I made an image that stirred me today.
Just a thought about a telephone pole that had hundreds of staples that are all that is left of the flyers and announcements that people have posted over the years.
One interesting mode of affixing flyers was a nail and a bottle cap.
Whatever works.
Yet, time as brought all of the flyers to the same end.
My apologies for the analogy that I’m about to make, but it reminded me of Shelley’s famous poem, “Ozymandias.”
How the great and might king, has now been brought low, by time and the elements.
How all these announcements, great and small, important and trite, have all been brought to the same end.
Now all that is left are the staples and nails that once affixed them for all to see.
Remember that we are all here but a short, short while.
Be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

I took part in the Easter tradition of being with family.
We celebrated at my mom’s house and as usual flowers from my mom’s garden decorated the table.
Flowers have always been a big part of who my mom is, there’s even a poem that one of my sisters wrote in elementary school hanging in the hallway.
It’s a child’s haiku about my mom in the garden with her flowers.
Spot on!
Well, I noticed a purple salvia-type flower in a vase with water.
I loved how the air bubbles clung to the submerged portion of the stalk.
Air, water and life.
A nice combination for Easter a day when new life is celebrated.
The second image, I couldn’t help taking:

Gorgeous color and texture.
Always and I mean always be looking at your environment for images.
Be inspired!
Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!

In honor of the uniqueness of the Leap Day, I was looking around for a different image.
I spotted some beautiful yellow flowers that I think were daisies.
I shot a quick pick but I was thinking that that image was too normal.
It’s a nice image, but nothing special.

That’s about the time that I saw the shadow of one of the flowers.
It was exquisite.
The negative space that was colored red and the darkness of the shadow.
It all added up to a different and unique image.
How did I see it?
Train yourself to look beyond the normal and see what is different.
Take chances and shoot things that will push your boundaries and take your photography to the next level.
Don’t stop after the first good image, push and set goals that will push you.
Maybe 3 great images before you can stop.
Push, learn and be inspired!

Michael is the author of, “Take Better Photos Now,” and, “Mommie Pics,” ebooks that help everyone become better photographers through tips and secrets that he has learned during his more than 25 years of experience as a professional photographer and photography teacher. He currently is an adjunct professor at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California. To purchase either ebook, click the links. CLICK HERE FOR “TakeBetterPhotosNow!
CLICK HERE FOR MOMMIE PICS

Chocolate covered Orange Peels are the stars of this post.
The main point that I tell my students when photographing food, is to make it look delicious!
That’s the number one rule.
My daughter made these for Christmas and they turned out fantastic.
I wanted to document them against a white background.
So, I set up a quick mini studio.
A piece of white paper, propped up against a box and a white bowl and voila!
A delicious looking image worthy of these tasty treats.

The paper makes a seamless background worthy of any much more expensive backdrop.
The lighting?
A large window to camera left.
I used my 50mm macro to get as close as possible to a 1:1 ratio, that is to make the orange slices as life-like as possible.
Did my image pass my test?
Be inspired!

Michael Kitada is the author of i365project.com. He was a staff photographer at the Orange County Register in southern California for almost 20 years and has served as an adjunct professor at UCLA teaching photojournalism and currently teaches photography at Cal Baptist University in Riverside. He is the author of the photography CD, “Take Better Photos Now! ” which serves as a “must have” guide for all serious photographers. Click this link for more information http://takebetterphotosnow.com/

My photography classes were asked to turn in their portfolios on a flash drive.
At one point I had 50 very eclectic flash drives awaiting my attention.
The best was shaped like a turtle.
It pulled apart and the USB port was inside. Very cool.
Another noteworthy one was the Hannah Montana braclet that one of my boys said his grandmother bought him.
Another great semester in the books.
Be inspired!

Every year for about 6 years now, I volunteer at the Harvest Crusade in Anaheim.
In three days, about 100,000 people hear evangelist, Greg Laurie, preach and various christian bands play, too.
I really love going and using my talent to help out and I end up shooting about 50-75 gigabytes of images over the course of the crusade.
This year a band played that I wasn’t familiar with called, “Red.”
I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was wise and put some ear plugs in just as the band was walking onto the stage.
My assignment this year was to photograph the bands from the area in front and directly behind the stage.
A bit ironic, since I’m the oldest photographer out of about 8 that were shooting the crusade, but I happily shoot all the bands.
Anyway, even someone talking can be painful that close to the speakers.
From the first note, I knew this band came to play and play hard!
I can’t remember the last time I saw a group of people give everything they had to a performance.
The lead singer sang every note with such passion and utter abandonment, I thought, ” I can’t believe the intensity that he is putting into this performance.”
That held true for the other members of the band.
The first image is of the guitarist, he hasn’t even played a single note yet!

The bass player’s nickname on his instrument was, “Hulk,” he looked and played like it.
They played with so much energy and passion, I was inspired.
It made me think, ” Do I do what I love with as much passion and intensity? ”
I think the challenge has been thrown down.

Do everything, especially what you have a passion for, with all that I have.
Burn bright and expect my best in every situation.
Showing up is not good enough!
Mediocrity is not acceptable!
Only my best will do.
Challenge yourself and expect more.
Be inspired!

Spiders have always freaked me out.
There’s something so primal and brutal in their look. I’ve talked about extreme blow-ups of spiders faces that are more creepy and terrifying than anything Hollywood has ever created.
I noticed an Orb spider hanging out in my garden the other day. This morning he/she was hanging out on the web, I guess working hard waiting for breakfast.
I ran and grabbed my camera and attached the macro lens which let’s you focus closer than a normal lens.
The web was in a weird place where I had to stand in an awkward way which made holding still a challenge.
I hurried to make the exposure, sure that my “friend” would pounce and all of my fears would be realized!
In the end, I was able to make a nice, sharp image and I got away pretty quickly.
Then I looked at it a bit closer.
The composition was good with the spider in the upper left area of convergence, but the background wasn’t as perfect.
What?
Well, the light area in the background is starting to creep into the spider which is needs the darker background to really pop.
That meant that I had to go back and get close again to this living nightmare.

Now this might seem to picky, but attention to detail leads to perfection.
As your photography goes to the next level, you will start to notice these secondary and tertiary elements in all of your photos.
Be inspired!