Symbolic Images

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about photography is the symbolic nature of an image.  Generally speaking there aren’t any words describing what the photographer was trying to convey, occassionally there’ll be an image title and then just the image with it being up to the viewer to see “it”  and possibly add their own interpretation.

Along these lines I’m posting a few of the more  symbolic images I’ve acquired with the Canon EOS 40D this spring…

Broken Promises

Connected Hearts

A Path Less Traveled

These are just a few of my favorite symbolic images I’ve taken over the last couple of years. Feel free to comment on what you see in them.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sean

Going Green

Going Green…

It seems like you can’t go anywhere today without seeing or hearing about this notion of going green. Along these lines I’ve decided to post a few of the more environmentally themed photos taken with the Canon EOS 40D…

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by,

Sean

Fragile World

There used to be a cable show called “Man, Moment, and Machine” that looked at how a given technology at a certain point in time impacted that moment.

I’ve noticed a lot of the photos I take seem to follow that theme. A guy with a camera at a given moment capturing an image that might go unseen or be completely different in an hour, a day, or week.

Given the state of the world and the economy I’d like to present  an image I call “Fragile World” taken with my Canon EOS 40D one evening to reflect our fragile state and hopefully lend appreciation to the moments that make up our days.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sean

Water Colors by Canon

The weather hasn’t been all that nice this past week so I really didn’t get to take my camera out to the Parks much. Instead I took the Canon EOS 40D to the sink, grabbed a blue plastic plate and had some fun taking photos of water drops…

Once I got what I thought was by best one I applied a bunch of different hues as you can see above.

After that I got a little greedy and wanted to see what else my Canon could capture around the house…

As you can see, even on a rainy day, a little water, a few props, and a splash of color can lead to some fun photos.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sean

Mascots and Pepe the Free Range Pinata

Mascots: those sometime beloved, sometimes creepy characters used for product endorsements to push everything from auto insurance to burgers.

In the beloved catagory I think most would say the Gecko is a relatively benign character, cute but not over the top, non-threatening and quite proper with it’s slightly British accent. Probably the biggest reason for it’s success is the clever word play with company name. Insurance is just another one of those things we pay for. It’s a living expense, but who would you rather get it from, a huge iconic corporate logo where you’re just a number, or a company mascot that’s not above having a little fun with it’s own name. I think in most cases the Gecko wins because oddly enough it humanizes an utterly inhuman product.

On the other end of the spectrum we’ve got the creepy catagory, all I’m gonna say is nightmare inducing big plastic headed King. This non-speaking character is ominous with it’s creepy smile and placed in “stalker” type scenarios that remind one of the Clown for Stephen King’s “It”.  I think this company is searching for another hook as we’re starting to see a variety of different themes in commercials. All I can say is ditch the King and start over. When was the last time you saw your competitior’s clown mascot in a commercial?

Somwhere in the middle there’s a cheeky garden gnome, a cheetah that’s trying to come off as uber hip, and finally my personal entry into the mascot fray: Pepe the Free Range Pinata…

Pepe is colorful, non-threatening, has a politcally correct past, and as you can see from the photos is up for traveling, visiting the park and other historic places. Pepe’s adventures might even find his way into a children’s book series if properly persuaded…

Book 1: Pepe the Free Range Pinata details how Pepe was born free in the Southwest United States and is befriended by Louise who takes him all over the country.

Book 2: Pepe visits the Lighthouse when Louise goes to Ohio to visit her family and learns all about lighthouses.

Book 3: Pepe and Louise visit the Park and learn all about nature and different plants at the park from Ranger Dan.

And so on, and so on…

Wow, all of that to post a few photos

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sean

Finally! Blue Heron photos

Finally!

For the last couple of years I’ve seen a few Blue Herons making their way from park to park here in Northeast Ohio. Yesterday, for the first time, I was finally able to get close enough to capture a few images.

For anyone interested, the photos were taken early morning at the Nature Center in the North Chagrin Reservation Metropark in Lake County, Ohio.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sean

Trying to find time…

The last two weeks have been an absolute nightmare. Things have gotten so crazy and I’ve found myself with very little time to do anything besides work at the computer.

Needless to say, I haven’t been able to get out and spend any amount of time taking photos with my Olympus SP-560UZ but I hope to remedy that this weekend.

There has been an upside to the debacle that has been the last two weeks, it’s given me some time to find a nice site called Imagekind that will allow folks to purchase greeting cards and various size prints of some of my photos along with frames and matting so they look like “proper” art.

I opted to sign up for the free account to try them out which provides 1 album for 24 photos or 200MB of space depending on the size of your images. So far I’ve only managed to upload a few photos, which can be found here.

Considering the limited amount of time I have today, I think I’ll re-post me previous photo compilation and see if I can actually get out for a few more this evening. (Click thumbnail to enlarge.)

Many thanks to those who’ve stopped by and taken a look at the photos posted here. I hope you get the chance to swing buy again. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Sell your photos online
Buy my art at Imagekind!

Photos I’ve Sold…

The photography hobby is starting to pay dividends as I’ve managed to sell two of the photos I’ve taken with my new Olympus SP-560UZ.

