A day off

I have decided to skip today and provide an image I created monday on the way home from seeing Neil Gaiman.

I feel I need to limit how much I force myself to maintain this project to avoid producing poor quality work for the sake of producing an image every day.


(plus, it's late, and I just want to go to bed) :)



"If the universe is bigger and stranger than I can imagine, it's best to meet it with an empty bladder." -John Scalzi

Not my favorite one thus far...

Alright. I got this shot last night and I'm not entirely happy with it...but, here it is.


"We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch." -John F. Kennedy

A brief reminder

Hello, I just thought I'd post a link to the post that explains what I'm attempting to do with this blog. That way in case anyone is just discovering it, they have a bit of the background info.

In the beginning, there was an idea!

Another fun day.

Years ago I started working on assembling a model kit. I chose to paint many of the white parts black for a bit of customization....needless to say, it was never finished. The parts are still hanging where I put them to dry...



"Assert your right to make a few mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections, that's their fault." -Dr. David M. Burns

A slight change of order.

I decided to find a quote first and then see if I could find a photo to best fit it. Let me know if this works...



"Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs." Christopher Hampton

An evening with Neil

I chose to do today's photo at the local library's Authors! Authors! talk featuring Neil Gaiman. It was an entertaining hour and a half where he read the first chapter of his book The Graveyard Book.

"What power would Hell have if those imprisoned there were not able to dream of Heaven?" -Neil Gaiman

Nearly finished

The last day of faire is over. Tomorrow, we pack up and go home for the last time from the site of the Michigan Ren Faire.

Today, the boyfriend of one of the ladies who worked for me sent her a rose. But the person delivering, couldn't remember the name of the person who was to get the rose. So she just gave all three of the ladies in the shop roses.

This is one of the roses in question.




"An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup." -H. L. Mencken

It's saturday...only one more day left of the faire!

I'm so psyched to have the faire season over with...I have the next three weekends off before my next show. I can't wait to do as little as possible.



"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities." -Dr Seuss

Some quick work from the hotel.

Behold, the power of WoW.... :)


"Why is it drug addicts and computer afficionados are both called users?" -Clifford Stoll

Another for the late submissions folder...

Yeah, yeah....I know. I'm not doing too well at keeping up. But, I am managing to get a shot every day....





"The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings…
As the shadow follows the body,
As we think, so we become." -Buddah

And here's one for Sept 30th.

Another view of a bookshelf in my bedroom.


"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death." -Harold Wilson

And here is the tuesday post...

I really need to get on the ball with this project and make sure I get things posted in a timely manner.


"Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag." -Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The magical 42nd post!

Upon realizing this would be my 42nd post, I decided to share an extra image I created sunday with the intention that it would be the image of the day before I forgot that I took it and created another. :)

"Life... is like a grapefruit. It's orange and squishy, and has a few pips in it, and some folks have half a one for breakfast." -Douglas Adams

Almost forgot again

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein

Behold...something a bit different...

Decided to see how I could compose an image by looking through the lens in the other direction. I think it kinda shows a bit of how I'm feeling right now as well.

On a side note, I've decided that I'm going to try to start adding fun quotes to my posts...maybe even some that sorta match the theme of the shot.



"He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which." -Douglas Adams

I'm terribly sorry...

I was unable to get a shot done yesterday. I was so busy with work, getting up to the faire site, the hotel, etc...that I just wasn't able to get "the shot".

Yes, I could have just taken a shot today, called it yesterday's...but that'd be lying and I don't want to do something unethical.

Instead, here is today's image. Taken at a booth that sells perfume oils...(I'm not sure I want to know what the "renaissance wench" smells like....I can use my imagination, but I'd rather not know)

One from the backyard...and early... :)

Alright, I found this guy in the backyard.....don't let him scare ya too much...

One from the club

Today's image comes to you from a club in Bowling Green, Oh....

Yet again...I'm late

Only this time, it's because I was too lazy to find my card reader...

Almost forgot to do this....

A quick look at the nearly forgotten, old color enlarger in the darker recesses of the basement...maybe someday I'll clean the area out and put it to use...

A posting on time. Yay!

I shot this at the very end of the work day. It involved a 30 second exposure while the camera sat on a counter.

It's like the web....but different.

Here's a bit of a detail shot....

I hate being late....

I actually shot this yesterday morning before we left the hotel. But, seeing how I have the memory of a goldfish, I forgot and left my camera at the faire site last night. So, here is yesterday's image.

And today's image

Taken shortly after my arrival at the hotel for another fun filled weekend at the faire...

Another late addition

I need to stop forgetting to do this until I'm on my way to bed...it's starting to make me look bad. :)

Anyway, here's yesterday's shot. Taken while stumbling to bed...

