Day 15 of 365: Ocular

To the casual observer, day 15 might look like a rush job, but this image really excites me. There is a concept and a pattern of thought behind this that has been missing from my photography for a while, and this feels like a breakthrough for me.

Day 14 of 365: Tea's Made

I love a nice brew. I like my tea strong, with a splash of milk and a little sugar.

I've heard stories about people who dry out their tea bags and use them again but I'm a firm believer that you should use all of the flavour in the first brew.

This photograph is inspired by stories of those people who choose to desecrate the beauty of this wonderful leaf.

Strobist:
1 x 580 EX II @ 1/64 power fired at white background angled slightly to give a graduation to the background.
1 x 580 EX II @ 1/128 power, snooted toward tea bag for detail.

Post production:
Slight adjustment to WB, brightness and contrast. Addition of text (although I think it might be better without).

Day 13 of 365: Hockey Night

Saturday 28th August saw the first ice hockey pre-season game for the Cardiff Devils, so today's shot was inspired by them.

This is the tag on my hockey jersey "dirty macro'd" using a Canon 24-105mm IS L with 24mm extension tube.

I think the weave of the fabric and the embroidery looks like pixels when you get in this close to it.

Dat 12 of 365: Used Auto Parts

Visited some old derelict buildings that used to house an auto parts business this evening. There's a lot of buildings there stretching over quite an area, all pretty overgrown. I didn't explore too much because of the fading light but I do plan on going back in the daylight to see what delights are lurking.

Day 11 of 365: Olde Tyme

I played around with shooting some product shots today- I'm not that happy with this photo- I'd like it to be a lot cleaner.

My last two days efforts have been pretty disappointing- I really need to up my game if I'm going to see the project through.

Day 10 of 365: Green Flash

Short on time, this was definitely a rush job today- ended up just having a play with a flashgun and some homemade barndoors. Something I've been wanting to try out and certainly something that is going to drive onwards from here. Watch this space.

Day 9 of 365: Fresh

Played around with some toothpaste for this one. I like the mottled colour of this toothpaste and the glittery stuff that's in it.



Shoot technique:
Blob of toothpaste squeezed onto white card.
Canon EOS 5D with Canon 24-105mm f4 L ISM lens and 24mm extension tube set on tripod slightly angled downwards.
1 x 580 EX II flashgun set at 1/16th power high camera right snooted directly at blob.
1 x 580 EX II flashgun set at 1/32nd power camera left pointed at background for fill.

Shot settings:
f / 16.0, 1/60th second, 400 ISO

Post production:
Brightness and contrast adjusted to burn out background more.
Layer duplicated and brightened with layer mask added to reveal toothpaste from original layer.

Day 8 of 365: Death From Above

I found this dead bird on a path at home today.

I laid it in the undergrowth, and set up my camera with one flash high camera left and snooted to focus light on the bird and another low camera right to give some fill.

Day 7 of 365: Volksfest Wales

The weather broke and I spent a nice part of the day at a local Volkswagen show. Favourite vehicle of the day was this 1971 Beetle.

Day 6 of 365: 6^

More rain combined with a busy day meant I had little time to myself today. I ended up trying a few things out late tonight but nothing was really working so eventually went for a quick and dirty shot. Looking ofrward to an end to this bad weather.

Day 5 of 365: Storm in a Teacup

Day 5 and the rain is still falling. I've decided I'm making photographs indoors until the weather relents.

This is a shot I've thought about for a while and finally made, and rather than use just one shot, I ended up making it a series.

Day 4 of 365: Don't Fret

The weather today was awful so getting outside was somewhat of a washout. I scoured the house for something interesting to shoot and eventually decided on a macro shot of my bass. Shot with Canon 70-200mm lens with extension tubes.

Day 3 of 365: Choco & Scruff

Day 3 and I went to a site I have been meaning to shoot for a long while. Already I'm seeing that this project could be a good thing in that it's making me think about and make photographs every day.

This is an old railway bridge I believe which has now been reclaimed by local authority and makes up part of a walking trail through the valley. The valley in question is the Afan valley in South Wales and this site is between the villages of Cymmer and Blaengwynfi.

Project 365 Day 2: Stormproof

A quick simple shot for day 2 inspired by the rainstorm that caught me unawares.

Project 365 Day 1: The Metal Horns

And so my Project 365 begins.

This was not necessarily the photograph I wanted to start off with, but my original idea needed some props which I just couldn't get my hands on today so this is my start point.

I think it's good that the start point isn't phenomenal- if it were, where would I go from there?

Enjoy!

Project 365

Today I begin my first project 365. One photo every day for a year. The whole process will be documented here as well as on flickr and the aim is to see the project through to a finish on August 15 2011, my 30th birthday.

I'll try and keep it as interesting as possible, and will try to update every day (as long as I can get to a computer).

It starts...