Day 291

Day 291, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

It’s been awhile since we had a sunny day so found a nice beach and took a post card shot. My idea for the week is to shoot everything in JPEG, set most of the controls manually and do as much as possible in the camera. I really want to get back to the basics and not rely on post processing as much to make a photo work. This is my first attempt at getting back to basics, a tree on the shore of Lake Washington.

Day 290

Day 290, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Here’s something totally different for me. The light was getting dim and I still didn’t have anything captured for the day so I rushed Michele out of the house around twilight and we took a drive over to Snohomish. My first set of photos were messed up because I inadvertently set the ISO at 12800 again which made for some very noisy images. I really need to stop doing that. I discovered this while we were eating dinner in a local pub and I proceeded to take more shots at the same ISO, I never learn! After dinner we strolled down the main street which is filled with antique shops. The only available light was coming from the display windows so I just started taking picture thru the glass.

Day 289

Day 289, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

This is my neighborhood. It took me 4 tries to get this shot. I would take a bunch of shots, bring them into Lightroom, not get what I wanted and then go back out into the street and shoot another batch. The last time I went out I was in my long underwear and didn’t even realize it until I was headed back in. Yes, I’m a little crazy but the wet weather is really starting to get to me. So here’s another wet Saturday in my neighborhood.

Day 288

Day 288, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Here’s a new stratagem: ask to take someone’s picture while capturing the shot. This might seem kind of mean of me but I feel that I really captured a nice portrait of this women so the end justifies the means. This in my waitress at lunch today. I caught her off guard and she didn’t have time to strike a pose while she was thinking about and answer to my question. The result is a really honest smile and gesture. If she would have said no, I would have just put the camera down content with the shot I took. As it were, I really don’t think she answered the question and I snapped off another 5 shots.

Day 287

Day 287, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

“Color Study with Waterfall” This is a small part of a large water feature on the Ste. Michele Winery grounds. I really liked the color and texture of the back wall so I made it main subject but I used the waterfall as a focal point. Also, the front wall is out of focus so to bring your eye over its edge and lead you into the frame. From there your eye wanders around the back wall and enjoys the colors and textures. I added a little red to the front wall to intensify the green in the background.

Day 286

Day 286, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

This is a fun little portrait that is really more about the light than the fact that the main subject is a turkey. I find it a challenge to make a beautiful portrait from such an unattractive animal and when I can make something like this work, I find it greatly rewarding. I really felt like the Turkey posed for this shot and if a turkey could smile, this is what it would look like. The chicken bokeh background adds a secondary element to this composition that really helps to add interest. It almost feels like there’s some type of inside joke between you and the turkey which makes fun of the chicken. Okay, I’m a little out there on this one!

Day 285

Day 285, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

I went to lunch with my Lead Artist today and actually got him to pose for a portrait. Like most people he felt a little uncomfortable have his picture taken but since he knew there was no way to get away from my camera he reluctantly settled in to a pose.

Day 284

Day 284, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Believe it or not, I shot this in the rain today! The light was really dim, because it was raining, so I pulled my truck around and shined my brights into the scene and "voila", sunset shot! I only took a couple of shots because of the weather but I think I got lucky with this one. The hard part was to get a pleasing look on the subject’s face even though it was pouring rain. I had to work fast! I have to do a little work in Lightroom but this is pretty much right off the sensor.

Day 283

Day 283, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

I was more interested in watching the Green Bay Packers win the NFC Conference title today than photography but after the game I brought out the camera and took some photos around the house. This is a view from our second floor looking toward the front door. It’s kind of a boring shot but I tilted the perspective a little to give it some interest and developed it with a eerie quality to imply some type of story. I think it works in a 1940’s haunted house, movie set from sort of way.

Day 282

Day 282, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Jan and Sidney from a photo shoot today. We were surprised by a little sun this afternoon so we made the best of this great opportunity and got some shots of our neighbor and her puppy. I really like the gesture and light of this image.

Day 281

Day 281, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

I set up this shot from one of the balconies at Redmond Town Center and waited for someone to walk into my frame. When I got back into Lightroom I ran this image thru some of my favorite presets and stumbled on this one called “Midas Glow”. I actually have no idea where I got the preset from but it really lights up this image. The preset actually sets up story line that works well with this image by relating the man’s hand with the glowing umbrella. I have no idea what it means, I figure it out later. For now I’m happy to have captured something interesting on such a gloomy day.

Day 280

Day 280, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Another dreary, overcast, Pacific Northwest day. These type of days are wonderful for portraits though. You get some really nice soft lighting that really makes faces look good. Sure I’d rather have some sun but you take any light you can get during the winter months.

