Photo of the day

Dude, I love the concept of your daily post. The first pic just shows youR family values and as Matt said...the last pic is AWSOME! Good looking boys...so thats your football star, eh pops GOod looking out!

A Pentax K100 digital SLR with a 70 - 300 mm and a 18 - 200 mm lens. I don't know if that means anything to you, doesn't to me yet. I brought it for the wife a couple of years ago she has done courses and is very much into scrapbooking both digital pages and on paper pages. It was through her Facebook that I found the site with the challenge.

You have set yourself quite a task Richard, you may find at times you will struggle to find 365 different idea's. I'd suggest letting people throw out some idea's. Personally I'd go with monthly themes.

Like this for instance..

Jan = Family
Feb = Landscape
March = Sunsets / Sunrises.
April = Architecture
May = Automotive
June = People
ect, etc,

These idea's of taking a new picture a day for the year have been done a lot and it can sometimes be hard enough to keep the challenge going with others on a photography forum doing it along side of you, let alone by yourself. So I hope you take on the advice of allowing others to help you along the way.

PS.... Remember to experiment with your photos and get out of your comfort zone. Get down low or climb up a ladder for a different perspective on a scene. Use natural light or use a torch in a dark shot for a different outlook and feel to the shot. Remember to keep your horizons level and take the time to really look at what you are about to take a picture of and if it could be taken from a different angle. Will a pole in the background of a car shoot look like it is growing out of the roof of the car? Then move around and take the shot from a different angle and height.

This should not only be used as a way to get to know your camera but a way to use it better by experimenting with it everyday. Try a new setting everyday, take a heap of photos that day using the one new trick as the main focal point.

Stick to one photo a day. You couldn't decided between two above that you liked, think of it as a photo shoot that the client only wants one single photo and the want you to pick it.

I will keep looking in on you and you progress bud. Good luck.

Cheers from Dean.

Awesome start Richard, really like the kids pics and the movement one as well. What site did you see the challenge on? My wife is big in scrapbooking as well, and I've been looking at learning our camera better as well since we haven't really messed with it as much other than family shots and I use it mostly for car shows. Great job and look forward to see more.
~Robo

Where is today's picture you slacker? lol

Yeah a tripod does make night photography a little easier but if you think ahead you can rest your camera on a fence, on your car roof or on the ground to get a different perspective and use different light sources like a street light, your cars headlights, a flash light or even a candle.

Take multiple shots using different settings and write down the various setting for each shot. Obviously when you view your pictures on your pc you will start top get an idea what works and what doesn't. Just make small changes to one thing at a time though, so you start to get the feel of how every setting can change the feel of your photography.

Also why did you wait until it was completely dark to take night photography? Sunsets are great for pictures, wait until the sun has completely gone out of view and then start snapping away.

Just remember to frame your subject, ie like the sunset. Clouds turning different colours. Try and get about a third of the screen filled with ground and the other 2 thirds filled with the sky as this is going to be the most dramatic part of your picture.

Remember to keep your horizon straight in your picture. Silhouettes in sunrise and sunset pictures can look great, like a tree, a person, birds in the sky, etc, etc.

Keep going mate, you have taken on a huge challenge that can be frustrating but fun as well.

Cheers Dean.



This was taken after waiting around 30 - 45 minutes for the right look.





This was another long waiting shot, moving to a better position. Subject moved, so I moved again and again and again.





This one I was absolutely drunk, I had been drinking for three straight days as I had a double four day pass to the Melbourne Grand Prix and I took a different person each day and my camera.




At last years Bathurst, no need to tell you I was really drunk








Non of the above just "happened" I had the camera set to the surrounding light and scenes at all times. I had the camera set how I wanted to take pictures at the zoo. I just made minor adjustments for each shot I took there. The Grand Prix, I had the camera set for fast action shots at all time and just had to keep an eye on exposure to the clouds that day. My mates BBQ, was just a quick picture of my daughter, pulled out my camera and quickly set it up and snapped away a few dozen shots as she blew some bubbles. My son was an inside shot and I took some from a distance and when I came up close he just had this look of amazement on his face about his own fingers.

So yes a good pictures can come down to settings, knowing your camera, artistic vision and luck has a huge part of it as well.

Then you can always use photoshop to manipulate what ever you take, like this on my old iphone 4




Keep it up bud.