Final Shot for the HxH

Soooo, I didn't do too well in the hxh.  Finished 13/17 :(    I used a glass pie pan and filled it with blue water to about just under 1/2 way up a small marble.   I'd drop the marble, and as I dropped it I'd click the shutter (that was set on continuous shooting) first shot was nothing, second shot always caught the marble on it's bounce up (which gave the ripples/splashes), and the 3rd shot was it done.  3 shots each drop and I'd catch something each time in the middle. 

I got 3 shots that I liked.   I had a hard time chosing which to enter.  I ended up chosing the one with the 'neat splash' even though I had a feeling people might knock me for it being not super in focus.  Although I didn't get any critiques to let me know why it didnt do good.

Here are the 3 final shots.

Day Thirty

Here we are.  Last day.  Relief, saddness, WOOHOO IT'S OVER! :D  ...well except for the hxh shot.  Better make that amazing.

I had colored pencils out the last several days.  I was looking around for some idea, any idea.  I saw the lid to the pencil box and though, I could do that.  Except I wasnt going to perfectly sharpen pencils or line them up either.  I'll just use the lid and 'pretend' ..that's what I said to myself and did to save myself any troubles :D  It might look flat and fake, but I don't care - still looks neat.

Day TwentyNine

Day TwentyEight

The nest that holds the seed to the deepest, darkest part of your mind.  Hate, anger, and frustration hatch from this place.

Frustrated tonight.  Forgot about my marble in the process of attempting other things that just havent worked out all day.  I hit that place where you just want to scream.  I've never really taken a photo that captures (in an odd way) how I'm feeling at that moment.  Just did though - to me atleast.  May not hold meaning to others, but that is ok. I actually find humor in this because it's so 'emo' and that is completely opposite of me - yet that is how I feel tonight.  Tomorrow brings a new day.

*ETA* I can't even look at this photo anymore, it's creeping me out.  I see faces when I look at the large version of it.  I'll have nightmares now hahha!  It's like it sucked the 'darkness' right out of me and captured it here.  The frustration feeling is gone and I'm afraid of this photo.

Day TwentySeven

I had a small jar of those clear decorative glass 'pebbles' or whatever they are, flat on one side slightly rounded on the other.  I laid those out and thought I could get something neat.  Ok not quite.  Atleast not on a black background and harsh lighting.  Maybe if I had done it with a white background and natrual bright lighting it'd have been cooler.  But, my battery is now dead and by the time it's charged and ready to go, my daylight will be gone!

Day TwentySix

I was going for something completely different - yep again.  I was trying to work out something with a folded piece of paper, but wasn't getting what was in my head.  But this was alright to me featuring the edge of the paper and a slight reflection on the table surface.  It may hurt your eyes, but I like it - guess that is all that matters really.

Day TwentyFive

Day TwentyFour

Um, yeah.  I waited way too long to do this one.   It's terrible, I hate it, I didn't want to upload it.

Day TwentyThree

Ok another late night getting home.  I thought I'd just do a really quick shot of scattering marbles and use shallow DoF.  So I took one shot, saw bokeh, and came up with this 'brilliant' idea to spice up a boring shot. Grabbed paper, scissors, tape, and two more lights for more shine.  Hmm, yeah so remind me to save 'brilliant ideas' for when I'm not in a time crunch.  Thankfully I've done it in time though.  This is the result and also a bad headache.  The angle I was laying and holding my head just kinked up my neck badly causing a headache on top of my already mysteriously aching/hurting wrist for the last few days. :(

Day TwentyTwo

There, finally, for those of you who kept insisting "pyramid" ... you know who you are! 

Super-duper quickie today, have plans, must go.  Tomorrow will probalby be another really late entry :)

Day TwentyOne

Frustrated with the marbles today.  Nothing was working again so I gave up and went simple.

Day Twenty

I'm filling requests now :)  This is for bubbles.  It's not how I expected it to be, not what was in my head by far.  But what do you do when bubbles pop too easily!!!!

Day Nineteen

I'm a bit later than normal in posting my photo for the day.  Been working on other things and kept forgetting afterwards.

It's probably darker than it should be, but that was intentional.  It had been suggested that I 'lose my marbles' in sand (but I had no sand so sugar it was).  I tried but wasn't satisfied with the results.  I spiraled the sugar, then licked the marble (yes I licked it, that has been suggested too haha) and dipped a portion in sugar to get some on the marble itself.

I'm spent after a busy day full of Worth stuffs.

Day Eighteen

So many thanks going to Ankabout today.  Thanks soooooo much for helping me figure this out! 

Although, I'm not entirely happy with it.  I definetly KNOW it could be better.  But I've spent way too much time on this and have other things I should be doing.

Day Seventeen

There you are my beauty, we haven't seen you in eight whole days.  My how I've missed you.  LOVE!

Ok, enough sweet talking my marble :)

My trusted flashlight standing on end, folded tissue on top of the light, marble ontop of tissue.

