Happy Mothers Day!

To the one who has had to live with years worth of me saying all sorts of embarrassing things...

Happy Mothers Day Mom!...  I hope it was worth it :)

Life Laughs...

A couple weeks ago, my university bookstore was having a sidewalk sale and all the books were $2 so when I saw Jenny McCarthy's "Life Laughs" I figured I didn't have much to lose and snatched it up. 

I had heard lots of good things about her previous books on pregnancy and motherhood so I expected this one to be decent as well... but not so much.  On one hand, Jenny has had some super funny experiences and if you find anything bodily related funny (farts, poo, bad breath...) you will definitely laugh a bunch while reading this book.  But on the other hand, the topics are totally randomly strung together and she finishs off each 'chapter' with a preachy paragraph where she tries to make her embarrassing life situation into a life lesson for the reader - which if you know anything about Jenny McCarthy - is SO not genuine!  While this was a super easy read (like finished it in 2 days flat) I just don't think the easy laughs were worth it - not worth my 2 bucks and not worth my time.  Bummer!

But, I'm making my way through "The Birth House" now and am really enjoying it.  Hopefully I'll have a review of that one soon :)

12 Weeks to Better Photography: Week TEN

Whoa!  Its Week 10 already?  I've been away for a conference lately, and then laid up with a throat and ear infection, so I've been absent from the photography challenge for the last couple of weeks... but this week was all about landscapes - so I'm all in!

Taking a cue from Meredith, the host of this series, I've done some digging through some photos that I took last year on a trip to San Francisco, Monterey Bay & Big Sur and have found a few that follow the rules that Two Peas in a Bucket write about in this week's tutorial...  Here goes...

The key message of this week's lesson is that you can definitely take advantage of the fact that when taking pictures of landscapes you are outside - which means, 1 - you can boost your f/stop to help make more of the landscape in perfect focus, 2 - you can drop your ISO down to help eliminate the pesky noise and 3 - you can virtually disregard shutter speed since there shouldn't be too much movement in a landscape (however, if there was a bird moving across you landscape, you might want to up your shutter speed to be able to freeze that motion).

So, some of 2 Peas hints when photographing landscapes and some of my pics to illustrate...

2. Find a bird's eye view

Ok, this isn't the most clear picture ever (I think there was a bit of moisture in the air), but I think it illustrates the 'bird's eye view'.  I find that this hint might be the hardest to actually use because its hard to fake... unless there is a big hill or staircase nearby this hint is going to be difficult to execute.  Does anyone have any suggestions of how to fake it??

3. Locate a focal point 

I'm not certain that this is what they meant by choose a focal point, but I think that having something in the foreground of a landscape pic can really help in achieving a sense of perspective and depth in the photo... my go-to 'thing in the foreground' is a tree... but this old dead branch works too I think.

6. Play with shadows, silhouettes, and reflections 

7. Use lines to lead the eye 

10. Capture a nighttime scene

This photo was taken on a tripod and through our hotel window in San Francisco.

So just to finish up, I wanted to add my 2 cents with a couple hints of my own (and if you want to see the rest of the 2 Peas hints ... go here):

• I think that pictures of landscapes almost always look best when photographed horizontally (landscape orientation instead of portrait).  It just seems to give more perspective of the horizon...
• Don't forget about the Rule of 1/3s... keep the horizon in the bottom or top third of the photo (for example, the picture of the sailboats above would have been that much better if I had shifted down a bit and put the horizon in the top 1/3 of the picture).
• Don't be afraid to break the rules (even the rule of 1/3s)!  The picture above of Coit Tower in SF just wouldn't be as good in my opinion if I had shifted right or left to get the tower to land to one side... its ok to give your object weight and the power to draw attention toward the center of the picture...

Ok, that's enough for this week - only 2 weeks to go!!

12 Weeks to Better Photography: Week SEVEN

Ok, lets just pretend that I did Week 6 of the challenge... mmmkay? On to Week 7...

