red building [Day 2051]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 225 – Total Days: 2,051

Fuji X100S | ISO 200 | 23mm | f/5.6 | 1/600 sec

It was the style of this building, contrasted against the sky, that drew me towards photographing it. Taken during afternoon walk with Fuji X100S and processed in Adobe Lightroom.

table with fork and decorative salt and pepper shakers [Day 2050]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 224 – Total Days: 2,050

Fuji X100S | ISO 2500 | 23mm | f/2.0 | 1/550 sec

Taken at Le Ciel Crepe Cafe and processed with Adobe Lightroom.

Tattered Glory [Day 2049]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 223 – Total Days: 2,049

Fuji X100S | ISO 200 | 23mm | f/5.6 | 1/2500 sec

I wonder what this image will mean to different people. Is it offensive? Is it sad? Is it vigilant? Is this flag something to be put out of its misery or is it a hero that never gives up? Should it be retired? Should it be allowed to continue to attempt to fly until there is absolutely nothing left at all?

What does it mean to you?

Hyperion Hoop [Day 2048]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 222 – Total Days: 2,048

Canon 6D | ISO 1600 | 40mm | f/4.0 | 1/8 sec

A friend of mine has recently started making programmable LED hula hoops, and they are AWESOME. Today, a bunch of us got together to do some promo video and photography for them.

It was a great time, but let me tell you, getting a shot lke this wasn’t easy. Here’s what it takes:

• A friend that makes programmable LED hoops (or, you can always buy one from my friend ;-)
• Friends that are skilled with using said hoops.
• A low shutter speed in order to capture the motion and LED patterns in the hoop. This was at 1/8 of a second.
• An off-camera flash set to second curtain sync. This way, you have a chance of getting the model to be clear, since otherwise, the 1/8 shutter speed would cause them to be a blur. The bright flash at the end of the exposure helps freeze the motion of the performer, while still allowing the light trails from the hoop.
• A lot of patience and to take a lot of photos! Burst mode is very helpful.
• There’s also some constant stage lighting that I think was set up with a high frequency strobe, which helped define the LED patterns in the hoop. I can’t say much about the settings there, since that was set up by Robyn of EtherealFX.
• Studio space with black curtains for the background.

It was definitely a huge team effort! I’m looking forward to working on the rest of the photos over the next few days, but for now, this is my first glance favorite, so it’s photo of the day.

trees [Day 2047]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 221 – Total Days: 2,047

Fuji X100S | ISO 800 | 23mm | f/5.6 | 1/1250 sec

The camera was set to autofocus but I managed to trick it when firing from the hip and into the sun. I liked it better than anything else that was actually in-focus and so it’s today’s photo of the day. Straight out of camera, with only some slight cropping.

Amy at 10th Street Basque Cafe [Day 2046]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 220 – Total Days: 2,046

Went to a birthday dinner for Amy at the 10th Street Basque Cafe, and wanted to just travel light, so I only took my Fuji X100S. Wish I could have gotten this to be a bit sharper, but not too shabby for f/2.0, ISO 2500, and 1/30 of a second shutter speed.

Fuji X100S – Part 3 [Day 2045]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 219 – Total Days: 2,045

Like I said the other day, the Fuji X100S is such a stylish looking camera that it was likely to be the subject matter for photo of the day for a while, and I’m certainly following through on that promise ;-) Click through for more photos of it.

Fuji X100S – Part 2 [Day 2044]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 218 – Total Days: 2,044

The Fuji X100S is such a sweet looking camera, that I think it’s going to have to be a photo subject of mine for a little while now. I mean, that retro style… How can you not love it?! It’s like a Leica that’s waaaay less expensive ;-)

Fuji X100S [Day 2043]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 217 – Total Days: 2,043

My Canon 6D is like a truck: a heavy-duty, high performance, serious piece of machinery. Useful when there’s some heavy photographic lifting to do. But along with that, it’s bulky, heavy, and attracts attention. I’ve been reading a lot about mirrorless, micro 4/3rds cameras (clarification: the Fuji X100S isn’t a micro 4/3rds camera, it was just that reading about high-end smaller camera like those had lead me towards learning about the Fuji) , and finally decided on adding the Fuji X100S to my arsenal. It’s the sporty convertible to my DSLR “truck” and it’s got a great retro style to it.

Arcade Fire [Day 2042]

Photo-a-Day: Year 6, Day 216 – Total Days: 2,042

Just saw one of my favorite bands, Arcade Fire, in concert at one of my favorite venues, the Santa Barbara Bowl!