Cwgrizz's Fifty-Two in 2015

[Horoscope Fish]

This week, not being any place other than around the home place, I had to come up with something I could use for one of my themes. After having been giving about 400 landscape blocks and stacking them, I noticed that they were stacked in "columns." Perfect! Well almost. I have shot them from different angles with different lenses, etc for three different days or so, trying to get something interesting like [MENTION=13090]Horoscope Fish[/MENTION] manages to do with nothing. Ha! Well here are a couple. I really am not sure what to do more to make them interesting. Maybe it is just hopeless. Hints and suggestions are welcome as always.

Your comment made me chuckle... You're not the first person to tell me I have a knack of sorts for making the ordinary look interesting. Matt Hardy once said, "Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph" and I believe this to be true.

By way of suggestion for getting a powerful image out of something as simple as a pile of pavers, I suggest you ask what drew you to wanting to shoot them in the first place? If I was shooting these, I'd get in close. Reeeeally close. Shoot the shape, the texture, the pattern. Hold the camera pressed to your face and move around... It's shocking how often the right composition will suddenly jump out at you as if by magic; like an "ah ha!" moment, when you do this. It's a wonderfully powerful technique. I'd then probably convert to black and white because the color, really, is only distracting from what's important (shape, texture and pattern).
.....

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 44 Theme: Pets

I just realized that I did not add this photo to my 52 in 365. It was uploaded and placed in my favorite for Oct. but I forgot to put it here. Anyway, if you haven't already seen it, here it is. My dog Charlie, doing what he likes to do. Running through the desert looking for fun. I have tried to catch an image like this for a year, but never was successful. Finally I got what I really wanted.

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 45 Theme: Vehicle

A few shots from a car show that was held in a very small town in SE Arizona.

1955 Ford Truck

1939 Chevy

1929 Dodge w/ Hemi power

1929 Ford and 1957 Chevy

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 46 Theme: Darkness

This really wasn't what I had in mind for the "Darkness" theme, but I am starting to fall behind (Out in conditions not suitable to take the camera for a couple of weeks.) Now it is time to try to catch up, so... tonight I went out on a whim and took a quick handheld moon shot.

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 47 Theme: Glass

Again, I had another idea for this theme and may try the idea in the future (bonus photo, Ha!), but this will have to do for now. I may even re-shoot this one because I didn't like the grass blurred in the foreground of the photo and too lazy to GIMP it out. Hopefully I can re-shoot with similar light.

 

[cwgrizz]

Another for Week 47 using D7100 on a different day to see if I could improve.

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 48 Theme: Water

Landscape with water foreground. (D7100)

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 49 Theme: Pairs

A pair of Great Horned Owls that have started hanging around.

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 50 Theme: Crooked

Picture speaks for itself. Ha!

 

[cwgrizz]

Week 51 Theme: Stairs/steps

I think this will put me a week ahead of schedule, but that will make up for the few times I was a week behind. Ha!

 

[cwgrizz]

WEEK 52 Theme: Architecture or Ranching (It's a toss up).

I had hoped to get some photos of one of the old Spanish influenced churches around the area for the Architecture theme or to catch some cowboys working cattle on horseback for the Ranching theme, but it didn't work out. These were two themes that I thought at the beginning of the year would be easy to fill, but it turned out not to be. So.... here is what I have.
An old barn that continues to fall down as the days go by. It is about all that remains of an old ranch. Really it is a sign of what has happened to family farming and ranching as the big dogs have taken over.

PP using GIMP to bring out some more color and contrast.

 

[cwgrizz]

I made it. I actually did better than I thought I would. All goals were met or exceeded and in looking back it was fun. The new year is almost here, so I need to set things up to try it again. Ha!!

 

[mikew_RIP]

Congratulations Walt.

 

[wornish]

Congratulations.

 

[Marilynne]

Congratulations Walt!

 

[Kevin H]

Nice job Walt