For this week's 12 Weeks to Better Photography lesson - made by Two Peas in a Bucket and hosted by Meredith - we were sent outdoors with a lesson on paying attention to the direction that your light is coming from (really only an issue on a sunny day) and also to play around with taking macro shots.  I take macro-type pictures all the time with my point and shoot but have always had a hard time using our SLR because nothing would focus properly.  It turns out that point and shoots are better for taking super close-up pictures - what didn't work so well for me is that my point and shoot is on strike lately (update: covered by warranty -YEAH!) and doesn't want to take any pictures - or show anything on the display for that matter :)

So, according to the instructions in this week's lesson, I pulled out our zoom lens, stood far enough away from the subject to be able to focus clearly (I found this to be the critical step), and then zoomed my way in to get a tighter picture.  Here's what I came up with...

Another tip in the lesson this week is that if you don't have an actual macro lens or even a decent zoom lens, you can fake a macro shot by using crop.  I tried this on the above picture and I think it looks great...

Finally, just to give some perspective, without doing a crop, I got this photo...

by zooming in on this scene...

I'm really happy I've learned a way of accomplishing with an SLR what I used to find so incredibly easy with my point and shoot...

PS... has anyone found themselves making some blunders along the way?  I feel like now that I know how to adjust white balance and aperture etc... I'm doing so, but forgetting to reset when I take the camera out the next time... Below is an example of such a blunder... I forgot to reset my white balance setting back to auto when I was taking my first batch of outside photos today... oops!

Bare with me...

I didn't get to the 12 Weeks to Better Photography challenge for the week yesterday.  I won't get to it today either.  I'm hoping to get to it later in the week though.  Until then, here's a little peak at what I've been up to for the past few days...  and there is about 50 times more where that came from :)

Yep, that's data analysis in progress!  I've been sort of re-do-ing a bunch of the data analyses for my thesis.  There is something about writing the stuff up that makes me watch to check and re-check to make sure that I've done everything correctly.  I'm about 2/3s of the way through and have about another solid day of this - but then, I'd hazard to guess that my data analysis for my dissertation is about 98% done!!!  Woot! Woot!  I'm getting there... just not much extra time for blogging this week :(

My April Wish List...

Ok, first off, I hate April Fool's Day (seriously, probably my least favorite day of the year)!  I'm too gullible to be able to get through the day without being thoroughly embarrassed.

Despite that, I have had a great time today compiling a list of things that I wouldn't mind making mine this month... Check it out...

These earrings from Stella & Dot are awesome don't you think?  At $30 they are sorta expensive for jewellry (I get most of my stuff from H&M) but I still love them!!  Do you think I can pull off the yellow gold?

I'm also in love with this camera strap - maybe it will wait until next month as a reward for completing the 12 Weeks to Better Photography challenge?

These chargers from Crate and Barrel are a steal - we'd use them as plates for outdoor BBQ-ing!

Finally, if you know me, you know my little black book that I always have attached to my hip at school - this notebook cover would look awesome right??  Its from Etsy seller DailyThreads....

My Sarah Richardson Disappointment...

If you know me, or have read any previous posts, I'm usually a HUGE fan of Sarah Richardson and have been since high school.  But, her recent farmhouse edition of Sarah's House has failed to impress me.  You've already heard about my love of white kitchens, neutral and jewel tones (hello - royal purple door) and this is usually where Sarah really excels!  Her palette for this show however feels like a complete reversal. 

While I'm trying to accept the burnt red entry room and the blue and brown bedroom, I did not love the yellow bathroom that was revealed last week...

but I get that the yellow/gray combination is hot right now so I tried to move on.

But with this week's kitchen episode I just can't turn a blind eye. 

 Yellow and gray again???  Yes, there are beautiful elements like the light fixtures, the tile and I love the bar stools, but I can't get over the yellow explosion.

Please, please, please try not to go overboard with the farm style Sarah - those of us who grew up in farmland know that the color of buttercups looks much more appealing in a field.  Let's try to branch out shall we?

In like a Lamb... Out like a ... Lamb??

You've all heard the adage - but this year, Mother Nature had other plans.  Can I just say I'm so glad that she didn't choose the alternate option?  And considering my northern geographical location - that was certainly an option :)

With the closing of March, I've gotta say that I'm so excited for the arrival of Spring and the promise of summer - which is going to mean a lot of this...

Lots of meals via this...

