52 Weeks (NOW COMPLETED! WOOHOO!)

Austin Greene · Apr 1, 2014

Index of images:

Week 1 - Landscape (Bodega Bay)
Week 2 - Landscape (Hawaii)
Week 3 - Self Portrait
Week 4 - Glamour Portrait
Week 5 - Boudoir
Week 6 - Pet Portrait
Week 7 - Art Photography
Week 8 - Moonscape
Week 9 - Fashion Portrait
Week 10 - Fashion Portrait
Week 11 - Graduation Portrait
Week 12 - Graduation Portrait (Cap & Gown)
Week 13 - Moonscape self-portrait
Week 14 - Urban Landscape (South Korea)
Week 15 - Sunset Landscape (South Korea)
Week 16 - Street Abstract (South Korea)
Week 17 - Macro (South Korea)
Week 18 - Street Photography (South Korea)
Week 19 - Lightning Photography (South Korea)
Week 20 - Star Trails
Week 21 - Landscape (Bodega Bay)
Week 22 - Landscape (Bodega Bay)
Week 23 - Street Portrait (Seattle)
Week 24 - Fashion Portrait (Davis)
Week 25 - Night Landscape (Bodega Bay)
Week 26 (HALFWAY!) - Landscape (Santa Cruz)
Week 27 - Equestrian Photo (Hunter Jumper)
Week 28 - Landscape (Pigeon Point)
Week 29 - Equestrian Portrait
Week 30 - Automotive Rolling Shot
Week 31 - Junk Photo, Personal Doubts
Week 32 - Landscape, Trillium Lake (Oregon)
Week 33 - Portrait
Week 34 - Panoramic (San Francisco Skyline)
Week 35 - Landscape (Mokulumne Forest)
Week 36 - Self-Portrait Landscape (Big Basin State Park)
Week 37 - Landscape (Santa Cruz)
Week 38 - Landscape (Asilomar Beach, Pacific Grove)
Week 39 - Landscape (Davenport, CA)
Week 40 - Landscape (Davenport, CA)
Week 41 - Couples Portrait
Week 42 - Portrait
Week 43 - Landscape (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park)
Week 44 - Landscape (Redwood National Park)
Week 45 - Landscape (Pinnacles National Park)
Week 46 - Street Portrait
Week 47 - Couples Portrait
Week 48 - Landscape (Davenport, CA)
Week 49 - Boudoir/Implied Nude
Week 50 - Landscape (Davenport, CA)
Week 51 - Couples Portrait
Week 52 - Couples Landscape

ORIGINAL POST:
Hey everyone,

Following in the stead of Bo4key and many others, I've finally decided to do a 52 week project. In a fit of creative genius, I've even titled it "52 Weeks", clever, isn't it?

I recognize that over the next year a lot of things will be changing for me. I'll be graduating from UC Davis, hopefully moving to a different state (or perhaps country), and facing inevitable unemployment as a search for a job as a recent graduate. I'll also be expanding my photography into exciting new areas as opportunities come up. You all have been a huge help to me through my growth as a photographer, and I'd like to continue that trend.

The goal here is simple. I aim to produce a 52 week project that isn't like most. I don't just want the project to keep me shooting, but also to challenge me in new ways. By that, I hope to post an image per week that is beyond the scope of your typical 52 week project. No cats. No tacky mugs. No squirrels. Just what I hope to be solid, decent images.

Along the way if you have any critique, please feel free to post it! This is meant to be, among other things, a learning experience for me, and we all know how useful TPF is in that regard.

Best,
Austin

Week 1 of 52: Furlong Gulch, Sonoma Coast

ronlane · Apr 1, 2014

Off to a solid start there Austin. Good luck with your journey.

BrickHouse · Apr 1, 2014

Great first week! Very nice.

Austin Greene · Apr 1, 2014

Here's the post from week 2! I was in beautiful Maui, Hawaii for a wedding. While I was there for a week, I sadly only got about a two hours to shoot on one evening between all the festivities, job hunting, and planning. Working amongst the crowds of tourists on the beaches was interesting, but I do plan on returning to do some dedicated shooting in the near future (somehow on my college student budget).

I'll also include a second image (bottom) which is just a freebie and not part of the project. The highlights are blown in it, but oh well!

Hope you enjoy them!

Week 3 of 52: Lahaina Sunset

goodguy · Apr 1, 2014

Checked your entire Flickr and was very impressed, good job!!!

Austin Greene · Apr 2, 2014

BrickHouse said:
Great first week! Very nice.

Thank you! I hope to keep up the good work

goodguy said:
Checked your entire Flickr and was very impressed, good job!!!

Thank you goodguy! Happy you enjoyed the photos so much and I'll be sure to bring more your way!

Starskream666 · Apr 2, 2014

Can I ask how did you use such a slowshutter but retain the sky's detail, what filter is that?

D-B-J · Apr 2, 2014

Starskream666 said:
Can I ask how did you use such a slowshutter but retain the sky's detail, what filter is that?

Looks like a graduated neutral density and maybe a full nd.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HitenNainaney · Apr 2, 2014

Yup, I'm subscribed to this thread! Look forward to your project!

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Austin Greene · Apr 3, 2014

D-B-J said:
Starskream666 said:

Can I ask how did you use such a slowshutter but retain the sky's detail, what filter is that?

