Monday, April 30, 2012

Day 43/365


     I wanted to try something different for today's entry. In my high school photography classes years ago and when I was taking darkroom photography courses in college I did quite a few projects using pinhole cameras made out of various materials, from shoeboxes to wooden crates. For tonight's post I figured out how to get the same pinhole camera effect using a digital camera, and tested it out on the view through our front door's peephole. There's definitely a few details I need to work out to make it less grainy, but I thought it was a decent start to what I'm sure will be an ever-evolving aspect to this project. 

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Day 42/365


     I couldn't resist doing another dandelion post. We just mowed the lawn a few days ago, and already the weeds are back in full force. So, today I give you the evolution of the dandelion! We have them in all stages all around our yard.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Day 41/365


     For today's post I decided to play around with some wine glasses to experiment with some optical illusions. I've always liked photographing reflections and glass highlights, and seeing what patterns and designs they make on their own that can add to the photograph. This is definitely something I think I'll come back to at some point throughout this project; I think I'd like to get into the aspect of having colors reflected in the highlights, similar to my "bubbles post" back on day thirteen. We'll see what happens!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Day 40/365


     I know I'm getting today's post up just in time; today's been a busy one! For today's entry I went back to Chagrin River Park, but went to the Eastlake side of the river this time. It was deceptively chilly today; at first glance I thought when I went outside to go to the park earlier this afternoon it would be nice and warm, but there was definitely a cool breeze down by the river. 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Day 39/365


     I'd be willing to bet almost any amount of money that the warehouse where you work doesn't look as creepy as the warehouse near where I work. Maybe creepy's not the right word...

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Day 38/365


     Today I went out to Wildwood Manor to walk around for a bit before I had to go into work. I've always liked visiting Wildwood during the springtime; I have some great memories from doing so. My dad used to stop there with my brother and I when he'd take us to see where he grew up, (which was only  through the woods and one street over), and he'd take us for walks on a few of trails they have there and tell us stories about the games he and his friends would play in the woods when he was a kid. 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Day 37/365


     My apologies, but today I didn't go outside once. I got about two nonconsecutive hours of sleep last night, because every time I swallowed it felt like I was sandpapering my throat. I've been in a Nyquil and herbal tea-induced haze most of the day, hence this video footage of my tea kettle being my entry for day thirty-seven. Here's to better luck tomorrow!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Day 36/365


     Nothing too special for today's post. I happened to get out of work tonight at a decent-enough time where the sun hadn't completely set yet, and I liked how the sky looked, (especially after a day of mostly overcast skies and pretty strong winds). 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Day 35/365


     I'm a sucker for fruit; it's almost always so pretty and vibrant. After I came home from work this afternoon my mom decided to make some of her own lemonade from scratch, (I think we were both trying to pretend like it was still nice and sunny outside, instead of looking at the cold and rainy weather we've been having between yesterday and today). Anyways, I couldn't resist taking a picture of one of the lemon slices. Enjoy!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Day 34/365


     For today's post I decided to brush up on my food styling. I never did any actual food photography shoots when I was in school, but I was an assistant and stylist on a few. I worked a long day at the studio today, so when I came home to my mom telling me that she had baked some brownies from scratch my day at work didn't seem so long all of a sudden. I played around with some lighting and then in my editing software to give it a kind of hazy sunny feel - pretty much the opposite of today's cold and drizzly weather!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Day 33/365


     It's officially dandelion season! While I can understand how they're not the prettiest of weeds or how they can be a pain to people who prefer perfectly-manicured lawns; I've always had a soft spot for dandelions. Growing up watching Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Wonderland repeatedly, making necklaces out of the flowers, and rubbing the pollen on people I didn't like are just a few of the nostalgic memories that I associate with dandelions. As cliché as it may be, I even have a tattoo that represents a Helen Barron Bostwick poem that likens a dandelion's plumes blowing away to birds flying off to become more. 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

One Month Down!

     One month of my 365 multimedia challenge down! It's been fun so far, and I've definitely had to really push myself a few times. I promise I won't make one of these posts for each month I get through; I'll probably save the next one for the six-month milestone, I think. We'll see! 

     It's definitely been interesting to see which posts were most popular/most viewed. Thanks so much for viewing; only eleven more months to go! Here's the top ten thus far after the jump.

