Borrow Lenses Camera Giveaway

Click on the link below for a chance to win a Sony a7R (body only), Nikon Df (body only), or a Canon 6D (with a Canon 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM AF Lens). Get 10 friends to sign up and you'll be entered to win one of many bonus prizes available as well.

This link gives me credit for sending you and the possibility of winning one of the bonus prizes.

Good luck!

http://bit.ly/1bLeH0D

Friday Photo

I've really dropped the ball again with posting. I have taken a number of photos but not as many as I had planned on when I got the new camera. Life just keeps getting in the way. Anyway, just in case anyone happens by, here are a couple of new pictures I decided to use for Friday Photo.

This picture is actually from last week. I took some photos of my granddaughter, Sarah Grace, before she left for school the morning after we celebrated her 16th birthday. I loved her shoes, specifically the color and took this shot of them. I did do a slight color boost but that's the only edit made.

And just so you can see how lovely Sarah is, here is one of the photos I took of her.

This one is unedited.

Friday Photo

I am displaying another group of older photos this week, even though I did manage to take some pictures this week. I just haven't had the time to sort through them to see what I might use and honestly, most of them were taken in a dark restaurant at a luncheon I attended and the quality is probably not the greatest. Good memory photos but not great photography, poor lighting, people with eyes half open, blurred faces, you get the drift. I know a couple of them turned out okay but I'll leave them for another day.

Here are some closeups of flowers I took in Tennessee back in May. You can tell that it was already hot and humid and that the flowers were beginning to suffer from the harsh summer weather. All of these were in a bed at a nursing home where mom and I visited with my cousin's wife who had a bad stroke a couple of years ago and will probably never leave the home. At least she is in a nice environment and well cared for.

Friday Photo

My original intent when I started this series of posts called Friday Photo, was to post a picture or pictures from something I had taken the week of the post. Unfortunately, I haven't always been able to do as I intended. Unfortunate because that means I'm not taking pictures as often as I would like and therefore not getting the practice in with the new camera. I hope to do better in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here is a picture I took back in May on my trip to Tennessee with my mother. I've posted pictures of the old Forbus General Store a few times on my blog but this one was taken with the new camera. I'm putting two versions of the photo on here today. The Forbus General Store has been photographed by some well-known, read much better photographers than me, and published in some fancy magazines. You can generally find a table full of local fellows playing a card game called Pig.

This version was edited to slightly lighten and sharpen.

 

I ran a quick retro action on this version of the same photo. When I visit the area where my mother grew up, it seems as though I'm traveling back a bit in time. Although they have all the modern conveniences of the rest of the world in this area, things are a bit slower paced and gives the feel of bygone days. 

It's a beautiful area with much to see and experience if you enjoy mountains, scenery, fishing, boating and photography. Dale Hollow Lake is nearby as well as several parks and recreation areas, both on the Tennessee side and across the state line in Kentucky. I know for a fact that some of the best people in the world have called this area home.

Friday Photo (on Tuesday)

This is the photo I wanted to post on Friday but life got in the way and I forgot about it until today. This 'tricycle' sits across the street from my house, holding a potted plant in a beautifully landscaped area of my neighbor's yard.

Friday Photo

This week I chose to post pictures of some of my wind chimes. I like wind chimes but I'm picky about what I will hang. I've had the three pictured here for several years. All of these were taken with the new 70-300 lens and again, they aren't necessarily great photos by any stretch of the imagination but I'm still learning the camera and playing with the lens.

I am mostly shooting on auto but do sometimes switch to manual and adjust the settings. I need to practice more but it is so hot and I committed to participating in an exercise / movement group this month and by the time I finish with that, I'm tired and it is scorching hot. The motto in that group is no excuses and I guess I need to make that same commitment to shooting pictures. I need to get up earlier and find some good locations to catch the early morning sun. There are several really neat places and older houses in this area that I could photograph. I just need to get out and do it.

I like the bokeh effect on each of the first two pictures. It comes from the lens. 

This chime gives off a soft, joyful metallic tone. 

 I love the colors of this chime. It has a delicate, tinkling sound when the butterfly isn't stuck inside the bell.

I guess I need to set it free!