In a previous post I’d indicated a bit of a dilemma between trying to shoot “stock” photos vs. shooting the photos first and considering the audience later. I opted for the shoot first method and it seems, at least for me to have been the route to go.

Here’s the two that I’ve sold (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

A few other fun facts to consider since opening a shutterpoint account…

Since I opened the the account on July 24th of this year I have uploaded 51 images which have received 1600 views with the most viewed being clicked 70 times.

The two photos above have been viewed 34 and 45 times respectively.

It’s been a lot of fun seeing how many times my photos have been viewed and while getting ratings feedback and ideas on how to improve. I have no issues recommending Shutterpoint and their service to anyone. Sell your photos online

Many thanks to those who’ve stopped by and taken a look at the photos posted here.  I hope you get the chance to swing buy again. That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Random photo from this weekend…

Just as things were finally starting to settle back down, life got crazy again and truth be told I really only had the opportunity to snap 3 or 4 pictures with the Olympus SP-560UZ. My best shot from this weekend is posted below.

I was on my way home from the gas station when I saw this flash of yellow breaking up an otherwise grey/white scene. Upon further inspection I saw the sunflowers peeping over the top of the privacy fence of a used car lot and grabbed the camera.

(Click thumbnail to enlarge.)

Many thanks to those who’ve stopped by and taken a look at the photos posted here this weekend. I hope you get the chance to swing buy again. That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Friday Fun Picture Post

Thought I’d head into the weekend with a little humor and post up this shot titled “Ooops”. I took it the other day while having some fun with the Olympus SP-560UZ.  I guess the “No Parking” sign was meant for someone else (Click thumbnail to enlarge.)

Many thanks to those who’ve stopped by and taken a look at the photos posted here. I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend.

That’s about all I really have time for tonight. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Stock Photography vs Shoot First, consider the audience later…

Have spent some time over the last couple of days taking a good look at “stock” photo images and I realized that a lot of the photos I’ve taken probably aren’t  stock or microstock material, rather a lot of the images are of things I like seeing, probably more akin to wall art.

So, the other day I set out to try and create what I thought might be a decent stock photo and the results can be seen below. (Click thumbnails for larger images.) 

The first image of a row of chess pawns is symbolic for just about anybody that works for someone else. The next image of the first move is symbolic of strategy and planning while the lighthouse and church images can represent at the very least guidance.

I’m not at all sure if this is the way I want to take my hobby as the images feel somewhat contrived and my personal preference seems to be shoot first and consider the audience later Which is not to say that’s a better way of taking pictures, just a different way.

I’m wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience. Feel free to let me know.

That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Smhphotos Stock Photo Compilation

I’ve had the new Olympus SP-560UZ for about 3 weeks now and by last count have snapped around 1200 photos with it.

After getting to know the camera a bit I realized I really liked some of the photos I’d taken and decided to spend a few bucks and sign up with the micro stock photography service Shutterpoint. I liked that I not only get space to upload photos, there is also an active community that provides ratings and feedback on your pictures.  Who knows, maybe if I get lucky I’ll actually sell a few and that leads me to tonight’s post.

I’ve decided to try a “compilation” post with all the photos I’ve submitted so far and see what if any feedback I get. Hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed taking them. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

4 Picture Post

Things are finally settling down a bit and with the few minutes I have this evening thought I’d try and sneak in a 4 Picture Post…

Over the past week, while things have been quite hectic, I’ve found myself grabbing the Olympus SP-560UZ to carry with me on the off chance I’d be able to snap a photo or two and I’m happy to report tonight that thankfully, I have.

Tonight’s pictures come from an excursion I made to the county seat this weekend. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Random Photo of the Day …

Another random photo of the day post as today was a lot more hectic than I had anticipated. This is a shot of the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse early in the morning after a storm had blown through the night before. The combination of sun, clouds, and lighthouse make this photo one of my all time favorites. (Click thumbnail to enlarge.)

And here’s the photo data:

Camera : OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP SP560UZ
F Number : 6.3
ISO Speed : 50
Exposure Program : Creative (Slow speed)
Exposure Mode : Auto
Exposure Compensation : 0
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Focal Length : 10.3 mm
White Balance : Auto
Date/Time Original : 2008:08:09 20:54:43
Software : Version 1.1
Components Configuration : YCbCr
Compression : JPEG (old-style)
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
Exif Version : 0221

That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Veteran’s Park early morning…

Snuck out early this morning with the Olympus SP-560UZ to Veteran’s Park just after sunrise, before the day started to get too crazy. It was a windy, slightly chilly morning after a storm the night before. The combination of wind, sun, clouds, and the park made for some nice pictures. Hope you enjoy. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

That’s about all I really have time for today. If you like any of the photos you see here please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

A few quick shots…

Had the opportunity to sneak in a few quick photos with the Olympus SP-560UZ over the last couple of days despite the hectic schedule. Have a little down time this morning so I figured I’d update my photoblog. The following are a combination of creative and still life photos quickly captured on a sunny afternoon. Hope you enjoy. (Click thumbnails for larger images.)

