Mouse & Keyboard and Mouse & Keyboard and ...

Mouse & Keyboard and Mouse & Keyboard and ..., originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

When I saw the Daily Shoot assignment for the day was Make a photograph that features repetition., I immediately thought of the repeating computers, keyboard, mice, etc. in the lab.

Date Taken: January 31, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4
Exposure Program: Manual
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 640
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Day 30: What's Wrong With This Picture?, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Today I virtually attended the EduCon2.3 session What's Wrong With This Picture? led by Dean Shareski & Darren Kuropatwa. During the session, attendees were charged with telling a lie with a picture or movie.

I failed at this completely with my DSLR. I could not get both my fingers & the palm tree in focus at the same time - not even close!

So, I tried it with my iPod Touch instead and wasn't thrilled with this one either. I'm never quite sure of the framing in the Hipstamatic app and this would be better if it were cropped. Oh well, I tried and I need a photo for the day, so this is it. Now I need to figure out how to really do this!

Date Taken: January 30, 2011
Camera: Hipstamatic 185
Flash: No Flash
Software: John S Lens, Pistil Film, No Flash

EduCon - Can't Be There? Attend Virtually!

Day 29: EduCon - Can't Be There? Attend Virtually!, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Today’s Daily Shoot assignment was Make a photograph that illustrates an aspect of communication.

I am spending much of the weekend virtually attending an education conference being held in Philadelphia. I would love to go to this one in person some day but until then I am so thankful that the sessions are being broadcast live and that many of them have collaborative documents, wikis, etc. to allow participation from those of us not in the physical room.

I took a photo of my screen as I was attending the Crafting Character session and adding my 2¢ to the Google Document for the session and keeping track of the EduCon discussions on Twitter. Now that's communication!

Date Taken: January 29, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 1250
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

STOP!

Day 28: STOP!, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Today over at The Daily Shoot the theme was red. Red hot? Red paint? Or something else? You decide.

I looked around and took pictures of red items: Nemo's red toy mouse, part of the mini rose bush, red leaves and the stop sign on the corner. I liked this one best for the theme with the blue sky and fall (uh, winter?) foliage behind the stop sign. You just have to love the stickers, different shades of red and graffiti on the stop sign!

If you're interested in the other photos, you can see them on my Flickr account.

Date Taken: January 28, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 33 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired (metered for the sky & used the flash to expose the stop sign while not blowing out the sky.)

The Curve of the Mouse

Day 27: The Curve of the Mouse, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Today's Daily Shoot assignment was "Make a photograph that features a very distinct curved line or surface today."

I work around computers all the time and the first thing that popped into my head was the curve of the mouse. So, as I was waiting for the after school basketball game to start, I grabbed my laptop mouse & shot a few pictures and this is the result.

Date Taken: January 27, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Guess who has a cold?

Day 26: Guess who has a cold?, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Yep, that's right, I've been infected. Last year I managed to escape but this year I guess I didn't wipe things down often enough in the lab or one too many students hugged me.

The Daily Shoot assignment for the day was: Make a photograph today with a central point of interest in it. So, I grabbed a piece of colored paper, set the tissues on it and snapped a few shots. Tissue anyone?

Date Taken: January 26, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Race To Nowhere Revisited

Race To Nowhere, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

In October, I went to see this documentary and blogged about it on my teaching blog. Tonight, I went to see it again. Why would I do that?

When I saw this for the first time, I said in my blog post, "...wonder if I can convince my younger daughter’s school to have a screening of the film...". Tonight my younger daughter's school did have a screening, so I went hoping for some conversations. Conversations about the homework load and limiting the pressure when applying for colleges and helping our daughters to balance their lives, etc. Unfortunately those conversations did not occur. I did have a nice discussion with another mom and I'm sure that if I had approached the administrators that were at the screening, I might have had an individual conversation about these issues but I was hoping for a larger discussion.

I have had a short conversation with my daughter about the film and will continue to bring up the issues it raised but I feel that so much is out of our control. If the school culture doesn't change, if teachers do not change the amount of homework assigned, if colleges don't change the way students are admitted, things won't change. Do I think they should change? Absolutely. Do I think they will? Unfortunately, I don't see it happening anytime soon but I hope I am wrong.

Date Taken: January 25, 2011
Camera: Hipstamatic 185
Software: John S Lens, Pistil Film, No Flash

Monday Ballet Class

Day 24: Monday Ballet Class, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

As I sat at the ballet studio, waiting for my daughter's ballet class to end, I realized I hadn't taken a photo for the day. I pulled out my iPod Touch and started playing with different lenses and film in the Hipstamatic App.

