Whiskers on puppies

OK, if you don't like puppies, just stop reading. Actually, if you don't like puppies, maybe it's time for a little self reflection. Who doesn't like to at least look at puppies??!

So, my lovely friend had some adorable puppies about 7 weeks ago. Well, her dog did. I have been waiting for these puppies to become little fuzzballs of love for their closeups, and I was not prepared for the cuteness before me:

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 90 mm ISO Speed: 4000

They are a mix of possibly Jack Russell Terrier and Chihuahua (but they are cute, I swear!). I only got a chance to really photograph two of them, since puppies have A TON of energy. The little black and white guy (called Marcel Marceau) and this other little guy, named Fatso:

(That's my friend Kelly kissing her puppy)

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 90 mm ISO Speed: 800

The light in both photos is from a Tungsten light to the right of the camera in front of the subjects. Guess which smarty pants forgot to bring their powerful 580EX II flash? That would be me.

I love both of these photos because they really show the bond of human and animal, and how tiny and helpless these puppies are in the hands of a human being.

I like the paws and nose detail of the first photo, and the juxtaposition of puppy paws and human hands.

So this is another case I couldn't pick one photo of the day for my Project 365ish Photo 65. It's just too hard when cute puppies are around.

This reminds me of a photography teacher whose class I sat in on VERY briefly in college. She handed out the syllabus, and told us she really wanted us to push the envelope, and didn't want to see pictures of puppies and kittens. I didn't go back for the second class. But that's another story...

Thank you Kelly for inviting me to take photos of those precious little puppies! It was a blast chasing them around!

Thanks for stopping by!

Adding stuff...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am experimenting with my blog. One of the things you may have noticed is a newer page called "Resources". This particular page will constantly be added to, as I am always finding information about photography that I would love to share with you, my wonderful readers. I am also working on some things to change up the blog a little bit. I'll be putting up polls on occasion for some reader reactions and opinions.

Of course you can always leave comments for me, or contact me directly.

Oh, and here is today's project365 photo #50, which just happens to be more flowers:

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20) Aperture: f/3.2 Focal Length: 5.9 mm ISO Speed: 200

These little flowers were picked by my co-worker, and they made her happy (It was sort of a glum day in SoCal, and these little flowers perked everyone up--actually, taking photos of them perked me right up).

Taken at my desk. The back lighting from the window wasn't helping my little point and shoot do its macro thing, so I borrowed a lamp from another desk to throw in some more light on the cute little flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 46

Another absolutely gorgeous day in Southern California... Actually, it was a bit warm. As a Valentine's Day treat my beloved and I went to our local botanical gardens, Descanso Gardens. Since it's not quite spring yet, it was slim pickins' in the flower department, but I did find a few beauties. I could not decide, so I am posting 3 of my favorite photos. But here is the photo that I chose as my photo of the day for my Project 365, in honor of Mardi Gras in New Orleans tomorrow:

Here are 2 more photos that I loved:

And all 3 of my photos were taken with my Canon SD780. I brought Mark with me, but the 90mm macro was on vacation in Maui (it just returned today, yay!), and the macro mode on my point and shoot rocks. So that's what I used today. It had to strike by passers as odd that I had a huge camera on my shoulder but was using a little point and shoot.

Spring is just around the corner, and it will be macro flowers galore. I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 45: Lock and key

I was about to head out the front door to cruise around the neighborhood this afternoon, and noticed this:

I loved the way the light was falling and reflecting on the metal. I like this photo in color, but it love it in black and white. Something about the metal, especially the little orbs of the key chain, just look beautiful.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160) Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 105 mm ISO Speed: 400

Taken with Canon EF 24-105 mm L f4 lens.

