To continue on with my yearlong project of topic-driven photography, weeks 27-39 threw even more creative challenges my way that unfortunately forced me to do some photographs outside their original time slot. Turns out, it is pretty difficult to manage personal photography pursuits on top of freelance assignments that have to come first. However, in these past couple weeks, I began to catch up in editing photographs for website posts here. To kick things off, let’s get up to speed on the third quarter of my 52 photographs:

#27-Easter

Hiding in Plain Sight
Nikon 400mm, ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/400

Adolescent rabbits are very fun animals to play around with. Depending on their age and fear of humans, you can walk right up to one and almost pick it up before it scurries off. This little guy didn’t know that even when hiding in tall grass with his ears back, a photographer can still see him!

#28-Vinyl

Groovy
Nikon 105mm, ISO 100, f/8, 30 Seconds

Though I am always on the lookout for minute details, I had never made an ultra-close up photo of a vinyl record before this week’s topic. Despite that, I have always been curious how the various dots and shapes of the curves can make music on a proper analogue record player. 

#29-Up

Above the Clouds
Zeiss 32mm, ISO 800, f/2, 1/100

Up in the pressurized cabin of a jet, the little portholes deemed as windows provide a glimpse into the ultra-high altitude world. Though factors such as dirt, cabin vibrations, and low light can interfere with sticking a camera lens up to the glass, every now and then one can make a great shot.

#30-Tenacity (Life Finds a Way)

Sure Sign of May
Nikon 200mm, ISO 200, f/2, 1/160

For years, robins have made a nest right outside our porch door, underneath a gutter spout. As if this precarious perch didn’t make it difficult enough for baby robins to grow up, this year a rouge gust of wind tilted the nest dangerously close to the point of tipping over. It never got worse than pictured above, however, with a little homemade support strut I fashioned to the bottom of the nest when the mother bird was out looking for worms.

#31-Foreground Interest

Gnarly
Zeiss 32mm, ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/1000

Among the stretched and wildly bent branches in this small section of natural Florida trees (exact type unknown), ferns grow in patches along each tree to suck up any sunlight that makes it through the canopy. Note all the atmospheric bloom from the humidity!

#32-Republic

Lady Justice
Nikon 200mm, ISO 200, f/2, 1/250

A statue that is often seen adorning many town courthouses, Lady Justice here holds a scale in her left hand and a double-edged sword in her right. Oddly missing in this variation of the statue is the blindfold usually seen covering her eyes.

#33-Perspective

Old Sycamore
Zeiss 32mm, ISO 100, f/4, 1/500, 8 images stitched

From my first trial-run with the freeware program Hugin, this is the first panorama that I have printed large and hung in my room, a nice 18×24 inch photograph that looks as good printed as it does here! 

#34-The Small Things in Life

Hummer
Nikon 200mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/1600

Among a flower-covered arbor, I witnessed many hummingbirds flitting around trying to get every last bit of nectar. From the set, this is the one that freezes the wings the best. When they beat their wings over 20 times every second, it’s a matter of pure luck to get them at their apex!

#35-Cool Places

Nashville, IN
Zeiss 32mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200

A relatively small town nestled in the lower-half of Indiana, Nashville is home to a multitude of old-time artisan stores, shops, and gardens among surrounding trees that draw in huge crowds every day.

#36-Patriotism

Multi-Colored
Zeiss 32mm, ISO 100, f/10, 5 Seconds

Of course I had to go with fireworks for this week’s topic. Seeing as I missed photographing last year’s July 4th show, it only seemed fair to get right underneath the action yet again for some frame-filling streaks of color. From a large amount of keepers, this one stood out for the contrast between the darkening blue sky and multi-colored fireballs in motion.

#37-Night Life

Lightning, Houselights, Fireflies
Nikon 50mm, ISO 100, f/8, 30 Seconds

Every summer I make a point to capture a lightning storm in some way. This year, I wanted to incorporate more of the landscape than one typically sees in a late-night storm. This photograph, made only 30 minutes after sunset, combines the natural lighting of fireflies in the field, the artificial glow from the farmhouse, and the electric bolts above.

#38-Southern

Sprial
Nikon 105mm, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/100, 1:1 Magnification

A symmetrical and annual blooming flower in the South, the Black-Eyed Susan signals the end of summer days and always holds opportunities for photographs, like this spiraling 1:1 macro.

#39-Sunset Landscape

Sunset Bands
Zeiss 32mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/125, 20 images stitched

Unfortunately, most panorama projects in Hugin give me fits of trouble. I could just be doing something wrong with alignment and exposure parameters, but this shot exported in “HDR” mode was the only one that didn’t have an entire half an image much darker than the other half (despite choosing a “neutral” anchor point for exposure and alignment). Thankfully, the resulting .tif file was very flexible in Lightroom to apply the correct exposure and contrast adjustments. Even at this space-saving low resolution (click for full size) however, you can still see the doubling results of not yet shooting with a panoramic head in the lower right buildings.

I’m still working on getting one of those things. :)

There’s only one more quarter left in my 2014 Project 52! With any luck, I can get all the photographs done within each week’s allotted time and make it as great as the previous three quarters. As always, that’s all for this post, thanks for dropping by! Remember to hit that orange subscribe button at the top right of the page to follow future posts!