2010, Day 242 - Mister mailman

When I was a kid I remember going to the post office, the one closest to our home was quite small but I always thought that you had to be someone important to have a post office box. They seemed so special so when I was at the post office today I took a picture of the boxes. To my eyes they still look special but I think it's because they have an art deco look to them.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

27mm, f2.8, 1/50 sec @ 640 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

16mm, f2.8, HDR of 1/5000, 1/3200, 1/2000, 1/1250 and 1/800 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 241 - Urban wilderness

It was a nice mild afternoon so I went by Forest Park. If you ever come to Portland it is worth visiting, this park is renown for being the largest within city limits in the world. About five years ago a runner discovered a father and daughter who had been living in the park for years, they had a shelter built and he was homeschooling her. They lived completely off the gird in the city. My experience, on the other hand, was much more fleeting...

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

16mm, f2.8, 1/60 sec @ 400 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

16mm, f2.8, 1/60 sec @ 400 ISO

The Saint John's Bridge on my drive home. I had to take this photo out the window at a stop light.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

35mm, f7.1, 1/500 sec @ 160 ISO

2010, Day 240 - Garage pup

I went to the grocery store this morning and on my way out into the parking lot I found a little friend waiting for his people. He reminded me of my sister Laura's dog, Charlie so I greeted him and took his picture.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

38mm, f2.8, 1/125 sec @ 800 ISO

2010, Day 239 - Birthday Bort

Today is a momentous day, Hubert turned three! My wacky lovable maddening boy is getting older. There is already some lightening in his face but no more maturity in his behavior. I give to you his birthday portraits! Yes, the focus is off completely in one of them but I caught him smiling and with his lightening fast movement it is an amazing accomplishment on its own.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

51mm, f14, 1/100 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

30mm, f16, 1/100 sec @ 200 ISO

Yes, this is what a greyhound smile looks like. Hubert is HAPPY!

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

24mm, f16, 1/100 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 238 - Persistence

My side yard is a battleground, I'm constantly trying to keep the weeds from the rental next door from encroaching too far. This guy has been in bloom for weeks and I am sure they the payoff is proliferation. Fortunately for my after I took his portrait he was excised from my yard.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f16, 1/100 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 237 - It's a gay bee!

Jon Lovitz used to parody Harvey Fierstein on Saturday Night Live and he said he wanted to be a "gay bee." That has always stuck in my head and this bee is certainly going to town on a beautifully remodeled flower penthouse so I thought he too might be gay...

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f5.6, 1/400 sec @ 100 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f8, 1/125 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 236 - Low key portraits

Today's Daily Shoot assignment was a great one:

Make a low key photo today with lots of dark areas. You might need to use exposure compensation to make it work.

I didn't use exposure compensation, I put the camera in manual mode and had fun with Johan. He's the new boy so I need to get a jump start on his baby album.

Johan's pretty golden eyes.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f2.8, 1/20 sec @ 640 ISO

Johan's snout.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f2.8, 1/60 sec @ 640 ISO

Big scary teeth.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f2.8, 1/30 sec @ 640 ISO

White socked foot.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/60 sec @ 640 ISO

And Hubert's magical three-toed foot.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f2.8, 1/60 sec @ 640 ISO

2010, Day 235 - Grand Central

Made a trek downtown and decided to check out Grand Central Station. My little sister used to come down from Seattle on the train and I would pick her up so we could spend Thanksgiving together. It was a lot of fun but I had never seen the interior. It looks like a good old fashioned train station and I love it!

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

16mm, f2.8, 1/100 sec @ 400 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

16mm, f2.8, 1/2500 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 234 - Sexy tomatoes

Did you ever wonder how baby tomatoes are made? A few flowers, the help of some bees and there you have it!

It's amazing that such glorious fruit starts with such little flowers.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 200 ISO

Floral pimps.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f5.6, 1/400 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/80 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 233 - Land anemone

Thanks to Rachel for another evening walk. We found this little gem of a flower in a beautiful rock garden, it looks like a little bit of the ocean on land.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f2.8, 1/200 sec @ 500 ISO

2010, Day 232 - Shallow

Despite an aimless and relaxing sort of day to get Johan further acclimated to home life (he's doing exceptionally well) I found myself looking to the Dailyshoot for inspiration. Today's assignment is:

Make a photograph with a shallow depth of field today. Get in close if you need to force it with the lens you have.

The lens I had today was a wide angle zoom but I think it went rather well...

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

16mm, f4, 1/2500 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 231 - Proudly presenting...

my new baby, Johan! He's a Oklahoma farm boy who just moved to Portland and joined my two dopey boys. Johan is a very sweet guy whose calm and patient demeanor has won him a lot of points from Hubert, my resident wacko whose high energy and puppy enthusiasm could be problematic for other dogs. Today is day three and so far, other than a little anxiety when I leave and a minor drinking problem (see below), Johan has been a perfect angel.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

29mm, f11, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

35mm, f16, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

My little booze hound.

iPhone 3GS

4mm, f2.8, 1/40 sec @ 64 ISO

2010, Day 230 - Yee-haw!

