M38A1 / 2016 Pic-A-Day

So what is Project366 and why is it 366 and not 365?

The concept of Project365 is to capture/take/create at least one image a day - every day - for the entire year and post it. That's about all there is to this. Some folks will shoot and post in the same day, others shoot every day and post in batches or as time permits. The subject content is wide open and whatever the photographer wants to make of the effort. Everything from selfies every day, to your pet, or a picture of a tree throughout the year is fair game. The only rules are, a picture a day. The pressure is all on the photographer as to how good the image is or the content.

Why the 366? This year - 2016 - is a leap year and subsequently has 366 days.

If you are so inclined to follow along, here's my shot at Project366. The full gallery can be seen HERE


01/01/2016
"Angus 71115"
D4s w/24-70 f/2.8
Mode: Aperture Priority
ISO640
52mm
f/3.3
1/1000

My friend is a ranch manager out in the hill country where they have a small herd of registered Angus cattle present. This little bull is in the $30k range which makes it a 'breeder' vs 'meat supply' head. I learned these are very expensive animals should something happen to them. Easy shot to capture as he was a bit curious about me on this first day of January.

01/02/2016
"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"
D4s w/24-70 f/2.8
Mode: Aperture Priority
ISO320
70mm
f/3.3
1/125

A flock of 'wild' turkeys would be an understatement. These guys hear a can of scratch and come running to the noise like clockwork. I saw them in the distance and tried to get a good angle on them as they approached. I used a slower shutter speed on purpose to capture some rain movement to act as a background.

01/03/2016
"Mousers In Training"
D4s w/24-70 f/2.8
Mode: Aperture Priority
ISO1000
70mm
f/4.8
1/125

There's three kinds of cats - Barn Cats, House Cats and Mousers. These mousers in training will let you get close enough to feed them but try and pet one and they are gone like the wind. Well, until you put food down and then you can pet them until the food is gone. Not sure how well that mousing gig is going to work out for them if they continue to be fed.

I like cats, but they give me gas.

You just don't have the right recipe.

01/04/2016
"Whole Foods Delivery"
D4s w/24-70 f/2.8
Mode: Manual
ISO6400
24mm
f/6.7
1/30
Tripod/SB700/Cactus trigger & receiver

Whole Foods is based in Austin and this old truck is at their "Flagship" store at 6th and Lamar. The vehicle is frequently moved around the facility and this night was parked out front at a corner. The objective was to get a shot of the truck with the full Whole Foods Market sign while at the same time not have any distractions such as patron vehicles in the shot, parked shots or vehicles on the street. Patience helped with this one. I set the camera up on the tripod with a trigger and a two-second delay on the shutter. The speed light had a receiver and set to manual and 1/64th power initially. I'd press the shutter, then make the few steps to the side of the truck and hold the speed light where I wanted. Once ambient light was set for the background, all I did was adjust flash power to pop my subject the way I wanted.

01/05/2016
"Ethan"
D4s w/24-70 f/2.8
Mode: Manual
ISO5000
24mm
f/4.8
1/45
Tripod/SB700/Cactus trigger & receiver

Wandering downtown tonight I wanted to shoot a downtown shot of some type. I found myself at The Long Center on top of the little observation hill. Up there was Ethan and his skateboard. While setting up the night shot, I casually started a conversation with him, all the while figuring out how to do a shot with him either moving or as a portrait of some type. Once I got the skyline ambient shot setup with the camera on the tripod, it was nothing more than turn on the SB700 to Manual mode, turn on the trigger/receiver and pop the subject until filled in properly. I had him do several passes back and forth on the concrete seats (most of which he did a stunt of some type or was in the process of falling when I snagged the shot) and after half-a-dozen was satisfied with the results. He took my email address and said he'd shoot me an email and I'd attach the images back to him. While we were shooting this, a couple first year college students from Texas State and a college in Kilgore came up and tried to do an iPhone shot, then selfies, then asked me to shoot them using their iPhone. Well, the cameraphone they had seemed to have issues with focus and I already had the background/flash power settings dialed in for Ethan, so I said "hey - just step over here and smile". They did, the shots were great and she sent me an email where I attached their images and sent it back to them. A good night for sure.

Great shots too!

01/06/2016
"FoggyTrain to Austin"
D4s w/24-70 f/2.8
Mode: Manual
ISO2500
36mm
f/8.0
1/3

Today was rain which turned into fog this evening, so I was thinking another downtown night shot would be fun to capture. I headed downtown and to the East side thinking "railroad tracks" and came across this crossing at 5th and Navasota where the tracks disappeared into a foggy well lit downtown. I had setup the camera on the tripod and dialed in what I thought would be a good start using Manual mode. I wasn't far off. Two shots later I had the one I wanted. That was also the time the Austin Police Department SUV rolled up, the officer rolled down the window and politely told me I couldn't be on the tracks. Well, while he was in the roadway camera right, I noticed his headlights were a beautiful fill light across the road surface and I said "10 seconds and I'll be gone" with a big grin. He smiles and said "OK" and started to count from ten to one. The above shot was the last one and thanks to him a much better image than what I had thought I would use. Thank you Officer! (use the light you have or the ones brought to you!)

too funny getting to LEO to be for and argument sake your VALS!

