Photo of the Day, Week of July 5th, 2020

A photography project in which I take (at least one) photo a day with my Sony A7 and a single lens. This week I used the Jupiter-3 f1.5 50mm manual focus lens from 1957. This is a fun lens. It can have an older look to it because of minor distortion and round bokeh even when stopped down. 

July 6

July 7

July 9

July 10

July 11

photos copyright 2020 L. A. Miller

Photo OF The Day, Week Of June 28, 2020

A photography project in which I take (at least one) photo a day with my Sony A7 and a single lens. This week I used the Canon FD 24mm F2 manual focus lens from the early 1980s. This lens is one of the sharpest wide that is a legacy manual focus lens. The bokeh has a bit of a zoom effect but it is not very distracting due to the low contrast of the lens.

June 29

June 30

July 1

July 2

July 3/1

July 3/2

photos copyright 2020 L. A. Miller

Photo of The Day, Week of June 21, 2020

A photography project in which I take (at least one) photo a day with my Sony A7 and a single lens. This week I used the Pentax SMC 28mm f3.5 manual focus lens from the late 1970s. This lens is very sharp with beautifully smooth bokeh. There is a bit of a swirl, from light distortion, to the bokeh at longer distances, but it is not distracting.

June 22

June 23

June 24

June 25

June 26

June 27

photos copyright 2020 L. A. Miller

The Great ATC to Canvas Experiment

This was a piece I wrote back in 2015.

People could tell me I'm good at an art or other creative endeavors, but I'm still that impressionable 8 year old who was told they couldn't draw trees as well as I had claimed claimed for a large visual Social Studies project. What can I say, as a shy person, its tough to break out of that mind set.As a result, I've stuck to crafts like photography, sculpting, collage, crochet, jewelry making and origami. Painting and drawing I've reserved for small informal projects, with the exception of school assignments.

Ever since I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local creative reuse non-profit a few years ago, I've been making more projects and getting braver at what I can create.

 So here is the challenge...I have three Artist's Trading Cards that I made and the objective is to get them onto canvas. If I can accomplish this, I may want to do some other pieces where I take my photography and use reuse items and paint to recreate the image.

A Starry Night In Salem - Croisan Ridge, 1/3

Croisan Ridge, by Lisa Miller

A Starry Night In Salem - Falling Stars, 2/3

A Starry Night In Salem - The View From My Apartment, 3/3

Street Photography: Construction On Skyline, and a Challenge

Street photography is difficult down in my neighborhood. It's just a nice, lazy suburb, and I don't like to bother my neighbors too much with my lens in their faces. Maybe I'm too nice or too timid, but I tend to stick to photographing nature around my home, because that is what I am comfortable with, and honestly, it's what I see when I look out the window.

Lately we've had an ongoing construction project close by. An entire street is closed to thru traffic for the Summer, and was for a good part of the Spring too. After a while, this project got me thinking more in-depth about urban photography. Street photography doesn't have to be just city dwellers on the street, living the city life, it can be snippets of still life brought about by change in the neighborhood. After all, "Art is not what you see, but what you make other's see," as the French Impressionist Edgar Degas so aptly said.

So here is my challenge to other local (and non-local) photographers. Look for art in the unexpected, and show your unique point of view through your work, whether it is a road construction project, farming or garden work, misplaced shoes, or a speed boat out on the water.... Below are some of my pieces from the construction site.

UPDATE July 4, 2015: for more street photos please visit my Flickr albums, River Front Park and Downtown Salem

"A Day In The Life" Photo-A-Day Challenge: Week 4

For the month of April I worked on a specific photography technique: Subject Isolation. And what better way to do this than a "day in the life" photo-a-day challenge. And yay, I got outside more!!

Its the last week, and boy am I itching to use f5.6+. I may need a week of only shooting f8 to stop feeling so near sighted... but this was a really great exercise. I also stuck to only one lens a week at a time. I recommend exercises like this to anyone breaking in new (or new to them) lenses, so you know their strengths, weaknesses, and to get comfortable. These are also good exercises to do periodically for yourself, just like practicing scales for a musician.

If you missed the previous weeks, they can be viewed here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3

Day 22:

Day 23: 

Day 24:

Day 25:

Day 26:

Day 27:

Day 28:

Day 29:

 © 2015, Lisa Miller - All Rights Reserved - Thank you!

"A Day In The Life" Photo-A-Day Challenge: Week 3

For the month of April I'm continuing my work on a specific photography technique: Subject Isolation. And what better way to do this than a "day in the life" photo-a-day challenge.

If you missed the previous weeks, they can be viewed here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 4

Day 15:

Day 16: 

Day 17:

Day 18:

Day 19:

Day 20:

Day 21:

 © 2015, Lisa Miller - All Rights Reserved - Thank you!

"A Day In The Life" Photo-A-Day Challenge: Week 2

For the month of April I'm continuing my work on a specific photography technique: Subject Isolation. And what better way to do this than a "day in the life" photo-a-day challenge. Apologies ahead of time for any off photos...a photo a day means taking photos even when you are sick. Its a great distraction.

Update 5/1/2015: If you missed the previous/later weeks, they can be viewed here: Week 1, Week 3, Week 4

Day 8:

Day 9: 

Day 10:

Day 11:

Day 12:

Day 13:

Day 14:

 © 2015, Lisa Miller - All Rights Reserved - Thank you!