance to trick you all!  And if there was ever a shot that had a "Alien Probe"-esq look to it...


Enjoy! 

Photo 365 - Day 118 (Flower Whiskers)

Day 118 (October 29th, 2010)
Title: Flower Whiskers

I have no idea why I named this Flower Whiskers, only that when I see it, the first thing that I think of is "whisker stubble".  I really like how this shot came out, although completely unplanned (of course).  I enjoy the colors, from the deep purple to the light green; the short depth of field so that focal point is really small (and only a few of the 'whiskers' are in focus); and abstract-ness of the entire composition.  I mean, you know its a flower as soon as you see it, but as you look at the individual parts, it's harder to see the overall picture. 

I did lower the brightness and up the contrast a bit to give a little bit more definition in the separation of the colors.  I also tweaked (slightly) the overall vibrance of the shot to bring out some of the more subtle purples.
I hope you like it!

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 98 (Firelines)

Day 98 (October 9th, 2010)
Title: Firelines

I got this picture on the way home from Santa Cruz, and I thought it reminded me a lot of yesterdays photo, but yet different enough that I would give some "prime-blog-time".  I really enjoy the abstract of this photo, which is a strange because normally I'm not a fan of abstract paintings (now and then an abstract sculpture will really catch my eye, but I generally prefer impressionism, realism, surrealism and even baroque art).  But, with abstract photography, its interesting to me because a) you know it came from a 'real' source of some kind, but that photographer is manipulating the medium (aka camera/film) to give an effect of a non-real (re: abstract) situation. 

In this photo, we were driving home and I decided to just stick the camera out the window and take shots of the cross traffic.  I knew I wouldn't be able to get a clear shot of a car, but I was hoping to get some sort of abstract effect like I did.  Many of the shots were just blurry without any form or function to them, where as some of the others had enough 'real' elements (a tire or other car part in focus enough to take the viewer out of the 'abstract' mindset) that I couldn't use them.  This one, to me, has enough form and is defined in a way to preserve the 'abstract' concept I was going for, but was still able to avoid any of the 'real' elements that helped create it. 

Enjoy!

(Click picture for larger view)

Photo 365 - Day 97 (City of Smoke and Fire)

Day 97 (October 8th, 2010)
Title: City of Smoke and Fire

We were driving around Santa Cruz along the beach enjoying the night air, when I decided to pull out the Canon and take a few shots.  I wasn't really trying to shoot anything particular or even get a good shot, but sometimes when you get home and look at the photos you shoot, you are surprised at what you get.  This shot is of West Cliff Drive, at around 10pm without any lights.  I was using my fixed 50mm lens at f/1.4 to try and get as much light as possible, but it was still taking 1/2 a second or more to fire.

I called this shot "City of Smoke and Fire" because the blurred lights from the houses look kind of like fire and the "smoke" is actually the trees.  Its ironic to me, because when I look at the photo I imagine a scene out of a "Blade Runner" type movie (or something very Cyberpunk), but in reality its all of these nice houses surrounded by trees right near the ocean. 


Whoever said "Photographs capture reality" clearly didn't play around with their camera enough. 


Enjoy!

 

(Click picture for larger view)

Photo 365 - Day 59 (Jhoira's Fate)

Day 59 (September 1st, 2010)
Title: Jhoira's Fate

This is another abstract photo using a Magic: The Gathering card.  I was thinking, in 1000 years, some random archeologist might dig up an old magic card and wonder: "What was this? What was it used for? How much could I sell this for on CosmicEbay?" 

As a second way of looking at it, at least for me, was in the context of the game itself.  An old artifact rusts and fades away after some random long-fought battle decades ago.  Nothing but some scrap and lots of dust.  No one will remember what part it played in an epic battle.  Perhaps, no one will even remember the epic battle at all.

Enjoy.

Photo 365 - Day 58 (Magic Abstract)

Day 58 (August 31st, 2010)
Title: Magic Abstract

This is my attempt at making a fun little abstract photo.  This is a Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game card (bonus points if you can tell me which one) that I altered for no reason whatsoever.  I just thought a floating, flaming head on a white card looked kind of neat.  I did alter the contract and vibrance of the photo to really get the flaming head to stand out, as well as subdue the background a bit.  By dropping the contrast down, I got the scratch lines to really show up a lot more than they do on the actual card, which is a nice touch in my opinion. 

Enjoy!