Project 365
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Day 192: An Awesome Wonder
"When I consider the vastness of God
And all of the marvelous attractions that his hands have made
Flowers and birds and oceans and mountains
Truly God is an awesome wonder."
(Photo taken from the foot of Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire)
Day 193: Sunset at Clover Valley
Clover Valley Farm is just a few houses down the road from my own house. This old farm dates back to 1802 and is considered one of the oldest farm and stables still in operation in the area. Dani spent several years here learning to ride horses. The farm also offers one of the best view of the sunset in the neighborhood.
Day 194: Frozen Bites
Lake Cochichuate in Natick is a popular spot for ice fishing. Today, there was only one man on the entire lake. A lone bird kept the fisherman entertained as he waits for some sign of life from below.
Day 195: Between Poses
Caught Emily taking a break from posing as I was changing the lens on my camera. Emily’s portraits from this photo shoot can be viewed here: http://www.donaldjin.com/Portraits/Emily-Waters/15858214_isE2C
Day 196: Lake House
I've always wanted a house on a lake like the one in this photo. I've seen this house many times before but always from across a lake. It's a beautiful house, perfectly situated on a quiet lake, without too many distracting neighbors.
Day 197: Chocolate Cherry
The kitchen cabinets were finally installed yesterday. We were concerned that Chocolate Cherry might be too dark, but looking at it now, Kate and I are pleased with the result. We went with the stainless-steel towel bar handles on all the cabinets. It will take another two or three weeks before the countertop gets installed. Until than, we are still eating off the pool table.
Day 198: Few Good Men
Since it was such a nice day, I took my car through a car wash. When I got to the place, there were about 20 cars waiting in line. This is not unusual for this place. They are not the cheapest in town but it's not unusual to find people waiting thirty to forty minutes to get their cars washed. It's all because of the quality of the service they provide. The guys and gals who work here are some of the hardest working people I've seen. From sunrise to sundown, this crew gives 100% to every single car that comes through the wash. Regardless of the job, it is obvious that these people take pride in their work. I wish there were more dedicated people like these in all industries.
Day 201: Reluctant Model
I bought a couple of used strobes at a swap meet and I wanted to try them out. The only person available to model for me was my lovely daughter, Dani. She was not very cooperative but we got through few poses. This is the only shot where she doesn't look like she's ready to kill me. Her rate is reasonable but she's a very temperamental model.
Day 202: Painted Stove
This photo was made in complete darkness while I moved or "painted" the stove and the kettle with a handheld flashlight for 30 seconds. The light painting gives a unique effect that's quite different from exposing with a strobe or a Speedlight. However, there is very little control and it's mostly trial and error.
Day 203: Business Attire
I remember the days when I had to wear a tie and a suit to work everyday. I haven't done that in years except when meeting clients or on special occasions. I had a special dinner engagement tonight so I brought in my tie and hung it up behind my office door until I was ready to go out. Thank goodness for business casuals.24105mm5D Mark 25d2CanonProject365attirebusinessclothesprojectsuitetie
Day 204: Symphony in Blues
I took my Day 15 photo from this spot on August 15, 2010, just a couple of weeks after starting Project 365. I returned on Oct 21 (Day 78) to capture the autumn foliage. Here I am again on February 24, in the dead of New England winter. Comparing the previous photos, I noticed in this one, a house across the lake through the bare trees. I guess my next return will be sometime in the spring.
Day 205: Friday Blues
This was a tough Friday. My calendar was filled with one meeting after another and my to-do list for the day had a scroll bar next to it, which means it was too long to show in one view. I took a moment to stare out my office window and I took a photo of my beautiful but dead, bamboo plant.
Day 206: Ugh!
Every thirteen year old girl seems to be wearing these boots. So, for Dani's thirteenth birthday, I got her a pair. She wore them maybe half a dozen times before she went back to her black Converse sneakers. When I inquired as to why she no longer wears these fine imported overpriced boots, she told me that she found out these boots were made with real sheepskin and she felt sorry for the sheep. I was speechless.
Day 207: Longing
Woke up to a fresh coat of snow this morning and the temperature hovered around high twenties most of the day. I drove out to D.W. Field Park in Brockton and stopped at a perennial hot spot among birds and bird watchers. Today, all was quiet and only an empty bench gave evidence to those warmer days.
