Finally, the Final

The final is finally here. I say that with a bit of duality to my intent...because I usually enroll in quarters, a full semester seems like forever! At the same time, I've enjoyed this class and am sad that I am back to the business grind in January. In fact, my first accounting assignment is due January 4th. I'd rather be taking Photoshop!!!!

Well, in any case, here it is. This is my son and our family. Its a little corny, but it really is one of those reminders about how much I have to be grateful for in my life!

My first try at You Tube! I didn't want to try to tackle my longer video for my first attempt, so I tried this one instead...sorry for the repeat.

YouTube Video

Long Exposures / Painting with Light

This assignment was fun. I don't think my pictures are all that special, but I had a ton of fun experimenting and trying different things. I probably could have played with this for hours if I'd had a willing model.

A first run at a video...

I liked my idea, but not the results so much. I used a straight 50mm lens and the depth of field was too shallow so part of my images are focused and part aren't. Of course, I was done with most of the shooting (132 pics) before I figured out that I needed to redo it. It was too late then!

Black and Whites

I don't think I really had to go take new pictures for this assignment, but the trees were so pretty this weekend, I couldn't resist. Of course, I had to wait until Sunday to have time. John and I went for a drive up highway 79...and it was a beautiful drive in spite of the rain!

I also converted some of my previous pics to b & w for fun...and this turned out to be a time sucker, but lots of fun! I couldn't put it down. So, even though I only have a few pictures posted, I spent hours figuring out more about PS and how to do masking. I managed to do some in a couple of my landscape pictures so I could exaggerate the sky without losing the detail in the rest of the image. Whaddya think? Click here for a couple more...

Macro Photo Assignment

I spent the weekend in a Chicago suburb and the weather was beautiful. I was surprised to see how many flowers and leaves were still around to photograph...I thought everything would be drier and colorless.

This garden was at"Catigny" which was the home of Col. Robert McCormick, former owner of the Chicago Tribune. His home is now a museum and the grounds are a fabulous park-like garden...there were wedding parties moving about and we spent about four hours there overall.

When I count my blessings, my family is at the top of my list. Allison is my middle child, and she was willing to sit for my assignment this week. My husband pulled some magic out of his hat too, when I needed some light stands for the clamp lights. Some of his "toys" from his collection of stuff in the garage served well. It allowed me to place lights up high when needed, without contorting and balancing, etc. Well...mostly. There was still some climbing and balancing, but it was much less, thanks to him!

As for the photography...we had fun with the assignment. Allison put on a couple of her old formals and was playful once we passed the initial stiffness. I tried every tool in my aresenal: white balance, ISO, aperature priority, shutter priority, and exposure compensation. I found that my tendency remains to over-correct in my adjustments and thus I have to take the shot a third time (at least) to get what I'm after. Most of these were taken at an ISO of 800, with a white balance set at "incandescent" and using a 50mm lense. Aperatures ranged from 1.8 to 22.

When I played with ISO, I rolled down as low as 400 and up as high as 1600. I used exposure compensations up to -1.3.

Architecture Assignment

Well, I'm FINALLY finished with this one. Camping over the weekend did not provide "ample" opportunity for photos of architecture and a mini-crisis at work on Monday meant I struggled to find the time for this assignment. I have to say, however, that I really enjoyed it once I finally dove in. I went to the St. Louis City Library...what a beautiful place. I spent an hour taking pictures and never made it off the second floor. I know there was much more to see. There was also this really cool church right next to the library with amazing creatures jutting out - it looked like Cerberus, but that wouldn't be, would it?

Landscape Assignment

I love taking pictures of scenery! There is something awe-inspiring about nature. I went to three (yes three!) parks to find the picture I wanted, and still didn't. I think my recent jaunt to Colorado ruined me for Missouri landscapes (at least until the trees start changing colors).

Flash Experiment

From Flash Experiment

This assignment was hard. Usually I'm not one to whine or complain, but I really struggled with this. To begin with, I didn't find myself overly inspired...without a great subject I was doomed to much less than great pictures.

The weather wasn't cooperative, until I decided that pictures of the rain might be the best stop-action I could muster. And, so it was.

Apple Picking

Fall is in the air. We've enjoyed an unusually cool summer, and now we're having beautiful weather that just screams autumn! It is a family tradition to make a trip to Eckert's each year to pick apples. Saturday, we held to our tradition and made our way out to Grafton.

One of the interesting things about the assignment was considering photos from different angles and different perspectives. Of course, the trees were not "climbable" so I was limited in that regard, but I did climb in from underneath and shoot looking up. It made for some interesting views.

The trees were LOADED with beautiful Jonathan apples just waiting to be picked. Of course, the best part might be after we get home...

Portrait Assignment

I knew from the start that this assignment would challenge me. I think I prefer the "in the moment" type of photo and struggle more with the posing and instructing that is needed for portraits. My husband was my subject, and he was equally uncomfortable - though that made for some interesting expressions.

This weekend we made a quick trip to the mountains, and I thought I'd have a ton of opportunities. There were a few choice moments, but overall I found that being outdoors away from home was the toughest way to take these.

Click here for the full album...

Since we were away and my husband wasn't "thrilled" with the prospect of posing, I took lots of pictures of the wildlife too...click here to see. I considered calling these "portraits, but since I couldn't instruct them, I decided I'd better offer a human subject.

White Balance in the Sun

What could be better than a cool Sunday morning with a nice dose of sunshine? This day was perfect for a few minutes at the park with Bailee. I intended to get each white balance pre-set with each of the sub-settings but this busy two year old made that task a little tough. I was able to capture several sub-settings in each preset and see the variation the settings provide.