Happy Memorial Day!

I wanted to share with you my photos and frustrations from today.

I went out this evening just before sunset to capture the sunset and to get some photos of some of the many flags flying in my community. I was completely inspired when I grabbed my camera bag and headed out the door! Unfortunately, I found that the sunset was going to be a little lack-luster tonight. But all was not lost. I did manage to get a few flag photos that I liked and once I got home and began editing my photos I found some sunset photos I liked as well.

Ansel Adams once said “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop”. If an accomplished photographer like Ansel Adams only expects 12 great photos in a year, who am I to expect more? This is a very good lesson to learn. Another good lesson is that your creativity does not have to stop with your camera. Playing with your so-so photos with your photo editing software can really inspire you and fulfill you creatively as well.

So, tonight I will show you 3 different photos I took this evening. I will show you them straight out of my camera (no editing) and then with a little tweaking in Photoshop Elements. Remember, that I have only minimal knowledge of PSE. I say this only to let you know that anyone can play with the software and come up with something they like.

This is a photo of a beautiful flag right at sunset. The wind was blowing pretty good as I was shooting and the lighting was not the best. I shot this with no flash and a slow shutter. I really liked how the stars and stripes are both clear and distorted. But it looked like it needed to tell more of a story than it did all on it's own.

So. . .

Here is what I did to it. I cropped it in a little bit tighter and addedsome text and a photo of my brother. Now it is actually a photo I would print out. It tells a story.

Here is one of my lack-luster sunset photos. There was very little color tonight and no great light show either. But I did like the basic composition of the shot. I love those feathery, desert trees at night. They just have so much character.

Here is that same photo with a little help from Photoshop. . . I really just changed it to black and white and adjusted the contrast on it. Now my feathery, desert tree really pops, and the sky is less distracting. Instead it gives a lot of depth to the photo.

Here is yet one more of my lack-luster sunsets. I take a lot of sunset photos in this spot. I love the trees and the saguaros in this location. And I love the "swoop" in the land that gives it a real feeling that there is a valley here. But tonight it just didn't work for me.

So, I played a little bit in PSE, changing it to black and white and uping the contrast a bit. Now my friends the saguaros take center stage in my little valley.

I hope you take the time to experiment a little with your camera this weekend. Take a few chances and if you don't love it straight out of your camera, play with it with your software. And if you still don't love it, don't beat yourself up! Remember what the master said. . . “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop”.

POTD Wednesday

This is one of those signs I hate! It sits right at the base of a mountain that I would love to climb to take pictures! There are always the most beautiful birds up there, and I am always stuck at the base with the sun glaring through my lens trying to shoot them.

What are you shooting at these days?
You do have your camera out?
Don't you???
We are going to have a short break from the heat for the next few days - get out there and capture something wonderful with your camera!!!!!
M

POTD Tuesday

Here it is - Tuesday's installment of POTD. Have you seen these signs before? It lets you know that this retailer is a safe place for abused women and children. You can go inside and they will protect you and call the "Safe Place" people (or police) to come and assist you. Every QT gas station shows this sign. Pretty cool!

On another note - I took my sample book for "Photo Book Club" down to the Creative Quest today. It is comepletely full of photos and sitting there for you to take a peek at. Be sure to get signed up.
Have a great "Hump Day" tomorrow and try to stay cool!
M

POTD Monday

Here it is - Monday's POTD posting. Make sure you click on this photo to enlarge it so you can read it. I really thought it was cute. . .and appropriate for today with our burning HOT temps today! I hope you all managed to stay cool and find something cool to capture with your camera.

See you tomorrow with yet another "Sign Language" posting!

M

It Was a 2GB Card Weekend!