I went with my friend Julie to the Clackamas County Fair and Rodeo today. Action is always fun, trying to catch that elusive perfect moment that tells the whole story and the fishing tales afterwards not about the one that got away but the focus that was just a little bit off.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II

70mm, f5.6, 1/800 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II

200mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II

120mm, f4, 1/800 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

70mm, f4, 1/640 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 229 - Beacon

As per usual, I was running home from an appointment and had to stop. I am not a religious or even spiritual person but I love churches, I guess God can afford to have a fancier house than most of us and they never fail to impress...

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

24mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 228 - Starburst of white

Today's Daily Shoot assignment was:

Make a photograph of a plant today. It can be a small one in a pot, a big one in the park, or a tree in a forest.

There is something that I really like about succulents. They have these overdeveloped bodies of foliage but often their flowers as extremely delicate. I think maybe it is the juxtaposition of the rather clunky plant with the refined flowers.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

70mm, f4, 1/1250 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

68mm, f4, 1/1000 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 227 - Back to school

School will be starting soon but until then the buildings remain deserted. Franklin High is what I wish my school looked like with huge windows and indoor hallways, it is what I imagined high school would look like, not a conglomeration of buildings from the sixties and seventies with no soul or aesthetic interest at all.

This shoot was inspired by the Daily Shoot's assignment:

Make a photograph using hard light today. Feature the crisp and strong shadows as a major element of your photograph.

The shadows and contrast are apparent in my subject matter but I like them, they aren't distracting. Before leaving the house I took off my UV filter and put on my lovely Singh-Ray LB Circular Polarizing filter which gave the skies their vibrant blue color.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

43mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

43mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

24mm, f4, 1/320 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L

70mm, f4, 1/500 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 226 - Wilting

I know that in some parts of the country it doesn't seem that bad but it was 96 degrees here today and I hid under a rock for most of the day. My only outing was to get groceries and on my way back I saw some flowers that hadn't succumbed to the heat so I wanted to capture their silent resistance.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

35mm, f8, 1/160 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 225 - Alien invader

I discovered this little green guy on the size of a white enameled bowl so I grabbed a light and took his mug shot so I could report him to the government. You know they track alien sightings...

Below is a street performer that I passed this evening while walking to Powell's Books down Hawthorne Street. He was rockin' pretty hard but not so hard I couldn't get his attention to get his blessing to take his picture.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f5.6, 1/100 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II

35mm, f2.8, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

2010, Day 224 - High intensity

This time of year you have to work hard to find decent photographic opportunities. The bright light and long days of summer can be difficult to work around, we tend to like diffused light, dawn and dusk but we work with what we have.

I took this picture at about 4 o'clock this afternoon. The flower was strongly back lit which is what caused the falloff around the edges. I love the high key dreamy look it created that would have been otherwise impossible.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f5.6, 1/100 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 223 - Stretch

Playing with panoramas today and went to Mount Tabor to do it. The lighting wasn't ideal but I like the sense of scale you get with the trees soaring above you.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 50/f1.4

50mm, f2.8, 1/80 sec @ 320 ISO using 5 images

2010, Day 222 - Up and down

While stuck on the phone with an infuriating colleague I decided to pull over and admire a garden that I could see half a block away. Looking up were these beautiful yellow flowers and then, right at knee level, I noticed a little ladybug enjoying our cool weather. Unfortunately it isn't going to last, it is supposed to be in the 90s this weekend, damn...

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/2.8L IS

100mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 100 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/2.8L IS

100mm, f5.6, 1/160 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 221 - Avert thine eyes

One of my favorite subject and one of the least liked by my regular readers, spiders! Well, just the one, he's hanging out in the kitchen, or at least he was until I relocated him outside. Check out my rich mustard colored wall in the background, I didn't think I would like yellow this much but I've grown quite fond of it.

Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f16, 1/100 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 220 - Projection

I went to see "Despicable Me" with some friends this afternoon and enjoyed the falloff of the light and the lines of the theatre.

iPhone

4mm, f2.8, 1/60 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 219 - You are my sunshine

This sweet lady is Sunshine, the grande dame of my friend Christine's home. She's almost twelve years old and just keeps getting better with age. I love her distinguished old lady face and her goofy personality, it always makes my day to visit with Christine, Sunshine and her other two dogs Rosalee and Heather.

Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8

28mm, f11, 1/250 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8

68mm, f11, 1/250 sec @ 200 ISO

Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8

42mm, f11, 1/250 sec @ 200 ISO