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Friday, June 10, 2011

Smooth

Smooth


Dog Blog Post #356: Today's Daily Shoot assignment...

Make a photograph of something smooth.

... was pretty easy. And since it was easy, I put practically no effort into it. Which is bad. And I know it. (sigh)

I wonder how folks (and you know who you are!) manage to turn out quality pictures day after day after day. Some days I feel like the camera and I and the dogs are one, and pictures flow forth, and my hard disk swells with things that please me.

And then there are days like today, when apathy sets in, and I glance around me, pick the first that half-way meets the requirements and call it day.

Ah well, tomorrow dawns another chance to make my hard disk proud. :)

Editor's Note #1: The fuzzy blobs in yesterday's shot were mold growing in the coffee pot. The theme for ODC was "Oops", and I'd say forgetting the pot needed cleaning and creating blue life forms falls into the "oops" category.

Editor's Note #2: I'm very much enjoying my "Nikon D7000 for Dummies" book, but them I'm a first time dSLR user. That said, I have picked up several neat tips that are probably buried in the manual (somewhere) that I had not realized, making it definitely worth the dollars for me already. Plus she is also doing a good job of explaining focus/exposure/aperture/ISO... etc. in ways that make sense to a novice like me. Just enough info to make it clear, without drowning me in details!

Editor's Note #3: Since it came a few times recently, I belong to many flickr photography groups (71, it seems) but I only intentionally create pictures for three: Our Daily Challenge, Daily Shoot, and Scavenge Challenge. Daily Shoot and Scavenge Challenge are open to anyone to join. Our Daily Challenge is actually three identical groups, with identical assignments, created to keep the number of participants "cozy" (about 200). Hopefully, at least one should be accepting new members.

My personal opinion, is that Daily Shoot covers the widest range of photographic topics (methods & composition) but repeats topics. Since I don't think my first high-key picture was the best I could possibly make, seeing it (and most other topics) again, isn't a problem. (Except those shadow assignments. I hate the shadow assignments.)

I also think it has more novices than the other two (a personal opinion).

I haven't been a member of Our Daily Challenge that long, but I feel it has the highest caliber pictures (on average) of the three, and people seem quite prone to leaving comments (love that!)

Scavenge Challenge is the most fun of the three, pure and simple. I love having a list and an entire month to take care of it. Gives me time to give each one thought. Plus the items are fun. Like the one I shot the other day, for the prompt:

"Can you guess what this is? Present a common object in an uncommon point of view."




Hmm...

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12 comments:

  1. You sure have a very smooth forehead there, Henry. And you're not even bald!

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  2. I'm guessing that the scavenge challenge pohto is an egg box upside down? And I just vish I could touch Henry's head!

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  3. Woof! Woof! My mom seems to have problems with her camera ... she's thinking to get a new one. Always enjoys seeing your daily photos. Maybe mom join one of them. Happy Friday Weekend. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  4. Ha ha ha ha! You and I had the exact same idea! I actually like yours better than mine. I took it at school while Bunny was there yesterday, and then after work, we ate supper out of the crock pot and ran straight to the nursing home, so shooting something else wasn't time feasible. I pretty much always like your pictures better than mine for the assignments, though! I don't know who you think is shooting better pictures, but I really want to see them now!

    I really love the pictures in the ODC group, and feel just a teeny bit intimidated, but I've made up my mind to jump into it this weekend with comments and pictures. There are some gorgeous shots there! I'm hoping I can actually finish this month's Scavenge Challenge, too! I joined the dogs group, but nobody ever answered my questions, so I figured I'd just look for one as the new year is starting and work on it then.

    My guess is an upside down egg crate! That's a great idea!

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  5. Great forehead shot!

    Thanks for the links to the Flickr groups!

    Sam

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  6. I go for the egg crate too. Interesting how something looks so different when looked at a different way. Great job on Henry's head! He's so cute!!

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  7. Different approach to the head shot.

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  8. Love those smooth shots!!! What a great way to look at an egg carton. Most people don't see that side of it.

    Wanted to tell you, Mommy got the same camera as she had. she had only had it for four months, and she had batteries and accessories, so she decided to just get another one. It is a Canon SD1400 IS. She has an slr, but with me it is just to much to work with.

    Now she is looking for someone to repair the other one so she has two!!

    Yeah, more photos of me!!!

    Puppy Kisses,
    Tanner

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  9. I don't know where you find the time and brain power. I'm sure you're some kind of superwoman:) I did the daily shoot once and ran out of inspiration/brain cells! But I can learn vicariously through your blog. Thank you:)

    Love Henry's smoothness. I'm not sure about the egg carton, that seems too easy but I don't know what else it could be.

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  10. Inspiration, much like a sunset in Oregon, is flakey. I know I go weeks at a time shooting nothing but crap. I think I even threatened to sell my camera on Craig's List week before last.

    It's OK to have an easy brain wave day and besides, I love that smooth little head.

    I keep thinking about those Flickr groups...

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  11. Totally off topic in regards to photos, but I was curious if you've ordered Sue's new Levels books yet? I loved reading about your training.

    I'm across the ocean so I'm waiting for the e-book version, fearing I'd otherwise be spending a fortune on customs fees.

    In the meantime, I'm working hard on not pestering Sue asking when those will be published. ;-)

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  12. I was considering picking up the D7000 for Dummies book too. I feel like there's so many little tips and tricks I need to learn to really use my camera effectively. I'm glad to hear you're finding it useful - perhaps I'll have to get it.

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