Christmas X-Ray

Christmas X-Ray, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I ended up pretty happy with my submission.  I thought it looked like an x-ray and I was pleased I could do it with the long exposure.  I think it looks good.

The Challenge:
Take a photo of a wrapped Christmas gift. Take a photo of the same gift, unwrapped. Then, overlay the unwrapped image on top of the wrapped image.
Basically, show us an x-ray view inside one of your wrapped Christmas gifts.
http://gizmodo.com/5870115/shooting-challenge-x+ray-christmas-gifts

My Comment:
As I was reading the challenge this week, I thought I wasn't going to attempt it since I don't use photoshop. I then figured that I could at least try the long exposure technique. After some shots on Christmas morning, I realized it needed to be darker so I waited until evening. I shot in black and white because it looked more like an x-ray and my color shots looked too washed out. I used an 8 second exposure and simply shot the wrapped present and then moved it out of the way and replaced it with the electronic weather station. I like the effect and I hope you do to.

You The Designer: Interesting Patterns and Fractals from Nature

So I was featured on another blog!  One of my photos was used in the graphic design blog, "You The Designer."  Here is a screen shot of the page.  My photo is the tenth in the list: "Strawberry."  Check it out here: http://www.youthedesigner.com/2011/07/29/interesting-patterns-and-fractals-from-nature/

An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London directed by John Landis
1981
★★★✰✰
So I have always wanted to see this film and had never really got around to it.  Finally, I watched it (edited version for television) and loved it.  What was probably cutting edge special effects in 1981 look awesomely silly now.  Also, gotta love "cappas being detated!"

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Mixed Media

So I got featured this week! I wasn't too happy about my photo but there were only 11 submissions.  Still neat to get up on the website.  My photo is sixth from the top.  Check it out here:
http://gizmodo.com/5869651/10-photos-that-have-entered-the-real-world

Mixed Media? Lemons

Mixed Media? Lemons, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I was totally clueless on this challenge.  Not happy with the result.  The white background looks horrible.  Blech!

The Challenge:
Take a photo, then create that photo into something new and physical. Then, take a photo of THAT.
http://www.gizmodo.com/5868060/shooting-challenge-mixed-media

My Comment:
I was totally lost on this project. I wasn't quite sure how to incorporate my photos into "mixed media." I ended up taking photos of some lemons from my backyard garden, printing and cutting them out and gluing them onto a branch. I liked the two-dimensionality of the lemon cut-outs and the three-dimensionality of the branch. As I was shooting it, I ended up to the side of the branch to give the lemons a squished appearance. Not sure if this is what you were looking for but I hope you like it.

Ice filter

Ice filter, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I am not too thrilled with this week's submission.  Its something but its not great...

The Challenge:
Take a photo through a semi-transparent sheet or block of ice.
http://gizmodo.com/5865989/shooting-challenge-ice-filter

My Comment:
Living in sunny Southern California makes it a little difficult to find ice outdoors. I ended up making my own by filling a ziplock bag with water, laying it flat and freezing it over night. My first shots turned out unremarkable and it wasn't until that I cracked the ice in the bag, that I got some interesting photos. My submission is a shot of my Christmas tree lights behind the ice filter. I think the colors and cracked ice gives the illusion of a "weird alien embryo", think "star child" from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Thanksgiving Dish

So I am super happy I got featured this week!  I wasn't too sure about my photo but apparently it was good enough to make the cut.  Hooray!  Click the link to view the other finalists and see my submission; I'm runner-up!
http://gizmodo.com/5863355/reader-recipes-31-dishes-you-always-eat-at-thanksgiving

Thanksgiving "roll"ing hills

Thanksgiving "roll"ing hills, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I had numerous problems photographing food for this challenge.  Thanksgiving turned out to be cloudy and raining so the natural light was limited.  I ended up taking this shot on Friday at my house.  I'm pleased with it but I know its not great...

