One week into 2012.

We are now one week in to 2012 and I have still been taking at least one photograph a day. Today was a particular good one as I came across a couple of shots. I took the last image first as I was going up to the office at SAIT to do some photocopying for today's class. I decided to photograph the buttons on the elevator as I knew I could do something interesting.

After leaving SAIT I had to stop at Safeway to do some grocery shopping and as I was walking down the aisle I saw a display of flowers. Again pulling out the iPhone I photographed to different flowers and then continued on.

Once I returned home I processed them all with Snapseed first cropping them. On each I used a different filter that gave them the look I wanted. Afterwards I used three different apps to create the frames. In order from top to bottom they were - RealCamera+, PhotoToaster and PhotoForge2

Here is an update on Project 12. When I thought about the idea originally I thought it would be nice to have a project a month and thus have 12 completed items at the end of the year. As I have been working on my assignment ideas, I now realize that to do each project correctly they may take more then a month to complete. SO I am adjusting the parameters a bit with the idea to have 12 projects completed by the end of the year. However many will overlap both in time period and in relation to each other. It will be a challenge but if all goes well I do believe I can finish all 12 by December 31, 2012.

I was out running a few errands today when I was passing through the garden centre at Walmart. It is always nice to see flowers especially when we are in the throws of winter (well yes it has been mild in Calgary but who knows how long that will last). This is one of the nice things about the iPhone, you can discretely snap a shot or two with out looking like to much of a strange person. So I shot a couple frames of the Orchids they had and continued on with my errands.

When I returned home I opened the image in Snapseed where I cropped it first into a square format. I have to make a conscious effort when I am shooting my image that I am going to do this step as the final result will be brought in to Instagram and posted as part of the #instagram366 project. As far as other post processing I just did a change in depth of field with the centre focus filter and then darkened a few bright spots that I thought were distracting with the Selective Adjust. I added the frame in PhotoToaster and then brought the final project in to Instagram where I left it as normal to post it earlier today.

Supporting our team.

I have been watching the Canadian Junior team at the World Championships and though they lost the other day have been a strong supporter of them. This morning as I was making breakfast I noticed the sun coming through and illuminating Luke's water bottle. Taking the iPhone I moved in close and then noticed that the sun was causing an awesome flare. I moved around it a few different times to try and maximize it, but as I find as is the case in most instances the first shot was the best. I brought the file into Snapseed where I cropped the image and then used the Dark 2 filter in Drama and then added a frame. I then brought it in to Instagram and used Rise to help finish the look I wanted.

The boys may have only won the Bronze, but they did play hard through out the tournament and did the country proud.

Start of a new teaching year.

The above Image was captured at SAIT. There use to be a bank of phones here when I was a student in the 80's. At least ten of them, but now this is the lone survivor. As my son Cool calls things like this, ancient technology. Thought I better capture an image of an endangered species. Shot with the iPhone then processed with Snapseed with the Drama 2 filter and then posted as part of the #instagram366 challenge.

Tonight was the start of a fresh batch of classes at SAIT. First up, Basic Studio Lighting. Good group of students and I think we will have a fun session. It is nice to be back teaching as having the last three weeks off was starting to get to me. I find that having a chance to talk to and meet people in the classes is something I really need. Over the years I have had many wonderful students and I have always enjoyed sharing with them. So here's looking forward to the next six weeks and the Wedding Photography class that will start on Saturday.

Using Instagram

After having finished my 365 day project I really could not keep away. So I have decided to keep it going by doing the Instagram366 challenge. The big difference here is that I will only use the iPhone and the Instagram app to post my images. I will the images on my blog but also to my Tumblr, Instagram and to http://www.starttophotograph.com/ group. Hope you will enjoy this as well.

I want to thank those who responded to yesterday's post and I have a few leads to see what I want to do with the logo. I am also going to be working on my other blog more regularly which is the Calgary Institute of Photography, http://cifpinsights.blogspot.com/ and will be bringing in some educational programs this year. Please check it out as well.

Now it is time to concentrate on my first assignment for "Project 12" and that is the posing guide book. I plan to start shooting in a week and finish up near the end of the month. Should be a lot of fun.

My Current Logo

The above is what I am currently working with as a potential logo for my websites. The Patrick Steven Kornak would remain the main same while "Images" would change depending on the site. So Weddings and Portraits would have the same look just customized for each site. My main site that I have had since 1995 would just have Photographer under it.

I like it to a point, but not 100% sold and so I thought I would ask for your feed back. Please comment, e-mail me or FB post to let me know your thoughts. I'm still toying with a couple of other ideas but haven't fleshed them out enough to post.

New Year, New Projects

Well as the first day of 2012 winds down it is time to look at the year ahead. I intend to make this a strong one as I look to continue both my personal, creative, teaching and business growth. To do this I will work on the following areas.

Personal. In this area I aim to get in to better shape and to improve my diet. No more cookies at mid-night before going to sleep. More fruits, veggies and other healthy foods. To exercise everyday for at least 1 hour. One of the results from this will be for me to run once again in the Calgary Marathon on May 27th. Though this is 5 months away I know I can do as I completed the 42.2 km in 6:o1:00 back in 2009 after training for only one month. This year I want to be done in 4:30:00 range as Cool has a Choir Concert that afternoon. Although I won't focus on this aspect in this particular blog, I will report on significant achievements.

Creative. As I just completed the 365 day project yesterday I want to try some new things as well. This will be "Project 12". A new assignment every month for the year 2012. At the end of the assignment there should be a finished result in the form of a book, e-pub, presentation or marketing tool. The first project is to produce a book on the basics of posing, something that I know my students at SAIT are always looking for. This does not mean I won't be shooting other things and posting images regularly, just in a different form. I will be doing an Istagram a day and you will see that posted separately as #instagram366 . I invite you to follow me on Instagram at PatrickSK if you are using it as well. You will find today's image attached below. You also will find another image that I shot as I will continue to challenge myself to view the world differently and post results, just not confined to a specific project.

Teaching. I take this as one of the most important aspects of my life. Since starting to teach in the Continuing Education department at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology I have found it to be very rewarding. I have had many students over the last 11 years and hope to be there at least another 10. To do this I know I have to continue to grow as a photographer, creative person and a communicator. Even as I develop the new class I will start in May, "The History, Art and Culture of Photography", I want to improve and grow my skills. To do this I am looking to finish my BFA in the fall as well as attend events to watch and talk to other people who help educate photographers. It is the least I can do to help both my students and the industry.

Business. In this I want to work to ramp up my photography business and the Calgary Institute for Photography. For myself I am going to be working hard on rebranding, redesigning the web-sites and to look for new commissions be they weddings, portraits or the sale of my own prints and books. For the CIFP it needs a new look and to get back to what it was intended when I started it 5 years ago. This was that of an education and research group that will focus on Calgary and Region. To this I will be more active on the blog in order to work at promoting the CIFP.

These are some of my goals. Thanks if you have read to this point. I am open to offers of suggestions and help if you are so inclined. I am looking at 2012 to be a year of great growth in many different ways.