Wednesday, February 29, 2012

D60 - Cloudy

On the way home there was an awesome lighting showing in the sky, but once I arrived in Green, it was over. The next best thing, the clouds. And better than just the clouds, long exposure with car lights. Where I'm shooting over looks the Akron/Canton Airport which caused a couple cars to slow down to see what I was doing and one car drove past 3 times. But it was worth the attention, I was able to time a landing just right to come away with 2 images tonight. I will have to shoot this again in downtown Cleveland as a plane is coning in (with the plane).

Enjoy.




Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

D59 - Patience

I really have to give it to Sara, she has been waiting for the fresh beat band show since November, when we bought the tickets. Since then, she has been learning all the songs, dance moves, and catch phrases of each character. She has already picked out her outfit for the show and it's still 2 weeks away. Every few days she asks how many more "days until Fresh Beat Band Live?" It's coming soon! As they say good things come to those who wait.

Enjoy.


Ja mata,
Brian

Monday, February 27, 2012

D58 - View from the top

Another awesome day on Ohio, really enjoy getting out to have a walk. Tomorrow is supposed to get up to 59 degrees, great by any Northeast Ohioans standards for February.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Sunday, February 26, 2012

D57 - Beautiful Day

It was just a beautiful day, so Sara and I took a walk. Nothing fancy just clear blue skies. Of course I added a little bit of an evergreen to the capture, what can I say, I like trees.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Friday, February 24, 2012

D55 - Worth the Weight (loss)

Sara calls the scale a clock. She when she stands on it she asks me "Daddy, What time do I make?" Of course when I get on the scale she says "Whoa! you have a lot of time!" Just means I need to get my 'Time' down further by making smart choices and not the easy quick solution ones (Candy, Ice Cream, and Soda). I'll let you know my time in a few weeks.

Healthy Living.

Enjoy.


Ja mata,
Brian

Thursday, February 23, 2012

D54 - Get Naked!

Now that the title has your attention, what are you drinking? Better yet, why are you drinking it? Soda & Pop, sure it's quick and inexpensive, but the damage done to your body year over year will be costly later. Again, not saying drop it cold turkey, although if you can great, and if you keep it up for more than 7 weeks you are awesome! But try looking at all the times you drink soda and switch out one time for a juice (cranberry, orange, grape, V8) or a Naked drink. Naked is more expensive than a coke or pepsi, but is 1000x better for you. The daily vitamin percentage is off the charts, and they taste great. Put down the soda and pick up something healthier.

Health is Wealth!

Enjoy!


Ja mata,
Brian

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

D53 - Late Night Snack

So it's 10:26 pm and the ice cream in the freezer is calling my name louder than the music in my headphones. And if you know me, then you know I'm all about ice cream. But I need to cut it out, especially at night watching movies, and still satisfy my sweet tooth. Enter the pear, yup the pear. Granted it's not a chocolate chocolate chip pear (I will be getting a patent on that idea!) but it is delicious, sweet, crunchy (unless it's really ripe), and better for your digestion at this time of the night.

Pass up the ice cream and go for a piece of fruit (apple, pear, kiwi, peach). Small choices towards better living.

Health is wealth.

Enjoy. And no I didn't eat any ice cream tonight.


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

D52 - Little Changes

I had to put the Ginger Bread Boy down for a day, he was getting too reckless. I was actually inspired for this capture yesterday after stopping by the store for some last minute snacks. Instead of getting Skittles, I opted for trail mix as my daily snack at work. The plus to this will be not snacking on empty calories through out the day. The next few post will focus on little changes to improve your health and sanity. The biggest deterrent to making a change in your daily habits is trying to change them in one day. But it's like driving a car, if you want to make a left hand turn you need to slow down, put on your blinkers, and take the turn with ease. Going 60 MPH and just trying to turn will surely land you in a bad place, or jail. Take your turns slow and take it day be day. No skittle all this week for me!

Enjoy. Health is always Wealth!


Ja mata

Monday, February 20, 2012

D51 - Cleveland Rocks

Since the ginger bread boy [GBB] cannot be trusted to hang out with Sara, I took him to work today to keep an eye on him. He got to see the sliding boards, awesome diner, ping pong tables, and the giant guitar in the front lobby area. GBB wanted to rock out for a little while I photographed the rock session. You can find these large guitars all over Cleveland and surrounding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (latest inductions coming up in April!). Tomorrow, GBB and I will have some slide time!

Enjoy


Ja mata
Brian

Saturday, February 18, 2012

D49 - Walking the Dog

The good thing about having GBB in town for the week is I am allocating chores to the paper boy. I was lucky Cleo didn't try to eat, pee on, of go #2 on GBB, but she is giving on heck of a look.

