Month 8 in Review - August

This has been a month of unexpected adventures: I ended up taking a couple of mini trips that I wasn't planning on (Abott Pass, then Hilda Creek), and also got some good scrambling in.  One thing I need to find a better solution for is carrying my camera while out on those activities.  Currently I use the Lowepro Toploader Zoom 45 AW and sling it around my neck.  It's especially annoying for scrambling, and it seems to cut off the circulation in my neck.  I've thought about carabinering it down, but that would still leave it dangling.  And I know that if my camera went into my backpack, I wouldn't take nearly enough photos.  So, what might be a solution?  Harnesses seem tacky and constrictive.

Some stats for August:

• Favourite photo: Day 225 - Abbot Hut
• Least favourite photo: Day 213 - Sand
• Most challenging photo to take: Day 218 - Tangle Falls
• Most creative photo: Day 230 - Two Sails
• Most used Photoshop edits: unsharp mask, sponge (saturate) 
• Number of photos taken this month: ~1,080
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 24/31
• How I feel about this project: It's a habit and I'm already thinking about a 365 for 2012.  I'm two thirds done for this year. Wow.

Which is your favourite photo from August?

Day 243 - Cold Night in August

f/5.3 | 1/250 sec | 112mm

Day 242 - Buffalo

f/5.6 | 1/125 sec | 105mm

Day 241 - Spiky Glass

f/3.2 | 1/30 sec | 105mm

Day 240 - Homey Front Door

f/5.6 | 1/125 sec | 34mm

Day 239 - Mount Temple from Sheol Mountain

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 18mm

Day 238 - Helmet

f/4.8 | 1/10 sec | 62mm

Day 237 - Sunset Flight

Might be a seagull.

f/5.6 | 1/2000 sec | 200mm

Day 236 - Half Bottles

f/4.5 | 1/30 sec | 40mm

Day 235 - Polarizer

This is one filter I'd like to learn how to use properly.

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 18mm

Day 234 - Mice and Green Tea

And a bit of bokeh. If you know where one can get tea bags of the Arizona Green Tea in Calgary, please let me know. I can't find them again.

f/4.5 | 1/13 sec | 46mm

Day 233 - Photo Laziness

f/3.5 | 1/25 sec | 20mm

Day 232 - Cascade Mountain

Had an incredible day scrambling up Cascade Mountain with views west to the Bugaboos, south to Assiniboine, east to Waiparous, and north up the Parkway. 

f/11 | 1/500 sec | 8mm

Day 231 - Weighing My Car

1,520 pounds.

f/5.6 | 1/2000 sec | 200mm

Day 230 - Two Sails

Many thanks to P. for this incredible experience.

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 18mm

Day 229 - Which Peak will it be?

f/4 | 1/30 sec | 26mm

Day 228 - Prairie City

f/8 | 1/250 sec | 26mm

Day 227 - City Lights

f/4.5 | 0.62 sec | 46mm

Day 226 - Where to Next?

f/4 | 1/30 sec | 27mm

Day 225 - Abbot Hut

This is the shot I was after - Abbot Hut at night and clear sky.  Also my most challenging scramble to date, due to a partially washed out lower slope and rockfall hazard.

f/3.5 | 30 sec | 18mm

Day 224 - Lake Oesa

f/9 | 1/320 sec | 18mm

Day 223 - Down Four Pounds

Thirty-five pounds plus camera bag. More fun stuff and less luxury: tripod, helmet and ixe axe are in; heavy food, Coke, sandals, and dry shampoo are out.

f/3.5 | 1/30 sec | 18mm

Day 222 - New Shelf

After all this time I'm actually designing my last piece of furniture (at least until I'd move some day). 

f/3.5 | 1/30 sec | 18mm

Day 221 - Peary

f/5 | 1/20 sec | 75mm

Day 220 - On the Nightstand

These are my current reads. This way I can also keep track of which books I might want to recall from the library in the future.

f/4.5 | 1/40 sec | 46mm

Day 219 - Getting Ready for Abbot Pass

Lomo filter applied (I really don't like this one and didn't feel like taking a photo today).

f/4.2 | 1/60 sec | 34mm

Day 218 - Tangle Falls

f/18 | 1 sec | 38mm

Day 217 - Columbia Icefield

f/8 | 1/250 sec | 13mm

Day 216 - Fruity

f/30 | 1/30 sec | 28mm

Day 215 - Rays of Light

f/8 | 1/320 sec | 26mm

Day 214 - Dinner

Salad from the garden.  Rösti from IKEA.

f/4 | 1/60 sec | 28mm

Day 213 - Sand

Didn't feel like taking a photo today.

f/5 | 1/100 sec | 105mm

Month 7 in Review - July

This month has felt a little odd with photography.  I seem to be either very happy with some daily photos, or don't like them at all.  The latter is a case of not really bothering to get a daily shot, while the former might be attributed to finally learning a bit more about landscapes.  I'm still lacking (very much) the patience of using the tripod much, so it's still snapshots for the most part.  For August I will therefore challenge myself to more tripod photos, as well as learning how to use the polarizer effectively.

Some stats for July:

• Favourite photo: Day 184 Bonus Photo - Lake Lillian - perhaps my best calm water photo to date
• Least favourite photo: Day 203 - Going Backpacking - really not a good photo, apart from wanting to document the contents of the pack
• Most challenging photo to take: Day 186 - Leaf - Lighting and macro combined - enough said
• Most creative photo: Day 199 - The Summit Coke Bottle
• Most used Photoshop edits: sponge (saturate), unsharp mask, dodge 
• Number of photos taken this month: ~1,270
• Number of days on which I wouldn't have taken a photo if I didn't have to for this: 20/31
• How I feel about this project: Gotta push myself to keep going, but not giving up now

Which is your favourite photo from July?

Day 212 - Mount Nelson

f/8 | 1/1000 sec | 200mm

Day 211 - Skook Lookout

See full album from the day here.

f/10 | 1/400 sec | 20mm