Leaping for joy! Leaping into a New Year! Whatever you want to read in to this Auto-portrait I can say I am thrilled to have completed this project. It was quite a year and I had many challenges as anyone who attempts this series knows. Sometimes you are not creative, tired or just plain frustrated. Other times you see something on the super of the moment, that fleeting light that you just have to capture. Then there are the times you plan and work to execute the image as you envisioned.There is the joy of discovery in doing a photo a day. A chance to get back to the sheer pleasure of taking pictures. You also have carte blanche to experiment with new tools, techniques and ideas. For me it was discovering first what the iPod touch and then the iPad and iPhone could do. When those could not accomplish what I wanted, I knew exactly what my Canon 7D and 24-70 f2.8 or 70-200 f2.8 where capable of in order for me to get the right perspective. I also discovered the apps available for the portable devices as well as plug ins for photoshop. This greatly expanded my capability to achieve the artistic vision I was searching for.
In showing this project I have had many comments and some of the images have been selected as images of the day and a variety of websites around the world. This is very humbling as I know I am no more special then many of you who are following me. It has been such a blessing to have comments from people I respect like Jonathan Marks, Tony Blei, Joe Paulicivic, Ricco Scheepers, Christopher Raun Leth and my many students who have helped encourage me along the way.
Although my next project is entitled "Project 12" which will consist of a new assignment every month with a final product of some type being produced. This could be an e-pub, a book or other type of presentation that will help me continue to grow as an artist and as a person. I still plan to shoot and post images on a regular basis, but not being confined to the 365 day ideal will allow me to post more when i have them, but also to take a break as needed. I do plan to put together a selection of images from the past year which I intend to make available both as an e-book and a printed version through Blurb.
In closing I have tried through out the project to talk about that days image and the process behind it. I had decided a few days ago that this was the image I wanted to do. To show myself for those who don't know me. I set up the one Balcar Mini z monobloc with a small Chimera softbox in my basement studio space. Since I wanted to have my main tool's in completing this challenge in the image I proceeded to bring out my trusty Canon 40D and attached the 10-22 f3.5-4.5 lens to it. Setting it up on a tripod I attempted a few with the timer but decided I needed to call on my assistant Cool to come and give me a hand. I attached the cable release and told him to press the button whenever I clicked my heels together. The Shutter speed was set for 1/125 @ f8 and 200 ISO and the focal length was 20mm. After shooting the image I downloaded the file and picked the one I liked best, cropped it, did some minor adjustments, resized and then uploaded to my iPhone. There I used my favorite app "Snapseed" to add a little more drama to the shot using the Drama Dark 2 filter. I then used PhotoToaster to added the edging that I wanted.
So thank you my friends for your support and please feel free to comment here or by e-mail. Wishing you and your families all the best for 2012.
Congrats!!!!
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