65/365- Tinsel
Camera did not want to obey orders tonight. Focus was off no matter what I did. Lighting wasn’t cooperating. Depth of field was proving illusive. I did not win the battle today, clearly. Post made this barely acceptable. Nothing like a 365 to keep your ego in check, remind you that things will not always go your way. Sigh. Bah humbug, more later.
64/365- Packages!
So my parents were hard core Santas when I was a kid. The love to tell stories to young parents, explaining how they had to keep separate Santa wrapping paper (so it was unique to the north pole), gifts had to be hidden… My mom went so far as to one year have someone else write out the names on the tags, so that it was unique Santa writing. Now there is some dedication to the craft for you 🙂 I appreciate these things now, even as I am able to recognize the nuisance (to say the least) it must have been. But it was about making things special, maintaining that bit of magic for a little longer. I don’t think people do that enough any more, so it’s nice to think back to how lucky I was.
63/365- Glitter glam
Doesn’t that glitter make that pinecone look oh so fabulous! It’s just so precious! (excuse my while I go hurl in the corner). Seriously though, the glitter does add a pretty colour and texture. But I think texture is what makes pinecones interesting in the first place. They are these beautiful geometric creations full of interesting patterns. They are a perfect example of complexity in nature amongst the simplest things. The spirals of a pinecone actually relate very closely to the Fibonacci sequence, which is why those spirals seem so perfect (Golden Ratio FTW!). There is your math fact for the day 🙂
62/365- The wrap game
So here is a question for anyone- do people deliberately try to make a particular gift as fiendish as possible to open on purpose? Or is it accidental? I’m not talking the gag gift wraps where there are a hundred layers of boxes and paper only to find a pair of dead batteries (true story, happened to a friend of mine). Those are clearly meant to be a pain. I’m just talking the standard wrapped present. I swear there is always one my sister does every year that is the biggest pain in the behind to unwrap, layers of tape covering every cranny and crease, but she says it’s not on purpose. I sense a conspiracy… Any confessions or horror stories?
61/365- Icy lake near Canmore, Alberta
Went out to Banff and Canmore today with my parents, bit of a change for me as I usually make the trip solo. Certainly better than braving the insanity that is the malls on Boxing day. Light was generally awful for photos, but I did manage to pick up this one, along with a few wind-swept others. I swear, the scenery makes it very difficult to take a bad shot once you eliminate the basics like out of focus or camera shake. The subject matter that sits less than an hour from my doorstep is truly sublime. I’m really lucky to be where I am.
60/365- Stripey fun-ness
Merry Christmas to everyone! We just did stockings today, we will be doing our family gift exchange when we are all together in about a week. Stockings are always a fun part, and one of my favourite things to shop for. When else do you have an excuse to look for and buy quirky oddities that embrace every weird hobby and interest the people you love possess?
I edited this shot a little in the retro feel, but it seemed right for the more classic style of the stocking. Love the slightly faded rusty red, it’s a wonderful character colour. And by making things relatively monochromatic, it really simplifies the composition and emphasizes texture.
Have a great evening everyone!
59/365- Tree topper
My tree may be mini, but it is really hard to find a nice looking, small tree topper. So I have this full sized star instead. I will admit it looks silly relative to the rest of the tree, but it just didn’t seem complete without something on top. I was reading, apparently the idea of decorating trees at this time of years far pre-dates the celebration of Christmas. Apparently the Romans decorated trees with bit of metal in celebration of Saturnalia, or worship of the god of Saturn, responsible for agriculture. Many people do know that the Christians put many holidays to coincide with (and eventually overcome) traditional pagan rituals, but I didn’t realize that the tree decorating part was a portion of that concept. So there is your random bit of Christmas trivia. Happy celebrating everyone!
58/365- Sleigh bells
Going to theme things this week, add a little extra challenge for myself, by doing Christmas or general holiday-themed shots. This time of year is great for beautiful lighting, and for a macro freak like me, it’s a perfect time of year.
I am sadly not allowed a real tree in my apartment, so I’ve made do with a small artificial one. But to make things interesting, this is also the first time I have done a tree with my two cat hellions. There is an awesome meme that clearly defines my concerns about having decorations. Hence, bells all over the tree- metal and with a built in alarm! Mercifully, I have not been woken by the gentle tink-tink-tink of cats messing with a tree they shouldn’t be touching.
Hope everyone is able to enjoy the holiday spirit this week!
57/365- the good old hockey game
Got caught up working a hockey game this evening (thank god for reminders on my phone!), so between that and a full day of work I don’t have a ton of energy for creativity. This was the game before mine, but I’ve always thought that it can be almost as interesting to watch the bench as it is the game itself, depending on whatever fireworks are happening on and off the ice. Sports photography in general is really something I should venture further into, it’s just hard when I’d much rather be playing! There are some awesome unique challenges in the genre. Maybe a project for the summer 🙂
56/365- Stars
Fun with bokeh shapes and colour, just messing around with the light. I was obviously scissor challenged, hence the kinda funky shape, but the overlaps make it less important. I particularly like the ghosting on the second image, there’s an ethereal quality to it. I’m curious though, I wonder how this technique changes based on your lens type. Obviously a faster lens influences your ability to produce the shapes, but traditionally we think of a telephoto as a flattening lens and this kind of thing… If anyone knows the answer, let me know!
Creative Koi 