Backyard Work

I built a garden box and compost cover the last week. My dad came over and helped with the garden box. It's always nice to work with him and pull from his expertise. He doesn't always give himself enough credit, but he's a wealth of knowledge. It's also great to spend time with him, learn in the process and improve the house. Here are my takeaways from the project....

1.) Be careful when working with sheet metal. From the moment I pick it up at Home Depot until I put in the last screw I was bleeding. I cut my hands at least four times. I love the look of the corrugated metal and it's become a theme for our house, but not sure how much more blood I can spare working with the stuff.

2.) This can be said for any project, but lay it out first. I think I get so excited to get the job complete, I don't take enough time in the planning/ preproduction work. When I slow down, take my time and plan out the entire project it turns out much cleaner.

3.) Everything is fixable. I made several mistake and miscalculations along the way, but in the end everything turned out ok. I had to cut things a few extra times and take out a few screws and replace them, but the products came out great.

4.) Don't underestimate yourself. When it comes to anything, it really came be accomplished. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, things will get done. You have to be ok with it not turning out perfect and be willing to work through some bumps, but eventually you'l get through it.

5.) Don't do it alone. I've been really lucky to always have an expert to help with any of my projects, both friends and family. It's necessary to have another set of eyes and ideas. If nothing else, it helps to talk through the process and get another perspective, another set of eyes, hands and brain cannot be underestimated.

The next project is the sprinkler system for the backyard.

Shooting with a 400mm zoom lens

I've been taking photographs off and on since high school. My focus has been mostly on landscape. Taking pictures of people always proved to be very difficult. They tend to move around a lot more than mountains and buildings.

I recently took on the job of yearbook adviser and thought I better improve my skills of capturing candids.

I took the schools 400mm zoom lens out to the OHS vs. Centennial baseball game. I only got to shoot for about an inning and a half. It was a great experience and I look forward to trying it again and trying other sports and events. Here are some of my favorites.

This was my favorite. I like the way the jersey and sunglasses have a sunset look to them. Not that me taking the photo had anything to do with it, but thought the shot turned out nice.

I did not edit any of these photos. I probably should have cropped out the catcher and made this a vertical photo. I like the umpire's action and facial expression.

I really like the back-lighting in this shot. The action and player reaction are solid too. You don't see the ball in this shot, but I was surprised at how often I was able to capture the ball crossing the plate or making contact.

Here are the best of the rest.

 Overall it was a great experience, think I need to continue to practice and probably put more time into the post-production aspect of the process. *Disclaimer- I did not identify people in this post because I was focused more on the act of shooting photos, rather than the journalistic practice of telling a story. I did get rosters and thought about writing cutlines for each photo, but decided against it because my goal was not for the game to be the focus. In the future I will identify people when I feel it's necessary.*

A Summer to Create

This is a photo from my wedding February 15 at The MonOrchard in downtown Phoenix.
Photo by: Dominic Valente

The last few weeks I've had the urge to create. Everything from photos to plant boxes, movies to a change. I want to build something new and starting a blog was the best way to organize it.

Being a teacher, summers seem to be the best time to take on new challenges. This will be my space to share my creations. It might be part stories and quick pictures. I'm sure I'll write commentaries, reviews and rants. I want to post completed projects and those in the works.

My goal is to try something new by making a point to share everything I accomplish (attempt?) this summer. Not sure a whole lot will change of what I do, but the act of sharing it will. Feel free to leave comments, questions and insight. I'd like to get feedback and have this space for conversations. If nothing else, thanks for reading.