365 Project Update ~ April 2010

There was a little bit of sputtering this month on my 365 project, but everything turned out in the end. It has been smooth sailing this week with clouds as a theme. Some interesting pictures and formations have come of it, and there have been clouds in the sky every day. In fact, there have been an abundance of clouds and overcast days.

Ray of Light ~ 119/365

Of course the week we choose to have clouds as a theme, it would rain constantly. there have been some nice clear days, but a majority of my pics this week have had dark clouds. The one from today is my favorite, though.

Storm Rolls Out ~ 120/365

There was sun and storm clouds. Made for a much more interesting picture than just sunny or just stormy.

Red Columbines

I love spring and the many flowers it brings. Red Columbines like these in particular bring back memories of my childhood. They grew wild on my grandparents' farm near Little Falls. When I was young, I would eat the nectar-filled lobes from the back of the flower. Quite tasty, as I recall.

Red Columbines

Yellow & Red Tulips

Similar name as the last post, slightly different concept. More tulips have bloomed at the Ames Florida Stork House. They are definitely up there in my top 10 favorite flowers.

Yellow & Red Tulips

Yellow Tulip

Red Tulips

Red & Yellow Tulip

I spotted this single tulip in the front yard of the historic Ames Florida Stork House in Rockford, Minnesota.

Red & Yellow Tulip

I also snapped a few photos of some prolifically growing lavender-colored flowers. I love spring and all of the pretty flowers it brings!

White Flowers Everywhere

In the Rule of Thirds photography assignment from last week, I included a picture of some white flower buds. I thought they were just rose-like in appearance. A few days ago, I saw the same flowers and they had made a wonderful transformation!

White Flowers

White Flower Ground Cover

They are beautiful! I don't know what they're called, though. Does anyone have any ideas?

Creek Through the Park

Saw this creek as I was taking a walk through my favorite park. Most of the summer and fall, this is just a ditch. It looks more like a stream this spring!

Creek Through the Park

Photography Assignment #7 ~ The Rule of Thirds

This week's theme for my 365 project is the Rule of Thirds, so I thought this week would be perfect for a new photography assignment.

The Rule of Thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts of painting, photography and design. The Rule of Thirds works like this: Imaginary lines are drawn dividing the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. You place important elements of your composition where these lines intersect. Some proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest than simply placing the subject at the center.

An example from Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Commons:

The photograph to the right demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule.

With that in mind, here are two photos that I took this week using the Rule of Thirds. It was pretty easy to line up the shots because the points in my viewfinder are already set up to help me divide my image into thirds. Hopefully people who might be trying this photo assignment have as easy a time! Otherwise, cropping works if you want to try and line photos up exactly the way you want.

White Flowers ~ 94/365

Pineapple ~ 97/365

Mystic Trail

In January, one of my 365 Project posts included some musings on the white balance setting on my camera and how it can affect the color clarity of a photo. Not getting the results I wanted, I made adjustments until I found what appeared to me to be the closest to the "true colors" I was seeing. In contrast, I took the following pictures specifically with the intention of not reproducing true colors.

Mystic Trail

This is what the scene looked like to my eyes at the time these photos were taken, one foggy Friday in March. The next two photos haven't been manipulated at all, the change of colors and mood are simply the results of changing the white balance settings on the camera when I snapped the shutter.

Mystic Trail (Violet)

White Balance: Fluorescent

Mystic Trail (Blue)

White Balance: Tungsten

I can't decide if I like the violet or the blue better! The violet looks dark and moody, but the blue looks more ethereal and magical.