• Gary in the backyard (365:252)

    2011-09-09-144440.jpg

    Yay! Out of the house and no sign of a wall (same basic pose though).

    Out and about this morning, with a trip to church and WalMart. We spent a fair bit of the afternoon in the backyard where I fed the mosquitoes while we took pictures.

  • Tedious (365:251)

    Tedious
    Tedious

    This 365 days project is a bit tedious at the moment

    Probably a reflection on my life, which involves not a lot more than sitting at a screen slogging away for 10-12 hours a day. Not a lot of room for photographic excellence there. Even worse I sit up late in the vain hope that some inspiration will strike, then dash off a half-hearted quickie like this just before bed.

    I was so immersed in whatever research / writing / reading I was doing this afternoon I forgot to go to the Thursday service. But I did get to go out at eight pm for an hour or so with a friend. The bar we picked was too noisy inside to chat, so we sat outside – where there was a band. Oh well. It was also dark outside so I didn’t try for a picture.

    Today’s picture involved a very lazy set-up – it was coming on for 12 O’clock, so I’ll cut myself a little slack. I didn’t bother to diffuse the fill light and it shows in the harsher shadows around my hand.

  • Gary at the computer (365:250)

    Gary at the computer (365:250). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    After too many hours spent working at the computer the law of diminishing returns starts to set in.

    I broke away from the dreaded machine at least a couple of times. Once for a meeting at church and a second time to go pick up the girls from Youth Group. Originally the title was ‘Gary working at the computer’ but by 11pm I was way beyond working anymore.

    This picture marks a departure for me. Normally I’d have used monitor light. Tonight I opted to place a large diffuser on the desk in front of me and tucked a wireless triggered speedlight behind it and used that instead.

    Technology gone mad: you realize things have become too complex when your flash gun locks up due to a software error. Sad but true.

  • 365:249

    365:249. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Lately it seems I’ve been running a lot just to stay in the same place.

    Discuss: More often than not freeware and shareware reduces the quality of software products down to the lowest common denominator by removing the investment and incentive required to produce a good well tested and documented product.

    That gives you some idea of how my day was spent – researching suitable software only to find a load of mediocre half-arsed products, 50% of which don’t work, and the remaining 50% don’t actually do exactly what you want them to. I’m not alone – I found pleas in the various fora for a product just simply did what was needed.

    I love the catch lights in this picture – it looks like I’m wearing contacts, but it is actually the reflection of my glasses.

  • Gary, Lanie and Ginger (hiding at the back) too (365:248)

    2011-09-05-121152.jpg

    For what seems like the first time in over three months the temperature dropped below 90°F.

    So, we had a celebratory hike. A nice short 4 miles on the white trail and Busiek. We took along Lanie, Katie and Katie’s friend. My camera is far too heavy for an arm’s length self portrait, and it took me a few attempts to get the flash level right.

    We should have tried for a better shot in which all of Ginger’s face was visible, but we wanted to get on our way as we had an appointment with some burgers at Tom and Rebbie’s to keep. Very nice they were too.

    Tonight we’ve had to close up the house. Not because it’s too hot – but because it is too cold!

  • I was going to use a picture of me facing right for a change. But I like this one more. (365:247)

    Gary Allman. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I could have gotten a much better picture if I’d got the camera out earlier today. I didn’t.

    Church this morning was at Camp Shawio followed by burgers and conversation. I enjoyed the informal service and had a great time catching up with people afterwards.

  • Sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Ginger (365:246)

  • More of the same (365:245)

    At least this one is in colour.

  • Just me – reprise (365:244)

    Another busy day doing webby stuffs.

    Just me – reprise (365:244). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Tonight’s picture is a reprise of a picture I took on my first 365. I wore more clothes this time and didn’t treat this one as harshly in post-processing as I did the original shot. I look a lot happier in today’s picture. However, the original remains one of my favorites.

    For some reason that I still haven’t gotten to the bottom of, my flashes weren’t working properly tonight, resulting in partial exposures. That’s a synchronization issue. I’ve not met this particular problem before. I was able to work around it without difficulty, and at first, I thought I had the shutter speed set too fast, but it didn’t always sync at 1/60th either. Ginger ran off a few shots on her camera and had the same problem. I’ve obviously accidentally changed a setting on the flashes. I feel a bout of manual reading and Googling coming on.

    Just Me 365:088 (re-edit). Copyright © 2007 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • August 2011

    This month saw the return of black and white! Again we were hunkering down hiding from the +100°F temperatures. I spent lots of time at the computer working on a new project, and have been playing with some new photographic toys. I also prepped the kayaks ready for use. I shouldn’t have bothered, we didn’t use them. Finally, at the end of the month, I went off on a trip to St Louis to get my biometrics taken for my ten-year permanent resident card.

  • At my desk (365:243)

    At my desk (365:243) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Another late-ish session.

    I did try a bit harder for this shot though. I used my desk lamp and monitors as the light source, and put up a large reflector camera right to slightly lift the shadows. I could have tried a bit harder and used one of my Speedlights. But I didn’t.

  • 2 am (365:242)

    2 am (365:242). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I was working late.

    I wanted to finish the first draft of a website, and I just kept at it as the last stage was loading in the content which doesn’t require a lot of brain power. Of course I should have remembered and taken my daily picture earlier.