Day 208: Understanding Textures
Ok, this has nothing to do with texture or understanding of it. This was a last minute attempt at getting my 365 photo before the clock struck 12, but I think it turned out better than expected. I like the Japanese-like minimalistic look to it.
Day 209: The Other Shoes
These are Dani's other pair of shoes. The ones she wears everyday instead of the boots from Day 206. I guess it is better than her going around in 5 inch high heels.
Day 210: Dusk Reflection
I've been a sucker for puddles and reflections as evident from the very first photo in this project to several others in my portfolio. As I was leaving this cemetery this evening, I drove right over a puddle. I looked in the rearview mirror and I saw this scenery. I stopped the car right where I was, popped open the trunk and set up my tripod and made today's 365 image. Lucky for me, the cemetery was empty and I had plenty of time to compose and take this long exposure.
Day 211: Vermont Teddy
His tag reads "Proudly conceived, made and sewn in the United States of America."
Day 212: Beautified
All the appliances in the new kitchen were hooked up today and our kitchen renovation project is almost done. Living without a kitchen for almost four weeks has been very disruptive but it was definitely worth it.
Day 213: Pass it On
Today was the first day of the Merit Badge University (MBU) where I'm teaching photography to several Boy Scouts troops in the South Eastern Massachusetts region. The MBU takes place at a local vocational high school in my town over the next four weeks. It was great fun teaching and sharing a subject that I am so passionate about. I hope the scouts enjoyed it as much as I did. I took this photo right outside the classroom to demonstrate depth of field, a topic for next week.
Day 214: Back Alley
A candid shot of a model and her friend in the back alley of the studio. A heavy overcast day provided beautiful ambient lighting.
Day 215: To Willoughby
Looking down these set of railroad tracks takes me back in time to a different place in a different era.
Day 216: Paradise Along Route 27
Just as Route 27 crosses over from Sherborn into Medfield, there is a stretch of road that follows a marshland to the west for about 1/4 of a mile. At any other time of day, it isn't much of a sight, but around sunset, for a span of maybe twenty minutes, it turns into a paradise that's worth pulling over.
Day 217: Into The Frame
I enjoy this type of image very much. It's a simple street scene but captured at the right moment, all the pieces fall together to create a strong graphical design. The vertical lines created by the concrete blocks first caught my eyes so I set up my shot and waited for about half an hour for the perfect subject to walk into this frame. The splash of orange and green from the subject was unexpected but it really brought the image together.
Day 218: The Commute
My commute to work is about an hour each way. Let's see... that's 2 hours a day, 10 hours a week, 40 hours a month and 480 hours a year. Assuming an 8 hour work day, that's 60 days out of the year, I'm spending inside my car, just commuting. If I was earning minimum wage, the opportunity cost of my commute would be about $3,840 a year. Three times minimum wage would be close to $12,000 a year, four times minimum wage would be $15,000… These are the thoughts going through my head as I sit in traffic everyday.
Day 219: Empty
Empty lifeguard chair sits on the shore of still frozen Lake Massapaug on a gray, wet Friday afternoon.
Day 220: Ready for Play
I went to a nearby golf course to check out its condition. Though the course wasn't officially open and there were still patches of snow here and there, I was surprised to see several golfers on the field, It looks like the course should open in couple of weeks, if not sooner. I need to get my clubs cleaned and ready for play.
Day 221: Sign of Life
I noticed these little guys poking through the dirt for the first time today. It's amazing how they know when to come out. I'm not sure these are grass or just some weed. In any case, friend or foe, I welcome them all with open arms.
I checked into my hotel in San Jose today to attend a conference and to meet with couple of clients. This wasn't my usual hotel and the room seemed a bit worn out, but since my company had a special rate at this place, I was "advised" to stay here. Looking at the final bill, it really wasn't that much cheaper. Nonetheless, I enjoy traveling to the Silicon Valley and the whole Bay Area. Everything seems so much more vibrant and cutting edge here as compared to the sleepy towns of New England. I'm looking forward to productive meetings and some wonderful photo opps during my stay.
I had dinner with a very good friend of mine at a lovely New Orleans restaurant in San Carlos tonight. I arrived a bit early so I drove around near the restaurant and ended up in a neighborhood that overlooks the entire city. From this vantage point, I was able to see the entire city of San Carlos and all the way out to the San Francisco Bay. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that's the San Mateo bridge jutting out into the bay. If my bearing was completely off, I'm sure Rosanna will be the first to comment on this.