Some fun trips on this...

And lots of looking at this...

Mmmmmm... I love Summer!!!!

12 Weeks to Better Photography - Week FIVE

Welcome to Week 5 of the 12 Weeks to Better Photography Challenge hosted by Meredith at La Buena Vida!  

 

Last week's lesson on Flash was a bit of a bummer, but this week, the lesson was on photo composition.  The peeps at Two Peas in a Bucket gave us a list of 6 Rules of Composition and encouraged us to take or find photos that would solidify those rules.

Rule #1 - Keep it Simple -  Try to be aware of what is in the background of your picture and minimize if possible, either by removing the distraction or by reducing the depth of field with your aperture setting.

 - I find this rule to be the one I struggle with most.  I have a tendency to just whip out the camera and take a picture without really thinking about what all is going on.  While I find that I naturally follow most of the other rules without thinking about it, I'm finding that keeping the background simple requires some thought.

For example, below is a pic where I tried a new perspective (laying on the ground) and positioned Izzy according to the Rule of Thirds, but by not realizing what an eye sore that green knee pad would be, I kinda ruined the picture. 

 

Rule #2 - Rule of Thirds - Break your photo into 9 sections by visualizing two vertical and two horizontal lines.  Position the focal point of your photograph so that hits in one of the intersecting points of those lines.  Basically, in most situations, avoid placing the subject of your photo smack dab in the middle.

Rule #3 - Keep an Eye on the Horizon - In keeping with the rule of thirds, in landscape photos, align the horizon in the top 1/3 or bottom 1/3 of the photo.

This example picture is from our trip last year to the Grand Canyon.  What I really like about this photo is that by taking is vertically, we get more of a sense of the height of the canyon.  I also think having the tree in focus in the foreground helps give perspective on the size of that section of the canyon.
 

Rule #4 - Frame Your Subject - Other than keeping the picture simple, this is one that I hope to practice.  Again, it takes some thought, but look in the background, foreground to see if you can use any items to draw the viewers eye directly to your subject.  Maybe you can use linear perspective, like a fence or railway or trail of footsteps in the sand?


Rule #5 - Fill the Frame -When you want to try something other than the Rule of Thirds to draw attention toward your subject, consider filling the frame of your picture with your subject.  I find this gives the picture a sense of importance - but be careful - some people overdo this and it can look like they got crop-happy!

Another version of this picture has the full tree in the frame as well as a road sign etc... By making the snow covered branches the focus I think it makes the photo that much more compelling - plus it also follows the Keep It Simple rule :)

Rule #6 - Try a New Perspective - I love trying out this rule.  Basically, consider taking your photo from somewhere other than a standing position.  I love getting down on the floor, or putting the camera up high on a tripod.  This is especially helpful for your small subjects like pets, children and flowers...

You saw and example above, but check this one out too...

Finally, another highlight of the lesson this week is that rules are made to be broken.  I think the following is a good example of that.  The butterfly's "face" is right in the center of the photo - so it totally violates the rule, but I still think its pretty amazing.

See you next week for Lesson 6!  Woot Woot!  We are almost 1/2 way!

Are you watching Dancing with the Stars??

My last few weeks have been C-R-A-Z-Y!  So crazy in fact that I have never been so grateful for our PVR/DVR... and I've got 4 hours worth of Dancing with the Stars saved.  So today I did some catching up and I've got to tell you, I'm not impressed.  Of course, Kate Gosselin is drawing in so many viewers, but seriously?  Awkward!!  I don't think anyone has ever sucked that bad on the show! 

In fact it feels like there is such a dichotomy this season - if a team is good, they are really good - and if a team is bad, watch out because they are horrible.  I've got to say though, Pamela Anderson has me spellbound :)

 Everyone seems to be expecting Derek Hough and Nicole Scherzinger to win the mirror ball trophy...

 They are very good together, but I'm going to hold off on watching any more "Dancing" for a few more weeks.  Once they've weeded out the bad apples, I'll be back to watching and will make my predictions then :)  I'm thinking that if gold-medalist Evan Lysacek makes it through the first few weeks he may have a chance.

So tell me, are you watching?  If so, what do you think?