Day 31 January 31, 2010

Repetition and Lighting

 

Stopped at IKEA today to pick up a replacement shade for the one our kitten destroyed last week.  I find IKEA to be a dangerous place for me - all those clean lines and orderliness really appeal to me.  I want to buy one of everything!  I thought the colors of these bathroom rugs were eye-catching.  The interesting thing about these rugs is all three stacks of orange rugs are the EXACT SAME color!  The only difference is the amount of light or shade each stack had.  The taller stack in back was under a shelf and was shaded, while the front stack was directly under a florescent spotlight.  Someday in the future when I have time to learn more about and play more with lighting, I am going to come back to this photo.

The bottom picture here I took simply because the way these lanterns were displayed appealed to me.  Seemed to work better in monochrome, and as it's still the (Monochrome) weekend, I thought I'd include it here.

Day 30 January 30, 2010

A Splash of Color

 

I am tired of gray.  I am tired of bone-chilling cold.  I am ready for Spring!  Unfortunately, that's a good six weeks away.  Thankfully, the local grocery store (Kroger) feels the same way I do.  Their floral department was bursting with color today!  Thankfully, I'm learning my lesson and had my camera with me.  The floral department lady thought I was a little strange when I told her I didn't need any help and just wanted to take pictures of the flowers.  I did not care. 

These were quick shots under florescent lighting, but I simply couldn't resist the bold colors.  I did zero editing of color balance on these - just a little lightness and contrast on the yellow flowers and, of course, some cropping.  Here's one more that has a lot of colors!  (If you came here via Monochrome Weekend, please scroll down to yesterday's pic!)

Day 29 January 29, 2010

Puppy Dog Eye(s)

This is an extreme close-up of one of the neighbor dogs, Abby.  She is a Great Dane mix and barks incessantly.  She is also the neighborhood escape artist - we walk her back home frequently when she jumps the fence and/or pulls her lead out of the ground.

I stepped outside tonight to see what I could see of the completely full moon.  Too darn cold to bother with a lengthy set-up involving the tripod.  But the dogs were out! It was hard to get a decent shot with them running around barking in the near-dark.  Fun with cropping ensued and this is the (desaturated) result.

Be sure to check out Monochrome Weekend for black and white photos much better than mine.

Day 28 January 28, 2010

Almost-Full Moon

 

Technically, the moon is 98% full tonight.  Meh - looked full to me!  This was a very quick shot taken without a tripod on our way home from ice cream after the Science Fair.  Yes, that's right - I ran a Science Fair on a day with a (nearly) full moon and lived to tell about it.  It's always a very long day, but the kids always do well, and this year was no exception.  I was proud of all of them.  

Day 27 January 27, 2010

Glass Snowflake

Today was another one of those days when I simply did not have any free time during daylight hours.  Tomorrow is the Science Fair (which I run) - after that I should be able to relax and have more time for photography! 

This glass snowflake was a Christmas present from a student.  We hung it in our front window and decided it looked good enough there to keep up after the rest of the Christmas decorations came down.  There's not much snow on the ground right now, despite the bitterly cold wind and mostly gray skies.  This pretty snowflake is a spot of color and reminder of the beauty nature can bring this time of year.  (Wish nature would bring enough of it on Friday for a snow day but I know I'm dreaming!)

Day 26 January 26, 2010

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

One more reason why I want a macro lens!  This little guy surprised me this morning - just crawled out of nowhere onto my desk.  It's less than 1cm long - I really wish I could have gotten a better shot.   But it was moving and I hadn't even had my coffee yet!

Day 25 January 25, 2010

Ready for my close-up.  The secretary at school was given an Amaryllis plant for Christmas.  Today it was in full bloom - beautiful red and white flowers on a sturdy green stem - appropriate colors for the 25th of a month (even if there are 11 months 'til next Christmas). 

I was rushing out of school today on my way to a dentist appointment and didn't have a lot of time to set up a great shot.  Florescent lighting is not conducive to good photography.  This flower made me wish more than ever I had a good macro lens.  The less-close-up shot is below, but I wasn't happy with the shadows in that one.

Day 24 January 24, 2010

My favorite tree.  Is it weird to have a favorite tree?  I probably have more photos of this particular oak tree than any other.  One year I photographed it on each solstice and each equinox.  Today I took a shot from a different angle - and included a path through the meadow to the tree.  This tree dominates the meadow at Wildwood park and I normally only photograph it from afar.  In the summer it's hard to slog through the shoulder height (for me) grasses of the meadow to get closer, but they do mow a path from time to time - the remnants of which are seen here. 

