The Unusual

Brandi again... sorry. Our poor Jay'me has a technology black cloud following her around. I received this a short time ago.

Alright we have no Internet. I thought for sure my darling husband would come home and fix EVERYTHING. Sob... it didn't happen.
I took this today thinking it was a welcome yet strange sight like the decked out Santa.
This is the first bio diesel I have seen and it's at a BP. It was a good .50 more expensive then reg gas.



iPhone 3
1/40sec
F/2.8
ISO 100

Good thing through the magic of cell phones I was able to get her picture.
Jay'me you are a SUPER TROOPER!

Reflection

Reflection has many definitions.

Scott's version of reflection is defined as
Something, such as light, radiant heat, sound, or an image, that is reflected

Here's my version of reflection
Mental concentration; careful consideration


Nikon D40 kit lens
Shutter speed 1/320sec
Aperture f/4.0
Focal length 24.00mm
ISO 200

Whenever I'm near the water it seems to take me over. Giving me peace, quieting the noise in my head and giving me a moment of reflection. The fact that water also reflects like a mirror is not lost on me. Perhaps standing near the edge and seeing myself in the clear water is what allows for that quiet moment.

Capturing water right as it's forming into ice is harder than one would think. Light, as with all photos, is crucial. Harsh sun and you'll lose the details. Cloudy sky and you'll lose the reflection. So I knew I needed to head out today at the "prime time". "Prime time" or "the golden hour" the last hour of daylight, which sadly around these parts is 4pm.
Also posing a problem is the need for depth, structure if you will. Something to ground the photo. Just a picture of an ice edge is rather blah, as I found out.
As I stood at the waters edge, reflecting and thinking of what I could do to "make" a photo happen, a soft, tiny, whisper of a feather floated down and landed just beside me.



"The day is done, and the darkness, Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward, From an eagle in his flight”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Enjoy the moment of reflection.
xoxo,
Brandi

That is sick

Literally.
The tie that binds Scott's photo yesterday and mine today is that both will make you sick.

Nikon d40 kit lens
ISO 200
aperture f/11
shutter speed 1/15sec
manual, natural light

Nauseous yet?

I've been lamenting about being off my mojo in my photography lately. I've whined about it quite a bit actually. Today I set out in search of my mojo.
I searched my yard, no luck.
I searched my car, not there either.
In the end I found it hiding at a local park.

Somehow I decided that climbing on a tire swing in the rain and spinning myself around while taking photos would be a good idea. I must have lost my mind while looking for my mojo.
My stomach recovered sometime around dinner time even though these were taken at lunch time.

I should share with those of you that are actually interested in attempting this photo, the key to making this photo work was the cloudy sky. If it had been full sun I would not have been able to get my f-stop to f/11 (allowing for the tire to stay in focus) while slowing my shutter speed so you could see the spin in the mulch below.

Have fun, go play, and get sick.

My Veteran by Brandi

I was given a great gift today.
After driving six hours to visit our family, my uncle gladly climbed in my car with me for destinations unknown to him. No questions asked, no apprehensions, just jumped right in, ready for anything.

Since my grandfathers passing my uncle, the oldest of 5, has become the patriarch of the family. He is the glue that helps hold together our very large family not allowing, time, distance or life's drama get in the way of us being together.
He sacrifices his time, his energy and heart to do whatever he can to help those around him. Just this year he helped a 92 year old gentleman work his farm. Working hard for long hours he gave himself to this old man to help him continue to reap product from this beautiful earth.

Growing up in small town Iowa, my uncle learned that you helped those in need. You worked for and with your neighbors and you never stepped down from a challenge. Everything you did, you did completely with honesty, integrity and dedication.

This work ethic and genuine concern for the fellow man followed my uncle over to Vietnam when he was but a young man. He supported this country, his fellow soldiers and did his family proud.
He may not have gotten a heroes welcome when he returned from his time 'in country' but he certainly deserved one. I'm proud to say that today, on this Veterans Day, I was able to be with my uncle to see him get the praise he so richly deserves.

I took my uncle to a job site that I've been a part of. I asked him to stand next to the American made steel beams, below an American flag at the site of a future Harley Davidson. I did it all so I could capture him surrounded by as much America as I could gather. Steel, construction workers, Harley Davidson and the American flag all in the middle of this beautiful country.

