2014, Day 365 - A new leaf

As I reflect on the year it has been one filled with friends, food, and lots of work.  It's been a great  year, I've had a lot of fun and keep up this blog has been very rewarding.  That said, I think I am going to change the format.  I've been posting daily for a little over five years and it has kept me from becoming complacent; I've learned a lot and feeling obligated to keep this up has has been very rewarding.  Unfortunately in the past year I've found that I am not pushing myself to go out as often as I once was.  I've been happy to work from a bank of images taken in the past like the one I'm sharing today.  Instead I think I need to be more selective about the images I share and feeling obligated to share something new on a daily basis means that I am not always happy with the final product because of time constraints or simply because I picked out an image I wasn't happy with in the first place.  So I am going to take that pressure off myself and work towards sharing only things photographs that I am really proud of.

After five years and over 1,860 posts I am thinking that change is a good thing :)  Happy New Year!

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 35/f1.4R
35mm, f1.4, 1/125 sec @ 800 ISO

2014, Day 364 - Pull

This young man is working with molten sugar.  Soon he will be pulling and folding the sugar until it become a fine silky texture.  When that it done it will be bagged and sold with roti as a sweet treat.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 35/f1.4R
35mm, f1.4, 1/125 sec @ 800 ISO

2014, Day 363 - Surmounted

There are so many great temples in Thailand.  The first time I went was in 2010 and I had an amazing time exploring them because, no matter the size, they're all different.  This is Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon amd even though it was our first stop it was already crawling with tourists.  I had to wait at the bottom of the stair to get a picture with only a few people but I like them because they add a sense of scale.  This temple is relatively simple, just two levels with a stupa at each corner on the first and then the pagoda in the center.  From the first level you can see the valley of Ayutthaya below and see countless temples dotting the landscape.  We only had time to see a handful but they were each a little bit different and all had a story of their own.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5.6, 1/1000 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 362 - Road ahead

I love a good vanishing point, it forces me to think about what's beyond the horizon or around the corner.  It is the result of a naturally curious disposition which is why I love photography.  Through the camera's lens you can explore light, shadows, perspective, angles, so many little variables that can drastically affect the final image.  This is why going on photo adventures with friends is such a great thing because you can all look at the same subject and see completely different ways of composing the shot.  The results are so varied that sometimes it doesn't even look like the same place despite the fact that you were only separated by a few feet.  Next year I look forward to continuing the fun!

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 640 ISO

2014, Day 361 - Beached

The day's work is done and all the fishing boats line the mouth of the river at rest until sunrise when the banks will be empty and the men back at work.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f8, 10 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 360 - Hatchlings

Just like El Salvador we found a number of small non-profits in Sri Lanka that gather sea turtle eggs to protect them from predation.  They are transferred to artificial nests in protected areas and the babies are kept in tiled tubs like the one below until they are three days old at which point they are released into the wild.  Here the babies are kept longer to allow their shells a little more time to harden before they brave the dangers of the world.  I love that places like this exist and while it was not quite as hands-on as the place we visited in El Salvador they do good work and deserve acknowledgment for their tireless efforts.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 35/f1.4R
35mm, f2, 1/125 sec @ 640 ISO

2014, Day 359 - Eager

The pups waited patiently while I cooked my Christmas dinner for their own special meal.  They were treated to mashed sweet potatoes, sardines, kale, and rice.  That coupled with my own curried cauliflower and potatoes made the house smell pretty good in part because the sardines were canned and only added at the very end.  Everyone here had a very merry Christmas!

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 50-140/f2.8R OIS
140mm, f2.8, 1/50 sec @ 3200 ISO