I wish I knew how old this tree is - I suspect it has been here since European-American settlers named the region Oak Openings back in the early 1800s, but that may be wishful thinking.  This entire area was something of a swamp back then ("The Black Swamp", to be precise) and the rest was rather densely wooded.  Wagons had a tough go of it.  When they happened upon a region that had large oaks with ample space for a wagon between them (openings), the nickname was born.  The name has been revived in recent years to increase public awareness and preservation of the unique and diverse ecosystem of the area.

Today was a very gray day.  Unseasonably warm for January in these parts - nearly 50 degrees F.  A thunderstorm woke me early this morning and it's been drizzling off and on ever since.  I almost didn't need to desaturate this photo in post-processing to make it look monochrome! (But I did.)

The photo below I took as I was walking back to my car today.  I like the symbolism of the parking lot "erasing" part of the tree's reflection.

Day 23 January 23, 2010

My morning coffee.  Is it cheating to use one picture for two themes? Well too bad - that's what you're getting today!  I was at school today (a Saturday!) working on computer things for 4.5 hours and this is all I've got.

Actually, the subject was inspired by Digital Photography School's Weekend Challenge for this weekend: "Good Morning".  I am a coffee addict - I simply do not function without it.  I like my coffee, strong, smooth, and with flavored creamer (caramel being my current fave). I even have my very own coffee pot in my classroom, tucked safely away behind my desk.  My students know not to bug me too much if I haven't yet had my first cup of the day.  This is my current favorite mug to use at school, sitting on the podium at the front of my classroom, with the white board behind it.  Coffee is what makes MY mornings good!

In addition, I desaturated the photo in honor of Monochrome Weekend.  While this photo actually does work better in black and white, it's not exactly awe-inspiring.  If the weather cooperates (doubtful) I may try to get to a park tomorrow and aim for a better submission to Monochrome Weekend.  For now, though, this will have to do.

Day 22 January 22, 2010

Woo! Day 22!  I can't believe I've done this for three weeks and haven't taken a single picture of yarn! Today's shot corrects that oversight!  This is a yarn called Juliet (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon) by a company called Yarn Love.  The colorway (which inspires yarn love in me!) is called Nirvana. 

I am, among other things, a knitter.  I am not a prolific knitter.  I am not a particularly accomplished knitter.  But I am a passionate knitter - and I love yarn.  I have entirely too much yarn (and may perhaps have achieved SABLE - Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy).  The new kitten is a yarn-loving cat (not so our older cat who could care less about yarn) and has unearthed skeins I forgot I owned. Ahem.

THIS particular skein, however, I remember very well. I actually won it (me -who doesn't win anything, ever!) at Sock Summit in Portland Oregon last summer.  Sock Summit is just what it sounds like - a knitting convention for people who knit socks! Which I do - slowly.  I hadn't planned on going as Portland is a very long way from Ohio and it is a bit spendy to participate in the classes (let alone the huge marketplace).  But then, after planning a trip from San Francisco to Seattle, driving along US 1 and US 1A, a side trip to Portland was broached (to visit the famed Powell's books).  And that's when it hit me. The very day of the Portland day trip....was also Sock Summit! Well, it was fate - I simply HAD to go.  No classes - just "browsing" the marketplace and soaking in the atmosphere. 

I gamely entered every door-prize raffle at every booth and on my last pass through the marketplace, trying to figure out how much yarn I could squish into my already-full suitcase....I saw my name on a list of winners! I got to select the gorgeous yarn above and was very, very happy!  I also got the bonus experience of being part of a World Record - the most knitters knitting simultaneously in one spot for 15 consecutive minutes - very heady stuff!

At any rate, I still haven't knit the yarn I won.  I haven't decided how best to knit it up and frankly, I have too many other projects on the needles just now.  So back into the stash it goes - well hidden from kitten claws.

Day 21 January 21, 2010

Today I had the president of the local Rock Hound club come speak to my 6th grade (ages 11-12) Science class.  She brought a lot of her collection (and gave each student 15 samples of different rocks and minerals).  This is a close-up of some crystals that formed within a rock - I cannot remember the name of the rock of course.  It wasn't a traditional, rounded geode, but a similar concept.  Some of the flat surfaces of this sample had been polished - you can see a little of that in this shot.

On a side note, I read somewhere that day 21 is the make-or-break day for Project 365 bloggers.  In other words, most people will give up after 3 weeks.  So tomorrow should make the point that I really am in this for the long haul.  (Nope, no pressure there!)