Enjoy. GBB walking the dog



Ja mata,
Brian

Thursday, February 16, 2012

D47 - Music

What makes good music?  The beat? The lyrics? Both would be my suggestion. As we all saw on the Grammy's, Adele went home with big wins and as she said it all came from a "rubbish relationship".  When I write lyrics, there are two approaches to getting in my zone. The first is have a concept in mind without a track to write to. In these cases, I would start alibiing about the topic and figure out where I want to take it, making a rough draft. The next step would be to go back and fill in the remainder of the verse by moving, adding and subtracting lines until there are 16 bars. This can be fitted to a track at a later point in time, but will require more fine tuning and of course finding the right music.

The other option, which I prefer, is to have the track upfront and write what I feel the mood of the music is emoting. The best songs are ones that express a feeling, motivation, story, or cause over music that compliments it. Music is incredibly powerful. Take horror movies, the build up to a big scene is always accompanied by an underlying score to help bring you to the edge of your seat. Try to Google a few movie scenes and mute your speakers, without the ominous music it's just words and a scene. Oh, well if your speakers are muted then it's a silent movie, hmm, I'll have to rethink that test.

So speaking of music in my current rotation:
DJ Ozone Rudeboy Kulcha vol 15 mix
Marco Polo + Rustee Juxx  - The Exxecution
Elzhi - Elmatic
Adele - 19 + 21 
Little Shop of Horrors Soundtrack

Enjoy.Music!
---What are you listening to?---



Ja mata,
Brian

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

D46 - Taking A Gamble

Putting it all on the line hoping for a payoff or just good results can be tough. The chips are always stacked against you You could end up constantly checking your hand waiting for the dealer flips over the face card. Additionally, before that you need to figure out how mush risk you are willing to take and willing to lose. But as they say, you cannot win the game by sitting in the bleachers.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

D45 - Pushing On

Some days it's harder than others. Sara knows this all too well when she first started trying to ride her bike. Some days she would hop on and only make it a few feet before declaring the bike didn't work, frowning and sitting on the curb determined not to look at it. Other days, she would go for 15 minutes, then ask to ride on my back all the way home.

On a larger scale, the Ohio CycleWorks Charities team will be going through tough days as well. Even with the snow, they have to stick to their Regiment to be ready for Race Across America [RAAM] this coming June. But once you get past the pain you have the success, and nothing makes the pain less than support and encouragement. So 'like' the facebook page, follow them on twitter, and donate on the webpage, it's a great cause! The while team is motivated and accepting of the challenge, there is nothing like a push of support to help nullify the pain of training.

Plan your work, Work your plan.



Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Monday, February 13, 2012

D44 - Lighted Path

This long driveway caught my attention while heading home. Interesting how the paths we take are not always illuminated, thus making the journey a mystery. Even when they are lit, like in the image below, you will still have to wind down and around curves that don't always allow you to see your destination fully. So how do you prepare for the unknown? Can you really come up with a plan of action of every obstacle that might block your path? Or would it be better to know several potential barriers and being accepting of change for whatever appears?  Well you could always walk in the snow. Yes that is an options, and depending on what is blocking you it may just keep you from being deterred. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Sunday, February 12, 2012

D43 - Little Fingers

It's all about enjoying the little successes. This is Sara buttoning her pajamas, she does this nightly, but she celebrates like it's the first time she buttoned them. Just a nice reminder to celebrate the small wins, such as sticking to your new regiment, steps to better yourself as well as your finances, and of course buttoning your PJs. What are you celebrating?

Enjoy.


Ja mata,
Brian

Saturday, February 11, 2012

D42 - Relax

This is one of my set of Zen Meditation Balls, I actually bought it in Shanghai, China years ago. They are relaxing until Sara tried to bounce them on the floor. I normally break them out when I'm feeling a little stressed or need an image for the night. :)




Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Friday, February 10, 2012

D41 - Balance & the Process

While shooting tonight I started thinking of the process that lead to 'the capture' below which is my final image for the day:



To get to the point on the image above, I envisioned capturing a capture of a small leave-less tree illuminated by a parking lot light. I'm starting to think I may be a bigger fan of trees than I once thought. Anyway, I pulled into the parking lot of a local school, and the blow scene caught my eye.


The symmetry reminded me of the mirror/reflection image from last night so I thought it would be a good follow up. Then my thoughts moved to this being too wide of a shot and too close to the previous day. With that,  I moved in for a tighter capture.


