Photo of the Day: September 14

ISO 800, f/11, 1/30s, 18-55mm lens on Nikon D40 w/10x macro filter, Kim Klassen's Warm Sun & Love textures applied

Doug and the kids came across this crazy-looking caterpillar this afternoon.  After checking him out for a while and doing a little research, I learned that it is a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar in its final larval stage - ready to pupate.  So we're keeping it until it becomes a butterfly.  I just love to watch nature in action!  And if I can't find any Monarchs, I'll find something else!  :)

           

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Photo of the Day: August 11

ISO 100, f/16, 1/13s, 18-105mm lens

We took the kids to Idlewild yesterday.  We usually go in June but couldn't get there until yesterday finally.  The weather was GORGEOUS!!!  75ish degrees and mostly sunny.  Beautiful!  

This photo is of the Round Up ride.  It is one of Keira's favorites.  I typically steer clear of it, but this year Alex wanted to ride, so I rode it with him.  I was literally dizzy when I got off even though I kept my eyes shut most of the time.  :)  Alex, on the other hand, was smiling from ear to ear the entire time (according to my husband who was watching from the safety of the ground).  I thought it would be fun to use a slow shutter speed to show the motion of the ride.  I like how it turned out so I'm picking it as this week's favorite photo.

So what did I learn?  Something I already knew ... that I should have followed my instincts and shouldn't have stepped foot on the Round Up.  I won't make the same mistake next year.  :)

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I Learned ...

Courtney over at Click it Up a Notch is having a fun link up this week.  She has asked us to post a photo from when we first started shooting in manual and compare it to a recent photo.  So we can see for ourselves how much we've improved (hopefully!).  :)

I truly didn't have a clue what I was doing when I first started shooting in manual.  Sure, I read my camera's manual and had a basic understanding about proper exposure, but that was about it.  I didn't know much about anything else.


So here is a photo from just over a year ago, July 2010, when I first jumped into manual mode.  I thought I would show the SOOC version and the edited version.

In all fairness, I have learned TONS about editing since then.  And even though the above photo wasn't very good, my newly-learned editing skills have made it much better.  Still not great, but better.  And I have found that editing photos in PSE makes a much better final product than when I used to do quick edits in Picasa.

Fast forward to now.  I have played and played and practiced and practiced with photography.  I have read books/magazines, watched tutorials, and tried to absorb as much as I can from other's photos in order to learn.  My kids sometimes tire of me always having a camera hanging around my neck.  One thing I have discovered about myself is that I am so much better at photographing flowers, birds, bees, butterflies, etc. than I am at people.  But I'm still practicing.  In fact, I found a great chair at a yard sale today that would make a great prop.  It just needs a fresh coat of paint and a little glue.


Anyway, here are my more-recent photos ... SOOC and edited ...



Edited ...



You can see the newer SOOC didn't need much editing at all.  Yay me!  :)


I do need to mention that I got a newer camera since last year.  It isn't a huge upgrade, but it is definitely better than the old one.


I can't wait to see how much more I've grown in another year!

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