Daily Photo 2022: Jan. 16-31
2022 January 16
Between the chilly weather and the Covid-19 pandemic's Omicron wave, I spent the latter half of January either at work or in my apartment, aside from a handful of quick store trips. While I didn't reach the level of stir-crazy, I certainly felt cooped up. Tracking down an interesting knob on a piece of camera-holding equipment is not exactly the "adventure photography" that pre-pandemic me expected this website to showcase!
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 8 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 17
Mercifully, my isolation is not entirely complete. In addition to seeing my coworkers and regular phone calls with my family, I have my Monday-evening online D&D group. One of the players stopped by my apartment to give me a pin. A few minutes of masked conversation in the building's lobby may not seem like much, but it was quite refreshing.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 1.6 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 19
I goofed on my New Year's Resolution, and completely forgot to take a photo on January 18th! Anyway, here's a slice of my cheese grater, taken on the 19th.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 13 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 20
After so many macro photos, I figured it was high time I took a portrait of the macro lens. Whereas the interaction on a typical lens is limited to a focus ring, this one features a dial and an indicator. The dial is a focus-limiter, a very handy tool for forcing the camera to zoom in (or out) to a specific range. The level of focus is shown on the indicator. For most of my macro shots, I'm at the extreme "front" end of the dial, at 1:1.
Olympus E-PL9, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.1, 1/25 sec, ISO 6400
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 21
This sweet photo shows the Quality Street chocolates, in my own personal order of preference. In the past I scoffed at the idea of "mouth-feel", but for me, texture is a huge part of my sorting of these sweet treats.
Circling clockwise from approximately noon, my favourites are the semi-solids (the orange crunch and hazelnut triangle), followed by the stiff fills (fudge and coconut éclair). In the middle of the pack come the fruit fills (strawberry and orange crème), After that is the lone true-solid, the truffle block. I often wonder why it doesn't have a nougat companion, since all the rest come in pairs. Rounding out the gathering are the caramels (hazelnut and caramel cup), and then the toffees (toffee penny followed by the dead-last toffee finger).
Olympus E-PL9, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.7, 1/30 sec, ISO 6400
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 22
I've been playing around with cameras for several years now, so I've got a general idea of what the settings do. Despite that, I've generally found that the auto mode really does make solid choices... At least with my telephoto lens! To get the sharpest results with the macro, I've gone partially manual, setting the aperture and letting the timing and ISO values sort themselves out automatically. I also tend to use manual focus, sliding either the camera or my subject (or both) until I get a level of focus that seems appropriate. Is the three on this measuring tape as tack-sharp as I'd like it? No... But the beauty of trying new things is the opportunity to (hopefully!) get better at them over time.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 4 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 23
Speaking of things that need improving... There's my cooking on that list, too! These are mini quiches. I should have left them baking a few minutes longer, since as you can see they've fallen flat. Still, they were quite tasty, as evidenced by the two that got eaten before I snapped the shot! I definitely plan on making more, or perhaps trying a full-on quiche in a pie pan.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 1/2 sec, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 24
This photo might be a little tricky to decipher... It's the side of a climbing shoe. Unlike a typical shoe, climbers have a downturned toe, making them slightly talon-like. The idea is that the posture assists in proper foot placement while on a wall. Alas, thanks to the Omicron wave, I haven't been able to hit the climbing gym all year. I am pinning my hopes on being comfortable returning soon after St. Valentine's Day.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 8 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 25
My sister recently took up cubing, and in solidarity I, too, got a Rubik's Cube. She's quite a bit more diligent with hers than I am with mine, but I have memorized the "dances" (as she calls them) to get halfway through solving it. For the second bit, I still consult the how-to guide. Perhaps someday I will commit the whole sequence to memory.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 13 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 26
I love a good pun! On January 26th I got my booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at a pharmacy located in a mall near my work. I celebrated by ducking around the corner to Booster Juice and treating myself to a smoothie; here we see the cup. The mid-February target I mentioned for returning to the climbing gym will be when my booster has matured to its full strength.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 5 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 27
One way to know a vaccine is working is if you can feel your body mounting an immune response to it. I definitely felt mine in action! In fact, I had the booster blues so strongly, I stayed home from work and spent the day either asleep or blearily stumbling around my apartment wrapped in a blanket. Despite that, I took the time to photograph this decorative pine cone that lives in my washroom.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 2.5 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 28
Here's a photo of the camera on my mobile telephone. I'm not actually taking a picture with it... I simply figured having the flash on would make the vignette a little more dramatic.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 2 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 29
My general goal with climbing is to get in better shape and loose some paunch. That's something I can do at the gym, and I certainly enjoy going there. In the Summer, though, I'd like to try my hands (and feet) at climbing on actual stone. To that end, I bought a helmet. I don't really expect to be climbing after dark, but I somehow ended up with my sister's headlamp. Since the helmet has clips to accept it, I figured it would spice up the photo a bit.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 1/4 sec, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 30
This is the corner of my wallet. I took a lot of pictures trying to find an interesting angle on its stitches. After all the moving it around, in the end I fancied this nearly straight-on view.
Olympus E-PL9, 60mm macro lens
f22, 10 secs, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
2022 January 31
Capturing this photo took one hundred and fourteen takes! So many dice throws, spins, and rolls... Eventually, though I managed to snap an image of a purple d20 hurtling down the dice tower to the little tray where an orange d20 awaits. Spending a subdued month without going out very much sometimes feels like repeating the same actions again and again, but at the same time it allows one to really focus in on how each moment - even if similar to others - is unique.
