Photography 101: Week 2

This week we went further into the camera modes, and we were given two assignments. The first assignment dealt with depth of field controlled not by the focus of the camera, but with the aperture settings. Here's how mine came out:

The second assignment was all about shutter speed and capturing motion. We took three photographs of the same subject, one frozen, one blurred, and one in between. This was my favorite of my three shots:

At the beginning of the course Ryan (our instructor) told us that our photos would get worse before they got better—he couldn't have been more right! As I learn more and more about my DSLR I'm getting a bit overwhelmed, but I know it will all come together and make me a better photographer in the long run.

Movie 30: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II

Harry Potter was great! Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to read the books yet, but I have followed the movies, and this was a great finale. Even if you don't know the story, the visual effects alone are worth it.

Photography 101: Week 1

So, last night was our first session of a six week photography class and I learned so much! We started off with the basics (memory, transferring files from the camera to the computer, and filing/backup systems) before moving on to the four basic shooting modes: Program, Shutter, Aperture, and Manual. We talked a bit about ISO and which settings are best for indoor versus outdoor shooting and then moved on to the main lesson: white balance. We learned that the camera is not sophisticated enough for the "Auto" setting to work correctly in every situation. I so wish I had known about white balance before I went on that trip to Washington last May—I think my photos would have been so much better. In addition to the "Auto" setting, my camera has the following white balance settings:



Our homework for the Week 1 is to go outside and find a good subject. We are meant to shoot the subject with the white balance setting that we think is correct, and then at least three more times with the incorrect settings so that we have a series of the same photograph like the image below:



Then, we are to go inside and do the same thing with no natural light (only tungsten or fluorescent) and no flash. When I've completed the assignment I'll post it here for you to see.

UPDATE: For the assignment, I ended up taking pictures of some graffiti by my house. It's interesting to see all of the different tones produced by changing a simple setting. Here's the series:

We Went Parasailing!

We spent a wonderful long weekend in Tampa with Scott and Marilyn. We went to the Tampa Pitcher Show (a movie theater/restaurant combo) and spent a day at Busch Gardens. On Sunday, we went to John's Pass and I finally got to go parasailing! It took some convincing to get Derrick to go, but eventually he agreed and it was perfect! So glad I got to cross this one off the list this summer.

Movie 29: Larry Crowne

I have to admit that I hadn't planned to see Larry Crowne but when we were in Tampa this weekend my family took us to see it at the Tampa Pitcher Show—a non-traditional movie theater that's more like a banquet hall with a huge projection screen. We sat and enjoyed dinner—a pitcher (get it?!) of beer and one of the best chili dogs I've ever had. All in all it was a great time and I'm glad we went.