The Challenge:
Take a photo of one traditional dish your family makes each Thanksgiving—the more personal the better. Then give us the recipe to duplicate it.
http://gizmodo.com/5862168/shooting-challenge-share-your-familys-thanksgiving-dish

My Comment:
After taking a number of shots of my grandma's world famous apple crisp, I decided that no matter the lighting or presentation, the food would look horrible. I switched my subject to my grandma's world famous rolls instead. These rolls are my favorite Thanksgiving food. Sadly, my family was unable to get the exact recipe from my grandma before her Alzheimer's had erased it from memory. Still, my cousin David tries every year to recreate the rolls. They are not the quite same but come in as a great runner up. Sunlight was pouring through my kitchen window and I wanted to try a shot not normally seen of food. I adjusted the aperture so I could black out the background and caught what I think looks like a sunrise over "roll"ing hills. This was a fun challenge.

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
2010
★★★✰✰
So I thought I had finished all the Percy Jackson stories.  Turns out there is a spin-off series "The Heroes of Olympus" now.  The book starts out where the Percy Jackson story left off but with some new characters.  And the big twist is that Roman gods are thrown in with the Greek gods.  Fun story.  Teens that enjoy adventures stories will love this one.

Soft focus?

Soft focus?, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I am not too jazzed about this photo.  I really did not want to skip another week of the shooting challenge so I went ahead and submitted a pretty lame shot.  Oh well...

The Challenge:
Capture a photo in soft focus.
http://gizmodo.com/5860080/shooting-challenge-soft-focus

My Comment:
So I wasn't very inspired with this week's shooting challenge but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. I hate editing photos and refuse to use photoshop. My submission has no filters or editing software. It was raining out, and maybe some rain got on the lens but the photo turned out with enough "softness" to leave it as is. Hope you like it.

Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset

Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset by Tom Angleberger
2011
★★★✰✰
So I enjoyed this book but not as much as Angleberger's Origami Yoda.  Fun characters and a silly story, definitely for younger teens.

Squirt

Squirt, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I was looking forward to this challenge after my win last week.  I probably took 500-600 photos, most of them of nothing but water.  This photo turned out OK, but not great.

The Challenge:
Capture a photo of something or someone plunging into water (or other liquid).
http://gizmodo.com/5855663/shooting-challenge-plunge

My Comment:
I ended up using a plastic cereal Tupperware tub for my "fish tank." After trying to get some shots with my mediocre built-in flash, I decided to just use natural light as the sun was shining nicely yesterday. I ended up taking the idea of rotating the photo from the challenge example. I liked how it turned out. Now it appears that the turtle is leaping out of the water, rather than diving in. Fun challenge!

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Vortograph

So I won the contest! Woohoo! My photo was the winner of these week's shooting challenge! There were only 12 entries but I am very proud of my shot. Check out the link to view the other photos, mine is at the top! http://gizmodo.com/5855184/12-vivacious-vortographs

Vortograph

Vortograph, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I haven't done a shooting challenge for a while (no challenge the week of Steve Jobs' death, I was too overwhelmed for the 100th shooting challenge, and last week's "leading lines" intrigued me but I couldn't find the time to make a photo).  This week I knew I wanted to do the challenge and I feel I really nailed it.  I love my photo and feel it fits well with the idea of vorticism.  I think it looks like cubist photography.

The Challenge:
Use prisms and mirrors to capture a vortograph.
gizmodo.com/5853520/shooting-challenge-vortographs

My Comment:
I decided right away I was going to do this challenge. It seemed really interesting but I had no prism or mirrored kaleidoscope to use to take the photos with. After scouring the internet for a "vortoscope" to see what form of lens attachment had been used to make these photos, I stumbled across a "how to make your own kaleidoscope." I cut up an old CD into three rectangular pieces and used some paperclips to hold them together into a triangular tube. With the "vortoscope" contraption complete, no onto the photography.
I ended up just holding the vortoscope up to my lens when shooting. After many photos of flowers and leaves, my wife suggested that I try something more abstract. I'm actually proud of my submission this week. It is a shot of my backyard pergola looking into the sky. The vortoscope creates an amazing abstract and angular image. I hope you like it.

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
2011
★★★★✰
So I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret last year and enjoyed it thoroughly.  I figured this story should be good too.  It was.  The story is a great at intertwining the story in text and the story in drawings and then how they ultimately combine.  I found the New York "Panorama" fascinating and will definitely make it a stop when I end up going to New York.  In September, during the US Open of tennis held at Flushing Meadows, I had started to research the 1964 World's Fair.  I was interested in the Unisphere and other attractions.  Not much is left from the fair but the Panorama remains.

