Day 332. November 27. Countdown 34 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Thirty Two. November 27. Countdown 34 Days. Picture # 332. Untitled". Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/14. ISO 1600. Exposure 1/800 second.

Day 331. November 26. Countdown 35 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Thirty One. November 26. Countdown 35 Days. Picture # 331. Untitled". Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/8. ISO 200. Exposure 1/30 second.

Day 330. November 25. Countdown 36 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Thirty. November 25. Countdown 36 Days. Picture # 330. " Waxing Gibbous". View from my apartment parking lot. http://earthsky.org/moon-phases/waxing-gibbous . Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Phoenix 600-1300mm lens. Focal length 650mm. f/8. ISO 800. Exposure 1/2500 second.

Day 329. November 24. Countdown 37 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Twenty Nine. November 24. Countdown 37 Days. Picture # 329. "Shadowing the Receiver". Congratulations to Westwood high school for their second round playoff win. The road trip with friends to Waco, Texas was fun and even more fun when our team won. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 135mm. f/5.6. ISO 400. Exposure 1/800 second.

Day 328. November 23. Countdown 38 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Twenty Eight. November 23. Countdown 38 Days. Picture # 328. "Untitled". I am really blessed to have a series of wondeful parks and trails within two miles of my apartment. The trails are really coming to life with color right now. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 33mm. f/3.5. ISO 800. Exposure 1/1250 second.

Day 327. November 22. Countdown 39 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Twenty Seven. November 22. Countdown 38 Days. Picture # 327. "Shining Light". This portrait is of my best friend Tracy Jackson. Tracy is not only a friend but she is reason for the 366 Project. She is the person who suggested it to me back in the closing days of 2011. She is also my muse, suggesting many of the ideas for pictures. She has patiently accompanied me on some of my drives and has suffered through my ups and downs of trying to keep this project going. This picture was a candid spontaneous exposure. Tracy and I had been running some errands together and had just pulled into her driveway when she and I noticed the afternoon sun visually setting the fall leaves on fire in her front yard. As I was shooting, Tracy came into my field of view, her hair was glowing from being backlit by the sunshine. I grabbed four quick pictures. I could have stopped shooting, I already knew I had captured the brightest light that I could find. Thank you Tracy. You are always the brightest of light to your family and friends. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 56mm. f/13. ISO 400. Exposure 1/160 second with popup flash -2.

Day 326. November 21. Countdown 40 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Twenty Six. November 21. Countdown 40 Days. Picture # 326. "Busy Day". I celebrated Thanksgiving one day early this year. It was a very busy day and the only picture I had time to capture was this riot of fall colors. My choice of camera defaulted to my iPhone. The colors were vivid but not this vivid. The iPhone really did not handle the colors or contrast very realistically. Later when viewing on my computer I liked the painted almost watercolor quality of the picture. iPhone handheld.

Day 325. November 20. Countdown 41 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Twenty Five. November 20. Countdown 41 Days. "Moments in Time". A good friend's daughter Jill is involved with her high school theater department. Tonight she was in a quandary. Her mother was committed to her sister's volleyball practice for the evening and could not be in two places at once. Jill could not find anyone she knew who was going to see her theater group perform the family play "Goony Bird" at the high school. She remembered that I was a fan of almost any level of live theater and with her mom's permission invited me to see the play. The play was directed towards a younger audience but it really resonated with me. It is a story about story telling. Anyone who knows me will say I never stop talking. My only defense ? I see stories like I see pictures. Everything has a story, and like a picture you just have to figure what angle will tell the best story. And like a picture a good story should be shared. Well the play and Jill's company was fun and interesting and very short lived but still had used up the little bit of light there was left in the day. I dropped Jill back off at her mother's and still had the problem of finding the days picture. On my way to finding something to shoot, I had to stop at this intersection. I decided to to shoot the different light cycles and the corresponding colors. One thing lead to another . . . Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 28mm. f/10. ISO 200. Exposure 9 seconds.

