Cat Macro

Glad to have you safe at home, little one.

Droplets

This photo reminds me of the green I like. Hmmm, wonder if I should add peach too?

So, I know you guys are all waiting to hear about my upcoming nuptials and what we're planning.

Well, BIG NEWS! I have (kind of, maybe) decided on a color theme. Once we chose the venue, it seemed a little clearer. The colors are: grass green, sage blue, lavender, camel/latte, and maybe gray. I think choosing camel and gray is a little cray-cray, historically they are neutrals you're not supposed to mix, and I may end up ditching the gray, but we'll see. (Also, not everything at the wedding will be in this color scheme, I am not that fussed, but playing with color makes me happy.)

I guess my only question to you is, do you think that I should keep the blue and the lavender, or just stick to one of them? The main colors to my mind are the green and camel. All the others are just accent colors. I've been reading The Perfect Palette a bit lately (great fun if you're addicted to color combinations) and I like her palettes, but this one just feels like me.

But then, you know, I feel like adding yellow, and that doesn't go with any of the existing colors . . . gah! Fortunately, there's no big hurry. So, what do you think?

Mouseover Monday 8 - Depth of Field

100mm at f/2.8 Mouse over to see it at f/7.1

So when I decided that I was really starting a photography business, I made a list of all the equipment I thought I needed to be prepared for almost any job, and I dipped into my savings and bought it. I bought two camera bodies, but I knew what really would make the images would be the right lens at the right time. Since then, some lenses almost never make it off the camera (hello 50mm and 85mm!), some lenses are in heavy rotation (hello Lensbaby!) and some lenses kind of languish (hi 70-200 and 100mm macro).

I decided last week that while the 70-200 is kind of more of a statement lens than I'm ready to bring along with me on casual photo outings, I could definitely use the 100mm more. I mean, it's a beautiful lens, with almost perfect image quality, the bokeh is superb, and it's a macro lens! which I've been wanting for a long time.

So I took the 100 with me on a photo stroll last week, to kind of put it through its paces. We walked around the Panhandle (a smaller park near Golden Gate Park) and we took pictures of whatever captured our fancy.

Some of these you have already seen here and here. The lens is a little long to be a perfect walk-around lens for me. I really like 50mm, and the image quality of the 85mm slays me every time. But the 100 certainly is fun, and there's nothing better than being able to get as close as you want to whatever you're shooting.

Anyway, this Mouseover Monday is a little different than the previous ones. I haven't converted this one into black and white; instead, I'm showing you two different shots of the same leaves, one at f/2.8 and one at f/7.1. Neither one has much depth of field, but they certainly have a different look to them. Which do you prefer? I think I know which one I'm partial to, myself, but I certainly wouldn't mind getting a second opinion.

Oh, and by the way, Happy Independence Day! I hope you're doing something suitably relaxed and pointless.

Protected

Last night I sat down at a table with five other photographers, we opened a bottle of wine, gathered around the curiously warm glow of a monitor, and then we proceeded to discuss lines, curves, black and white conversions, focal points, points of interest, and all other manner of topics that are deadly dull to anyone with any sense.

Fortunately we were not overendowed with it, so we spent a good three hours at the process, on a total of about 20 images (!) . And I have to say it was marvelous. It's rare that I have the opportunity to completely dork out, with others, consider warring crops, argue about color versus black and white, or consider whether an image might be better upside down.

Thanks for indulging me, life, in my peccadilloes. You're pretty good to me, all told. I'll do my best to return the favor.

Blossoms, Fisheye Macro Style

Oh, I officially drank the Lensbaby kool-aid. Don't know when exactly it happened, but it must have been recent. I've been feeling all woozy, and like I.must.play.with.any.Lensbaby.optic.right.now!

These are with the Lensbaby Fisheye optic, focused with the flowers almost touching the glass. That is an AMAZING focusing distance, and deserves some kind of celebration. Probably a party.

I'll invite you when we decide on a date for the shindig, ok?

(Oh, and by the way, Quotidian Photography has its very own Facebook Page! I know, I'm drinking everyone's kool-aid. Check it out, though! I'd be tickled if you would like it.)

http://www.facebook.com/quotidianphotography

Ring Ring!

So, a special event occurred this weekend: Evan and I got engaged!

For those who are curious, he proposed in front of the giraffes at the San Francisco Zoo (the site of our very first date). I didn't see it coming at all.

Here's the ring:

It's from a company called Brilliant Earth, who specialize in ethically sourced and green materials for their jewelry. This means that the diamond comes from Canada, the emeralds are lab-grown, and the gold is recycled. And Evan picked it all out himself! (He did a really good job.)

And here are a few more shots of the weekend, in no particular order.

Our amazing bed and breakfast in Cayucos, CA had a bottle of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries waiting for us in our incredible room.

Evan looking dapper.

More to come!

The Four Immeasurables

It's brushed silver, which means that it feels soft. I love the saddle shape of it, and that it feels perfectly balanced on my middle finger. It's in Thai, a language I know a very very little of, but still feel close to. It says 'love, passion, joy, equanimity.' Good reminders for us all. It's a Christmas gift from my mother that I just adore. I guess she knew when I mentioned it twice that I was serious!

Anyway, just thought I'd share that with you. You can have another look over at PineappleSeed where it comes from, if you're interested. I don't benefit in any way if you buy something from them, but I think they're a pretty awesome (San Francisco based!) company.

And some more interesting things I found recently around the web:

A lovely video about the Sartorialist here. (He takes photos of people on the street wearing stylish clothing. It's better than that sounds.)

Scott Kelby's Best of 2010 Awards. Worth a click.