Mary's Promenade on the Peninsula 5K Results

So I got the results back (actually really fast from the timing company).  I did very well.  Almost top 25% overall.  Imagine what I could have done if I were feeling well?!

Mary's Promenade on the Peninsula 5K

So I ran this race with nearly no prep runs and stuck with a cold for a week.  I ended up running well.  The hill that I thought would kill me didn't.  The last stretch through the mall was at a full sprint.  A guy passed me on my left and I thought I could catch up.  He didn't want me too.  So we had a dash to the finish.  I ended up passing the finish line first!  Woohoo!

The Glass Word

The Glass Word by Kai Meyer
2008
★★★✰✰
So I finally got around to finishing of the "Dark Reflections" trilogy.  I started the series back when I was commuting hours to and from work, listening to books on CD, and the third book hadn't been finished.  This was the first that I actually "read" rather than was "read to."  Turns out one of the character's name is really Junipa and not Juniper as I had thought.  The reader on the CD had a British accent so I had just assumed it was Juniper.
The story was interesting but a little hard to follow.  The previous two books and the battles with Hell were much more interesting than this story surrounding the sphinxes.

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four directed by D.J. Caruso
2011
★★✰✰✰
So I kind of liked this movie since it was a fun action flick.  Unfortunately it was quite boring at times and the Glee girl was annoying.  They sure left the film open-ended but I don't think they are making a sequel...

Rio

Rio directed by Carlos Saldanha
2011
★★✰✰✰
So I think this was entertaining for my kids but it kind of missed the mark for the parents. Entertaining enough, just not great.

(Sub)Urban Decay?

(Sub)Urban Decay?, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I am not too keen on this week's submission.  The area that I took my photo is kind of neat with a few remaining structures that were demolished due to the landslide.  I am also a little ashamed to say I used some iPhoto filters to enhance this shot.  My original picture was too washed out so I boosted the color a little.

The Challenge:
Capture a photo representing urban decay.
http://gizmodo.com/5842476/shooting-challenge-urban-decay

My Comment:
The city I live in doesn't have much"decay" as it is a desirable place to live. The residents won't allow much of anything to get ruined. The one place on "The Hill" that does have some form of disrepair is a landslide area. Fifteen years or so ago, part of a hill collapsed and took out a few commercial buildings. Not much remains aside from black plastic to assist in water runoff. The few remnants of the buildings left are mainly concrete and rebar pylons. I found this small staircase off to the side of the slide area that has been completely overgrown with weeds. Its not too urban and not too decay but its the best of what I could find.

Filter fun?

Filter fun?, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I don't like altering my photos digitally.  I'd much rather take an interesting shot than rely on photoshop or filter effects to make my photo better.  This week's challenge required us to use filters so I did the challenge, although a little begrudgingly.  My shot looks fine but its kind of boring.  Oh well...

The Challenge:
Take an original photo and apply an extremely cheesy photo filter (from within your camera or editing software), but in doing so, create something that's not cheesy. Make something awesome. (You can combine two or more filters, too.)
The catch! NO INSTAGRAM or HIPSTAMATIC or ANY VINTAGE FILTERS. Let's face it; these may be cheesy in their own way, but society is currently infatuated with them. (Heck, even I, the biggest snob in the world, gave in.)
http://gizmodo.com/5840614/shooting-challenge-repurposed-cheesy-photo-filters

My Comment:
So I wasn't sure how to attack this challenge. I try not to do any touch-ups or alterations to any of my photos. I don't have photoshop so I tried using the effects built in to iPhoto. I took a simple photo of a palm tree and blue sky in my back yard and after cropping it and using a number of filters, I made it look like the sun setting behind the palm tree. Its not great but its something.

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class directed by Matthew Vaugn
2011
★★★★✰
So I like X-Men (although #3 blew big time).  This movie was great though.  Kind of a "return to the original."  It felt more like the first movie which was pretty good.  Very entertaining film.  Check it out.

