_08/25/10_ Tea Strainer Water flowing over/through a tea strainer. See the setup. [last year]
meshstrainerstreamteawaterblack and white
From One/Day Project, Year 3
![<span id="date">_08/25/10_</span> <span id="title">Tea Strainer</span>
Water flowing over/through a tea strainer. See the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#982954794_43Nxc">setup</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#630510149_AcZc6">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-2R2Gzqj/3/5540eaf0/L/2010-08-25%20Tea%20Strainer-L.jpg)
![<span id="date">_03/09/10_</span> <span id="title">Pre Pesto</span>
A tasty food shot for you today. This one is going on iStockphoto for sure.
Tonight I made homemade pesto without a food processor. I won't be doing that again for a long time... It turned out great but it was just too much work for too little return. Here you can see all the raw ingredients before they got chopped up.
Check out my needlessly complicated <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#806731493_3NDkG">setup photo</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#488518488_pi4kY">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-PB6w7Fz/3/8b2e1dd0/Ti/2010-03-09%20Pre%20Pesto-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_03/15/10_</span> <span id="title">Fennel Heart</span>
It really looks like a heart, no? Shortly after this shot was taken this fennel was chopped up, tossed in olive oil, roasted and mixed with rice. Very tasty.
I took a <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/8246339_SpVpq#811432439_i249D">setup photo</a> if you want to see another makeshift kitchen studio :)
Also, happy birthday Mark!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#492342740_jmpuR">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-W6wGvh4/3/8c8747eb/Ti/2010-03-15%20Fennel%20Heart-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_05/22/10_</span> <span id="title">Wet Vision</span>
I had a great afternoon in Culver City today with some friends. I took many photos, and so many of them turned out well, I posted them <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/Culver-City">here</a>!
This was the last photo I took, just as the sun was going down. Someone had left these glasses in the fountain that's between the hotel and movie theater. If you've been there, you probably know what I'm talking about - there's a giant dancing lion statue in the middle of it - kids love it. Be sure to check the other photos, especially the one of the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Misc/Culver-City/12278425_mMTVD#875686707_ZkN64">whisks</a> (it was the runner-up).
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/7157835_BfJPF#547073599_An43F">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-NZLvsM4/3/a7c79400/Ti/2010-05-22%20Wet%20Glasses-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_06/04/10_</span> <span id="title">Whisk</span>
Whisk go wheee! Much like <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#857458786_RqCUs">5/4/10</a> and <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#856355677_MjvFv">5/3/10</a>, this photo involved hanging something on a string, twisting it up, and letting it go. Today it was a whisk! This shot represents about three swings back and forth.
Did some editing in LR, including adding a bluish tone that I like. I chose this photo out of about 60 because it had a good balance and interesting lines.
See the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/gallery/8246339_SpVpq#890228198_rcbV2">setup</a>!
Also, turns out it's <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#883335587_sd9bh">this guy</a>'s birthday today!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#588255603_bNhFc">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-MR4W4r4/3/87a668d8/Ti/2010-06-04%20Whisk-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_07/04/10_</span> <span id="title">Trestle</span>
Happy 4th of July! My wife and I are on a weekend vacation to Ventura, CA. This train trestle was right behind our hotel, and I thought it would make a cool subject. In addition to playing on the train tracks, we swam in the ocean, walked and played frisbee on the beach, checked out the street fair on Main street, and walked along the Ventura river and past Surfers Point. Sadly we did not watch any fireworks, but only because there weren't any around.
Ventura is a really cool place! I highly recommend visiting.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Travel/Ventura/12863408_qQw6m">more Ventura pics</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#582241458_3jjhK">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-fzPLXRC/4/f43d26e3/Ti/2010-07-04%20Train%20Trestle-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_08/25/10_</span> <span id="title">Tea Strainer</span>
Water flowing over/through a tea strainer. See the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#982954794_43Nxc">setup</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#630510149_AcZc6">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-2R2Gzqj/3/5540eaf0/Ti/2010-08-25%20Tea%20Strainer-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_08/28/10_</span> <span id="title">Square Shadows</span>
For the geometry-challenged, I should point out that these shadows are actually <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=triangle">triangles</a>, not <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=square">squares</a>. They are framing squares for woodworking, of course, which temporarily live at our house while our bay window is rebuilt.
I set them on top of a glass wall that stops about 1.5 feet from the ceiling. I ended up setting them on a book to get an extra inch and make the point closer to the ceiling. My remote flash is on a tripod behind them, creating the shadows on the ceiling.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#633160445_iy8EE">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-vLtFTmD/3/f513ffe9/Ti/2010-08-28%20Square%20Shadowsd-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_08/29/10_</span> <span id="title">Fountain</span>
This is the water fountain at Howard Hughes center, where I saw Avatar in IMAX today. $16 for a ticket sure is steep, but I'm glad I went. It's pretty awesome in IMAX 3D.
The symmetry of the fountain caught my eye, so I decided to make a daily photo out of it. Have a great week!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#634163396_8xj3i">[last year]</a> <em>we've been moved in for 1 year! ... </em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-PQnrKXN/3/3d1bc643/Ti/2010-08-29%20Fountain-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_09/06/10_</span> <span id="title">Beach Swing</span>
I had a great day off for Labor Day today, did you? Please answer aloud so I can hear you through the internet.
We had a lovely picnic with a friend at Malibu Bluffs park, just across PCH from Pepperdine University. It's a community park with fields and playgrounds, but also has trails that lead through natural vegetation. It was a really nice place and I highly recommend it.
