M45: A Nebulous Conglomeration of Music and Photography

We're Moving!/ Domain Change/ Please Update Your Bookmarks!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:36:00 +0000

Farewell, M45!

I've been busy creating a new _{photography-only} site, on my shiny new domain, cwadephoto.com.

It's just about done, so I'll no longer be updating M45. All of the photography-related content here has been imported onto the new site, as well as the Google Friend Connect interface.

If you'd like, please update your bookmarks:

It's been swell, but better things are yet to come. Roger.

July Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:44:00 +0000

(showing iPhone 4 version)

Resolutions:

Happy Fourth of July Weekend, er'body!

June Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:33:00 +0000

It's June already? In that case, perhaps we need something clean and refreshing for our various displays. D says these are Dogwood blooms. I'm going to go with that.

showing iPhone 4 version

Select Your Poison:

Enjoy!

Photographers: March - May

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Readers, it's time for another installment of M45's Photographers series. This one verges on becoming a novel, as quite a few months have elapsed since last time (February). I love writing this series, though, because it focuses my attention on finding and digesting [what I think is] great photography.

Enough chatter! First up is-

Adam Ekberg calls his work "calculated performances that intersect with photography’s documentary potential," and while it's true that his photos are staged (with precision), I think he creates 'arranged' photography very successfully:

Natalie Bothur, from the project Rücksicht ("Consideration"):

Alberto Lizaralde, especially from his most recent body of work, "Frail":

Toby Burrows' current exhibition "Fallen" shows dramatic, masterful image manipulation:

Finally,

Anastasia Cazabon's most recent, two-chaptered project "From The Secret World" contains images which convey a mysterious sense that something- and the viewer is never quite sure what- has just happened:

May Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sun, 01 May 2011 19:44:00 +0000

This month, I finally have some Spring imagery more appropriate for those living in the Southern climes. We've gotten barrels and barrels of rain in the Chicago area, and as a result everything is blooming quite suddenly.

(showing iPhone version)

Enjoy these bracts of ~~blue bells~~ grape hyacinth. (Thanks Julie!)

Resolutions:

Neighborhood Ephemera.3: Easter Scavenger Hunt Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:12:00 +0000

Hamilton the Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:32:00 +0000

M45, meet Hamilton- AKA, Ham. He's my new foster dog, through the wonderful rescue that is the Almost Home Foundation.

I've had him home since last Wednesday afternoon, and so far, he's been such a good boy. He's between 6 and 7, completely house-trained, and has excellent house manners as well. He'll 'leave it,' and also respects invisible boundaries I set.

Ham is listed as a Shepherd/ Pointer mix, but he could be anything really. I sort of see Australian Cattle Dog in him, but there's no telling. He's very prey-driven, so that could be a herder thing or a pointer thing. Because of this, he's very reactive to squirrels on leash.

He's also a bit of a dog-racist. He doesn't seem to like small (toy) dogs or dark-colored dogs. I will have to explore this further. He gets along with my dog-niece just fine, though (but she is neither small nor dark).

He has a Rorschach head:

Ham and his Burger

Sleeps a lot, and is generally very calm with occasional bursts of energy:

Likes cuddles, once he gets to know you:

If you know anyone in Chicago or the Chicagoland area looking for a sweet, older dog, please let me know! He'd be great as an only-dog in a home with no cats, small pets, or children.

Edit:

Power of Post: High Contrast Situation

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:38:00 +0000

Cooper, napping (after post-production in Lightroom 3)

It's been quite some time since the last installment of M45's "Power of Post" series. So, here's a new entry for you folks that love seeing the before and after comparisons [as much as I do].

This photo (of Cooper the German Shorthaired Pointer) is a great example of a high-contrast lighting situation which is not quite a silhouette.

You can see in the original photo below that there isn't a lot of data left in the blacks- mostly in Coop's curled body. Additionally, the highlights on his face look maxed-out (although not blown out according to Lightroom's brain). When taking this shot, I used the natural light coming in through the windows, and metered for the bright area on his forehead. I knew the rest of the frame would be quite dark as a result.

I would argue that this photo is not a silhouette because the most important part of the subject (Cooper's face) is illuminated:

Cooper, napping (before post-production in Lightroom 3)

So, what did I do in post, to refine this photo a bit?

Side-by-side comparison (click for bigger)

Basic Edits:

Recovered highlights [Recovery Slider] completely, so that-

I could:

Increase overall exposure slightly [Exposure Slider] without blowing the highlights, &-
Lift the brights [Brightness Slider] without blowing the highlights.

