Book 28: A Clash of Kings

I finished the second book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series while on vacation this week and boy is it getting good!

A Clash of Kings picks up right where A Game of Thrones left off. There have been a lot of changes, some expected and some completely unexpected.

I can't wait to get started on A Storm of Swords! I heard that there are major plot events in the first and third books—I'm so anxious to read what happens next!

Book 27: A Game of Thrones

I recommend this series to everyone! Seriously. I didn't think I'd like it at all. A friend told me about the show on HBO and I was completely uninterested—all it took was the first episode and I was completely hooked. Once the first season ended I realized I had to read the series to find out what happens next. The show was faithful to the first book, the opening scene of the first episode and that last scene of the last episode correspond with the first and last chapters in the book.

I started the second book last night and it's already really good. HBO is currently filming the second season and I can't wait!

Photography 101 Wrap Up

I sooo enjoyed my six-week photography class! Now I've really gotta focus on making time to practice all of the new skills I learned so I don't get rusty and forget. For our final assignment, we submitted our favorite photos (taken before or during class). Here are a few of mine:

Breena on Ruby Beach, WA

On the Verde Canyon Railroad in Arizona

Dad after climbing the Kilkenny Round Tower in Ireland

Sunset on Rialto Beach, WA

Photography 101: Week 4

Field Trip!!! In the fourth week of our photography class we went on a field trip to the Historic Oakland Cemetery in downtown Atlanta. We were instructed to use the basic rules of composition (balance, leading lines, framing, patterning, and texture) while shooting in black and white. Our assignment was to choose our favorite 4 photos, but I couldn't choose! Here are a few of my shots, click them to enlarge:

I Quilted Something!

It took a few weeks and a very patient teacher, but I've finished my very first hand-quilted project!

Hillary taught me how to pick a pattern, cut the pieces & assemble them, add batting, and hand-quilt. Then I picked up a 12" pillow form and learned how to create the back side of the pillow (overlapping the pieces so that you can fit the form inside but keep it secure).

I'm so happy with the way that this turned out—I'm really excited to start my next project.

Here are a couple more pictures of my final product and wonderful teacher!

Photgraphy 101: Week 3

This week we talked about metering modes. Metering is basically how your camera determines the shutter speed and aperture based on the lighting conditions and ISO setting. My camera has three settings: matrix mode, center-weighted mode, and spot mode. Matrix mode determines the sensitivity by averaging all of the light values present in the viewfinder, center-weighted averages the values in the center and along the edges, and spot metering focuses on the value in the center of the viewfinder.

We also learned that all of these can be overwritten by using a graycard. The graycard is simply a piece of paper with an 18% gray fill on it. If you point your camera at the card and use the light settings it gives you before taking your picture, it's sure to be properly exposed.

Here are a few pictures that I took of Tasha in the three different metering modes (without using a graycard). It looks like the center-weighted mode is the most accurate, as the other two are a little underexposed.

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.