2011 May 1

A Million Thanks

Thanks to everyone who visited this site and clicked through to my flickr set for National Poetry Month 2011. Thanks to everyone on flickr who left positive notes. Thanks to everyone on facebook who "Liked" my photos, and left encouraging comments. Although I am not typically one who is concerned with what people think of him, those "Likes" and notes of encouragement and appreciation really did help me to stay on task and finish the month as strongly as I could.

By the end of it all, I took exactly 1,079 photos with my trusty Nikon D300. Almost all of the photo ideas were fresh each day, and most of the haiku were written after their respective photo components were at least thought through.

Many people have already asked, "What's next?" or, "So what are you going to for May?" I certainly was not going to try to match the effort expended in April. It was much more time-consuming and took more much creative energy that I thought it would – almost more than I had. One idea I have is to use one of the photo-book printing services available on the internet and publish a small book containing these photos and haiku, along with some of the many "outtakes", for limited distribution to some of my fans family and friends. I should probably use the term "alternates" rather than "outtakes" because the alternates are just other photos taken for each day which I chose not to use for the day's photo. They still may be interesting, and they still may be good, decent, creative photos. But for one reason or another, they were just "less than" enough that I selected other photos over them. I'll have to see how long it takes me to narrow down all the extra photos.

Again, thanks so much to everyone. Blessings and very best regards to you all. — Chazzz

2011 April 30

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 30 – The End

perhaps these past days
you have seen a glimpse of me
window to my soul

This was my most challenging photograph. Yes, I took the photo. Yes, it is one of my eyes. The original photo was only cropped horizontally to make it square. So if you click on the photo and go to its flickr page, you can click on the picture there to see larger sizes (including the full-size 2848x2848 pixel photo).

It was taken with my D300 and the mighty 105mm Micro-Nikkor lens. The D300 was on my tripod with an SB-800 shooting through an umbrella diffuser behind the camera at camera-left. My MacBook Pro was on a card table at camera right, and the D300 was tethered to it using a program called Sofortbild.

I took 135 different photos to try to get the lighting and (more importantly, the focus) right. The first great number of photos were taken in my dining room and didn't have the reflection of one of my windows. I moved to try to get some more natural light and inadvertently ended up getting a nice little glimpse of my backyard.

Because I was shooting in macro mode, the depth of field was really quite incredibly shallow, even at f/8.0. So trying to get a decent focus on my iris was very difficult. To help try to stabilize my distance from the camera, I braced a metal ruler between my chest and the neck of the tripod. Near the end of the shoot, I'd done enough finagling of my setup that I could take a picture and just glance at my screen to see how close I got without moving my head much at all. I believe the final photo I used was #133.

2011 April 29

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 29

our best words cannot
convey how we feel towards you
smiles on our faces

My best of friend of 21 years and his wife welcomed their first child into this world at the beginning of the month. Mitchell Camden Gray Olson is now on the scene and we are all excited. So in honor of my friends, and in dedication to little Mitchell, I offer this photo of photos and this little poem. The main photo itself was taken with my Nikon D300, but the photos in the photo were taken with my and my best friend's Panasonic DMC-GF1s.

2011 April 28

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 28

focused on the trees
my attention seemed acute
elephant unseen

I have a small "bank" of photos in my head that I've thought about using for this month. But for the most part, I have avoided taking them because I wanted to try to tackle the challenge of not just taking a photo, but coming up with an original photo, fresh for the day at hand. This is one of the first photos that I've withdrawn from that bank. But I'm not thinking about it as a cop out, or as cheating. On the contrary, all of the ideas that I haven't used yet still are ideas that I thought about specifically for National Poetry Month 2011. And among the ideas that were in the bank as of today, this photo is probably my favorite concept.

2011 April 27

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 27

absorbing all light
event horizon conceals
I radiate heat

I've wanted to take a photo of this Galilean thermometer for some time now, but wasn't really sure how to go about taking a creative shot of it. As it turns out, I still don't think this photo is particularly creative from a composition standpoint. But I had an interesting time working with (read: trying to deal with the difficulties in) the reflections on the outside of the thermometer as well as on the globes inside. In several of the shots, I discovered that when viewing the photo at full size, I could see a flannel shirt hanging over the back of a dining room chair to the left of my impromptu studio. I think in one shot, I could see a reflection of my arm as I held an umbrella diffuser under the dining room lights.

