So I was out and about this fine day after a rash of rain and wind storms that left some great clouds all over the valley.  Me being me I couldn’t resist, grabbed the cameras and was out the door for some fun and relaxation.

First on the drive today was a boat that I am pretty sure hasn’t seen water in a very long time.  Funny thing as I was shooting the theme from Gilligan’s Island started going through my head.  As you can see Spring is almost here (which sucks) but the flowers really are starting to look nice.  Not too many varieties have blossomed yet, but give it a week and I bet you there will be flowers on this blog.

This shot I have to say is one that I have been wanting for  a while but never went and shot it.  A couple of reason for that but after reading Mark’s posting the other day about Turning a Miss into a Make.  I didn’t want to miss the opportunity this time so I got out the big glass so i could take the shot, fearing that if I didn’t do it, sooner or later that truck would be going.

The Sun started to go behind more clouds giving the appearance of almost being sunset.  On my way back to the house I was looking in my Side view mirror (since that got me my shot for the Life at 50 project for this past week)  as saw this big backlit windmill spinning.  Finished in Silver Efex Pro for more dramatic look.

Good Times

Windmill and Boat Captured with 1D Mark IIN 70-200f2.8 on Lexar digital film

Truck Captured with 70-200f2.8 with 1.4X extender on Lexar digital film

So, I had a lot going on today and was slammed for time for the entire day, and while I type this I should be getting ready for a dinner party.  It is not a black tie affair so it will take me a few minutes to get ready (Jeans, they’re good thing).  This week I was downtown for a few things and got some shots in for my Life at 50mm Project in while I was there.  But I wanted to go back because there were some shots I saw that I couldn’t grab earlier in the week.  So I adjusted my schedule and gave myself 45 minutes of shooting today.

So while I couldn’t get in a whole lot of time in shooting I did come away with some fun stuff.  The main goal was to focus on shapes and lines for this quick project.  Here a few of what I captured…

For 45 minutes it was a good time…

So following with the theme of the last post about taking the time to stop and take a look at the world around you.  This post is more about, don’t think to yourself that just because you have only a few minutes to shoot that you can’t get some great and fun images.  If you don’t get to shoot you will never know what you are capable of…

If you went to Photoshop World in Vegas at the end of last year and made it to the Art of Digital Photography Panel you would have got to have seen the Master of Self Projects Joe Glyda do an amazing photo slide show based on just “looking up.”  Seeing what is above you because sometimes you are so busy looking straight ahead that you miss the world going on around you.

So while I was in New Mexico, I decided to take a bit of time and look down.  While I didn’t find as much as I would have liked I did find a few things that were fun to shoot.

First up with this old water meter cover that while it didn’t do anything for me in color worked created with a bit of Silver Efex Pro’s Holga filter added, with a few modifications of my own thrown in.

The 2nd, and slightly more odd is this old set of can opener keys from (at least what I can figure) is the remnants of an old sardine can that was laying on the porch floor boards of an old house.

So while I didn’t find much on my little self project in New Mexico I leave you with this thought.  Make sure you take time to really see what is going on around you in the world.  You may pass by the photo of a life time if you don’t stop and take a look around.  With our busy lives these days it isn’t always an easy thing to do, but I encourage you to try…

Images Captured with 1D Mark IIN 16-35f2.8 on Lexar digital film