That’s about all I really have time for today. I hope to sneak in another post or two this week, but it might be the weekend or next week before I get to again. If you like any of the photos you see here please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Weekend Wrap Up…

It’s been about 2 weeks since I acquired the Olympus SP-560UZ digital camera and with the next couple of weeks looking hectic at best it seemed like a good time to for a “summary” post.

In regards to the camera, I’ve enjoyed all the additional features Olympus has packed into this camera. The 18x optical zoom is outstanding and at 8 Mega Pixels you’re bound to get some pretty amazing shots.  With a 1 GB XD memory card you can save nearly 500 of those shots with a resolution of 3264 x 2448. It took a little time to figure out which scene modes work best with which light, but over all my initial experience has been satisfying.

It may be a week or two before I get a chance to post again so I figured I’d post my eight favorite shots to date as a testament to the quality of the camera and the fun you can have with it. So without further adieu I present my eight favorite photos since starting my hobby, hope you enjoy… (Click thumbnails for larger image.)

That’s about all I really have time for tonight. I hope to sneak a post or two in this week, but it might be the weekend or next week before I get to again. If you like any of the photos you see here please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint and comments are welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Friday Picture Post…

Today was kind of a crazy day at the office and I’m glad to be home. I did manage to explore our office building a bit during and lunch and snap a few more pictures. Here’s today’s photo’s… (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

 

That’s about all I really have time for tonight. If you like any of the photos you see here please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Home Office Fun…

I was doing some work out of my home office this evening and decided to take a break and have a little fun. The results can be seen below. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

That’s about all I really have time for tonight, back to the ol’ grindstone. If you like any of the photos you see here please feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Photos at home…

A friend of mine gave me a bit of advice when I told him that I was going take up photography as a hobby.

He said, “If you’re serious about about taking up photography, no matter what, take at least one picture a day.”

As family health issues have kept me close to home this past week, I’m trying to follow his advice and take a few photographs every day around the house to continue familiarizing myself with the new Olympus camera and rediscover my creative side.

So without further adieu I present tonight’s photos… (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

That’s about all I really have time for tonight. I’ll keep posting additional photos as I become more familiar with the Olympus and attempt to develope a little better skill with different lighting scenarios, objects in motion, and artistic effects, or feel free to visit my albums over at Shutterpoint.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Day Two: Seeing pictures everywhere…

Day two with the new camera and I find myself wanting to carry it with me everywhere.

 Additionally, I begin to look at everything in the context of a photograph. Everything from the way the sunlight passes through the trees to create interesting shadows, to the way the summer breeze sways the flowers in the side flower bed, to the waves meeting the shore at sunset after a storm catches my attention and compels me try and capture the image. I dedicate myself, at least for today, to getting to know the Macro and Super Macro features of the Olympus. The resulting images can be seen below…

 

That’s about all I really have time for right now. I’ll try to keep posting additional photos as I become more familiar with the Olympus and attempt to develope a little better skill with different lighting scenarios, objects in motion, and artistic effects, or feel free to visit my album over at Shutterpoint.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Hobby takes a hit…

Well,

2 days into my new found hobby a family emergency has brought things to a screeching halt. I’ve not really had any time to acquire new images, but thought I’d take a few of the free moments I have this evening to finish posting the remainder of my photos from day 1 with the new camera.

In all I think ended up snapping around 130 pictures day one while playing with all the different settings, but only kept about half of them based on quality and personal preference. One item of note, I give the Olympus high marks for it’s ease of use and the 25 or so pre-defined picture modes it comes with.  For anyone new to digital cameras, I would recommend playing with all of your shooting modes to find which ones suite your tastes and fill the bill for the moment or subject matter you are trying to capture.

Now then, onto the remaining samples of day 1 photos… (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)

That’s about all I really have time for right now. I’ll try to post some additional photos from day two forward as time permits, or feel free to visit my album over at Shutterpoint.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Getting Started…

Getting started with my photography hobby was pretty easy. I’d spent the last several years working with digital imaging in the health care field and I’d been trained in the technical aspects of digital imaging. After a awhile the whole thing became well, quite “clinical” and the whole “art” of imaging began to escape me. The needs of the company I worked for also began changing and I found myself moving into an IT roll.   I eventually found myself as a Database Administrator monitoring the company’s servers.

As time past I found myself seeking a new hobby. By the time I wittled down the list of things I liked and the list of things I could actually afford, photography found itself at the top of my list.  So after a particularly rough day at work I stopped off at the local consumer electronics store and bought myself a new camera to kick things off.

All of the photographs on this site have been and will be acquired with my newly purchased Olympus       SP-560UZ digital camera. It’s a nicely featured camera (probably more than I’ll ever use) with a nice “heft” to it and a quality feel. It’s optics pack an 18X optical zoom so it doesn’t exactly fit in one pocket, but for the price, features and 8MP picture quality I’ll “suffer” with a camera bag.

Now that’s been addressed, off to  a few of the pictures from day one. (click thumbnail for larger image and additional information.)

That’s about all I really have time for right now. I’ll try to post some additional photos from day one forward as time permits, or feel free to visit my album over at Shutterpoint.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Smh