Back in my comfort zone- manual settings, macro lens, flower, photo-editing- ahhhhhh! I am learning SO MUCH in my photo class, but it was a relief today to go back to where I feel competent. The theme today is CHANGE- and, since this iris just popped out over the weekend, I think it qualifies.
I’m using an image I took for my photo class this morning as today’s photo of the day (I’m tired and a little lazy this afternoon). The assignment was to take 5 shots at 1/15 of a second, then double the shutter speed and repeat until reaching a shutter speed of 1/1000 second. I did this last week- but wasn’t satisfied with the photos because I was too close (cutting off the top part of my husband’s body). My very supportive husband allowed me to repeat the series this morning, and this one is the one I like best. I posted the SOOC one for the class- and edited this black and white version for the blog. It was one of my first shots- the very low shutter speed (1/15 sec.) shows the movement of both ball and club.
We celebrated Earth Day with a hike to see the wildflowers on Table Mountain (near Chico). I don’t think it was as hot as yesterday, but it seemed much hotter as we hiked in the hot sun over rocky ground and down to the waterfall 300 feet below. I don’t like cliff edges, especially where the trail and footing is uncertain. There were children frolicking in flip flops around me, so it couldn’t have been too bad- but I was definitely relying on my HeartMath tools to get down those slopes!
But the flowers were beautiful! I relied on aperture priority again- and all my photos are slightly over-exposed. Yes, I do know about exposure compensation, but it was too bright to check my LCD display. Oh well- I adjusted exposure in batches afterward.
Here are some of the highlights of the day. Don’t let the first photo fool you- the path went up, the water went down- and then we walked down to meet it (no photos of THAT!).
We are spending the weekend in Chico, my hometown. We visit pretty infrequently, and every time I come back, I am reminded how fortunate I was to grow up in such a wonderful town. Bidwell Park, where most of these photos were taken is one of the best reasons to live in (or visit) Chico; it has miles of trees, trails, and recreational areas along Chico Creek.
A fence at the 5 Mile at golden hour
Lonnie exploring Upper Park (Yahi Trail)
Wildflowers
This is NOT a self-portrait! Lonnie actually took this with my camera using aperture priority, Auto ISO, and back button focus! He was amazed at how heavy the camera is with the zoom lens (yup!), and I was amazed that the photo is in focus! There is a big compositional error that I am aware of now that I’m taking this photo class- a MERGER! Leaves coming out of (or into) my head! But- all in all, he did a great job!
And now for my photo assignment for my class: a creative shot showing movement. I had this image in my mind of a perfectly (ahem!) focused bicyclist with a blurred background (showing motion). You won’t believe how many attempts I made to get the photo I had in my mind; this one is the closest I got. It was hard to pan smoothly with no camera shake at the correct speed to keep the bike in focus- and still show the background blurry. FYI: I took this shot across the street and facing my childhood church.
What a beautiful day in the neighborhood (RIP Mister Rogers. . .) it is today! The birds and squirrels seem to think so too. I snapped this one of a squirrel using shutter priority (which is what we are working on in my photo class this week) as he nibbled on the new shoots on our oak tree way up high above my head. Today’s theme is growing wild in my flickr group, and I thought this little guy was more fun to photograph than weeds.
I’m going with the theme today- on the street where you live. Sooooo. . . here is an easy shot looking down the street where I live:
I took it with my zoom lens using aperture priority, just because I’ve been reading about aperture priority for the class I’ve been taking (which is fabulous, by the way). I realized that I hadn’t been using exposure compensation with aperture priority- and that is why my photos haven’t been that great using that shooting mode. This one isn’t great either- but that’s due to the fact that I didn’t focus on the nearest flower (nothing to do with my shooting mode). I like this shot best, however, because there was a car going down the street.
These things won’t be used for awhile. 😦
Today I am putting away the last of the baby items- and mailing everything that wouldn’t fit into their suitcases.
The theme today is wash– and it seems like a sad state of affairs when I realize that I have already taken photos of my washing machine, my dish drainer, and soaps for my blog. I have SO run out of items in my house to photograph! No Project 365 next year!
I feel like I may have already photographed this ducky too, but probably not edited this way. I reduced contrast and added a white fill layer in Aperture.
The theme is above the rest. As usual, there are blackbirds above the rest in the neighborhood trees.
This is one of those days.
I’m uninspired by the topic and unmotivated to do my photo class homework. Lonnie is upstairs in the office with a Dell technician (don’t ask. . .) so I am editing and uploading with the iPad some random macro photos from the backyard.
REALLY random.
So here are some leaves. One looks kind of Google Earth-ish, I think. The other was an experiment using Snapseed ‘s texture feature.
I love daisies- and have cheerful yellow ones planted by our front steps. I put a few in a Mason jar and did a couple macro shots in response to today’s challenge, bright.
The house is quiet. Scattered throughout the house are little reminders of the two little ones that made such a delightful mess of things while they were here. We are consoled by the knowledge that we will be visiting them at their house in Wyoming very soon!
I took a few photos of Miles today while we were babysitting.
Here are his Lunch-Munch Face. and his Monster Face (perfect for today’s VILLAIN theme!).
We all had a fabulous day at the SF Bay Discovery Museum! There were so many fun, creative things to do for both our boys. They were absorbed in play and learning for the entire time- all in view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Here is Miles shoveling rocks down a tube . . .
. . . and Henry exploring the bouncy “pond” and meeting a duck!
I am taking Karen Russell’s photography class, and this week’s lessons and assignments are about composition. I usually feel composition is one of my strong points, but I’ve discovered that I rely on cropping in post-processing to achieve good composition. Today I completed both my class assignments with the help of my grandbabies- and it was challenging. All our assignments are to be uploaded straight out of camera- no editing. Yikes!
This morning I had my model, Miles, sit on the floor and play with my iPhone, while I took photos of him from different viewpoints. Here are some of my favorites (all of which have been edited, because I don’t have the no editing rule on this blog- whew!).
In the afternoon, we took the kids to Giggles, Miles’s favorite place. One of my homework assignments was to take photos on a family outing- and of course use good compositional techniques while doing so. Since I photographed Miles this morning, I concentrated on Henry, an unbelievably fast moving target. Catching him in my viewfinder was pretty difficult. I’m exhausted!
melinda anderson photography 