Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono

The demands of work and my ongoing recuperation from the flu have made me decide to discontinue my daily portrait project for now. It doesn't mean I won't be doing anymore shooting, preferably just on a less rigorous schedule.

Thanks to all those have supported me in this endeavor.

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 20)

Day 20 – Parallels

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 19)

Day 19 – Devil’s Advocate

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 18)

Day 18 – Windows

*lighting details are available in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 17)

Day 17 – Firestarter

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 16)

Day 16 – Playing with Density

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 15)

Day 15 – The Light and Shade

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 14)

Day 14 – Painting a Picture

*This picture was made purely from ambient light (sunlight streaming through a hallway) as I didn’t have any other light source with me. The irony is if I had brought lighting gear with me, I would’ve ended up not using it at all.

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 13)

Day 13 - Brainstorming

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 12)

Day 12 – Breaking Free

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 11)

Day 11 – Hug Therapy for Post-Midterm Stress

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 10)

Day 10 – A Rey of Light

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 9)

Day 9 – Sandwich-sitting

*lighting details can be found in the comments section (via the link below)

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 8)

Day 8 – Into the Ether

*This post came a day later as midterm examinations are ‘interfering’ with my photography. Lighting details can be found in the comments section (kindly just click on the link below).

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 7)

Day 7 – Presidentially Pondering

*I’m afraid that I must renege on the promise that I made at the onset of this project to stick to existing light. I’m no lighting wizard, but I feel that the images I’ve shot in  ambient light lack a certain ‘pop’. If it’s as if I’m tying my good hand behind my back, knowing full well that I’m about to wrestle a 600-pound gorilla.

So, I’ll have to compromise with one (non-ambient) light source for each picture after this one.

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 6)

Day 6 – Leading with a Smile

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 5)

Day 5 – Ha, ‘rold?

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 4)

Day 4 - Ergonomics

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 3)

Day 3 - The Hall Monitor

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 2)

Day 2 - The Organic Oracle

Daily Portrait Project: A Month in Mono (Day 1)

I’ve received a number of positive comments, encouragement and constructive critique for the pictures I made with my last ‘Daily Portrait Project’ that I’ve decided to continue with another round of portraits for the next 31 days. This time around I’ll be shooting using only existing light and a reflector (or two) to bounce light off of or to create fill. Also, the photos will be processed to produce a black and white image, which will help me practice my post-processing skills. Lastly, I’ll be loose with the term ‘daily’ as I’ll be posting a new photo each day, but I may have shot them at an earlier time during the week (as my schedule may not always permit me to shoot a new portrait each day). And with that lengthy prelude out of the way, on to the photos.

Day 1 – Dressed for Success

Musings of an Unquiet Mind: Why a Brownout is a Blessing

The title of this particular category came from the title of my first blog ‘Musings of an Unquiet Mind’. The content of this particular section can range from my theories on why it’s harder to get a ride when it’s raining to the consequences of suppressing ‘the shiver’ after peeing just because there are other men on either side of you. I may use photos to illustrate my point and inject a little poetry here and there, but the whole point of the exercise is to regurgitate ideas and thoughts that have overstayed their welcome in my head; so take everything with a grain of salt. You’ve been warned.

The Martians are coming!

Last Thursday, August 5, power went out at our place. This localized phenomenon is what is referred to as a brownout. If you look it up, it’s defined as an incomplete blackout. Does this mean it aspired to be, but didn’t quite reach the standard needed for a full-blown blackout? All I can say is that it didn’t seem like it failed to reach such a standard for those of us who were left in the dark.

Five Tips for Making Better Pictures with the Camera You Already Have

Tip # 4 – Holding It Steady: Using a Tripod

Artsy or blurry?

It doesn’t take a professional photographer to spot if a photo is out of focus. Most people scanning through a bunch of photos can easily tell if one is blurry (or not sharp). It can be attributed to many things, but ultimately it can be a product of the any of these three possible scenarios: the subject moved, the photographer (specifically, his hands) moved, or both of them moved (like during an earthquake).