I liked the candid moment (and the why are you taking my picture look from my daughter) captured in this shot as my daughter and her friend waited their turn to try a combination. I still have trouble with framing in this app and need to research some things to see if I can fix that but it is fun to take pictures using this.

Date Taken: January 24, 2011
Camera: Hipstamatic 185
Software: John S Lens, BlacKeys B+W Film, No Flash

A Final Curtain Call

Day 23: A Final Curtain Call, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Sunday I had the privilege of celebrating the life of Bill Erwin with those who knew and loved him. If you don't know who Bill was, check out the previous link or this tribute to Bill on an I Love Lucy fan site.

I will always remember the stories Bill would tell when the Cow-sillys, as he had dubbed us, went over to visit his daughter, Kelly. We all thoroughly enjoyed the time that we spent with him. Bill turned 96 this year and I can only hope that I am lucky enough to make it that far. R.I.P., Bill.

The stage is now dark and the final curtain has been closed but Bill Erwin will live on for those that knew and loved him both as friends and family and as fans.

Date Taken: January 23, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/80
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 65 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

L.A. Saturday Evening Traffic

Day 22: L.A. Saturday Evening Traffic, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

I spent Saturday at the OC Cue Tech Fest. I brought along my point & shoot camera with the plan to take a few photos and then I never did. As I drove home, in the stop & go traffic on the 405 freeway, I took this photo of the line of stopped or going very slowly traffic in front of me.

Date Taken: January 22, 2011
Camera : Canon PowerShot A590 IS
Exposure Mode: Auto
Exposure: 1/60
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 16 mm
ISO Speed: 250
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired

Spring? Nope, Still Winter

Day 21: Spring? Nope, Still Winter, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

I have been on a stand under things and take pictures kick lately and this is one such photo. As I wandered around campus, I noticed that the trees in the courtyard all looked like spring rather than winter so I took a few shots.

Date Taken: January 21, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/200
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired

Basketball Hoop From Below

Basketball Hoop From Below, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

I have spent the last two afternoons taking photos at basketball games at school. I can't share those on this blog but after reading the Daily Shoot assignment - How low can you go? Make a photograph today from a low point of view. - I knew I had to take this basketball related shot after the game was over.

I metered for the sky & used my on camera flash to light up the hoop and then I applied an HDR effect in Photoshop using this tutorial.

Date Taken: January 20, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired

A Lingering Flower

A Lingering Flower, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

A sign of spring? Well, no - according to the calendar we're not even a month in to winter yet. I think this flower is just confused by the fact that it was 75°F for a high today and still about 66°F at about the time the picture was taken at around 4pm.

Date Taken: January 19, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/1600
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed : 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Canon Lens Triangle

Canon Lens Triangle, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Once again I turned to the Daily Shoot for inspiration. Today's assignment - Make a photograph with a triangular composition. I went literal with this and made a triangle of Canon Lenses. After I had finished and uploaded the shots to my computer, I realized that the 85mm was upside down for the shot. I decided not to redo it and picked the one I liked best of the bunch.

The lenses pictured are the Canon 28-135mm 3.5-5.6IS, Canon 50mm 1.4 and Canon 85mm 1.8.

I have been in to the retro, grungy type photos lately so I ran an Urban Acid action on the photo after I had converted it to black & white. Then I added some grunge overlays and the photo above is the result.

Date Taken: January 18, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 45 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

If you're interested, you can also see the black & white version and black & white with some different grunge effects but no Urban Acid version over on my Flickr account.

Soft Petals

Soft Petals, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Again today, I looked to The Daily Shoot for an idea. The assignment was "Make a photograph with a soft look today."

I took some shots of the inside of my knock-off Ugg like boots and I see that Erin Berg had the same idea. I took some pictures of Nemo, our cat, and see that Vicki Lynn Clark and others had the same idea. I took some shots of my daughter's Pillow Pet.

I just wasn't really sure that any of them really conveyed soft. That's when I headed out to our rose bushes. There are a few "on their way to dying" roses left so I took some shots using a very shallow depth of field. I then processed these with very little contrast so that the whole photo would feel soft.

Date Taken: January 17, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/320
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

I shot with ISO 400 so I could get a fast shutter speed because there was a little breeze today and I didn't want to have motion blur.