The America that we now know is in part because of my uncle and the other fine men that he stood next to all those years ago. On this day I honor a man that I am humbled to know and proud to call family.


Nikon d40 kit lens
ISO 200
shutter speed 1/640
aperture f/4.5 @ 13mm
manual exposure, natural light

This photo is untouched. It's raw, its real and it's one of my favorite pictures. Not because it's technically the best, or because I manged to follow up Scott's Wordless Wednesday with a vertical post because nobody can figure out what the image is of, but because I'm lucky enough to know this great man.

Thank you to all of our Veterans. To my Grandfathers (WWII), my uncles (Vietnam), my brother (peace time) and my cousin (currently awaiting another deployment), I love you and I'm very proud of all of you.

Friday Faces with....*drum roll please*

Brandi!!!

Stop your crying! Scott will be here tomorrow. Yes, you really can wait a day to see his work, it won't kill you. I promise.

**stay until the end for a special announcement**


When I told Scott that I took some photos at my daughters school Halloween parade we thought we would switch days so we could show off some cute kids for this edition of Friday Faces.

Nikon d40 18-55
Shutter speed 1/100
Aperture f4.5 @32mm
ISO 800

I took a ton of photos during the parade. Getting 14 2-3 year olds to listen, smile and pose is the single most difficult thing to do. Ever. Factor in my cameras inability to handle low light situations, like being inside a school and you have some yellow cast photos.
I knew when I went through them I was going to have to do something I don't often do. I was going to have to do a little heavy editing. sigh... I much prefer to let the photo speak for itself with a quick brighten, sharpen or a little boost.
I played with a couple different things and ended up giving this what I call a newspaper feel. Not completely black and white but not sepia either.
In the end, I hope the girls smiling faces and bright eyes carry the photo. Two friends, sharing in the excitement of a special day. What could be better than that?

*******
I get to be the lucky person to announce that we are extending this weeks Wordless Wednesday. Go here and enter your name. You don't even have to make a correct guess. You just have to put your name in the hat. It's easy, it's fun and it won't cost a thing. Where else can you find that type of entertainment?
So stop making excuses and go!!!

See ya next time!!

xoxox,
Brandi

Welcome Amy!

Everyone give Amy a warm 3C1D welcome.
Amy is the latest winner of the Wordless Wednesday contest. She made a correct guess on Sere's post here.

A little about Amy by Amy -
A mom of 2, massage therapist, and a person stumbling into mindful living through yoga, qigong, and mediation. I love to read, bake, and now take photos (mostly of my children and whatever catches my eye).


Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
18-55mm 3.5-5.6
1/200s
f5.6
ISO 200

About the photo - in Amy's words
I added some fill light and saturated the photo to draw out the red in the train. I also tried this photo without flash first and then this one has flash to capture the end of the train. I had a fun day of playing with my camera downtown as I am extremely new to photography. I am currently in a digital photography class and it's only week 2. Prior to that I only used my automatic setting on my Canon Rebel. It is nice to be able to control your photo as I learn how to utilize my camera more.Thank you for allowing me to guest post - it forced me to go out and play with my camera more. This is the train I took home after my adventure came to an end.

Amy, I (Brandi) speak for all the chicks and the dude when I tell you GREAT JOB! Keep going in photography, you have a great eye for composition and we look forward to having you join us again in the future.

Another fantastic day, another beautiful picture to inspire your soul. Live big!

Sere is going to start off the work week with something fabulous, I'm sure.

Jay'me's Got Legs

We have our first official camera phone entry.


Jay'me is enjoying her time away (as you can see) but has encountered some technical difficulties. I'm happy to help her out, after all she promised me some sunshine in a bottle upon her return.
Jay'me's photo plays off of Sere's action shot with some anti-action. If I'm voting, I think Jay'me has the right idea here. All I would need is a cold, fruity drink.

Enjoy the last few days of your trip Jay'me we'll see you back here on Thursday.

XOXOX,
Brandi

An All-American Girl by Sere

In keeping with our All-American theme this week....