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Complementary Colors

So I am so pleased I got featured this week. I felt I took a good photo and I'm glad the judges thought so too. Hopefully this will help me out of the photography rut I have been in for the past two weeks. Click the link to view all the finalists. I'm the last on the main list. http://gizmodo.com/5839730/74-photos-capturing-the-most-striking-colors-possible

Macro tomato

Macro tomato, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I haven't participated in the shooting challenge for the past two weeks due to lack of photoshop (and inspiration...) Here is my submission for this week's "Complementary colors." I think I should have submitted my other photo of a hibiscus Oh well...

The Challenge:
Capture a photo that celebrates complementary colors as their subject. In other words, capture a photo that's predominantly orange/blue, red/green, purple/yellow, or really, any two colors that sit opposite one another on the color wheel (sometimes called the color circle).
Photoshop can tweak saturation and contrast, but all colors should be captured in-camera.
http://www.gizmodo.com/5837960/shooting-challenge-complementary-colors

My Comment:
I haven't been up for too much photo taking recently but I'm glad I got this one completed. I am actually pleased with how my shot came out. I was a little hesitant to submit it since it looks a little similar to the lead photo on the challenge page but I went with it anyway. It is a macro shot of an orange tomato from our garden in a blue bowl taken with my kit lens attached to some extension tubes. I think it looks like an alien sun with the little hairs sticking out of the tomato.

Source Code

Source Code directed by Duncan Jones
2011
★★★✰✰
So I was pleasantly surprised with this movie.  I thought it was going to be a corny sci-fi flick but it turned out just fine.  This was our last Netflix movie before we cancelled our subscription due to the price hike.

Funny Farm

Funny Farm directed by George Roy Hill
1988
★★✰✰✰
So I had never seen this film.  My wife used to love watching this as a kid.  So I gave it a try.  It had its moments but not one of the better Chevy Chase movies.  It seemed like a lot of the movie was cut out that would have made the plot and/or funny parts funnier.

August Running

So I am pleased.  Pretty good month.  Over 90 miles!  Yeah me!  Click the photo for a larger view.

Take Me Home Tonight

Take Me Home Tonight directed by Michael Dowse
2011
★✰✰✰✰
So I like Topher Grace.  He is a pretty good actor and funny most of the time.  This movie was horrible though.  It had great 80's music but nothing else.  Incredibly formulaic and boring.  This movie has been made a hundred times.

Triple Shadow

Triple Shadow, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I am unsure of how I like this shot.  I think it may have come out too dark.  I had a lot of difficulty with this shadow shoot as I don't care to take photos of people.  I'm not expecting too much this week...

The Challenge:
So we've featured shadows before. This time around, though, you'll be restricted to living subjects only. Of course, you can have shadows of objects, too, and the shadows can be interacting with humans, but be sure that the shadow can become a character all its own within your work.
But go beyond the mere shadow self-portrait. Because we've all seen it.
http://gizmodo.com/5831764/shooting-challenge-shadow-people

My Comment:
I was vacationing in San Diego with my family and we visited the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. It is an incredible museum that had this fantastic shadow projection wall as one of the exhibits. This is a shot of my son running across the screen.

The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau directed by George Nolfi
2011
★★★★✰
So I really liked this film.  I didn't realize this was a sci-fi movie prior to watching it which probably made it a little better.  Great story.  Check this one out.

Nighttime noir?

Nighttime noir?, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I had difficulty with this week's challenge.  I originally set up this elaborate scene with Playmobil people of a restaurant robbery gone bad.  After I took the photos, they look super cheesy so I killed that idea fast.  I ended up with this shot of my street.  It was foggy and the lamppost looked eerie in a way.
The Challenge:
Capture a photo in the film noir style. That means black and white with low-key lighting. Does it mean detectives and dames? Not necessarily. Go for the feeling and the tone, first and foremost.
http://gizmodo.com/5829540/shooting-challenge-film-noir
My Comment:
I am not too happy with my photo this week. I'm even less happy with the crop for the required smaller image needed for submission. I tried to get a shot that utilized last night's full moon as my single source of lighting but none of the photos came out well. I decided to take a shot of my neighborhood street at night with the lamppost acting as the lighting. I like the mood the photo sets: deserted street, dark night, ominous mailboxes... Oh well.

