Friday Photo

My second granddaughter, Emily, graduated from high school last week. I spent Friday night with my daughter's family so I wouldn't have to drive over so early Saturday morning for the ceremony. Since I was there, I was able to go with her and her mother to feed horses at the stable of a friend who was out of town. Emily plans to work with horses / animals after she graduates from college and since I took senior pictures of her at this same farm last fall, I felt it was appropriate to include these pictures. 

This photo leaves a bit to be desired as far as composition but I liked how the horse had kicked up the dust as he entered the stable to be fed. I like the action.

and last but certainly not least,  my granddaughter receiving her diploma. I didn't get as good a shot as I thought I would but I did get a far better shot of Emily than I got of her sister Erin last year with my old equipment. And after having the camera and lens for less than a week, I quickly realized that I really need a more powerful zoom for this shot. Maybe by the time youngest sister Sarah graduates from high school in two years, I will have added one to my gear. I'm proud of you Emily. Love you!

All of these photos are SOOC (unedited).

Friday Photo

I have a new camera... one with bells and whistles and really much more camera than I am comfortable handling at this point. I decided that as part of my effort to learn to operate the camera to the best of my ability, I would start posting at least one picture a week here on this poor old, sadly neglected blog.

I just got the camera on Wednesday. It is a Canon EOS 60D and I have two lens. The kit lens that came with the camera (15-135mm) and I purchased a 50mm lens. I opted for the 1.8 as opposed to the 1.4 because of the cost difference. If I were more serious about photography or thinking about a more professional quality I would have gone with the 1.4 as it would give me far better use and more control of available light. The 50mm will let me take portrait type pictures which is what I typically shoot. Since the camera is not a professional level camera, I think the compromise in lens quality is a realistic one. The zoom lens that came with the camera will be very helpful to me tomorrow when my granddaughter Emily walks across the stage to get her high school diploma. She won't look like she's ten miles away like her sister did last year in the photos I took with my old camera. I just hope I'm up to the task and that the lighting isn't so bad that it won't matter.

So obviously, I chose Ginger as my first subject since she was the only one available to me. I hope to have a decent picture of two of Emily and the other girls that I can choose from for next week.