Proj 365 May 31st

Look how close the grave is to the edge of the road! Died in 1948 so I'm not sure who got there first, the paved road or the grave.

Proj 365 May 30th

 In a distant land, far far away (wish I could get the scrolling text of Star Wars here!!)

A four for day.

Proj 365 May 29th

Finally it bloomed!! We have two Hydrangeas surviving and this one has bloomed but it is very small. The other is big but no blooms - yet.

Proj 365 May 28th

 I love the first one but decided to include the second flower also.

Proj 365 MAy 27th

 Neither I nor my invaluable assistant (my wife Kathy) could select between the two so here are both.

Both are part of the mailbox series.

Proj 365 May 26th

Before we discuss today's post, the "exotic, government owned location" of yesterday's post is the area between I-400 in Raleigh and the Lake Wheeler exit ramp. That area was planted with lots of red, white , and blue/purple flowers and it as wowed me every time I go by. So much for exotic. But the point is, there are some great colors and shots right where you live and work.

On to today. I'm back to my mailbox series though I am about to run out as not as many planted this year and the heat (is killing a lot of flowers. (Currently 92 with heat index of 100)

Proj 365 May 25th

I knew I felt a four for day coming up and here it is. (OK, I am behind in my posting and I knew what was coming. I am about to have to quit to go get ready for a wedding assignment in a minute.)

I won't reveal what exotic location I had to travel to get these but it is a government owned location. Actually these are from the same spot a few days ago but the difference is that previously I used my P&S and there were done with my DSLR. Also, (and importantly) I took more time with composition and other matters. I will say at 93 degrees and a half an hour getting these and the rest, I was hot when I got through.

Proj 365 May 24th

 A two for day. OK, actually two of the same. Below is the close-up of the photo at the right. Amazing what a change in perspective will do.

Proj 365 MAy 23rd

Oh, oh, I feel a four for one coming up soon. Back to today, the 23rd. Running out of mailboxes with flowers.

Proj 365 May 22nd

Time flies, even when you're not having fun. Its been busy. Anyways, here is another photo from my infamous mailbox walk.

Proj 365 May 21st

I have been moved by the B&W work of two fellow photographer on FB so I am taking up a challenge to do more in Black and White. (Besides, my first competition win was a B&W photo!) But I haven't done it much in a while so this evening I went out and began shooting more B&W. This doesn't mean everything I do in the next month will be B&W, but you should see more.

On that basis, this is a two for post. Both really caught my eye an made an impact on me; one funny and one serious.


For more of what I did tonight and what I learned, go to my blog at HTTP://HLDPhotos.blogspot.com (no www)

Proj 365 May 20th

An old tobacco barn so close to Raleigh, you would be amazed. About 1000 yards to the right is a new subdivision of homes.

Proj 365 May 19th

Another from my mailbox collection. The pickings (figuratively) are pretty slim this year. Previous years, seems like everybody had flowers out. Getting too hot now.

Proj 365 May 18th

What's wrong with this picture?

And they gave this person a driver's license! Wonder if they noticed anything pulling in or out?

Proj 365 May 17th

After all the fire fighting equipment, I'm taking an easy shot today. Or at least I thought so. Try getting a photo of a moving dog. In this case Gwen is sitting on my chest. Gwen is the picture dog. Lana is the playmate and friend for life.

Proj 365 May 16th

Ok, I know, another two for day. But this was a great day. I had been on a photowalk of downtown Rocky Mount and I discovered a fire station across the street from the train station. It was closed; I guess because it was Good Friday (hold on I will explain a fire station being closed). So I came back the following Saturday. No luck, nobody home. Hhhmmm. Finally I called a local fire station a few days later and it turns out this station is a training and administration station and doesn't have fire trucks etc. Hence, it is only open Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. So I finally got down there during the week (Monday) and asked to take photos. They were more than welcome and explained some of the equipment. Here are two of the shots. Thee rest will be posted to my photo website at www dot HLDPhotos dot com (spelling to fight spammers) and for the story at HTTP://HLDPhotos.blogspot dot com.


Yes, it really works! At a fair of some type a few years ago, they loaded the coal and  lit the boiler and had it up and running.

Here you can see where the driver sat (where the hat is).


For more photos check out either www.HLDPhotos dot com or HTTP://HLDPhots.blogspot dot com

Proj 365 May 15th

 Yeah, yeah, I know, one a day but somedays it overwhelms you. These are NOT from my mailbox walk (although the first two flowesr may be the same type. I don't know one flower from another). These are from the side of Hwy 64 on the way to work Sunday. May have waited a little too late as many are already turning brown (by May 15th?).

 I love the way you can frame to make it look like the go forever.

 Just a little further down Hwy 64. Right before the Nashville exit.

 All of these are taken with my P&S. I amy go back to get some with my DSLR where I can set the focal point.

 On my way home from work Sunday evening. The clouds were magnificent. The rising well defined ones on the left and the swept by wing fuzzy ones on the right.