Converted to B & W using Lightroom 2.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 44: CAA Building/ Annenberg Space for Photography

You may notice my blog looking a little bit different. I am experimenting with things to put on my blog and add to the reader experience. One of the things on the right hand side that I just added--and really like--is the Flickr widget, which allows you to get to my Flickr, and see my latest 3 photos. OK, so Day 44 is getting its own post because there is a lot to the story of this photo:

This is the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) building in Century City, CA. CAA represents a ton of famous actors, and their building is gorgeous. I was standing directly in front of the building, and photographed it looking almost straight up. All I brought with me was my point and shoot. Camera: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40) Aperture: f/3.2 Focal Length: 5.9 mm ISO Speed: 160

But I didn't go there to be a looky-loo (I'm a local, dammit!). Behind this CAA buidling is the Annenberg Space for Photography. This is a new space that just opened up last year, and offers a beautiful gallery of photos as well as a free lecture series called IRIS NIGHTS, which features noteworthy photographers.

Last night, I had the opportunity to see photographer Neil Leifer. Mainly a sports photographer, Leifer has been photographing since he was 16 years old, getting himself onto the football field by rolling wheelchair bound veterans onto the field and shooting from the sidelines. He has taken some of the most iconic sports photographs (Ali vs. Liston KO), and was at the first Superbowl (Before it was even called the Superbowl). I loved seeing his legendary photos, and hearing his account of how media coverage has changed so much over the decades. As an example of this, he showed a photo of the first Superbowl coin toss. There were 4 football players--2 captains from each team-- and the referee. He then showed a photo of the coin toss from the Superbowl in 2005, which consisted of about 10 football players from each team, the ref, some children, quite a few photographers and a video camera. I wouldn't be surprised if there were 35 people on the field. It was such an honor and inspiration to be able to see this photographer in person.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, do yourself a favor a check out the Annenberg. The IRIS lecture nights are free, but are mostly on Thursday evenings, which means beating LA traffic. It is definitely worth it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 41

And spring is just around the corner! Alright, it hasn't been a blizzard in Southern California, but everything is sort of a drab color. And there aren't any pretty flowers in bloom. And I LOVE photographing flowers. My very talented photographer uncle likes to say that I "sneak up on" flowers. Don't worry, you'll see. But here's a little taste of my macro flower obsession:

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40) Aperture: f/3.2 Focal Length: 5.9 mm ISO Speed: 200

This Gerber daisy was on my desk at work today, and it was just begging for a photo. All I had was my point and shoot...But let me tell you, that little thing has a pretty good macro!

Oh, I cannot WAIT until spring!

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 40

And Day 40 it is! Bad weather started here in Southern California again today, so I am noticing every day objects. I went to lunch at a tea house and noticed that the little teapot warmers had an artistic quality about them. So I whipped out my point and shoot and framed them up:

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20) Aperture: f/3.2 Focal Length: 5.9 mm ISO Speed: 400

No flash, just ambient light from the window behind the camera.

I liked the curves and clean white color of the little warmers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Las Vegas (Days 35-38)

I have been in Las Vegas this past weekend. Now, Vegas is home to all kinds of debauchery, but also all kinds of interesting architecture. You can visit Venice, Paris and Egypt all within two hours. Day 35- February 4, 2010 Vegas is just a short flight from my home in the San Fernando Valley (45 min). I love looking out of the window when on a plane, and usually take a bunch of photos. I LOVE aerial photography, and this was one of my shots that I used for my project 365: I LOVE the clouds and the snow-capped mountains. And the wing makes it look like a nice ad for Southwest.

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000) Aperture: f/4.0 Focal Length: 8.7 mm ISO Speed: 80

Day 36- February 5, 2010 There is ALWAYS construction in Vegas, no matter what the economy is like. And trust me, Superbowl weekend there shows that there is no recession. (Speaking of Superbowl, did you know that the SAINTS WON??? GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!) Anyhow, one of the newest additions to Vegas is the HUGE City center, which is a shopping/hotel/casino area. This is a photo of the outside of the HUGE shopping center called Crystals: It was a really cloudy day, but I really loved the reflections.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640) Aperture: f/6.3 Focal Length: 45 mm ISO Speed: 3200

Day 37- February 6, 2010 One of the higher end hotel/casinos is the Wynn by none other than Steve Wynn. The hotel/casino Encore is a newer addition to the Wynn, and this weekend was my first time seeing it! well, everything is over the top (of course), and one of the small details is actually a rather large crystal peacock. You read it right.

