D 48 - The Grays

I promised myself to photograph this perspective of the block already some time ago. I missed an opportunity to catch it with some streaks of snow being blown out of the roof by high winds this for a few days week. I don't know why I was always figuring out how to set up my tripod in on my desk to reach up to this slim window just under the ceiling (a dictionary suggest to call it a 'ventilator' but I resist). This was done from hand.

Why the title? It looks the same in color as in black and white.

Equipment

E-510 with Pentacon 30 mm at f/11, ISO 200.

What I learned

Don't get stuck at initial assumptions about technical requirements for a photograph. Give it a try instead.

Never walk by a frame you just discovered or imagined because 'you could always shoot it later'.

D 47 - High

I'm glad. It looks like I start to like my own photos. Another afternoon walk with the son.

Equipment

Samsung S-630.

What I learned

"Be careful!"
As I reached for the camera to my inside pocket of the jacket, kept there to keep the batteries warm, I was following my son with my eyes. I took the camera out in my woolen gloves and as I shifted it to my right hand I accidentally caught the short line attached with one of my left hand fingers and dropped the camera into the snow.
Nothing happened, lucky as I was, and I could go on making photographs after I cleaned it with a tissue. Still the lesson learned is to be careful with the camera.

D 46 - Bad news

No staged shots on this day again.
So this is true story: bad news on the phone.

Equipment

E-510 with Pentacon 30m, flash with softbox.

What I learned

There is a fine line between catching real emotions and being a voyeur with a camera. This is particularly sensitive issue when you are shooting your own family. What can you show and what you mustn't?

The problem isn't that simple because people photographed would feel offended not by the way they look in the picture but by how they felt at that moment. And that isn't always easy to judge for the person behind the camera.

This is just a thought. Actually this news, reception of which I photographed, was bad but not like a surprising tragedy.

D 45 - Blue as a boy can be (in January)

Today I was having some more practice with shooting without looking through the viewfinder or on LCD. Some shots were quite nice but I'm posting this one from my walk with son simply because it was shot with point-and-shoot camera. I like to think of a p&s as my handy second camera. It is no worse than my DSLR for taking pictures because it isn't the gear but the man behind camera who makes a photograph good or bad.

Equipment

Samsung S-630, "Program" mode with disabled flash and exposure corrected by +1 EV.

What I learned

I wasted about 30% of the shots while trying to find out what this Samsung can and what it can't do in the snow. I was lucky (as a photographer, not as a father) that the harsh sun became overcast about 15 minutes before we got out. Otherwise some more shots would be wasted by burned highlights probably.
Anyway the camera didn't do as bad as I might think.

D 44 - 'Banana'

"Banana!" This is just how my son over there demands to get some fruit.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442, flash with softbox.

What I learned

Sometimes there isn't just time to sit to work it out properly and any photo must make do.

Another thing is this funny effect that I get when making a photo with exposure time around 1/20 - 1/5 of a second with flash. I wonder how to use it creatively.

D 43 - Oh, it's snowing! again...

Oh boy!
I learned today that not only you can go outside, you can also go somewhere by a car. Even to another town (or in my case - village). You may not have time to shoot anything when you are there but a snapshot or two, while in traffic can be fun.

Equipment
E-510 with ZD1442, handheld from a car which was almost stopped.

What I learned

Always have the camera on you and always look out for opportunities. In this case at first I thought that the photo would be horrible if shot through a snow-stained window in a moving car without any way to stabilize the camera body. But I gave it a try and proved myself wrong.
Maybe not entirely, because two out of three shots were blurred. But it was worth it for the sake of that remaining photo.

D 42 - The Doors

Oh man, is it good to break on through to the outside. After so much time at home I was finally able to get out to some daylight even if it was just being 'devided by the night'.
I never even had to get any further than half a mile from home to get some great photos.

Equipment

E-510 with Pentacon 30 lens.

What I learned

There is no one thing more important in photography than health. If I weren't stuck home for the last two weeks I'd be able to get out with a camera at least three or four times a week.