Day 31 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, tripod, cable-release
Sigma 10-20 @10mm, 6/10 sec, f/8, ISO 100

Lots of images taken today, but this one was something different to end the month with.
A self portrait of me recording a video.

Why Compelling
Well, it is a self portrait, that has to count for sharing. I just like behind the scene shots so thought I would share this one.

-Landon

Day 30 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, hand-held
Nikkor 75-300 @300mm, 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 100

Why Compelling
Well I just like the simplicity of this shot. The single grass reaching out of a foot of snow, the shadow, the depth of field and the framing. I liked it better in b&w with the grass being deep black. Lots of other shots taken today, but this one just stood out to me.

Thoughts:
• went for a 16x9 ratio crop as I liked it better
• kept some foreground for depth, as well as the feeling of the depth of the snow
• top of the frame went into some darker areas of the background that I did not like
• tried cropping it more square too, but I just prefer this one

-Landon

Day 29 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, tripod, cable-release
Sigma 10-20 @10mm, 8.5 min, f/16, ISO 200

Why Compelling
Well, the color of the sky, the dark and gloomy result of the shot, the white balance with the available light at night and the stark trees and moving clouds I liked a lot. The stars look like shooting stars as I thought I should combine a short and long exposure together to get that look.

-Landon

Day 28 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, tripod, cable release
Nikkor 105mm 2.8 VR Macro, 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 100, Alien Bee 400 set to 3/8 power
5fps

Three exposure merge of the same match, just for something fun.

Why Compelling
Playing with a merger of three times and three elements. Motion/friction, heat/flame & smoke.

-Landon

Day 27 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, hand-held, available light
Nikkor 85mm 1.8D, 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 800

Blossom taking a break for a photo. She is turning out to be a great puppy and is already a companion. Available light and moment.

Why Compelling
The eyes are what draws me to this photo. I like the warmth of the light and how the head pops off the background. The framing worked for me as well.

-Landon

Day 26 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, hand-held
Nikkor 105mm 2.8 VR Macro, set to 1:1, 68mm extension tube, 1/125 sec, f/20, ISO 400
SB-600, 8-inch diffusion tube, sync cable, hand-held off camera left.

6 images manually focused stacked in CS3. Shot on black vinyl as the fresh snow fell on it.

Why Compelling
Well this is just cool to capture snow that has only been on a surface for a couple seconds. I shot 120 other shots of flakes and have a lot of ones to select from today, but I liked the light, reflection and angle to this one. Plus the manual focus stacking (hand-held remember) was a good challenge and CS3 auto-align layers made it easy to get done. Why focus stacking? Because even at f/20 (we are dealing with diffraction here) you can only get a razor of depth of field at this magnification. So focus stacking allows for greater depth that you cannot achieve optically.

This image has made it to the front page of Explore on Flickr. That is cool.
Also inspired a tattoo design, interesting.

-Landon

Day 25 of 366
Manual mode, matrix metering, Nikon D200/grip, L-bracket, tripod, cable-release, mirror lock-up
Sigma 10-20 @11mm, 1/50 sec, f/11, ISO 100

5 bracketed exposures, HEC merge and resized for the web. The Wenatchee river ice is thicker now, big cracks in it and makes some awesome noices. Supposed to get warmer this weekend, so breakup of the ice should be interesting.

Why compelling
Well, I liked this perspective over the river looking down on it with it receding into the background under the train trestle, and under another bridge you cannot see. I liked the tree in the foreground at an angle kind of from the lower left corner. The tree is pointing towards the opposite corner and towards the main cloud in the cold blue sky. The scene is nothing spectacular with the texture of the ice and such, it was the tree locked in it that made the shot to me. Waters brought it here and water has frozen and locked it place.

-Landon