Class No. 2

Well, not unlike the last class....I still had a hard time understanding everything that the teacher was talking about.  Thankfully, by the end of class I understood just about everything that she was talking about.  I was also eager to put it all into action. 

We discussed the internal & external flashes, how and when to use them.   I am exicted to use what I learned at Mountianeer Maddness this evening.  I just bought a new external flash and it is charged and ready to be used.  Woot.

I hope the pictures turn out great!  Of course, I will post the finished products...

The good and the bad...

Here are 2 pictures that I took Monday and 1 that I took over the weekend.  I wanted to get a chance to get outside and take some pictures of the fall leaves but that didnt happen.  Well - here it goes.

I love this pic.  Braxton has turned into a huge drooler!  I wanted to be able to capture this stage in his life.  I love the crispness of the bubbles on his mouth.  I am not sure if I like the lighting behind him.  He was placed of to the side of a large picture window.  Next time I think that I see what happens if the light is infont of him.

Camera was set on the P setting

 ISO was set on 400

This was taken at my BFF house this past weekend.  I know that it isnt anything exicting or a super cute kid but I ~loved~ how the light was coming in through the sun room window. 

Set on P setting

ISO set on 100 - i think, maybe 200

This is my favorite.  If I had not started taking the photography class and REALLY started looking at my photos I would have never seen what is wrong with it.  If you look at his shoulder and then at his face - you can tell that his shoulder is in focus and his face is a little hazy.  Ugh...  I am going to show this to my teacher tonight and ask how to make it better.  I am sure that she will have some ideas for me....i hope at least!

Set on P setting

ISO - 400

On Friday, we are going to Mountaineers Maddness - I am hoping to use my new flash there and get some good shots of someone dunking.   If only Smalligan was still there!  :)

I have ~no~ idea what she just said...

That is pretty much what I said throughout my entire first photography class on Wednesday night.  Ha...  It was even funnier comment when I remembered that I was telling a friend (on the way to the class) that I was worried that I would be 'too advanced' for a beginners class.  Well - I definitly dont have to worry about that anymore.

Overall the class was a lot of fun.  It was all women who either wanted to learn more about photography for a wide range of reasons.  Some were there because they didnt even know how to turn the camera on while some wanted to learn to take better photos to make some extra income. 

I still havent decided why I wanted to take the class, so I just said that I wanted to take better pictures and see what happens after that.  Who knows - I might be really bad at it. ;)

Since everyone there had a different camera we had to talk about each one.  That was actually really cool...it was nice to see what other options are out there.  I am stil glad about my purchase, I think that I made the right choice.

We learned about megapixels, metering (gauging how much light is in the picture), about some of the different settings on each camera and if we should actally be using the settings.  She also had MANY visiual aids showing us HOW the camera works and explaining why each picture comes out the way it does.  I was a little lost when she was explaining the ins and outs of mirrors and reflective mirrors in the camera.  I am guessing that she will review everything that she talked about at the next class.

The next class is Wednesday night - I think that we will be talking more about the settings on the camera.  She actually said that we would try to go out to take some pictures if it isnt too dark.  I will update with those pics if that happens.

I wanted to take some pictures of fall leaves and trees while in MD this weekend but we didnt get a chance.  I am hoping that the kids will allow me to take some pics this week.  If I get to do that I will post them too.

Does anyone out there have any photography blogs that they read and really like?  I am looking for some...  Thanks!

1st Post and Welcome...

Hello out there in blog land!  Welcome to ~my~ something special...Ahhh....don't you just love that word?

MINE!

It is pretty hard to find anything that is all yours when you are SO many other things.  Wife, mother, sister, aunt, friend, and even maybe a foe.

This blog is going to be decicated to something that I really enjoy but don't get enough time to actually do...photography!  I have been told in the past that my pictures are really great (mostly by my husband - who is probably bias and I am sure that he wants to have sex on regular basis...)  I am by no means a professional or even know what I am doing.  This will be a learning process - and you and this blog will be my platform so showcase my work and hopefully, after time, get better.

Since I have one of those fancy DSLR cameras (Nikon D60) that have THOUSANDS of buttons, settings and other things that I have no idea how to use, I signed up for a beginners digital photography class. 

It starts tonight and I am super exicted...2 WHOLE HOURS - no whinning children, no kitchen to clean and me able to focus on nothing but ME!

I cant wait...I wonder what we will learn tonight.  I will report back tomorrow, wish me luck!