As for the poem, I wanted to use the thermometer so I could do my own bit of a play on a line from one of my favorite Rush songs, "Presto". The song says, "I radiate more heat than light" – so you can obviously see where the last line came from. But I ended up turning from an overt tie in with the thermometer to referencing a black hole. Despite the cold, dark center past the event horizon — which is sort of the point-of-no-return for particles — a black hole fires out huge ejection jets of matter and gamma rays.

Having said that, I still used "I" in the last line. So I'll let you try to decide if I really meant to refer to just a cosmic phenomenon.

2011 April 26

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 26

analog attempts
digital comprehension
incompatible

In case you can't quite tell, yes: it's a CD rather than an vinyl LP on that turn table. The color photo shows the CD much more obviously. But I liked the edit to black and white better. The color version will be added to an "Outtakes" set on my flickr page some time in May.

This haiku worked me over because I wanted to keep the terms "analog", "digital" and "incompatible", thus using 11 of my 17 allowed syllables for the poem form. But at the same time, I wanted to try to make it about a man and a woman, and some conflict therein. I failed. Nothing I came up with sounded good. And I tried – fervently. Oh well.

2011 April 25

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 25

drops malign the day
whither comes summer sun's joy
strangled by the clouds

2011 April 24

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 24 – Easter

uncontainable
tomb void reveals promise kept
the Christ is risen

2011 April 23

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 23

irresistable
grace mercy torrent unleashed
stains' persistence fails

2011 April 22

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 22 – Good Friday

unfathomable
while ev'ryone else looked up
a Father looked down

2011 April 21

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 21

road irrelevant
wanderlust lures seduces
a means of escape

The idea of this photo has been in my head for quite some time now. Since the day was cold, gray and windy yet again, I opted for the "Things Around the House" category. When I thought about this photo in the past, I hoped the sun would be out to give me more dramatic natural lighting. But, lacking that, I opted for my SB-800, which did a little to help the photo. One of the key things to get this photo right, however, ended up being perspective. I was on one knee, and scrunched down a bit further to try to get a straight-on perspective. I didn't quite make it, but I got close. One of the other key things to get this photo right was controlling the depth of field. I chose a really shallow depth of field. But I think I could've gone a bit deeper and still come out with a decent photo.

2011 April 20

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 20

keen senses detect
prey quiv'ring 'neath the surface
one craving subsides

I was feeling a little lethargic this evening and ended up procrastinating on this photo and haiku until almost literally the 11th hour (or the 23rd hour, if you prefer). I did a quick survey of some objects I already had set out as potential subjects, but checked a couple other rooms for still more possibilities. In the end, I picked my pewter scalloped hammerhead shark necklace.

At first, I just placed the shark on a piece of medium-light blue origami paper. But I saw very quickly that I would have a hard time eliminating the shadows. So I grabbed a couple needle nose clamps and improvised a bit of a brace. The shark is held by the top of the tail by a needle nose clamp, which itself is braced by another needle nose clamp. Essentially, the shark and the two clamps make a backwards "C". I used the sheet of origami paper as the backdrop, placed about 8" from the shark. One foot away from the shark at camera left, the flash had a small snap-on diffuser installed. But I actually taped a piece of tracing paper to the top of the flash and let it drape over the flash to try to get more diffusion at that relatively small distance. I don't know if it worked, but I like the photo. I also used the Nikon D300 manual as a partial snoot to block most of the flash from the background. Without it, the background was as bright as the paper was, and didn't feel quite "oceany" enough.

2011 April 19

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 19

prying winds breach cracks
wasting hidden vacant plains
loading dock desert

For the past seven+ years, I have worked in a windowless cinderblock-wall office in the basement of a freight terminal. In the past couple years, the freight industry – at least as far as freight moved over the road by trucks is concerned – has been affected to the point some of the companies that shared the terminal have moved out, and many of the docks are essentially abandoned. As I left for lunch today, the doors caught my attention. When I came back, I took another look and saw that the doors told a brief story of a floundering economy. Thus began the quick quest to try to capture the sentiment of that story in a photo.