The Hills Are Alive 10K Results

So I didn't finish under an hour but I was close.  If not for the slow start due to skinny course and lots of people, I would have reached that goal.  A good goal for next year's race!  108/231.  Not bad for my first 10K!  I finished better than half.

The Hills Are Alive 10K

So I ran my first 10K race today.  I had a few goals.  First, finish the race!  Second, no walking.  Third, finish under an hour.  I felt good throughout the race and was pleased I was able to run the whole thing.

Unknown

Unknown directed byJaume Collet-Serra
2011
★★★✰✰
So I knew nothing about this film before renting it.  I did Liam Neeson and he didn't disappoint in this film.  It was a little Bourne Identity-ish but still a fun, action-y flick to watch.  January Jones is incredibly dull throughout the entire film.

Juggling fire

Juggling fire, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I had a week off of the shooting challenge because last week's theme was "fireflies."  Fireflies do not exist in the western half of the United States so I just passed on the challenge.  This week's challenge was do-able: fire.  I went to the circus with my family on Saturday and was hoping to get some good shots.  Almost all my photos turned out too dark but this one ended up looking good.

The Challenge:
Take a photo of fire - fire as in a flame or flames - as the subject. Feel free to make it part of a setting (like a summer campfire with s'mores). Or not. Abstraction within the flames is fine, too.
http://www.gizmodo.com/5826896/shooting-challenge-playing-with-fire

My Comment:
Yesterday I went to the circus with my family. I haven't been to the circus since I was a child so I was curious as to what it was still like. It is so very similar to what I remember yet so different... Anyways, to the challenge. I figured that fire would be involved in some of the acts so I knew I wanted to get my shot here. I ended up taking a shot with the jugglers juggling fire. I like how the entire circus is dark and is lit only my the torches. I left my shutter open a little long to catch the flame trails as they are tossed back and forth. I think they look like letters in some unknown language.

Hall Pass

Hall Pass directed by Peter Farrelly
2011
★★✰✰✰
So I thought this would be pretty bad and it was.  It was certainly more entertaining after having a few drinks.  Funny at times and way too long but good for a couple of laughs.

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Coloring

So I was pleased with my submission this week and my photo ended up being featured this week!  Of course, all of the submissions were featured since there were only 15 entries.  Oh well...
Click the link to check it out.  I'm ninth from the top.
http://gizmodo.com/5824833/15-photos-painted-by-hand

Desert Oasis

Desert Oasis, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I thought I wasn't going to participate in this week's challenge due to my lack of Photoshop and photoshopping skills.  I decided to try it by hand and I think it turned out well.

The Challenge:
Take an original photo, turn it black and white and color in the image using an original palette. The result should look retro, like an old daguerrotype (though obviously, feel free to get as creative as you'd like with the aesthetic).
Just note: I'm not asking for black and white photos with just one little part isolated in color—you know the photos I'm talking about. Paint the whole (or a significant portion of) the image. Don't give us a black and white apple tree with one red apple.
http://gizmodo.com/5823084/shooting-challenge-vintage-hand+coloring

My Comment:
So when I read this week's challenge, I thought I wouldn't be able to do it since I do not have Photoshop nor have any idea of how to use it. After pondering it a little more, I decided I would try it by hand. I took a shot of a building near my office and printed out my photo on resume-style paper. Then I used watercolors and painted in some colors and scanned the painted photo. It's not great, but it kind of looks "old timey." I think it looks like a desert oasis shot from an old movie.

Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 directed by David Yates
2011
★★★★★
So I got to see this movie opening weekend!  Yea!  It was fantastic.  A great movie that somehow got everything important from the book into it.  A wonderful end to the series.  It makes me a little sad that there won't be any more movies...

The Town

The Town directed by Ben Affleck
2010
★✰✰✰✰
So I was disappointed in this movie.  I was so slow throughout and Ben Affleck is so boring.  I ended up fast forwarding most of the movie.

