Weekly Photo Challenge Week 6: Hope for the Future

I'm finally updating for the next WPC after taking a week off.  My daughter is starting kindergarten this week, and things have been hectic.  Unfortunately, I'm not as excited as I probably should be.  I find the whole thing bittersweet at best.  I've been a stay-at-home mom since she was born, and after spending nearly every waking moment with her for the last five and half years, I'm finding it hard to let go.

Needless to say,  when Josh told me that the theme for the week was "Hope for the Future" I immediately thought of my soon to be kindergartner- because anytime I think of the years ahead, she is what gives me hope.  She embodies all that is best about my life- past, present, and future.

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

Weekly Photo Challenge Week 1: Vegetarian

I've always been interested in photography.  To me, there is something magical about being able to perfectly capture a place, an idea, a moment in time.  For a long time I've thought about truly delving into the art and learning all I can about taking amazing photos.  Now I'm finally turning thought into action.  Armed with my handy new dSLR, I'm heading out into the world to develop my skills and hopefully have fun along the way.  

Over dinner one night, I mentioned to Josh (my other half) that I wouldn't mind trying a weekly photo challenge, where the goal would be to take one photo that perfectly illustrated the theme for that week.  I thought it would give me a chance to not only practice my technique, but to discover new subjects, and see the things around me in new and different ways.  Josh suggested that he give me my weekly themes.  I was game.  Luckily, I'm married a smart, creative guy.  I knew he would come up some interesting concepts.

His theme for the first week was "Vegetarian."  My first thought was to pull together a group of brightly colored vegetables, possibly necessitating a trip to a local farmer's market.   Somehow, that seemed too easy.  Then I landed on what I thought was the perfect idea.  I just needed some cows.

My plan was to have some sort of vegetation in the foreground and cows in the background, illustrating the choice of a vegetarian lifestyle over a carnivorous one.  I figured that the easiest way to accomplish this in Indiana would be to find a cow pasture next to a cornfield.  I didn't think it would be that difficult.  I was wrong.

I drove through something like three different counties before finding any cows, and when I did, they were across the road from the corn.  I just couldn't pull off the shot that I wanted.  So in the end, I settled for corn.  Which is a good thing, since there was a lot of it.

Overall, I'm not thrilled with this photo.  It's just okay.  The theme for next week is "Wild" and I'm hoping to come up with something better this time.