91/366 - "Lines"

(F/4, 50mm, 1/50 sec, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mk II)

It may be easy to tell based on the last week of photographs that I am on a pattern and black and white kick.  I saw a similar photograph to this the other day that I really liked so I decided to duplicate it.

90/366 - "Almost There"

(F/4, 82mm, 1/13 sec, ISO 3200, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today after school there was a birthday party for James at the local bowling alley.  It was really tough getting any shots since they turned out all of the lights, so I had to jack up the ISO to get anything usable.

This picture is of the birthday boy James.  At this age it seems like when they let the ball go it takes about 5 minutes to get to the pins.

89/366 - "Half Way There"

(F/5.6, 300mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 800, Canon 5D Mk II)

About a month ago I took a photograph very similar to this but the moon was full against the blue sky.  I elected not to post in favor of another photo.  I sort of regret it a little and have been waiting for chances to recreate it.  Jonah pointed out the moon while we were outside after dinner, and I decided to take the chance even though it was not a full moon.  I am sure I will have a chance to get the full moon at some point and will post it then.  Rest assured that during the 366 photographs that there will be several more moon shots to come.

88/366 - "Bottom of the Basket"

(F/18, 100mm, 5 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

Lately I have been looking for patterns and interesting things around the house to take photographs of for this project.  Tonight while Jonah was finishing up his dinner I noticed the pattern in the basket that holds our napkins.  I flipped it over to see the bottom and this is what I saw.  I liked the pattern created by the weaving and pieces of wood.

87/366 - "Geared Up"

(F/2.8, 100mm, 1/125 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

If it is a Tuesday and the weather is nice I will be on my bicycle after work.  Last week was the first and tonight was the second ride of the year.  As usual dad was along for the ride.  Tonight our ride was cut a little short due to a mechanical issue that dad encountered.  His shifter snapped right off about 8 miles from home and he was stuck in one of his toughest gears.  Luckily he managed to get back safe and just had to pedal a little harder than me.

86/366 - "Circles"

(F/16, 100mm, 1/15 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

This morning I decided that today I would have a theme, and I decided I wanted to do something that was abstract or something with a cool pattern.

I really like how this turned out and every time I look at it I see something else I like.  Bonus points if you can identify what this is (Jim you don't get to guess).

85/366 - "Purple Fields"

(F/10, 100mm, 1/30 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

After all my chores today I was hanging out in the backyard with Jonah.  I noticed that Laurna's purple variety of flower is everywhere in her backyard.  There are patches all over the place and her yard is shades of purple and yellow (Day 79 "Spring").

84/366 - "New Friends"

(F/4, 40mm, 1/640 sec, ISO 400, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today was a brew day and I took Jonah along with me to play with Jameson and Nolan.  They had never met before today and when we were leaving you would have thought they have been friends forever.  On the car ride home Jonah asked if he could back tomorrow and play some more.  That is a good sign for my future participation in brew days.

83/366 - "ANTS!!!"

(F/7.1, 100mm, 1/200 sec, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mk II)

We have a colony of ants that hang out at the bottom of our driveway.  Jonah loves to torture them like any little boy should.  He sweeps them with his paint brushes, he stomps on them, and soon I will show him how to catch them on fire with a magnifying glass.

Tonight when we returned from the fish fry the ants were out in full force.  I grabbed my camera with a macro lens and took some shots.  These are our pet ants.

82/366 - "Memories"

(F/6.3, 40mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

On days like this with the clear blue sky the flowers on these trees just pop.  These trees are everywhere in Oakmont, lining many streets.  Today you get a two'fer.  The top is my intended photograph of the day but I wanted to show how the trees line the streets.

These trees also bring back memories for me of delivering papers as a kid.  These trees are also all over The Linsly School's campus where I had papers to delivery.