    This picture will have to do. At 2am I wasn’t in the mood to try and set up a complex shot. Shame about having to wake up just after 6am the next day though.

  • McDonald’s, I’m good ‘n cold and I have two egg McMuffins! (365:241)

    McDonald’s, I’m good ‘n cold and I have two egg McMuffins! (365:241). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I love Egg McMuffins.

    Sorry, but it is true. However, that’s jumping ahead a little bit. I was the first to arrive for Biometrics scanning – which was great because it was all over in ten to fifteen minutes. There is probably a joke to be made about an Englishman, a Jamaican and a Russian waiting in line for Biometrics, but it will have to wait for another day.

    I guess I made somebody’s day, as the lady taking my fingerprints said “it is great to start the week with a laugh” this was after busting out laughing because I was nonplussed as to why my thumb print still matched, when it shouldn’t. Then it dawned on me… I’d injured the other hand.

    You are not supposed to take cameras along for the biometrics appointment so I saw lots of pictures I couldn’t take while walking to my appointment, and by the time I walked back to the hotel the light had changed and the pictures weren’t there any more.

    It was hot and rapidly getting hotter in St Louis so I decided to head on home. On the way back I stopped at Pacific, Missouri for an egg McMuffin, and I couldn’t believe my luck when I was told there was a two for one offer! My attempts to take this picture of one of my McMuffins attracted the attention of the staff, but fortunately I wasn’t asked to stop – probably because I’d deliberately hid myself away from everyone else which I guess was also rather suspicious!

  • Chatting with Ginger (365:240)

    Chatting with Ginger (365:240). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    We had a plan, but it didn’t work out.

    Tomorrow at 8am I have an appointment to have my biometrics taken to extend my US visa by 10 years.

    Originally Ginger and I had planned to spend the night in St. Louis and leave the grandparents in charge of the kids. It all unraveled starting with Ginger’s mother being ill. That was okay (well not, but you know what I mean), her dad could still come down. Then our friend’s aunt died, and she needed cat tending duties while they were away. So we re-planned, I’d spend the night at St Louis, and Ginger would stay behind to look after cats and kids.

    So there I was in the hotel in St Louis and suddenly I found myself transported back 3 years, using Chat to keep in touch with Ginger. It wasn’t good to be apart, but it was very good to find out we could switch back to our old modes of communication.

  • The problem with dirty glasses (365:239)

    The problem with dirty glasses (365:239). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I had terrible trouble with this shot.

    I was trying get a very controlled amount of light from the flash, but I was continually getting a terrible reflection from my glasses. I’d change my position, change the position of the flash (being bounced of a wall). The highlight wouldn’t go away.

    It was only when I came to process the pictures that it became obvious that the problem was not so much a reflection, but dirt on my glasses. If I’d cleaned them, it would have been fine. D’oh! Oh well, at least you can’t see the wall in this picture.

  • Gary and Tubby (365:238)

    Gary and Tubby (365:238). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I thought I’d try and liven up my daily picture with a cat.

    Unfortunately Tubby didn’t seem to be that impressed with the idea. Working at the computer all day so not a lot to do photographically, hence the endless stream of ‘wall shots’. Today I used two black foamie things just because I could.

    While I was at it I took a couple more shots:

    Ginger
    Ginger
    I'm getting tired of seeing these.
    I’m getting tired of seeing these wall shots.

  • Lit by a black foamie thing (365:237)

    Lit by a black foamie thing (365:237). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I’ve been trying out another attachment on my speedlights. Single flash + ‘black foamie thing’ – here’s a link for it.

  • Working on a new project (365:236)

    Working on a new project (365:236). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    and of course other work comes in.

    So I’ve been busy. This picture merits the award of ‘most processed so far’. I knew I couldn’t get the picture in one shot so I took a picture exposed for the background, and then another of me so that some details would show. Merging the two images in PhotoShop was a pain. I should have got one of the flashes out and used it to fill in. It would probably have been quicker. I’ll try that another day.

    I guess that makes this picture an HDR image. Heaven forbid. That can’t be right, where’s all the funny visual effects and ghosting? I obviously don’t know my HDR from my elbow.

  • Wine and picture editing (365:235)

    Wine and picture editing (365:235). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Working on my latest batch of 365 pictures. Once more faux Lomo is used in an attempt to rescue a mediocre picture.   

  • Meet my camera (365:234)

    Meet my camera. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    It’s about time I took another mirror shot

    Today I helped Jim deliver his bottle tree to its new owners. We drove to Oklahoma and the Will Rogers museum where we loaded the tree into the pickup of the very happy Bud and Marg.

    After a break for lunch we visited the Will Rogers memorial museum. To cut a long story very short, thanks to Ivan Pace, whose business card is sitting on the desk in front of me, and says “It just don’t seem right for a man to go through life without owning a Winchester Rifle or a Colt Pistol” we had the privilege of going into the Rogers family tomb. Judging by the difficulty they had getting the doors open I doubt there’s many Brits that can say that, and I suspect not so many Americans either.

    It rained the entire time we were in Oklahoma so I didn’t take any pictures apart from a couple of shots of the Bottle tree in the back of the pickup.

    In tonight’s picture we get to meet my D7000.

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