# Project31



## Bo4key (Jan 1, 2013)

I've decided to take on a 31 day photo project for January and will be posting the photos here for comments and critique. I'm hoping to accomplish this by taking as few pictures as possible of my kids, I've got enough of those already :lmao:


Wish me luck & thanks for looking. 

Day 1




Day 1 by Boaketography, on Flickr

I like the sharpness of this shot and the catch light in his eye. I don't like the background however even though it is out of focus.


----------



## shefjr (Jan 1, 2013)

Cute puppy. The only this that I notice is that it looks to me like the focus in not on the eyes and closer to the snout. 
Just my opinion though.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 1, 2013)

Thanks!

I agree. I shot this wide open and probably could have stopped down a little to get a deeper DOF. I was focused on getting the nose IN focus (I see a lot of dog portraits where the snout is oof) so much that it was at the expense of the eyes.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 2, 2013)

Day 2!


I had intended on doing some landscape shots today but the light was flat and boring and it was completely overcast. At least there were some ducks down by the creek when I went for a hike.




Day 2 by Boaketography, on Flickr

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]ISO 400
[/FONT]F/2.8 
1/125 sec
50 mm


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 3, 2013)

Day 3

This is an old Pentax K1000 that my grandma gave me a few months ago. Sadly, the battery was left in it during years of storage and it corroded and the light meter no longer works. The local camera shop told me it would be more expensive to fix than it is worth. Too bad, I was looking forward to shooting film for fun. 




Day 3 by Boaketography, on Flickr

I set this up with black poster board as the background and a white poster board on the countertop in the kitchen. I used two sets of overhead lights to light the scene and on camera flash as a fill light. 

ISO 200
f/4.0
1/250 sec.

Converted to B&W with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 5, 2013)

Day 4

2013 Ford Shelby GT500




Day 4 by Boaketography, on Flickr

f/4.0
ISO 800
1/80 sec

Converted in Silver Efex Pro 2


----------



## Frequency (Jan 5, 2013)

Let this build up ..... All the Best


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 6, 2013)

Day 5

Work was super busy tonight and I had a dinner date with the wife, so some instagram goodness is as good as it gets. I still like the composition and subject in this one. And the theme was relevant to how much it snowed today. 




Day 5 - Instagram Goodness by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 6, 2013)

Day 6 

Abstract 




Day 6 by Boaketography, on Flickr


A bit of a happy accident, I'll admit. I've never done anything abstract like this before.

I was playing around with shutter speeds and the wind was blowing on the subject. I'm really happy with the way the colors turned out. 

f/5.6
100 mm
ISO 200
1/100 sec.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 7, 2013)

Day 7

My brother in law is in town visiting with his girlfriend and her dog. This is Kiara, she's a bit of a mixed breed but very well trained and makes for a very obedient model. 

I decided on a square crop here because I though the pose of the subject lent itself to this type of framing. 




7/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 9, 2013)

Day 8

Snowing hard here again. I liked the way the snow was sticking to the limbs of this bare tree and the way it was lit by the street light frame right. 




8/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr

17mm
f/4.0
1/125 sec
ISO 800


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 10, 2013)

Day 9

Today was a total fail.....




9/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 11, 2013)

Day 10

Shot this in portrait orientation because it was the narrowest part of the lake and I wanted to use the two sides to frame the photo and draw the eye into the middle. This is the first bit of sunlight we've had in a couple weeks so it's been really hard to get any decent landscape shots in. 




10/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 11, 2013)

Day 11

This is the first time I've attempted any off camera lighting. I used a construction flood light and some tissue paper as a diffuser to create a softbox effect.   




11/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 12, 2013)

Anyone have any comments on any of these shots? 

Please, throw them at me


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 14, 2013)

Day 12

Low light 




Day 12/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 14, 2013)

Day 13

Went to the local ski hill today and it was snowing and visibility was very limited. Shot this inside the gondola with on-camera flash as fill. As you can see in the background, it was pretty socked in. I was hoping for a blue bird day and to get some nice vistas. I'll be sure to go up again this month. And to ski of course. 




13/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 14, 2013)

Day 14

Our kitchen table top looks like an old barn door and I've always like the grain in it. I used white poster board over head to diffuse and control the light, and tripod mounted the camera to take this shot. 