Day 32/365


     The weather was going back and forth this morning, but finally evened out enough by mid-afternoon. I was sitting outside in our backyard reading and this squirrel up in one of the maple trees seriously started "chattering" at me, (no, I'm not kidding). It was going back and forth on the branch above my head, so I went inside to grab my camera. The squirrel was still there when I came back out, and I swear it was almost posing for me half the time. I'm sure if any of the neighbors were around they were probably pretty set with entertainment for the day. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Day 31/365


     My apologies for today's entry being posted so late. I took this picture earlier this morning and then got called into work the rest of the day at the portrait studio so I didn't get a chance to download my images until just now. Anyways; I know next to nothing about birds, but from the five minutes I just spent poking around Google images, I think this little guy is some kind of swallow. Whatever he is, I liked his coloring and he was hanging around for a bit so he became entry number thirty-one!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Day 30/365


     Today's entry is also a kind of "sneak-peek" to a new multimedia project I've just begun. A few years ago I did my first multimedia project, (which can be seen here), on Jerry Schmidt, an ironworker and welder/sculptor out of the Collinwood/Cleveland area who ran his own gallery, Waterloo 7. When I first did that project, I hadn't learned how to edit video yet, so the project is comprised of audio clips set to photographs in a slideshow. Now, two years later, Jerry's closed his Waterloo 7 Gallery and has opened Branches Art Space, a gallery co-op run by Jerry and other local artists with the mission to help support local art and offer classes as well as a gallery space for artists to exhibit their work. Today's entry is a portrait I took of Jerry and one of his sculptures when I visited Branches for the first time this afternoon.

     When I did that earlier project on Jerry, I went into it thinking I'd be doing more of a profile on Jerry and his art form. While the end result was of that nature, the more I interviewed Jerry the more I found out that, not only is he a strong support system for the local art community, but that the art of welding and sculpting has been practiced is his family for multiple generations. Jerry's grandfather was a "tinner" who helped put some of the finishing touches on Cleveland's Terminal Tower, and  Jerry's father was also an ironworker and welder who was the first to introduce Jerry to the trade. Now Jerry's current apprentice is his son, Tyler Schmidt, who is quickly making a name for himself in the local art community as well. In this followup to my 2010 project, I'm hoping to go more into that father/son/artist relationship and how ironworking has become a trade that's connected the family for the last four generations, as well as add the video element to the project. We'll see how it goes!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Blogger's Note

     Hello again! Just wanted to let you guys know about an incredibly beautiful children's book that my friend just finished writing and illustrating. I have a link to her blog in my inspiration file tab, and to check out her book just head on over here. Remember the name Clare Kolat if you don't know it already, because you can be sure to expect great things from this lady!


Day 29/365


     So far the weather today's been super windy, and the sky looks like it can't make up its mind about whether it wants to storm or not. Since it's so nice out temperature-wise, we've had all the windows in our house open and have been sitting out on the patio a lot. With all the windows also open out there, this little glass wind chime my mom has hanging from the middle of the ceiling has been going crazy. With that being said, I made it my entry for day twenty-nine!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Day 28/365


     I originally had something else planned for today's entry, but the cats decided to be funny this afternoon so I'll save my original plan for another day. Instead I put together some video clips of the two cats playing with my mom, with the dogs both making appearances also! And yes, I know; I broke my "no pet posts for awhile" rule pretty quickly. Oh well!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Day 27/365


     I went out onto the sidewalk at my mom's house and shot some video of the drizzling rain we've been having on and off all day for entry twenty-seven. I've been feeling a bit sick today so I wanted to make sure I got something done for my multimedia challenge before living in my bed for the rest of the day.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Day 26/365


     I've been wanting to do some more night shoots, but I have a few that I'm currently planning that'll be far more interesting than this one. This photo of my street ended up being shot after a day full of babysitting my two year-old and four year-old cousins and then working at the portrait studio, so my energy level was beyond nonexistent. I'm finally getting a few days off between this weekend and this upcoming week, so I'll be able to put more effort into my posts and more time to plan them out as well. 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Day 25/365


     Today I went out to the Holden Arboretum in northeast Ohio and shot some video of one of the streams that runs under the boardwalk trail. I only had about an hour to explore out there before I had to get back to get ready for work, so I definitely hope to go back again soon when there's more time to check it out.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Day 24/365


     My cat, Finch, is my post for today. I was out on our patio working on a project before going into work at the portrait studio. Finch was sitting out there with me and looking especially creepy so I decided to take a picture. Since I've now used all four of our pets in this project, I promise there won't be any more pet posts for a while!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Day 23/365

 


     I was feeling more indecisive than usual, so I posted both a video and a photo from today's adventure. My mom, brother, and I went down to the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland this morning to check out all the flowers and plants that were in bloom. It was really cool; I'd never been there before. I definitely recommend going - especially with today's random snow dusting, it was nice to pretend it still felt like spring. 

