Default

Omega

Yes, it's a picture of a cat. My default when venturing anywhere more interesting for the POTD isn't possible.

I did not go anywhere or do anything of interest today, so instead, I practiced portraiture with my ever-willing and photogenic subject, Omega. The light really captured his brown tones nicely. Most of the time, his dark chestnut brown fur just appears almost black. The lighting is a halogen work light diffused with a hanging white sheet. A wrinkled one, clearly.

Who has time to iron sheets?

I'm still getting used to the D7000, which I've noticed has a slight tendency to sometimes underexpose photos, especially from how they appear on the on-camera LCD, and particularly with indoor lighting. I'm experimenting with some specific features to see how this can be adjusted.

Tomorrow will bring tennis in the evening. Now to finish this epigenetics paper...

Lazy Day

Catnap
11mm @ f/2.8, 2 sec @ ISO 100

Well, this pretty much sums up the day.

Like Omega and Bubbles here, I did not leave the house today, and instead took a couple of naps.

Unlike these two sleepy cats, however, I made some excellent roast beef and vegetables for dinner, and red kidney beans and rice for tomorrow. I reorganized and cleaned the kitchen, tended to my Sims (yes, Sims are my guilty pleasure), and made an attempt to use my extension tubes.

I took some really close up shots of the text on a Japanese cookie box.

Tomorrow, I'll actually procure some kind of subject to use properly with a tripod and some lighting.

Until then, I think it's back to sleep for me.

Just looking at that picture makes me a little sleepy.

Number One

Omega Eyes. Nikkor 50mm 1.8D @ f/13, 1/30 sec, ISO 400, D40x.

Today is the first day of this Photo 365.  January 1, 2014.  It's Omega, being generally cute. 

I've been wanting to do these two things for quite some time: (re)start a blog, and do a daily photo for a year.

What better time than now?

Knowing myself, I have to make some commitments to myself about this blog, to get the most satisfaction from it.

(1) Within reason, don't hold back.  The point is to say what you want to say, not what you think you should say.

(2) Do not ruminate on your words.  Get them down, get them out, get over them.  It's a new motto!

(3) Do not be afraid to share.  It is true that the most damaging force in life is fear.  Just fear. It matters not the source of the fear.

(4) There is absolutely no reason to be self-critical.  This is an important one, as my tendency to be self-critical is so pervasive, that even the thought of not being self-critical causes me to cringe.  Obviously, I need to work on this.

I think if I can hold myself to these four things, that I can make this a pretty enjoyable experience for myself, and maybe whoever is bored enough to read these things.

Crap, that was self-critical already, wasn't it?