Day 20 January 20, 2010

You lookin' at ME?  This is the world's grumpiest chameleon.  He lives at the Lourdes College Life Lab along with a ton of other (much friendlier) critters.  School kids from all over the area visit the Life Lab to learn about them and the environment.  I've known the lead teacher since she was MY preschool teacher way back in 1974.  Since it's right down a path (or around the corner) from my school, I stop in frequently (they also donate crickets for my classroom critters to eat).

Today you get a bonus photo because I could not resist this teeny guy.  He is a local gray tree frog rescued as a tadpole by somebody and dropped off at the Life Lab.  He's only about 3-4cm long!

Day 19 January 19, 2010

So it was dark when I left the house and nearly-dark when I got home this evening.  Meaning I needed an indoor shot.  I mentioned my kaleidoscope collection the other day - I have about 30.  All are different.  Many are true works of art, signed by the artist.  They are made from a wide variety of materials - wood, plastic, metal, glass.  I love the idea of something that combines both science and art and is meant to picked up, touched, handled, USED - not just looked at from afar.  They can be hard to find, but juried art shows are usually a good starting point.

At any rate, tonight, while my ISP was down (3 hours - grr), I grabbed one of my favorite kaleidoscopes and started shooting.  It's a black and purple metal column with a gorgeous rainbow-hued marble at one end.  Once I loaded the pics to my computer, I realized just how scratched the large hand-blown glass marble was - yuck!  Yay for post-processing and GIMP! I had some fun with filters and learned a bit in the process. 

Day 18 January 18, 2010

Reflection of a bridge.  This shot is shamelessly stolen from one Yolanda (of Giving it a Shot) published in black and white for a recent Monochrome Weekend.   But as she was with me today, and pointed out the vantage point for the shot, I'm going with it.  It simply is the best shot of the bunch from today's freezing shoot at Toledo Botanical Gardens.

I had a great time today with a new friend that I would never have met if it weren't for Project 365, Monochrome Weekend, and of course, the Internet.  Click on the link to Yolanda's blog above and see HER shot from today - another winner from a talented photographer. I want to go back to TBG when it's WARMER though!

I took a ton of pictures today - the ones I like best can be located here on Picassa.  And yes, for those of you monochrome fans who arrived here via Monochrome Weekend, there are more black and white shots from today's shoot in that batch.

Day 17 January 17, 2010

This little frog vase was a Christmas present from my mom.  As I'm a science teacher, I'm rather fond of frogs and my classroom has both living and nonliving frogs and toads.  This little guy was too cute (and fragile) to take to school, and has been given a place of honor amongst my kaleidoscope collection, some of which can be seen in the background of this photo. But those are subjects for other days.

Day 16 January 16, 2010

My (rather lame) weekly submission for Monochrome Weekend.  This is a chandelier at a newish brewpub in Ann Arbor, MI called the Jolly Pumpkin.  Despite the name, there were no pirate squash in evidence.  The food, however, was delicious! The decor was eclectic, yet warm - lots of dark wood and funky prints on the walls.  The chandeliers, however, made me grin and pull out my camera.  Not overly happy with the glare off the electric bulbs despite not using a flash but not a terrible photo.

Day 15 January 15, 2010

A spot of color.  Since I washed my car yesterday, it rained today. That's just how things work.  That's right - it RAINED.  In January in Ohio. Bleh.  Snow's still on the ground but it was about 37 degrees F all day and gray and drizzly.  This pinwheel is in the school's front yard and was spinning like mad this afternoon in the breeze.  It was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreary landscape.

Day 14 January 14, 2010

Can you guess what it is?  I ran through the car wash on my way back to school from a meeting - the salt was really hard to see through on the windows.  Sitting there bored in my car for a couple of minutes, I grabbed the camera and shot through the window.  Talk about no time to set up a shot! Silly, but hopefully fun, photo.

Day 13 January 13, 2010

Once again - NOT the photo I intended for today.  I had my camera with me all day today - took pictured of my students on a field trip to a college Anatomy Lab, took pictures of downtown Ann Arbor after Scrabble club.  Pulled into my driveway to this critter in my recycling bin!

It wasn't afraid of me at all until JUST before I snapped this pic.  You can just see its tooth - it actually snarled at me at this point, so I stopped shooting, backed my car up a bit and snuck in the house.  The recycling bin is right outside the back door up against the house under the carport.  Clearly this opossum is completely used to being around humans and had zero fear.

Really really glad my cats are indoor cats - this thing was HUGE compared to them!

