Lens Flare can be Your Friend

I love lens flare. Sounds odd....I know. But I can't help but love that warm sunset glow while shooting into the setting sun and getting a cool lens flare. Sometimes it works in a photo, sometimes it doesn't - but that's the fun, freedom, and inexpensiveness of going digital. It doesn't cost anything to experiment! Here are a couple lens flares that went right, IMHO - what do you think?

Accidents can be Good!

Sometimes, accidents can be a good thing. I was going through the treasure trove of old shots I have archived on my trusty laptop and (choke) deleting old junk, stuff I don't like, blurry shots....wait a sec. Maybe some of these blurry shots aren't so bad?
I pride myself with having a pretty steady shooting stance, for the most part. I haven't noticed a big issue with camera blur/shake. Of course, my Nikon VR lenses help a great deal, too. Sometimes though, you get a blurry shake, like this one. Once I cleaned it up in Elements and played with the colors, I realized...it wasn't too bad. It actually looked kinda artsy....what do you think?

Learning more in Photoshop

So I've continued to learn learn learn what I can with Photoshop. I've read a few books, become a huge fan of Scott Kelby (he is a Photoshop god) and gotten advice from Violet. I don't think I'll ever be all that great with it. I can color correct and improve a photo from the camera, but I don't have a lot of artistic creativity beyond that. Maybe time will help me improve.

Here we have a before and after from our recent trip to San Antonio. This is a really neat stone and brick arched walkway that we found while walking to the Alamo. Here is what I did for the before to get to after. I created a new layer so I wasn't working on my orig. background (sometimes I screw up so bad I'm glad I do that - this way I can always revert back to my original starting point). From there I added an adjustment layer for Levels, and tweaked around with the levels setting. Then I did adjust color, and brightness/contrast. Lastly I used Auto Sharpen (sometimes this works, sometimes I have to go back and tweak it, this time I didn't.) Lastly I add the layer with the brush stamp logo and lower the opacity so it's not so bright. I love the adjustment layer for Levels - it's amazing how much detail and highlights you can get back even if you are over-exposed.
What do you think?

The Little House Next Door

Nope, it's not a centuries-old castle in Ireland - it is the house next door to the farm where I board my horse! I've been lazy about stopping to actually photograph the castle for awhile now, and I stopped to do it the other day just to test a few things w/my camera. I know the sky is a tad blown out, but I couldn't resist posting this anyway....and look closely at the lower right corner of the house. Can you see the deer grazing?

A Reluctant Model but a Great Shootsac!

I have to compliment Jeff – he is being a very supportive hubby while I am learning photography. He willingly agrees to go along on “outings” and waits patiently (most of the time) while I get lost behind the lens. It’s nice to know that I have him watching my back, so to speak – sometimes I zone out so much I would never notice any immediate threats in the area! Often I pull back from the lens and think “did I lose Jeff?” only to find him sitting on whatever is nearby, waiting tolerantly for his wife to get done playing with her camera.

On our recent outing in San Antonio, Texas, something happened that really surprised me. Jeff started taking pictures, demanding I stand in certain spots, and has even mastered the basic functions of my camera. I hate having pictures taken of myself. I always have, and always will. I have to admit, though – I think he got a nice one here. You can even see me sporting my new Shootsac!

I’ve gone through a learning process when it comes to camera bags. My first was a backpack, great for camping/hiking, right? Nope. It was a pain in the back, literally, and also really inconvenient to have to take the backpack off to swap out lenses. On to bag #2, a Swiss-tech messenger-style with lots of padding. Is it great for keeping everything safe, fitting everything I might possibly need, and good for travel? Yes. But it’s heavy, unwieldy the way it hangs (shoulder strap not long enough) and still not convenient enough for quick-swap lens changes, and nowhere to put my always required bottle of water. I researched, researched, researched online, and saw lots of interesting and neat options. But what’s a girl to do that loves to pretend that she’s fashionable? Certainly not wear a fanny-pack style camera bag (especially not with being as pleasantly plump as I am) or wear a dorky photographer vest w/all those pockets. Been there, don’t want to do that again with a backpack….and then I found Jessica Claire’s website www.shootsac.com with the awesome Shootsac!

