365 Project - Day 150

Day 150

Today I took a break from the normal subjects you have seen here and stepped into the abstract imagery world for a moment. I've actually spent the past few days looking at several objects, wanting to capture them in a perspective that would be different from the usual way I to see it. Household items with a slight twist. Above you have a lamp and the corner that it faces, in camera cropping and a low angle to position it against the corner and ceiling.

Large version on Flickr.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

Project 365 - Day 149

Day 149

 

At some point this morning it was foggy, but also the temperature was freezing. This combination caused the trees to get froze over with a snow coating on them. I shot my images for the day this morning because I knew that the trees would not look as stunning by midday. The trees looked so good I had to post two images for today. I'm so glad that I keep the camera on my at all times now or I might have missed this opportunity.

 

Both large versions on Flickr.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

365 Project - Day 148

Day 148

With all the good snow out there I had to go out and photograph some of it. I came across this scene at the Goodyear Metro park in Akron. Next time I need to bring better snow trekking clothing. By the time I got into position and was ready to shoot I had snow all down my waterproof boots. While the boots do an excellent job keeping water out, they are doubly efficient at keeping water or snow in! Originally, I wanted to convert this to black & white at the time of shooting, but I don't think B&W does the sky justice. Oh and the wastebasket adds a nice balance to the overall image.

Large version on flickr.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

365 Project - Day147

Day 147

Today I was listening to a lot of music from the mid to late 90's, just taking it back while I brainstormed on a few projects coming up. I decided to photograph one of my Mini Disc [MD] player for day 147 because I still have so much music on MD. I remember seeing Mini Disc in the States for about 6 - 8 months in the mid-90's and then they disappeared. But when I was in Japan, MD's were everywhere! There were machines that you could download songs to a disc in the store for ¥300 [Itunes should do this!], and the players were incredibly small. Although the one pictured above is a Sony, I also have one made by Sharp that is hardly bigger than an individual MD cartridge. The music I listen to is from many genres such as Hip-Hop, Classical, Jazz, Merengue, Soca, Reggae, Rock, Indie, R&B, JR&B, and plenty of instrumentals.

Large version on flickr.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

365 Project - Day 146

Day 146

Today there was no venturing out to the lakes, just could not fit it into my schedule. But late this afternoon the sky opened up and dumped a good 5+ inches of snow over the ground, poor Washington D.C. had report of 2 feet [Yikes!]. Once I got home, I knew the image I wanted to take. The hardest part was keeping the snow off the lens as I was shooting outside with a long exposure. You just can beat fresh fallen snow and a bare tree, it's a recipe for awesome.

Large version on flickr.

Enjoy.
Ja mata,
Brian

365 Project - Day 145

Day 145

More ice fishing today. I ran out to the lake again hoping to catch a fisherman before he got too far out on the ice...because I'm still not 100% sure that I would venture very far yet. Since I had a goal going into today's shoot, finding a fisherman was very easy, I only needed to get an OK to photograph them. I found the above fisher at the third lake parking section that I went to. Now without ant further adieu, meet JD, he has been ice fishing since he was a kid growing up in Michigan. My first question, after introducing myself, was how do you know if the ice is thick enough to fish on? JD casually pointed to the snowmobile tracks on the lake and said 'If they can ride on it then you can fish on it.' When he gets to a spot that he likes he used a sonar device to see if there are any fish in the area, as JD said, "there is no sense fishing blindly and through ice...you'd be asking for a headache." Once the fish are found, JD must drill a hole by hand in the ice and start fishing. Simple stuff. Since JD ventured out on the ice with the sled I decided to do the same to get a few different angles. For my second time out I was a little more courageous but then I heard a crack that made me quickly get back on to the ground. It ended up being a thin piece of ice near that edge of a small piece of land that was protruding through the surface. I'm really enjoying learning about ice fishing, and am thankful that through the course of this project I've been able to somewhat experience an activity that I have overlooked for 30 some years.

Large version on Flickr.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

365 Project - Day 144

Day 144

Ice Fishing, yeah, I didn't get going out on ice, drilling a hole [on the same ice!], and sitting there waiting for fish in the cold. Some people even had lantern and little hut-type-tents they pulled over themselves to stay out of the elements. The guy I talked to today, Sam, said he only eats the fish he catches when they're from under the ice, they taste better. He talked about how he comes out in the summer with his kids to fish, but they don't keep any of it, just fish for fun. For Sam, ice fishing is very relaxing and he get to catch up with some of his buddies that he only sees out on the ice. I did finally venture about 5 feet out on the ice, and it was solid to my surprise. For me, the coolest part about this project is re-learning about my surroundings and appreciating the art in my own backyard.

Large version on Flickr.

Ja mata,
Brian