Day 12 January 12, 2010

Meet Newton! Newton is my new classroom Bearded Dragon.  I had another one for 7.5 years, but sadly, Spike passed away from semi-old-age in December.  The kids were heartbroken - the entire school loved him.  So Sunday I drove up to Saline, MI to the home of a breeder of Bearded Dragons and picked out this little guy. Or girl.  Not really sure - it's too young to tell.

It's 5 weeks old and about 4 inches long nose to tail tip.  So tiny! These guys get over 12" long when full grown - that's a lot of crickets and dark leafy greens!  Named it Newton after one of my favorite scientists.

Bearded Dragons are the ideal classroom pet - relatively low-maintenance, diurnal (awake during the daytime), docile, enjoy being held, and really do seem to have a personality.  They hail from Australia which makes me wonder if my readers from Australia think I'm a bit nuts to have one as a pet.

Day 11 January 11, 2010

This is the view from my classroom - I saw the snow falling at the end of 2nd period this morning and grabbed my camera.  I had about 90 seconds to get a shot before my next class began - plus it was cold! Thank goodness there's a door very close to my room.  I wanted the flakes to show up as big as they looked in RL, but this was the best I could do in the time I had.  Again, one more time I wished I knew more "go-to" settings for various conditions!

Day 10 January 10, 2010

Fire in a friend's cast iron wood-burning stove today.  I did not take as much time as I should have to set up this shot - it needed some settings tweaked first but the door of the wood-burner was only open for a moment.  I kind of like the blurriness of the fire - it suggests movement and heat.

I want to get to the point where I can see an opportunity for a great shot like this and know instantly what settings to use to get the best result.  This was SO not the picture I intended to take today but I ended up liking it the best.

Day 9 January 9, 2010

It warmed all the way up to the low 20's today (Fahrenheit) so I ventured out this afternoon to the local Metropark (Wildwood) to see what I could see.   The park is one of my go-to sources for nature shots year round and today did not disappoint.  I love the wooden walkway to the covered bridge - kind of surprised me that the stream was not completely iced over as it's been quite cold for a while now.

There were 6 white tailed deer off in the woods but I did not have my telephoto lens with me (nor does it really deliver on quality photos - it's either me or the fact that it was my dad's and is probably 15 years old) so those shots did not come out well at all.

My fingers got pretty cold despite my gloves and I was worried about the camera as well - I kept it zipped inside my coat when not shooting.  I really need to learn how to use more features of my camera AND invest in better gloves!

I desaturated the shot above in post-processing - the original along with the rest of today's keepers are over on Picassa if you're interested (link in the sidebar).  For more awesome monochromatic photos, head over to The Monochrome Weekly - many, many talented photographers there!

Day 8 January 8, 2010

You get a two-fer today.  Just couldn't decide which one to post - opted for both.  Consider it a bonus! Or not.

 

Dissection Elective class did frogs today.  Well, part one of the rana temporaria dissection - they'll finish the interior dissection next Friday.

Day 7 January 7, 2010

Winter has arrived. The world outside my window is reduced to stark contrasts between oceans of white and the bare bones of trees.  A very short photo shoot outside today as the snow just won't stop falling.

Day 6 January 6, 2010

Detail of iron gate outside a small chapel.  The chapel is on the grounds of Lourdes College which my school is affiliated with (and around the corner from).  More pics from today's photo shoot are on Picassa (see link in the sidebar).

Day 5 January 5, 2010

My mom brought over a cake she made for me today.  Still trying to wrap my head around being 40.  Finding it hard to find time to take the time to shoot decent pictures during the week - working 9-10 hour days and coming home in fading light makes it difficult.  The weather hasn't helped either!  I don't want to take all cat and food pictures - honest!

Day 4 January 4, 2010

It's all about the eyes.  In this case, our new kitten blinks every time the flash goes off.  The only way to take a picture of her with her eyes open is to turn off the flash. Without any extra lighting available, this is about as good as it gets this time of year.  The soft, slightly blurry feel conveys how soft her fur is in real life in my opinion.

Day 3 January 3, 2010

Bread at dinner tonight.  Went out to celebrate my birthday a little early. 

Day 2 January 2, 2010

Origami "Peace Crane" I made as a demo for last year's Origami elective class.  Contemplating teaching Origami again for my 3rd quarter elective class this year.  Taken at school since I was in doing lesson plans for next week and the light was fading fast outside.

Day 1 January 1, 2010

 

Taken at a friend's house during a break from building the world's largest puzzle.  No flash, ISO 3200.  Through the glass of the tank.

Already seeing a problem with trying to post a picture every day - I am not always home to upload a picture every day! Therefore, pay attention to the date in the title of each picture - that will reflect the date the picture was taken.