I like it.

But seriously, "You can't be on the tracks"? Is there some law against standing on rail road tracks? Is it trespassing?

01/07/2016
"Birthday Bang"
D4s w/70-200 f/2.8
Mode: Shutter Priority
ISO2500
160mm
f/6.7
1/8000

Decided today was a good opportunity to see just what 1/8000 sec shutter speed could handle. So with my trusty assistant Tina (who just happens to have a birthday today) and my little P3AT we headed to the ranch range for some tossing of lead. I have no idea how many shots we each fired off (I surmise I shot way more coming in about 475 to her 70) but there were some real gems in there. Between smoke rings, smoke exits from the bore and chambers and spinning brass, this was a good learning experience and I came away with a dozen cool shots. But alas, I can only choose one for this, so here it is.

Tourmeister said:

I like it.

But seriously, "You can't be on the tracks"? Is there some law against standing on rail road tracks? Is it trespassing?

Click to expand...

Texas Penal Code Sec. 28.07. INTERFERENCE WITH RAILROAD PROPERTY.

No, you can't be on the tracks. You can pass over them at a road crossing, that's about it. Scott was committing a class C Misdemeanor by being on them.

Lesson learned! Won't be doing that again... Thx!

Sounds like I would've done the same thing that cop did: tell you to get off the tracks and want to see the photos you took. Then I'd move on, officer discretion.

Daytrader said:

I like cats, but they give me gas.

Click to expand...

My wife has a favorite tee shirt that says "I love cats but I just can't eat a whole one by myself."

Very nice and well composed pics Scott. I think the turkeys are my favorite, but I am also impressed with the P3AT pic where you see the bullet. Incredible. Good job ,sir!

need2tour said:

Very nice and well composed pics Scott. I think the turkeys are my favorite, but I am also impressed with the P3AT pic where you see the bullet. Incredible. Good job ,sir!

Click to expand...

Thanks Bill! Yeah, I was surprised when I saw the bullet as well on this one. I've got another shot (ha - pun) that has the shockwave from the bullet exiting the barrel that's pretty cool too

01/08/2016
"Morning Fog"
D4s w/70-200 f/2.8
Mode: Shutter Priority
ISO100
70mm
f/19
1/250

Woke up this morning to some super dense fog. This old oak in the pasture was just begging to be captured with natures biggest softbox.

01/09/2016
"Bib #616"
D4s w/70-200 f/2.8
Mode: Manual
ISO125
170mm
f/4
1/1000

Several friends participated in the Bandera Trail Run series today. These trail runs are either a 25K, 50K or 100K trail run where everything on the trail either cuts, stings or bites the participants. Looking for a leading line in the trail and using a fairly wide-open f/stop combined with a fast shutter speed and the 70-200 gave me a blurry background while stopping the movement of her form.

01/10/2016
"Goat"
D700 w/50 f/1.4
Mode: Aperture Priority
ISO200
50mm
f/8
1/1000

While stomping around Ghost Ranch today I came across this old weathered goat skull and horn. When I saw it, I was immediately thinking a B&W shot and a low angle with the sun at my back. Mid-range DOF was used to somewhat isolate the skull from the fore/background.

01/11/2016
"Saddle-scape"
D700 w/50mm f/1.4
Mode: Manual
ISO1600
50mm
f/16
1/100
Two SB700 speedlights + Cactus triggers, 24x24 softbox, white foamcore

Duke was the motivation for this shot. He's been diligent in his exercise program and talking with him today got me back on the bike - the new to me Litespeed Sirus. So while I'm riding, lots of things go through my head, much of which is photography related. I've toyed with the B&W bodyscape shoots and thought why not give it a whirl with the bike saddle? Same type of curves/shadows as a body. The bike was standing vertical leaning against a bucket, black backdrop, SB700 speedlight in a 24x24 softbox camera right at 1/64th power, white foamcore board camera left and on top as bounce, and another SB700 ground level and a hair behind the saddle for rim set at 1/128th with a snoot to direct the light.

The 1/7 shot is incredible!

01/12/2016
"War Correspondent"
D700 w/50mm f/1.4
Mode: Manual
ISO1600
50mm
f/11
1/100
SB700 in a 24x24 softbox, Cactus triggers

I think there is no secret about my interest in military history, and one of my 'projects' is to complete a period correct Vietnam era War Correspondent uniform top to bottom. So with that, I decided to take a shot of my 1968 Nikkormat FT2 body with matching Nikkor-S 50mm.