Easter: Flowers

It's been awhile. I've kind of lost my photo mojo.

Love is Sweet

62 mm, 1/30 sec, F 4.8, ISO 800

CYC: Portrait

24 mm, F 5, 1/400

CYC: Blue

56 mm, F 7.1, Shutter Speed 500

I've been in Ireland, which does not have a lot of blue. I had all sorts of ideas of how to spin a green shot as a blue shot (e.g. green is just a mixture of yellow and blue). Luckily for me, though, I don't have to try to rationalize my picture. There was one early morning, beautiful blue sky (overlooking the ocean). I should have picked "luck" as this picture would have worked better as Luck O' the Irish. :)

Inspiration

Wow, I think this is the first time I've posted mid-week. But after being in a bit of a photography slump, I felt INSPIRED. After a long day at work and an after work dinner party, I was laying on the lawn. When I looked over and saw how cute my cat, Ani, was with the setting sun backlighting her, I had to get my camera.

22mm, F4, 1/250 sec, 400 ISO (I forgot to reset it). Also, my computer crashed so I have no Photoshop. :(

I tried so hard to get firework shots for our Patriotism challenge, but they all ended up looking like this

8 mm, F 6.9, 4 seconds, ISO 100 Does anyone have any tips? I want to know how Teryn got such a clear black sky without all the smoke in her fireworks picture! CC

A Natural

135 mm, F 5.6, 1/200 sec

Sorry I've been MIA, after a week in Puerto Rico and another unburying, I have had no time to participate.

More photos in one

I decided to use this challenge to learn to do something that I have wanted to do for a long time: panoramas. This is two photos stiched together with Arcsoft Panorama software. It was so easy to do, I can't believe I didn't try it sooner!

22 mm, F 16, 1/60 sec, ISO 200

For choose your challenge, I did a challenge that I missed earlier: vintage. This is my friend's antique dresser that has been repainted red. I love the colors and the drawer pulls. I can't decide if this photo would be better with more of the pulls in focus or not.

50 mm, F 4.8, 1/50 sec, ISO 200

CC please.

A Change of Scenery (and a little off balance)

20mm, F 16, 1/60s

Instead of taking Rumba on a walk down the same old street today, we hiked Rattlesnake Gulch in Millcreek Canyon. It has a great view of the city especially at sunset (or on a night with a full moon).

20 mm, F 8, 1/500 s

Rod playing on the monkey bars.

18 mm, 160 sec, F 13

This one is a bit blurry (which I'm okay with since Rod is in motion). But it is so fun I had to include it. :)

CC

He holds the key to my heart (and caliente)

He holds the key to my heart.

1/60, F 3.5, ISO 2000, 18 mm, Colors adjustment layer and vignette

Caliente

1/50, F 3.5, ISO 2000, 18mm, color adjustment layer and vignette

For Rod's 30th Birthday, I threw a Margaritaville themed party and rented a street taco cart to cater it. It had the best salsa. Here it is in our driveway. CC

B&W and Easter

When I saw the black & white challenge, I immediately knew what I wanted to shoot and, fortunately, this weekend was the perfect opportunity. For the easter holiday, my mom flew in from Denver and we all went to Idaho Falls to surprise my grandparents for Easter. While there, I got a picture of my grandma, mom, and I all holding hands. I couldn't quite shoot it with my own hand (I wasn't dexterous enough), but I set the settings and asked my husband to push the button. 1/60, F. 4.8, ISO 800, 60 mm and I used Lindy's level adjustment advice. Thanks Lindy!

After all the Easter excitement, church, etc., on our way out of town, we headed out to the family farm. When I was a little girl, I was here every weekend getting into trouble with my cousin/best friend Stephen. Now, I haven't been there for years. While my uncle was showing us the new colt, one of their cats decided she wanted her photo taken too.
1/60 F 6.3 ISO 1600 18 mm

CC

Motion and Addiction

Sorry, it has been so busy around here. The first picture, Motion, is of a random child I shot while waiting to get Rod taking a jump. The picture of the kid turned out better than the one of Rod (mainly because Rod was moving too fast). It is hard to tell that the kid is off the ground. I'm not sure how to fix that.

