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I'm using some new equipment to trigger my off-camera flashes lately, and I can do some pretty neat stuff with said equipment (like stopping water). I can't divulge any more information than that right now - stay tuned for a future update where I'll describe what in the world I'm talking about.
So usually Christmas stresses me out. However, this Christmas has been a little better. For one, Kathleen and I got our very own for-real Christmas tree, and we decorated it with all of our ornaments. It's pretty great. I hope you enjoy these few shots of a few of the prettier closeups of the tree :)
So I've been taking a few photos lately. Nothing big, just when I have time, I take some shots. Me and photography are still going strong, but I needed to slow things down while I manage these other things in life (like, you know, my psychotically busy job).
Anyway, I like doing abstract things, and I've been experimenting a bit, so I hope you still like me, world.
This is not my photo. It belongs to a Flickr pal of mine, Kajia, and I absolutely adore it.
Some day, folks, I promise I'll put photos up again. Maybe in late November? That's roughly when I found time to get back into photography again last year. We'll see.
In the meantime, click on this photo and look at her other awesome work!
251/365 FINAL PHOTO - I'M DONE WITH THIS PROJECT
Well, it looks as though I have fallen off the wagon in 365 land. I have gone days without posting or taking a picture. And the truth of the matter is that I've been very happy with the past few days. So, even though not many people follow my every move here, I feel it's important to announce that I am through with my project. I got almost 70% of the way through the year, but with school starting back up and all the pressures related to being a teacher and a masters weighing me down again, this project has become more stressful than it's worth.
And on top of that, I think I've learned all I can learn in a project like this. I've grown a lot since January 1st, and I'm super glad I went through this process, but just the other day I found myself comntemplating building a white-box so that I could do a ton of simple object photos with white backgrounds. I know how to do that. I've done that before. I'm not going to spend another 114 days doing shots like that because there's nothing to learn in that, and really, that's all I'd be able to consistently do throughout this semester.
So anyway, thanks, everyone, for your comments, your favs, and your support. It's been real. I won't disappear or anything, but I won't be posting daily. Maybe next January I'll starta 52 week project :P
(oh, and this photo is of a stain a blueberry tea bag left on a little saucer)
250/365
I'm trying to get myself back on track with these posting deadlines, and now is the time, as school has officially started.
249/365
Today was a harrowing day. It was orientation day for the students at my school, and really, the students were great. The bussing situation, though was ridiculous. Pop quiz: If it takes two busses to get a group of students to a rope course in the middle of nowhere, how many will it take to get them all back? These idiots' answer? One. It takes just one.
Incompetency = fail.
P.S. This photo is sub-standard because the rest of my day is in such a goddamn rush because of said incompetency.
248/365
I love the dunes on Lake Michigan. It's just about the only place in the state you can climb real hills!
247/365
Yesterday Kathleen and I took a mini vacation / day trip out to Lake Michigan. We spent a little time reading here on the beach at Holland State Park, but it was too cold and too windy to really stay for very long.
246/365
And you know it, too. Today the high here in Ann Arbor is 66 degrees (and the start of UofM football . . . gag).
I hate it.
244/365
This morning I realized that I hadn't shaved and I hadn't taken a photo, and I had to be out the door in about 30 minutes. Hence, photo.
241/365
This is the new underground parking structure being built in downtown Ann Arbor. I didn't have my Nikon d40 with me, so I shot this with my Palm Pre. I'm continually impressed with the kinds of pictures this thing turns out when the lighting is right. If you look at this at its original size, you get an almost painterly, impressionistic view of the details. It's nice.
240/365
Had a day at the parents' place today, and got to spend some quality time with the nieces and nephews. This is Lydia, who was happy to help me with my photo project today. Thanks!
239/365
I told you I'd do one where I was smiling. I didn't tell you it wouldn't be creepy.
237/365
Last time I visited Watson, I forgot my real camera (as you may remember). This time I brought the right tools and got a very fun shot of him. Also, he's 30 lbs now!
236/365
I should have been smirking in this one. Next time I promise I'll do a self portrait where I don't look sad, mad, mean, or angry.
233/365
I titled it this because otherwise it may be hard to tell exactly what orientation my head has to the rest of my body.
