My friend, Sarah, insists that using a digital camera manually is so easy. All of the settings seemed so intimidating to me: Aperture, ISO, flash or not...WHAT AM I DOING???
Full auto, always full auto.
Recently, I realized that using a camera manually could not possibly be the hardest thing I've ever done. For Goddess sake, I traveled half-way around the world to Israel, got my Master's degree, had two babies without pain medication, and climbed the Golden Staircase. Surely I could figure out my camera's settings.
For the past few weeks, I've been experimenting. These are my favorite (or best) pictures of the bunch.
Arthur had a ticket to the Pioneer Park train that expired over Labor Day weekend. Since we hadn't spent a lot of time at Pioneer Park this summer, we went for a ride on the train and a chance to play at the park before it got too cold. Here are my two little monkeys waiting in line for the Pioneer Park train. Balin was not into the picture-taking and after a while, Arthur wasn't all that excited about it either. The background isn't the nicest, but the expressions on the boys' faces are fun and they seem to be having a good time...sort of.
The one on the left is a new favorite pictures. The feel of movement, his natural smile, and the fun background. The composition of the picture is nice, too - very well-balanced. He looks like he's springing into action!
The one on the right is of my boys. Balin was ready to take off running, and Arthur put a protective arm around Balin to prevent him from fleeing. The colors are beautiful and the boys' expressions are priceless.
The barrel in these photos is actually what inspired me to take these two pictures. We set Balin on the barrel, hoping he would sit quietly without squirming. He did, but it was quite obvious he didn't want to be there. After Arthur saw how much "fun" Balin was having on the barrel, he wanted to sit up there and get his picture taken, too. He even has a semi-natural smile going on (a rarity for him!).
If I had taken the time to crop this picture, I think it would be a pretty good one. The light post on the left is distracting, and contrasts too sharply with the antique "feel" of the surrounding objects. I like the penetrating look Arthur is giving the camera. The composition isn't as nice as some of the other pictures, but I think I like it more for the subject than I do the background.
Although the picture on the left appears to be really nice, I did not have the shutter speed set correctly, so one of Balin's hands is blurry. He was signing "all done" because he wanted to play. I'm going to be so sad when he outgrows this little blue coat.
The one on the right was another "accident." We were walking through Creamer's Field and I snapped an over-the-shoulder shot of Balin. This was the result.
Arthur has a certain fondness for bridges. If he had a list of his favorite things, bridges would be in the top four, along with excavators, dump trucks, and pipes. I made him get on the side of the bridge, so he looks a little lost (cranky?) in this picture. The red jacket is a lovely touch. The picture on the right is him running across the bridge. I also encountered the same problem with shutter speed in this picture as I did with the one of Balin. If you look at Arthur's feet, they are blurry. Still, the composition and color are excellent. It's one of my favorites.
I plan on practicing this winter, too...I think I may have found a new hobby!
Blessed be.
Full auto, always full auto.
Recently, I realized that using a camera manually could not possibly be the hardest thing I've ever done. For Goddess sake, I traveled half-way around the world to Israel, got my Master's degree, had two babies without pain medication, and climbed the Golden Staircase. Surely I could figure out my camera's settings.
For the past few weeks, I've been experimenting. These are my favorite (or best) pictures of the bunch.
Arthur had a ticket to the Pioneer Park train that expired over Labor Day weekend. Since we hadn't spent a lot of time at Pioneer Park this summer, we went for a ride on the train and a chance to play at the park before it got too cold. Here are my two little monkeys waiting in line for the Pioneer Park train. Balin was not into the picture-taking and after a while, Arthur wasn't all that excited about it either. The background isn't the nicest, but the expressions on the boys' faces are fun and they seem to be having a good time...sort of.
The one on the left is a new favorite pictures. The feel of movement, his natural smile, and the fun background. The composition of the picture is nice, too - very well-balanced. He looks like he's springing into action! The one on the right is of my boys. Balin was ready to take off running, and Arthur put a protective arm around Balin to prevent him from fleeing. The colors are beautiful and the boys' expressions are priceless.
If I had taken the time to crop this picture, I think it would be a pretty good one. The light post on the left is distracting, and contrasts too sharply with the antique "feel" of the surrounding objects. I like the penetrating look Arthur is giving the camera. The composition isn't as nice as some of the other pictures, but I think I like it more for the subject than I do the background.
Although the picture on the left appears to be really nice, I did not have the shutter speed set correctly, so one of Balin's hands is blurry. He was signing "all done" because he wanted to play. I'm going to be so sad when he outgrows this little blue coat. The one on the right was another "accident." We were walking through Creamer's Field and I snapped an over-the-shoulder shot of Balin. This was the result.
Arthur has a certain fondness for bridges. If he had a list of his favorite things, bridges would be in the top four, along with excavators, dump trucks, and pipes. I made him get on the side of the bridge, so he looks a little lost (cranky?) in this picture. The red jacket is a lovely touch. The picture on the right is him running across the bridge. I also encountered the same problem with shutter speed in this picture as I did with the one of Balin. If you look at Arthur's feet, they are blurry. Still, the composition and color are excellent. It's one of my favorites.I plan on practicing this winter, too...I think I may have found a new hobby!
Blessed be.
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