35. Day 24: Rough Diamonds

Happy Friday!! It's almost lunchtime here in sunny California :)  I still don't know what I'm going to eat, but that's something I'm going to worry later :P

Today's pattern is a tangled one.  Can you guess what it is?  If you thought of a fence, it's not. It's something you can use every day.

Nikon D90 (105mm  f/2.8) - 1/125s  f/18

34. Day 23: Pleasant or annoyance?

I wanted to create a nice pattern with several jars and while I was doing it I had this idea... what if one of the jars is upside down, just opposite to the rest.  How is gonna be the reaction of each person that looks at it? It will be something pleasant or annoying? 

I have to tell you that in my particular case, I really really want to turn that jar over!! hehehe I can't stand it that way!! But, that's also what I find interesting in the photo :)

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 30s  f/18

33. Day 22: Line

Today I wanted a different approach of the pattern, that's why I chose to use a really shallow depth of field. I don't know you but in my case I feel like I have a 3D glasses hehehe

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 1/2s  f/13

32. Day 21: Tricolor

This will be a short post because I'm really tired and want to go to bed. As I told you in a previous post I'll continue taking photos of patterns. For today I choose this beautiful three colors.  I still want to experiment more in order to create a different photo with a similar pattern.

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 1/2.5s  f/22

31. Day 20: Love is in the air

Today is not about patterns, but love! Love is all around us, even in the kitchen :)  If you look closely maybe you'll find hearts in the things that you use or scrub everyday.

I discovered today's subject a couple of days ago when I was washing the dishes hihihi and I thought wow! that's nice!!  Who could have suspected to find a heart there!  

Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite you!

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 5s  f/25

30. Day 19: Greens

I told you already that I really like patterns, and today I found one in the most unusual place.  You'll see more photos of this kind of pattern in the future because I love the combination of colors that it has! :)  

At the end of the series of pattern photos I'll tell you what was the whole subject, because you'll always see a small part of it.

Nikon D90 (105mm  f/2.8) - 1/6s  f/14

29. Day 18: Panorama - 2nd try

This morning I dive again in the panorama area :)  I wanted to capture the scenery before the sun got stronger and higher in the sky. Today's capture was better and in focus! hehehe

As you can see it's a beautiful sunny day here, ideal to be outside enjoying nature and outdoor activities, so I'll wrap up this post in order to open the blinds and enjoy every bit of sunshine :D  (I have a big window next to my desk and with the sun can't see anything on the screen).

Happy Saturday! :D

Nikon D90 (18-200mm  f/3.5-5.6) - 18mm  1/60s  f/11

28. Day 17: Panoramic - 1st try

T.G.I.F.!!! It was a very busy day today, so my post came a little bit later than usual.  I watched an amazing on-line class at Creative Live called "Fundamentals of photography" (it lasted 5 days). The instructor was knowledgeable and the class was super dynamic.

One of the topics was panorama (I never tried panorama before with a DSLR, so it's all new for me).  After watching the class I decided to give it a try and see the results.  The stitching program did a good job at stitching the photos but I missed the focus in a couple, so the shot is kind of crappy :(  Next time I should look better to adjust the focus. Anyway, I'll continue practicing to see if I can nail panorama and focusing during night time :D

Have a wonderful weekend!

Nikon D90 (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6) - 32mm  1.6s  f/4

27. Day 16: Early bird

After yesterday's morning fiasco, I wanted to redeem myself, so I woke up with my hubby at 6:20 am, yep! Quite early because I wanted to shoot the Church before sunrise. According to the weather forecast the time for sunrise here is 7:20 am, but I wanted to be at the place before that.

I drove to the location (is quite close to home, about 25 minutes walk) but at that time in the morning and with a temperature of 6ºC I didn't feel like walking.

When I arrived, it was already clear but the sun wasn't up yet, so I set up my tripod, the camera, connected the shutter release control and voila! Everything was ready to start my shooting.

I am happy to had woken up early otherwise I couldn't have got this shot! The stained glass windows of this Church is lighten during the night and it looks so beautiful against the dark church.

Nikon D90 (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6) - 120mm  2s  f/13

By the way, I couldn't have the silhouette of the church with sun behind it (forming like a halo) because the sun actually goes up just on the lower far corner of the church.  It's never lighten from the back :(

26. Day 15: Something you shouldn't do, ever!

During my usual morning walk I found a nice subject, I remember saying to my hubby "I found my subject for today's post".  I was happy!