Day Sixteen

Looking at my thumbnail collection, I realized it was time for another colorful photo.  So out came my white paper laid out on the floor next to the door wall again :) Just a simple line for today until my creativity comes back.

Day Fifteen

This one reminds me of a lunar eclipse.  After several failed ideas this is what I ended up with.  Half way through and really struggling now.

Day Fourteen

Few weeks before Valentine's Day.  That's where today's idea came from, all those heart things you see every where.  I guess I could have waited until the 14th of February to do it, but nah!  Be My Valentine.

Day Thirteen

I had received a few suggestions about smashed marbles.  I decided to give it a shot today.  Made sure to pick out an ugly marble that I wouldn't mind losing.  I grabbed a hammer and a towel and tried to smash it, all it did was roll away.  So I went to some concrete and hammered it and after a couple tries it finally broke.  Marbles are just like any other glass - they smash into a bunch of small shards :)  There really wasn't much to do with just the shards so I made a pile and stuck on another marble.

Day Twelve

This was tough to get today!  I needed to grow an extra arm or two.  I used a huge mirror off of the wall and had it laying across a chair.  Then I needed light and something overtop so it wouldnt show the ceiling.  In one hand I was holding an arched white poster board, and in that same hand an LED flashlight trying to aim it in teh right spot and hold the posterboard from falling.  In the other hand I had my camera, in which I was trying to stabilize against my other full hand and moving my body to focus since my hands were full.  :)  I'm nuts!

Day Eleven

It's quite sticky :)  It actually fell over and I have a sticky mess on the carpet now too!  Eeek.  A marble on top of an upside down wineglass, with light corn syrup oozing over top.  Took a few tries, that is why it's also sitting in a pool of syrup. 

Day Ten

Here we go, day ten.  Took me forever to get it done.  I had too many distractions today :)  I wasn't able to get the shot I wanted - I'll keep going on that one of these days.  Today is the marble from day one, the only 'clear' marble I have.  It's showing inside of it a row of marbles off in the back behind it.  Not a bright, colorful shot like the others though.

Day Nine

Once again I find myself wishing I had a macro lens.  I've tried reversing my lenses, but that ends up being too macro.  Even when I adjust the zoom and make it farther away it just gets a more intense vignette.  So that wasn't working.  I just cropped in where I wanted this one - which means sacrificing photo quality.

Coming up with different ideas with marbles is getting tough and it's only 1/4 of the way in to the challenge!  Ideas anyone? :)

Day Eight

I was out getting some fabric today that I needed.  I came home and remembered I didn't do my marble shot yet!  I thought about what to do, and decided 'hey why not include one of the fabrics I just got' ... so I did :)  I notice that I seem to like angles.

Day Seven

One week already!  Time is flying.  I had a difficult time today with my shot.  Anything I had in mind along this idea just wasn't working out right with a dark background and spot light with reflective-ish shadows... This was the only decent one out of the bunch so I made it work as best I could.  I like it the more I look at it :)

Day Six

I'm not totally thrilled with todays shot.  It's a bit boring.  I need to start jotting down things I want to do and actually do them.  I think of shots I want to try but need to dedicate plenty of time to practice and set up and see if I can actually make them work.  So, boring shot today :)

Oh I found another use for my Sculpey today.  Little itty bitty pieces work great to keep me from losing my marbles ;)

Day Five

Here is day five.  Not much to say about it.  I'm happy with it!

Day Four

Filled the frame with marbles today.  Lit from behind.  I love this one large marble.  It has to be my favorite of them all.  The green blue color with swirlies inside, textured a bit.  What is cool about it, from far away without light shining through it, the marble looks like it's just a silver solid with yellow swirls around the outside.  One marble looks like 2 different ones depending on lighting conditions.  I just may have to show it that way one of these days :D

Day Three

I had much difficulty today with the shot I originally wanted to do.  I was on the floor in the kitchen where I do a lot of my shots and something I was using, either the floor itself, paper, or clear plastic for reflection wasn't perfectly level and I couldn't keep my marbles from rolling away on me!  So I went just for the paper for more grippage (is that even a word?) and it wasn't working so I grouped them together to stay!  Stay marbles, stay!  Good marbles!  I also didn't realize how different the right front marble is from all the others until too late :( So that is how I came up with todays shot.  I think I'll need to find a surface to keep them from rolling away...

Day Two

This one was a quickie.  Went to visit my parents for the weekend.  Had a lot of fun.  Snowmobiling, sledding, Games, Legos.  Just a bunch of playing around.

I got home tonight at 10pm. So I did a quickie tonight to make sure I got in on time.  This one was inspired by my weekend.  SNOW!  It's lit underneath by a flashlight, mounded with snow and sprinkled with blue marbles.

Day One

So I stayed up late to catch the day right away since I'm heading out to visit my parents.  This is day one of the 30 day challenge.  I chose Dissect your Subject as the theme.  I'll be doing marbles.