Photo Of The Day, January 31, 2013 - Window Washer

Window Washer

Lots of lines and a splash of color.

Photo Of The Day, January 30, 2013 - Foggy View

Foggy View

Photo Of The Day, January 28, 2013 - Wet Bench

Wet Bench

Another rainy day here - so this photograph is "making lemonade" from the lemons.

I walk past this bench often, but today I liked the highlights on the wet bench and the texture of the wet street, as well as the repeated circular pattern.

Photo Of The Day, January 27, 2013 - Kelsey Creek Park

Fallen

Today's photo of the day was taken at Kelsey Creek Park. It was an overcast day and raining most of the time I was there, but I liked the way the color of the leaf pops on this.

 A few others from the walk are below - the complete set on Flickr is here.

Kelsey Creek

Mossy Stump

Photo Of The Day, January 25, 2013 - Leaf On A Bench

Leaf On A Bench

Today's photo of the day - just a leaf on a bench, but I liked the textures and colors.

Photo Of The Day, January 24, 2013 - First Go Zig, Then Go Zag

First Go Zig, Then Go Zag

Post-processed this image today - it is from a walk along the Bellefields Trail at Mercer Slough last Sunday.

Photo Of The Day, January 23, 2013 - Need Food

Need Food

Today's photo continues on the homeless theme from yesterday.

Photo Of The Day, January 22 2013 - Homeless Anything Helps

Homeless Anything Helps

This would have been a different photograph with the homeless man in the picture - but there is irony in the fact that he wasn't "home" in the photograph.

Photo Of The Day, January 21, 2013 - Leaf Blower

Leaf Blower

A gritty black and white conversion seemed to fit this cold winter morning shot well.

Photo Of The Day, January 20 2013 - Mossy Forest

Mossy Forest

Taken on a trail at Mercer Slough, Bellevue, this clump of moss looked like a little miniature forest in itself.

Photo Of The Day, January 19, 2013 - Main Street Burgers, Edmonds

Main Street Burgers, Edmond

Today's photo of the day - this is Main Street Burgers at Edmonds, WA, a retro 50s-style burger shop.

Photo Of The Day, January 18, 2013 - Are You A Mod?

Are You A Mod? Mod Pizza Bellevue

Parking area at Mod Pizza, Bellevue. Shot this earlier in the week and processed it today. I found the graffiti and texture of the tarmac interesting and added the gritty black and white processing to fit.

Photo Of The Day, January 17 2013 - "Remember When Ours Were Young?"

Remember When Ours Were Young?

Shot earlier in the week on a sunnier day, but posted today thanks to the delayed gratification of shooting film.

The elderly gentleman had a nostalgic look as he looked at the kids in the stroller.

Photo Of The Day, January 16 - Foggy Morning

Foggy Morning

A foggy morning in downtown Bellevue.

And my runner-up image - this reminded me of "Cloud City"!

Cloud City

Photo Of The Day, January 15, 2013 - Westin and Cafe HabitsWe

Westin And Cafe Habits

Today's photo of the day - a quick shot as I walked towards the parking lot. This is an iPhone photo with in-camera HDR, and I corrected the verticals. I'm amazed at how far smart phone cameras have come today; with companies like Nokia pushing the envelope even further they are only going to get better.

Photo Of The Day, January 14 - Wet Rocks, West Beach

Wet Rocks, West Beach

This is a shot from Deception Pass on Sunday which I processed today. The low morning light brought out the texture of the rocks and pebbles in this shot.

Photo Of The Day, January 13 - On The Trail To North Beach

On The Trail to North Beach

This is from the trail down from the bridge to North Beach, Deception Pass with some interesting clouds in the sky.

A couple of my other favorite shots from the trip to Deception Pass today. First the bridge, which really lent itself to a monochrome sepia treatment:

Deception Pass Bridge

I also spotted this hut, which I thought belonged in a scary movie:

Spooky Hut

Photo Of The Day, January 12 - Tangled Web

Tangled Web

I liked the shadows in this late-morning image from today.

And the runner up - a macro shot showing frost ice crystals on a cold January morning:

Frosty Morning

Photo Of The Day, January 11 - Diamond Knot IPA

Diamond Knot IPA

I'm pretty sure this one will not win a Pulitzer Prize. But that's ok. I have a large collection of photos which did not win one.

Photo Of The Day, January 10, 2013 - After The Rains

After The Rains.

Another rainy day, another soggy photo. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!

Photo Of The Day, January 9 - Forbidden Parking Lot

Forbidden Parking Lot

I liked the way the rain drops looked on the steel cable of this parking-lot barricade.

Photo Of The Day, January 8, 2013 - Bellevue Streetlights

Bellevue Streetlights

It rained all day today. I thought the warm reflection of the orange street lights on the wet road made this a pretty picture.

And here's my runner up image, also a soggy one:

Wet Cigarette Butts

Photo Of The Day, January 7 - Packing Up Christmas In A Moving Truck...

