Photography Class: Portraits

I recently took a photography class, Digital Photography II. The class description goes like this:

This course will explore the world of digital photography and how it differs from (and is sometimes the same as) film photography. The class will get photo assignments each week. Bring in digital photos which we will view on our projector, and discuss the merits and problems of the work. The class will be much like the film photography classes we have, but the medium here is digital. Since photo enhancing, adjusting, and retouching are part of the kit of tools available to the digital photographer, we will be using Adobe Photoshop and its magical kit of tools to help correct and adjust our photos where needed. However, the primary thrust of the class will be photographic techniques, with mechanical enhancements as an added, but secondary, attraction.

Last night was our second class, and the first where we had homework. Our assignment was to bring in no more than 8 portrait shots and he would critique them.

As it happened, my shots were up first. He loaded them onto the projection screen, looked at the first one (I think it was the one of Dad), looked at me and said: "What are you doing in this class?" I took it as a complement :-)

He had a criticism on only one picture, the one of the woman holding the orange. He said that as she seems to be offering the orange to the viewer, it needed to be in focus, too. I agree!

Wordless Wednesday #2

Wordless Wednesday

Round Robin Challenge: Hand

The challenge this week is "The Hand". When I first heard this challenge, I thought "Talk to the hand" LOL! I was really looking forward to this one, because I love hands. Love to look at 'em, touch SOME of 'em, take pictures of 'em. So...here are some hands:


Then I read the directions...and saw I didn't follow them correctly :-( I'm bad like that and I apologize to Brad for not paying better attention! I didn't want to disappoint the folks who contributed to this "hand" project, they were so excited about having their hands online!

Round Robin Challenge: Red

The challenge this week is "Red"; man, this one was tough for me...tough in the sense it was hard to pick just one! So I picked a few and made a collage...of RED!



I hope you enjoy all this red!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Doesn't matter if you're single, married or somewhere in between; love is love, no matter where you get it from!

Round Robin Challenge: Cold

The challenge this week is "Cold" and it's one I set myself! Thank you guys for letting me pick the word...but I'm thinking I should've picked warm LOL! It's still quite cold here in New England; as a matter of fact, I just went upstairs to find a sweater cause I was freezing...and I'm rarely cold! Anyway, without further ado (and the irony is I'm the one posting late this challenge), here's my cold picture:


I'm not sure birds can feel cold, can they? But in any case, this little one looks chilly to me...sitting outside in a snow storm!

Here's another:


Max loves romping in the snow...but as you can see, it's a bit cold for his paws! I tried putting boots on him, but he wasn't having any of it!

Again, thanks Karen, Carly & Steven for giving me the opportunity to participate a little more than normal! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's pictures :-)

"Laughter"

Tammy, over at Create a Connection have given us the following task:

For this my first Photo Thursday, I thought we should try to find joyful things that make us laugh.


This picture of my dog, Wolf, just cracks me up! He was mid-sneeze or something and altho he looks scary, I know he's not, so it just makes me laugh!

And here's another picture, one I didn't take, but that I was in, back in 1991, which ALWAYS makes me laugh!

"Candlelight"

Krista, over at Create a Connection have given us the following task:

This photo Thursday, I wonder if you would take the flash off your camera, light some candles, and try to get a good shot of anything, under candlelight. Take a picture of your favourite books under candlelight, of yourself under candlelight, or even take a picture of the candles themselves.


So here is a picture of a tealight candle illuminating its holder. I hope you enjoy!

Round Robin Challenge: "Macro"

The challenge this week is "Macro".
The macro feature of the camera is explored in this challenge via the subthemes of the texture (T), color (C), reflection (R), and newness (N). You are to take 4 pictures and present each no larger than 200 x 200 pixels.


Texture and color were interchangeable for me in this series...and you can really only see the texture on the original photo, which was taken with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM lens, with a +1 filter (as were the rest of the photos).

"Find"

Krista, over at Create a Connection asked us to capture the word "find" in a photo. She said: Photography is about seeing the world around you differently. It is about finding and capturing the essence of your present surroundings. This actively connects you to where you are, and to your place in the world.

My friend E and I went to Paris in February 2005. On our last day there, we went in search of Les Catacombs. The tour book said it was exactly opposite the Metro stop we got off at, Denfert-Rochereau, but we didn't see it. So we walked and walked, and it started to snow, and we walked some more, and finally found a cafe to slip into to warm up (with the help of a café-crème).

We finally found Les Catacombs; how we missed it, I'll never know. I think we were looking up for signs...and the sign was on the sidewalk. Either way, the place was closed :-( and I was pretty bummed out about it...I'd really wanted to wander around down there.

