Self Portrait Series - Fingers

Here is the next photo for my self portrait series.  It is a finger.  Or fingers.  We shall see if I decide to do one photo per finger.  If so, then this is the photo for my left middle finger.  Remember that.

G Chord

One of the things my fingers find themselves doing frequently is grasping guitar necks, positioning themselves on frets, and plucking or strumming the strings. 

Ideas for Series

I came up with two new series ideas today.  One isn't really mine, I've seen it all over the place, in fact.  The other is mine...as far as I know.  The first is an urban alphabet of sorts.  Basically, I find different things that you might come across in a city that resembles a letter of the alphabet.  My intention is to get the entire alphabet, as well as 0 - 9.  This then allows you to write out a word or name or what have you with your hometown, or whatever city you chose to do it in. 
My second series idea was to create a self portrait.  My desire is to, from time to time, take a picture of different body parts and then create a collage from those single shots.  In addition to just having these separate shots to piece together, I also will be shooting each body part in a situation or with an object that relates to that body part as well as exposes something about me, such as an hobby, an interest, a characteristic, or whatever.  The final collage will be both an actual portrait of me as well as a less physical, more metaphorical portrait of me.

Urban Alphabet

This will be an urban alphabet from the quaint little town known as Ephrata.  The first three letters of the alphabet are shown here.  Limited to these letters, I can create the abbreviation for "already been chewed", a necessary abbreviation for the younger generations, as well as the word "cab."  That's about it.  Once I build my repertoire, the possibilities will be endless.

My Left Hand

This photo shows not only my left hand, but also my love for the outdoors.  I am grasping a tree in the photo, but it looks enough like a rock that the image can be taken as pretty much any nature related physical activity...rock climbing, hiking, climbing a tree....anything.

Facing the Wall

I frequently try to get my wife to give me ideas for my daily photo project.  She has helped me with some of my favorite projects, so I know it is in my best interest to pose the question from time to time.  When I did so today, she hung a piece of paper on the wall and stood in front of it. 

Portrait of My Wife

I added a chair and some work lights to create a good representation of my wife; a girl that is transfixed by words on paper.

Pictures of Nephews

My wife and I were supposed to babysit my sister's kids tonight.  My wife was called into a pretty important, spur of the moment meeting this evening, stopping her from being able to do so.  So, I watched two kids, both under four, by myself.  It actually went a lot better than it could have, but still, they are crazy.  My intention was to get some good shots of the both of them while my wife actually kept them from being destructive...she failed me and my photo hopes by not being there.  This meant that instead of getting some shots of both kids, I only got a few shots, and I only got one of the two.  The younger of the two is much slower, allowing me to jump from behind the camera to whatever was about to be knocked over and then back behind the camera for another shot.  I wouldn't have had the same luck with the faster child.

Dark Eyes

This kid allowed me a few seconds of motionlessness.  Only a few.  At least he actually looked at the camera during those few and far between seconds.

Pastel

The softer colors work well for children.  Harsh colors and sharp edges conflict with their so called "innocence".   I wasn't as much a fan of this shot as my wife seems to be...it's a tad too centered for my liking. But hey, he's cute.

 Preoccupied

I think the best shots of children are taken when they are busy doing something besides posing.  A nice 85mm lens will catch the emotion of the situation without having to include the slobbery sippy cup or the stained and shredded stuffed animal they've had forever.  Sometimes I disregard this entirely.  That stained stuffed animal might be their favorite toy and should definitely be a part of the photo.