Packing Up Christmas In A Moving Truck...

Downtown Bellevue Christmas decorations get packed up for the year.

Photo Of The Day, January 6, 2013 - Jellyfish Dreams

Jellyfish Dreams

Jellyfish at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Center. The question is - is it the jellyfish dreaming, or are you dreaming of the jellyfish?

January 5, 2013 - Going Old School...

Nikon FE2, Nikkor 50/1.4, Nikkor 105/2.5 AI, Nikkor 24/2 AI, Ilford XP2 400 B&W film

I learned my photography using a film SLR, and shot film for many years until I made the switch to digital in 2005. There’s no doubt that digital has changed the way we take photographs, and in some ways the capabilities of DSLRs have surpassed what we could do with film. Today’s digital sensors provide clean, usable images at high ISO settings that would have been inconceivable with film.

I still like shooting black and white film from time to time though. Part of this is the user experience of using an old-school manual film SLR. Focus, aperture, shutter and ISO settings are controlled using dials that rotate with a satisfying mechanical click. Manual focus with a bright ground-glass screen is satisfying, though challenging some times. And there is the solid clunk of the reflex mirror when you click the shutter. There’s a reason that retro-styled SLR-like cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M5 are being received so well by the market; they combine the user experience of a quality film SLR with the advantages of digital. These are the kind of digital cameras we wished existed when we switched from film to digital.

Empress Hotel, Victoria British Columbia

So every now and then I shoot a few rolls of black and white film using an all-manual film SLR body.  I decided to take my Nikon FE2 on a recent trip to Victoria, BC, along with my DSLR, and shoot a few rolls of black and white along with my usual digital images. The FE2 works well for me because it has Aperture Priority, which is what I use most of the time. (A bonus is that it works with most modern Nikon flashes)

In terms of lenses I decided to take the following:

• Nikkor 50mm/1.4 – This is a non-AI version from 1976 which I had AI converted
• Nikkor 24/2 to cover the wide end
• Nikkor 105/2.5 AI – A lens which I love because of the classic look and bokeh

In retrospect, I could have left the 105/2.5 home, because I left it out of the camera bag most of the time, electing to lighten my bag and use the 85/1.8 AF in my bag instead. In general the 50mm and 24 mm got the most use when I was shooting film on the trip.

Waiting For Tourists...

For film I went with Ilford XP2. Though I would have loved to have stuck to my favorite black and white emulsion, Kodak Tri-X, with so many photo labs closing down it’s getting harder to find places that process black and white. XP2 is black and white C-41 film that can be processed in any color film lab. (As it turned out, my plan to have my XP2 processed and scanned at Costco didn’t work out either because they don’t do film any more either.)

It was definitely a bit of a change in mindset using a manual SLR – for one I caught myself automatically looking at the back of the camera after I shot, and I didn’t always remember to wind after shooting as I used to do automatically years ago. My manual focusing skills are definitely a little rusty too. But it did feel good to close out 2012 in retro-style, and I like the results I got.

Rogers Chocolate, Victoria

Photo Of The Day - January 4, 2013 - Kid In A Candy Shop

The Proverbial Kid In A Candy Shop!

This was shot earlier, but I got my processed film and scans back today, so this qualifies for POTD! Yes, I did say film - I still shoot it from time to time though it's getting harder and harder to process. More about that in a separate blog post though.

The candy shop is the Rogers Chocolate store in Victoria BC for those who are interested!

Photo Of The Day, January 3, 2013 - "It's Complicated"

"It's Complicated..."

I thought this leaf with the squiggle on top I spotted at lunch time today was kind of interesting. Why "It's Complicated..."? I'm not sure, but it just seems to fit.

Here's my "runner up" image from today:

Dramatic Tree

Photo Of The Day, January 2, 2013 - City Center Plaza, Bellevue WA

City Center Plaza, Bellevue, WA

This is a vertical panorama with the iPhone 5, which explains the not-quite-straight lines. It did let me get this shot without a super-wide angle lens though!

Here is my "runner up" image:

No Parking, Stopping Or Standing

Photo Of The Day, January 1, 2013 - Bothell Landing Park

Bothell Landing Park, New Years Day 2013

Many photographers like to start "A Photo A Day" projects in the new year. I've often wanted to as well, but I'd like to be realistic about my ability to post an image worth posting on the Internet every day for one year. (As we all know, the bar for photography on the Internet is really, really high.)

So the self-imposed rules for my "Photo Of The Day" project are:

1) It's ok to not actually post an image every day
2) I'll post images the day I shoot them
3) Posting images shot earlier the day I post-process them is fair game too
4) I'll do this as long as it's fun, and stop when it's not

Today's Photograph Of The Day was taken at Bothell Landing Park. Miraculously for the Pacific Northwest, New Year's Day actually turned to be a nice sunny day, but I felt this peaceful scene deserved the black and white treatment. I like the way it turned out.

Update, January 3, 2013

I decided to add a "runner up" image from the same trip below. Same location, more drama: