What's In Your Wallet?

Some carry a talisman, amulet, "lucky charm", or just a comforting thing in our pocket. What do you carry?

This little silver metal starfish was given to me by a friend a few years back. It's not something I carry in my pocket but rather in the change compartment of my wallet. While I don't believe it brings luck or good fortune my way, it is something that I do bring out from time to time when I am feeling anxious or at odds with things in life. I'll play with it in my fingertips while I work out some nervous tension or stress. Sometimes, I'll sit with it clasped in the palm of my hands while I sit quietly contemplating the solution to what's on my mind. It's message inscribed on the front is simple: Wishes. Sometimes when I've lost sight of my goal, or taken a slight turn off the path I've set for myself, I think of this and realize that with hard work, a plan and lots of dedication, I can obtain any of my wishes that I've put out there.

To quote that ubiquitous credit card commercial: What's in your wallet?

Mags.

Seasonal Suffering......

I'm a mess! I'm drugged up, feeling woozy, have a scratchy palette, watery eyes, runny nose and am itching all over! Not the vision of beauty that most of you may think I am! Yes folks....it's that time of year....ALLERGIES! From now until the first hardy frost I'll be a snotty mess. Some days are not as bad as others; however, if it's humid, breezy and the pollen is flyin' you know it's not a good day. While the main culprit is ragweed, other weeds can trigger reactions. I was in a farmer's field / weed field this evening trying to capture a weather shot. I ended up focusing on my archenemy: a weed field and ended up really liking this gnarly beast. After quite a few shots, I could feel the allergy symptoms kicking in--uncontrollable sneezing, , scratching my leg until it bled and my eyes closing up. I knew it was time to call it a day.......

Mags.

Taking The Plunge....

Today's challenge was to make a photograph of something metallic putting the emphasis on texture and light. This is a shot of the plunger of my French press.

A french press, also known as a press pot, coffee press, coffee plunger, cafietere or cafetiere a piston, is a simple coffee brewing device invented in France during the 1850's.

A French press requires coffee of a coarser grind than does a drip brew coffee filter, as finer grounds will seep through the press filter and into the coffee. Coffee is brewed by placing the coffee and water together, stirring it and leaving to brew for a few minutes, then depressing the plunger to trap the coffee grounds at the bottom of the beaker.

Because the coffee grounds remain in direct contact with the brewing water and the grounds are filtered from the water via a mesh instead of a paper filter, coffee brewed with the French press captures more of the coffee's flavour and essential oils, which would become trapped in a traditional drip brew machine's paper filters. French pressed coffee is usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than drip-brewed coffee. Because the used grounds remain in the drink after brewing, French pressed coffee left to stand can become bitter. For a 1⁄2-litre French press the contents are considered spoiled after around 20 minutes.

Mags.

Glass

Today's challenge was to make a photograph of something made out of glass and to go for interesting reflections or highlights.

Was a little sidetracked today with other things that needed to be done so today's photo shoot was a little last minute. This photo is of an antique wine decanter that my grandmother gave me before she passed away. Sadly, within the first month of owning it I accidently smashed the crystal topper that went with this, so, this is what I use in it's  place: http://365project.org/mags/365/2010-05-04 . I know, the styles don't really work together but, it does the trick. I liked the way the incandescent bulb that is shining from the top of the decanter has created the sunburst effect from the cuts in the crystal base. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with how this shot came out considering how rushed and last minute it was.

Mags.

Sometimes I Have Some "Grate" Ideas....

Today's challenge was to find a repeating pattern and make a photo of it.

Feeling quite disappointed with the work I've turned out the past few days, I really wanted to create an interesting photo today. I knew I wanted to keep it simple and to the point but yet artistic and interesting. I was shredding cheese while preparing dinner this evening and thought that the cheese grater was an excellent example of repeated patterns and would make a simple yet interesting shot. I tried to create a bit of drama with the lighting to keep the focus on the cheese grater. After 100 or so shots, I decided to use this one as I was able to capture the repetitive patterns effectively on two sides of the shredder. What a "grate" idea this was, no?

Mags.

I Spy With My Little Eye Something That Is ...Green

Today's challenge was to make a photo of a green subject .

With lots to do after work this evening and a short time to do it, I found myself multi-tasking. I had to pop into the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things and thought it would also be a great opportunity to find something green to photograph. I had several pictures of asparagus, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, limes, green apples, lettuce and avocados, but decided to post my shot of the artichoke. I love the layers and the unique shape of this unusual vegetable.

Mags.

I like it Hard and Soft, Rough and Smooth......

Today's challenge was to create a photograph that emphasizes a change in texture.

I chose to photograph this small floral arrangement that I keep next to my kitchen sink. I thought that the softness of the flowers and foliage contrasted nicely with the hard glass container that the arrangement sits in. The glass container has a striped combination of clear glass and frosted glass which is an excellent example of rough and smooth.

Mags.

Circles and Squares

Today's inspiration came from The Daily Shoot .....the object was to photograph a circle and crop it to fit inside a square frame. I loved the texture on the back of my yoga towel and thought that the little nubby thing that prevents it from slipping on my mat would make a cool circle. I then framed it with a floral frog (an item that holds floral stems in place in a vase) to add some demension to the shot. Finally I edited the picture by cropping it into a square frame. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Mags.

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Texture

Texture is perceived surface quality. There are two types of texture: tactile and implied. Tactile texture (real texture) is what we are most familiar with. It is the way the surface of an object actually feels. Examples of this include sandpaper, cotton balls, tree bark, animal fur, etc. Implied texture is the way the surface on an object looks like it feels. The texture may look rough, fizzy, gritty, but cannot actually be felt. This type of texture is commonly used by artists when drawing or painting.

I liked this photo because it depicts a few different textures from the roughness (and smoothness) of some of the river rocks and also shows the prickly leaves of the weeds growing through the rocks.
 
Mags.

Strobilus

June 8, 2010

Please don't shoot me if I'm wrong but I believe the botanical name for cones is "Strobilus".......

Was on my way home from work when I saw a bush that had many of these young female cones growing. I stopped to take a few shots and literally climbed into the bush to capture this shot.....

Mags.

Missing Limbs

JUNE 4, 2010

With the threat of rain looming overhead, I knew I didn't have long to capture some shots tonight before the skies opened up. I decided to take a few random shots of some interesting things on my street near my house. This photo was my choice pic of the day. The tree is across the street from me and and I didn't realize until I started to take photos that the City came by recently to trim some of the trees with lower limbs. I loved the texture of the bark and was intrigued by the rings on the fairly newly-cut off limbs.

Mags.