Abra Alani

May 17th, Day 137: Lovely Light

abraalani — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:03:29 +0000

Working on my computer this evening, I glanced up to see some nice golden hour light hitting a tree outside the window.

Isaac was an unwilling subject, and since Toby can’t say no to getting his photo taken, we headed outside.

May 16th, Day 136: There’s a Bird in the House!!

abraalani — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:11:59 +0000

My scream this morning. I was in the bedroom – the farthest room from the open backdoor – when the poor little sparrow (a guess) came fluttering in.

Toby didn’t even notice, and he was sitting in his usual spot, right by the back door.

I grabbed my camera, and Isaac grabbed a plastic salad box (empty). He was able to scoop the scared little guy up and released him outside.

Actually, I did get some nice shots of a daisy picked yesterday at the farm.

May 15th, Day 135: Reflections

abraalani — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:11:58 +0000

Out at the Nelson Farm Park, where my veggies are growing, there’s an old house and barn. The city is working on raising funds to upgrade certain parts of the house, and until then we aren’t allowed inside.

Today I peeked in the windows, and caught this interesting reflection.

I felt like the Nelson Family would suddenly walk out of the house and start talking to me. That, or creepy stuff would start happening…

But Toby was there to protect me if the Nelson ghosts came creeping.

May 14th, Day 134: Cresent Moon

abraalani — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:21:10 +0000

The moon looked beautiful as I drove home from work this evening. You could see the faint outline of the whole thing, though only a sliver was bright.

Are those stars or is my monitor dirty?

By the time I got out in the yard, the clouds/haze/fog/whatever it was had blurred the moon and hidden its outline.

But that’s okay.

I took several photos, incorporating the roof line of my building.

This is a 20 second exposure, at f/25 and ISO 1600.

May 13th, Day 133: Flash?

abraalani — Tue, 14 May 2013 05:49:27 +0000

I had a vision for this project, but it did not materialize as I had hoped it would.

We had an unusual storm yesterday, one that came in waves, with periods of sunshine and blue skies in between.

During one of the downpours, I glanced up to see those new old bottles I told you about sitting picturesquely in front of a rain battered window.

I thought I would try to illuminate the raindrops by putting my flash outside (don’t worry, it was in the safety of a plastic box).

Fail.

I also tried setting the flash inside, one the window ledge, behind and slightly below the desk where the bottles sat.

Well that’s something.

I tried many things, and I liked certain parts of what the flash was doing to the bottles.

For example, I like how the orange bottle behind the clear bottle to the left highlights the words on the clear bottle. I also like how swirly and mottled the green bottle looks.

You can also see that black liquid in the bottle to the right. What is it? do you know? The label says..Black..something?

I shall persevere (Defined: “Verb. Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success..” Especially that last part. haha…).

May 13th, Macro Monday Solved!

abraalani — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:07:12 +0000

I have been thinking about photographing one of these for a few weeks now, but it has only occurred to me as I drive through traffic.

Today’s Macro Monday has been brought to you by Nissan.

Though your car taillights might not look EXACTLY like mine, get up really close and see if they might be at least somewhat similar! :)

May 13th, Day 133: Macro Monday Challenge

abraalani — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:41:09 +0000

Today I give you another Macro Monday Challenge.

I think it will stump everyone! (I hope it will stump everyone!)

May 12th, Day 132: Happy Mother’s Day!

abraalani — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:58:54 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

I worked over ten hours today, so that all the moms who wanted an Italian meal on their special day, could have one.

I got home, and realizing that I had not taken a photo yet, (Horrors!) grabbed the camera as Toby and I headed out the door.

Toby was gracious enough to permit several long exposures to be taken during the aforementioned walk. He only pulled on the leash a little.

May 11th, Day 131: Garage Sale Finds

abraalani — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:00:08 +0000

I stopped by an estate sale on my way home from work the other day and found (thanks to the 40+ years hoarding habit of the owner) a handful of colorful glass bottles and two older cameras. One of the cameras, an argus argoflex is seriously rusty and probably won’t be taking any more photos in its lifetime. The other, a Kodak pocket Instamatic 10 still had film in it, with about 4 photos left on the roll. I want to find a place that will develop it, who knows how long that film has been in there! I’m so curious.

(this is the same camera, not to be confused by my mention of two different cameras above)

The bottles, though not likely worth money, vary in size, color, shape, and age. Some still have bits of the labels still attached, and one still has a dark colored liquid in it! :o I’m not going to open it to find out whats in there though!

I think they’ll be fun for some still-life photography, as well as to practice my lighting techniques on.

The light coming through the window was looking very nice

May 10th, Day 130: Toby Loves the Farm

abraalani — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:07:16 +0000

I think this dog was meant to be a farm dog. He LOVES going up the community garden, and as soon as I turn down the road that it’s on, he KNOWS. He starts to get excited, bouncing around the backseat and whining (not my favorite part).

When we get there, he jumps out of the car and commences his immediate sniffing. Of everything.

So far, we have usually been up there alone. A few times there have been other people, once a couple little kids, and once another dog. Toby loves everybody, and he had a great time playing with Daisy the Golden Retriever, as well as exploring every inch of the farm with the kiddos.When it’s just us, he wanted around and explores on his own. He knows to stay inside the gate, and once in while comes and checks back in with me.

Oh, and he likes to eat the grass there too. It’s his fav.