2011 April 18

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 18

I would not forget
your soft words from long ago
love letters shun time

I had the idea for using old postage stamps and stationery for a photo, but I didn't quite have the concept for the poem in my mind. So, being a former stamp collector, I started looking for any remnants of my stamps. I didn't find the book I was looking for, but I did find a couple small boxes of stamps. So I started looking for colorful stamps without worrying about their country of origin. As I was looking through an envelope of French stamps, I found four stamps that were part of a series of family crests (or so it seemed). Since there was sufficient color variation in the rest of the stamps, I figured I may as well just stick with the French stamps. I tried working in the calligraphy pen to give a slightly older feel to the photo even though stamps and colors didn't really match. At the very least, it adds a different, still partially-interesting element to the shot.

As for the poem, I actually wrote it before taking any of the photos. I had the concept of the photo well enough in hand that I didn't worry about getting a decent photo first. It didn't start out being about "love letters"; just correspondence in some way, shape or form. But as I tried keeping the element of distant time and the sentiment of personal fondness, I sort of landed on the love letter idea. Given the French stamps, I thought maybe the romantic notion might be ok and even seem apropos. But I'll concede it's a little sappy. I still like the photo. But now that I've had time to chew on the haiku a bit more, I like it less.

2011 April 17

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 17

breathtaking demise
supernova shatters space
light's brilliance broken

Near the northeast corner of town, there is an old building in a state of varied dilapidation. I initially stopped there to take a photo of a partially collapsed wall because I thought I could write an interesting haiku directed at a fictional person, like the photo from NaPoMo Day 14. But the sun was not cooperating like I had hoped and the shots were somewhat mediocre. But as I looked around the distressed building, I noticed this light that was broken out. As it turns out, it was more interesting than the brick wall.

2011 April 16

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 16

a projected self
equanimity prevails
bracing potent core

I confess that one of the only reasons I took today's photo was because I found a group on flickr.com called "The Secret Life of Toys". I've already posted a few things to that group, and am quite entertained by it. So, with a few more toys in my proverbial toy box, I thought I'd break out the Batman figures and try to come up with something clever. I tried to make the haiku something that could apply to a generic person, but in the end, I think it feels almost exclusive to Batman. Oh well.

Like the shot from yesterday, I used my 36" umbrella as a reflector. I used the black side of my foam-core board for the subject floor and background. I shot about 50 photos initially, but then tried to better capture some decent candidate photos. So I think after about 80 photos total, I finally finished shooting and started narrowing down the shots. I discarded several quickly because the depth of field was too shallow, and the Batman figure in the background was not as defined as I wanted. I discarded other shots because I didn't like the light reflection on the cowl of the Lego Batman in front. I actually still have a few other shots that almost made it, and could have easily been photo I used. It was a tough decision today. I may put up the other versions on my flickr page in a group of National Poetry Month "outtakes".

2011 April 15

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 15

confused random bits
intelligent hands fashion
order from chaos

I had the general concept for this photo and the direction for the haiku in my head almost since this year's National Poetry Month began. But I kept coming up with other photos to take, so it took me a while to get around to this. A very cold, gray, rainy day meant that I was probably going to shoot something in the house again. Several several of the past photos have been a bit monochromatic, and the past few haiku have felt a little "heavy" or "serious". So I decided to take this opportunity to try to lighten up the mood a bit.

For this shot, I set up two pieces of white foam-core board: one for the surface and another for the background. To the left of the camera, I pointed my SB-800 Speedlight into a 36" umbrella reflector to diffuse the bright flash been and essentially wash the subjects with a larger flash of light. I didn't completely eliminate the shadows, but that's ok. I think the overall look for a single flash is acceptable.

The cubes in this photo include an original 4x4x4 "Rubik's Revenge" (back right), and three V-Cubes: a 5x5x5 (back left), a 6x6x6 (far left, barely in the shot), and the highly excellent 7x7x7 (in the front, in case you missed it). The little green guy is a "Stikfas": a modular, highly-posable figure I purchased a few years ago.

2011 April 14

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 14

transparency feigned
rigid defense gives me pause
whence came your caution

I was driving to a place near where I thought I would take the photo for today. But when I was about half a mile away, I changed my mind, turned the car around and started keeping my eyes peeled for something else. I decided to try to find an interesting building or something like that. I found this shot within a half mile after making my U-turn. Although I took a few other shots at an entirely different building miles away, this one seemed to stick in my head.

