Focusing on Focus

This week, I took my photography practice to my house and really decided to focus on focusing. There are so many things going on when I take pictures, that I sometimes forget to focus on what I am supposed to focus on especially when I am shoting on really fast events like a confirmation or a first communion. So, here it goes. I really like this picture:

Her new crown is coming into view very well. But, her feathers being out of focus are a bit distracting. I really needed to select a smaller aperature in this situation to make her entire body in focus. I thought I had this picture well focused when I took it:

But, when I looked at it, her eyes weren't in focus, it was more of her beak. Ugg.. I thought this picture was pretty well in focused:

Especially given her distance from me. I had to take several shots with this set up because my camera wanted focus on the trees around the duck. I will keep trying and keep working. Someday, I will get this photography art almost down.

Summer Time means time with my camera

The hustle and the bustle of my semester at ASU is over, so it is time to start working on my photography again. I have had several situations over the last few weeks that I had to take pictures - a first communion, a confirmation, and a recital. But, it is time for me to start working on the basics of photography again. How an adjustment in shutterspeed can change a picture. How white balance can totally affect a picture. It's time for me to enjoy taking pictures again. So, as usual, into the woods I go. The only issue with working with pictures on a hike is that you aren't really focusing on shutterspeed, but it is a time for me to practice some of the other parts of photography. So, my goal this summer is to keep this blog active at least weekly and to read at least one article about photography a day and put the ideas of that article into practice. Let's see how this goes.....

Zoo time!!

For my birthday this year, and since it was a big one, I asked a few friends to come with me to the zoo. I brought along my camera, thinking it would be a good place to practice my skills. Being lazy, and honestly not thinking about the situation, I brought the wrong lens. I brought my 18-55 zoom lens, which for as far back as the zoo has the animals (or you could think of it as to keep the people away from the animals), it was simply the wrong lens. The focal length was much too short, but I figured I would work with aperture and shutterspeed. I finally got looking at the pictures today (we went on Saturday) and I was very surprised to find that with a little bit of cropping, the pictures were actually half way decent. I am learning more and more, you can't just take a picture - you have to compose it. You have to think every step through - aperature, ISO, shutterspeed, exposure control, and make sure you focus the picture. I am trying to think more carefully and get faster at working through all of those steps.

Merry Christmas From A Small Town

I am blessed to live in a small town that really celebrates the holidays. The town decorates from top to bottom and celebrates with a huge street festival the first weekend in December. I love walking up and down the streets and looking at all of the little shops that decorate their windows. I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Take a lot of pictures as each and every moment is precious.

Taking a walk in the woods

Hiking is one of my favorite past times. Besides walking the dog, I try to take a weekly hike of a couple of miles. Sometimes, it is clearly for exercise - I move as fast as a I can. Other times, I need a break from work and family and I go out to quiet my brain. During those times, I really try to pay attention to what is around me and be thankful to live where I live. The mountains of northwestern North Carolina is one of the prettiest places on the planet and I try to represent their beauty the best I can. I stop and change angles and really observe the world around me. And sometimes the dog allows me to, where other times, he keeps me going. So, I challenge you, on your next walk, to really pay attention. What is something you have seen on your last walk that you have never seen before?

How can that be beautiful?

At my house, we have lots of animals.... 1 dog, 1 goldfish, 10 ducks, and 12 chickens to be exact. So, in taking this photography class, when I needed a subject, I often used them. They didn't complain (well, Red, my dog did a lot - he hates when I take his picture.) The chickens often were very curious what was going on, and the ducks, well, were the ducks, and continued on with their life of quacking and complaining about everything. It's amazing what happens when you changed the ISO, shutterspeed, apperature, or the white balance of a picture. Things change dramatically. You can see details in these animals that aren't normally visual to the human eye. You can see their eyes wide open, or the simmer of light bouncing off of their feathers. After I started looking at these pictures, I couldn't believe. So, the next time you are hanging out with your favorite animal, don't be afraid to pull out your camera and start taking some pictures. Change some things up and you never know what you will find.

Why photography?

Growing up, I always have had an interest in taking pictures. But, being a teenager in the 1990's, photography was expensive. It was not just buying the film, but them developing the film to realize that you had no good pictures. I had a basic 110 film camera, but my mother had a Canon. Every so often, she would hand to me, and I would enjoy the control I had with it. As I got older, the love of photography grew. I enjoyed the opportunity to tell a story - either my story or someone else's story. I started taking pictures for various organizations that I was involved in. I was happy with my pictures - most of the time. But, I knew I could do better and I was holding my camera back. So, I took a class. Now, at the end of the semester, I have a time to reflect on that semester and how I have grown. I still have a long way to go, but I believe I gotten a little more control of that piece of technology that can help me tell my story and the story of those who have asked me to tell theirs.