This next picture, for the addiction challenge, is of a serious problem I have. I am a purse-a-holic; cheap, expensive, big, small, teeny-tiny, fits my kitchen sink . . . I love them all.

CC

Support and Feature

Support

32 mm, 1/60 sec, F/4

Even though I made a lot of mistakes with this photo (the reflection in the glass, cutting off my Grandpa's head, strange object growing out of my Grandma's head), I love this photo. The emotion in my grandparents' eyes say it all. After (almost) 60 years, they support each other completely. My Grandpa is currently taking care of my Grandma, who has been ill for a long time. They have also always supported me.

Tiny features

42 mm, 1/100 sec, F/4.5

Our friend with his 3 1/2 month baby. CC

Edge and Automatic

Another busy week with little time to take photos. Here are the best ones. Sorry!

Livin' on the Edge

18 mm, 1/160 sec, F 5.6, ISO 200

Rod and Rumba on the edge of a trail behind our house.

Automatic

20 mm, 800 ISO, 1/155 sec, F5

No matter what we're doing, if Rod is near me, I automatically reach for his hand. CC

Color and Celebration

This was not a good photography week for me. I was slammed and these challenges were hard! It didn't help, either, that I misread the second challenge. I thought we were doing Birthday. Anyway, here goes:

True Colors

Nikon D90, 200 mm, 1/3 sec., F 5.6

Sydney in her party dress.

Nikon D90, 24mm, 1/25 sec., F4.5

I cropped the picture and tried to blur the background to make it less distracting, but I don't think it worked.
CC

Hero (and Fresh . . . sorry!)

My Hero: My Grandpa

He has saved me a number of times and I love him more than anything. Since I couldn't get the real thing this weekend, I took a picture of something I have always associated with him: his cowboy boots. He wears them everywhere. When I was little, I would dress up in them.

34 mm, ISO 640, 1/60 sec, F 4.2

A Fresh Perspective

Now I know that Rach has asked us all to try to post our challenges in a timely manner. But during the week I work really long hours and by the time I get home it's dark and I would rather do things like eat dinner and cuddle with my husband than take pictures. So I try to catch up on the weekends. If this detracts from anyone's creative process, then I will not do it anymore. Just let me know.

26 mm, ISO 640, 1/200, F 25

This picture was taken in a light room with a bunch of distracting objects and colors in the background. I had read about this technique where you use a remote flash and really low light settings to underexpose the background and create a black, abyss-like background. It took a lot of trial and error to get this picture (and I am still not completely happy with it), but this is a neat technique to have in you bag of tricks. What I learned: (1) play around with the intensity of the remote flash. The article recommended 1/1, but it looked nuclear. 1/50 worked much better. (2) Don't play around with the intensity of the flash with your husband unless you intend to blind him. :) CC

Reflection and Late

I was running out of time for the reflection challenge (I'm not sure why that bothered me since I always post anyway--see below) so I just took a quick picture with my point and shoot. I love how the reflection in the puddle makes it look like the sky is coming out of the ground. I don't love the composition, but I think if I had more time, I could have gotten in closer, blurred out the debris, and made this a really cool shot.

This one is LATE. Ha-Ha. It is also the remnant of a very late night. Um, no further explanation necessary.

1/6 sec. F10

Also, I just figured out the CC thing. Please always feel free to give me constructive criticism. The whole reason I'm playing is to improve. :) CC

Love and Success

True to form, I am late posting the first challenge of the week. Better late than never right?

There was so much going on this week(end) that it was difficult to put the time in necessary to photograph such important topics. So the pictures aren't great, but the meaning behind them is. For me, the best part of these challenges was that it really made me think about how lucky I am.

