First thing is first, I'm very happy to have gotten this far and a little surprised. It's been an adventure to say the least. I've gone to many places that I've never been before. This project has so far met my expectations. I am getting out and visiting a lot of local places I've never been before. Also, this project is giving me a vehicle to use to make my photography better. Sometimes my photowalk is integrated directly into my regular life. If I go somewhere, vacation or a day trip with the family, I take my camera. That may or may not be my photowalk for the week but either way I've got my camera in case something catches my eye. I have struggled with getting some of the photos and the blog posted in a timely manner, but I have pretty well succeeded so far in doing my walks. Sometimes the walk is extravagant and sometimes it's just a walk through a backyard. The best part is there are great photo opportunities everywhere. I think I have come up with a change for a future project if I do another one next year. I would like to integrate photo techniques into my photowalks. Sometimes I'd rather take two hours of my week and focus on a specific type of photography or a specific technique. It's hard for me to have the time to do both a photowalk and try some of the techniques plus have a life and work, etc... So I may make that change for the 2011 52 Photowalks project. I'd be interested in your feedback on that idea.
Since this post is about reflecting how about I reflect a bit.
Here are some of my personal favorites of the project so far this year. They are in no particular order.
This is a nature center on the other side of Killen's Pond. I really like this shot because of the lighting hitting the building and making is pop.
I call this fireworks because to me it looks like fireworks. I know the focus isn't sharp but I'm okay with that. The simplicity of 3 main colors and the shapes really do it for me.
This was taken at Grotto's Pizza in Rehoboth, DE. We make it a habit of eating there during our polar bear plunge weekend. This was the first time either of us had been upstairs and we had it to ourselves. The kids enjoyed themselves as did I.
Here is Pete and his dragon at Disney's Magic Kingdom during the Electric Parade. I've always love Pete's Dragon and I felt this picture turned out great considering the low light.
I love the colors of this shot, but I really like the post processing I did. I use gimp for 98% of my post processing and it worked great for me here. First I cropped it, probably played with the levels a bit, but I also cloned a person out of this shot. I thin it turned out pretty good. What do you think?
A bit more reflecting here. I've always loved lightscapes over the water like this. Considering I was hand holding this shot (because I was too lazy to get the tripod out of the truck) I think this came out nicely. I look forward to trying to get better shots like this.
This is a cool shot of a table and chairs at a hotel at Rehoboth Beach. I considered straightening the shot to make the lines in the floor horizontal but I like them the way they are. The table and tones really make this shot for me.
This was a fun shot, out on the beach having fun. I really like this due to the point of view. It's cool to have a high vantage point for a shot, this was mine.
This shot really reminds me that a point and shoot camera is capable of taking good shots. I did a bit of work on it in gimp that hopefully I will write up and post at some point soon.
The boat ramp. The tones and colors in this shot are great. We were out here for me to take maternity shots of my wife but I had to sneak a few shots in. This is one of my favorites.
This is a cool shot. I love silhouettes and the fact that my pregnant wife is the model is great. I love the sunset behind, however I do wish the chain link fence wasn't in the shot. I will continue to look for another location to do this type of shot without the distraction.
This was my first time to bombay hook national wildlife refuge. I met up with some friends from flickr and we had a nice drive around the place. Since it was still pretty chilly out there wasn't much to photograph but shots like this are very different from what most people would bring back from a nature place. I did some work in gimp to make it look dated and I like the results.
Here I used my pop art filter that is built into my camera. I think the results are pretty cool. Some times I don't like punchy colors, but in this case I think it worked well for the shot and the people on the beach just added a little something.
So far my walks have been at...
1 - near my mother-in-laws house
2 - Killen's Pond (All the way around)
3 - Washington DC
4 - Mt. Olive Cemetery
5 - Local - Blizzard Aftermath
6 - near my Mom's house
7 - Ted Harvey Wildlife Refuge
8 - Historic New Castle
9 - Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
10 - Rehoboth Beach - Polar Bear Plunge
11 - Dupont Nature Center/Cape Henlopen
12 - Silver Lake
13 - Maternity Photoshoot near my grandparents
14 - Cape Henlopen
15 - Killens Pond
16 - Lewes & Cape Henlopen
17 - Near my Aunt and Uncle's
18 - Salisbury Zoo
19 - Tidbury Park
20 - Lums Pond
21 - Trap Pond
22 - Killens Pond (Black and White only)
23 - Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
24 - White Lake, NC
25 - Cape Henlopen
26 - Disney Parks (2 days)
27 - Cape Henlopen
28 - A friends backyard (posting soon)
Going to some of these places has been great, going to others has been challenging. I have learned a few things along the way. Bring sunscreen, hand wipes, and BUG SPRAY! I learned that one the hard way on my 23rd walk. Also, pace yourself and make sure your not out in the sun too long. I learned that on 4th of July at the 27th walk. I've also noticed a huge gravitational pull to Cape Henlopen. If you live in the area and have never been it really is a great place to go.
Oh well, more than half way done and plenty more opportunities. I have a list of photowalk ideas to pull from but I don't have too many instance where I can't figure something out.
Keep reading and commenting.
No comments:
Post a Comment