Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Weekly Photo Challenge Week 5: Ties That Bind

 The assignment for week 5 was "Ties That Bind," and for some reason, I immediately thought of railroad ties.  I knew the perfect location for such a shot, so I braved the heat (102 degree heat index that day, even at nearly 8 PM) and drove to some nearby train tracks that I thought would look great illuminated by the impending sunset.  Oddly enough, I ended up scrapping my initial idea of showcasing the muted late evening sunshine in favor of a soft black and white, instead emphasizing the historical significance of the railroad.  So far, this is Josh's favorite shot.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Weekly Photo Challenge Week 4: Sensuality

This was a fun topic, and one that I had no trouble coming up with an idea for.  I immediately thought of the black high heels in my closet, the ones that I purchased for formal night on our family cruise this past February.  I've always found there to be something very classy and alluring about a simple pair of heels.  I set them up on top of a small box covered with silk fabric, directly under my bedroom window to make use of the natural light.  After a few practice shots I decided the shoes looked a bit lonely, so I added a strand of beads to keep them company.  I went with a black and white conversion for my final shot to keep it old school.  My black and whites aren't perfect yet, but I think I'm getting better.  So far, this is my favorite photo of the challenge.

 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Weekly Photo Challenge Week 3: Machines

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but suffice it to say that I was completely uninspired by the assignment for Week 3.  The topic was Machines.  I had a few ideas that seemed interesting initially, but they proved too much to pull off with my limited resources (I'm stuck with one lens for the moment), not to mention the oppressive heat that has descended on my area in the last week.  With temperatures reaching the upper 90's and a highest heat index reading of 117 degrees, I wasn't inclined to venture outside for very long at one time.  In the end, I managed to get this photo of the temperature gauge on our charcoal grill.  (Is a grill a machine?  Am I stretching here?)  I tried to add some grit by bumping the contrast and using a bit of texture, but the most impressive thing about this photo is that the needle is within the "ideal" heat range, even though the grill is not in use.  It's hot outside, folks.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Weekly Photo Challenge Week 2: Wild

The theme for this week was Wild.  I knew that could be interpreted in a multitude of ways, and that it didn't necessarily mean that I had to go on safari and take pictures of wildebeests.  I actually came up with my concept for this week's photo early on, with one main concern: it would depend not only upon my skills as an amateur photographer, but as a (very) amateur makeup artist.

After watching a few eye makeup tutorials on YouTube, I dumped out my cosmetics case and started building, layer by layer, my basis for this week's photo: leopard eyes.  Looking at it now, I'm not sure how apparent the "leopard" aspect is in this particular shot, but it was my best one.  A little grainy, of course- my resources are limited at this point, and since I didn't want to use the flash, I was forced to bump up the ISO quite a bit.  Not too shabby, though, considering I shot this in my bathroom.  How very MySpace of me.