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!

this is me...

you will learn that i do not like my photo to be taken...i've always viewed  myself differently than others do, that's why i am always the one behind the lens. i've been trying to get a better attitude about photos of myself...i know i won't always look the way i do, i will get more wrinkles, grey hair, gain weight, lose weight and change as i grow older...so i want my children to see some photos of me, not just of my favorite tree, birds or flowers...

so this is me!

camera bags?

Today was my birthday and I was lucky enough to get some birthday money...one thing I've been wanting is a new camera bag...so this is where you come in...

Okay, I need your opinion...

I am going to buy a new camera bag and I want to know which one you "love" the best (for me)...

1. Jo Totes - Rose Marigold Bag
Elegant and Sassy - Wish list item!

2. Cheeky Lime Classic Bag
Cute and Cheeky - Free Shipping!

3. *Emera Classic Canvas Camera Tote 
Simple and Chic - A little pricey though!




I also love the Kelly Moore Bags and ONA Bags {ONA bags are crazy expensive, but absolutely beautiful!}




Okay, you're up...which one do you think??

Thanks for your help!

Meg

awards, new gear & new photo...

the computer i usually use died on me a couple days ago, so my husband fixed my old one for me to use until we buy a new computer next month...any suggestions from my photography blog friends on the best computer for multi-media stuff, besides the obvious Mac?

this is the weekend before my birthday, which according to my husband is "my birthday weekend" i've been spoiled beyond belief with gifts...i got the canon speedlite flash i had on my wish list along with a new compact printer with paper...then last night we went to dinner and stopped in to barnes & noble and i bought a couple new books, "expressive photography" by the shutter sisters & "exposure" by jeff revell...i hope to learn more about my passion reading these books!

this weekend i was also awarded my first blog award for my new blog from  http://www.abrilliantmelody.com/, she awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award!
the "rules" for winning this award means, I have to do the following things:

• Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Give the award to 15 recently discovered bloggers.
• Contact these bloggers to tell them about the award.

i am not good at this, but i will share some random facts about myself:

i am terrified of spiders, but i think spider webs are beautiful!

i have a little girl crush on emma stone

i have a boy crush on stephen colbert

i would rather take photos of nature than of people

my mom is my hero!

i secretly think i am not good enough for my husband....shhhh don't tell him that!

i worked as an orthodontic assistant for 13 years before i was a SAHM!

Now...15 recently discovered bloggers...geez, everyone I've discovered lately deserves this award...i guess i didn't play by the rules, but it's true!

thank you Breanna, i truly appreciate this award...it helped make my "birthday weekend" even more special!

i also wanted to share the latest photo i took...

he was about to get a waffle my husband threw out!

Meg

 

isn't it dreamy?

My birthday is in a week and i just treated myself to something that I've had on my wish list for awhile...

The Dreamy Diana Lens from Photojojo.com

i can't wait to try this out, i love the look of photos taken using Diana Camera's and this lens should give me the same effect as the real thing...that soft, dreamy, unpredictable look full of color!

Meg



first snow of 2011...

and it's just the beginning!

Meg

photos of the past...

Here are a few random photos I've taken over the past couple years...

Nature is definitely my muse!

Meg



here i go...

I have always had a passion for photography, I love taking photos of my family, children and nature...in 2011 I am going to pursue my passion, read books, take courses and keep on clicking until I get where I want to be, but I will always think of myself not as a photographer, but just a mom with a camera!

Follow me in my journey, this blog will be full of photos...photos I've taken, photos that inspire me and maybe even a couple of photos taken by my children (those should be fun to see)!

I'll be back soon!
Meg