Things close up

The Secret Life of Glass

2009-02-07T13:59:00.000+13:00

This is the photo I used for the final 30 day challenge contest.

Three of a Kind

2009-01-31T13:14:00.003+13:00

I did it!! Whooopeee! What an acheivement. I have learnt heaps this challenge - but the thing that has had the biggest impact for me is learning to shoot in raw.

Today's tribute is to Cridley and her Three of a Kind theme.

And the mystery item from yesterday which wasn't supposed to be a mystery at all - it's the top of my pepper grinder.

Kitchen Abstract

2009-01-30T16:28:00.004+13:00

I suppose most of us get these days during the challenge. Whatever we shoot doesn't come out to our liking.

It wouldn't be so bad except that today's is supposed to be a tribute to Kookaburra and her Kitchen Abstracts. So to make up for a less than successful shot (I really don't like the reflection), I've done another one which I like much better but is not quite so in keeping with my theme.

One more day to go!! Yes I know I've done 30 days but there's still one more left in January and it doesn't seem right to leave it out. And in case anyone is going to use my theme for the final contest or HxH you might be interested in the following:

Lucinder Calligraphy
Italic
60pt

Lego Toy

2009-01-29T08:23:00.002+13:00

A tribute to essjaynz and her toy theme. I never realized how dusty and dirty our Lego was until I tried to take this photo!

Apple Face

2009-01-28T08:34:00.001+13:00

A tribute to MrAverage and his Apple Face theme. This apple is two days old so reflects Apple Face's earlier days.

Inanimate Butterfly

2009-01-27T18:39:00.003+13:00

The first of my mini gallery. A tribute to tombarreto and his inanimated world theme. This photo is of a butterfly earring. I found it particularly hard to get the background white without the silver being to glarey so I've had to settle for somewhere in the middle.

Thank you for those who have suggested ideas for the last few days of my theme. Numbers was one I had considered a lot but I'm happy with what I chose in the end.

Z is for Zip

2009-01-26T07:55:00.003+13:00

I really don't have an awful lot to say about this one. There is no history behind it. It's simply a zip I had lying around which I've never used for anything - until now.

I know that the challenge hasn't finished and I intend to shoot til the end but in a way I feel as though I have finished my gallery today. Tomorrow onwards will be a mini gallery. For the remaining days it seems fitting to highlight some other themes from the challenge and shoot it Andromeda style as a tribute. Obviously I can't choose everyone - I mean how exciting is a macro of snow or sand????

Icebunny. Maybe next time I should do A-Z animal style. Then I can take up your suggestion and go find a yak.

Cridley: All I meant by my clue was that I wasn't going to photograph a zebra.

Regoch. That's cheating! You had multiple guesses but well done anyway.

Y is for Yarn

2009-01-25T11:31:00.003+13:00

You might need your sunglasses for this one! I would have prefered to shoot something not quite so bright but the truth is, the only wool I could find was this. I tried to make the background whiter but that only made the yellow too glarey.

And anyone guessing what tomorrow's photo will be of, here's a clue: I don't have any pet zebras hanging around.

X is for Xerophyte

2009-01-24T12:57:00.002+13:00

A xerophyte is a desert plant so this fits in quite nicely. Had trouble getting really close because the prickles got in the way. And no, I didn't even attempt to get rid of the cob webs!!

Well RM, were you right????

And regarding life after Z. An interesting question. And one I have pondered throughout this challenge. I thought about ressurecting the jelly beans for the last few days but have decided against that in favour of something different which will be revealed in due course.

W is for Weed

2009-01-23T08:42:00.000+13:00

From my garden.

Isabella. In answer to your question from yesterday. No I didn't. I froze it of course!

V is for Vernier

2009-01-22T16:53:00.004+13:00

Early on in this challenge I was hunting around the house looking for things for my theme. I came across this tool in the garage and asked my husband what it was. When he told me it was called a vernier I got very excited. Something interesting to photograph for the letter V! A vernier by the way, is used for measuring things. It's a bit more complicated than a tape measure though! Did you get this one right Kookaburra????

Some comments on some comments:

Isabella. No I did not squish the snail afterwards!!

Kim. Yes, both pictures of roses feature the same rose.

Secretatlantis. I'd like to say I put the rose in water but I completely forgot. (see your comment on day 16).

U is for Utensil

2009-01-21T09:11:00.001+13:00

This is the handle of one of our forks. It doesn't belong to a set anymore, it's just one on its own.

T is for Toothbrush

2009-01-20T15:57:00.002+13:00

The toothbrush was bought especially for this occassion (apart from the fact that I need a new one anyway). I like macro photography, you get to see all the little details you wouldn't otherwise see like the rogue white bristles.

S is for Snail

2009-01-19T13:57:00.004+13:00

Uuuuugggh! Today goes down as the most frustrating day of the challenge so far. Remind me never to photograph things that move again!! I’ve had enough. The snail has had enough. These are the results.

R is for Rose

2009-01-18T15:45:00.006+13:00

I chose this photo because it's different and unexpected (and because it turned out quite decently.)

Regarding yesterday's image. The Rubik's Cube appears to be balancing on one corner because it is (with the help of an Oxo cube and a glob of blu tac.)

Kim. I probably won't use thermometer for T - I have other plans. So just for you I've included the image below. Although it's a nice clear image and shows the mercury well I didn't like that shadow and I just couldn't get excited about the photo as a whole. The answer to the puzzle is given below. Let me know if your hubby was right.

JuzzyDee. Yep. I have plans for Saturday - thank you for asking. This coming Wednesday however is another matter at this stage!

Tombaretto. Good thinking but Quente wasn't the word I was after.