In this haiku, I tried to direct the poem to a person (nobody I know – just a person in general). I'm not sure that I'm entirely pleased with it, but it will have to do for the day.

2011 April 13

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 13

insecurities
project attractive facades
honesty tainted

Going through items I had around the house, trying to find interesting things to use for photos and National Poetry Month haiku inspiration, I came across this little memento from my summer in New England in 1994. The miniature pendant of the classic comedy and tragedy masks seemed like something around which I could fashion a haiku. So it became today's subject. As always, the larger (and largest) versions can be seen on this photo's flickr page (click here or on the photo).

2011 April 12

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 12

winding wandering
time steps binding paths of two
you me intertwined

All day, I had a different photo in the back of my head, and nothing close to this haiku. I planned on coming home after work, grabbing my camera and going out before the sun set to catch a shot I thought of yesterday. Instead, I started out in my backyard and happend upon one of my fence lines. I took a few shots (again with my 105mm lens), then grabbed some shots of some hornets' nests on the underside of my patio cover/awning.

Alas, none of the empty hornets' nests were really spectacular. So I started concentrating on editing the fence photos. This was the last of the three that I edited. Once I got it to that point, I started processing haiku possibilities. A couple rough drafts felt a little too syrupy or sappy. A few minor tweaks and voila — a poem that, while could be interpreted as romantic, doesn't have to be, and could simply be describing two close friends.

2011 April 11

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 11

obstinate hind'rance
insufficient might wearies
prayer moves this boulder

Like yesterday, there really is nothing complicated about this photo or haiku. And like yesterday, I found another reason to use my great 105mm lens. Today's photo and haiku for National Poetry Month is simply a statement about worries. We often have burdens and worries preoccupying our minds. And often, we spend considerable energy – whether mental or physical – trying to remove those roadblocks from our paths. But sometimes, the boulders are not ours to move; but rather pebbles that a gracious God removes in response to prayer.

Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you," (NKJV), and 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, "6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God... 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (NKJV)

I will not argue that it is sometimes easier said than done. But I am convinced that it is still good counsel.

2011 April 10

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 10

smart tosses flailing
catastrophic dance midair
gravity wins still

Nothing terribly complicated or even necessarily impressive about this photo or haiku. I just tried to catch some semblance of motion by dropping one of the juggling balls as the shutter clicked and flash fired. I didn't do a great job of it, either. But you should be able to see that the shadow for the blue juggling ball is different and actually overlapping the purple juggling ball ever-so-slightly. More information about how I put the shot together can be found on the flickr page for this National Poetry Month photo. While I hadn't intended on using my new Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens, I actually did end up using it. But rather than grab it for its macro capabilities, I grabbed it because of its fast f/2.8 aperture – which, semi-ironically, I didn't end up using (this shot was taken at f/11).

2011 April 9

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 9

Orion descends
stars like light keys tuned tempered
song of the cosmos

Looking for another excuse to use my new Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens, I dug through a box and discovered one of my tuning forks, followed by another shortly thereafter. On my dining room table, I set up a staging area that included two pieces of foam core board, one being used for its white side as a reflector, the other being used for its black side as a "floor" for the tuning forks. I set up my SB-800 flash off-camera and put the hood on the lens to keep any extra bit of glare from flash from hitting the front element.

In what probably can be described only as excessive obsessive-compulsive behavior, I took 116 different photos trying just the right picture with a good focal point, a good depth of field, not too bright but not too much glare off the top of the tuning fork, etc. It took a while. It took even longer to narrow those down to one photo for my daily NaPoMo entry.

There are several photos from this set that I like and I'll probably print one as an 8"x10". I may post some of the "outtakes" to my flickr page sometime as well.

2011 April 8

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 8

withholding limbs lean
soaking beams feed the treasure
foliage awaits

So far, this was probably one of the more difficult haiku to put together. As I was driving home, thinking about what today's subject would be and trying to pay attention to anything that might look photo-worthy, I saw a tree that stood out a bit as the sun reflected off its white bark. Eagerly, I pulled in a nearby parking lot, grabbed my camera and started shooting. I tried a few different lenses, but ended up using one of the first photos I took.

