![<span id="date">__01/14/11__</span> <span id="title">Sunset Splash</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 3</em>
Day 3 of water droplet photography, featuring a 'splash crown' - I'm not sure if that's a real term or not. Today I played with colored backgrounds and taking the photo at the same level as the water. I'm compiling everything I'm learning into a blog post, but I do have a <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#1157079109_RNKa5">setup photo</a> for you today. I still have a few more things to try before I'm ready to share all my secrets.
I really liked this shot because of the nice high 'crown' and the pleasing arrangement of the mini-drops flying off. Out of hundreds of photos, I got about 20 shots of this phenomenon. There are some extra colors (pink, green) because of the other backgrounds I was using. I wish the focus was on the front waves instead of the back, but oh well. Next time.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#764977298_LQ5Ez">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-wVT2Wpd/2/e64fe604/L/2011-01-14%20Sunset%20Splash-L.jpg)
__01/14/11__ Sunset Splash Water Drops, Day 3 Day 3 of water droplet photography, featuring a 'splash crown' - I'm not sure if that's a real term or not. Today I played with colored backgrounds and taking the photo at the same level as the water. I'm compiling everything I'm learning into a blog post, but I do have a setup photo for you today. I still have a few more things to try before I'm ready to share all my secrets. I really liked this shot because of the nice high 'crown' and the pleasing arrangement of the mini-drops flying off. Out of hundreds of photos, I got about 20 shots of this phenomenon. There are some extra colors (pink, green) because of the other backgrounds I was using. I wish the focus was on the front waves instead of the back, but oh well. Next time. Read my blog post on water droplet photography! [last year]
![<span id="date">__01/19/11__</span> <span id="title">Bubbly Holes</span>
Quick desperation shot today - it's a strainer with soap bubbles (I was washing it) that I set in front of my off-camera flash. I added Lightroom 3's Split Tone 2 preset and tweaked it a bit.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#768876625_Hi6p2">[last year]</a> <em>has it really been a year since I photographed smoke? ...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-F9NJGHK/2/62b27364/Ti/2011-01-19%20Bubbly%20Holes-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/18/11__</span> <span id="title">Devil's Thorn</span>
I'm not sure this photo does the plant justice, but here you go. The Devil's Thorn (<em>Solanum pyracanthum</em>) is awesome - the leaves have bright orange thorns sticking out every direction, I've never seen anything like it. I suppose that's what I should expect from a plant from Madagascar.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#767944440_zKdTk">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-hhVDRCR/2/9cae7529/Ti/2011-01-18%20Devil%27s%20Thorn-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/17/11__</span> <span id="title">Aqua Splash</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 4</em>
My fourth water droplet photograph! The splash formation is similar to my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1157053533_4A7Uw">1/14/11 photo</a>, but today I changed up the lighting and used colored milk instead of water. I wish I could say that this photo is unaltered but even with tons of food coloring, the SOOC photo was a bit dull. The photo has been cropped a bit, and the white balance changed to give more a blue/aqua color.
Oh yeah, of course I have a <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#1160338498_xyNkD">setup photo</a>. I think I'll probably do one more photo with some more experimentation, and then I'll compile all my hard-learned lessons into a blog post.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#767045531_FasRo">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-Mkg8Q9Q/2/6f077090/Ti/2011-01-17%20Blue%20Splash-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/16/11__</span> <span id="title">Red Tape</span>
Yesterday, my wife and I attempted to take down a decorative floor-to-ceiling glass wall, but we had to be very careful because we have a glass shower door that we wanted to not destroy. After hours of drilling and chiseling at the grout, we gave up. It was virtually impossible to get any of the blocks out intact, so the whole column remained as one.
Today we bought some red duct tape, covered one of the blocks, and smashed it with a hammer. After that, the rest came out easy. I wonder if the same method might be effective at work with computers.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#766318610_YdznX">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-ps4KSw3/2/b38afc23/Ti/2011-01-16%20Red%20Tape-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/15/11__</span> <span id="title">Glass of Shells</span>
This lovely glass full of little shells can be found in our bathroom, like <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/seashells-transform-suburban-bathroom-into-tropica,17582/">so many bathrooms</a>.
Setup: I set the glass on a piece of large white paperboard to get a background with no seams. On the right, I set the back of the foam board I used in yesterday's shot and pointed my off-camera flash at it, so it would bounce off. On the left, I set up a black cloth to avoid reflections. I intentionally overexposed, and then tweaked a little in Lightroom.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#765461555_ML9k9">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-nL4ghhL/2/b0f3e92d/Ti/2011-01-15%20Glass%20of%20Shells-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/14/11__</span> <span id="title">Sunset Splash</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 3</em>
Day 3 of water droplet photography, featuring a 'splash crown' - I'm not sure if that's a real term or not. Today I played with colored backgrounds and taking the photo at the same level as the water. I'm compiling everything I'm learning into a blog post, but I do have a <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#1157079109_RNKa5">setup photo</a> for you today. I still have a few more things to try before I'm ready to share all my secrets.