 

Although this isn't a beautiful wind chime, I love the woody tones it gives off when the breeze catches it just right and causes it to sway back and forth. Each of the different sizes of hollowed out wood gives off a different tone and I find it soothing to listen to. I don't like loud, clanging chimes so this one is perfect for me!

Friday Photo

I can't believe I've already purchased another new lens. I got a 70-300 Telephoto lens that I've been playing with a bit. I got a really good deal on the price at Amazon and with a credit from a gift card I had there it just seemed like the thing to do. I'm posting a couple of shots I took the day I got the lens, nothing special as I didn't even leave my yard that day.

The first picture is of a house across the street from where I live that I've always loved. I like the style, the color, the landscaping... there's not much about it that I don't like. It's hard to believe how close the house looks in the photo, knowing where I stood to take it. I can't wait to get a chance to use this lens at one of the bayous or at the Wildlife Refuge. I would love to get a shot of a gator that looks close up without actually having to be close up!

This picture is of a little figure that sits near my front door. While this isn't really a great photo by any stretch of the imagination, I like the bokeh the lens produced here. It gives me hope that I might capture some really good shots with this lens if I just keep trying. 

Friday Photo

Ginger and I made a trip to our local Wildlife and Refuge Center at Black Bayou this week. It's one of my favorite places to go. It's hot out there right now and trying to get there when the light is right for taking pictures is hard for me. It's not that far away, but nothing is a straight route in Louisiana. Most roads wind and meander around rivers, bayous and creeks. Very little is laid out in neat squares like you see in the Midwest, where I originally hail from.

My friend Margaret and I used to eat lunch there when we were still working and before she passed away from cancer. It was the most peaceful place to be and we saw lots of wildlife and plenty of the natural, swampy snake and gator infested waters of our area. We also stopped at a couple of other locations along Bayou Desiard for some shots. Not surprisingly, I chose pictures from that outing to post for today's Friday Photo.

 

This first picture is of Ginger sitting on one of the benches on the pier where Margaret and I used to have lunch. We saw several boaters and some fishermen (and women) while we walked the pier. I encouraged her to jump up so I could get pictures of her and liked this one where she is reacting to the sun in her eyes.

 

This is a picture of the arboretum, which sits near the Learning and Welcome Centers. I just think it is a neat structure. There are so many talented photographers in our area who take pictures here that I feel what I'm posting doesn't do justice to what's there.

 

This picture was taken on Bayou Desiard behind the CenturyLink building where I used to work before I retired at the end of 2003. It was CenturyTel back then. I used to walk this road back to the Wildlife and Fisheries buildings on the other side of the bayou for exercise or as a getaway from office routine. 

This young man, along with some other people who I assume were family members or friends, told me he was fishing for whatever he could catch. He said the only thing he had caught up to that point was a turtle, which he released. There were always lots of turtles in the water and sunning on the stones that braced the embankment for this small bridge when I walked down this road a few years ago. 

It's not uncommon to see fishermen (and women) along the roadsides here, fishing in the bayous or even seining the ditches for crawfish when they are in season. I've had some wonderful conversations with a few of those people, most of whom were very pleasant and interesting. I certainly enjoyed talking with this gentleman and his group today.

Friday Photo

I chose this photo that I took with my iPhone for this week's Friday Photo. One of my neighbors actually grows this pretty little garden on the outside of his fence near the road. I assume he does that since his back yard is quite shady most of the day and this location would get a lot more sun, necessary for growth. I've tried my hand at gardening a few times, but never achieved anything close to this. I think I'll ask Mutt for advice next year.

Friday Photo

I chose the following pictures from my annual Memorial Day trip with my mother to visit the grave sites of our family. Over the years, the trip has taken on a much slower pace with mom often sitting in the car while I walk to the markers of family members to place flowers and take pictures. I leave Louisiana and head to Muncie, Indiana, where I grew up and we visit cemeteries there to decorate my dad's grave, my step-father's grave, my Dad's parents grave site, and the sites where her two sisters are buried. The Friday before Memorial Day, mom and I load the car and head south to Tennessee where she grew up and many of her ancestors and family members are buried. We visit several cemeteries there. The two pictures I chose are from that trip. The first one was taken at the cemetery where her parents, four of her adult siblings and two siblings that died early, one at a young age from illness, the other at childbirth along with my grandmother are all buried.