Layering the trees together, I composed the above image. Thinking about how I could take advantage of the branch colors, berries, and snow on the tree in the background. Then I though about isolating a tree, yes now I think the capture is too tight, and shot it from a lower angle. The resulting effect was the first image...which is my favorite of the three.

Leave a comment about your shooting process!

Now why do I like trees? Well growing up there was a huge evergreen in our backyard. My brother, sister and I had many good times playing, climbing, and falling out of the tree. When there was a big storm I remember hearing the tree (which was taller than the house) sway against the house. There were many night I laid in my bed thinking what if the tree falls tonight, but to wake up in the morning and see it still standing tall. The roots dug deep into the ground and almost reached the front yard. Once when we were young we tried to dig a deep hole for some reason and chopped a few roots in the process. I swear a few branches died as a result, well probably not, but as kids you tend to think that way.  OK, enough reminiscing, thanks for reading this far. Onward to day 42.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Thursday, February 9, 2012

D40 - Reflections

In calm waters reflections are still, sharp, and unshaken. But when the surface you are reflecting on is disturbed, the reflection is just as unsteady. So how does this play on what you reflect upon? Trying to force the stillness makes as much sense as trying to calm choppy with your hands. You could easily be patient allowing the serene to come naturally. Likewise, taking the time to comprehend the source of the ripples will give you a better understanding of how cope with them. In short, relax and stay focus for clearer reflections.

Happiness.




Ja mata,
Brian

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

D39 - Call me 'Research'

Meet Research, a little frog is from St. Judds Research Hospital. It's a simple premise, you give a donation and then receive the doll [talk about a win-win]. This was given to Sara by friends, when we asked her what she would name it, she read 'Research' off the tag and as they say the rest is history. Tomorrow, we will have a princess tea party where Research will be the guest of honor.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

D38 - Plexee

Say hello to Plexee- Sara's new robot, she says it's Plex's sister. She got it as a gift from her cousin and hasn't put this pink robot down since. What's cool is no matter what dance Plexee does, she is doing the robot. 

Enjoy

Monday, February 6, 2012

D37 - Thorns

Found these sharp thorns in a field and let me tell you they hurt. Stepping on a branch to get close to the ones you want to shoot and then moving just enough to release the bent branch so that it swings up and sticks into your leg is not fun. But as they say, no pain no picture. Ok, that isn't the saying, but it does fit today's capture.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Sunday, February 5, 2012

D36 - Meet the Artist

Today was the 90th Anniversary of the Akron Art Museum, my siblings and I spent a great deal of time at the art museum when we were young. In addition to celebrating the 90th year, Youngstown artist Al Bright did a live painting to the jazz music of Jesse Dandy Band. The painting will be on displayed accompanied by a video of Al painting it.Was a great celebration!






Meet Terry Dike, one of the founders of Artist of Rubber City. I was leaving the museum and Terry was outside getting a smoke, I asked if I could take his photo because he had a cool beard. If you know me, you know my attempts at a beard take weeks and never turn out right anyway. Terry was kind enough to let me capture an image.



These are actually my photos of the day, the silver panels from the outside of the museum.  Enjoy!



Ja mata,
Brian

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Day 35 - Snow Blast

The forecast said sunny, warm, with a few clouds. Ohio had something else in mind this morning when I went outside.






Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Friday, February 3, 2012

D34 - Broken Petals

Sara wanted a plant from the store, even though her heart was set on a Orchid, she settled on some purple tulips. The deal is as long as she takes care of this plant we can move up to the Orchids. Here is the caveat, grocery store plants are like gold fish, they only survive in store conditions. We have yellow leaves, petals down, and wilted pieces. We are going to have to get better plants for Sara.


Enjoy.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

D33 - Church Lights

On the way home I saw another church from the highway. So after a little maneuvering off and around 44th street I parked and captured a few images. While I do like the lights on the towers, I didn't bring a neutral density filter to compensate to the bright lights at the top. There will be a lot more night time church/building images to come.

Enjoy.



Ja mata,
Brian

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Day 32 - F.I.N.D. Film Is Not Dead

If you don't know Jonathan Canlas, do yourself a favor and check out his work...Go ahead I'll wait.


(Yes, this is me waiting)


Pretty awesome work right?  Yeah, all of his work is shot Film. I just got his new book 'Film Is Not Dead , a digital photographer's guide to shooting film' and I am even more energized to get a Hassy and start shooting some 120/220 film. It is a great read with good information on gear, shooting, keeping your vision, tips of common issues with different bodies, and buttery images to compliment the content. So in light of the new book, I captured some images of it, which was co-written by Kristen Kalp at Brand Camp.

Enjoy!





Ja mata,
Brian