I really liked this shot because of the nice high 'crown' and the pleasing arrangement of the mini-drops flying off. Out of hundreds of photos, I got about 20 shots of this phenomenon. There are some extra colors (pink, green) because of the other backgrounds I was using. I wish the focus was on the front waves instead of the back, but oh well. Next time.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#764977298_LQ5Ez">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-wVT2Wpd/2/e64fe604/Ti/2011-01-14%20Sunset%20Splash-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/13/11__</span> <span id="title">Lone Leaf</span>
This is the cherry tree that has made several appearances in daily photos, notably my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year1/4429824_zbVM5#265379628_sxHaz">first one ever</a>. Now in mid-January there are just a few leaves, like this one, hanging on. Seeing the bare branches, it's hard to believe that the tree will be blazing pink in a matter of weeks.
Processed in LR3 using the 'Color CP 2' preset as a starting point.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#764288272_oKUM8">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-stpmHph/2/1747339c/Ti/2011-01-13%20Lone%20Leaf-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/12/11__</span> <span id="title">Ghost Runner</span>
Taken at the track after day 3 of a 3 month fitness program at work. Thankfully we didn't actually work out today - we just did some assessment stuff. Days 1 and 2 were pretty killer.
I set my camera on a nearby ledge, framed the shot mostly based on the lights, and waited for runners to go by. I probably should have chosen a shutter speed, but I was in a hurry and just left it on program mode. For future reference, this was 1/13 of a second.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#763496732_kXaww">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-pJQLGXT/2/c60c42c7/Ti/2011-01-12%20Ghost%20Runner-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/11/11__</span> <span id="title">Sign Post</span>
Hey look, it's color! My last 6 photos have all been black and white.
Traffic was heavy in Westwood today with a movie premier (No Strings Attached) and a demonstration at the federal building (stop the killing of Christians in Egypt). I took this shot from the bus stop, the federal building is in the background. I wish I'd framed it a little better, but the bus came right after I took the shot. Bummer, because I'd been sitting there for 15 minutes before I realized it might make an interesting photo.
I really like the stars from the lights that the S95 gives.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#762941296_9UGCA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-WzCxXC2/2/42d75169/Ti/2011-01-11%20Sign%20Post-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/10/11__</span> <span id="title">Laces</span>
It may not be as cool as <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1152242507_PgvC9">yesterday's photo</a>, but here is yet another black and white. Fear not, there will be more water droplet photos in the future.
These are the laces of the shoes I wore today to my first day of a 3 month long fitness program at work. I am so exhausted, I had no idea we'd work so hard the first day. My legs were buckling at the end and I could barely make it up and down small sets of stairs. I can't help but think my daily photos will suffer as a result, but hopefully I just need to make it over the hump and then I'll be good. I hope the hump is tomorrow...
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#762166878_JBbtn">[last year]</a> <em>ugh, not one of my better efforts...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-d2CS6pD/2/e27a8107/Ti/2011-01-10%20Laces-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/09/11__</span> <span id="title">Sphere</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 2</em>
My second attempt at water droplet photography. Today I used off-camera flash and a bigger bowl than <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1150062728_VAfLo">Friday's photo</a>. Embarassingly, I had my off-camera flash set up on Friday but I forgot to turn it on. I was so focused on the timing of the drops that I didn't notice the only light was coming from on-camera.
I added quite a bit of contrast for definition and noise reduction for smoothing. I would have done a setup photo but it's a little late, sorry! I'll do one eventually.
I'm still a bit in shock about yesterday's attack. I learned that in addition to the man who was 2 years ahead of me in my high school, Giffords herself attended, and the deceased includes a member of my parents church. Tragedies like this affect so many people.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#761209124_uyWRg">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-TbxLv2z/2/c33e29aa/Ti/2011-01-09%20Sphere-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/08/11__</span> <span id="title">Moderate Hook</span>
Another B&W today. These are the hooks on our brand new pot rack that we installed today. So far we love it. I hung up a black background behind and lit with an off-camera flash. As you can see, the focus point is on the hook that's not pointed to the right or the left.
My thoughts have often been with my hometown of Tucson today. My heart goes out to the families of those killed and injured. One of the victims went to my high school, just two years ahead of me. Such a tragic event for so many, it leaves me with a terrible feeling.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#760392445_S6fn2">[last year]</a> <em>the replacement is coming along...</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-Mb4X3d6/2/2f86f856/Ti/2011-01-08%20Moderate%20Hook-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/07/11__</span> <span id="title">Dome Drop</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 1</em>
I've been itching to photograph some water drops since I took a short hands-on lighting class months ago at the <a href="http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/">Aquarium of the Pacific</a> on <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Animals/Aquarium-of-the-Pacific">Photographer's Night</a> with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pva1964/">Paul Van Allen</a>. His setup was so simple, I don't know why it's taken me this long to do it.