Today's edition...

I shot this at the shop today. It's the collection of spiked collars we have in stock.

Sorry I'm late again...

I shot this last night after returning from the Necto. It was about 2:30am and all I wanted to do was sleep...

Home again

I'm back home for a few days. (don't ask)

A little color...

So I decided to go with a bit of color today.

part two

And here is today's image...fresh from the hotel room I'll be spending the weekend in...

The two for one deal...

So, I wasn't able to get yesterday's photo up. I did take it right before going to bed...so it sorta counts.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to speak up... :)

Another late entry...

It's been a long, tiring day...

Sorry it's a bit late...

Here is yesterday's image. I shot it towards the end of the day of faire.

Now, I think this one meets the requirements because I didn't give any direction to the subject. I just let her sit there and eat her cake while I did a fairly poor job of being a ninja photographer. :)

Ren faire day two.

Here is another view of my work area at the faire. It's not my favorite shot so far, but it's pretty nice.

Saturday at the faire.

Today's image comes to you from our booth at the michigan ren faire. It was a long, stressful day...and I'll have another one tomorrow.

But, you didn't come here to hear me whine. You came here for the daily image....enjoy.

The daily challenge...continued....

Here we are...today's photo. I took it this morning when I got to work. It's part of my workbench.

A new goal...

The other night I had a long talk with a friend I haven't seen or heard from in about 15 years. (wow, I feel old) In the course of our discussion, she told me about the blog she started to chronicle her life and challenges raising two young boys with Down Syndrome. Head over here to read her adventures.

She told me that her goal is to try and reach out to others who are going through similar challenges and offer hope and understanding. She also said that the biggest challenge is figuring out what to post when everything seems so boring and uninteresting to her.

In an effort to inspire her to post something more often, I am resurrecting a project I had started while still a student at Hallmark. Only now, I will be sharing the images I create with the readers of this blog. Here is an outline of said project...

I will challenge myself to create one image each day. But, there are criteria to how that image can be created.

1. I must not manipulate any items to create a pleasing composition. All images must be of items exactly as I find them. The purpose of this is to make myself better at composing images in the camera.

2. The image must be obtained in no more than 5 attempts. Exposure adjustments and angle tweaking must be done in less than five attempts. If an acceptable image cannot be obtained, then the day is a failure and no more attempts can be made until the following day. This will also help me to improve my skill at finding compositions and ensuring proper exposure.

3. The only things permitted in photoshop will be white balance and maybe a conversion to b+w or platinum process. (sort of a sepia look) The only other thing that photoshop will be used for will be resizing the raw image and saving as a jpeg. (so it can be posted online)

4. Images will be created wherever I may be on that day. This will allow me to keep up with the plan weather I'm at home, on the road, at a show, etc...

5. In the event of a failure, the five attempts will be posted on here for discussion. Yes, I will share my shame as well as my successes.

Here's a link to the images created in the original Apartment Project.


Now, to start things off I will show the three styles I might choose for the final image.

Color:


Black and White:


Platinum:


Now, do you folks think this is a good idea? Or do you feel I should choose one style and use it for every image? (Color, b+w, platinum)

Some changes are in the works...but first, something important.

Alright, my previous entry about the death of a close friend was a mistake.

See, she's still alive. I had been misinformed and through a series of events, I am now back in touch with her.

Her life is a wreck and she's in counseling now for a lot of rather horrible things that happened to her over the last 3-5 years. (things I was never aware of)

Rather than pass judgement and ignore her, I'm going to do my best to stay in touch with her and hope that she's honest with me.

Things will most likely never be like they were...but I still consider her a close friend.


This is the last I will speak of this here...

Her last wish was to talk to me one last time...

A year ago, I was making plans with her. She was going to move here from baltimore when her lease expired and we'd finally be together.

Then, there was a car accident that broke her collarbone.

This was followed by the diagnoses of inoperable brain cancer and a month of daily chemo and radiation treatment.

I found out in January that the cancer had spread through the rest of her body and she was in the hospital. I wanted to get to see her while she was still alive. But, she didn't want me to see her in the condition she was in. (which was described to me as grey, skeletal, her veins had burst from the treatments, and she looked worse than something from a horror movie)

Earlier tonight, I was notified that she was being taken off the respirator but wanted to talk to me one last time before she died. All she wanted was to hear my voice again. Her family had to sneak her phone into the room and dial it for her.

I spoke with her for about 5 minutes before she had to go because she was too weak to talk.

Now, she's with me in my heart and memories. And free from suffering.

Rest in peace Brighteyes...I will miss you.

Some new stuff

First, a couple shots from vacation followed by a pair from a recent photo shoot.