I swallowed hard as I took a series of pictures of mom walking the row where most of her family members are buried as she is the last remaining member of her generation. I wondered what she was thinking and how hard it must be to be the one left behind.

This picture has meaning to me as the woman pictured with my mother, the widow of one of my cousins, had a really bad stroke a couple of years ago and suffered serious damage as a result. She and mom were close years ago and always liked to visit when they got together later on. Rae always recognizes mom and finds a way to communicate, by nodding or pointing until we are able to determine what she is trying to tell us. Rae's son brought her to the cemetery on Sunday, but this picture was taken when we visited Rae at the nursing home on Monday. She had us take her outside where she and mom carried on a long "conversation".

This trip means a lot to me but I'm not sure whether we'll be able to make it again. It's hard for mom and very tiring but she manages well despite the infirmities of her age and likes visiting the family still in the area. 

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.

The Photographic Dictionary

I suppose each of us could create our own photographic dictionary or at least do occasional blog entries of this type if we were so inclined.

The link came to me in my Photojo newsletter.


Has inspiration walked out on you? Is your gray matter a bit too gray these days? Maybe you need a kick in the creative behindus.

The Photographic Dictionary pairs photos with definitions of words, but this isn’t your bog standard A-is-for-Apple dictionary.


The Photographic Dictionary

I certainly qualify as someone who needs a kick in the creative behindus!

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset Silhouette

Sunset On Hernando Beach, Spring Hill, Florida
you can view a larger version of this file by clicking on the photo and accessing it through my flickr account

I took this picture on the beach at sunset on Sunday, December 28, 2008, the day after we arrived at my daughter's house in Florida. We barely made it there in time to get pictures before the sun disappeared completely. The photo was edited in Paint Shop Pro to enhance the color and create the silhouette effect. I love silhouettes.

We saw several dolphins near the shore shortly after this picture was taken but I wasn't able to get through the throng of people in time to get a clear photo of them.

Check out Wordless Wednesday to see a list of all participants in this weekly meme.

Another Photo Booth Post

Here is another photo booth strip I made from pictures taken at my daughter's house in Florida this past week. The bottom two were taken in "Kayla's Photo Booth" that we made at the end of their hallway by hanging a blanket to create the background. The other two pictures were taken elsewhere or at different times during my visit and I included them in this strip because I thought Kayla would like them.

The top photo in the strip is Kayla with her older sister Anna on Kayla's birthday. The next one is of Luger, their 'puppy'. Kayla loves Luger! Once we started taking pictures for her photo booth strips, Kayla decided she wanted to take a picture of me. I helped her a little but she had to make sure I was in the frame before she clicked the button. She did a pretty darn good job! The tripod helped both of us as I used the optic zoom to make sure we got closeups. Don't ya just love my hair... I didn't expect to be in the pictures and didn't think to run a comb through my hair before I turned the camera over to her! I had fun hamming it up though! I also tried using the timer and I got one really good picture of her alone using the timer when I experimented with it but I managed to change the setting when I tried to get into the picture with her and only had two seconds to get in. I only caught part of one of my arms and part of my chin... too funny! It will be good for out-takes if I ever put together an album of these pictures though! I love the pose Kayla struck in the last picture. She is a natural and we had a great time together doing this. Our photo booth session will be a special memory for me from this trip!

I wanted to see how the black and white would look against the color version. I'm not very happy with the noise I added to make it look more like an old photo strip. I didn't get the effect I was after with that but was too tired of messing with it to change it. I still need to do a final version of the strips to print out and send to her so I'll make corrections then. I will probably do both color and black and white to send her.

I will do my best this week to write up instructions on placing the pictures in the strip for those who asked.

The template I used for the photo strip was downloaded from the web. I failed to give credit for it in the last post but here is where you can get the strip if you decide you want to do this project someday.

Nicole Seitler
www.SugarplumPaperie.com

The zip file has both a black and a white strip available and is a free download.