Also:

Corrected white balance [Temp & Tint Sliders]. Overall, WB was slightly too green, probably a result of the tennis ball being in the frame.
Increased overall contrast slightly [Contrast slider].
Created a custom Tone Curve [Tone Curve Module], bringing the darks-not shadows!-up considerably.
Healed/Cloned distracting glare spot out of background [Spot Removal Dialogue].
Applied minimal noise reduction and slight sharpening [Sliders in Detail Module].

Below, on the right, you can see the image's final histogram, basic tone, and curves settings in Lightroom 3's 'Develop' module:

(click for bigger)

The finished photo isn't too drastically different from the original, out-of-camera photo, but is improved so that the subject draws the viewer in more readily with fewer distractions (hopefully).

Neighborhood Ephemera.2

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:08:00 +0000

(one of the best street names)

April Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:43:00 +0000

It doesn't feel like April in Chicago yet, so I've yet to photograph any Spring-y things. This long-exposure taken the night of the Super Moon will have to suffice!

Resolutions:

Alternatively, for any abstract lovers out there- here's a 'studio' smoke image for your screens:

I think it resembles a crab.

Resolutions:

Enjoy!

Neighborhood Ephemera

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:24:00 +0000

click for embiggening

Of course, had to get a daylight snap of my nails. I've recently grown them out, and subsequently developed quite a severe nail polish addiction. That is Zoya's "Harley," with Sally Hansen "Disco Ball" on the ring finger.

Super Moon Night Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:38:00 +0000

click to embiggen on Flickr

So it seems like every time there is any sort of fascinating lunar event, Illinois decides to spite photographers and sky gazers.

The lunar eclipse that coincided with the solstice on December 20th, 2010 was unremarkable, as the sky was completely obscured by snow clouds. At least in my neck of the woods.

Last Saturday night, I was psyched to shoot the so-called Super Moon. Unfortunately, the moon was again hidden by nearly-complete cloud cover.

I did take a couple of long exposures, but wasn't able to get a clear moon shot since an obscured moon isn't nearly as bright as a normal full moon, and my camera doesn't handle higher ISOs well at all. You see, you actually need a relatively fast shutter speed [for night photography] because the moon moves along at a good clip.

At any rate, here is what I came back with:

70mm, 8 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200; click to embiggen on Flickr

Nothing spectacular, but the night was an adventure (we met some interesting folks up there).

These were all taken from the the [supposedly] highest geographical point in Cook County, IL, which is Willow Hill golf course in Northbrook. It's built on a landfill, and I read somewhere that it sits at a little more that 700 ft above sea level, which seems insignificant, but it quite an elevation for this region, I suppose.

The views were absolutely beautiful, and you can clearly see the entire Chicago skyline.

How was the Super Moon for you?

Wedding Photography: Michelle & Pete, Reception

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:54:00 +0000

Here are the previous two installments of Michelle and Pete's big day:

Part1: Getting Ready

Part 2: Ceremony & After

March Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 06:59:00 +0000

It's > a week late! I know! To be perfectly banal: better late than never, though, right?

To tell the truth, I had difficulty coming up with an appropriate image for 'March.' I didn't want to dig too far back in the archives. I ended up choosing an image I shot last Sunday, a few days ago, when Emerson Street and I took her dog Kaya for a long walk in Ned Brown Forest Preserve:

Choose your poison:

Enjoy the rest of March!

Photographers: January - February

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:09:00 +0000

It's again time for another bi-monthly installment of M45's "Photographers" series. This will mark the first of six installments for 2011!

As always, "Photographers" hopes to present interesting/compelling/ stare-worthy photography from a variety of genres and photographers from around the globe. Mostly, I'm including recent photo stories which have caused me to look twice, or even provided inspiration for my own work.

Are you ready?

Following are four photographers whose works I think you'll enjoy:

Gabriela Herman, from her new "Bloggers" series, showing the mostly-unknown faces behind popular blogs:

foodspotting

a photography blog

gawker

und you vill like it

Juande Jimenez and his intricate, yet somehow orderly, natural landscapes:

Martin Usborne's compelling series called "Mute," documenting canines left to wait for their owners inside vehicles:

Finally-

Andrew Bruce has produced a revealing and emotional project, entitled "Tender," which I think has to do with roadkill, but I'm not sure as there is no accompanying text:

I really hope you have enjoyed looking at these photographs!

Wedding Photography: Michelle & Pete, Ceremony & After

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Part 1 ('Getting Ready') of Michelle & Pete's big adventure is here!

February Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:21:00 +0000

showing 2560 x 1600 version

While I largely (and cynically) believe Valentine's Day is a manufactured holiday intended to stimulate our greedy little consumerist hearts & monger greeting cards, I know some people love love love it. The spirit behind Valentine's can be nice, I suppose; I'm just of the opinion that the vast majority go about celebrating it sort of crudely. Case in point:

"Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^{[4]" (Wikipedia)}

I don't know if my readers are aware, but I am a big believer in all that is handmade; the thought of millions of people hastily selecting generic, saccharine drug-store cards at the last moment is off-putting.