226/365
View Larger.
This is fresh corn from the farmer's market. Kinda crazy when you get all up close, 'eh?
225/365
So I've finally assembled the final pieces (to accompany the others) to become a certified shaving enthusiast. This is my new Merkur safety razor (the 38c variety). I haven't actually used it yet . . . that's what I'm going to do once I'm finished here.
Strobist:
1 sb600 camera right, 1/16 power, 1/2 CTO, through 12'' snoot.
Triggered with Cactus V4s.
224/365 (substitution)
I haven't posted the last couple of days because Kathleen and I went on a quick trip to Washington DC. She had business to attend to, but we found time for sight seeing as well.
This is the spiral staircase in the Supreme Court building. I'm pretty proud of myself for having steady enough hands at 1/30 shutter to get it to be this clear.
223/365
The Library of Congress is an absolutely gorgeous place. I highly recommend you go if you're ever in the DC area.
(By the way, this was taken on Friday, not Thursday. I did take a photo on Thursday, but I didn't like it. So here you go.)
222/365
Kathleen and I have many pairs of glasses between us. Here are all of them. (If you look closer you can see all the distortions through the lenses more clearly).
221/365
Large and On Black.
This is just a little idea I've had bouncing around in my head for a few days.
220/365
Much better if you look closer.
Walking into the apartment today, Kathleen noticed this spoon wedged inbetween two of the pickets of our downstairs neighbor's patio fence. So I ran down and took a photo of it. Too good an opportunity to pass up.
217/365
Every night I put the chain on the door, knowing full well that if somebody has taken the time to get through the deadbolt, a tiny little chain isn't going to do anything to stop them.
216/365
Also, I'm officially 28 1/2 years old. Maybe that's why I'm so moody. Or maybe it's because it's so effing humid lately.
211/365
The Matthaei Bottanical Gardens was advertising "Frolicking Flamingos" as we drove up their driveway today. However, the gardens themselves were overrun with some banal wedding or something, so I only got to photograph the ones out in the entryway
209/365
These things just stare at me uselessly every time I'm in front of the TV. Things change so quickly.
This one needs to be seen as big as possible.
208/365
Some of the effects of the vacation are still wearing off - specifically, the dozens of mosquito bites on Kathleen's legs and feet. She looked up a recipe for treatment, though. Apparently you need to swab each bite with rubbing alcohol and then cover the area with scotch tape and leave it covered. She said it works pretty well, but it might not be worth the bother of having your legs covered in strips of scotch tape, thus making it uncomfortable to walk.
207/365
(vacation set: 12/12)
I had originally intended on taking pictures of the Saugatuck Dunes in Michigan on the last day of our vacation, but I forgot to grab my camera before we went hiking. However, next to the dunes is this old mansion that is open to the public. The builder of the mansion was Dorr Eugene Felt, inventer of the Comptometer, an invention I had been unaware of but now love. They had a ton of them on display, and this was one of them inside a glass case. I liked the dreamy effect the shallow DoF and reflections on the glass created.
And so ended our vacation. It was a phenomenal time, and I'm still sad that it's over.
206/365
(vacation set: 11/12)
We woke up at home on a Sunday morning, having driven 20 hours the day before. Our vacation was cut 2 days short. We were both saddened by this, so on a whim, I said, "Hey, let's drive to Fort Custer, camp there, then spend the next day at the Dunes." We both raced out of bed, into the shower, and grabbed breakfast. So we got one more good day of camping in another beautiful state park. This photo is of the top of our trusty little tent.
205/365
(vacation set: 10/12)
Alright, truth be told, I didn't take a photo on this day. Why? Because we were driving originally from Camden, Maine to Niagra, New York, but when we realized the camp ground we were going to stay at was disgusting, and after a reservation we quickly booked through Hotels.com fell through, and after the lady at the hotel we thought we were going to stay at told us that no hotel in the area (Canadian side or US side) had vacancies due to a giant rowing competition or something, we decided to continue to drive through the night until we got home. So this photo was of a mushroom growing in our camp site in Maine. This is all natural light, btw.
Ryan Hyde's photos are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
