Month 5 in Review - May

This month was incredible for photography. Traveling to Colorado and Utah provided me with endless photo opportunities wherever I went.  I shot the mountains, sand dunes, arches and canyons, and oddities along the way. Although I didn't take tripod photos every day (there was just too much to see, too many places to get to and not enough time), I feel that I came back with a dozen images which I really enjoy. And I learned that photographing the desert and red landscapes is very, very different from photographing grey mountains.

Perhaps my most serious effort ever at getting a single shot was at Mesa Arch on May 8th, where I woke up at 3:00am in Moab, left town at 4:20, and arrived in Canyonlands just after 5:10am after seeing the most incredibly Milky Way and dark night sky along the way.  I think I was the fifth person there; about twenty others appeared before sunrise, and as those rays poked through, the shutters went off.  I never experienced anything like it.  Click, click, click, click - kinda like the Camera Store video that's gone viral.  In a way it was crowded, not the solitude in the middle of nowhere that I may have expected.  And in a way it seemed surreal.  After over a year of looking at Mesa Arch sunrise photos, I sat there behind the arch, about to see the same in person.  Would I have to pinch myself or what?  I got 289 shots during those two hours (mostly thanks to bracketing and test shots for composition while it was still dark), which I have condensed down to about five keepers.

Some stats for May:

• Favourite photo: Day 128 - Shafer Trail
• Least favourite photo: Day 145 - New Food
• Most challenging photo to take: Bonus Photo (Day 128) - Mesa Arch
• Most creative photo: Day 126 - Time Stands Still (the lens was only one inch from the truck) 
• Most used Photoshop edits: sponge (saturate), unsharp mask
• Number of photos taken this month: ~2,230
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 14/31
• How I feel about this project: I'm starting to think that I'll do another year after this one.  I'm enjoying this, remembering mundane daily things that would long be forgotten if they weren't captured in photos.

Which is your favourite photo from May?

Day 151 - Desktop

It's the last day of the month and I nearly forgot to take a photo before going to bed.

f/3.5 | 1/60 sec | 18mm

Day 150 - Blooming in Kensington

Does anyone know what these are?  These trees are blooming all over the city.

f/5.6 | 1/400 sec | 200mm

Day 149 - Spring

Range Road 23, somewhere between Symons Valley and Bearspaw. 

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 36mm

Day 148 - Forgetmenot Pond

I think winter does not want to be forgotten.

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 60mm

Day 147 - New Desk

Drawer fronts are reclaimed peroba wood from South America.  This is my first photo (out of 8,100 on this camera) where I have actually left the flash on.

f/3.8 | 1/60 sec | 26mm

Day 146 - Seduced by Canadian Tire's Camping Aisle

If I had a car camping buddy I might go for an air mattress, the mansion of a tent, portable BBQ, and loungy chair.  Easy when you don't have to haul it all in a backpack.

f/4.5 | 1/50 sec | 48mm

Day 145 - New Food

My eating habits need to change, so I got falafels and Russian salad from Kalamata.

f/4.2 | 1/60 sec | 38mm

Day 144 - Living

I really want to figure out how people take indoor architectural photos without the lighting being off.  I'm tired, so have no patience for a better photo today.

f/4.5 | 1/8 sec | 8mm

Day 143 - Start of the Den Renos

Red walls are gone and valance is up.  Waiting for desk, and still need to design new shelving.  Reflections due to picture being taken through glass from the dining room.

f/5 | 1/30 | 12mm

Day 142 - Sewing the Den Valance

f/6.3 | 1/160 sec | 34mm

Day 141 - Camping Season Has Begun

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 24mm

Day 140 - The Bow

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 18mm

Day 139 - Editing Vacation Photos

See the full album here.