Day 324. November 19. Countdown 42 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Twenty Four. November 19. Countdown 42 Days. Picture # 324. "Looking Through History". This odd view is through the lens of my father's stereoscope. I do not know how long it has been in the family. I only know I was fascinated by it as a child. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Bower fish eye lens. ISO 400. Exposure 1/200 second with pop up flash.

Day 323. November 18. Countdown 43 Days.

Day Three Hundred Twenty Three. November 18. Countdown 43 Days. Picture # 323. Black Cows, White Sky". Just West of Richland, Texas. Canon Rebel T3i, Handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 28mm. f/8. ISO 400.. Exposure 1/400 second.

Day 322. November 17. Countdown 44 Days.

Day Three Hundred Twenty Two. November 17. Countdown 44 Days. Picture # 322. "Mundane Visions". A view of my vertical blinds from the reclining position of my favorite chair. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 47mm. f/8. ISO 800. Exposure 1/8 second.

Day 321. November 16. Countdown 45 Days.

Day Three Hundred Twenty One. November 16. Countdown 45 Days. Picture # 321. "Untitled". Sunset in north west Austin. Been a tough week mentally. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 50mm. f/5.6. ISO 400. Exposure 1/200 second.

Day 320. November 15. Countdown 46 Days.

Day Three Hundred Twenty. November 15. Countdown 46 Days. Picture # 320. "Self Portrait". After shooting for 320 days in a row, it is becoming a challenge to shoot new and interesting things. Today I ventured out to a storm tunnel that is near my apartment. I shot long exposure pictures inside of the tunnel and abstracts at the entrances. While reviewing in between shots, It became obvious that it was hard to get a sense of scale as to how big the tunnel was. So I used myself to give perspective. Then I realized maybe I would become today's picture. So after 320 days, here is the face behind the camera. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 18-55mm lens. Focal length 23mm.f/5. ISO 800. Exposure 10 second shutter delay @ 1/125 second.

Day 319. November 14. Countdown 47 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Nineteen. November 14. Countdown 47 Days. Picture # 319. "Polaroid". The camera in the middle of this picture belonged to my sister Joan, It is a Polaroid Land Camera. Joan was very generous and allowed me to use her camera. I believe I ended up using it more than she did. Took pictures of all kinds of things. I still have one badly faded picture stored somewhere in my apartment. Joan kept the camera in it's black case (back left in picture) and she stored it away in the back of her closet. When the camera was found 30 years later she told me I could keep it. After 30 years the camera looks about the same and Joan's generosity is a strong as ever. Canon Rebel XTI, Tamron 28-80mm lens. Focal length 49mm. f/8. ISO 400. Exposure 1/125 second.

Day 318. November 13. Countdown 48 Days.

Day Three Hundred Eighteen. November 13. Countdown 48 Days. Picture # 318. "Rust & Wood". Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 47mm. f/8. ISO 400. Exposure 1/2 second.

Day 317. November 12. Countdown 49 Days.

Day Three Hundred Seventeen. November 12. Countdown 49 Days. Picture # 317. "Water & Light. This tranquille scene can be sound on the calm waters of Lake Austin on a beautiful fall evening. I was out with my camera for a little over a hour and never saw a boat. Very quiet, a nice night. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 65mm. f/14. ISO 400. Exposure 90 seconds.

Day 316. November 11. Countdown 50 Days.

Day Three Hundred Sixteen. November 11. Countdown 49 Days. Picture # 316. "Untitled". I had many choices for pictures to post today. It was the second day of the Fall Colors workshop at Lost Maples State Park. (see Day 315 for more information). I rolled out of bed at 5:00 AM and left the hotel by 5:30. I headed out toward Lost Maples with intention of shooting the colors under morning light. Trouble is that I kept stopping on the way to take pictures. I eventually made it to the park but I could not stay for long because the workshop started at 8:30 back at the hotel. I reluctantly left and headed back. This picture was taken as I traveled back to Austin at the conclusion of the workshop. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 50mm. f/13. ISO 200. Exposure 1/125 second.

Day 315. November 10. Countdown 51 Days.