Photography Tips

I am an email freak. Since the day I first found the great big WWW, I have been a hard-core email user. From that point and to this day I joined multiple groups covering such varied interests as computer technology, crime (yes, I said crime), digital graphics, genealogy, humor, faith and inspiration, writing and of course photography. My involvement led me to sign up for multiple newsletters that I receive via email. Each and every day of my life, I handle on an average better than 200 emails a day from those various sources as well as the personal email from friends and family. When I started this blog, my email increased based on the activity level of the site.

Today, one of my photography newsletters contained some helpful hints. I loved them. They were written by plain ol' people like me who shoot for fun who were willing to share their best thoughts on taking good photos.

Here are a few of my favorite tips:

Take the lens cap off!
Take your camera with you!
Shoot only in raw format!
Master shooting in jpg format and NEVER shoot in raw!
It's the archer not the arrow!
Think before you press the shutter!
Do you really want a picture of this?
It's not the camera!
Never stop learning!

There were many more tips, far more technical than the ones I've listed, but I think I will keep working to master these first! especially the one about taking the lens cap off!!!

On His Way

John loaded up the last couple of days and headed out permanently for his new home just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. He was here the last couple of weeks visiting, shopping, packing and getting whupped by his momma in Trivial Pursuit (although he did make mincemeat of me a couple of times). We both drove over to Bossier City last week, John to hit the boats and visit with Dee and her girls while I went to visit and finish my interview / photo session with Sarah.

Dee and the girls, along with Emily's friend Dustin, drove over here late Monday and stayed until Wednesday afternoon in order to spend more time with John before he got gone. We took a few photos in front of the trailer John rented to move the items he decided to take with him to Missouri. He still has his house here and left a good bit behind as he hopes to be able to transfer back to the area at some point. If that doesn't happen according to his plans he will deal with how to handle the rest of his stuff and sell his home later. Thankfully, he put himself in a good position to have some options as this is a bad time to try to sell a home in this area, like much of the country right now.

So Ginger, Woody K. and I are on our own again and the house just always seems so quiet after everyone has come and gone.

Here's a couple of pictures from Wednesday right before Dee and her brood headed back to Bossier. One is of Dee and her girls and John holding Erin's dog Bijou and the other is of the girls and uncle (which is how John is known in our family, not Uncle John, but simply uncle) along with Dustin, who turned out to be a big help for John in getting some of the heavier items out and into the trailer. Not great photos but certainly a record of memories for our family.





We miss you already John!

In The Meantime

Sorry for the delay in posting Sarah's interview but I have been fighting a horrible headache all day long. It's after 4pm and I am just now getting on the computer for the first time today which is unheard of at my house. I'm sure it's allergy related, most of my headaches are. Every once in a while one of them will get out of control and zap me for a day or so. Hopefully, this one will not last that long as it finally seems to be ebbing a bit.

Unfortunately, today is also John's birthday and I just don't feel like doing much for him. We did have a cake for him at Dee's on Wednesday night but I still wanted to do something nice for him today. Perhaps I can do something tomorrow.

Here is a picture I took of Sarah yesterday morning after we got back from our photo session in the park where we turned into a couple of sweaty and miserably hot gals very quickly. She's happy in this photo because she is resting in the comfort of air conditioning. I was also smiling behind the lens as well, thankful to be out of the heat even though I was still dripping wet... there's nothing like the deep south in the summer months. It's unbearable sometimes even for those who love the heat.

Wordless Wednesday - May 13, 2008

(click on photo to see a larger version)

One of my favorite restaurants in Monroe is the Warehouse No. 1, which locals refer to simply as the Warehouse. It sits on the Ouachita River and serves wonderful steaks and seafood. It is exactly what the name implies, a converted warehouse. I took this picture over 20 years ago with my old Olympus 35m film camera shortly after I got the camera. The drive is not accessible to the public. I climbed over a restraint to get to the point where I set up the shot.

I just recently scanned this photo and one other black and white shot I took at the same time of the railroad bridge, which is one of the bridges in the background, in to my computer.

If you're ever in Monroe, Louisiana and are looking for a really good place to eat, I highly recommend the Warehouse.

As for Wordless Wednesday, I'm sorry, I just don't think it is in me to be wordless!

To learn more about Wordless Wednesday, and find the blogroll of others who are participating in Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Finally

I think I finally have something close to what I was after!



This was the look I was after.



A simple crop and a border frame is all I needed to finish it off!