My Boys Are Trying To Kill Me!!!!!!!

Yes, I'm kidding! But they are really testing my patience! Dennis we hope you're having a productive business trip but please hurry home or you may find me in the nut house!

They look adorable in these pic's but don't let it fool you! :)

I'm still working in manual mode...some shots are better than others. It's nice to practice on just ordinary play days as I don't want to miss important shots when expierementing!

Lesson 2 - assignments 1-3

Lesson 2 invloves shutter speed and aperture. The goal is to learn how these two work together in the manual setting. I admit that I thought I was really "getting it" while doing this shoot. But after I shot the fountains I went inside to capture a new bloom and all my pictures came out blurry. So I'm back to sqaure one when it comes to shooting indoors but I think I got a few good pictures outside with the natural light.

Notice the waterflow.....choppy versus smooth with the different settings. I'd like to get out to a waterfall and try these too.

Assignment 1: Take a landscape photograph using each available aperture on your camera, while using a 1/60 second shutter speed for each shot, similar to what she's done in the example in this lesson. If you don't have a tripod, you can set your camera on a fence post or any other handy thing to keep it in the same place for each shot. Please post ONLY 1 shot, your best one, for this assignment.

Assignment 2: Do the same thing again, and this time find the shutter speed where your camera's mid-range aperture gives you the best exposure, with nothing being too light or too dark. For example, if you have 9 f-stops available on your camera, your first shot should be nearly white, the last one should be nearly black, and the fifth (middle) one should be nearly properly exposed. If your first assignment came out that way with the 1/60 shutter speed I suggested, try the same thing with a different shutter speed. The idea of this assignment is that the more you do this and fiddle back and forth with these tools, you'll get much more familiar with them. Please post ONLY 1 shot, your best one, for this assignment.You don't need to submit the other images - they're more to give you a feel of how much light the various aperture settings on your camera let in and how shutter speed works with it.

Assignment 3: Go out and take some pictures using shutter speed - either fast or slow - to create an effect. Be creative and have fun!

Sick Boys

I have not forgotten to blog I've just been really busy with two sick boys. Both boys have fevers and Dennis stayed home from school today. It's been a lazy day of art projects, movies and bored...I mean board games! :)

I finished Lesson #2 and posted the pics for CC. I'll be back later to post them to my blog. Lesson #2 was fun. I'm slowly starting to understand exposure....... kind of!

Random Shots

Just a quick post. I've been busy working on lesson #2, which actually has three assignments, and so far all of my shots are HORRIBLE! I need to keep working on it and since they are landscape shots the weather is not cooperating with me today.

But yesterday I took a few of the boys while they were playing in the desert. And Billy got so dirty that when we got home I took a few bath shots too! Enjoy!

Back to normal................

What a busy weekend!!!! It really was a perfect holiday weekend...the weather was warm and sunny and we spent the entire time at the ballpark! What more can one ask for?

The Cougars came in 2nd Place for the MLK Tournament. All the boys played great and Dennis played the perfect 2nd baseman. His coach calls him "magnet" because all the balls seem to be hit to him! LOL!! We are very proud. We had a big team party at our house last night and must have had over thirty people here. Dennis cooked out great BBQ and the drinks were flowing. Of course the boys played Rock Band and the highlight of the night was the trophey presentation.

But today everyone headed back to school and work..... and I cleaned! I'm hoping to work on assignment #2 tomorrow.

Another Day at the Ballpark!

The Cougars are 3-1 and advanced to the National Championship tomorrow! Woo hoo! It was another fun day at the ballpark! I took over 300 pic's today and became the unofficial team photog! LOL! I got a few really good action shots but don't feel right posting them without consent so I'll give you some more of my boys!

Hope everyone has a nice holiday tomorrow.

MLK Baseball Tournament

Baseball, baseball, baseball!!! That is ALL we are doing this weekend! Dennis played his first two games today with his travel team, The Cougars, and they won both games!!!!! GO COUGARS! The boys played well and really deserved the victories today! We were at the park for 7+ hours today and are heading there tomorrow morning bright and early. It should be a fun weekend...plus we have my husbands softball game tomorrow night! Yikes!!!

