Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Freeway 134 at Lankershim


I've been trying to take this shot for years. My husband works in the building I was in; his desk overlooks the freeway. There are a number of factors in getting a good shot here--one with blurred lights:

  • with too much traffic it's a parking lot
  • too little traffic, too few blurs and it looks empty
  • wrong time of year and you get daylight or sun glare, no car lights
  • angle of view involves finding the right place in the building to shoot from
  • light reflection on the glass in the room I'm shooting from was a major problem and ruined most of my other serious photo attempts
Tonight I finally got as as many conditions to combine as I could. This was particularly fortunate for me since Hugh's job with the company ends in two days!
I shot from their darkened conference room and pulled the vertical blinds away from the window. I blocked any ambient light reflection from their reception area with my body so there were no window ghosts. I had no tripod since I was only in the building for maybe ten minutes tops and was using the point and shoot camera I carry in my purse. I braced the camera against a window ledge for the one second exposure. I know I'm not a rock and it's not completely sharp, but the shot is for my fun and exhilaration and for fulfilling a quest to represent one fact of life that is so classic about living in Los Angeles, CA.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Electric Fork

Taken in the same restaurant, same neon light reflection as the candle shot posted earlier this month. I go the Ginger Thai when I want to feel taken care of. They feed me, open my napkin for me, keep refilling my teacup and in a very cozy, understated way.

Monday, February 26, 2007

The World in a Puffball

Shot this dandelion on a morning walk directly into the sun. On my hands and knees (obviously), 5 inches away from my tiny subject. You gotta love macro! If you look closely (and if the resolution lets you) you can see rainbows from the way the dandelion fibers split the sunlight into different color frequencies.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Knitting Socks


My first sock knitting project. My first time using DPNs--double pointed needles. It's going well and it's fun!

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Bizzy Lizzies


These are Impatiens we planted recently. Part of the spruce up the house routine for buyers. My friend from South Africa says they call them Busy Lizzies over there. I couldn't resist making the title of the shot reflect the sound the name makes in my head.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Moving Signs


Raining today in Southern California. I went out looking for raindrops to shoot and found them on the For Sale sign in our front yard.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Rainy Day LA


Big storm here today! Grabbed this quick shot of my client's umbrella on my patio while she was getting ready to go back out in the rain.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Definition of Great Taste

Something to do when you're waiting for food to arrive--take photos of your beer. I was attracted by placement of the foam bubbles on the inside of the glass plus the contrast of the lettering in the creamy foam. The dark beer gives some weight to the shot.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Patch of Sun


Arnie, our Bombay Cat, is a tricky guy to photograph. This morning I was lucky and was able to catch him lolling in a patch of sun by his scratch post. I think the contrast of the shot gives him a sort of elegant look. I also like the natural S curve of his body.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Wheelbarrows at The Home Depot


This shot makes me laugh! I loved the colored wheelbarrows plus the wonky angle of placement of the front row. This is the kind of shot I used to see around all the time but would kick myself for missing because I never used to carry my camera with me before I started this PAD.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Neon Light Detail--NoHo Arts Center


The NoHo Arts Center redo added these cool lights on the exterior. I think they look like little soldiers.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Car Window Reflection


Eclectic Cafe sign reflected in a car window.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Eclectic Cafe Sign


Neon sign from another of my favorite restaurants. Eclectic is located in North Hollywood.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Abstract-Balcony Railing


Today is an archive day. I love shooting architectural detail! Taken at a hotel in Palm Springs, February '06.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Turtle Caravan


Not your usual Heart Day photo. Taken at Calabasas Commons. They have a large water feature that includes a creek, waterfalls, fountains, sculpture, koi, and these sunning turtles. I applied a sponge filter in PS Elements 4 which seemed to even out the tone of the shot.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Candle


A low light situation where light from a neon sign was reflecting in the glass candle and on the black lacquer table. I found if I metered off the candle flame, the camera would stop down enough to keep the flame from looking too bright but allowing the subtle reflected colors to show.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Dinner at Froggy's


My favorite restaurant again. I was shooting in low light, no flash, to let the camera work with existing light to catch the ambience of the place. Froggy's is in a converted old VFW hall. They make yummy, creative food. Mostly fresh fish on the daily specials though vegetarians and fish phobics will find something tasty from the regular menu.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Whale Tale


Two posts for today. The tale: On vacation this summer, my husband and I actually saw whales! They were were so close to the boat I needed no telephoto adaptor. I was shooting like crazy but my little camera, Powershot G6, was always behind and way too slow. I felt so discouraged getting off the boat I quickly scanned my images and thought I got nuttin. Now six months later, doing this blog, I found this shot. Whoo-ee! I got a whale after all! Fixing it up to post here made my day!

Stamps on Manila Envelope


What caught my eye was the contrast between the stamp colors and the envelope background. Plus, I liked the form of the wavy flag stripe continuing across the wavy stamp edge to the second stamp. The shot is a little too 50/50 but it's basically my attempt to see how close the G6 can focus on Super Macro. Also to see how much depth of field I can get hand holding in decent light. Not much. But the LCD gives an accurate read-out on depth of field so I was able to shoot, recompose, shoot again until I got the focus just exactly where I wanted it.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Sean


My son and grandson visited today. Sean is 22 months. This is the first time I've tried using the G6's Portrait Setting. It's rather like using a macro lens for portraits except you have move in very close for the camera to focus properly.

Friday, February 9, 2007

Jinro


I posed my husband with his drink. I made some unintended command in Photoshop Elements which resulted in this kind of reverse image.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Louise's Hand


I think my 79 year-old client, Louise, has beautiful hands. I liked the rich, chocolate color of her pantsuit as background for the rosy whiteness of her skin. Louise's attendant, Jodi, holds her hand for my photo

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Ten to Seven, The Clock At Froggy's




The clock at Froggy's, my favorite restaurant in Topanga Canyon, gooses me everytime I go in the place! I love the intense, neon-like colors.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Kitchen Aid



I love the yummy red color of my KitchenAid appliances. The chrome, grey, red, black makes it a very smart looking.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Exterior With Arch, Disney Hall

From my archives again. Disney Hall is amazing! There are so many interesting angles and shapes to photograph here. Just leave your tripod at home because no "pro" photographers (meaning, I guess, guys with 35mm rigs and tripods) are allowed on the property.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Reflection, Santa Barbara Courthouse


Sick today. This is one from my archives, taken on a photo trip last summer. Santa Barbara Courthouse is a wonderful place to take your camera for a shoot! So many gorgeous details, windows, tiles, nooks, reflections.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Light and Shadow-Patio Bench

What caught my eye was the spider-webby look of the cast shadow of the armrest on my patio bench.

Friday, February 2, 2007

Nebbiolo


These are bottles from our little wine rack. I love the detail, design, colors in wine labels and seals. This wine is from Martin & Weyrich, Paso Robles, California


Thursday, February 1, 2007

Bracelet

This bracelet is created by Energy Muse. I was interested in capturing the small details in the I Ching coin.