Macro Photography

I must say, Macro photography has to be my favorite...I love capturing the tiny details of nature! Now that Spring is in full bloom around my house, I've taken advantage of it's beauty...

It's almost as if you can reach out and touch them!

I hope that you enjoy the rest of the week and don't forget to see beauty in the little things!



Finding Beauty...

It's been forever since I've posted any photos on here...but I've still been clicking away when I get the chance! Yesterday was beautiful so I stepped outside with camera in hand to find the beauty in the little things others may not find...

Dandelion's are considered a nuisance, but I can see the beauty in these little weeds...the colors, the lightness of the seeds floating through the air! I always try to see beauty in everything...after all God created them for a reason!

I love the vibrant hue of this flower, the pedals look like tiny bells...you can almost hear them ringing!

Now that it is getting warmer and the flowers and trees are starting to bloom...I hope to have more photos posted on here!

Have a beautiful day!



Photography Composition

Sorry it's been so quiet around here, I haven't taken many photos...but I signed up for Kent Weakley's Photography Composition eClass that starts in March 18th, so I promise there will be more posting and photos on here!

Spring has finally started peeking out from behind the gloom of Winter and that means lots of photos are going to be taken! I need to get out of this photo funk that Winter has put me in and get to shooting!

So if you haven't already, you should sign up for this class...trust me, you won't regret it!

Take care and I promise to be back soon!!!!

Meg

Candid Moments...

Yesterday was perfect...all of the snow has melted away, the sun was out and the sky was amazing...

After dinner, we enjoyed being outside in the almost 75 degree weather!

Here are a couple candid shots I took of the girls yesterday evening as the sun went down...

Ragan really wanted to finish her book!

I hope this evening will be just as lovely and that your weekend will be as well!

Shooting the Moon!

No, I'm not doing what you think I'm doing...you silly goose!

The final "assignment" in Kent Weakley's Night Photography eClass was to photograph to moon, so here are my shots...

ISO 100 Aperture f/11 Shutter Speed 1/25

6:00PM

ISO 100 Aperture f/8.0 Shutter Speed 1/50

6:01PM

ISO 100 Aperture f/11 Shutter Speed 1/100

6:28PM

ISO 100 Aperture f/5.6 Shutter Speed 0"8

6:38PM

I've really enjoyed this eClass and plan on taking more in the future...Kent really explains everything in great detail for even newbie photographers like myself to understand!



Yes, more bird photos...

The snow is falling here in Missouri and it's still hard for me to get out in this cold weather and photograph how I would like to, so I just sit inside my warm house and take photos of birds (yes, more birds) perched on my porch swing and in the trees outside my window...

Now this guy is a hard one to snap a photo of, but I got him!

And this picture cracks me up...it's like the male Cardinal is getting ready to make the moves on this female ("How you doin"?) and she's playing hard to get...just in time for Valentines Day!

I got some great goodies in the mail today...

My custom strap cover for my camera bag that I had ordered from Eclectic Whatnot...the same talented lady that made my camera strap cover...I love it! And the remote I ordered for my camera, I hope to be able to put it to use soon...dang weather!

I hope you all have a great Wednesday!

Stay warm!

Through the window...

I've been stuck in the house for a week now due to Missouri's lovely weather, so I've been taking photos of the birds outside my window in my living room...these aren't the best quality since they were taken through the window, but they will do!

I must be getting old, because I could just sit in my living room and watch these birds all day long (oh wait, I do!) I've counted over 6 different types of birds...Yellow Finches, Cardinals, Nut Hatchers, Chickadees, Blue Jays and what I think was an Eastern Bluebird!

Also, yesterday while I was editing some photos upstairs in the office I kept hearing a tapping sound on the window...I turned to see what was making that sound and this is what I found...

He stayed there for about 10 minutes, every once in awhile looking in at me like he expected me to let him inside!

He looks like he might be upset with me in this photo...you can almost see his tiny little middle finger aimed right at the camera! HA!

I can't wait until Spring when I can go outside and take photos of all the blooming flowers and trees and then maybe the animals won't be so grumpy!



Blue Hour take 2...

Last night I stood outside in the sub zero temp determined to get a Blue Hour shot...I couldn't get much further than the end of my sidewalk because of all the snow, but here is what I got shooting with my Canon Rebel T1i...

Time 6:22 p.m.   ISO 100   Aperture F/14    Shutter Speed 8"

West side of my home.

Time 6:25 p.m.   ISO 100  Aperture F/14   Shutter Speed 8"

North side of my home.

I really hope one of these is a Blue Hour shot...because when I came inside, my hands were bright red and frozen...it took an hour to get warmed back up!! In the "tweets" of my teacher, Kent Weakley "Frozen hands, yes, but warming up photography skills!" So true, so true!

The best of the bunch...

Whew, Blue Hour is a lot harder to capture than I thought it would be...for those of you who have done it successfully...my hats off to you! I stood outside in freezing drizzle and hand numbing temps with my camera on my tripod ready to shoot this elusive hour, here is the best of the bunch (and that's not saying much)...

There is a lot of noise in this one, but there was more "blue" than the others!