81/366 - "Hanging On"

(F/8, 105mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

When I was headed out the door to get the kids from school I spotted this bee hanging onto the porch railing for dear life.  Every once in a while one of his legs would move.  He was kind enough to let me get a decent shot and I was on my way.  I was hoping he would still be there when we returned so the kids could check him out, but he was gone.

80/366 - "Window to the Future"

(F/4, 58mm, 1/50 sec, ISO 400, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today dad and I went for a 20 mile ride.  My first of the year and his 5th or so.  Post ride he found a comfy spot on the floor and I started taking pictures.  I don't really think he liked that to much.

The other thing that is very evident is that I am my farther's son, and this will probably be me when I get home from a ride with Jonah in 20 years.  I will be on the floor and Jonah will be taking pictures of me.

79/366 - "Spring"

(F/8, 99mm, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and the weather in Pittsburgh the last week or so has been more like early summer.  So much so that both of my neighbors flowers are going like gang busters.  This is just a sample of the flowers in Laurna's backyard.

78/366 - "The Jump"

(F/4, 60mm, 1/320 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

Jonah and I went on a photo walk today.  We probably walked about 2 miles around Oakmont in search of "clues" as he would say.  In reality we were looking for objects that resembled numbers 0 through 9.  I have to credit Jim for giving me the idea.  I was going to post all 10 photographs but instead those are on my Other Stuff Blog.  I have to credit Jim for the idea, so thanks to Jim.

We followed the railroad tracks a bit and there is a little bridge that crosses Plum Creek.  Jonah was very dramatic about crossing this 9 inch opening, which probably looked like the Grand Canyon to a 5 year old.  This is him tossing his camera to safety before he jumps across.  He made it without injury and his camera still works.

77/366 - "Bumblebee"

(F/16, 100mm, 1/30 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

After I put the porch furniture out and took a little break, I grabbed my camera and tripod.  Our neighbors flower garden is already blooming all over the place.  I set up to take a macro of her flowers and took several shots, when a bee flew in to the frame.  I wish I wouldn't have gotten so excited.  I was so excited by the notion of actually getting an insect in a macro shot that the bee is a little out of focus.

76/366 - "Sun and Tree"

(F/9, 24mm, 1/200 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

As the sun was setting tonight I ran out to the back porch and took a couple photographs in hopes that something would turn out.  Luckily I was able do a little post processing to make this interesting looking.

75/366 - "Green Thumb?"

(F/4, 105mm, 1/400 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

It is very well known that I do not have a green thumb.  Everything I plant dies.  Around our house this year I have seen these little white and purple flowers popping up in random places.  So does this mean I have a gren thumb?  Hardly.  Our neighbors both have these flowers planted all around their yards and obviously mother nature has helped seed our yard.  Hopefully they come back next year.  I added the purple flower to the bottom for your viewing pleasure as an added bonus.

74/366 - "High In The Sky"

(F/4, 105mm, 1/2000 sec, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today the sky was clear as can be.  So much so that airplanes and their trails littered the sky.

73/366 - "St. Thomas"

(F/6.3, 17mm, 1/125 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today I decided throw the wide angle zoom lens on the camera.  There are many buildings in Oakmont with nice architectural features.  Some of these are easy to spot, like this one, which is St. Thomas Episcopal Church.  In my opinion this is probably the best of the Oakmont churches, architecturally speaking of course.

72/366 - "Rain Drops"

(F/4, 105mm, 1/200 sec, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today was a rainy day and I worked from home.  I noticed that the rain was making some water splashes on the railing and I hoped to get some "accidental" water splashes.  I took about a dozen shots and on the little display on the camera I didn't think that any turned out.  This particular photograph turned out pretty well after cropping and modifying the color a little bit.

71/366 - "Pavé"

(F/4, 24mm, 1/2000 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today was quite the day and Jonah and I spent about 6 hours of it outside playing.  While he was digging in the dirt and riding his bike I was taking photographs and cleaning my road bike.  The picture you are looking at is of the pavé, which is french for pavement or cobblestone that is next to our house.  Remember this word because it is going to be in some upcoming posts.

