Monday 31 January 2011

Photo of the Day - Monday

Snowdrop


50mm  1/160  f 5  ISO 800  Cloudy

















....and one additional photo today


Sunday 30 January 2011

Photo albums

New photos not posted in the Photo a Day project are located...  here

Photo of the Day - Sunday

Signs of life!  Snowdrops and daffodils are preparing to bloom.  This one is our magnolia tree...


55mm   1/60  f 5.6  ISO 200


Saturday 29 January 2011

Sunrise

Sunrise from my front porch.  It was very cold this morning so I didn't walk down to the shoreline to take this pic.  A very large bush dominates the pic which I'm not happy with.  Next time I'll put on my heavy coat and take my tripod down the driveway. 

100mm  1/256  f 6.3  ISO 100

Friday 28 January 2011

Cuppa and a good book

Photo for today....
They will get better as I progress!


50 mm 1/60  f 2.8  ISO 100


Thursday 27 January 2011

A Photo a Day

There are many Photo a Day projects, some are called 365.  The idea is to post one photo per day, taken that day, every day for a year.  I'm beginning 27 days late for 2011, but that's okay.  My first photo isn't spectacular, just one taken from my front porch of Loch Long.




















50mm 1/250 f 5.0 ISO 100

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Frustration!

In theory I understand exposure - shutter speed, ISO, aperture settings, but putting it to practical use has been frustrating.  Today I went for a walk but I cheated and used autofocus.  Not really cheating though as when I got home I looked at the photos I liked and then brought up the EXIF data (tells what the camera chose for the appropriate settings) and I'm making a mental note of them so I know where to start when I take photos on manual focus. 

I've discovered that the types of photos I like to take, or want to learn to take, are close ups/macros of flowers or objects, candid shots of people, animals, landscape as seen through tree branches or leaves, historic buildings, and landscapes.  I also want to try action shots.

Here's a few from walking in my area and up to the farm.  Not spectacular, but okay.  Spectacular comes later.  I hope. 







Sunday 23 January 2011

Photography

Previously I posted about a new blog I began in order to track my photography progress.  Makes more sense to me to do it on this one, so I'm ending the other blog. 

To begin again, I purchased my first DSLR camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T2i over the xmas holiday.  I've purchased many accessories and I now have an 18-55mm lens, a 75-300mm, and recently acquired the nifty fifty - 50mm 1.8.  I have hoods for all of them and have ordered filters so my lenses will be protected. 

I've been very busy reading my camera manual as well as using the following resources:
Better Guide to Digital Photography (Jim Miotke)
Understanding Close-Up Photography (Bryan Peterson)
Learning to See Creatively (Bryan Peterson)
Creative Photography Handbook (Lee Frost)
Canon Photography Forum
National Geographic Photo Tips
Fodor's Travel Photo Tips

Copious amounts of notes have been taken!  I've learned a lot the last few days including getting a fairly good idea of exposure settings and what they mean and the results they get. 

I enjoy close-ups/macros (and have discovered they aren't necessarily the same thing) so here is one of my Bristol glass vase using my new nifty fifty
Settings:  1/30 f 9  ISO 100
I set the camera to Av, partial exposure, cloudy



Sunday 16 January 2011

Catching up....

Danny's brother and his family who live in Australia visited the UK for a month and spent a week of it with us.  We spent the time with them locally and in Oban, Inverness, and Fort William and even with all the rain we had a fantastic time.


At Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

















We are planning another trip to Australia in two or three years and plan to go to Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef.

Danny is getting ready to depart for Uganda and will stay for two weeks visiting our friends and our Ugandan 'daughter' Doreen who is on break from university.  Both of us will travel to Uganda when Doreen graduates from university. 

Over the xmas holiday I bought my first DSLR camera and am learning new techniques and technical side of photography.  I have started a separate blog on my progress and will post notes on what I've learned from my creative photography and techniques books.   Becoming a Photographer blog

Saturday 1 January 2011

Christmas holidays & past year

We've been in Michigan for nearly 3 weeks and had lots of quality time with family including adorable babies, done lots of shopping, seen movies, museums, eating and drinking, a birthday party and on the same day the birth of a new baby.  It was cold when we arrived and I finally bought a good down coat and boots, but today it was about 50F.  Figures!

A few more days and we are home.  Relatives from Australia will be awaiting us! 

2010 was busy even though we are both retired. 
The end of 2009 was Uganda, Australia, then the US from which we returned home the 3rd week of January.  Then it was...
  • New windows installed in our house
  • Danny gutted our kitchen and put in a new one (about 5 weeks)
  • Lots of painting, new furniture, carpeting
  • A week on the Isle of Colonsay for our 10th anniversary in April
  • Nearly 3 months visitation by our dear Ugandan daughter, Doreen, which included trips around Scotland and a trip to London
  • 1 month visit by my sister which included a trip through Europe to Rome, and a visit to York
  • A trip to Glasgow for Danny's birthday in November for ballet, concerts, museums
  • Relaxation then our trip to the US.
My granddaughters with granddad