Of course, mark would have worked so well here, but all I had on me was my little camera. Camera: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60) Aperture: f/3.5 Focal Length: 7.2 mm ISO Speed: 200

Day 38- February 7, 2010

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and so it was time to fly home. But that meant more aerial photography for me:

The mountain in the photo is Oat Mountain. Here is a terrain map of the area--we flew in from the West. The lake that you see behind the mountain in the photo is to its East on the map:
View Larger Map

A wonderful Vegas trip, aerial photography, and the Saints WINNING THE SUPERBOWL all made for a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365- Into Month 2 (Days 32 & 33)!

Alright, well you have stuck with me through month1! And if you are just joining me for month 2, welcome! January was my first month of this thing called Project 365. I am proud of myself for starting it and sticking with it so far. It has been a learning process, and I am still evolving what exactly I want my project to be. Some days it's the best photo that I get that day, and sometimes I am just experimenting. And sometimes, I want to explore the beauty of the ordinary.

Anyhow, 11 more months! Let's go!

Day 32- February 1, 2010

Remember I said sometimes I experiment? This particular photo is an experimentation with backlighting from the fireplace and glass.

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, Tamron 90mm lens, 1/60 at f/4 ISO 4000 .Tungsten light to right of camera, and fire directly behind glass stones.

Day 33- February 2, 2010

I was at work on the 2nd floor of the building, fixing a huge printer (aka a plotter) that didn't like the paper I was loading. I kept noticing the sun dipping behind the clouds. As soon as I got the beeping from the plotter that the paper had been accepted after 5 times, I grabbed my point and shoot and took this.

Taken with Canon SD780, 1/400 at f/5.8, 17.9 mm, ISO 100.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 31 and Aquarium of the Pacific Photographers Night

Yesterday I promised Day 31 getting its own post, and here it is! For Christmas I got tickets to The Aquarium of the Pacific's Photographers Night in Long Beach, CA. After all the non-photographers went home, the aquarium stayed open for me and 300 other photographers to let loose and take pictures. It was so wonderful of the aquarium to do this for us, however, all 300 people at one time were trying to take photos of the sea dragons, and then half moved over to the octopus. The outside parts were closed (no sea lions or lorikeets), but many of the exhibits stayed lit until 10 pm.

It was great to see so many photographers, and there was a range in equipment and skill level from point and shoot to pro. They also had Nikon set up to give free equipment rentals for the evening (enticing, but I was toting the 5D).

This was also my first real outing with Mark the 5D, but of course we made quite a team. An ISO of 6400 in an aquarium is magical. And yes, everything that has to do with my new camera is magical.

Of course I took a few hundred photos, but fish are fast little buggers. Also, thick, round acrylic aquariums aren't really the best conditions for the pesky little task of, you know, focusing. Among all the little fishies at the aquarium, I found this detail to use for my 31st photo in my Project 365:

I love the detail of this fish's fin. When he was moving, he looked like lace. I caught him while he was resting at the bottom of the exhibit (by this point I was kind of tired of chasing fish around). I love that when you first look at this image, you don't know that this is a detail of a fish. By the way, I don't know that this fish is a guy, I'm not a marine biologist. Taken at 1/160 at f/2.8, Tamron 90mm, ISO 2000.

But I TRULY cannot just pick one. Here are some of my favorites from the evening (All photos taken with Canon 5D Mark 2):

I love the detail in this living coral. Taken at 1/320 f/3.2, 90mm. ISO 6400.

I did a bit of experimenting with blurring the pretty colored fishies:

1/2 second at f/2.8 with Canon EF 70-200f/2.8L, 165mm, ISO 800.