Day Three Hundred Fifteen. November 11. Countdown 51 Days. Picture # 315. "Old Dog & New Tricks". Kevin Vandivier master photographer and founder of Texas Photo Workshops http://texasphotoworkshops.com/ , would not like the title of this picture. Kevin does not teach "tricks", he shares his vast knowledge of photography through his workshops. All the information is  presented in a very personal manner that leads to eye opening understanding of artistic composition coupled with shooting techniques that produces unique images. I signed up for his "TEXAS PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE",   Fall Colors at Lost Maples State Park workshop. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/lost-maples. I wondered before hand what there was to teach or learn about taking pictures of fall colors. Left on my own I would just take my camera and walk around and shoot pictures ? Kevin started out the workshop with a slide show of his own pictures of fall colors. After viewing his pictures, he had my complete attention. His pictures displayed some real eye catching techniques and some more subtle details that really enhanced his compositions. With Kevin's easy going style and willingness to answer any question I quickly came to understand how the pictures were shot and edited. Class time was balanced with hands on shooting and demonstration of techniques at Lost Maples State Park. I have posted other pictures in an album titled "Lost Maples" on my Facebook page. I thank Kevin and his wife Leslie for a fun and very informative workshop.  Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 135mm. f/25. ISO 100. Exposure 1.6 seconds.  

Day 314. November 9. Countdown 52 Days.

Day Three Hundred Fourteen. November 9. Countdown 52 Days. Picture # 314. "Untitled" I drove by this old fire truck for over a year before I noticed it. It was hidden most of the year by the low hanging branches of a oak tree. The truck is slowly rusting away in the back corner of a small pasture on Spicewood Springs road in Austin,Texas. It was late fall after the leaves had fallen when I first caught a glimpse of the truck from the road. Today I was surprised to see the truck easily even though it was to early in the fall for the leaves to have dropped. While editing the picture I realized the land owner had recently grazed some cattle in this field and the cows had stripped the lower branches off of the trees as high as they could reach. So I have a couple of hungry cows to thank for today's picture. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 300mm. f/6.3. ISO 400. Exposure 1/800 second.

Day 313. November 8. Countdown 53 Days.

Day Three Hundred Thirteen. November 8. Countdown 53 Days. Picture # 313. "Last Point". Cassie Jackson goes low to make a save on the final point of the season. After an extended volley Cassie's middle school team won the game point. The team finished first in the district but there is not playoffs at this classification/grade level, so this became the last volley of this school year. Congratulations to the team on a wonderful season. And personal congratulations to Cassie on this great play to close the season. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 75mm. f/4. ISO 1600. Exposure 1/200 second.

Day 312. November 7. Countdown 54 Days.

Day Three Hundred Twelve. November 7. Countdown 54 Days. Picture # 312. "Yesterday". Another random object in my apartment. My small world is full of useless things that I only have because they make me happy on some level. Eclectic a polite word for weird.  Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 41mm. f/4. ISO 400. Exposure 1/200 second. Pop up flash -1.

Day 311. November 6. Countdown 55 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Eleven. November 6. Countdown 55 Days. Picture # 311. "Freedom". A picture worth a thousand words . . . about a subject that affects hundreds of millions of people. Canon Rebel XTI. Full auto with pop up flash.

Day 310. November 5. Countdown 56 Days.

Day Three Hundred Ten. November 5. Countdown 56 Days. Picture # 310. "Layers". Advertising is everywhere. Our daily lives have almost reached the point of saturation. This is a section of Lamar boulevard in Austin, Texas.There is at least five layers of signage in this one picture. As I sat in traffic what struck me was that there was was nothing about this scene that really stood out and separated it's message from the rest. I saw it as a single flattened image. Driving home I realized I had seen the textures, lighting and the colors but I could not remember any of the company branding. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 160mm. f/6.3. ISO 200. Exposure 1/2 second.

Day 309. November 4. Countdown 57 Days.

Day Three Hundred Nine. November 4.  Countdown 57 Days. Picture # 309. "Edge of the World". Good thing I stopped. Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 60mm. f/8. ISO 400. Exposure 1/500 second.

