21 Days of Photos

For three weeks of a mostly mild March in Denver, I followed Clayton's lead in completing 21 consecutive days of photo shoots. This posting is a summary of all 21 days; clicking on any day will reveal the story behind that day's photo.

Though there were days that this challenge resulted in a late day scramble to get out with the camera and find a topic to get some shots of, it was a very valuable experience. More than anything, it got the camera back in my hands on a regular basis, which I had been missing for quite some time. Hopefully we'll continue this routine in different forms going forward. And, I have to get a filter for my latest lens as well as find a replacement part for my tripod - both of those would have been very valuable the past three weeks, not to mention with every future shoot.

Day 21: March 24






Day 20: March 23






Day 19: March 22






Day 18: March 21






Day 17: March 20






Day 16: March 19






Day 15: March 18






Day 14: March 17






Day 13: March 16






Day 12: March 15






Day 11: March 14






Day 10: March 13






Day 09: March 12






Day 08: March 11






Day 07: March 10






Day 06: March 09






Day 05: March 08






Day 04: March 07






Day 03: March 06






Day 02: March 05






Day 01: March 04

SOTD - Day 21

Wasn't my first choice of shoots today, but a late day at the office followed by a meeting left me keeping a close eye on options on the way home. Local playground presented a unique design to use for my final shot in this first of, hopefully, many challenges.

Specs
Time: 8:05pm
Shutter Speed: 1/60"
Aperture: F/3.5
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 18mm
Flash: Yes
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 20

A sidewalk along a local street caught my eye on the way home from a users group meeting tonight. Under normal lighting/conditions, these are beautiful white flowering trees.

Specs
Time: 9:45pm
Shutter Speed: 1/8"
Aperture: F/3.5
Exposure Comp: +2 step
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 18mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 19

Mallards, gadwalls, goldeneyes, great horned owls, hawks and a kingfisher all got some time from my lens this morning, with additional sightings of a cormorant and a great blue heron (not to mention a few dozen songbirds).
But in the end it was the last shots of the morning where I found this Northern Flicker pecking away at a small branch.

Specs
Time: 10:28am
Shutter Speed: 1/500"
Aperture: F/8
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 18

Staff person at South Platte Park (ok, it was Cindy) got out one of their critters to get some fresh air and exercise. I managed to get a couple of closeups before he scampered off.

Specs
Time: 2:29pm
Shutter Speed: 1/200"
Aperture: F/14
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 17

Played around with some night shots around the area, some with flash and some without. Wish I had my tripod to the point that I could have used it.

Specs
Time: 7:54pm
Shutter Speed: 1/60"
Aperture: F/3.5
Exposure Comp: +2 step
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 18mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 16

A tree in full bloom outside my chiropractor's office caught my eye this afternoon.

Specs
Time: 5:59pm
Shutter Speed: 1/250"
Aperture: F/11
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 15

A few shots this evening of finches and this bustin' belly bird in the back yard.

Specs
Time: 6:47pm
Shutter Speed: 1/80"
Aperture: F/5.6
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 500
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 14

Short day for shooting. Rattled off a few early morning before leaving for work, and then Cindy took the camera for Sarah's horse riding lesson. So just a few flash shots of some trees in the yard with the moon to choose from.
Keep in mind that we're still middle of March - what's with all this growth so early?

Specs
Time: 6:50am
Shutter Speed: 1/80"
Aperture: F/4
Exposure Comp: +1 step
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 75mm
Flash: Yes
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 13

Got some shots in the early evening after a tennis match. Kids playing soccer next to the courts with the sunset in the background caught my eye. Cleared it with one of the coaches before seeing what results I could produce. This was the best of the bunch.

Specs
Time: 7:02pm
Shutter Speed: 1/125"
Aperture: F/7.1
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 75mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 12

Played with some handheld water shots near a waterfall in South Platte Park (the camera was handheld, not the water...in case you were wondering).

Specs
Time: 2:41pm
Shutter Speed: 1/500"
Aperture: F5
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 320
Focal Length: 34mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 11

A good day for the family. We headed up to Echo Lake at the bottom of the Mt. Evans road and roamed around the snow there. The only wildlife was a herd of grey jays around where we ate some lunch. Then wandered around the trees in the area, where I got some great shots of the kids. But at the end of the review, settled on this one for the detail and clarity.

Specs
Time: 12:34pm
Shutter Speed: 1/1250"
Aperture: F5.6
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 280mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 10

A couple of good days in a row with the wildlife. Got a couple of goldeneyes along the South Platte River that turned out nicely, but the rarity of this one led to its selection for the day's shot.

Specs
Time: 4:54pm
Shutter Speed: 1/400"
Aperture: F7.1
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 09

Better luck than the prior day. A few minutes hiking around South Platte Park revealed this beauty to me. All was good until it took flight and I had to lower the camera to see just how close I came to getting whacked by a passing wing.

Specs
Time: 6:01pm
Shutter Speed: 1/332"
Aperture: F6.4
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 08

Tough day - 10 minutes late in the day and even then was pressed for time. At least I got the camera out though and was looking for the shots...

Specs
Time: 6:35pm
Shutter Speed: 1/160"
Aperture: F9.1
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 55mm
Flash: Yes
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 07

When I looked out in my backyard this morning, I saw something rare and precious sitting peacefully. I snuck up on it and had to take a few pictures before it got away. Wonder if it will show up anytime again soon.

Specs
Time: 7:33am
Shutter Speed: 1/166"
Aperture: F5.6
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 55mm
Flash: Yes
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 06

Seems like it was only a week or so ago that I was looking at a crescent moon above Venus in the western sky. Now a nearly full moon in the eastern sky.

Specs
Time: 6:05pm
Shutter Speed: 1/50"
Aperture: F/11
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD - Day 05

Despite it being a very warm day here, it was slow on the photo shoot side of life. Late afternoon, shot some closeups of my dog and then a few more of her in "watchdog" mode, but went with one of the shots out of my patio window early morning. Would have liked a male to show up, but I had to deal with the hand dealt to me...

Specs
Time: 8:05am (Daylight Savings Time!)
Shutter Speed: 1/395"
Aperture: F/7
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 640
Focal Length: 300mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD – Day 04

Got out early today and went looking for owls. Hit and miss given that there are likely eggs in the nest so I knew that finding an owl sitting out on a limb wasn't a certainty (is anything with wildlife a certainty?). I ended up finding some other critters to say cheese though. While I don't usually take pictures of mallards, this particular one caught my eye as it was walking along the top of a low running waterfall.

Specs
Time: 9:29am
Shutter Speed: 1/512 sec
Aperture: F/8
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 300 mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto

SOTD – Day 03

Day 3 of the Habit building photo exercise. Got home before sunset Friday and started by taking a few shots in the front yard, including one that was a finalist for the chosen shot. But then moved to the back yard and took some shots of our already budding willow (but the plant theme has already been abused). Then I found a wild / possessed animal (not a cat!) that was begging to have its picture taken while playing one of its favorite games.

"Catch Me If You Can"

Specs
Time: 5:21pm
Shutter Speed: 1/64 sec
Aperture: F/9.1
Exposure Comp: 0 step
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash: No
White Balance: Auto