This is a photo of the front of our home, I don't know what color you would call the sky in this photo...blue/grey hour???

Now I am determined to get the perfect blue hour shot, even if that means I freeze my butt of trying!

Beauty is pain, right? Or does that just apply to your personal appearance?

Stay warm everyone, we are getting ready for a blizzard here in Missouri!



The perfect day!

Today my husband and I went to Fort Scott, Kansas for a little thirfting and time to ourselves without the kiddos! We had an unexpected treat when we got there...they were having a flag raising ceremony...but not just any flag, it was the flag Patriot Flag honoring the fallen on September 11, 2001...it was a very emotional ceremony...

There were Civil War reenactors walking around the town all day...I captured this ironic site after the ceremony...

Yes, he is on a mobile phone!

Fort Scott is such a pretty town, full of brick sidewalks...

lovely old buildings and churches...

and the weather was absolutely gorgeous...the perfect day!

This tree was in front of one of the churches...I have know idea what kind it is, but I thought the little berries were a beautiful color blue...

When we got to my mother's to pick Izzy up, this is what we found...

This is what it's all about!

On the way home from my mom's house I noticed how amazing the sunset looked, the blues, pinks and golds were so beautiful all mixed together...so I quickly pulled over along a country road, grabbed my camera and began shooting...

At first I thought I was shooting at "Blue Hour", but once I got home and started Part One of the Blue Hour section of the class...I realized that if I wanted to really get a Blue Hour shot, I needed to wait another 30 minutes or so! Well, now that I know that important information...I will put it into use and make sure to share it with all of you!

eClass talk & some new photos...

hello there!!

last night was the first official night of the eClass "Night Photography" by Kent Weakley and let me just tell you...it is awesome so far and i only expect it to get better! Kent explains things so well, with so much detail...it's perfect for someone like me...a beginner! i will defiantly be taking more of his courses in the future! tonight i start to learn about "Blue Hour" and i am pretty excited about it!

yesterday the sun came out and it was nice enough to go outside and test out my new "Dreamy Diana Lens" from Photojojo.com, i also took a few photos just for fun using my Canon 55-250mm lens...

these were taken using the Diana F lens...i love it because you never know what you are going to get!

now i didn't take this yesterday...i sat in my very cold entryway and waited for this little guy to sit still long enough to capture a photo of him...it was 10 degrees that morning...and no, that's not my finger in front of the lens, it's out porch swing!

i took these photos just for fun with my zoom lens...

i love the cast of the shadow from the toy dino...i had to give it back to my son afterwards!

i hope all of you have a lovely Saturday...we are headed to my mother's house for the day!

hopefully i will have some "Blue Hour" photos to share soon!



an eclectic giveaway...

so, do you happen to love my camera strap cover that i bought for my birthday???? well if you do then you could win one of your very own over at one of my very favorite blogs Eclectic Whatnot...not only is she giving away a camera strap cover, but she's also giving away a Chalkboard Speech Bubble from Photojojo.com & the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson...so, if you want to win one of these...



these...

and this...

then go HERE and enter!

good luck...even though i want to win!!



i was reading...

this article in American Photo about the artist Norman Rockwell...did you know that he staged his illustrations by photographing them as part of his creative process?

that's right, this illustration of "Tattoo Artist"...

was adapted from this photo...

you can see more of his photos and vignettes in the book "Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera" , yet another book i am putting on my list!

speaking of books...i've been reading the book "Expressive Photography" by the Shutter Sisters and if you haven't read this book, it's a must...not only does it have some useful information about creating your own compelling photographic images, but it's full of inspirational stories from the "sisters" themselves, this is one sentence that stood out to me..."A view itself is not emotional on its own-it's our minds eye that translates a landscape into something that can stir our soul." i find that so true, i can look at something and find the beauty in it...like a fallen leaf, a tiny insect holding on to a flower for dear life, the way to sun looks streaming through the trees...it's all in MY minds eye and that's the beauty of photography!



what's new?

it's been cold and snowy here in Missouri and i've not been able to take as many photos as i would have liked to these past couple of weeks! we have a whole slew of birds that use our front porch as their diner everyday and every time i get my camera out to capture them...they fly away!

this is as close as i can get to a crisp photo of our visiting finches...

this was taken using my Canon Rebel T1i with a EF-S 55-250mm zoom lens and Hoya polarizing filter to cut out the glare between the 2 glass window pains...not the best, but it will do until i can actually get outside and photograph these little guys!

here is another random shot i quickly took while it was snowing the other night...

i think it looks dreamy, don't you?

starting next week i am taking a photography eClass taught by Kent Weakley on Night Photography...i am so excited to learn about Blue Hour...if you have never seen a photo taken during "the blue hour" you must...they are amazing!

oh, i forgot to tell you...i decided on a camera bag...

i thought this bag would be the most practical of the 3 choices...more room for all of my equipment that i hope to continue expanding on!

my next BIG equipment purchase will be this lens...

the Lensbaby Composer

after reading a little of my new book "Expressive Photography" by the Shutter Sisters and seeing all of the beautiful photos that were taken using this lens i have to get one!

well, i should go do my domestic duties and start dinner...have a lovely weekend!