I clicked off 350+ images this weekend! My camera really got a workout! Seems I was behind my camera taking pictures, or in front of my computer editing these pictures all weekend. It was a busy, yet fun and rewarding few days. I did some photos just for me, and others were requests from others.
Today I did a couple of photo shoots for my neighbors. I learned a lot from both of them! Today's 1st assignment was for a sweet young family wanting family portraits with their new son. We planned the shoot for 9am to avoid the heat and harsh sun.
Lesson #1 - it is summer now and even at 9am the sun is too harsh and it is hot! This causes ugly shadows and sweat on faces!
We were supossed to go to the golf course in our community. I had the perfect place picked out under a nice shade tree in front of a waterfall/stream feature. Beautiful!
Lesson #2 - Golf courses have their own watering schedule!
So I quickly scouted out another spot away from the sprinklers. No shade tree, but there was some water. I got them all lined up and seated on a beautiful rock wall overlooking the water. When we were done I set my camera on the wall and helped get the children down (2 boys - 3 yo & 5 mo). I got the 3 yo down 1st, and while I got the baby down I heard mom and dad yell frantically at the 3 yo. Insert huge panic here, I thought he was falling into the water. Nope, he had picked up my lens cap and tossed it in and was heading for the camera!!!!!
Lesson #3 - Watch your equipment at ALL times around 3 yo boys!!!!!!
Mom and dad were upset with him and embarrassed, but it was just a cap - not a camera!!!! So we headed off to another location I like to shoot at, a waterfall. We of course had to climb a metal fence to get to it - but who cares - they are still young! I got my shade tree but the sun was still pretty harsh. And by now baby wants to be fed, and 3 yo just wants to throw rocks in the water (better than the camera once again). We might have to reschedule this shoot to get some better photos!

Right after the sweet young family I was to shoot a sweet little girl, her mommy and mommy's grandmother. They wanted outdoor photos as well - but by now it is WAY TOO HOT and way too bright outside! Quick thinking Marta set up the studio in the garage. It was still warm inside there but not HOT and I could control the light! I decided today was a great day to try out my canvas backdrop that Gary bought me for my last birthday.
Lesson #4 - I LOVE this backdrop!!!! It makes beautiful, warm photos! As well as adding lots of depth to the photos.

So here is Great-Grandma & 3 yo Great-Granddaughter. Aren't they lovely together!

And here is Mother and daughter - these 2 just love to have fun together and it really shows!

Lesson #5 - 3 yo little girls have the same short attention span as 3 yo little boys. They just act out in a different (and more manageble) way.
So, I get something cold to drink and get some lunch, then I started editing the day's photos. The phone rings - it's Bryanna. Her, Darwin, the baby and Darwin's parents are on their way over to go swimming! Of course I am thrilled to get to see them, and frankly I am hot and the pool sounds great! So I run around getting towels and suits and sunscreen and various baby things for the pool and off we go to the pool. There were 4 generations of us at the pool; Monkey, her parents (Bryanna & Darwin), 2 sets of grandparents and Great-Grandma.

Of course when I get home I have even more photos to load and edit! But I am happy to say they are all down now.
This last photo is from a shoot I did at a retirement home on Friday. I have always been facsinated by hands, and have always wanted to do a photo shoot of "old" hands. Since our upcoming Book Club assignment is "OLD" I decided this would be the perfect time to do this. This is one of my favorites. The ladies were all delightful and very generous to allow me to do this. My Mother allowed me to do her hands too on Saturday.
Of course I already posted my "Sign Language" photo for today - so you have gotten to see a sampling of everything I have shot this weekend. I hope you took advantage of this weekend and got some FUN photos and captured some FUN memories for yourself!

POTD Sunday

The Signs of the times!

What fun and interesting things did you do this weekend? Did you have to use much gas in order to do them? I hope not at these prices. I stayed close to home this weekend and had LOTS of fun. Mostly I played with my camera. I will share more about that later on.

Have a great week everyone! Make some memories and capture them with your camera!

M

POTD Saturday

Here it is - Saturday's "Sign Language". I have always loved this street and have taken pictures of this sign before. I especially like today's with the very blue sky and just a whisp of a cloud in the background.

I hope you are all happy today and have taken your cameras out to play today!

M

POTD Friday

Here it is girls, my POTD. I was out running errands today and saw this - not a typical sign so I got out of my car to take the picture.


Did you get your camera out today? Did yu find a fun sign?
Have a great weekend and I will see you tomorrow with yet another photo.
M

POTD Starts today. . .

Wanna play a game with me for the next week?

How about POTD (photo of the day)?