Day 279

Day 279, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Spent the day at home trying to shake this cold once and for all. This was shot in the backyard on, from what I could see, was a beautiful day. We put faces on our trees to give them personalities. I figure if you can make friends with your trees they won’t fall on your house.

Day 278

Day 278, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Less is More! I’m trying to keep it simple but still create an intriguing image. I put a little bit of an angle on the horizon because it throws the balance off just a little bit and draws more attention to this image. Then I’m using the other elements in the water to balance out the tilt. People are used to seeing horizons level so when they notice this one is not it grabs their attention and then explore the rest of the image. This was a fun little experiment.

Day 277

Day 277, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Something classic today. I saw this tree at Idlewood Park and the light was so nice I stopped and took a couple pictures. I didn’t realize what a nice photo it was until I got into Lightroom.

Day 276

Day 276, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

A shot from my backyard. The interesting thing about this photo is that it was taken with a Vivatar 135mm f2.8 M42 lens (circa 1968). This was one of my favorite lenses and I took a lot of slide film with it. I just bought a M42 adapter for my cameras so now I can use the old screw mount lenses on my digital camera. To be frank, I wasn’t that impressed with the quality of the older lens. It was a nice experiment and great to be able to use this lens again but the new Sony lenses are far better, even the kit lens. They are sharper, lighter, the colors are brighter and they are so much easier to use. I’ll keep working with this lens to discover it’s true character but it will never be my go-to lens again.

Day 275

Day 275, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Michele bought a great bouquet of flowers yesterday. She wanted to take some pictures of it so I showed her how to shoot with bokeh. I like how this flower looks like it’s singing. The composition still needs some work but I’m still feeling ill so it can wait.

Day 273

Day 273, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Still trying to shake this sickness. Just trying to keep it going.

Day 272

Day 272, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

I ventured out a little farther today from my sick bed and took a photo of something that makes me feel good, Harvey the Pooka.

Day 271

Day 271, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

This was taken by a very sick man.....but I got my shot for the day.

Day 270

Day 270, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

No sun today so I worked with textures.

Day 269

Day 269, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Someone mentioned that it was nice to see me get back to my roots and while I was thinking about what my roots actually are, I remembered this camera. This is my first real camera bought for me by my Mom in 1981. It was used and old even back then but it got me thru art school and my early illustration career until I upgraded to a Canon AE1 around 1990.

Day 268

Day 268, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

This was shot with a Canon point and shoot today! This is my friend Bob at Snoqualmie Pass today. He felt a little uncomfortable with me getting the camera so close to his face but that how I roll even with a point and shoot. Nice color relationship between the blue checkers and the background and great contrast between the blue and the orange lens. Fun day riding too!

Day 267

Day 267, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

I stood out in the pouring rain to take this photo! It reminds me a lot of some Fusion Jazz album covers from the 1970s. I miss album covers!

Day 267

Day 267, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

"Glory me!" exclaimed the girl, clapping her hands in ecstacy. "It must be jus' ELEGANT to have a Magic Umbrel!" from L Frank Baum’s 1912 book "Sky Island".

Day 266

Day 266, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

“Don’t blame ’em much,” remarked Cap’n Bill, gazing at it curiously. “It’s a pretty old-lookin’ bumbershoot.” from L Frank Baum’s 1912 book "Sky Island".

Day 265

Day 265, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

100 days left to go!

Another portrait of a Zipper employee! By the time I’m done with this project I will have bagged all the important Zippers! This is Mark H, developed with a bleach bypass technique which gives the blacks a really rich look.

Day 264

Day 264, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

After further review, I like this one better for the photo of the day. I guess I need to take a little more time reviewing my shoots to determine which one I like best.

Day 263

Day 263, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

Yesterday’s photo shoot at the marsh was a total failure when I inadvertently set the ISO to 6400. The light and frosty feeling was so cool at the marsh though, I had to go back and reshoot. But this time I wanted go back when the sun was lower in the sky so I got there around 9:30 am. I was taking pictures of ice on the boardwalk when two girls walked by. I kept snapping pictures and I caught this one right in the sun with a nice reflection on the boardwalk. This image has a great story feeling and has book cover written all over it!

Day 262

Day 262, originally uploaded by Terry Schmidbauer.

We had dinner with some long time friends in West Seattle and discovered that Nancy had cut her waist length hair. She was waiting for someone to take a photo before she donated and I just happen to have my camera with me. Some lucky person is going to get a wonderful gift!