59. Happy - July 27-August 2, 2014
Byron-
My WPOTM happy submission was fun to make.
What would make me happier than a long swig of ice cold chocolate milk on a hot Summer day?
Nuthin'
In fact it is so enjoyable that it has the same effect on me as catnip has on a cat. woooo-eeeee!
This photo was shot at 1/60 sec at f16. The flash was set in the rear curtain mode. Erleen was the one that rotated the camera and pushed the shutter release button. She wouldn't be the subject because all that chocolate milk would send her into a diabetic coma. I just thought it was nummy.
My WPOTM happy submission was fun to make.
What would make me happier than a long swig of ice cold chocolate milk on a hot Summer day?
Nuthin'
In fact it is so enjoyable that it has the same effect on me as catnip has on a cat. woooo-eeeee!
This photo was shot at 1/60 sec at f16. The flash was set in the rear curtain mode. Erleen was the one that rotated the camera and pushed the shutter release button. She wouldn't be the subject because all that chocolate milk would send her into a diabetic coma. I just thought it was nummy.
Deron-
Go ahead... just TRY to find a happier cheese grater!
Didn't come out as sharp (like cheddar) as I would have liked, but too late to re-shoot it. It makes me laugh, though, and that's all that matters!
Go ahead... just TRY to find a happier cheese grater!
Didn't come out as sharp (like cheddar) as I would have liked, but too late to re-shoot it. It makes me laugh, though, and that's all that matters!
Paul-
The life of a beloved toy is, ironically, a hard one. You didn’t need to see the Toy Story movies to know that. G.I. Joe, Tonka Trucks, Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Head, Doll houses, Slinkies…they’ve seen it all as they been traded from hand to hand—sometimes from generation to generation. The fabrics wear thin, the plastic cracks, and little pieces go missing. The love that these joys of our youth generate notwithstanding, it’s enough to make any self-respecting play toy want to take some time off and recharge—literally or figuratively.
Such was the case recently when I was visiting an upscale resort on the West Coast. Who should I bump into but Raggedity Ann (who has been in my wife’s family for quite some time). She was just back from an exfoliating facial scrub (using caviar and crushed pearls) and relaxing before a session of henna tinting and thermal reconditioning of her hair.
Ms. Ann was relaxing out on a marble-inlaid patio with a stunning view of the Pacific, and had a drink in hand that smelled of coconut, papaya and cinnamon. I didn’t want to upset her well-earned vacation with too much idle talk so I politely excused myself and left her to her reverie.
But I can tell you this. She looked happy.
Our Story So Far… Akira Yoshimura, acclaimed scholar and master of the haiku, placed his horsehair brush and small bowl of charcoal ink aside to contemplate the poem he had just committed to rice paper with brush strokes befitting his troubled mind. There was a subtle hint of lotus blossom on the wind, borne on a near as subtle a breeze weaving its way through the shoji of his small house. It has been three weeks since the massacre at Sekigahara and now, with the clan of Tokugawa firmly holding the rein of the Shogunate, Yoshimura-san could only hope the political and military turmoil that had nearly bled itself dry at Gifu would hasten the return of a more peaceful time. Besides, the wizened man mused, he had greater concerns at the moment. What if his karma would not permit him to weave into a haiku the cloying vision he had beheld at the Three Chrysanthemum Festival—where the fireworks in the western sky seemed to spell out these words: Olympus E-500; 14-45mm zoom lens (shot at 24mm); 1/160 sec. at f7.1; ISO 250.
The life of a beloved toy is, ironically, a hard one. You didn’t need to see the Toy Story movies to know that. G.I. Joe, Tonka Trucks, Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Head, Doll houses, Slinkies…they’ve seen it all as they been traded from hand to hand—sometimes from generation to generation. The fabrics wear thin, the plastic cracks, and little pieces go missing. The love that these joys of our youth generate notwithstanding, it’s enough to make any self-respecting play toy want to take some time off and recharge—literally or figuratively.
Such was the case recently when I was visiting an upscale resort on the West Coast. Who should I bump into but Raggedity Ann (who has been in my wife’s family for quite some time). She was just back from an exfoliating facial scrub (using caviar and crushed pearls) and relaxing before a session of henna tinting and thermal reconditioning of her hair.
Ms. Ann was relaxing out on a marble-inlaid patio with a stunning view of the Pacific, and had a drink in hand that smelled of coconut, papaya and cinnamon. I didn’t want to upset her well-earned vacation with too much idle talk so I politely excused myself and left her to her reverie.
But I can tell you this. She looked happy.