After I leave him at work, I returned where my subject was and start taking shots.  I had the sun on the right side of my lens (out of the view of course) but I could see green lens flare on the viewfinder (you'll see what I'm talking about once you see the photo).  I tried to change my angle, my position to avoid the flare (while trying to keep the same composition), but none of that worked because the composition changed and I already had the final photo in my head.  I shoot a couple of photos and checked my viewfinder to see if I could see the flare, zoomed in and nothing...so I didn't pay much attention to the flare.

I thought, it's kind of back light situation, so, my subject has to be a silhouette, the flare won't be noticeable if the subject is black.  But, I must admit, I heard a little voice whispering at me "the flare will appear in your photos and you'll be very angry at yourself if you don't do something to avoid it", but of course I choose not to listen. That was the worst decision EVER!!! The bloody flare ruined all the shots!!

So, how to fix it? Well, easy, go out again when the reflection of the sun is not on your lens and try again (not even a lens hood could have helped me because the sun was almost in front of me).

The key message for today's issue is: If you see lens flare on your viewfinder while you are composing the photo and don't want to have it in your photo, don't shoot and find a way to avoid it! But first and foremost LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE!

Nikon D90 (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6) - 105mm 1/320s  f/14

After the fiasco of this morning, I waited until evening and went out again. I knew I won't be able to take the photo I wanted because the sun has to be behind the Church and in the evening it's in front. I waited until dusk and then I start shooting with long exposure aperture. It was pretty amazing to see the cross of the Church so bright in the evening, almost like it wanted to capture the last rays of sun. 

Now, I'm happy with the results, but still want to shoot the photo that I have in my head, but in order to do that I'll need to take the shot almost at sunrise.

Nikon D90 (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6) - 120mm  8s  f/18 

25. Day 14: Abandoned

Another day, another door hehe The place really looks abandoned with all the leaves on the ground.  The general condition of the front helps a lot to the feeling.  But, I must say... I really like it!

'til tomorrow!

Nikon D90 (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6) - 1/125s  f/10

24. Day 13: Neverending circles

I'm a bit tired today because during my morning walk I got lost (my orientation is terrible!) and I ended up walking much more than usual, so this is going to be a short post :P

I love to find patterns, they are everywhere, you just need to pay attention.  I like them much more if they look old and rusty! hehe

Next time you go out, look around you and see how many patterns can you find :)

Nikon D90 (50mm f/1.8) - 1/50s  f/7.1

23. Day 12: Ray of light

I had a photographer block today! I went out with the idea of finding a specific leaf that I saw yesterday.  I need to mention that I saw that specific leaf somewhere in a large bush.  I thought it would be easy to find it again, right? WRONG!  I was wandering around 30 minutes, looking and looking at the leaves but I couldn't find it! :(  I was so frustrated! How come I couldn't find it!!!

After mumbling a lot to myself I decided to find another subject for today's post.  I walked around for a while and finally my eyes caught a beautiful leaf with pronounced nervation. So, I said "let's do this!!" and this was the result.

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 1/10s  f/5.0

22. Day 11: Color by Technicolor

Today's post is a colorful one! It is said that is better to see the world in pink... but a pink house, that is quite different...

I found this house on Napa Valley, I know it's not common to see this color on a house, but think about this: wouldn't be nice to have each house painted with a different color? I'd probably like it a lot! :D

I hope this photo brings a lot of color to your life!  Good night!

Nikon D90 (18-200mm  f/3.5-5.6) - 1/500s  f/11

21. Day 10: Peeling doors

I don't know why but I've always got attracted to old, rusty, peeling things hehehe There is always a way to show them as beautiful as they are.

Each time I passed in front of these doors, during my morning walk, I thought "I have to take a photo of them!", so today was the day :)

Have a fun weekend!

Nikon D90 (50mm  f/1.8) - 1/250s  f/3.5

20. Day 9: Rules

Rules, rules, rules! Rules are all around us to educate us to avoid doing things that we don't do at our home. You can't elude them otherwise you'll be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

It's so nice to see that here, most of the people respect the law (maybe because they don't want to deal with the consequences of breaking it) :P

This sign was on the side of an office building downtown.

Nikon D90 (50mm  f/1.8) - 1/2500s  f/1.8

19. Day 8: Leaves

Beautiful day today, sunny and warm. Great for napping under the sun! hehe But, there is no time for that, at least not today :P

I don't know how always my mornings go away so quickly! When I check the time it's always more than noon!  Well, there's no way to stop time, so I'll just have to go with the flow...