Nikon D2X
ISO 400
Aperture F10
Shutter 1/20 sec.
Lens 14-24mm at 22mm
natural lighting, no flash
I used a skylight filter to give the picture a little extra warmth

When I thought about America this past week, beyond the flag and heroism of our soldiers I thought about what they were fighting for. This picture, to me, is part of what our soldiers fight for, what firefighters and policemen as well want to protect. An adorable girl, I'll call her M, cooking marshmallows on a homemade literal stick to make S'Mores around a campfire on a beautiful evening.

I decided to do some quick research on the history of S'Mores. S'Mores are about as American as apple pie. They even have their own unrecognized holiday, August 10. Nobody knows for sure when they came about, but it was roughly around the 20th century, probably created by some bored camper. The first known recipe was in a Girl Scout handbook, named because the girls kept asking for "some more" and it eventually became shortened to s'more. I think we all can appreciate their love for this ooey, gooey treat.

When it Feels Like Life is Passing You By

Canon 30D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Shutter Speed 2 Seconds
Aperture f/20.0
Focal Length 18mm
ISO 400
Speed Light and Natural Light
Manual Mode

The genesis of this photo is Brandi's post on her other blog. She wrote about something we all go through from time and time and she did it with the typical grace and personality that only Brandi can show. I was moved by her words for many reasons and I thought about how I might try to duplicate those feelings with a picture. What I came up with is not quite in the spirit of what Brandi was saying but the process began with her post.

The next step was me thinking about ways to improve our experiment and increase the attraction of our little home on the web. My thought was that we need to include people more often. I love photographing a sunset as much as the next guy. But people are fascinating in so many ways. Photographing people is equally fascinating and all four of us could use some practice. After a few hurried emails and texts we decided on a small change. So, with that somewhat disjointed introduction, I present to you the debut of "Friday Faces!" Hence forth, every Friday there will be a face on 3chicks1dude. It can be any face but the rule of connecting somehow to the previous post is still in effect. Who knows, maybe one of you will be on here someday - I certainly hope so!

With my first face picture I decided on a self-portrait. I did this partially because of my feelings on life passing by faster than I can keep up but also because it would tie in to what Brandi posted a few days ago. I can honestly say that my expression sums up perfectly my day on September 3, 2010. It was an exhausting and stressful day and the world indeed felt like it was moving much faster than I. I'm thrilled this turned out because I only looked at the camera 3 times (it was better that way, trust me).

Which brings me to set-up. For this shot, I used a Joby Gorillapod wrapped around the side view mirror. I had my remote trigger hooked up and my speed light in my lap. I had to use manual mode to ensure consistent exposure. Headlights wreck havoc on the camera's meter. Now because my camera is 4 years old (and the model itself is 5 years old) I do not have a built-in remote trigger for my speed light. So I literally had to fire off the flash by hand. Summing up, I was steering with my left knee, pressing the shutter with my left hand and firing the flash with my right hand. To make matters worse, I had to hold the flash about 18 inches from my face to get the exposure right. For that reason, I see a purple dot in the center of my view as I sit here and type this post. Thank God I drive an automatic! BUT, I was wearing my seat belt!

Once I had the exposure tuned, I tooled around downtown Crystal Lake and fired off about 125 shots, sometimes turning, sometimes waiting for a car to go by. Once again, I got lots of looks. People walking by had to be wondering what the flash was that kept flooding my car with light! It was all worth it. This has to be one of my favorite shots I've posted yet. And aside from the fact that I have the world's largest Adam's apple, I don't even mind how I look.

I only had 1 scary moment as I flew down Rakow recklessly watching my camera slowly loosen from it's perch. Tip #1 kids: do NOT exceed 30mph with your camera clinging to plastic made in China and attached to your side view mirror. Just don't do it! I managed to pull over and remove my camera before anything bad happened.

My connection to Jay'me's lovely pictures of the ice are the striations in the cubes. It's something Jay'me herself pointed out to me. I immediately thought of my zzzooooommmm! post and how the time-lapsed lights were similar to the striations. One thing lead to another and next thing I knew I'm driving around wishing I had this lens but making due and getting several shots I liked in spite of my budget woes. For the record, that lens that I want isn't available yet, but if any of you want Christmas ideas for me, this lens will do. All kidding aside, this photo is a perfect example of using your brains and creativity to get a shot. I used the cheapest lens I own for this and yet it was just what I needed.

I'll wrap it up for now but make sure you check us out tomorrow. Brandi is sure to show her flair for photography and I for one can't wait!

Scott