Our Story So Far… Akira Yoshimura, acclaimed scholar and master of the haiku, placed his horsehair brush and small bowl of charcoal ink aside to contemplate the poem he had just committed to rice paper with brush strokes befitting his troubled mind. There was a subtle hint of lotus blossom on the wind, borne on a near as subtle a breeze weaving its way through the shoji of his small house. It has been three weeks since the massacre at Sekigahara and now, with the clan of Tokugawa firmly holding the rein of the Shogunate, Yoshimura-san could only hope the political and military turmoil that had nearly bled itself dry at Gifu would hasten the return of a more peaceful time. Besides, the wizened man mused, he had greater concerns at the moment. What if his karma would not permit him to weave into a haiku the cloying vision he had beheld at the Three Chrysanthemum Festival—where the fireworks in the western sky seemed to spell out these words: Olympus E-500; 14-45mm zoom lens (shot at 24mm); 1/160 sec. at f7.1; ISO 250.
Jerry-
I first thought of posing my daughter with the Sam the family dog but only Sam was willing. Have kind of worn off my welcome in years past using the kids in photos. So, I took the wife on a road trip to Cannon Falls and we stopped at a yarn shop, where she was definitely happy. There was a large fluorescent lamp overhead that made the color a bit odd. My camera has some things with color balance you can do afterwards and I tried that and got to the present image. This was my D5200 with 16-85mm, 1/50 of a second, wide open at f4.8, set to about 35mm, iso 800. We did get to eat lunch at the Mill Street Tavern - which made me very happy!
I first thought of posing my daughter with the Sam the family dog but only Sam was willing. Have kind of worn off my welcome in years past using the kids in photos. So, I took the wife on a road trip to Cannon Falls and we stopped at a yarn shop, where she was definitely happy. There was a large fluorescent lamp overhead that made the color a bit odd. My camera has some things with color balance you can do afterwards and I tried that and got to the present image. This was my D5200 with 16-85mm, 1/50 of a second, wide open at f4.8, set to about 35mm, iso 800. We did get to eat lunch at the Mill Street Tavern - which made me very happy!
Kevin-
Well, when thinking about what makes me happy (and not finding a lot in this difficult week) one answer was clear. Our Maltese, Squirt, makes Michelle and I very happy. I had taken her to the studio several times previously, when she was only about two years old, and after three different attempts finally managed to capture a nice portrait of Squirt on a black background.
I wanted to do that again, only this time photographing her on a bright white background, hopefully with her tongue hanging out, a happy face! Well, to put it simply Squirt was NOT cooperative. (She’s basically scared of everything). First I set up white seamless backdrop on the floor of the studio. Michelle was there as well trying to position her but Squirt did not want to stay in place and look toward me for even the micro-moment it takes for the shutter to snap.
Then I shifted things around and we tried to place Squirt on a light table where she would be up off the florr and hopefully staying in place. But she was so terrified of that she wouldn’t even sit, clinging to Michelle and not wanting to be placed there even for a moment.
I then set up a small cushioned footstool, hoping she might sit on that. No such luck. Finally, when I sat on the stool and held Squirt in my lap she seemed to calm down. Michelle moved behind the camera and started tripping the shutter and we were able to get the kind of expression that I wanted to capture on Squirt’s face, only with my smiling face also included.
It’s a lot of work having a 5 1/2 pound Maltese. But she makes us very happy!
Nikon D4s. Tripod mounted. ISO 100. 1/250th of a second. 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor set to 200mm at f/11. Two studio strobes, one in a large softbox close to, and in front of, Squirt, the second was positioned above the white seamless background paper.
Well, when thinking about what makes me happy (and not finding a lot in this difficult week) one answer was clear. Our Maltese, Squirt, makes Michelle and I very happy. I had taken her to the studio several times previously, when she was only about two years old, and after three different attempts finally managed to capture a nice portrait of Squirt on a black background.
I wanted to do that again, only this time photographing her on a bright white background, hopefully with her tongue hanging out, a happy face! Well, to put it simply Squirt was NOT cooperative. (She’s basically scared of everything). First I set up white seamless backdrop on the floor of the studio. Michelle was there as well trying to position her but Squirt did not want to stay in place and look toward me for even the micro-moment it takes for the shutter to snap.
Then I shifted things around and we tried to place Squirt on a light table where she would be up off the florr and hopefully staying in place. But she was so terrified of that she wouldn’t even sit, clinging to Michelle and not wanting to be placed there even for a moment.
I then set up a small cushioned footstool, hoping she might sit on that. No such luck. Finally, when I sat on the stool and held Squirt in my lap she seemed to calm down. Michelle moved behind the camera and started tripping the shutter and we were able to get the kind of expression that I wanted to capture on Squirt’s face, only with my smiling face also included.
It’s a lot of work having a 5 1/2 pound Maltese. But she makes us very happy!
Nikon D4s. Tripod mounted. ISO 100. 1/250th of a second. 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor set to 200mm at f/11. Two studio strobes, one in a large softbox close to, and in front of, Squirt, the second was positioned above the white seamless background paper.