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#100DayProject: Photography-Week Four

“Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove. Dance me to the end of love.” – Leonard Cohen

For as long as we’ve lived in our home, the doves appear each spring and build a nest above our front door. Right now they are in the building phase, but soon the mother dove will take her spot on the nest and stay for several weeks. Her mate will remain close by, bringing her food and keeping watch from our young peach tree. One morning I will come outside to find the delicate white eggshells laying on the doorstep and I’ll hear the little squeaks of new hatchlings. Some things in life change, but these returning doves are a beautiful constant I look forward to each year.

I had a busy week but still managed to take photographs each day for my #100DayProject. I’m getting used to the weight of the camera and I’m constantly on the lookout for interesting things to capture. When I sat down to edit this week, I paid more attention to the rule of thirds and the horizon line, thanks to some much-appreciated feedback. I’m open to more, so please feel free to either leave a comment below or email me directly at bridgettetales@gmail.com.

I find myself drawn to black-and-white photography and it unearthed a memory of working on the school paper in college. I was the editor and sometimes, on deadline, I’d help in the development of the photos in the darkroom. I never learned all the nuances of getting the right balance, but I found the entire thing magical. Perhaps one day I’ll try my hand at film photography and developing, but for now, I’ll focus on learning how to use the tools I have. One step at a time.

If you’re unfamiliar with the 100 Day Project, the concept is simple. You choose any creative project you like and do it every day for 100 days, sharing your process on social media using the hashtag #The100DayProject. This year the dates are Feb. 13-May 24.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Here’s a bonus photo I captured with my iPhone 13 of the mosh pit at a death metal concert I attended on Thursday night.

I’ve seen mosh pits before, but perhaps because of Covid and social distancing for the last few years, it felt like I was witnessing it for the first time. Here’s my attempt at capturing what I saw through poetry.

stalking he makes the circle
bigger
like him
round in center, spread out

drawing them like to water
pulsing
with beat
spiraling blood, bones take flight

primal animal, panther stalking prey
bumping
soft bodies
feeling hot screams inside, outside

hoard moves like one, many
growling
in throats
fast sweaty motion, fires erupt

sounds end, light erases shadows
panting
with vigor
stumble toward night, shape transformed

33 thoughts on “#100DayProject: Photography-Week Four”

  3. I’m in LOVE with that flower shot and I’m so proud of you for looking up my advice and learning from it! That sheep shot is stunning, pay careful attention to blown highlights, it’s easier to bring up your shadows in post but once the highlights are blown… you can’t get them back. A good way to practice this is with an egg. Take a shot of a white egg outside, move yourself around the egg as you shoot. Pay attention to where the sun is behind or next to the egg. Go through each shot afterwards and ask yourself this “which shot looks better? What direction was the sun coming from in that shot? And did I manage to capture all the bumps and details of the egg without blowing the highlights?” Happy shooting! Can’t wait to see and hear more!!

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    • THANK YOU! I will absolutely do the practice with the egg. I appreciate all your advice so much. I’m in Disneyland all week, so I’ll be attempting to shoot in so many different lighting situations. I took some cool shots around the hotel tonight of the shadows in the stairwell and the sunlight on the roof. Photography adds a whole new element to my vacations!

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    • Ah, thank you Lamittan. I learn by doing, and this week I’m on vacation and plan on shooting hundreds of photos. It will make the editing and choosing images super hard, but I’m excited to see what I can capture. Stay tuned!

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  11. Hi Bridgette, firstly, thanks for following my blog 😀 Always great to find a fellow Olympus shooter on WordPress. Lovely series of images, good composition, nice and sharp! I agree with LaShelle above about watching your highlights, though that sheep image is difficult with such high contrast and detail. I always tend to under expose by a half or full stop then bring it up in post. I’m new to your blog so not sure what your shooting with or if you shoot in RAW, but editing RAW files gives you so much more room to correct exposure, white balance and dynamic range than jpegs. if you’re not using it, Olympus Workspace (it’s free) has recently been updated with some great new features. I only just downloaded it and will try to work it into my workflow instead of editing the RAW files in Photoshop, it seems to handle noise a bit better.
    Keep in touch, I ordered an OM-1 today, hopefully it will be here next week so I have plenty to learn and share 🙂

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    • Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback. My camera is an Olympus OM-D. I am shooting in RAW, and currently using the software that came with my Mac to process. I’m going to look at the Olympus Workspace right now, thank you! I’m going to play around with exposure a bit to work on the highlights, as well I just spent the week in Disneyland and took lots of photos, but I won’t know if any of them are good until I get home and download them all. It’s a bunch! I’ll post my top 5 next Monday and hopefully, the Olympus Workspace allows me to edit to my liking. Looking forward to following your process with your new camera!

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      • You’re welcome 🙂 I’m not familiar with the Mac software so I can’t help there. You seem to have a good eye for composition, don’t get too caught up on the “rule” of thirds, it’s more of a guideline. Look for leading lines also, something in the foreground to add depth or framing, play around and critique your own shots a few weeks after you publish – recrop and re-edit them, it helps. The main thing is to get them sharp and in focus, there’s not much you can do in post about that. Have fun and keep learning, it’s a great hobby and undervalued profession. I’ll keep an eye out for your holiday pics, smile and keep shooting 😀

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  13. I love the windmill, the light and dark on the blades. I hear what you are saying on photo processing in a darkroom. I took classes in college, we had a darkroom, and while the process is intensive, it really was magic.

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  14. What a bliss these lovely doves nestjng above your front door. So cute! I can imagine you look forward to this every year, I would too! Very cool! 🕊

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