A Christmas Favorite

One of my favorite pictures - this is Ella when she was a wee babe in Christmas 2003.

A BIG area that I need to work on in photography is lighting in situations where I am trying to capture lights in a dark setting.  I just don't have the patience to pull out the tri-pod and set up properly.  But I must, if I want to capture good shots in those lighting situations...

Some favorites from the Finger Lakes

One of my favorite sayings so I had to get a picture when I saw this sign at a winery

The barn

 

 Grandpa J's pond on Monochrome setting

Reminds me of something from the Wild West

 

  

Ella was practicing her writing while I was playing with the camera settings.

I like to catch them in "the act" of things that they do without them knowing I'm taking a picture.

 A cool, old abandoned truck. I like the muted colors.

 

On a walk, I saw this pretty flower and liked the little, bent petal

Grapes on the vine at Wagner's

 

This was a great mini-trip to test out the camera and get used to the settings.  The 50D has a very different lay-out and shoots much faster than my Rebel (which is one of the first DSLR Rebels). I like that the AV and TV settings can be set on the LCD screen so that it's easy to make the changes in dim lighting. I'm in the 2nd week of a 4 week course on the 50D so hopefully I'll know a lot more about it in a couple more weeks.

Feeling It

I've tried to remember when I really caught the photography bug.  I can't really pinpoint it.  I know that for as far back as I can remember, I've enjoyed looking at well done photography - of people, places, things - doesn't matter as long as it captures something about that moment.  I love to look at a picture and "feel it".  For each picture that I take, there is something in the moment that I'm trying to capture - specific clues to help me remember how it felt to be in that moment.

 I feel the summer evening, well spent in a hammock

I feel the laughter of a silly daddy and son

I feel the ocean air and the peace of witnessing the beginning of another beautiful day

I feel the warmth that makes this sunflower grow and the buzz of the bee

I know what I want a shot to look like in my mind before I take a picture.  I was frustrated by not having the technical knowledge to make that happen.  I've gotten better by taking a couple photography classes but I have a long way to go...hopefully we'll see improvements along the way. 

Enjoy!