14/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr

10 sec exposure
ISO 200
f/5.6
50 mm

I've noticed that I am doing a lot of b&w this month. Maybe it's a phase but I like the contrasty qualities of b&w and all the snow around here lately is making me feel monochromatic.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 16, 2013)

Day 15

Clearly I need a lot of work with landscape shots......




Day 15/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


I hate the buoys in this shot and don't have the tools to clone them out.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 17, 2013)

Day 16 

A souvenir from a recent family trip




Day 16/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 17, 2013)

C'mon, these all can't be that bad/good/in the middle that no one has any constructive criticism?


----------



## squirrels (Jan 17, 2013)

I enjoyed looking through what you have so far. I'm a newb so I can't offer a lot of constructive criticism, but I can tell you that you could use the GIMP (free PS like software) to get rid of those buoys. Keep it up!
C


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 18, 2013)

Day 17

Sick today so....

my shot of the day is an Instagram of one of my favorite shots from another photog that I purchased while visiting one of my favorite places to visit in the world, Pike Market.




Day 17/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 18, 2013)

Day 18

The view from my deck tonight. I've been waiting all month to shoot the sunset but it's just been two cloudy. We don't get much break in the clouds for a couple months here in the winter. 




Day 18/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## pic_chick (Jan 19, 2013)

I enjoyed looking at your photos keep it up You are making me want to start a 30 day challenge


----------



## RobN185 (Jan 19, 2013)

There are so many styles and subjects here. Is this deliberate?
If I could make a suggestion for your (or anyone's) next series - chose one subject and shoot it everyday for a month, this is a way to really see what you take.

Just a suggestion...absolutely not a slight on your current project - which is inspired.

ps. Day 9 was not a failure!  (one of my personal favourites so far)


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 19, 2013)

RobN185 said:


> There are so many styles and subjects here. Is this deliberate?
> If I could make a suggestion for your (or anyone's) next series - chose one subject and shoot it everyday for a month, this is a way to really see what you take.
> 
> Just a suggestion...absolutely not a slight on your current project - which is inspired.
> ...



Thanks for the input. It is deliberate that I have so many different styles and subjects because I wanted to keep it interesting for myself. I also don't yet know what my favorite type of photography is or has a personal style per se so I was using this project as a bit of self discovery. 

It would be pretty interesting to have a theme running through the whole project though. 

Day 9 does have some nice qualities but technically it isn't very strong. I guess it is still pleasing to look at with the warm light.


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 19, 2013)

Here I took out those buoys for you. Not a perfect job but a quick fix.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 20, 2013)

Day 19

Alright, so I didn't shoot this today but it is a new edit. Plus, I'm missing summer and wanted some color.




Day 19/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Juga (Jan 20, 2013)

shefjr said:


> Cute puppy. The only this that I notice is that it looks to me like the focus in not on the eyes and closer to the snout.
> Just my opinion though.



I agree with this but I am no expert.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 21, 2013)

Day 20

Sunday Snapshot.

Hanging out with the kids today. I used on camera flash as fill light here and a large window camera left to light the scene. I like the composition of this shot but it is more or less a snapshot.




Day 20/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr

ISO 400
50 mm
f/3.5
1/50 sec


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 21, 2013)

Day 21




Day 21/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr

I've been trying for a couple years (since I first picked up a DSLR) to get a decent shot of a Heron but either didn't have a long enough lens or couldn't get close enough. I got lucky today while I was out for a photo walk and got within fifty feet of this one. 

Still, this is cropped from the original to improve the composition.

EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS
ISO 400
F/5.6
1/100 SEC


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 21, 2013)

Heron looks good. Bet it feels good to finally get one.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 22, 2013)

Day 22

An edit of a shot I took yesterday. I took about 140 so I wanted to share another from the marshes. 




Day 22/31 by Boaketography, on Flickr

Cropped from original

ISO 400
f/5.6
1/320

Adjusted exposure, contrast, vibrance and clarity in LR


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 23, 2013)

Cheater


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 23, 2013)

Haha yes. 

Well, I did this as a learning experience so I though "what's the harm in working on my processing skills today?"


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 23, 2013)

Doesn't mean you couldn't take a picture on Day 22 and process it same-day.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 23, 2013)

TonysTouch said:


> Doesn't mean you couldn't take a picture on Day 22 and process it same-day.