Ah, went out and had to get a few like this. Dark Shadows and Barnabus Collins was approaching!!

Proj 365 May 14th

 Another from my mailbox walk series. I'm afraid I won't have too many more as not as many people planted flowers around their mailbox this year.

If you get in a slump with your photography. Walking and shooting mailbox flowers can help re-inspire you. But bring knee pads as you will need to get low to get the good shots. (Don't stand and shoot down).

Proj 365 May 13th

I love bumper stickers that make meaningful statements. Let's see: (1) (Green) Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die! (2) (Grey) Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about things that matter. (3) (White) If we don't change directions, we'll end up where we were going. (4) (Blue) Dissent is the highest from of patriotism. (Reminds me of the movie American President with Michael Douglas. The scene at the end were we finally fires back is great.

Proj 365 May 12th

I may have used a winter shot of this before but not it is filled out, it still makes an impact. As far as I can tell no limbs have been cut off (but I need to go look to verify). Even if they have, the wind has apparently made the tree grow like this.

Proj 365 May 11th

Found time to re-continue my mailbox walk. OK, so this one wasn't exactly at a mailbox; the mailbox is on the other side of the driveway. But still, this was so unusual for North Carolina, I had to use it.

Proj 365 May 10th

 Love the flowers planted along the highways in North Carolina. Just not as many as in previous years. The economy I guess.

Couldn't resist a second shot on this one.

Proj 365 May 9th

 Another two for day. I did a nightwalk in Nashville NC and this shot appealed to me. 


















I walked past a furniture store and spotted this sign and couldn't resist. Technically I didn't photograph anything in the store, just the sign. I understand not photographing classified areas but a furniture store??



- Does anybody remember the song "Signs" 5 Man Electric Band? 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9v2D_S2F2c

Proj 365 May 8th

Ok, a technical shot. There has been some discussion how to use a Black Rapid strap on a camera with a L -Bracket. Her is my solution. Forget the screw ring with rubber grip and hook the clip around the bracket. You can tell I used to have the bracket closer to the body resulting in scuffing some black paint off but hey, its been used. I later slid the bracket over to the left making it easier to take the strap on and off as needed. (Why didn't I do that before). Mounting the strap this way allows the camera to sit flush on the backside in the bag.


Sorry the font is all funky but that's what happens when you copy and paste from Facebook. 

Proj 365 May 7th

Sorry I am late getting this up but I couldn't access GMail Blogger the other day and then I was busy at work, ... etc , you know how it goes. Anyways, here are the posts that I did make on Facebook but couldn't make here (up until the 15th.)

Yeah, I know, catch up time again. It takes a while to recover from getting up on Tuesday mornings at 3AM to be at work by 5AM. I did say any time when I hired on but I didn't think they were open that early! Anyways, here is another two for day. The first one is best IMHO but I also like the white on the other one. (Yes I know, be patient young grasshopper.)






Here is the other one I promised.

Proj 365 May 6th

A three for day. My daughter showed me this place when I was trying to find a way to buy Sweet Sour Chinese soup I could make at home. Luckily her friend Ginny is Asian and had showed it to my daughter. So Go here to pick up some soup and fresh mangos. Spotted a few things I had to go back and get a picture of.

Its a great p[lace and they have gotten more things with some English on the container but it still takes a sense of adventure and looking at pictures.

 So here we have the first item. Honey Crystals. Almost the entire label is foreign (Chinese or Japanese I do not know!) But look carefully at the bottom and look where it came from!! I am standing in Raleigh in the middle of an Asian food store and the product with an Asian label says "Made in America". Somewhere there is a sense of irony in it.

Then we have the smoked meat section (it beats the fish section whose smell permeates almost the entire store). Actually it looks pretty good. They have a place next to these ducks you can order lunch. I will try it out but I will probably have to ask for help from one of the English speaking staff (They have some to help shoppers like me). It really is a fascinating place to shop.

Proj 365 May 5th

I even love the colors of weeds. Glad I take allergy shots or I would have lost it kneeling down to get this and some other photos.

Proj 365 May 4th

More experimenting. Now it's time to head outside with plenty of bright sunlight. Yesterday (last night) I was shooting straight at 4 40 watt bulbs. Now way am I going to shoot directly at a bright sun (sunsets and sunrises aren't that bright but still be careful). So I took aim at my stark white utility shed in my back yard with the sun shining directly on it (no clouds, shade, or late day light).

 Here again, I started out with 1/8000 sec shutter speed and aperture of f/2.8. Actually came out pretty good. I was a little surprised. Again ISO is 200.






Now lets change to a more common aperture of f/8. f/2.8 is a big aperture lens. Now the image is getting dark. But one more thing.







What if I shoot at 1/60 of a second with f/2.8 aperture? Sort of the opposite of the first photo, quick shutter and wide open aperture. YES, there is an image to the left. Against a white background (What I am editing in) I can barely see it.

Bottom line in all this is to experiment. and try different things.