/cynical drivel

At any rate, for those who enjoy this holiday, I present to you the smoke heart! When I saw how the smoke in this shot curved oddly into a 'J' shape, I knew that, when mirrored, it would resemble a heart- at least in the abstract.

showing iPhone version

Choose a Size:

iPhone

iPhone 4

Droid 2

iPad

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

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2560 x 1600

Enjoy and have a swell February!

Wedding Photography: Michelle & Pete, Getting Ready

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:57:00 +0000

These are shots from my first (paid) wedding gig ever! I filled in for Mysi of Soda Fountain Photography as the official 2nd shooter. It was really challenging, as I knew it would be, but I had a blast, and am itching to shoot more weddings!

All photos in this set were made with:

Nikon D80
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
Tokina 100mm f/2.8
Tokina 12-24mm f/4
Nikon sb-600

Next time, I'm definitely renting a second body and more fast glass, and bringing a few more memory cards and about four times as many batteries for the body and flash. Also I will wear shoes that do not leave 3 inch gashes on my achilles.

My personal favorite from the "getting ready" photos:

Michelle looked stunning.

Parts two and three, including some thoughts on the experience, to follow...
stay tuned!

New Year's Eve Night Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:27:00 +0000

I've returned from my [estimated] tri-annual, month-long hiatus from the blog to give you some night photography taken on New Year's Eve.

The green lights on the tree are made with my new 30 mW green laser courtesy of my brother!

(click to embiggen)

Someone on Flickr asked me if the above^ was made using a sparkler or a "fire wire." The light recorded in my shot is definitely from a sparkler, but now that I've researched what a fire wire is, a whole new world of pyromaniacal light painting has opened up to me. I have never been so excited to blow things up in the night!

more green laser fun...

(click to embiggen)

Happy 2011, everyone!

January Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:51:00 +0000

Welcome to 2011!

I trust everyone has survived last night's festivities with the majority of their faculties intact. If not, I don't know what to tell you... but here's to the new year _{(hopefully filled with great photography and photo experiences)}!

This month's desktop wallpaper depicts December/January in downtown Mount Prospect, IL . January still has Christmas trees and lights, right?

I'd have chosen a more appropriate image to kick off the new year, but as I am currently on vacation in Florida, this photo taken two weeks ago will have to suffice. I've omitted the monthly calendars on the desktop versions as a little experiment. If you miss them, speak up! (I'm not really sure what people prefer.)

Choose Your Poison:

1024 x 768

1280 x 1024

1920 x 1200

2560 x 1600

iPhone

iPhone 4

iPad

Droid 2

Enjoy & Happy New Year!

Photographers: November - December

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:44:00 +0000

It's time for another installment of M45's "Photographers." Are you excited? (Hint: you should be!)

The following are select images from a few photographers whose works I've been digesting for the last two months. They are by no means new projects or photos, but they are images that stick to the ribs: photography not easily dismissed or forgotten, and well-worth returning to (as all good photos are).

Firstly, Antony Crook, whose work includes some amazing portraits of notable individuals:

David Byrne,
Soho, New York

Rufus Wainwright,
Palace Hotel, Manchester, England

Tim Burton,
Midtown, New York

Next, some great suburban landscapes from Mike Sinclair's "Popular Attractions" project:

Finally, Jonathan Smith's "Untold Stories" series is intriguingly mysterious, (and includes a good amount of night photography which hits my sweet spot):

Project 365: Week 36 (An Abrupt End)

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:26:00 +0000

I've a confession to make: My 365 Project has been neglected since the second week in November. I said I wouldn't quit prematurely*, but hey- I lied.

These are the final images from the project.

All in all, I shot

251 out of 365 photos,
which is 68% of the year
from March 1st to November 7th.

March

*So. Why did my 365 project die an unholy death?

There are a few reasons, but the final nail in the coffin was my continual frustration with the project's lack of cohesion. None of my 365 photos, for the most part, belong together. Sure, they're snapshots from my daily life, but I feel that's a fairly weak unifying thread. Most 365 photo projects are far better served if they explore a specific idea or subject, such as the 365 Days of Danboard, or the ubiquitous (and, let's not lie, usually narcissistic) self-portrait 365, or even Joey Celis' 365 days of documenting his family.

I'd have done well to pursue this route instead of saying welp, I'm going to take a [random] photo every day for a year, Woooo! Even committing to 365 "days" of night photography would have been more cohesive, although probably would have required an intense amount of dedication.

