Free Jessica Sprague Class! YAY!

***(Click to enlarge!)
If you have Photoshop or Elements 7......I would highly recommend signing up for this free class. I will be signing up for it, even though my computer isn't fixed yet. Jessica's classes are usually self paced, and once you register you will have the lessons and videos forever, so if you're too busy at the moment you can still do the projects. Registration begins November 2nd, so Check it out....you won't be sorry! JessicaSprague.com

MIA because my computer died!

Just thought I should mention why I have been MIA lately....it's because my computer died. Still don't know if it can be fixed yet! I'm just hoping that I haven't lost all of my pictures. Somehow I had a feeling this was going to happen and I even mentioned to my husband, that I needed to back up my photos, but just didn't get it done in time. *sob sob* Ok, I'm not really crying....well at least not yet! Now if I lose all of my pictures....trust me I will be crying for real!!!

Hopefully, my computer will be fixed soon and I will be online and uploading pics to my blog again. This is driving me crazy!

Until then...

What Do You See?

AV mode, f/5.6, Shutter Speed 1/25, ISO 200, Focal Length 250.0 mm

When you look at this photo, what do you see? I see an Olympic Swimmer getting ready to push off the wall and begin a race! Seriously, doesn't that look like a stick figure to you? This is a cool tree that I look at, every time I'm in my hot tub. The top was destroyed by hurricane winds a couple of years ago and I'm impressed that it's still standing, since about 50 other trees around it were either snapped off at the trunk or uprooted. While I was squatting down and zooming in on it from my back deck last night, the wind was blowing so hard I thought I was going to fall over. We are having a bit of stormy weather for sure!

Yesterday morning while I was in the hot tub doing my exercises, the wind dragged two of my lounge chairs across the deck and literally picked another chair up and tossed it in the yard and then picked up my terry cloth robe off a chair and tossed it into the hot tub with me. I love being in the hot tub when it's stormy out like that...it was quite fun!

I submitted this photo, into my class gallery, as one of my creative assignments!

Sunrise ~ October 11, 2009

Manual mode, f/22, shutter sp 0.5 sec, ISO 400, Focal Length 70.0 mm

f/22, shutter sp 0.3 sec, ISO 400, Focal Length 55.0 mm

f/22, shutter sp 0.3 sec, ISO 400, Focal Length 55.0 mm

I was running late Sunday morning, but couldn't help myself and just had to take some pics of the sunrise....the sky was so beautiful. I didn't have time to grab my tripod, so these aren't as sharp as they could have been, but I still think they turned out pretty good for my first attempt at getting a sunrise on manual mode. I had to underexpose when I metered to get the sky true to color.

Moon Practice!

Last night I was determined to get a good pic of the moon on manual mode, while it had this beautiful glowing ring around it, but I just couldn't figure it out and I was so disappointed because these first two pics would have been spectacular. Can you imagine if these would have shown the detail in the moon?

I put this one on here just to show the glowy ring, even though you can't see the moon at all!

After writing in to my class forum and getting help from my teacher, I went out and practiced some more and finally, got a decent shot that shows the detail in the moon. When I zoom in on the pic I can even see the craters! Unfortunately, by this time the glowy ring was gone, plus it wasn't a full moon either, but that's ok....at least I finally figured it out. Woo hoo! Can't wait for the next harvest moon!

Here are my settings for the last picture...

Manual mode

Aperture f/11

Shutter Speed 1/40

ISO 100

(Also, when I metered, I had to underexpose to -2)

Lesson 4 : Focus ~ Ling Ling

***Click on the picture to enlarge!
Canon Rebel XSi
Manual mode
Aperture 2.8
Shutter Speed 1/30
ISO 100
Focal Length 50.0 mm

This week we are learning about focal modes and focal points....basically all about focusing! In this photo I used the right focal point and focused in on Lingling's eye. I chose an open aperture because I wanted to blur everything in the photo that was not within the focal point and I am very happy with the result. :)

***Here is the comment from my teacher...

candice*stringham
[Oct 05, 2009 at 04:03 PM]
I love the effect the open aperture has on this photo too! It looks as if we are peeking over the trunk and planning a sneak attack on her! You did a really fine job locking focus on the eye, as this can be challenging when you want your subject to sit still for a moment. The exposure is great too. Nice work!

deje34
[Oct 05, 2009 at 06:37 PM]
Thank you, Candice! I feel like I'm actually getting the hang of this and I'm lovin' it!