Monday, April 9, 2012

Day 22/365


     Today was a long and crappy day, to put it mildly. I worked a ten-hour shift at the portrait studio, encountering some of the rudest adults and the most tantrum-prone children I've ever met. Anyways, I came home and thought that I'd record some video of one of our dogs, Kilee, doing some of the crazy stuff she usually does. At least a few times a day she chases her tail until she gets so dizzy she falls down, snaps her teeth as if she's talking back to us, and constantly tries to dig no matter where she is. Of course, as soon as I turned a camera on her, she was stone still... I just have to laugh at my luck, (or lack thereof), sometimes.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Day 21/365


     Today I really didn't have much time to plan out my 365 post, so I had to settle for a quick shot of some of our colored Easter eggs. I was literally either helping my mom setup for our family's Easter party or visiting with relatives the entire day. I have a few things in mind for posts this week, so they should be improving from this past weekend's lackluster attempts. Either way, happy spring!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Day 20/365


     I was out running a few errands this morning and decided to take the scenic route back home. I ended up driving down Heisley towards the Headlands and alongside Mentor Marsh. I liked how the sun was hitting the tall grass and decided to pull over for a picture. At least I get to enjoy the nice weather for a few more hours before going into work at the portrait studio!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Day 19/365


     For today's post I did a time lapse video of tonight's sunset. I was hoping for some more dramatic colors than what I ended up getting. I haven't done a time lapse project in a long time, so it was at least a practice in being more patient. It's definitely a practice I think I'll come back to throughout this project, just with a more interesting subject matter next time.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Day 18/365


     I've been wanting to get some pictures of the moon for a while now, and tonight I finally got around to actually photographing it. I believe this Friday/tomorrow is the next full moon, but I wasn't sure if the sky would be clear enough for shooting it, (and I haven't had the best luck with the weather this past week anyways), so I decided to use it for today's entry to be on the safe side. Definitely not a difficult shot to get, but I still had fun getting it all the same! I read somewhere that Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn are all supposed to be visible this month; I'll have to try and look for those on another clear night when I have a longer lens.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Day 17/365


     My friend, Lynn, and I went out to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Akron today to check out the nests at the great blue heron rookery. There were so many nests and herons inhabiting them, and the sounds were amazing. I've always thought that the noises herons make sound so prehistoric, and I tried to record some of their calls today but with the rookery being right on a pretty busy road, all the cars going by right behind us drowned out anything my mic picked up. 

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Day 16/365


     Today's been mostly overcast with the sun trying to peek out once or twice, but we did have a mild five-minute storm with a bit of rain and thunder earlier this morning. I had just enough time to record some of the thunder, but by the time I went up onto the balcony at my mom's house to take pictures, (or video, like I was originally going to attempt), the rain had already stopped. 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Day 15/365


     My mom and I went out to her cabin tonight so I could try to attempt a shoot idea that yet again didn't work out the way I wanted, (I'll get it eventually; the weather just doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me). On our way back home she suggested we stop at Headlands Beach and check out the sunset, which ended up having some pretty nice colors to it. 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Day 14/365


     For entry fourteen I got my mom and brother involved, much to their dismay. I wanted to do a triptych of our portraits in order to see what similarities there were in our facial features. This idea first came to mind when I went into work with my mother this past week and a coworker commented on how much she thought I looked like my mom. My brother and I have always gotten varied opinions when it comes to which of our parents we look like more, if at all. Everything from looking just like our dad or just like our mom, to looking like a complete blend between the two, or not looking like either of them; my brother and I have heard it all. Personally, I tend to think Ryan looks more like our mom, (same eyes, same mouth), and I look more like our dad. I've always thought that looking and comparing people who are related to each other and seeing the traits they share to be interesting.