Kevin's 365Project

There seems to be a problem with the uploaded JPEG version of the photo I call “Interior Warmth”.  On my computer, the photo actually looks like this:

As you can tell, the image has a more orange or honey look to it.  I actually thought that I had exported it with the wrong white balance or something.  But when I opened the image in Photoshop CS5, it looks like this:

I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but I’m 100% sure I don’t like it.

I know that Adobe posted updates to Lightroom, Photoshop, and Adobe Camera RAW yesterday.  I applied them all through the course of last night and this morning.  Maybe that’s the problem but I can’t understand why.  I may post-process this picture again later and see if it turns out better, but I’m too tired tonight to worry much more about it.

The main thing is that I’m posting pictures.  I worry about details tomorrow.

Another shot of my client’s home.  This is a shot taken inside then entrance foyer.  It shows the overall warmth of the house.  The light colors of the woodwork matched with the lighting from the ceiling makes the entire place a warm caramel like color.  I truly love the minimalistic nature of the plan – even though it speaks of class and comfort, it’s not overbearing.  The entire home is a true work of art.

Took this picture at a client’s home today.  This home is so beautiful inside that I just marvel at it every time I enter the front door.  There are many different beautiful items around the place, but this glass sculpture has always caught my eye.  The way the lighting makes the design in the glass “pop” is really a sight to behold.

I really have to thank them for letting me take pictures of their home, I home that I can post more later.

Tomorrow officially starts my 365Project.  I’ve gotten things ready and am ready to start in the morning.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a retaliatively cool day.

I was able to go downtown at lunch today and get a few pictures taken.  Here’s one of them…the Lexington Center.

Went downtown this afternoon.  Stopped a few places that I’ve never taken pictures of and took pictures that I never would have before.  A few of them turned out really well.

Here’s one that I call “Streetscape”:

Because there is so many light/power poles downtown, it’s really hard to get the classic shot of any side of this church.  but I stood on the sidewalk closest to the church and basically looked up at the tower.

I’m not exactly sure what purpose the tower has served, but I did notice a ladder in in this afternoon.  Maybe I can get there when the minister is still in and ask him/her some questions.

I went back and looked at the photos from Ken’s house yesterday and I found this one.  It was a bit over-exposed because of the bright sunlight coming through the open garage door, but I think it shows the scene a bit better than simply the engine.

The entire trip to Ken’s house yesterday proved two things for me.  First, as a photographer, I need to pay more attention to the people around me.  If I had gotten a picture the expression on Ken’s face when the engine came alive I would have a picture that said it all for the event.

Second, I need to be aware of where the light is.  I had to go way overboard on the post-processing on this image because of the light pouring in from the garage door.  Moving on the other side of the car would have helped.

Yesterday, I went to my friend Ken’s house to witness the first startup of the engine for his 1965 Shelby Cobra kit car.

I got there around 2:00.  He was already ready to get going.  The Cobra, well most of it (the body wasn’t on it yet) sat on jack stands in his garage.  The first thing that you noticed were the huge chrome side pipes, which simply were awesome in their own right.  The second thing I noticed was the neatness of all the wiring and how clean the garage was.  It was obvious that Ken took pride in his work and he had a healthy respect for the dangers present when fuel and electricity were near.

Well, after several attempts – mainly due to the fuel system not being primed and timing being off – we managed to get the 302 cubic inch engine to roar to life.  It still needs to be tuned and a small fuel leak taken care of, but it did fire up rather easily and it made Ken very happy.  It proved his time and effort had paid off.

My only regret was that I couldn’t take a picture of his face when the engine came alive.  It would have made a much better picture than this one.  Still, this picture tells the tale.  Great job Ken.  Now get the car finished so we can rip a couple of tires apart on the asphalt!

Over the past week, I’ve cleaned up and prepared my computer for the 365Project.  To get my mind wrapped around the task before me, I felt I needed to start with a clean slate.  This meant ditching Lightroom (actually removing it from my computer) and archiving all of the pictures I’ve taken so far.  I know this is a drastic step, but it forces me to use the planned workflow and get accustomed to it.

So far I have copied, renamed and where possible converted to DNG all of the photos that I have ever taken with any of my digital cameras.  I have them stored on a 500GB external hard drive at the moment but I intend to burn those to DVDs for permanent storage.

So beginning today and running until September 1st, I’m going to running all of the pictures I take through the new workflow.  I have also decided that all of my new images will have faux “frames” around them and I have created a new watermark style to add to the images.  I’m wanting to do something special with the EXIF data, but I haven’t worked that out yet.  I’ll keep working on it.

So to start this test of properly, I give you my first photo from the new workflow: “HONOR”

The EXIF data:
Created: Friday, August 27, 2010 11:50:14 AM
Flash: No
Exposure time: 1/125 s
Aperture: 14
Focal length: 28.00 mm
Focal length (EQ35mm): 45 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure bias: 0
Metering mode: Spot
Exposure mode: Manual exposure
White balance: Automatic
Orientation: Normal
Scene capture type: Standard
Camera Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi

I went out this afternoon at lunch to take some pictures.  It had been a long time since I had been able to get out at lunch and do anything but wolf down some fast food and then get back t work.  Today was warm, but not too hot and there was very little of the “haze” associated with the extreme temps of summer.  I ended up getting away from the construction of downtown by going to the Lexington Cemetary.  They have two very nice ponds, a beautiful garden and the best grounds of any cemetary that I have ever seen.  The other thing they have is a section dedicated to military burial plots.

It’s no Arlington, but it’s still a nice setting.  The fact that all the head stones are turned so that they face the flag in the center just speaks of the honor that military strives for.  That’s why I called this photo “Honor”.  I think it’s a stark reminder that there are men and women in our country willing to do whatever it takes to protect it – even in the face of death.  It should be a reminder that we need to honor our veterans for they have decided that paying the ultimate price for their country is worth it.

For those of you just joining us, I’ve decided to start a Photography 365Project.  Over the next couple of days, I’ll be gearing up and turning my last few thoughts into decisions and begin moving forward.

As of right now, I have decided that I will start this project on the 1st day of September, 2010.  In addition, I’ve decided to host all the files here instead of on my Flickr page.

I’ve also come up with some ground rules:

1. All the pictures in this project will taken after September 1, 2010.
2. I will not post a picture that is more than 1 month old.
3. All of the pictures will be taken by me.
4. None of the pictures will be directly download-able from this site at their full resolution.  If you want one, submit a comment and we’ll work something out.
5. I will use my new “bucket” system to manage my photos on my computer, using DVDs as backup medium.  (More on this a bit later.)
6. I will most likely be using Photoshop CS5 to post-process and develop my photos.
7. I will store all of my photos as DNG files, instead of the Canon RAW format directly from my camera.
8. At any point, I may change any of the items above except for Nos. 1, 2 and 3.  If I do change any of them, I’ll create a post explaining what has changed and why.

I’m going to try to find  copy of “The DAM Book” at the library and use that to aid me in this project as well.

Keep watching…

This is where my 365Project will be presented.  I’m just getting things ready right now.  Stay tuned for the start date and my first photo!

This is not the start of anything, but simply a test to see how the posts will look.