Photos by Kim Hill

Project 52, Week 19 {Personal Photography Project}

Sorry I'm late in posting last week's Project 52 image.  I was busy doing a couple of portrait sessions, and then had some editing to do for another photographer.  By the time I actually got around to shooting this, it was Saturday.  And then the weather was just too nice to not stay outside and enjoy it.  :)

Anyway, the theme for Week 19 is "nature".  This is a large silk moth which measures about 7 inches across.  He was sitting out on our compost pile behind the barn...just hanging out.  LOL  I am in awe of how furry his body is and those long feathery antennae were pretty cool to see.  I've never seen anything like this before.

For those interested in settings, this was shot in natural light at ISO 200, 1/60th sec at F4.5, using the 135L lens, handheld.  I must admit that this is a tad soft on focus...I only was able to get a couple shots of him and none of them were super crisp.  Oh well...maybe next time.  ;)

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 18 {Personal Photography Project}

This week's Project 52 theme is "Laughter".  The other day I received a portrait order and everything was wrapped in bubble wrap.  The boys absolutely go crazy for this stuff so I knew that it would be a perfect way to get some natural laughter and smiles.  Here's our youngest:

For those interested in settings, this was shot in natural light at ISO 250, 1/125th sec at F3.5, using the 24-70L lens at 63 mm, handheld.

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 17 {Personal Photography Project}

This week's Project 52 theme is "Addiction". We all have a vice right?  Some drink alcohol to excess, others enjoy far too much soda, some people gamble, and yet others play far too many video games.  My addiction is candy.  I love anything chocolate - Toblerone, Hershey's bar, Ghiradelli milk chocolate baking chips, etc.  Here's my take on this week's theme....just one of the many candies I love (and try oh so hard to resist).



For those interested in settings, this was shot in natural light at ISO 250, 1/125th sec at F2.8, using the 24-70L lens at 70mm, handheld.

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 16 {Personal Photography Project}

This week's Project 52 theme is "Books".It's interesting how just a little over a year ago I was still reading paper books and still have shelves full of them to this day.  But now, with technology making greater strides than ever, we're now able to read on our smart phones and personal tablets.  Last year, I purchased a Xoom and have only recently started to purchase e-books.  So far, I'm loving this!  No more books piling up, no more pages getting bent so far that the spine breaks, and it costs a little bit less to purchase an e-book than the traditional book.  Yay!  So, here's my take on this week's theme:

For those interested in settings, this was shot in natural light at ISO 1000, 1/80th sec at F3.5, handheld.  In Lightroom, I adjusted the developing and merged two versions together in order to keep the highlights from being blown out.

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 15 {Personal Photography Project}

This week's theme is "Numbers".  Since today is my son's 10th birthday, I figured his card would suit the theme nicely for Project 52, Week 15.  That's him in the background, just starting to build his Halo Pelican Dropship by Mega Bloks. 



For those interested in settings, this was shot in natural light at ISO 1250, 1/80th sec at F2.8, handheld.

And he just finished building the project - took him about 8 hours:

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 14 {Personal Photography Project}

This week's theme is "Toys".  My oldest son is a true Lego officianado.  He can tell you just about anything you want to know relating to any of the sets from the last 10 years.  So it seemed appropriate to shoot his latest creation for this week's Project 52 theme.




For those interested in settings, this was shot in natural light at ISO 800, 1/10th sec at F4.5, handheld (resting on floor for stability).

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 13 {Personal Photography Project}

This week's theme is "Sky is the Limit".  Technically, I took this image yesterday with my Droid phone.  But I knew it was absolutely perfect for this week's theme.  Wouldn't you agree?  The photo really does not show the full depth of the clouds despite my attempts to pull every ounce of it through processing.  My oldest son and I were in the car driving along and I couldn't help but be a bit mesmerized looking at the sky.  The clouds looked as if they were painted on - large brush strokes, full of depth and texture.  Truly a sight to be seen in person.

The local weatherman had a brief mention about these clouds on the late night news, but I didn't catch the name or the phenomenon behind their formation.  So I did some searching online and found that these are a somewhat newly discovered cloud type which has been named Altocumulus undulatus asperatus.  "Undulatus" means to undulate (having a wavy surface or edge), but with this variety, the rolls are more like a chaotic wave formation, hence the name "asperatus", which is Latin for agitated.  You can read more about this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undulatus_asperatus.

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 12: Spring {Cicero, NY portrait photographer}

This week's theme is "Spring" which is surprisingly appropriate given our current weather here in central New York.  Today it is a beautiful 75 degrees (though it certainly feels a LOT warmer than that).  It's not really a normal spring here - heck, this winter was anything but normal too.  LOL  But the one thing that certainly signifies spring in our backyard is the lonely crocus poking up out of the muddy lawn.  I don't know how this crocus even got here - there are no others like it anywhere on our property - and yet it still pops up every single year in the exact same spot.  Seems a bit lonely there by itself.  Maybe I should find it some friends.  LOL

For those interested in settings, I used the Canon 135L at ISO 50, 1/320, F4.5, natural light, handheld. 

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52, Week 10 and Week 11 {Personal Photography Project}

Since I got behind (again) on posting my Project 52 images, I'm going to share both last week and this week with you in this one post.  :)  Last week's theme was open to do whatever I wanted so I decided to do "Technology" and took a shot of one of my vintage cameras.  For those interested in settings, I used the Canon 24-70L at ISO 640, 1/60, F4.5, natural light, handheld. 

This week's theme is "Nostalgia".  Again, another camera.  LOL  But this is a toy polaroid camera that I picked up on Etsy a few months ago.  I think it's missing a part - so if you had one of these, can you let me know if it actually included a plastic polaroid photo that would slide in and out of the front?  :)  For those interested in settings, I used the Canon 24-70L at ISO 250, 1/60, F4.5, natural light, handheld.

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)

     

 

 

Project 52: Week 9 {Personal Photography Project}

I'm a bit late in posting last week's Project 52 theme which was "DISTANCE".  Took me a while to think up what I wanted to do and then it was just a matter of finding the time to do it.  Today was finally that day.  LOL

This image comes with a story.  Sure, on the surface it appears to be just a simple wood yardstick...but there's more to it than that.  When we bought this house, this was resting in the kitchen closet.  I never really gave it much thought and just left it there figuring one day it may come in handy.  The catch phrase on the yardstick states "For those good dairy cows, come to Meltzer's Moo Motel.  Cicero, NY on Route 11".  I didn't have any idea what a Moo Motel was so I did a little digging and found that this ruler was given out to clients by a local auction company back in the 1950's.  They sold livestock and farm properties.  Farming was pretty big in this town - at least up til about the 1970's.  And really only within the last 25 years has this town changed from having a couple of small stores, a drive-in movie theater and an A&W diner to what it is today where we have all the major conveniences of suburban living.

I should also point out that while the "Distance" theme could be applied to the fact that this is a ruler, it also has a deeper meaning because the Meltzer family has a long history in our town.  They have morphed with the times and grew their business, and continue to be a strong presence in our community.  Their business has gone the distance and withstood the changes over the last 70 years.  That's pretty amazing, don't ya think?

Here's an advertisement I found from 1956 which gives a glimpse into what this company was doing back at that time.  Today they are still doing auctions - insurance auto auctions (among other things) right here in Cicero.

For those interested in settings, I used the Canon 24-70L at ISO 400, 1/50, F5, natural light, handheld. 

Are you doing your own Project 52 or Project 365/66?  If so, please post a link to your images in the comments below.   :)