Backyard Mini-Project

Ever wonder about projects or exercises where a photographer confines him/herself to a set space? Or how about using just one piece of equipment? Honestly, I've never had much interest in doing such a thing until recently. Shooting the trees (see previous blog entry) got me thinking about trying new things.

Two weekends ago, on a sunny Sunday at home, I challenged myself to such a project: shoot in the backyard with just one lens.

click to see more photos

Like the trees mini-project, I was pleasantly surprised by the effects of this exercise. The photos aren't really the greatest, but I wanted to share them just to illustrate what I did.

A good photo-buddy of mine once said that he'd be hard-pressed to produce compelling images from the backyard, and I agreed with him. But I have to say that once I got into the spirit of this exercise, I began to see photos everywhere.

Using one focal length was an additional challenge. However, it made me realize that I could use that one lens to it's full potential and that was a valuable learning experience. This particular lens (Canon 24mm f/1.4 Mark 2) has a very large maximum aperture and a small minimum focusing distance (it's not real macro, but it can focus very close to things) as compared to the lenses I'm used to using.

Happy New Years Eve

Greetings from the backyard. I'm currently sitting outside, watching Henry play and smoking some chickens.

Of course a good backyard cook-out isn't complete without beer :-) I'm sipping on some Trippel from New Belgium Brewing Co. Good stuff!

And the chickens? Well, it's pretty simple: three whole birds (two with sliced and pickled jalepenos stuffed under the skins) with salt, pepper, and a lot of Mesquite smoke :-) We'll also have some pinto beans and potato salad later.

Hope you all have a fantastic and safe New Year's Eve!