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/

Cars 2

Cars 2 directed by Brad Lewis
2011
★★✰✰✰
So I got to see another movie in the theater!  The whole family went to see this film.  Unfortunately, it wasn't great.  G got antsy and tired but H was interested.  Still, probably the worst Pixar film, but that is still better than a lot of movies.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 directed by Jennifer Yuh
2011
★★★✰✰
So I totally forgot to do this blog post.  We saw this movie in the theater last month with the kiddos.  They loved it.  G started to get antsy as the movie went on.  Sitting still for 2 hours can be tough for an almost 3 year old.  Movie has fun, not as good as the first.

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Summer Solstice

So I didn't win this week's challenge but I was featured...and this time, there were a lot of entries to compete against.  Pretty exciting!  Click the link to view the submissions and my photo (7th from the top): http://gizmodo.com/5814534/45-different-views-of-the-summer-solstice

The Company Men

The Company Men directed by John Wells
2010
★✰✰✰✰
So I think this movie was a bomb.  Boring.  Are we supposed to feel sorry for this corporate executives making big bucks and then fired?

summer solstice?

summer solstice?, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I am a little peeved at my submission this week due to uncooperative weather.  It had been so beautiful this afternoon and then as it moved into early evening, the fog crept in and ruined my "summer" solstice photo!

The Challenge:
Capture a photo of the summer solstice - that's June 21st - sorry it's not a weekend, but the Universe sort of ignores the 7-day calendar. And yes, we'll push back the deadline for the Shooting Challenge appropriately.
gizmodo.com/5812187/shooting-challenge-summer -solstice

My Comment:
For the past three days, the weather here has been beautiful. Gorgeous, clear and sunny. And what happens today? The day I actually need to take a photo for the summer solstice? It gets socked in with fog. I was all prepared to get a great shot of the sun shining on my local park with phenomenal views of the vast Pacific Ocean. I even got up enough nerve to ask the nice couple sitting on the bench if I might photograph them for this project. Oh well.

The Secret Sharer

The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad
1909
★★★✰✰
So I am not sure if this should technically be a blog entry as this short story is part of Heart of Darkness which I have just started reading.  It is an interesting read, much like a Twilight Zone episode or Edgar Allen Poe's Telltale Heart.  The narrator's fear of being discovered really comes through in the writing.  Why he felt the attachment to the stranger, I'm not sure, but he had a lot of affection for him.

Killers

Killers directed by Robert Luketic
2010
★✰✰✰✰
So I don't know why I actually watched this whole movie.  It wasn't that good.  Ashton Kutcher is so boring.  This idea has been done many times before.  As my wife said, it's an even worse Mr & Mrs Smith.

Interstellar Pig

Interstellar Pig by William Sleator
1984
★★★✰✰
So I had never even heard of this book when my wife brought it home.  It ended up being a fun kids book a little like Jumanji in that the board game comes to life.  Entertaining, quick read.  It would be even better if read during summer vacation...

The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet directed by Michel Gondry
2011
★★★✰✰
So I was pleasantly surprised with this film.  It had enough action and humor to make for a good movie.  Christoph Waltz was very funny in pondering his bad guy future.  Seth Rogen was typical Seth Rogen.  Fun flick.

True Grit

True Grit directed by Ethan & Joel Coen
2010
★★★★✰
So I have never seen the original version of this film with John Wayne.  After watching this remake, I do now.  I was quite impressed with this film.  It was funny, dramatic and action packed.  Can the Coen Brothers make a bad movie?  Especially if it stars Jeff Bridges?  Right now, I don't think so.

Infinity?

Infinity?, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I think I may have missed the mark on this challenge.  I feel this shot is a little too simple for such a complex challenge subject.  Oh well.  I guess I am just a beginning photographer...

The Challenge:
Capture a photo that shows us infinity.
http://gizmodo.com/5809926/shooting-challenge-infinite-loop

My Comment:
I originally was going to submit a shot of the sea and sky but my wife convinced me to change my photo to this entry. She said it was more interesting. Since its hard to take a picture of something so big, I took the interpretive route.
My photo is of my three year old son's stacking blocks, lined up, and photographed while zooming the lens out. I'm not sure what it is supposed to be...maybe traveling at warp speed through infinitesimal space. Or something like that.

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Wyrm King

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Wyrm King by Holly Black
2010
★★★✰✰
So I enjoyed reading all of the Spiderwick books.  This book seemed a little weak as the characters were essentially fixing a problem they created from the previous book.  Still a fun read.  I felt a little nostalgia for the hot, humid weather of Florida while reading it, even though I have only been there once.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop directed by Banksy
2010
★★★✰✰
So I had heard of Banksy and had seen some street art before making this an intriguing subject for me.  The first half of the documentary was great.  A lot of insight into the street art world and into people like Banksy and Shepard Fairey.  Then the movie changed into full coverage of Thierry, "Mr Brain Wash."  He had been the guy to film much of the footage of the street artists from the first half of the film.  Now, apparently, he is a full-fledged artist.  To me, he seems like a poser, wanna-be.  It seems like he didn't put any creativity into the "art" he produced.  No thought.  The art didn't mean anything.  The rest of the film was great.  I wish I could have seen more.

Gizmodo Shooting Challenge: Modern Family

So I didn't win this week's challenge but I was featured!  Of course, there were only 5 photos!  But I like to think that I came in second...Click the link to view the submissions and my photo: http://gizmodo.com/5809529/childhood-photos-recreated-as-adults-today

Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels directed by Rob Letterman
2010
★★✰✰✰
So I was hoping this would be a little better than I thought it would be, but it wasn't.  Not great but a few laughs.  The ending is downright awful!

Matthew Johnson and Melinda Foote

Matthew Johnson and Melinda Foote, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I didn't like how this challenge ended up by I still submitted it.  The background of ivy with the lawn in front just couldn't be recreated like I wanted to.  Oh well.

The Challenge:
Recreate an old family photo (or any old photo in your personal collection). And yes, I'm totally ripping off Modern Family's finale for this challenge, if you happened to catch it. Treehouse, wine and rabid dog optional.
gizmodo.com/5807491/shooting-challenge-modern-family

My Comment:
When I read about this challenge, I immediately thought about my inspiration photo. When I called my sister and told her about the challenge, she indicated that she thought of the same photo. My parents have had this photo up in their house since 1985. I have always called it the "Hmph" photo since my sister and I look so uninterested in the photo. My uncle shot the original in 1985 at our old house in Huntington Beach, CA. Now we didn't go to quite the same extreme as the "Modern Family" episode and sneak back into our old house, but we did try to match our clothing to the original - down to the jelly bracelets, barrette black socks and hiked up shorts.
This challenge was difficult for me in that I was part of the shot. Many people offered to take the photo but I felt that I needed to hit the button since this is my entry into the challenge. In the end, I am a little disappointed in the look of the photo as it has too hard to get a similar background.

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! directed by Norton Virgien
2009
★★✰✰✰
So I was asked by my kids to watch this film with them.  Not very good but they like it a lot.  They love the music and the monkey mayhem.

Ring Mosaic - May

Ring Mosaic - May, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I got my third month complete.  This month I gave myself two additional themes - wood and DSLR.  All 31 shots have the ring set with something wooden and are taken with my Canon DSLR camera.  No iPhone this month.  Most of the photos were taken at home in the backyard because the light is fantastic in the morning.