SUCCESS: The View from My Front Porch

Mountains are regularly used to symbolize sucess, but this particular mountain (Mt. Olympus) has special significance to me. This is the mountain I see while Rod and I swing on our frount porch on warm summer evening, when I drive home every night, and each morning when I take my dog for a walk. I am especially proud of my house because I bought it myself two weeks after I graduated from law school. I was dating Rod at the time, but I bought it myself. I paid for it for two years with my salary from the job (an associate at Parr Waddoups) that I fought so hard to get, a job at which I have been very successful. Now, it is the first house of our (Rod and my) marriage, which I know will be successful. And even though it was my first house, Rod and I love it so much (in part because of this view) that it is the house that we plan to raise our family in. Hopefully, we will be successful at that too.

LOVE: Our Promise

Rod is the best husband! As a little girl, writing a list of all the qualities I wanted my future husband to have, I never in a million years would have come up with someone like Rod. I just didn't believe that men like him existed. He's gorgeous, smart, ambitious, funny (he makes me laugh every day), successful, sexy. He loves to cook and doesn't mind doing dishes or cleaning. We are truly partners in every aspect of our lives. He's unbelievable! But the most unbelievable part is that when I tell him that I'm the luckiest girl in the whole world, he tells me he's the lucky one. :) Before our wedding, we had our rings engraved. After the ceremony, in between taking pictures and joining the reception already underway, Rod and I slipped off our rings to see what the other had written. Much to our amusement, we both had the same sentiment inscribed: "I love you more". I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives trying to love each other more.

5 o'clock shadow

Here it it is, my favorite shadow: Rod's 5 o'clock shadow (although he pointed out it is really a five day shadow). I think it is so sexy when Rod has just a little bit of facial hair and I HATE when he has to shave it off. This challenge gave me an excuse to admire it for a little longer while he shaved this morning. :) I am posting two pictures because Rod and I liked different ones. Rod liked this one because of the angle and because of his reflection in the shower door.

I love the angle of this one and how voyeuristic it is. The composition is a bit distracting, but I really like the completely natural look on his face. I shot both of these with a "shade" white balance to give it a warmer feel.

Catching Up: Self-Portrait, Comfort, Dream, and Tradition

So I just joined this week and already I'm behind. I told Rachel that I probably won't be able to do all of the challenges in a timely manner, but I'll try my best to keep up. I had to cheat just a little bit. I took all of the pictures, but I didn't take them all this week. Some of the pictures are taken with my Nikon S3 (the best point and shoot) and others with the Nikon D90 (that my husband got me for Christmas and I am still trying to figure it out). Here goes:

Self Portrait



This was such a hard picture for me to take. Not just because I don't like pictures of myself, but also because it is really hard to take a picture of yourself. I ended up taking it with a self-timer on my point and shoot. Can I just say that I felt like a psycho sitting in my back yard smiling at a camera with no else around? The lighting was horrible.

My Comfort

This is my kittie Ani. She is the cuddliest little cat and before my husband moved in, she was my constant companion. Even now, when Rod is away for work, she comes and cuddles with me. It is a huge comfort. I like this picture because the red ribbon around Ani ties in with the red flowers behind her. I also like that you can see the detail in her whiskers.

Day Dreaming

My dream is to spend my days traveling. Because I didn't have any trips this week, you will have to settle for a picture from one of my last trips. I like this photo (even though it is a little dark), because the the fog lifting and the overcast sky add mystery to an already mysterious location.

(Non) Traditional

Most of my traditions center around holidays and annual parties, none of which were happening this week. Instead, I took a picture of my husband's latest meal (mussels and oysters). Growing up my family was very set in traditional gender roles. The women (me and my stepmom) cooked and cleaned, and the men (my dad and brothers) took out the trash and mowed the lawn. I always hated that my mom, who also worked full time, had to come home and make everyone dinner too. It didn't seem fair. So when I met Rod, I was amazed that he not only knows how to cook (really well), but he enjoys it. He also doesn't mind doing the dishes or cleaning. Again, this picture is not the best, but as you can see in the background, everyone was waiting to eat.