I didn't want to do much editing on the photo, and avoided black and white since my last four photos were pretty dark and monochromatic. So I did just a couple things. But in all honesty, it's not my favorite shot. That made writing a haiku all the more difficult because the picture wasn't what I would consider inspiring. To make matters slightly worse, I waited until the last minute to really concentrate on the haiku, finally finishing (read: "settling for what I had") with about 30 minutes to spare for the day. If you like the photo and/or the haiku, then I'm glad. But I, for one, am not thrilled.

2011 April 7

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 7

shade along the Seine
her thoughts drift "Paris, je t'aime"
oasis away

Having never been to Paris myself, I can't describe first-hand the allure the City of Light seems to hold over people. But I know at least four women who have been there and would go back tomorrow if they had the opportunity.

As I was starting to think about what I was going to do for the haiku and photo today, I noticed this Eiffel Tower necklace a guest left behind. My Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 lens arrived a couple days ago, but I had yet to take even a single shot with it. So this little sparkling tower and charm seemed to be a deserving subject for an inaugural photo shoot for such a tremendous lens.

2011 April 6

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 6

uninvited mess
slushy scraps clump and puddle
winter's last attack

Unbelievable, yet not. After spending a couple hours visiting at my sister's and brother-in-law's house, their phone rang. It was almost 10:00 PM — who's calling so late? A neighbor, apparently. "What was that?" (pause) "No, no we haven't looked outside. You're kidding." (brother-in-law opens the blinds and we peer outside) Snow. Really? Come on. It's spring. It's already into April. It's been cold, but come on. Really? Yes, really. Fortunately, I had my window scraper / brush in the backseat of the car.

I drove home around 10:30 PM, contemplating a different haiku and photo, hoping to use my new Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 lens. But as I got out of the car, I noticed the trunk lid covered in snow and slush and water droplets. Instantly, my disgust at the sudden winter conditions turned into a new haiku and photo mission. Can you tell I'm ready for spring (or summer)?

2011 April 5

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 5

cusp of survival
faceless them away from me
walk 'bout without shoes

While I did not participate, an event called One Day Without Shoes was on my mind. In honor of their sentiment and efforts, I directed my haiku and photo toward that cause.

2011 April 4

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 4

vibrancy subdued
clouds dull sharp shadows to naught
light loses the day

Today was a cold, overcast day. It was grey. Colors were bland. My attempt here was to capture a feeling of storm clouds with the background, and de-saturate the orgami paper while still letting some of the vibrant colors come through. The photo was darker than I thought I wanted originally, but in the end I came to like it.

2011 April 3

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 3

idea-seeds sprout
trusted tomes satisfy my
curiosities

No, I haven't read all of those books. But they are in my library, and I've read parts of all of them. They represent many, but not necessarily all of my intellectual interests. In order, the books are: "Creative Origami", The Bible (King James Version), "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs", "The Photographer's Handbook", "The Bread Baker's Apprentice", "Introduction to Linear Algebra" (written and signed by MIT professor, Gilbert Strang), "Chess Strategy In Action", "Spanish Dictionary", "Rules of Billiards", "Russian Grammar", "French Grammar".

2011 April 2

National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) - Day 2

spruce transformed reduced
luthier's hands repurpose
resonant beauty

In my backyard are a remnants of two spruce trees that we cut down last fall. In my basement, is a Takamine EF-340C acoustic guitar with a spruce top. In thinking about trying to create a photo of something and make the whole thing poetic, I thought about how some skilled hands could take part of those rough tree scraps and produce a beautiful musical instrument.

I decided, starting with this picture, to crop my photos to a square format because the geometric simplicity and uniformity of it reminds of the haiku with its simplicity and pattern.

2011 April 1

National Poetry Month - NaPoMo Day 1

Spring gently exerts
her will once more to fracture
Winter's brittle shell.

Once again, I am going to try to participate in "National Poetry Day" (or "NaPoMo" for short) with some of my friends, Scott Nicks and Susan Cowger, as well as a small other group of friends and acquaintances on facebook. Scott suggested a haiku theme again, with a "Haiku-palooza" event. I decided to try to challenge myself a bit more this year by taking a photo a day to correspond to my haiku of the day. Each haiku and photo will be fresh for this event. Last week I only lasted about two weeks before my interest fizzled. We'll see how far I make it this week.

Click on the photos to go to the larger versions on flickr. Thanks for your interest.

2011 March 01

To the archives...

In the interest of having a cleaner slate, I have moved last year's posts to the archives. You can find all of my 2010 ramblings here.