Fly Me To The Moon

Fly Me To The Moon, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Looking for inspiration, I headed over to The Daily Shoot and found "Today's theme is blue. Make a photograph dominated by the color or that otherwise illustrates the theme."

My first thought was to try to find someone crying or depressed and then tone the whole thing blue to illustrate a person being "blue". That's a tough one though and didn't think I could convince either of my daughters to pretend for this one. I also thought about taking a photo of our recycling trash can because the blue can is for recyclables only.

Then, I noticed how blue the sky was today and how there were just enough clouds to make it interesting and how the moon had already risen so I took some photos of the afternoon sky. On this one, there happened to be a small plane flying overhead at just the right time!

Date Taken: January 16, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/160
Aperture: f/9.0
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

edcampOC

January 15, 2011 was the very first edcamp in California and I believe, in fact, the first one in the western US. I was one of the organizers of edcampOC and was in charge of creating the session board - both the one that would be up at the venue and the one online and I created the edcampOC wiki to share information at the event and to allow attendees to share their resources. This was an amazing day with lots of learning and sharing. Rather than choose just one picture, I'm sharing a slideshow of all of the photos that I took of this event. You can click on a photo and then use the Actions option to see the Exif info about the shot if you're interested in the technical details.

Getting the Session Board Ready

Getting the Session Board Ready, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Tomorrow is the first edcamp in California and I am one of the organizers for this event. In order to schedule the day, a session board is created by the attendees using cards they fill about about the discussion they wish to have during the day. This is the blank session board (with one bright yellow index card on it just to check for size) that I put together. It was created using bulletin board paper and painter's tape to make the grid.

Date Taken: January 14, 2011
Camera: Hipstamatic 185
Software: John S Lens, Kodot XGrizzled Film, No Flash

My Morning at the DMV

My Morning at the DMV, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

This morning we added another licensed driver to the family. Our oldest daughter took her driving test today and passed. Yikes! Does this mean we need to let her take the car out - alone?

And, yes, we did spend most of the morning at the DMV. Her appointment was at 10am but we went a little early and didn't get done until 11:30am.

Date Taken: January 13, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal Length: 57 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

An HDR effect was added to the photo using the tutorial at http://garmahis.com/tutorials/fake-hdr-photoshop-tutorial/. I like it better on the photos I took of the palm tree but I had to use the DMV sign as my photo of the day because of the milestone it represents!

A New Rug for the Computer Lab

A New Rug for the Computer Lab, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

One of my Christmas presents this year was this rug for the Computer Lab. I unveiled it for the first time today and it was a hit with the students! It didn't matter what grade level came in to the lab, everyone wanted to type their name on it. Kindergarten students sat down on it to type and the older grades typed with their feet.

Here's a shot to show where I've put it in the lab and to illustrate the true colors of it:

Top Photo Information
Date Taken: January 12, 2011
Camera: Hipstamatic 175
Software: John S Lens, Pistil Film, No Flash

Ahhhh, Diet Coke

Ahhhh, Diet Coke, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

I took a peek at today's Daily Shoot assignment which was Make a photograph today that features or uses a liquid as a subject. Since I was on my way to pour myself a glass of Diet Coke (a liquid), I decided to make that the subject of my photo for the day.

Rather than grab my 40D, I picked up my iPod Touch and I took this shot using the Hipstamatic App. A question for anyone else who uses Hipstamatic, is there are a way I can set things up so I can actually see what the resulting picture will actually include? Right now, I see only a small portion of the resulting image.

Date Taken: January 11, 2011
Camera: Hipstamatic 175
Software: Helga Viking Lens, Float Film, No Flash

All Ready To Skype

All Ready To Skype, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

I am one of the organizers edcamp OC which is being held this Saturday, January 15th. The last few days, I have been slightly panicking about how it will actually go on the day of the event. I am lucky to have an amazing PLN and one of them, Ann Oro, volunteered to Skype with me about edcamps tonight. Ann was one of the organizers of edcamp NYC and she was able to set my mind at ease a bit that things will all work out on Saturday. Thanks Ann!

This photo was actually taken after the Skype call and shows my Logitech webcam and me wearing my Logitech headset - oh yeah and holding my camera in front of my face.

Date Taken: January 10, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/200
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Adding To The Vocals

Adding to the vocals, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Is it cheating to add another photo from January's Band Night as a photo of the day? When I saw that The Daily Shoot assignment for today was Embrace the shadows today and make a photograph dominated by dark tones, also known as a low-key image, I knew I'd have some of those in the pictures I took after midnight at band night. Since I took it after midnight, it was taken on January 9th!