Of all the trips I've made to this city, this is my first photo of the Golden Gate Bridge. I didn't try to get too creative with the angles. I just wanted a clean, classic shot of this beautiful bridge at dusk for my collection. This was made possible because I actually brought my extra heavy tripod with me on this trip. It was worth every ounce and sweat.
Banging out reports, proposals, emails at work only to come home and update Flickr, Facebook, my website, my blog, Twitter, and than a little bit of WOW, sometimes my whole day is centered around these little plastic keys. Only if I can get a nickel every time I hit a vowel...
Day 226: Chipotle Art
I'm quite addicted to the burrito bowls served at Chipotle - The Mexican Grill. I joined the Chipotle fan page on Facebook so that on the days that I'm not actually eating at Chipotle, I can discuss with other like minded addicts, why we love this food so much. I recently started a thread about how ridiculous it was to pay $2 for a scoop of guacamole, yet, when I standing in line looking at my burrito being assembled, I give the consenting nod as my burrito passes the guacamole station. I'm so weak.
The particular Chipotle restaurant near my office, the one that I frequent the most, is tastefully decorated with several black and white photographs of items found right in the establishment. Here's my version of one of the prints.
Walking through the Easton Sheep Pasture this afternoon, the deep red color on the side of this barn caught my eyes.
Read
Growing up in Brooklyn in the early 70's, I didn't own many books. Couple of times a year, a big truck with a bright sign that read "RIF" and filled with books would pull into my street and allow kids to choose any two books for free. At the time, I didn't understand who these people were, but it was like Christmas in July to me. Much later, I learned that RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) is a nationwide program that promotes literacy by giving away donated books to children in urban areas. What a wonderful program this is and it is still going strong after so many years.
My children loves to read and they are fortunate enough to live in a house filled with shelves of books after books, but I'm not sure if they will ever have the same appreciation for them as I do.
I found a basket of these strawberries in the fridge tonight. I don't like strawberries but, it certainly looked sumptuous and photogenic.
"Us and them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
and the General sat, and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side"
A view of the Prudential Building from a stairwell inside the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
Day 232: The Sign of the Tiger - Variation
My son comes into my office tonight and starts showing off these odd looking hand gestures. He explains that these are hand signs based on Naruto, an ongoing Japanese anime series that's popular among his friends these days. Supposedly, there are twelve of these hand signs representing the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Frankly, I wasn't interested in the background story but I thought the hand gestures looked interesting as long as it didn't look too offensive. I asked him to go put on a black t-shirt and show me the Tiger Variation symbol again. While he was changing, I got my camera ready with the 50mm f/1.4, my Canon Speedlight and a Gary Fong diffuser. After I got my 365 photo, I gave him the Vulcan salute and told him to go "live long and prosper," preferably somewhere outside of my office.
Day 233: The Closing Ceremony
A short closing ceremony was held after the last class of the Merit Badge University today. Over 41 communities were represented by Boy Scout Troops from the Southeastern Massachusetts. In my Photography class, I had a total of forty scouts of which, about 30 scouts were able to complete all the requirements. Some of the boys showed amazing talent for composition and creativity. It was a joy working with these future photographers.
Day 234: American Fiddle
Alex has been playing a lot of folk and bluegrass on his violin. I thought it was more fitting to call his instrument a fiddle and add a touch of character through post-processing magic.
Day 235: Potter's Seal
My wife used to collect these Korean and Japanese ceramics before we were married. She still displays them throughout the house. I understand some are quite valuable, especially the ones with the potter's seal stamped at the bottom, like ones on this set.
Day 236: On The Street
It was a sunny afternoon today with a bit of chill in the air. A candid street scene captured with a 70-200mm wide open at f4 allowing me to blur out the background. I wish this lens came in black like the Nikons so it's less noticeable.
Day 237: Crystal Abstract
I heard a judge criticize a photo yesterday saying that the image wasn't quite abstract enough for an abstract photo. I think this image falls in that category.
Day 238: Trust Me
"Charlie, are you sure this is safe?"
"Don't worry Fred, trust me on this...I cross here every day. It's all about timing. Stay real close and don't mess me up."
"Ok, but my name is not Fred."
This guy has been coming around a lot these days. Though he can't get anything out of the squirrel-proof birdfeeder, there's plenty for him just from the seeds dropped by the birds.
