So much for posting my photos everyday...but that doesn't mean I'm not taking photos. Let's just say that I'm so busy photographing our life and enjoying my kids that I haven't had time to post pictures.
Okay, that's partly true....especially the part about enjoying my four little loves.
The bigger problem is really that even though I've taken hundreds of photos, I've deleted just as many. Learning this manual operation stuff is hard work. Figuring out how the three main elements work together and affect each other is not exactly a piece of cake for this gal.
On top of that, unbeknownst (that's a big, odd word, huh?!) to me, I had switched my lens to manual focus and was getting so frustrated that I couldn't get my pictures to focus. I finally realized that there is a focusing ring at the end of my lens, however, Ashley suggested that it would be more wise to set the lens back to automatic focus. Oh yeah...way easier!!! And one less thing to set before taking a picture.
Photo 1: ISO 100, f/8, 1/125
Anyhow...here are a few pictures from our composition instruction. Again, I was mostly focused on taking interesting and "pleasing to the eye" pictures that tell a story. No editing. However, I did choose the camera's settings (I think...but I may have had it set on one of the creative modes where I only chose one setting and the camera chose the other two...I'm in a photo fog! Forgive me if I'm wrong!). Somehow they didn't turn out black or entirely screwed up...grin!
And now...drum roll, please..."The story of the super cold snowy day that Mama braved the outdoors with her lovies because Sadie, the two-year old, loves snow as much as her brothers, and was sobbing to go outside in her blue jacket (a little color confusion there...he, he!), and did not want to come inside when everyone else's toes were frozen especially the Mama's toes because she only owns rubber rain boots which is ridiculous because she lives in New York State but at least she got a few decent pictures..."
Photo 2: ISO 100, f/8, 1/160This next photo is not in the right order and I hate fighting with blogger to move pictures around. It used to be easy and now it's not.
I give up.
Getting warmed by the fire my boys built (yes, they are only 7 and 9, but oh, so manly and capable!), eating popcorn, and drinking cocoa. It's not sharply focused - I'd absolutely change the settings to something different today than I did on Monday. But, again, first day choosing my own settings...
Photo 3: ISO 3200, f/3.5, 1/30
Photo 4: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/80
Photo 5: ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/125I have to admit, the first few days choosing my own camera settings sent me into some fits of frustration. I knew learning and applying the information would not be easy, but I had some expectations that I would "get it" a little faster. (Umm...hello...this is only day six of the course! Oh, that's right! You always think you must do things perfectly the first time...sigh...)
I finally decided that I would just keep moving the numbers around to see how each one affected the other ones much like Ashley suggests in the practice assignments. I think that is really helping me to accept the inevidable atrocious pictures and helping me learn. All this information is starting to make sense. I think I've seen some evidence of that fact in the photos I took today (which I'll post later...).
I am thankful for Ashley's advice to actually remember to take a few pictures on automatic to capture the memories and then switch back to manual to keep practicing.
Good, good advice!
1 comment:
Well to my untrained eye, the ones outside look 'brighter'...so clear I feel like I could jump right in them. That must be a good application of your recently acquired knowledge! I do love the picture of the kiddos in front of that fire. Some of the blaze actually shows through. I also think it is fabulous that Sadie is almost always in pink!
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