shopping graph

originally uploaded by billaday.

I had an hour to kill before picking my sister up at the Burbank airport, so I found free mall parking and took some photos of downtown Burbank. This shot is me shooting the first floor from the third floor.

Year 3, Day 86

wick

originally uploaded by billaday.

These days, I'm burning the candle at both ends. I've been shooting (much more than and) at least one photo every day. Sorting, geotagging, editing, uploading, and publishing... I have not had time for such things.

Year 3, Day 85

electric mayhem

originally uploaded by billaday.

Some day, Everet will be a rock star. And I will be able to say that I was there in the early days. He already has a cool pose, and he's just 3.

This is 1/2 second exposure, f4.8. I color corrected using Photoshop's lab mode. That gave me a lot of control over how much yellow light I wanted to leave in. I added a few adjustment layers, notably a contrast layer with contrast +65 and layer properties set to vivid light (to make the background more contrasty).

Year 3, Day 84

matt

originally uploaded by billaday.

Ilearackedonryinhowitmorsurmosofmyshotwithhisenswilltaybttdoesn'teedo
Year 3, Day 70

Matt Maher rocked out. My buddy Francis knows Matt well, and got us in for free. Turns out, it was a free concert.

I'm most excited/proud of this photo because it's a big step forward for me as a photographer. Typically, I'll bring my small point-and-shoot camera with me to events like this, and try to get a good shot from where I happen to be. At this concert, I brought my D70s and SB800. Towards the end of the concert, I walked up to the stage, and snapped a bunch of pictures. Sure, I was supposed to stay in my seat, but I wanted good photos. And, sure enough, nobody stopped me or made me leave. Yeah me.

Year 3, Day 83

prison break

originally uploaded by billaday.

The plastic fork poking out of the bag caught my eye. I wonder if it was trying to make a break for the outside? I suppose it's right; get busy living, or get busy dying.

Year 3, Day 82

fitting in

originally uploaded by billaday.

We all feel like we don't fit in. Mark just makes it look good.


Year 3, Day 81

1, 2, 3

originally uploaded by billaday.

I'm not sure who was enjoying playing more, Isabelle or Geneva.

Year 3, Day 80

5 seconds of Scotty

originally uploaded by billaday.

We saw Scott Ryan play last night. Very cool stuff, and a very tight band.

This is a five second exposure. My canon point-and-shoot wasn't capturing enough light for a crisp portrait shot. I didn't want to be obnoxious and use a flash. So, I decided on a long exposure. I like how the smooth black curtain in the background contrasts with the guitar.

Year 3, Day 79

behind the waterfall

originally uploaded by billaday.

Here is a waterfall (or a fountain, really) from behind. I'm glad I didn't drop my camera, or accidentally get too close and dip it in the water.

Speaking of behind the scenes stuff, I set up a wiki on my web page. Help out and edit the Flickr for Teachers page.

Year 3, Day 78

birthday cake

originally uploaded by billaday.

I miss the days when getting birthday cake on your face was expected, rather than frowned upon.

Year 3, Day 77

endless

originally uploaded by billaday.

Endless: the colors in the construction paper seem to go on forever.
Endless: the work required for kinder prepping seems to go on forever.


Year 3, Day 76

argyle

originally uploaded by billaday.

This is the clean up from our science experiment (landforms, sand, and erosion). The view from above reminded me of a giant argyle sock. I'm sad to admit, but it looked way cooler in person. I didn't do a great job capturing the impressiveness of it.


Year 3, Day 75

mirrors

originally uploaded by billaday.

Finally!

Finally the eyes are in focus with my f1.4 lens. With every other photo, the eyebrows have usually been in focus, and the eyes out of focus. Anthony's eyes are so in focus, you can see me and my camera reflected.

Year 3, Day 74

Isabelle looks

originally uploaded by billaday.

This photo title sounds like a Ben Folds song.

I worked on this photo in Lab mode, as suggested by Deke in DekePod. You get more control, and keep the histogram pure. I'm planning on working in lab mode, so I made F7 an action to switch to lab more and F8 is an action to move back to rgb.

Oh yeah, Isabelle looks great here.

Year 3, Day 73

snowman

originally uploaded by billaday.

We brought a truck full of snow down from Mt. Baldy for our kindergartners. It was very cool because it was about 78º outside. Also, most of my students had not touched snow before. We talked about how water changes from ice to water. We built a ramp, sledded down it, and then built this snowman.
Year 3, Day 72

custom drink

originally uploaded by billaday.

I think that a third grader with a good writing teacher invented how we order drinks at Starbucks. And the third grader got extra credit for extra adjectives. For example, one of my drinks is an iced venti soy upside down caramel macchiato. That's seven words!

Year 3, Day 71

teacher mugs

originally uploaded by billaday.

We have a giant pegboard in the teacher's lounge to hang mugs on.

Year 3, Day 70

me - rain = happy bill

originally uploaded by billaday.

I know, it's tough to tell... I hate the rain. I am so not a fan of being wet, of my hair staying wet, of my socks staying wet, of having to wear a jacket to stay less wet. I actually can't imagine living somewhere where there is actually inclement weather. It only rains a few days each year, and it's already too much. I want to write a song with the lyrics, "Rain, rain go away. Come again never.".
Year 3, Day 69

Tron

originally uploaded by billaday.

Though I haven't seen Tron in years, if ever, this is what I remember it to be like. I don't think we'll ever be robots inside a computer, but I do think that playing that one Tron light game on your phone is fun. You know what I mean.

Year 3, Day 68

iron off

originally uploaded by billaday.

I like the texture in this shot. It reminds me of an old t-shirt that's fading.

Year 3, Day 67