Random Outing #2

I got out for about an hour or so yesterday to shoot after all of the running around I get to do on Fridays. I was feeling one of the fabulous black and white image moods so that is what I shot. I had been looking at this location for a few days. I drive by it a lot to take my husband to work, and I liked the lack of light yesterday so ... I stopped. Here's what I came back with ...

I was trying to hook up with my cousin who offered me a sweet deal. She would teach me all she knew about photography if I taught her how to post in the online community I talked her into joining a while ago. She has been really busy with school and has not had the time to learn about posting. I told her of course she has a deal. I can show her how to do that stuff in 10 minutes flat, unlike me she can remember things ... So I am sure I will only have to go threw it all once.

I also took another image that I wanted to post in this posting, I also took one of the photos and did some filter work to it. I used Poster Edges and Ink Outlines on it!! ... So enough with the excited rambling, and on with the photos already!!

My Dream Camera

Okay ... I have my dream camera, It is kind of an oldie I guess, but it is the Nikon D40 SLR. I have always enjoyed Nikon camera. I have a close friend that has used Nikon for years. I used to shoot with it, but I never did the set up for shooting, He did. I wish he still lived around here because I would love to learn from him now. I have been pricing the camera at different places and it costs from 399.00 to 799.00 depending on the place.

My cousin just got one .. So I am going to be able to see some of it's work close up in the near future. She is going to be a photography graduate this coming year from one of our local community colleges. We are planning some outings ... I can say that I cannot wait. I think all of this might be re-newing my excitement with taking photos ... and I know I needed that. I was starting to not care if I ever picked up a camera again. I am sure that thought was born of having to spend more time alone, Which I already do enough already because the husband and I work different schedules now and have been for a while (since my freaking car broke down majorly again!!!).

A New Experience

I got to do what to me was one of the most amazing experiences of my life to date, and I now see the beauty in a creature that I thought all it did was scrounge for food and take a crap on whatever it was near. The local seagull population.

I meet a professional photographer today at a local park here in Ithaca. I was watching him shoot, and he asked me if I wanted to help him. Of course I jumped at this opportunity. He talked with me like I was a person while he had me throw food into the air for seagulls to fly around above my head while he shot them flying.

I had one of the birds so close to me ... I could have reached out and touched it if I wanted to. I was a little frightened at first of one biting me, but that wore off fast. I think the temperature was no more than in the single digits today, and I won't lie ... I am still really cold. I was out there for like 45 minutes with him, and it only seems like 10 minutes. I had the time of my life.

I cannot remember doing anything more fun. I hope that one day I can do that for someone because this man has no idea just how much he made my day. He made me feel like a person with the same interest as he, and he talked to me like a person with feelings. He asked about me, they type of photography I loved the best to this point .... Which by the way is Nature Scenes & Waterfalls. I felt like a human being for the first time in a really long time. It was really nice.

He said he would post some of the finished work on one of his web sites. I cannot wait to see it. He gave me his business card to I had his web sites information. I hope I might run into him again someday, He seemed like a wonderful man ... and a certainly enjoyed spending that time with him and the seagulls.

Indoor Disaster?

I decided to try out some indoor photography tonight because I am tired of just going to work and coming home, and I think I am going to have to look up somethings to help me with this issue because I cannot seem to get the lighting right. It might have been the combination of the last of light I used and the candles I am not sure. Here are the photos I took using some editing software (Photoshop Elements 6).

This photo I tried not so use the flash because I wanted to see the detail in the candle as well as the light from the candle.

In this photo I tried to darken it some because it was really bright. I think I just have too many elements going at the same time. The dark background, The candle light, and not enough or too much back lighting.

I like the composition of this photo, but I do not like the way it came out. The original un-edited photo was really bright. I tried it minus the flash and it just came out really blurry. I might try this project again, but not without some serious studying on the topic first.

I like the composition of this photo as well, but I see that it is not as sharp as I would like, and that the candles blurred with the flash ... Just too much wrong.

Black And White Photography

I think I might take up a change in my area of interest in Photography ... I really feel like Black and White photography is something I can work with. I am going to study it a little bit more, but I am finding that I like my images a lot better and can do more with them in processing in black and white. I cannot seem to get the color images the way I want them ... and I seem to be able to nail exactly what I want with Black and White.

I am starting to put together a small web page with my photos on it. I think I may have to copy right protect them and such, but I am only at the beginning stages. If you want to check out my progress ... Come check it out. I am starting with some of my recent Black and White's that I enjoy. I am not a professional by any means, but I feel I have come a long way since I started in late 2006.

I am looking forward to my learning experience at the college with my cousin and I will be sure to share it here when we get it all planned and done.

Looking Back #2

I have been going threw a lot of my older photos for lack of anything better to do becasue each day that goes by ... the ability to walk slips away just a little bit more .. and I have to be honest .. It ticks me off, but it scares me at the same time ... mostly because I am not sure what is causing the issues.

I have discovered that I have a bit of a love for black and white photography ... more so than color. I decided to take some of these photos I was looking threw and convert them to black and white and I have to say that I think I like some of them better minus the color.

The photos are going to be a bit darker ... This was intentional ... as was the fact that some of them may be a bit over sharpened. I am finding that I like a photo that is a bit sharper than most do.

My cousin is in her final year of photography school at a local community college and she has invited me to come with her to take a few black and white images with her film camera and she will than take me to her class with her and I will get a lesson in developing black and white film. I am really excited about this because I have been wanting to learn something ... and I am one of those people that learn better by doing things "Hands On".

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving ... and until next time ... take care.

Tombstones #3

This will be the final post to cover the photo challenge from the community at (NYFalls.com). I have enjoyed this challenge more than any of the other challenges I have taken part in. I got really excited about the history lessons behind the people whose names are written on the markers I photographed.

This last outting for me ... sent me on a discovery of my photo editing software (Photoshop Elements 6) and back to my favorite type of photography .. Black & White. I am discovering things like Color Correction (The process of adjusting the amount of different colors in an image.) Color Temperature (The amount of Red, Green and Blue light emitted by a particular light source.) Sharpening (Applying an image-correction filter inside a photo editor to create the appearance of sharper focus.)

To see more images you can go to my flickr site.

Looking Back

I have been sitting here today trying to figure out what to write about as I have been trying to pack for our big move next month. I have grown sick of this nasty little apartment we have lived in for quite a few years now ... and it is time for a change.

I got out a CD that had images on it from 2007 and compared them to what I have been doing and I think I might actually be learning something about the way I take photos and edit them. I know I am no where near a professional, but I think it could be a lot worse also.

Taken 4/16/2007

Taken 6/12/2007

Taken 6/22/2007

Taken 8/21/2007

Taken 11/5/2007

Taken 11/25/2007

Taken 12/13/2007

Taken 12/31/07

The subjects that I am interested in have not changed, but the way I take them has. I take more time with them before I shoot them. I think about what it is I am looking for when I Shoot them, and most of all .. What I want them to look like when I am done with them because I use them to hang on the walls in my apartment and to give to family and friends. I have been thinking about putting some of them into frames and donating them to a program where I work that will give them to sick people. I need a bit more information before I decide on that however.