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 28mm

Day 138 - Banana & Pear

f/3 | | 1/30 sec | 105mm

Day 137 - Dinner

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 105mm

Day 136 - Sand Dunes Crane Migration

This ia a watercolour card that I got at the Great Sand Dunes (Day 125). I'm collecting the pieces for my den renovation, which will have a bit of a nature theme to it.

f/3.2 | 1/40 sec | 105mm

Day 135 - Chintz

Found a fabric for the den window - Bronze Silk Brocade Willow Stripe.

f/3.8 | 1/30 sec | 22mm

Day 134 - Sir Elton John

Sixty-four years old and going non-stop for nearly three hours.

f/5.6 | 1/15 sec | 200mm

Day 133 - Desert Solitaire

Inspired by hiking in the desert, this book is now on my nightstand.

f/5 | 1/10 sec | 75mm

Day 132 - Moab Rocks

Plus a Utah trilobite.

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 105mm

Day 131 - Moab Rock Shop

I've wanted to pay a visit to Lin Ottinger's Moab Rock Shop ever since I came across this one-of-a-kind place online over a year ago.  Very cool place.

f/4.5 | 1/80 sec | 22mm

Day 130 - The Needles

This was taken on the approach to the Elephant Hill trailhead in the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park.

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 8mm

Day 129 - Salt Valley

A backroad in one of the more remote parts of Arches National Park.  Photo taken near the intersection with Klondike Bluffs.

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 8mm

Bonus Photo - Mesa Arch

Yesterday I was too tired to look through all my photos from the day, so am posting this one a day late.  Being out in Canyonlands for sunrise to witness this scene was one of my main goals of this trip. On the way out we were also treated to a perfectly dark sky with an amazing show of stars and the Milky Way.

Composite of three bracketed images

f25 | 1/4 sec - 1/8 sec | 32mm

Day 128 - Shafer Trail

f/7.1 | 1/200 sec | 8mm

Day 127 - Morning Glory Arch

Had an incredible day hiking to Morning Glory Arch and Fisher Towers, where we also saw a group from Alberta climb Ancient Art, which is argued by many to be the most unique summit in the world.

f/8 | 1/40 sec | 8mm

Day 126 - Time Stands Still

Between Telluride and Bedrock, Colorado.

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 8mm

Day 125 - Dune Summit

Note the people making their way up.  Lots of fun coming down these.  Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. 

f/8 | 1/1000 sec | 200mm

Day 124 - Pikes Peak (4,302m)

For over two years I've planned on making it to the top, intending it to be my first 14,000er.  I got turned back at 3,480m due to excessive wind gusts. 

f/11 | 1/500 | 52mm

Day 123 - Atmospheric Research

Completely unedited photo.  Learn more about the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 18mm

Day 122 - Blooming in Boulder

Got into Boulder at 6:30pm, then went for a drive up Boulder Mountain Park, gaining 700m of elevation.  Flatirons in distance.

f/7.1 | 1/200 sec | 31mm

Day 121 - Vacation Starts Now

f/4.5 | 1/80 sec | 31mm

Month 4 in Review - April

I really cannot believe that I've been taking photos for over 100 days in a row.  By now this project has become such a habit that I carry my camera with me everywhere (read more on 365 Projects here).  I have it on the passenger seat in case a quick opportunity presents itself, I take it to work, the grocery store, restaurants, the library, noon hour walks, basically everywhere.  I have started seeing things in this city that I have never noticed in the last 15 years of living here - simply because I'm always subconsciously on the lookout for photo ops.  There are countless signs with typos, lots of varied textures, the neon lights of 17th, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants on almost every corner.  Who knew?  Even red lights are a good opportunity to get a shot of something you'd otherwise never be taking a photo of.  April has felt like a bit of a 'snapshot month' (I'll blame it on the weather).  The start of May should get me some unique photos as I travel.  All the camera gear's already packed - my trusty SLR, three lenses, polarizer, filters, and tripod.  My goal is to actually use the tripod and get non-snapshot images every day.

 Some stats for April:

• Favourite photo: Day 106 - Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Least favourite photo: Day 102 - Have you had your break today?
• Most challenging photo to take: Day 112 - Device to Root Out Evil
• Most creative photo: Day 120 - Some Style
• Most used Photoshop edits: sponge (saturate), unsharp mask
• Number of photos taken this month: ~740
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 25
• How I feel about this project: It's a habit now and I'm sure I'll make it to 365 - unless one day I fall asleep too early.

Which is your favourite photo from April?

Day 120 - Some Style

f/4 | 160 sec | 18mm