Of course everyone wants to see the jellyfish. Thankfully, by the end of the evening a lot of the crowd had thinned out, so I got an opportunity to get these jellyfish photos:

Taken at 1/40 at f/4, Canon EF f/4L IS 24-105mm24mm ISO 6400. Some stray flash from other photographers, aquarium lighting.

Taken at 1/125 at f/2.8, Tamrom 90mm ISO 6400. Aquarium lighting.

And what kind of photographer would I be if I didn't play around with my FISHEYE lens at the AQUARIUM? :

Taken at 1/100 at f/2.8, Canon 15mm fisheye ISO 6400. Some stray flash from other photographers, aquarium lighting.

It was a great experience, and I cannot wait until the next photographers night! Thank you Aquarium of the Pacific for the photo opportunity! You can check out my edited photos on my Flickr set.

And as always, thank you for stopping by!

Project 365 Week 4- (Days 26-30)

And here is Week 4 of my Project 365! One whole month, and I am still taking one photo per day, editing it, and then putting it up somewhere. So here is a catch up from this past week. I am posting all the photos, because there is something that I love about every one. Day 26- January 26, 2010

Sometimes I am inspired during the day, and sometimes during the evening. Well this inspiration hit as I was scoping out dessert:

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, 1/250 at f/4, ISO 3200, 90mm Tamron. No flash, just overhead lighting.

Rafael is a friend of my boyfriend, and happens to be a pastry chef with his own shop in the Burbank/Glendale area (I'll link to his site as soon as it's up and running). I'm setting up a photo shoot with him, so I'm sure you'll see more of his work in future posts.

This wonderful creation is a vanilla Napoleon, and it tasted even BETTER than it looks. Rafael is fantastic, as you can see his from creation for my birthday almost three years ago:

Day 27- January 27, 2010

Tried a little bit of backlighting with my crystal bracelet that I made. I LOVE teal, and bought these beads a while ago. I finally put them together and was wearing them, and noticed the lighting from behind them and explored this just a bit:

This is obviously something I need to practice with, but I thought this was a nice little exploration.

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, 1/500 at f/2.8, ISO 3200, Tamron 90mm lens (This is my FAVORITE lens, and I will be using it almost exclusively come springtime!). One Tungsten light to the far left of the camera, and one Tungsten light higher and behind the bracelet.

Day 28- January 28, 2010

And Thursday I borrowed a new toy from Borrowlenses.com. I won one week's rental from them on amazingly talented photographer Jim Goldstein's blog in November, and decided it was time to use it. So, I extended the rental a little bit longer, and paid for an extra two weeks. Anyway, it was my first day to play around with...the Canon 15mm fisheye!! Oh boy is this thing sa-weet!

Hello, need I say more? And this was just messin' around the house with some banisters. I love the banister and stairs because it has a lot of straight lines that really show off the fisheye effect.

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, Canon 15mm fisheye, 1/200 at f/2.8 (Oh yeah, this baby is fast!), ISO 3200, no flash, just Tungsten lights overhead that you can see in the ceiling.

You have GOT to check out my Flickr page for more fisheye fun!

Photo 29- January 29, 2010

I am always looking for photos. I just don't see things like other people do. So when my crystal glass was sitting in front of me at the dinner table Friday, this lemon just looked beautiful:

I promptly took the glass into the kitchen, which had better lighting, and got a chair to stand on so that I could look down INTO the glass, positioning the lemon just so. I love the way the bubbles are trapped in the lemon fibers.

Taken with Canon 5D mark 2, Tamron 90mm, 1/400 at f/3.2 ISO 3200.

Day 30- January 30, 2010

Late afternoon, beautiful lighting creating shadows through an iron gate:

Taken with Canon 5D mark 2, Tamron 90mm, 1/1600 at f/3.5, ISO 1600. Only available light.

OK, so I am currently working on the photo for Day 31. It's VERY special, and will get a post all by itself!

