2011 Flavor of the Month Gallery and Blog

billseyebillseye Registered Users Posts: 847 Major grins
edited January 6, 2012 in The Dgrin Challenges
I actually managed to fulfill a resolution from last year and complete a yearlong gallery with my favorite shot for each month of the year. So, click here to see my 2011 Flavor of the Month gallery where you'll see 12 of my favorites for 2011 (one for each month.

I also kept up a blog within my SmugMug site that included several images each month from which I selected the month's favorite. Click here to see the 2011 Flavor of the Month Blog.
Bill Banning

Check out billseye photos on SmugMug

Comments

  • PedalGirlPedalGirl Registered Users Posts: 794 Major grins
    edited January 2, 2012
    Great stuff, Bill! I tried a photo a day last year... didn't quite make it... by a long shot. Laughing.gif And I think my blog ended up with 2 or 3 entries. I guess I just found my new year's resolution... try harder. Happy New Year!
    Pho-tog-ra-pher (n) 1. One who practices photography 2. one obsessed with capturing life with their camera. 3. One who eats, sleeps and breathes photographs. 4. One who sees the world in 4x6.
    www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
  • JennJenn Registered Users Posts: 1,009 Major grins
    edited January 2, 2012
    billseye wrote: »
    I actually managed to fulfill a resolution from last year and complete a yearlong gallery with my favorite shot for each month of the year. So, click here to see my 2011 Flavor of the Month gallery where you'll see 12 of my favorites for 2011 (one for each month.

    I also kept up a blog within my SmugMug site that included several images each month from which I selected the month's favorite. Click here to see the 2011 Flavor of the Month Blog.

    Nice! Now I want some chocolate, flowers in my office at work, and I think I'll pet my dog, too. :)
    Jenn (from Oklahoma)
    Panasonic Lumix 10x DMC-TZ3 :photo
    Leica Mega O.I.S./28mm WIDE :smile6
  • FrochFroch Registered Users Posts: 571 Major grins
    edited January 2, 2012
    Excellent Bill!
    this is something I wish more people would do. I sometimes enjoy reading the backstory more than viewing the images.
  • JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator
    edited January 2, 2012
    great work Bill! Love the dog walking himself! Made me laugh. :D
    ~JAG (Joyce) - My site: JAG Creations JAG Creations be a fan.
  • kdotaylorkdotaylor Registered Users Posts: 1,280 Major grins
    edited January 3, 2012
    Really nice, Bill!
    Kate
    www.katetaylor.smugmug.com
    "You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." Mark Twain
  • StueveShotsStueveShots Registered Users Posts: 544 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2012
    Bill, I always enjoy your work. You have such a strong eye for composition. I'm especially partial to the Pastores photo...touching and intriguing. I like the idea of the blog focusing on one shot a month. I may just have to steal that!
    StueveShots
    stueveshots.smugmug.com
  • GretaPicsGretaPics Registered Users Posts: 373 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2012
    Very nice Bill - loved that you wrote a brief explanation on each photo too. Your images are wonderful and so varied. Was it difficult to set up your blog? Thanks, GP
    www.GretaPics.com
  • sapphire73sapphire73 Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 1,970 moderator
    edited January 6, 2012
    Bill, I bumped into your Flavor of the Month gallery a few months ago and it was fun to see how it's grown. I enjoyed looking at your blog and seeing lots of familiar shots and the stories behind them. Very impressive!

    I also want to thank you again for mentioning Snapseed, the app you used with your iPad during the trip with your daughter. I enjoyed playing with this during our trip in Hawaii when I didn't bring a laptop along.

    Looking forward to seeing this year's Flavor of the Month if you hope to keep it up!

    Gretchen

    My SmugMug Galleries

  • billseyebillseye Registered Users Posts: 847 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2012
    StueveShots wrote: »
    Bill, I always enjoy your work. You have such a strong eye for composition. I'm especially partial to the Pastores photo...touching and intriguing. I like the idea of the blog focusing on one shot a month. I may just have to steal that!

    Just a little background about this photo:

    Bethania-Slides-2-Edit-M.jpg

    This is Esther and Refugio Tejada. They are my mother- and father-in law. For the last 30 years they have lived in a tiny home adjacent to a small Assemblies of God chapel in the barrio of National City (just south of downtown San Diego). For years I've wanted to take this photo, but never got around to it. Last fall I took and night extension class in Digital Photography at the University of California, San Diego.

    Through the course of the class we created and submitted photos that were:
    - Taken from an unusual Point of View
    - Showing movement though panning or motion blur
    - Of an arranged still life
    - An environmental portrait
    - Showing a story or specific human interest

    The final project was to create a slide show of no more than 18 photos that explored a single topic and contained at least one of each of the above types of photos.

    Some of my favorite photos, ever, came out of that assignment (and then some) and I'm now putting a book together to present to Los Pastores.

    Now... to be honest, I'm not a highly religious guy and iloveyou.gif my wifeiloveyou.gif (the daughter of Los Pastores) is your quintessential rebellious pastor's kid who hates anything to do with church. So my slide show tended to be dripping with irony, as I attempted to show the faithful, loving families of the Templo Bethania, while poking a little fun at the culture of a hispanic, non-catholic, apostolic, religious community.

    Don't get me wrong, I adore these people and my project brought me and my wife closer to them than we had ever been. This was really therapeutic photography.

    You can see the completed slide show (2 minutes) here. Make sure your speakers are on!
    Bill Banning

    Check out billseye photos on SmugMug
  • billseyebillseye Registered Users Posts: 847 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2012
    GretaPics wrote: »
    Very nice Bill - loved that you wrote a brief explanation on each photo too. Your images are wonderful and so varied. Was it difficult to set up your blog? Thanks, GP

    Thanks, Greta... My blog is actually just part of my SmugMug site and not an external site. I don't see that you have linked to a smugmug account, so I'm not sure what to say about difficulty of setting it up. SmugMug has several levels of account, all of which allow some basic design and gallery choices. I'm pretty sure you could set something like this up pretty easily if you have or get an account.

    In the spirit of full disclosure, though... I'm a bit of a computer geek, too. I have set up a personal web site and know a little (very little) about HTML coding. So I have spend a fair amount of time fiddling around behind the scenes - just for fun.

    There are other options for a blog that might be good (and free) start if you're wanting to test the water. I'd suggest looking at Blogger (part of the Google-sphere). It's free and has some good starting templates to choose from. Click here for more info.

    You might also check out WordPress for another free option.
    Bill Banning

    Check out billseye photos on SmugMug
  • PedalGirlPedalGirl Registered Users Posts: 794 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2012
    I loved your Bethania slide show... really great photo essay!! And I love the last slide in comparison to the first one of your in-laws!
    Pho-tog-ra-pher (n) 1. One who practices photography 2. one obsessed with capturing life with their camera. 3. One who eats, sleeps and breathes photographs. 4. One who sees the world in 4x6.
    www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
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