I watched a tutorial about making caricatures in photoshop.  I found that it was more difficult than I thought it would be. 

Sometimes people get tired of me taking their picture.

I think my favorite Hipstamatic combination is the Tinto 1884 lens with D-Type Plate film.

Something I discovered during my last 365 project was camera tossing.  Aim your camera at a light source and press the shutter as you throw your it into the air.  A long shutter speed creates some interesting patterns.

I spent the majority of the day at Lock and Dam 14 photographing eagles and gulls.  The eagles like to fly into the wind when they snatch a fish out of the water and since the wind was in our face it meant a lot of shots like the one below with eagle flying straight away. 

I got some good shots of gulls with fish in their mouths but backgrounds could have been better.

One more eagle shot because they're so cool.

I spent some time at the Upper Dam today.  I took a lot of photos of gulls but none of them really seemed that great so I'm using this shot of Canada Geese.

Sometimes you just take a picture of the cat.

I returned to the Upper Dam today to photograph the gulls.  It was so cold, I only stayed 16 minutes.  I know that from looking at the EXIF data on the photos.  The first one was taken at 3:11 and the last at 3:27.  

I spent the night catching up on TV shows I had recorded including Catfish, Idiot Abroad, and UFC on FX.  

We normally have supper at my Mom's house on Sunday nights.  This isn't a great photo but in 10 years it will be a nice reminder of the kids doing dishes on Sunday nights.

My father-in-law's birthday is Christmas Eve so we never really do anything for his birthday.  The past four years we have taken a January trip to Wisconsin Dells, WI as a late birthday celebration.  We often go to a bar in Lyndon Station, WI called Jim & Jan's Wildlife Bar to play pool. (Billiards if you're reading this from outside the U.S.)  This year Jim and Jan's had a pool tournament going on so we had to go down the street to the Double B Bar for pool.  Check out the ceiling tiles at the Double B.

I have a friend named Gerry.  Spelled with a "G" because there's no "J" in the Italian alphabet.  His parents own a pizzeria in Sterling, IL called Al & Leda's.  

The place in the photo is in Rockford, IL and has nothing to do with the Gerry I know except that it's another Jerry with a G.

Day 17 of 365

After yesterday's disappointing trip to Lawrence Park I decided to scout out a new location for bird photography.  This is a walkway above the Upper Dam connecting Rock Falls, IL and Sterling, IL.  Sometime next week I'm going to stop here after work to photograph gulls in flight.  I didn't have my "real" camera with me today so I took this cell phone shot and edited it using Snapseed.

I had heard there were five or six species of gulls on the Rock River near Rock Falls, IL so I went to Lawrence park to try to photograph some.  Unfortunately, there isn't a place to get very close to them.  I picked this one because I like the way the back lighting shines through the feathers but otherwise I'm a little disappointed with my trip to the park.  

On another note.  I'm not sure what happened to Blogger's dynamic view templates.  Mine isn't working so I had to change the design.  I hope to get it back to the "magazine" format soon.

I didn't have much time to devote to a photo tonight so I did a quick self portrait with Hipstamatic using the Shake for Random feature.  This is John S lens on Dylan film with the PopRox flash.

While sitting in my car at the state park I saw Dark-eyed Juncos, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a White-breasted Nuthatch but the only thing I could get a clear shot of was a Tree Sparrow.

Logan always writes his bowling scores on his hand. He had a pretty good day today.

Hipstamatic: Blanko Film, Tejas Lens.

I spent a couple hours at Lock and Dam 14 afternoon.  There weren't as many eagles there this weekend because it's been so warm (50 degrees yesterday).  Below is a juvenile eagle.

I've had the Hipstamatic app on my phone for quite a long time.  I didn't like it at first because you can't choose your effect after you take the photo.  You choose first and the take what you get.  Something clicked about a month ago and I started liking it.  Tonight I just shot a bunch of random things around the house.  Here is a pair of my wife's boots using BlackKeys Supergrain film, Chunky lens, and Pop Rox flash.

Over the course of 365 days I bug my family to let me take their picture quite a bit.  Sometimes they get a little tired of it so when I get a chance at a candid moment like this I take it.

One of the things I hope to do this year is improve my photoshop skills.  I really like the look you get from using the dodge and burn tools.  A look popularized by Jill Greenberg and Dave Hill.  I have been watching some YouTube tutorials (you can learn anything on YouTube) and this was my first attempt.  See the unedited file below.

This is the barn I was going to photograph on Day 2 when I got side tracked by the deer.  I used my point and shoot for the original image but then sent it to my phone to edit in Snapseed.

My fifteen year old daughter is always reminding me of how "old" and "not cool" I am but today I came home from work to find her and my son watching "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure".  A movie that came out in 1989, my senior year in high school. (Back when I was cool)

I live about 12 miles from the Mississippi River and this time of year bald eagles migrate into the area.  About 30 miles to the south, near LeClaire, Iowa is a spot where the eagles fish very close to the viewing area and is a hot spot for photographers.  If you're a History Channel fan you will also recognize LeClaire as the home of the American Pickers.   

I took my wife to see the movie "This is 40" and then to Texas Roadhouse for steak and whatever that is she's holding.    

I occasionally go to Lock and Dam 13 on the Mississippi River to photograph birds.  There wasn't much action tonight.  This far off eagle silhouette was the best I could do.

My wife decided to plan out our meals for an entire month so that no one has to ask, "What's for supper?"  I decided to use the Hipstamatic Foodie SnapPak to commemorate what I think is a good idea.  I like the way the Loftus lens emulates the shallow depth of field that is so popular in food photography.

I had planned my Day 1 photo a week ago and just waited for January 1 to get here.  Today I woke up a little stressed out because I hadn't given much thought to what I would do for Day 2.  I decided to drive out to a barn near my home for a shot and spotted this deer instead.  There was a creek between her and I so she didn't bolt when I stopped the car.

After completing a 365 Project running May 2011-April 2012 and then taking a few months off, I am ready to tackle another year of daily photos.  Here is a family portrait, mug shot, collage that I shot using the Hipstamatic camera app on my iPhone.  The settings were borrowed from Troy Holden's Friends and Family series, (BlackKeysSuperGrain, HelgaViking, LaserLemonGel)