To the Lake

Last night we went for a bike ride in our "big back yard".  We were just going to go to the lake, but we were pretty motivated and did a nice little loop.  I didn't take my camera because I knew we didn't have time, but here are some pics from last Saturday in the same location.

Yes, that is a train and not the lake!  We always hear the train from the house, but we never get to see it. 

 Here it is a little closer.  I like the way this one is framed.  Being so close to the train, made me feel like I was going to get pulled in.

I haven't been this close to a train in a long time.  This picture gives the sense of the speed and movement.

Finally, about the lake...I enjoyed the lily pads and the one that looks like a bowl in the bottom corner is pretty cool.

The flowers are starting to bloom so I need to take the camera back again soon.  

Here I was trying to frame the tree.  Next time I would like to get down a little lower and get the tree in focus.  Taking pictures is addictive!  Can't wait to play some more in our big back yard!

Celebrating Graduation!

This past weekend I took a bunch of pictures for a friend who is graduating!  We had a blast even though it started out with a down pour and thunder and lightening!  I really fell in love with the big lens 300mm (whatever that means...lots to learn, I know)!  It is the best!

Picasa is a great, free editing software.  I'm amazed at how user friendly it is.  Here's are my two favorite pics without giving too much away!

For this one, I played with the colors and brightened it a little after the fact.  I love the feel of celebration with the balloons in school colors and the "bridge" to the next step in life!

This one was just plain silly and fun!  Can't wait to find some more time to play with my camera!

Oh So Curious!

I found this site Tutorial by JFotography and I'm going through this "ebook".  The number 1 suggestion is to Stay Curious.  That's easy for me because I have lots to learn and I am having fun with my new camera...89 pictures today.  Here's two questions that JFotography suggests when looking at photos:

Do I like this photo because of the colors?

Do I like it because of the way it is arranged?

I'll answer both of those questions as yes and yes!  I love the blues, greens and grays in this pic.  I like that the bench is offset, just a little.  I took two other pictures of this just to play around with the arrangement and the layout.  

This shot is very similar to the first one, but I like the other one better, because the bench is just a little bit more to the right.  

The colors seem so different in this portrait shot because there is too much of the water.  I'm not sure if it's too over exposed or just missing the greenery.  I really do like the first one the best and I did have fun using the 300mm lens.  Wow!  Now, to find a good book and go relax on the bench!

THE Most Important Lesson

This week one of my sons had open house at school.  I was excited because I finally have a camera and a lens that can take some decent shots, inside, in low light and from a distance.  So, off I went with camera in tow and I learned THE most important lesson about photography....charge the battery!!!  I couldn't believe I messed this one up!  Oh well!  I didn't even get to take one measly little photo.  I have a backup battery on the way and I will make sure that I set a reminder to charge the battery!