Whalelight. Looks like you got it! Well done. Another name for Mercury is "Quicksilver".

Q is for Quadrate

2009-01-17T12:27:00.006+13:00

Of the word "quadrate" my dictionary says the following "....a cube, square, or a square or cubelike object". I reckon the rubiks cube fits into that category. And I would just like to point out that although it's not quite as macro as the others, it is a close up shot so it stays put.

My first choice of subject was a thermometer but in the end I decided not to go with it. How thermometer fits into the "Q" theme, I'll let you work out for yourselves :-)

P is for Petals

2009-01-16T16:48:00.002+13:00

A rose. One of only three in our garden and I have to go and pick it and use it for photographic purposes. I hope you think it was worth it. And full view is sooooo much better :-)

O is for Orange

2009-01-15T17:10:00.004+13:00

Let's face it - I couldn't get any less creative really - choosing an orange. But I did like the way it turned out so here it is.

And today you get a bonus!! Kim gave me some suggestions for today and I rather liked like her suggestion of "open". So here's my attempt. I didn't choose it as "the" photo for today though, it's not quite macro enough I'm thinking.

N is for Nothing

2009-01-14T10:15:00.007+13:00

Some bright spark in my family suggested I photograph nothing for the letter N. I thought that was quite a clever idea and being the creative person I am thought I'd give it ago. I concentrated mainly on DOF, composition and lighting and think I did a pretty good job.

I do however, accept that some will see this as a complete and utter cop-out so here's my proper pic for today. I had intended for this one to be in colour but I pressed a wrong button by accident and everything turned black and white and I quite liked the result. Plus I was having trouble with the shadow and it doesn't stand out quite so much in black and white so maybe that'll be my cop-out for today.

And just to clarify, the coin from yesterday is currently in use and features a well-known Maori carving.

M is for Money

2009-01-13T17:03:00.002+13:00

....a New Zealand 20c piece to be more precise.

L is for Lace

2009-01-12T17:02:00.007+13:00

I really don't know what to say about this one except that it's a photo of lace!!

K is for Knex

2009-01-11T17:23:00.003+13:00

So, there are days when creativity is in abundance and there are days when it isn't. Today was one of the latter. For those that aren't familiar with Knex, it's a construction toy.

And in answer to JuzzyDee's and secretatlantis's questions from the ink shot. There was plenty of daylight. A sheet of white paper was behind the glass of water. I dropped a drop of ink in the water and then shot. F8. Shutter speed 1/25. ISO 200.

J is for Jewellery

2009-01-10T14:15:00.004+13:00

Finally! Took me ages today to get a shot that I was happy with. I had wanted to take a photo of a jelly bean for today's shot because when I was deciding what theme to do for this challenge I thought long and hard about whether I should do a second Jelly Bean challenge and was extremely tempted but in the end decided it probably wasn't sustainable. As a compromise I had decided that J would be for jelly bean and I tried oh so hard but let's face it, a macro of a jelly bean really isn't that exciting!!

I in for Ink

2009-01-09T16:41:00.003+13:00

I'm not sure what I think about today's picture but it was the best of the bunch. It's ink dropped in water. When I was reading through the letter I in my dictionary yesterday I came to realize how old my dictionary is. It doesn't have the word "internet"!!!

H is for Hem

2009-01-08T15:19:00.002+13:00

It was either this image or a boring shot of Monopoly hotels and houses. This one won.

G is for Grater

2009-01-07T16:46:00.005+13:00

Obtained during my time as a Tupperware demonstrator. I don't use for grating cheese because it's a bit small. It is however ideal for grating carrots etc.

I'm very encouraged by everyones comments so far - thank you. It certainly does make it easier to continue with the challenge. And as a result of some of the comments I've tried a few things in Photoshop to improve on my earphones image - here's the result.

F is for....

2009-01-06T16:35:00.003+13:00

So I have this plan. Day six. The letter F. Now what could I photograph? Of course, Ferrero Rocher. Brilliant! Nice textured surface, should come out well - unless of course there are none left! I can't think who's been munching them!! So after a hunt around the house I come up with something different and since it's not obvious I thought you'd like to guess what it is :-)

.....and because lmorrow has guessed what it is ALREADY! I suggest that if you still want to play, that you guess before reading the comments.

E is for Earphones

2009-01-05T17:46:00.003+13:00

I tried lots of different items today and ended up liking the earphones the best. Not the same calibre as the last two days maybe - but still a nice clean shot which is growing on me the more I look at it.

D is for Decoration

2009-01-04T14:35:00.002+13:00

My original idea was to photograph the word "dictionary" from an actual dictionary but I couldn't get a shot I liked which is a shame because it would have been most appropriate since my bedtime reading at the moment is the dictionary - going through one letter per night - trying to look for ideas for this challenge. So I played around with a few other objects and 116 photos later....

C is for Cross-Stitch

2009-01-03T15:40:00.004+13:00

I've been doing this cross-stitch for about 15 years and it's still nowhere near completed. It's an intricate design with lots of different stitches. There's supposed to be a peacock in the middle but I'm still on the border. Clicking on the picture will give you a much clearer view.

B is for Bobbin

2009-01-02T14:58:00.003+13:00

I thought I'd try today's shot by shooting in RAW and although I like being able to control the white balance I find I'm lost with all the other features and so probably this picture has a lot more potential!

A is for Aero.

2009-01-01T16:20:00.003+13:00

My first idea was to photograph some ants but they are very busy little creatures and had no interest in posing for me. So I ended up photographing my Aero chocolate bar instead which is a miracle in itself - that it was still around to be photographed. I like the way the "bubbles" show up in this shot.