Day 308. November 3. Countdown 58 Days.

 

Day Three Hundred Eight. November 3. Countdown 58 Days. Picture # 308 A & B. "Beginning & End". My iPhone weather advisery app alarm went off early this morning alerting me to heavy fog conditions. That was all I needed to roll out of bed and hit the road. This bridge is the Capital of Texas Highway (360) where it crosses Lake Austin. I love this area on foggy mornings because the higher ridges pierce the fog and are washed by morning light. This evening as I was editing the morning's shooting my weather alert went off again warning of thunderstorms in the area. I checked the time and guessed the combination of the setting sun and high thunderheads would make for a nice sunset. Above picture; Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 180mm. f/40. ISO 400. Exposure 1/125 second. Pictured below; Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 135mm. f/8. ISO 400. Exposure 1/400 second.

 





Day 307. November 2. Countdown 59 Days.

Day Three Hundred Seven. November 2. Countdown 59 Days. Picture # 307. "Untitled" Feeling a little flat today. Shooting was not the normal joy for me today. It felt like work. I will bounce back tomorrow. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 75-300mm lens. Focal length 200mm. f/6.3. ISO 400. Exposure 1/200 second.

Day 306. November 1. Countdown 60 Days.

Day Three Hundred Six. November 1. Countdown 60 Days. Picture # 306. "Untitled". Second day of my Don Quixote like quest for a "Day of the Dead" (DotD) picture. I left work and went to see a friend's daughter play volleyball on her school team. Plan "A" had me  leaving right after the match, to run to a local import shop that primarily stocks handcrafted products from Mexico. I had seen DotD items in there before. I planned to ask the owner/manager if I could shoot a few pictures with my Canon T3i. Plan "B" was to grab some iPhone pics if there were objections to the big camera. Well it never became an issue. The shop was gone, another victim of this horrible economy. So on to plan "C". Drive down to south Austin again to visit the previous days cemetery to see if it had been decorated. I do not know if it was decorated or not. I35 was backed up because of a wreck and I ran out of daylight. I was trying very hard to come up with other DotD options. I conceded defeat for time # 1 and decided to shoot long exposures of the local traffic through the  front windows of the company I work for. After shooting a while I received a text from my good friend Tracy Jackson, it was a picture of an ad from Whole Foods featuring DotD fresh made cookies. So I had a new "plan"! Off to Whole Foods to buy some cookies. Alas they were out of the cookies. I conceded defeat for time # 2. If you read Day 305 you know I started this quest because of my friend Cindy Thoreson. Sorry Cindy, I will try again next year. Maybe I will go to Mexico. Canon Rebel T3i, on tripod. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 50mm. f/29. ISO 100. Exposure 206 seconds.

Day 305. October 31. Countdown 61 Days.

Day Three Hundred Five. October 31. Countdown 61 Days. Picture # 305. "Our Lady of Guadalupe". Two weeks ago my friend Cindy Thoreson gave me title and idea for a future picture. "Day of the Dead". The idea was intriguing. I thought about all of the brightly painted costumes and decorations I had seen in pictures. So my next step was a call to another friend Dale Flatt. Dale is the founder of "Save Austin Cemeteries". I told him I was looking for a Mexican cemetery that might be decorated for the Day of the Dead. He directed me to the historic "Cementerio Mexicano De Maria De La Luz" (pictured below) in south Austin. So for the 305th time this year I tossed my gear in the truck and headed out in search of the day's picture. There was only one slight problem, that became apparent when I arrived at the cemetery. There were no decorations honoring the Day of the Dead. One plot had been decorated with traditional Halloween stuff but that was it. The cemetery itself was interesting with its colorful head stones and statues. So I stayed for a while shooting pictures but the lighting was bad. I looked up Day of the Dead on my iPhone when I was back in the truck. That is when I found out it is celebrated on November 1st & 2nd. Oh well, Like Annie says, "tomorrow, tomorrow . . . Canon Rebel T3i, handheld. Canon 28-135mm lens. Focal length 75mm. f/5. ISO 400. Exposure 1/1000 second.