April

The obligatory posting of sub-par images was another reason for my project's abrupt termination. While I made some good photos in the 251 days, I also created some complete garbage (See May 6th & Sept. 16th, for example). My internal editor cringed every time I had to post an inferior photo just for lack of anything better in the requisite 24-hour period.

Finally, picking up the camera began to feel increasingly like an intrusive obligation. Any photographer will tell you this isn't a good feeling.

May

June

July

So, for all of the aforementioned reasons, I quit- happily. My time is better spent on more meaningful photo projects.

Some More Thoughts:

I don't regret attempting the project. In fact, I got a lot out of it. Looking back at my photos, I feel that my shooting skills improved noticeably in specific areas.

Metering a scene instinctually while shooting in 'M' mode is suddenly second-nature for me. I don't remember the exact moment this happened, but I do remember being mystified by the concept of metering when I first started out as a photographer.

August

It was also during my 365 Project that I acquired my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and Tokina 100mm f/2.8 lenses. Just shooting with fast primes instead of zooms has totally revolutionized the way that I photograph. Even more, I had no experience with artificial lighting when I began in March. Many of my 365 photos were experiments with the Nikon SB-600 - in the hot shoe and off-camera- and, as a result, I feel a lot more competent supplementing photos with flash.

Hell, I even shot an entire wedding this way.

While gear-related revelations likely would've occurred independently of 365, the project gave me a great reason to practice shooting with the equipment, and I probably adapted to new techniques faster as a result.

September

October

Lastly, I now have a very few notable photos under my belt, which if not for 365, I'm sure would never have been made. For instance, I really like March 6th. It's among my best night work, and will probably spawn an entire photo series/project of its own.

There are also smatterings of similarly-executed/themed photos within my project that hint at what a cohesive project could have looked like. I'm referring to the diptychs which first occurred in March, but continued throughout the project, most heavily in June.

Similarly, October contains three indoor double-exposures which, coupled with other similar "light pattern" (ex: Oct. 8th, Sept. 28th) shots, fit nicely together. Series of shots like those provided enough inspiration to keep the project's head above water- at least temporarily.

I'm glad I have those images.

November

So. That concludes my Project 365 saga. I hope you've enjoyed following along.

I have tentative plans to begin the much more manageable 52 Weeks Project (one photo per week) on 1/1/2011, providing that I thoroughly plan and commit to a unified theme [meaningful to me and my body of work as a whole]. So, M45 readers may or may not look forward to that.

Finally, to anyone considering a Project 365 in the future:

Planning is important: Will your images tell a story?
Good Luck- it's a lot harder than it looks!

Project 365: Week 35

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:39:00 +0000

click for big on Flickr

Week 35 were photos from the last week in October.

click for big on Flickr

Halloween in Suburbia

click for big on Flickr

As you can see, I had a lot of (tricky) fun with smoke photography.

Project 365

December Wallpaper!

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:40:00 +0000

I know I'm a day late with these, but I hope everyone can enjoy some new visual fodder for their various displays!

I spent much of last month conducting smoke photography experiments (with mixed success). These two shots _{(yes, you get two options this month- Happy Holidays!)} are a couple of the better results.

showing iPad version

Resolutions:

Droid 2

iPhone 4

iPhone

iPad

1280 x 1024

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2560 x 1600

The second smoke image option-

showing iPhone version

Resolutions:

Droid 2

iPhone 4

iPhone

iPad

1280 x 1024

1024 x 768

1920 x 1200

Enjoy, and Happy December!

Project 365: Week 34

noreply@blogger.com (Cait Wade) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:55:00 +0000

365 is creatively draining, or at least it has been these recent few weeks. It's worrisome finding myself struggling to come up with good ideas on a daily basis. It's not shooting for shooting's sake- and therein, I think, lies the rub. At least for me. I'm going to be relieved in 109 days, when it's over.

In the meantime, double exposures ^{like the above} are helping to keep it fun.

An aerial of Osker! He's gained almost 100 grams (that's a lot in chinchilla-mass) since I switched their pellets. He's beefy now. My neighbor even came over recently and was startled and said they were huge, a strange thing for anyone else but me to notice, believe me.

My "new" phone! It's a hand-me-down, but still exciting, since I haven't had a new phone in 5+ years, I think. Hey, I've got QWERTY now.

My Dad won some mule-style boat shoes for me, and they are awesome. Been wearing them around a lot.

The Hop Grasser. Unfortunately, someone broke it. Won't name names, and it has since been glued back together. I think it was originally a garage-sale find, and I've looked on eBay- there are no replacements!

Pineapple Detail- click for big

Not sure why almost everything required an explanation in Week 34.

Project 365 says that my year is 65% complete, but I am behind on post-processing so I've shot a little more than that, percentage-wise.