Here are some pic's from the game. Billy really does have just as much fun as his brother!

Drum roll please....................

Today, I FINALLY took my first pic's in manual! It really is a lot harder than it looks. For those of you new to photography taking a photo in manual means you control all of the settings: flash, shutter speed, aperture....... instead of letting the camera decide for you in "auto" mode!

For the first few weeks when I tried shooting in manual all of the photos were either black or blurry but today I got a few that were atleast recognizable! Today is a great day!

We went to the park but it was FREEZING in Phoenix today and very windy so we only last about fifteen minutes!

Lesson 1, assignments 1 and 2

The tree branch and stump are assignment #2.

The plant branch, playground equipment and flower petal are assignment #1.

Okay! So, I haven't been able to keep up on the daily posts to meet my 365 daily requirements but I will try to get better! I had a very busy weekend as I helped a friend register for her upcoming baby shower...for several hours!, spent all day Sunday at the marathon, and then Sunday night clebrated my dad's birthday! It was quite a weekend but this week seems rather uneventful so I hope to have some time to photograph and blog.

Below is the first set of assignments for lesson one of the photography lessons and my entries. Let me know what you think either by email or commenting on the blog. All constructive critisim is welcome as that's the only way to learn and improve. I've received some great feedback from my peers but I'd like to know what you think too!

Assignment 1: Take at least one abstract photo based entirely on some of the compositional rules we talked about. Subjects should not be recognizable. Post your photo online and send me a link, along with an explanation of why you think the composition makes a visually interesting image.

Assignment 2: Students will take pictures of a subject from various viewpoints (near, far, from above, below, behind). Creativity is encouraged. Likewise, post your best two or three photos of the subject online and send me a link, along with an explanation of which you think is most visually appealing and why.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Just have a minute but wanted to wish my dad, sister, and grandma (94!), a very Happy Birthday!!!!

Hope you all have great days!

He Did It!!!!! ---- 26.2----

My husband ran his first marathon today!! He did the PF Chang's Marathon and ran from Phoenix, thru Scottsdale and into Tempe for a total of 26.2 miles!!! And he is still walking! We are all very proud of him and he deserves it. He has been training for the last six months and finished in under 3:50! Congrat's Dennis!!

Here are a few pic's! All taken in auto. I could not focus on my photography as I was chasing two boys and trying to spot Dennis running. There is one picture at the midpoint (13 miles) where Dennis is giving the boys "five", two at the finsh line, and one after the race at lunch where Dennis drank a much need beer! And of course a couple pic's of my boys!

Major Picture Overload........Park Play!

I took Billy to the park today...both to get him some fresh air and to work on one of my assignments. Needless to say, I spent the majority of my time shooting Billy! He really is a little ham! Enjoy the pic's...it was cloudy and overcast so the color is not so great!

Attempted assignment #1 part #2

Yep! The next assignment was to take a picture of anything at several different angles. The subject wasn't as important as shooting for all sides. So, I choose my running shoes. I had been running consistently for most of 2007 and completed a 5k in late October. Shortly after the race, Billy broke his leg and I was tied up with him for a better part of a month and consequently there was little time or opportunity for running. After his cast was removed in December, I was too busy with holiday festivities ...and shopping!!!! So, I started running again this week and will be participating in another 5k in February! (BTW....my husband is running his first marathon this weekend and I hope to get some good photos of him!)

Anyway, on to the shoes. I was clicking away on my camera for several minutes when all of the sudden Billy walks into the room...moves my shoes....arrggh...puts them on and walks off!!!! So much for that assignment! LOL! And since Billy is usually my subject during the day I included one of Dennis as he was watching Billy.

Addictions!!!!

I'm referring to photography and blogging! LOL!! I'm having so much fun. Today the weather was beautiful so Billy and I took a walk before lunch. He isn't very patient waiting for me to take photos but we had fun nonetheless.... he even let me snap a few of him. Here are a couple of my favorites. The sky was so blue today!