Afterward lunch we drove down along Malibu Road where rich people have beach houses and 'private' beaches with public stairs leading to them. Underneath several houses were these swinging benches that you definitely needed a ladder to get on. Kind of random.
I like this shot, but if I had my way I'd go back after sunset and use a tripod and a slow shutter speed to get the dusk colors and smooth out the ocean waves. I suppose I can do it after I buy one of these houses.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#641686592_6QCA6">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-2LtCrRN/3/22e585f4/Ti/2010-09-06%20Beach%20Swing-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_09/12/10_</span> <span id="title">Tentacles</span>
Macro shot of sea anemone tentacles, taken during photographer's night at the <a href="http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/">Aquarium of the Pacific</a> in Long Beach.
It was a lot of fun! Hours flew by as I walked around, free to shoot whatever I wanted with [almost] no one in the way! Indoor shots were tough - I barely used my tripod or flash, and one of the biggest things I learned was that you have to shoot STRAIGHT through the glass, as in perpendicular. Otherwise you get pretty bad distortion because the glass (it's actually acrylic) is so thick. All of my indoor shots used a fairly high ISO and most of them are throw-aways.
This shot was taken in an outdoor touch pool, where I was able to set up my flash and practically get in the water to take macro shots. My best shots, at least technically, are from the tide pool and I will certainly share them all after I sort through them.
The biggest surprise of the night was a Nikon-based lighting workshop by Paul Van Allen - a big name in Nikon training. He and his team set up 6 stations that used off-camera flash in different ways, and went to each station and took a bunch of photos - very educational.
More photos - <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Animals/Aquarium-of-the-Pacific">Aquarium of the Pacific Gallery</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#647698091_5rnfx">[last year]</a> <em>not very photo-like...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-C7xwBwc/4/96a29e81/Ti/2010-09-12%20Anemone%20Tentacles-1-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_09/20/10_</span> <span id="title">Coral Tree Traffic</span>
This is San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica - a beautiful wide road and median lined with cool-looking coral trees. I came here to take photographic advantage of the thick fog that rolled in tonight.
Traffic was light, so I used a 30 second exposure to capture as many cars as I could. I used my Gorillapod on a drinking fountain to hold the camera steady.
In other news, I posted photos from the <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Animals/Aquarium-of-the-Pacific/">Aquarium of the Pacific's Photographers Night</a> that I attended on <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1005785536_bhSsx">9/12/10</a>.
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#656042406_WnGFQ">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-dgXGD2m/2/2d55e1d3/Ti/2010-09-20%20Coral%20Tree%20Traffic-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_10/02/10_</span> <span id="title">Western Gorilla</span>
(<em>Gorilla gorilla gorilla</em>)
Today my wife and I visited the San Diego Zoo! She had never been and I hadn't been in at least 10 years, so it was great to make the trip.
As mentioned in my last few dailies, I rented a monster Sigma 150-500mm lens that allowed me to take shots like this - it was a blast! I got a lot of keepers, but this was my favorite. I just wish that twig wasn't there... :) The lens was quite a burden to carry from 9-5, but well worth it, I think. I was able to get amazing close-up details of the animals that would have been impossible otherwise.
I relied heavily on auto ISO because the lens is very slow at f/5-6.3. A lot of darker subjects pushed it to ISO 1600, but I figured that was the price to pay for non-blurry subjects. The lens is certainly not of the highest quality - even my sharpest shots have some aberration and softness even stopped down to f/9. Regardless, I had a great time and highly recommend renting a super telephoto for your next zoo trip!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Animals/SanDiegoZoo2010/">More Zoo Photos</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#668221536_G6uoU">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-HVdmX54/2/8d0b2b54/Ti/2010-10-02%20Western%20Gorilla-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">_10/18/10_</span> <span id="title">Grinder Plates</span>
These are coarse, medium and fine grinder plates for our antique nut grinder that made an appearance on <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#951163520_gKXe6">7/28/10</a>. We actually used it yesterday to grind some walnuts and pecans. It didn't go so well. Apparently you need to roast the nuts first. Also, it's hugely labor intensive and we don't have a good surface to attach the grinder to - our counter is too thick.
Sorry friends and family, you won't be getting cute little gift jars of homemade J&A nut butters this Christmas.
Oh, and if you missed it yesterday, I wrote a new blog post on the gi-normous lens that I rented - <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2010/10/adventures-in-long-glass/">blog.jawsnap.net</a>
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#684843049_3h8Zn">[last year]</a> <em>repetetetetive...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Business-Card-Images/i-dwtVQKX/2/a3c855e7/Ti/2010-10-18%20Grinder%20Plates-Ti.jpg)
Jerry Barton
on August 27, 2010Very creative and it works well because of the lack of any disturbing background. Nicely executed and presented.
George Freire
on August 27, 2010Very eye catching!!
fotoeffects
on August 27, 2010Outstanding!
Donna McCommon
on August 27, 2010Neat capture.
Chuck Beehner
on August 26, 2010like the b&w and comp....well done
paula
Tom Reichert
on August 26, 2010i like this one alot very creative
Art Hill
on August 26, 2010Awesome
SchmidtHouse
on August 26, 2010Nice creative photograph.
fotomom
on August 26, 2010WOW! This is super creative and very well shot. I like! The bubbles on top and the handle held 'somewhere' on the side are especially cool.
WildeLifePhotography
on August 26, 2010Very cool.