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Week 3 (Days 19-25)

I know I know, I have not posted in a week! Honestly, I am a sunshine lovin' girl, and the rain gets me down and feeling like a big slug. So, since it has been a week, I am going to pick my three favorite photos from the week, and give you the story and metadata behind those. Of course, you can check out my Flickr set for the week's photos, but I do want to tell you about my favorites so please make sure you keep on reading.

I made my favorite photo from this week on Day 22

I call this one "Mama's hands" because it is of my mama's hands. My mom has used her Brother sewing machine since 1968. Her hands are older now and have arthritis in them, but they are beautiful to me. That coupled with the light from her sewing machine created a perfect photo opportunity. I had her use the green fabric because I liked that pop of color, and noticed that her nail polish and the fabric complemented each other.

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, Tamron macro 90mm, 1/320 at f/4.0. Small tungsten light from sewing machine, no flash, ISO 4000 (The high ISO just isn't getting old for me!). Cropping and color correction in Lightroom 2.

I made my second favorite photo on Day 23 (I was on a roll this weekend!)

I just love walking around my neighborhood in the afternoon (around 4'ish) when the light has this gorgeous golden quality. My neighbors just cannot think I'm normal (but what photographer is?).

Initially I was trying to get this beautiful golden light bouncing off of the branches with the moon in the background. Then I shifted the focus to the moon, and I just loved this image. The branches and crisp moon against the vivid blue sky...magic!

Taken with Canon Rebel XTi at 1/320 at f/5.0 with Canon EF 24-105mm lens, at 105mm, ISO 200. Light editing in Lightroom 2.

And I made my third favorite photo on Day 25

Since was so cold here in Southern California (below 50 degrees, good heavens!), I got to sit by the fireplace a lot. I LOVE the way subjects look by firelight, and I LOVE reflections. So, I put some water in a Waterford crystal bowl, and had a little mirror that I set under the bowl on the hearth for reflection from the bottom of the bowl. Joe McNally suggests to place subjects near/in water, so of course I incorporated water into my little experiment.

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, Tamron macro 90mm, 1/30 at f/4.0, ISO 3200. Lighting sources fireplace and tungsten light to the right side of the camera.

As always, thank you for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 18

Today was another wet day here in Southern California. The weathermen were actually correct when saying that it was going to storm (usually here in SoCal, that means a light drizzle). But today, there was wind AND rain. Now being a Southern California resident, and it being a holiday from work, I stayed inside. And inside is exactly where I got this shot from:

This image is of rain drops on a protruding bay window, taken with THE 5DM2 at 1/50, f/2.8 ISO 800 with no flash. The colors in the back of the window are cars on the street and some greenery.

I am trying something new and importing the files as DNG files into Lightroom2. I then brought up the exposure and saturation, and turned the original horizontal shot into a portrait crop.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Catch up: Day 17

Whew! It has been a little bit since I have blogged about my 365 project (Don't worry, I'm still on it!). So let me catch you up a bit with photo days 13-17. It has been suggested to me to add metadata (Since this IS a photoblog and all), so I am going to try my best and do that for you, starting today! Photo Day 13

Two things for Day 13: I forgot my trusty point at shoot at home (How could I?) And then went out to dinner and shot this little ditty with my iPhone:

A little noisy, but I liked how the light hit the glass with the oil in it.

Photo Day 14

Big news for me and my photographic journey:

Is now mine! It was the only photo that I took that day, because really, that was the only thing that mattered on day 14.

Photo Day 15

Took a trip down to Anaheim to visit the funny talking mouse. I started out at Disney's California Adventure, which has changed a lot since it first opened--my last visit there--and all for the better. One of the details that I enjoyed seeing was a Gaudi style mosaic bench. This photo is one of the details of that bench:

I liked this particular detail because of the colors, and I'm a sucker for Shamu.

Taken with Canon Powershot SD780 (aka my trusty point and shoot). Camera on auto, 1/200 at f/3.2, ISO 200, 5.9mm.