This picture reminds me of the word find for two reasons...because we were searching for a place and indeed, did find it, and also, when I took a closer look at this picture, there was a surprise find in it! Do you see the man walking on the sidewalk, framed underneath the ivy arch? Didn't notice him when I was taking the picture, love the fact he's there!

Sustenance

Sustenance: Something that gives support, endurance, or strength.

Krista, over at Create a Connection asked us to capture the word sustenance in a photo.

For me, the ocean is sustenance. It provides support, comfort and sustains my spirit. I NEED to visit the ocean from time to time...to rebuild, to renew, to regain calm. The picture above sustains me.

Sky on fire

One of my coworkers called me to come look at the sunset out her window; I was glad she did!

Round Robin Challenge: "Past Vs. Present"

The challenge this week is "Past Vs. Present". I was inspired by the picture up at the Round Robin site for this one...plus my Wolfie is just so darn adorable!

Wolf is a Shiba Inu, which is a Japanese breed. Shibas are considered a primitive breed and were originally bred to flush birds and small game and occasionally used to hunt wild boar (shibas top out at 25 pounds...are you starting to get the picture?).

They are energetic, bold, spirited, and strong-willed, can be hard-headed & stubborn and are NOT good off leash. Shibas are escape artists extrodinaire (I've seen one climb an 8 foot tall chain link fence!) and will be oblivious to your frantic attempts to call him or her back when an interesting sight or scent catches their attention. They can be manipulative, and many are willful, obstinate, and dominant (they want to be the boss). You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.

They have thick heavy coats, which they "blow" twice a year...or more! You will find shiba hair in places that shiba hair should never be LOL! They can be suspicious toward strangers and aggressive towards other animals...they have strong chasing instincts.

This breed does NOT like to be grabbed or hugged or held tightly, and if pushed too far, may react defensively, so if you have small kids, they're probably not the breed for you.

Round Robin Challenge: "Lights Of The Holidays"

The challenge this week is "Lights Of The Holidays". Since I was recently at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I have some GREAT "lights" pictures!

Round Robin Challenge: What you are Thankful for

The challenge this week is What you are Thankful for. That's an easy one; I'm thankful I've grown so much closer to my cousin, Maribeth. She has a blog which she calls Dackel Princess where she writes about her life with her hubby in NH, her dogs, Greta (a "dackel" or as we know them, a daschund, about to have her first litter!) and Fritz (a white german shepherd), their fruit trees and garden in the summer, skiing in the winter and assorted other topics. Check her out sometime, I think you'll like her :-)

I have so many good memories of growing up with Maribeth; she lived on Cape Cod and our families would get together each summer for a couple of weeks, and usually on Thanksgiving and Christmas. She's a year younger than me, but that never mattered. We were happiest on the beach, or riding our bikes, or playing with our Barbies...at least until we were 12 or 13 or so. That's when we started to grow apart a bit. I started wanting to do things with my friends during the summers, but still...every Thanksgiving and Christmas (except when I lived in Japan) were spent together.

Now, I think we're trying to set up our own tradition of spending Thanksgiving & Christmas together; this picture, in fact, is from our Thanksgiving celebration, which as you can see with filled with food (and those were just the appetizers!).

Anyway...long story short...I'm thankful for Maribeth :-)

Knock, knock

Who's there?


Don't open the door, I'm trying to take a picture here!

Round Robin Challenge: In the Kitchen!

The challenge this week is In the Kitchen! When I saw this topic, I thought...ooh! I'll photograph a meal from begining to end! But alas...the best laid plans...are usually forgotten by me! So ... you get the finished product, the dishes it created and a final thought from my Aunt.


This is a Shephards Pie, modified a bit from the recipe my cousin gave me. Instead of ground turkey (which replaced the beef or lamb), I used leftover chopped chicken from Sunday and chicken stock instead of beef stock. This recipe is the best ever and if you'd like, I'll share it with you :-)


And these are the dirty dishes making this meal generated. Yes, I left them overnight to get a good picture...but I probably would've left them anyway cause it was one of those nights.


This is the last page in a cookbook my Aunt put together...one of my fondest memories is the Thanksgiving meals our families shared together over the years.

The Old Barn

It was extremely foggy here this morning; this is the old barn in my back yard...it's seen better times, but it sure makes a nice photography subject!

A shiba and his shadow

He's looking off to the future...which included a back flip ala Max, poor thing! Got a ton of sand in his ear, he was NOT a happy shiba! But he had a great time, as did Max, running on the beach :-)