I have picked a theme and each day I am going to take a photo that falls within that theme, and post it here for everyone to see. It will be an easy theme that anyone can do.

Soooo. . . Are you game? It is a great way to practice and heck, it is just fun to get your camera out.

Here is the theme -
Sign Language

And here is my 1st photo -

Feel free to interpret the theme anyway you want. Just have fun with it and get your camera off of the shelf and out of it’s bag! See ya tomorrow with another POTD




Quote of the Day:
There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.
- Ansel Adams

Where Was Your Camera This Weekend????

Did you have it out?
Or was it still in it's bag on a shelf?
Did you capture some great moments from Mother's Day?

I hate to admit it but, although my camera was within hand's reach all weekend I didn't take one shot! I really hate that I didn't get to capture Bryanna and Vittoria on their 1st Mother's Day together.

I did however take my camera to the pool the other day and got this cute shot of my neighbor's son. I think it is a fun photo. Just the right mix of "sweet" and a little "rottenness" going on in his eyes.

This coming weekend I am doing his family portraits. We are going to try something fun and casual first thing in the morning at the waterfalls here in our community. Wish me luck for good light and cooperative kids!

What are your upcoming photography plans?
Don't have any?
Then make some!!!!!!

Quote of the Day:
To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
Elliott Erwitt

Annoucing The begining of. . .

The Photo Book Club!
We will be having our first "Club" meeting on Saturday, June 21st from 10am - 1pm. So go ahead and call or stop by The Creative Quest and get signed up! This will only be available to the ladies that have already taken the Heart & Sould of Photography class.
We will be meeting on the 3rd Saturday, every other month. You will get your photo assignment ahead of ime so that you can get your pictures taken before class and then be able to bring them to show off and discuss the techniques etc you used to get your shots. We will also make a portfolio type album at each class to put all of your photos in so that you can proudly display them.
Your assignment for this first time will be "Old". Anything or anybody that is old, aging or showing the effects of time.
Once you have taken all of your photos have them all printed out in black & white. Black & white prints really shows all of the details and adds to that "old" feeling. I am asking you to take a minimum of 14 shots for this assignment.
The album we will be making can easily hold 32+ photos (if you want to use the front an back of each page). When you have your images printed you need to take the print size into consideration as well. The pages of the album are 6" wide, so a standard 4x6 print will fit on your page but not leave you any border room on the width of a landscape photo. So you might want to ask your lab to print you photos at 3.5x5. They all have the ability to do this size, but only do it as a special request. But if you don't need a border around your photos go for the 4x6 size.

I hope to see you all there! Be sure to call the store or drop me a line if you have any questions. And get that camera back out and start on your assignment now before it gets way too hot!

Ideas for places to get "OLD" photos. . .

* Old Town Glendale

* Antique Shops

* Thrift Shops

* Take a drive up north and cool off while you shoot in Prescott

* Downtown Phoenix

* Take your Husband to a car show

* Maybe even your Husband could be one of your subjects? LOL

* Junk Yards

* Cave Creek Road

Be creative, have FUN and I am sure you will come up with lots of ideas!

See you soon,

Marta

Just a reminder. . .

Really look at the pictures that hold your attention
Take some time and study pictures that you have taken and are really attracted too - then look at them and figure out -
1. Where did your eye fall first? Then where did it go?
2. What held your interest - colors - subject - focus - lines - DOF ( depth of field ) - textures.
3. Study the light - was it coming from one direction - two direction - many directions ?
4. Was the light strong - diffused - soft - colored?
5. Was the image PhotoShoped - if so what was done?
6. Are there catchlights - what shape - what do the catchlights tell you about how the image was taken - was a straight on flash used?
7. What is the subject of the image - what does the image say about the subject?
8. What does the background add?
9. Is there space in the picture and how does it add to that picture?
10. Does the picture follow the rule of thirds and if not why does it violate that rule - and why do you like it anyway?
11. Did the image touch you? - how? - sad? - happy? - made you remember something?
12. How is the subject posed? - props? - background?

Start a file if images you love. - Look through them every so often - are they still favorites or has your eye changed?
The weekend is right around the corner. . . get that camera out and start shooting!