Photo Day 16

I am a Pixar nut. Anything that comes from them, I am a huge fan before I even see it. And of course my foundation of love for them came from the movie Toy Story. These are my favorite little characters from that movie:

I loved these little aliens in the movie, and when I saw the "Bucket o' little green men" I had ideas for my new camera and these little guys. I like this photo because it's funny (how can you look at these and not smile?), and I like putting a little twist into photos.

Taken with THE Canon 5D Mark 2, 1/200 at f/4, Tamron 90mm, ISO 800 (Notice the lack of noise?? Love it!!)

And here we are at...

Photo Day 17

It ain't so sunny today in Southern California and I must say, as much as I normally don't like the rain, I loved it today because I could play around with Mark the camera and get photos like this:

I love reflections and water shots, so this was my first foray combining these two things with the high ISO.

Taken with Canon 5D Mark 2, 1/160, f/4.0, Canon EF 24-105mm at 105mm, ISO 6400 (Did I mention I love it!)

More rain this week, so I'm sure I'll get a few more rain shots up this week.

Thanks for sticking with me, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 12

And yet another gorgeous day today. I got home when it was still daylight, so of course I headed outside with my macro lens. Something I usually try out and never have much success with is taking bee photos. They sure do fly around a lot, and they can sting, but today I am happy to report I snuck up on those little guys and got this as a result:

Some exposure adjustment and cropping in Lightroom 2, and I have my little bee buddy memorialized. I love the catch light in its eye (which is always something that I notice in other bee photos), and the contrast of its yellow and black body against the lavender flower.

And then I pissed off one of the bees so I got out of enemy territory.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 10

Another absolutely gorgeous day here in Southern California (76 degrees this afternoon). I took the opportunity to grab my SLR and went up to one of my favorite places in the San Fernando Valley, O'Melveny Park. I love photographing tree trunks for their great texture and contrast, and have often photographed the trees here before a wildfire in October of 2008 ravaged them. I took this photo to show the new growth juxtaposed against the charred bark.

I love seeing that these trees are making a comeback, and hopefully the rest of the park will follow before too long.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 9

It was slightly cloudy today and a little windy, so I didn't get out very far today like I had planned for today's 365. This perfect rose was right in front of my house.

I love macro flower shots, so I am sure this is the first of many in my 365 project!

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 8

On another lunchtime stroll --75 degrees at noon in early January, yes please!-- I noticed this little plant growing in between the bricks.

You can click on the photo to visit the Flickr page for all of the sizes.

I loved the shadows and the contrast of the green against the flagstone bricks. Of course it was high noon, so the lighting was not ideal. Thus, I had to do a little involved editing in Lightroom 2 (I just LOVE the adjustment brush!), but I'm happy with the final image. It's a little plant that loves living in Southern California.

I am also very excited that I have stuck to my plan to post my photos on my blog...it has been a week, and I'm having fun sharing my photo stories with you. Much better than my images living on a memory card/hard drive doing nothin'.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 7

<Sigh> Me and hummingbirds...it's a long, contrived story that began when I got my DSLR almost 3 years ago. The thing is, they mock me. Oh yeah, these little buggers hide from me when I have a telephoto zoom on my camera and am waiting, and taunt me when I have a) a point and shoot or b) no camera. So today I took a short stroll during lunch (it was a  beautiful 75 degrees here in Southern California today), and was taking some photos with my point and shoot that I have with me at all times. I found a very nice squirrel I thought about having as my subject. I found some pretty leaves. Then I heard the unmistakable call of the hummingbird ( it goes like this "Chirp! You don't have your big lens now! Look at me! nah nah nah nah nah!").

So, I took this photo of him...her...

As always here is the Flickr page for all sizes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 Day 6

Today's photo just happened to be hanging out in front of me this morning at my desk.

It took a few takes to get this exact shot. Arranging of almonds. Blocking out some light that was throwing some blue into the photo. Then some editing in Lightroom 2 (Color temperature adjust and such).

Check out the Flickr photo page for more sizes.

Thank you for stopping by...more to come!