lacking time....

but trying to get **something** done and posted.
Flowers... and letters sometime in May 2009

Yes... elementary at best, but I was just beginning my learning.  Here I was trying to work on the rule of thirds and seeing how it changed where my eye goes in the pictures when looking at them.  Do you notice a difference? 

No Picture Monday... Not me Monday!

Not Me Monday!  Hop on over to MckMama's Blog to link up to:




Because I am the perfect photographer... I ALWAYS remember to back up important photos right away.  

I would NEVER leave the photo card in my laptop without immediately backing it up in 4 places, and I definitely WOULDN'T take my laptop on a trip.  Thus, my card would never get accidentally ejected and....
     my card wouldn't get erased.

                      Nope!  NOT ME!

I certainly wouldn't lose pictures from my son's 2nd christmas.
I couldn't possibly lose pictures of my darling son with his amazingly talented great grandmother.
I also wouldn't lose photos of said grandmothers beautiful quilts... you know, pictures I took to help her fill out her quilt projects album.

Nope, not me!  I would never be that careless.

So, I guess you now know why this post has no pictures.
                          :-(

I heart faces entry...

Ok, so I am going out of chronological order here but.....

I've started looking at this cool site (www.iheartfaces.com)



And today, for the first time, I am going to make an entry into their weekly challenge... which is "We Are Family"
Now, I realize you can't see any faces here... but this is a family moment that I am so happy to have captured:  One of our very best friends was expecting her 3rd child....  I took these photos about 2.5 weeks ago, and this darling baby girl just arrived about a week ago.  And I am so happy I caught this moment on digital media!  It makes one really realize what can be accomplished in just a week!

Nikon D90, 50mm 1.8, SS 1/3200, F 1.8, ISO 400 (whups, I forgot to turn my ISO back down, darn it!), metered exposure balance to 0 on window light.

Playing with editing...

So here are a few more pictures from Mexico.  I tried to learn a few things about post-editing.

 

f2.8, SS 1/800.  CS4 vibrance, sharpen, magnetic select bouquet to lighten.  Let me tell you how much I LOVE that magnetic select button ;-)

Turned it into B&W by adjusting different color levels in CS4 (nope, I didn't just click a button or use an action (mostly b/c I don't know HOW to use an action yet!)

What do you think.... which way do you like it better?  Leave a comment & tell me what you think.

f4, SS 1/800.  CS4 brightened, sharpened, increased vibrance.

Decreased saturation.  I want peoples eyes to find their way to the bride & groom.  I need to do this again & get their faces to be more saturated... but the magnetic select was being a bit of a pain this day.  I will revisit.

f3.5, SS 1/1250, CS4 sharptened, tightened the curve just a bit to make the sky not so "white".

I LOVE the way the sun hit the glasses , the brides & the glasses on the bar.  I love the casual gathering and "scene".  I love the architecture.  What I don't like is the stupid bartender.  I am not sure how to get rid of him though.

This crop definitely loses part of the scene & makes the picture more boring.

I like this crop better... but I still lose a bit of architecture.

What crop would you use???  

Would you do some different edits? 

Tell me in the comments ;-)

Mexico!!! March 2009

See, I told you I was behind!  And the holidays didn't help.  Sorry it has been so long since my last post.

Anyway.....

aaaahhhhh..... MEXICO!!!!

 

Ok, so did I make you jealous yet?  ;-)  Good.

We were in Mexico for our friends wedding.  I was so excited to take some pictures of something other than my son--- and a wedding to boot!  I was giddy with excitement.  My husband told me to stop being annoying taking pictures of EVERYTHING.  Ah well.  A beginner shoots a few thousand to get a few decent ones.  Thank God for digital "film"... so much easier (and cheaper) to shoot a few thousand pictures!

Mind you, these pictures are STILL with the Canon PowerShot A610 where it is quite challenging to change any setting (and especially manual focus).

But.... here is what I've got (please excuse the grain):

f3.5, SS 1/320

 f2.8, SS 1/250

Darn it... one day I will learn to not crop in so close!!!!  These were un-posed shots (hence the background sun).  Our friends already had a "real" photographer doing their wedding, they didn't need another random person asking them to pose.

 f4.1, SS 1/640

 

f3.5, SS 1/500

The cute little flower girls... I took SO many pictures of them.  I wish I'd know a little more about composition back in March 2009, I would have left the empty space on the right side of the pictures instead of the left.  I till think it is a cute picture though.  One has to LOVE sunset lighting.

f3.5, SS 1/500

f3.2, SS 1/800

f4, SS 1/640

Ceremony set up into the sun.... makes it difficult to get good pictures when you are sitting in the crowd.

f 3.5, SS 1/500

A similar angle shot, but with the sun lower in the sky.... kind of a cool effect.

f5, SS 1/1000

Whups, autofocus gone wrong.  But somehow, I still like it..... does it count as "intentionally" out of focus?

3 word wednesday

Cool MckMama Giveaway!

Check it out... HP TouchSmart 600!!  Click the link words above.  :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Truthful Tuesdays

All I really want for Christmas (that money can't buy b/c w/ money I will get a 50mm 1.8 lens!) is to get caught up to current day on this blog!  I am posting pictures from March 2009 right now.... I WILL get there... eventually.  Hopefully during the holiday break from work I can get some done.  I also really want to get caught up on Z's baby book.... I have a gorgeous scrapbook for him that I've barely done anything in b/c I am too busy playing with photos.  ;-)

To piggy back on Elizabeth's post in a non-photo kind of way... Two years ago I got my present on Christmas, I just wouldn't know if for 2 more weeks....I've got my boy... now I just need a girl ;-)  Hopefully when the time is right.  Heavens... then I will even MORE pictures to take and less time to edit them (so hopefully I will just get them all right in camera).  I love it :-)

Not Me Monday!

  




Because I am an avid photographer with all the time in the world, I would make sure to get class assignments done on time.  I'd spend two whole weeks getting the best pictures I could.  I would never ever try to get all the shots I need for the assignment in one or two days of shooting, and heavens forbid, I would never EVER forget to take my camera with me to work on the 2nd day to make sure I had another chance to get the needed shots.

Nope, not me!

This will have to do.......

 

Better luck next week I guess....

Random post....

Ug, so I am tired and have a yucky cold, but I haven't posted in a while... so here is a half hearted attempt:

A cute nakie baby shot inspired by CoppieCat:
http://coppiecat.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

More unique perspectives, i like them! (darn it, I wish I'd stop cropping in too far!):

And of course.... Lessons learned: you know, OTHER than not cropping in too far!

1) Don't use a shutter speed of less than 1/60 when taking pictures of moving children!

This one finally worked out.... but only b/c he held still for a second:  But I learned that white props again, will over expose a lot.

2) Something needs to draw the eye to set up an axis line.  This pic feels so "off" b/c it feels tilted.

3) DON'T shoot in high sun or use it as a background.

 4) Watch the background for things that will stick out in funny places (such as making Z look like he has a lot of hair (it is a bush in the background).

YEAH, next post I get to delve into our mexico trip pictures (from March 09).  Yippie!