D 236 - Clean for 30 months now

Another thing about Picasa as RAW processor is complete lack of noise reduction. Which in case of Powershot compact camera starts to annoy at ISO 400 and is visible since 200.

D 231 - It's the way you use it

Acknowledging the power which golden hour has over photography, there is no such thing as 'bad light'. This is taken at high noon on a clear day. I love it.

D 224 - Motherly

When the child is away on vacations...

D 177 - Pimp up my pot

A random family snapshot.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442.
RAW edited in Lightroom.

What I learned

I like the result, how the light worked out. I used built in flash but, using vertical camera orientation i got a slightly unsymmetrical side light with harmonized with side light coming from a window on the right.

D 100 - Cute...

First of all I'd like to state that "I know" and "it won't happen again, I promise".

This is one of the first photos that I've taken together with my 2 year old son. We were pointing the camera together, than I held it steady and he pushed the shutter release button. And then we reviewed the photos together. There was much rejoice.

Equipment

S630 in Auto mode.

What I learned

As much as the aim of this Project was to make better photographs in the end, isn't it really just about the fun of photography? It well should be. This therefore makes it at great photo for day 100 of my Project.

D 88 - Incarnate

Limitations fuel creation. Again.

I was thinking about a nice close-up shot with my palms spread around an eye for a Pan's Labyrinth like effect. But since I had a macro rings with Helios lens on, I decided to keep this magnification factor and work something out within it.

Equipment

E-510 with all three extension tubes (yeah, now I remember - that's the name) and Helios 44-4 on a tripod.

Cropped and changed to greyscale in Lightroom.

What I learned

This is the mode of work I like not only with photography. It is more like a philosophy for me. I try to approach a subject with some idea in mind and then react to the insights I have while working on it, experiment and come up with something different than what I planned but exciting and satisfying.

D 80 - Pencils

I just love pencils sharpened with a knife. They are to the automatically sharpened pencils the same what hand written letters are to emails.

Equipment
Samsung S630.
Edited in Lightroom.

What I learned

When going for macro, tripod is a must.

D 64 - By accident

Not much to explain there. A play of words.
I was looking for a shot with some pattern, a rhythm.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442.

What I learned

I have reconciled with my standard zoom kit lens.
It has no less than two very good alternatives in Olympus E-system, but I'm on a tight budget and this is a decent piece of optical equipment to say the least. It was unfair to hold against it the fact that it is made of plastic and has more adequate brothers in the family.

D 50 - The World, spinning around

Big day today.
We cut our son's hair... and he ain't like it a little bit.
Fortunately he quickly forgot about it and went on having fun all around our apartment.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442, flash on slow synchro, softbox.

What I learned

Slow synchronization of the flash is a fun technique. It works great with panning. The thing is to make a good balance between natural light coming on the sensor and the flash strength.

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 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 41 - Happy Birthday, Gosia!

For she's a jolly good fellow (or 'gal' I should say)!

As requested by today's birthday celebrator I present: Toucan contrasted with something soft.

Equipment

E-510 with Helios lens, flash with a softbox.

What I learned

The pleasures of contracted work. Perhaps this contract was quite peculiar but still I was asked to do specific photo in limited time. I was surprised with how tough it is to create something satisfying in such conditions.
I wasn't at all surprised however that I started doing it after 10 p.m. That's just me.

D 36 - Viewfinder off

Just another sweet baby photo but the point is that I was practicing framing without the viewfinder. The book told me to do so. It suggested that it helps in getting a sense of composition.

Equipment

E-510 with Pentacon.

What I learned

It is weird to shoot like that. The book which I took this suggestion from is quite old and I sure wasn't written in the world of live-view and barely acknowledges the appearance of digital cameras but the exercise is strangely appealing.
It makes you look at the scene not at the camera. You must set all parameters beforehand and then think only about the scene which you want make into a photograph.
In addition it feels vintage. You hold your camera at the chest or waist level and try to aim it at the right direction. It's a useful skill on its own to learn.

D 34 - Milk Monster

This is why I'm still so excited with my new Pentacon lens.

Equipment

E-510 with Pentacon 3.5 30. Flash with softbox, window on sunny day on the right hand side of the frame.

What I learned

I'm getting better at using automatic metering for fill flash. But it still is instinctive guessing not sound knowledge.
Any ideas about something to read about that?

D 32 - Where are you DDR?

Hahaha! My new 25-or-so-years old lens has just arrived today. East German Pentacon 35mm f:1/3.5. It may not be in mint condition but it was quite cheap and works just fine in my collection on 'standard prime' vacant position.
And just look what it can do!

Equipment

E-510 with Pentacon 3.5/30, flash with softbox and some "studio" lighting setup. I just love to work in my studio. Such a comfort and professional touch.

What I learned

They used to make such a good equipment in the old days. Not plastic-on-plastic like modern amateur class lenses or cameras. I'm glad they did. Autofocus is fun and useful and DSLRs have such a tiny viewfinders (especially Olympus) but still old manual lenses are a bergain for their picture and build quality.

D 31 - Better in square

I'm still finding new subjects in my apartment.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442, built in flash.

What I learned

I always took pride in how I always use manual or at worst aperture priority, in how I know my camera and it's functions and so I can use them for creative purposes. Today I was taught wrong. Not by the book I got, not by anyone in person or on the internet.

No. I just wanted to check how exposure compensation and flash exposure compensation work together depending on certain menu setting and accidentally saw a comment on how exposure compensation works with manual setting.

Nothing much, but I always used manual flash settings in manual shooting mode and it never crossed my mind that the camera can automatically compensate the strength to adjust to chosen aperture and shutter settings. I rarely managed to hit the right flash power to expose correctly. Going on automatic flash exposure will make my life a lot easier at most times. Although I know that occasionally I will still want to make sure that the flash goes of at minimum power for example.

Bottom line: Read your manuals and then go back to them wherever you have a chance. Maybe my Olympus E-510 is no EOS-1D but it still was regarded as having by far the best customization options and additional functions for its class. And an unclear menu to add to that.

D 25 - ... or lack thereof

Od Dark Light Back

Today the keyphrase is... Taking final decision. Which gave me quite a challenge. I even gave up and went for anything around that could be used for a photograph. It wasn't that bad because I came up with quite a nice shot:



But when I visited my general storage closet (Anybody know the proper word for this little separate room for tools and all the things you need to keep out of sight?) I realized that this completely messy place fits the topic by contradiction. Most of things are there because I can't find any immediate use for them and don't want to get rid of. On top of that I can't make myself look through those stuff and clean up the place. I bet you know how it works with those closets. Only psychopaths and accountants keep them orderly.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442 and flash with softbox for the main photo.
Samsung S630 on a tripod for the one with crystal shell. It was additionally lightened from beneath by a built in flashlight in my Sony Ericsson mobile phone.

What I learned

All things can (and should) be also considered by reversals and photos made just by the way of working on some other idea can be mostly interesting.

D 24 - The Star

Od Dark Light Back

Od Dark Light Back

High in the sky or just within reach? The star - symbol of hope and things we are looking forward to. This are my two takes on another random topic.

Equipment

E-510 with ZD1442 and in case of my son's photo built-in flash with softbox.

What I learned

This self imposed random challenges are a very inspiring concept. It almost seems to easy to just pop up with some more or less universal symbol and work around it. At least it is so for me.