I would have included a setup photo but I want to play around more - this was just my first attempt. I took dozens of photos, as you might imagine, but this was the most interesting to me because of it's unique shape and nice symmetry. I cranked the noise reduction to give it a nice smooth look.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
By the way, don't forget to check out my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/01/8-crazy-days-in-hawaii/">8 Crazy Days in Hawaii</a> post!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#759801589_qLn2u">[last year]</a> <em>I did go back, and I got <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1016227748_Jx9PW">this</a>...</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-RwSQfrv/2/ef95d5c3/Ti/2011-01-07%20Dome%20Drop-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/06/11__</span> <span id="title">Clock Tower</span>
I took this shot of a tower in Westwood as I left work today. You'd think it's some historic building that has a really cool story behind it, but it's not, and doesn't. It is currently home to a dental practice. At least it was the last time I looked.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#759217478_52ifA">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-z55v7Hg/2/35f85ec3/Ti/2011-01-0d6%20Quittin%27%20Time-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/05/11__</span> <span id="title">Alan</span>
This curly-haired fellow is Alan. We work together and were at a farewell party for one of our bosses. I had hoped to get her as the photo of the day, but too many people had said too many nice things about her and she was in no mood to be photographed. As you can see, it worked out. I haven't done a portrait for a daily photo since <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1072478145_sXVno">Halloween</a>, unless you count <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1096457758_2eDsW">this mashup</a>.
In other news, check out my newest post - <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/01/8-crazy-days-in-hawaii/">8 Crazy Days in Hawaii</a>. We did so much on the trip that it's taken forever to write, but I'm pretty happy with it.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#758360693_szCYF">[last year]</a> <em>also curly...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-ngSg2NC/2/aefd3b28/Ti/2011-01-05%20Alan-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/04/11__</span> <span id="title">Tree and Building</span>
This was a quick phone shot as I walked from place to place on campus. I liked the simplicity of the monolithic building and tree. I obviously inverted the image, then in Lightroom I cranked up the contrast so everything except the tree was either black or white, then cranked the noise reduction to give the leaves a softer, feathery look, and finally I added a hint of color with the split toning tool.
In other news, my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/01/8-crazy-days-in-hawaii/">Hawaii blog post</a> is almost done, just 1.5 months after. Stay tuned for that.
UPDATE: It's done!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#757620479_BSeFK">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-Pm74Smq/2/650c09d2/Ti/2011-01-04%20Tree%20and%20Building-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/03/11__</span> <span id="title">Palm Frond</span>
A processed, split-toned palm frond macro shot in the botanical gardens. I like the wave-like pattern of the lines.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#756686512_mq73J">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-rrLD28J/2/b2b3da5e/Ti/2011-01-03%20Palm%20Frond-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/02/11__</span> <span id="title">Wet Road</span>
It rained today... I went out in it after sunset and it started to get dark(er). This is an intersection as a car drove through, making the neat spiral pattern. I processed pretty heavily in Lightroom, including cranking all the noise reduction controls to give a softer, semi-fake look.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#756016186_2vBNo">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-36xpL4M/2/33ac32a8/Ti/2011-01-02%20Wet%20Road-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/01/11__</span> <span id="title">Driving Through</span>
Happy New Year!
After a lovely two weeks in Arizona with family, my wife and I drove 530 miles back home to Los Angeles today. This sign is at the Dairy Queen in Gila Bend, where we stopped for lunch.
I added a bit of contrast and vibrance in Lightroom, and removed a power line using Photoshop's spot healing brush tool.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#755155177_tXeBW">[last year]</a> <em>wise dice...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-LSC6SBr/2/b1d5e0a7/Ti/2011-01-01%20Driving%20Through-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_12/31/10_</span> <span id="title">Icicle Lights</span>
Here it is, the last photo for 2010. Exactly 60 photos remain until I complete Year 3 and start on Year 4 of this crazy project.
In addition to the last day of the year, it's also our last night in Tucson, and I wanted to get a shot of something from my parents house. I noticed the light bulbs catching the late sun, so I went with that. I like how the vegetation is subtle and blurry, but still recognizable as the desert. I mainly used the B&W Creative - Look 3 preset in Lightroom for editing.
Also - <strong>HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!</strong>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#754302180_CD3iN">[last year]</a> <em>big bird...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Daily/Year3/i-6QJSgBZ/2/d3be5c93/Ti/2010-12-31%20Icicle%20Lights-Ti.jpg)
fotoeffects
on February 28, 2012Fabulous; wonderful capture, colors, tones.
DGL-Imaging
on January 26, 2011Nice water crown.
Jeff Graham (JeffreyGraham)
on January 26, 2011Wow !! - beautiful Tones and clarity.
Jeff
Gary Esman
on January 25, 2011nice work!!!
Colleen M. Griffith
on January 25, 2011This photo is absolutely stunning. Love the comp, focus, and especially the colors!
Joseph Goertz
on January 17, 2011This shot is awesome! Really inspiring. I will have to try this out myself sometime, when I can gather all the materials I need for this shot. Thanks for giving us a walk-through on how to do this!
Great gallery by the way.