I always liked the different colors of the leaves on the trees because even though the leaves fall, their bright colors remain.

Nikon D90 (50mm f/1.8) - 1/2000s  f/2.8

18. Day 7: Hope

Happy Tuesday! Today's post is somewhat spiritual :)

What do you think you can find at the intersection of Hope St. and Church St.? A church of course!! It's the location of St. Joseph's Church. A very simple yet beautiful church.

Nikon D90 (50mm f/1.8) - 1/640s  f/2.8

Nikon D90 (50mm f/1.8) - 1/320s  f/11

17. Day 6: Reflections I

Another week just started... I'm feeling a bit lazy already hihi maybe because of my busy morning and afternoon or maybe because I'm starting to have a headache... who knows...

Anyway, during my morning walk I discovered a bunch of pansies all covered with water drops (probably the sprinklers had been turned off not long ago), they look gorgeous!  So, I crouched and started my shooting.

(Let me tell you that taking photographs is a great exercise, you need to stretch, crouch, kneel, keep your body balance and in perfect equilibrium to reach the subject of your photos and of course, DON'T BREATH, otherwise, your photo has a lot of probabilities to be blurry.)

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 1/100s  f/16

16. Day 5: Solitude

It was a beautiful day today to be outside, blue sky with no clouds, very warm under the sun.  On our walk to the lake I saw this hummingbird on the brunch (I guess he wanted to be warm and just stayed under the sun). It didn't stay there too much though but luckily it was enough time to take a couple of shots.  I'd love to have more zoom so you can see the colors of the feathers, but this was the max of my lens.

Nikon D90 (18-200mm  f/3.5-5.6)  200mm  1/320s  f/11

15. Day 4: Time

I wonder where time goes by sometimes... you can't see it but you definitely can feel it!

I was walking with my hubby today near the Mountain View Public Library where we found this nice solar clock (actually he brought it to my attention). I was so happy because I knew that I had found the photo of the day :)

I took several shots from different perspectives and backgrounds, but this one was the winner!

Happy Saturday!

Nikon D90 (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6) -  27mm 1/125s  f/8

14. Day 3: Transparency

Happy Friday!! I'm so happy that the weekend is upon us!

Today's post is about nature.  Don't think you can only find beautiful nature photos in spring or summer, each season has it's own beauty.  Here is winter, so most of the trees doesn't have leaves.

A while ago I was walking in a park near home and I found several beautiful leaves on the ground, they had different colors, shapes and sizes.  I picked them up and saved them for a macro session.

I posted 2 photos instead of 1, because I want you to see the leave in a way that you usually don't.

I'm very happy with the results, hope you'll like them also.

Nikon D90 (105mm f/2.8) - 1/100s  f/6.3

Nikon D90 (105mm f.28) - 1/3s  f/45 with extension tubes

13. Day 2: New Year

For my second day I was thinking of taking a photo of nature.  I went to the balcony to search for a good photo.  I was taking several photos of the trees, branches, leaves, sky, but none of them seemed to be the one that I was looking for.

Suddenly I saw this two beautiful pine trees with 2 crows on top of them, they looked sooo nice!! I quickly pointed my camera, focus and just when I was going to press the shutter, they flew away!! Grrrrr!!  Well, maybe next time...

After this and because the light outside was fading away I opted to try light painting.  First I tried with a lighter but didn't work because the background and me were also on the photo.  So I grabbed my headlamp and seems to work kind of OK (at least I wasn't in the photo).  Even though I'm not super happy with the final results, I decided to post the one that for me looked the best.

I'll continue practicing to improve my light painting :D

Happy New Year 2014!

Nikon D90 (18-200mm  f/3.5-5.6) - 42mm - 30s  f/4.5

12. Day 1: Origami Geisha

Happy New Year!! It's been a long time since I wrote something in the blog. This year I proposed myself to start a 365 day photography project. I love to take photos but for some reason I end up doing other stuff, so starting today I'll post one photo per day until the end of the year.

I hope you'll enjoy watching them as much as I'm enjoying taking them :D

Feel free to add any comment to the photos.

For day 1 I chose this lovely bookmark. It was a gift from a friend that had to return to Japan.

Nikon D90 (18-200mm  f/3.5-5.6)  150mm - 39.6s  f/5.6