70/366 - "Family"

(F/5, 65mm, 1/125 sec, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mk II)

Today we celebrated Matt and Nora's 3rd birthday before they leave for South Carolina.  I was taking a bunch of pictures for Karen and I snapped this one before everyone arrived.  For those that don't know from left to right (Sue (my wife), Susan (her cousin), and Karen (her sister).

69/366 - "What Am I?"

(F/18, 100mm, 3.2 sec, ISO 100, Canon 5D Mk II)

I haven't done one of these in a while so here it is.  Once I get a correct answer from someone, then I will post the answer.  I think this might be one of the toughest yet.  Good luck!

Here is the link to the answer.  Susan guessed correctly over on Facebook.

68/366 - "Ordinary Things"

(F/8, 32mm, 1/40 sec, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mk II)

We were talking about taking photographs of everyday things at lunch the other day.  I was putting away the dishes tonight and recognized the symmetry and how it was broken up by the bowls.  So I snapped some photos and these ordinary things represent my photograph for today.

67/366 - "Bike Time"

(F/4, 105mm, 1/40 sec, ISO 400, Canon 5D Mk II)

What a great day out today!!!  It was so nice that I was able to get the kids outside after dinner.  As expected Jonah wanted to ride his bike, and I was more than happy to watch and take pictures.

66/366 - "Moon"

(F/22, 300mm, 1/5 sec, ISO 100, Canon 7D)

I had some photographs of the kids playing outside today but when we got back home tonight the moon was coming up and the sky was a clear blue.  By the time we were settled and I was able to set up for the shot the sky was dark and this is the shot I was able to take.

In the spirit of full disclosure most of my shots are on a cropped body so the focal length is actually 300 x 1.6 (crop factor) which takes it to 480mm focal length.  I also threw on my 1.4 extender so that takes me to a 672mm focal length.

65/366 - "Cinderella"

(F/4, 73mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 200, Canon 7D)

Like most kids her age Harper loves to try on and stomp around in my shoes.  Well, since her cousins were in town she had more options.  I watched her try on my shoes, and then move on to Gia's shoes.  She was very frustrated with all of the straps on Gia's "big girl" shoes.  It occurred to me as I took the shot she is like Cinderella looking for just the right pair.

64/366 - "Cabbage Rolls"

(F/4, 40mm, 1/80 sec, ISO 3200, Canon 7D)

We went home to be with family and celebrate the life of grandma.  Grandma's cabbage rolls were legendary and that is what we had for dinner.  Sue even got into the mix and rolled some cabbage.

63/366 - "Lined Up"

(F/4, 35mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 200, Canon 7D)

The Green's came over tonight for burgers, beers, and to watch some basketball.  While I was waiting for them to show up I noticed that the beers in the fridge were lined up so nice and neat ready to be enjoyed.  Well, I am happy to report that we did enjoy them.  It is always good hanging out and letting the kids play, and by kids I mean Greg and I.  Jonah and James got to play too.  I had planned to take an after shot with all the bottle caps in the fridge, but Sue happened to throw them out before I got the chance.

62/366 - "Eat My Dust"

(F/4, 24mm, 1/13 sec, ISO 500, Canon 7D)

I wanted to mess around a little with shutter speeds and I asked Jonah to help me out.  Of course Harper wanted to play too.  I really like how I caught her face as Jonah passed the camera.

61/366 - "Urban Decay"

(F/4, 105mm, 1/125 sec, ISO 200, Canon 7D)

I have been searching for a vacant or rundown building to photograph.  This particular location is about a block from our house.  There are "No Trespassing" signs all over the place and I have been told by a couple locals that the guy that owns the property and would probably shoot me if I went inside.  So I will have to settle on some exterior shots for now, and this one makes me want to go inside even more.

If anyone knows of any locations that I could get into that are in the Pittsburgh area let me know.