Band night almost always includes some guest artists. Last night was no exception. Scott Totten, who is in the Beach Boys Band with John Cowsill joined the band for a few numbers. He played Timmy's guitar while Timmy borrowed Robby's microphone to add to the vocals.

Date Taken: January 9, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/50
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Band Night Fun

Band Night Fun, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Every month Bob Cowsill and his band play at The Fox & Hounds Pub in Studio City, CA. January's band night was January 8th. Knowing that Bob's brother, John, was going to be the drummer I decided to take along my camera and capture some of the action.

If you've never been to this pub it's hard to believe how low the light actually is so I'm always happy when I'm able to capture anything without a flash. This is one of my favorite shots of the night which shows that it's not just the audience that has a good time on band nights!

Date Taken: January 8, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/50
Aperture: f/1.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Q: Who does "The Most Interesting Man Alive" go to see on Friday night?

Q: Who does "The Most Interesting Man Alive" go to see on Friday night?, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Answer: Bob Cowsill, of course!!

There was a cardboard cutout of the Dos Equis XX spokesperson standing behind Bob last night at the local Pub so I just had to get this shot!

Date Taken: January 7, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/50
Aperture: f/1.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

January in Southern California

January in Southern California, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

So, I had taken a picture at school of the mishmash of microphones that I have in the Computer Lab. It wasn't terribly artistic. As I drove home, I noticed the clouds moving in and the way the sun was lighting up the palm trees against the sky. That decided it; I needed to walk down the street and capture that for my photo of the day.

So here it is - just another January day in Southern California with a high in the mid 60s! Ah, that's why I live here.

Date Taken: January 6, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/200
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Juggling Anyone?

Juggling Anyone?, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Today, I did have something in mind to shoot but I ran out of time at school to do it. When I got home I was at a loss and didn't want to take yet another picture of Nemo. I headed over to The Daily Shoot for some inspiration and went with their suggestion of the day. Make an interesting photograph of something mundane and ordinary today.

These juggling balls sit on a dresser in our bedroom. I see them every day but never really notice them. So, I lined them up on a black Snuggie on the bed and took a few shots. This was the one I liked the best. It was post processed to give some "oomph" to the colors.

Date Taken: January 5, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/200
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Quadrulplet Nemo

Nemo x4, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Since my family has grown tired of being photographed, our cat quite often ends up being on the other end of my lens. I took this photo as Nemo sat on my daughter's bed watching me on the computer hoping that I would feed him something.

This is the same photo with four different types of processing on it. Most of the effects were from actions that I ran and then tweaked a bit to get the effect I liked. The actions I used (but can't remember where I got) were:

• Michelle's Vanilla Black & White
• Midnight Sepia
• Midnight Black
• Urban Acid

Date Taken: January 4, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/80
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

At The Barre

At The Barre, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

Mondays mean ballet class for my younger daughter. These always start with exercises at the barre. This shot was edited using a Periwinkle Haze action and the addition of a grunge border.

Date Taken: January 3, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/100
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 56 mm
ISO Speed:1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

Raindrops on Leaves

Raindrops on leaves, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

It's a rainy, cold (for us anyway) winter day in Los Angeles so I went out to try to capture some raindrops. This was taken in my backyard with a Sigma 75-300mm 4.0-5.6 lens that only works wide open on my camera. The optics in this lens are not the best but I wanted a macro feel so it worked. The picture had lots of purple fringing especially on the big raindrop but this was easily fixed in Photoshop. I wish I hadn't blown out the raindrop but I like the feel of the photo anyway.

Date Taken: January 2, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Sigma 75-300mm 4.0-5.6
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 1000
Flash: Off, Did not fire

Another Year & Another Attempt

As the calendar turns and a new year begins hope springs eternal that I can take & post a picture a day during 2011. I am playing with multiple places to keep up with this. I'll settle on one (or maybe two) as the year goes on.

• This Blog
• My 2011 Photo Set on Flickr
• My 2011 Calendar on Shuttercal
  

Good-bye Christmas 2010, originally uploaded by Visions By Vicky.

My first picture for the year is titled Good-bye Christmas 2010. These are some of the Christmas lights hanging from the eaves of our home. I shot them purposely out of focus.

Date Taken: January 1, 2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure: 1/60
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off