Dear Idiot

Dear Idiot, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Kathleen's sister sent her a fancy Llama finger puppet during her recent trip to Peru. This fantastic note came with it. They have a special relationship.

Llama Puppet, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

These were a gift given me by a nice girl named Nicole back when I was just starting my Freshman year of high school. They also made for a great last minute photo idea.

View On Black

Frog Party!

Frog Party!, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

These were once Kathleen's grandmother's figurines. I thought they were perfect subjects for a sparkly bokeh shot.

Construction Season

Construction Season, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Michiganders, you all know that there are two seasons in Michigan: Winter and Construction. This is a representation of the latter.

Bokeh Balcony, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

And this is a fun impressionism shot. Enjoy.

All Natural

The last moments, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

I looked out of my patio door and saw this great lighting, so I had to take advantage of it. This was taken from inside my living room (had the camera on a tripod, triggered with a remote trigger). It was kind of weird having my sliding glass and screen doors wide open with a camera pointed toward my neighbors, but I don't think they noticed. And besides, it's not like I was taking pictures of them. Totally.

Behind the break is a pic of just the patio, sans me. Click on "Read More" to see it.

Patio, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Favorite Things

Favorite Things, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Books are treasure. That's always been my view of them. Even though I'm a Literature teacher, I'm not the most prolific reader in the world (both my girlfriend and my roommate read a ton more than I do), but what I do read I really dig into and fall in love with.

These are a few of the books that have made big impressions on me. If they weren't out on loan, either Poisonwood Bible or Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver would be in this shot as well. Oh, and while I haven't actually read all of that anthology of Ray Bradbury short stories, I'm exceedingly glad I have it.

Curious Cats

Curious Cats, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

The big tree in the back lot of my apartment complex grows a massive mushroom on it about this time every year. It probably doesn't bode well for the tree, but it makes a fun platform on which to put tiny plastic cats which were originally cupcake decorations.

Also, shooting something this small makes me wish I had been using an autofocus lens. A 50mm autofocus is definitely on my "buy before the year is out" list. That, and at least one more flash.

Think Green

Think Green, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

This is a tribute to my water bottle. If you've ever seen me anywhere, then you've probably seen me with this water bottle. It's been dented, scuffed, inadvertantly slammed into the ground, it's become a projectile in my car during hard stops, and it's been left behind more than once.

But mostly, it's been loved.

All Star Break

All Star Break, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

The success the Tigers had in 2006 is fading into distant memory, but this year is looking pretty good. Therefore, during this All Star break, I'd like to pay a little tribute to the home team.

This is best viewed large and on a white background.

They Rise!

They Rise!, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

From the very bowels of the earth, they come to consume us all!

FINGER PUPPETS!

My roommate suggested that this be a caption contest, so if you have a witty thing that these awesome finger puppet monsters are saying, just post it in the comments. If something awesome gets suggested, I'll post up an editer version later :)

If you're interested in any of the information as to how I set this up, or to see larger versions click on the picture. (For those of you uninitiated, when you click on the photo and go to Flickr, click on "all sizes" at the top of the picture to see the big version).

The Painted Buddha

Budha Two, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

I don't have my remote triggers yet, but that's not stopping me from playing with my new gear. To imitate having a flash firing into a flash umbrella off camera, I put one of my new sb-600 flashes on top of my camera (only way I can get it to fire), set up my flash umbrella to the upper left of this shot, and swiveled the head of the flash so that it was firing into the umbrella. I would have liked to have been able to use my second flash to fill the background or create some more contrast on the image, but you work with what you have, right?

This one looks best in the large format, so click on it and then click on "all sizes" at the top of the image on Flickr.