Click to expand...

Looks like a graduated neutral density and maybe a full nd.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nailed it! It's two graduated ND's (Cokin P Series) stacked on top of one another to make a somewhat full ND. I wanted the water stopped down, but not as much as the sky.

HitenNainaney said:
Yup, I'm subscribed to this thread! Look forward to your project!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Hiten! Looking forward to your thoughts!

Austin Greene · Apr 3, 2014

For week three, I wanted to do something a bit more personal, and out of the norm. I've been working a lot on my portraiture, and I've taken a lot of posed self-portraits, but I've yet to do what I would call an honest self-portrait. No posing, just me.

So here I am. The goal was to communicate both who I am, and (in part) why I shoot.

Hope you enjoy it

Week 3 of 52: Behind the Photos

D-B-J · Apr 3, 2014

togalive said:
For week three, I wanted to do something a bit more personal, and out of the norm. I've been working a lot on my portraiture, and I've taken a lot of posed self-portraits, but I've yet to do what I would call an honest self-portrait. No posing, just me.

So here I am. The goal was to communicate both who I am, and (in part) why I shoot.

Hope you enjoy it

Week 3 of 52: Behind the Photos

I like it, but not as strong as your first 2.

Jake

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Austin Greene · Apr 6, 2014

Week four came in a flash early this morning, literally. Last night I set out to do an impromptu midnight shoot in downtown Davis for this week of my 52 Weeks photo project. Posting on a Facebook page for my University, I had a model in less than 12 minutes! An hour later, and we were weaving our way through back-alleys, shooting like gangbusters.

Taken just past midnight, this photo is (in my opinion) one of the best portraits I've ever taken. I love the texture of her satin dress coming through in the image, and the placement of the light on the wall behind her. Coincidentally, her eyes are exactly the same color as the back wall. Her make-up was spot on for our theme; glamour. I also really enjoyed the simplicity of it, as I was just holding up a single flash with my left hand (loop) and shooting with my right, just like the good old days of macro shooting.

So what do you all think? I'll post the rest in the "People Photography" gallery when editing is complete. Hope you enjoy it!

Week 4 of 52: Rachel

Austin Greene · Apr 19, 2014

Week 5 of 52 marked a first for me in my photographic career, boudoir! I'll admit, I've been wanting to do a boudoir shoot for years, but never got the chance, or the uncertainties of significant others held me back at one point or another. Two weeks ago, I was contacted by Sara, who wanted to do a shoot both for fun, and to get a few images for her boyfriend. I made it clear that I'd never done a boudoir set before, but she liked the style of my other portraits and persisted.

Next thing I know, I'm shooting this awesome girl in her apartment! The shoot was a blast! I've never quite experienced something like it in photography. Past the first couple frames, the attitude very much became "we can either make this really awkward, or we can just have fun with it!" Needless to say, we stuck with the latter. Working in a confined apartment, my framing and posing abilities were tested to the limit, and I really enjoyed the challenge of it all. Frames included everything from implied nudes to a unique set just for her boyfriend featuring some of his motocross riding gear. I'm not one to talk up my own images, but I know he'll be one happy dude!

In any case, I hope you enjoy this image from the shoot, marking week 5 of my ongoing "52 Weeks" photo project!

Image info:
I wanted this image to have more of a glamour feel than your typical boudoir image. We left the smiles behind for other images and instead went for a flat, almost dominating gaze. The pearls were added to match the blanket, and to continue the regal/glamour concept. We ended up going for some heavier shadows on her left side to produce some nice defined edges to finish it off, versus the soft-diffuse lighting that seems typical. My only beef might be that in my pursuit of added depth by having her hands forward in the frame, distortion from the 85mm may have overly enlarged them.

Week 5 of 52: Sara

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

Let me know what you think! Expect the rest of the shoot in a "People Photography" forum post soon

Austin Greene · Apr 28, 2014

For week 6 of my ongoing "52 Weeks" photo project, I decided it was time to photograph one very special pup.

Baxter is our wolf hybrid. Yes, I said "wolf" (grey, to be specific). He's the sweetest dog I've ever met, and has, bar none, the most expressive eyes of any dog I've seen. When he looks at you, you not only know every emotion he feels, but a sensation creeps into your heart that he knows every emotion you're feeling as well. Owning Baxter from a pup, I've grown up around him, and he around my family and I. I've seen him play in his first snow as a small puff of fur, and I've seen him grow into a tough, hardened mountain of a dog that doesn't shudder at the thought of a below-freezing winter.

Rattlesnake bites, two torn ACL's, stitches, and so many other things have tried to bring this beautiful animal down, yet he's abated through it all, running through the woods every day with the same enthusiasm and energy he brought into the world as a puppy. Baxter's body is getting old now, but one look at his eyes and you know his heart burns as hot as ever. He is, and always will be, my brother.

Love you bro.

Week 6 of 52: Baxter

Baxter by TogaLive, on Flickr

P.S: I admit to slightly missing the focus on his eyes. Wish I hadn't, but he's one very camera-shy dog and I had 10 other photographers to take care of at the time. (I was running a landscape photo trip for our local photo club up into Lassen Volcanic National Forest, near my house.) Hope you enjoy him regardless