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Clouds

So I thought my photo totally bombed this week.  Turns out I was featured as runner-up!  I still can't believe it.  Click the link to check it out.  I'm second from the top!
http://gizmodo.com/5822638/143-awesome-photos-of-clouds

Catalina clouds

Catalina clouds, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I really didn't like this challenge.  I had such a hard time finding interesting clouds to shoot.  Oh well.

The Challenge:
Take a photo of a cloud. Simple! However, there are bonus points to anyone who sees something in the cloud and can convince me to see it, too.
In other words, the best entries should cause a mass hallucination, but spotting shapes isn't a prerequisite. Beautiful photos make fine entries, too.
Oh, and the photo doesn't need to *just* be of clouds, but they should be the prominent subject.
http://gizmodo.com/5820843/shooting-challenge-clouds

My Comment:
So I went out and bought a cheap-o polarizing filter this week on gizmodo's suggestion and this shot was taken when I was fiddling around with how to use the filter. It's amazing how a quarter-turn of the filter can change the photo. This is a shot of Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. I thought the photo worked as the island appears to be a cloud too. My wife thought it ended up looking like a monster: the island, its mouth; and the clouds, its eyes. I took a lot of photos of clouds this week and I went with this one as it was a little different from the "standard" cloud photo.

Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
2000
★✰✰✰✰
So I enjoyed The DaVinci Code so I thought I would give this book a try.  The movie was OK, not great, but OK.  This book was terrible.  I stopped reading after 50 pages thinking that it would start to get better but it never did.  Oh well, on to the next book.

Fail

Fail, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I didn't do last week's challenge because it required photoshop (something I don't have or know how to use) but I haven't seen any posts with the submissions so maybe no one did it.  This week's challenge was weird...

The Challenge:
Screw up when taking a photo so incredibly badly that you create something unique and worthy unto itself.
http://gizmodo.com/5818669/shooting-challenge-fail

My Comment:
This was a bizarre shooting challenge for me. After trying to screw up photo after photo, I decided I would try and take a shot of something so that it ends up looking different. I ended up doing as many things wrong as I could think of. I shot directly at the sun with an over exposure and out of focus. I thought the palm tree and sun "asterisk" ended up looking like as good as a fail as I could get.

Ring Mosaic - June (faces & places)

Ring Mosaic - June (faces & places), a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I finished month 4!  I started out with a "faces" theme (essentially, some form of face was in the shot with the ring).  I got tired of that and switched to "places" (shots taken at a specific location and not at my house).  Not very many great photos this month but I am 1/3 of the way complete now.

Glorious 39

Glorious 39 directed by Stephen Poliakoff
2009
★✰✰✰✰
So I have no idea what happened in this movie.  Was she crazy?  Was her family crazy?  What's up with Walter/Christopher Lee?  As my wife said, "That was a weird ass movie..."

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
1902
★★★✰✰
So I had a horrible time getting in to this book.  I wanted to read it since I watched Apocalypse Now.  I found the story hard to follow at times but the intense mental anguish came across.  I liked The Secret Sharer more.

Model house

Model house, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I tried a lot of different things for this week's challenge.  Most of the photos were bad.  My submission ended up being a super easy shot in the back yard!

The Challenge:
Take a photo from directly above your subject, approaching it at a perfect 90-degree angle. Give us an almost clinical view of anything from above - it can be from the air or just a few feet off the ground - but the perspective's angle should be fixed.
http://gizmodo.com/5814887/shooting-challenge-from-above

My Comment:
So I knew exactly what I wanted to do for this challenge. I was going to get to the edge of one of the local ocean bluffs and take a picture of the surf below. When I got to the cliffs, it turns out, they are a little more sloped then I could remember and a 90 degree angle doesn't get a great shot. So I tried a different approach. I climbed rocks covered in bird poop, holding my camera on a tripod out above while the crashing surf. Turns out this didn't work either. I ended up shooting a little cardboard model of a home on my backyard lawn in black & white. The shadows on the house and grass made for an interesting photo. I hope you all like it too.

A Beginner's Notes on DSLR Photography: One Object 365 Days

So I was featured on another photographer's blog!  He wrote a post about my 365 project.  Too cool!
Here is a screen capture of the webpage.  Click the image to get a large picture or click the link to read the entire blog post: http://firstdslrphotography.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/one-object-365-days/