At first I couldn’t believe my eyes – a bag that could hold what I needed, perform like I wanted, all while looking stylish and not screaming “camera bag, come and rob me!” Yep. I spent a long while trying to decide what cover I wanted (I had it narrowed down to Festive, Lively, or Effervescent) and went with Effervescent. Just had to have a touch of pink there, and it’s elegant and classy. Jeff likes the fact that I can flip the cover over to the boring black side when he is forced into the “honey hold my bag”. Our trip to San Antonio was my first real outing with my bag – amazing! I wore it all day, had it loaded w/crap (lenses, batteries, wallet, bottle of water) and even had my hoodie draped over it when it got warm, and still didn’t have any back pain! I can also say I have mastered the art of the quick swap lens change now with my bag (hint, cradle the camera body in the crook of your elbow against your body).

Although I hate to be a model, I think I look pretty cute w/my new Shootsac!

(I sound like a commercial, don’t I – LOL!)

Photoshop is Amazing!

I am amazed at how much can be done in Photoshop - the opportunities and ideas are as endless as the human imagination. I have read 3 or 4 books now and spend countless hours just "playing around" learning by trial and error to see what I can come up with. I've learned the barest basics to "fix" general things in photos, such as levels, contrast, sharpening, etc. I have learned to clone stamp, brush, heal - and even made a custom brush thanks to Violet's tutelage. Photoshop Elements 7 is an amazing tool. No, it's not the full-out $700 Photoshop, but it really can do a LOT of the same things, sometimes in a little bit different way. I also think it's a little more user-friendly than the "big gun" Photoshop. The only thing I have found that I can't do in Elements is record an Action, which is akin to recording a macro in excel. It's a quick and easy way to quickly run through steps that you repeatedly do over and over again. The cool thing is, I can run Actions in Elements (created by others), I just can't create my own. Not a big deal, considering I still really have no idea what I am doing anyway.
Today I was playing with some old flower photos from this past summer when I first got the camera and I stumbled across this "reverse black and white" thing....and I can't seem to figure out how I got to that in the first place, but look what I was able to create! I thought it was pretty darn cool. Now if I could only remember how I did it.....back to the drawing board!

Medieval Times Humbled Me

Recently I had the opportunity to attend Medieval Times with my friend Tiana and her family. I’ve seen some stunning photos that Violet has taken there (www.fireandearthphoto.com) so I decided to bring the camera along and see what I could do. Of course before going I consulted w/Violet – who in her wisdom gave me many suggestions regarding ISO, speed, and aperture, and encouraged me to focus on light colored horses or stationary objects.
What a learning experience! I quickly figured out that it was a really really difficult situation to shoot in, and my inexperience sure shone thru. I had such a tough time in this low light, rapid moving environment. Almost everything I took came out blurry, or dark – I have to admit, I got pretty frustrated. I experimented with different settings, and managed to get just a couple pics I thought were decent. I like the one of the knights – thought the perspective was cool. I had some others that were “almost” good enough – but no matter what I just couldn’t get happy with them in Photoshop.
In the end, I gave up about halfway through the show, put the camera away, and enjoyed my dinner. Probably a good idea – would have gotten chicken all over the camera  anyway. I’ll have to re-visit this at a later date when my skills are more up to par, or I have Violet sitting next to me making suggestions!

A Boy and His Dog

The bond between my husband and his dog Kramer never ceases to amaze me. Originally when we looked at puppies, it was because of my insistence that I wanted another “baby.” Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. It was love at first sight for Jeff and Kramer. Kramer has grown into a wonderful dog (it only took two years, lol!)and he only has two things in his doggie life that he cares about – “Daddy Home” and “Daddy Gone”. Everything else is just passing the time. When Jeff is home, he only has eyes for him (unless I am eating – food trumps Daddy) and he follows Jeff wherever he goes. Jeff has a little 12# shadow at all times.

One of the most touching things in their relationship is the bedtime routine. Kramer waits patiently in bed while Jeff gets ready, bushes his teeth, and changes into PJ’s. When Jeff comes to bed, he scoops Kramer up, flips him over, and puts him on his back, belly-up. Most dogs would be uncomfortable with this vulnerable position, but not Kramer. He goes limp, completely relaxed, and proceeds to fall asleep in Jeff’s arms while he rubs his tummy. Jeff sleeps with Kramer cuddled up in his arms like a little stuffed animal!

Reluctant as Jeff is to be a regular photography model, I managed to snap this one and thought it captured the moment so profusely, I had to share it. I really think it shows the bond between boy and dog. I am really proud of this photo!