So, are you saying you don't like the image then?


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 23, 2013)

Not at all, I think it is a successful image. I just feel there is honor in sticking to the rules we set for ourselves.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 23, 2013)

TonysTouch said:


> Not at all, I think it is a successful image. I just feel there is honor in sticking to the rules we set for ourselves.



Fair enough.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 24, 2013)

Day 23

I wish I was taking these things and escaping to somewhere more colourful and warm. 




Day 23 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 25, 2013)

Day 24

Trying something symmetrical & artsy, thoughts? 




Day 24 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 26, 2013)

It looks a little tilted but I like the concept


----------



## xxWesxx (Jan 26, 2013)

Bo4key said:


> Day 4
> 
> 2013 Ford Shelby GT500
> 
> ...



ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 26, 2013)

TonysTouch said:


> It looks a little tilted but I like the concept



Looks that way to me too. I tried to fix it in post and using the grid the lines were even so I must've been positioned slightly to one side and this resulted in some distortion.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 26, 2013)

xxWesxx said:


> Bo4key said:
> 
> 
> > Day 4
> ...




It's an awesome car, it sits right outside my office in the showroom. Sadly it isn't mine.


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 26, 2013)

I wish I could afford a car like that, or the gas to drive that car the way it was designed to be driven.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 26, 2013)

Day 25

I don't do a lot of flower photography and honestly it's harder than it looks. Trying to find a pleasing composition with a single on camera flash was tough. Time to invest in some more kit and start working with OCF.

Square cropped from original (obviously), I felt it worked here. 




Day 25 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## o hey tyler (Jan 27, 2013)

Bo4key said:
			
		

> Day 25
> 
> I don't do a lot of flower photography and honestly it's harder than it looks. Trying to find a pleasing composition with a single on camera flash was tough. Time to invest in some more kit and start working with OCF.
> 
> ...



Nice light placement and attention to the shadows. You did very well in that regard. Have you tried muting that green in the back? It really pops to me, but could easily be desaturated. 

Keep it up dude!


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 27, 2013)

Day 26

Another attempt at the flowers. I kinda feel bad because I bought this bouquet for my wife the other day and am now exploiting the gesture 





day 26 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 27, 2013)

o hey tyler said:


> Nice light placement and attention to the shadows. You did very well in that regard. Have you tried muting that green in the back? It really pops to me, but could easily be desaturated.
> 
> Keep it up dude!



Thanks Tyler, I'll give that a try. I was a little unsure about the brightness of that shot but I also liked the muted tones.


----------



## TonysTouch (Jan 27, 2013)

Have you tried diffusing your flash? I used to tape a small sliver of paper over it. It definitely helps soften the light.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 27, 2013)

TonysTouch said:


> Have you tried diffusing your flash? I used to tape a small sliver of paper over it. It definitely helps soften the light.



I actually used a business card taped to the flash as a diffuser and then also bounced it off the ceiling. I think it diffused nicely and was quite even in the bouquet shot. I also have a puffer diffuser that clips on the flash but chose not to use it here.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 28, 2013)

Day 27 

Sunday Snapshot

Sundays are mostly a family day so I didn't put much pressure on this shot. This is backlit by a big open window and I used on camera flash, bounced off the ceiling with a white card on the flash directed towards her as a diffuser. 




day 27 Sunday Snapshot by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 28, 2013)

Day 28




Day 28 - Lonely Stop by Boaketography, on Flickr

I've been wanting to shoot this bus stop for a while because I like the way the light isolates the bench.


I've been by it a few times and the weather hasn't cooperated or the light was out. Today, everything worked out.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 29, 2013)

I realized I posted these later last night so not many people would have seen them.


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 31, 2013)

Day 29


Some apples. I saw a similar shot to this on here previously (forgive me, I forget who posted it) and liked the idea so I wanted to replicate it.





Day 29 - Apples by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 31, 2013)

Day 30

Close up portrait. Single on camera flash. 




Day 30 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------



## Bo4key (Jan 31, 2013)

Day 31

Well, I made it to the end. I was hoping for a little more feedback over the 31 days but I'm glad I stuck with it and learned a few things. 

Cheers




Day 31 by Boaketography, on Flickr


----------

