Foto Friday- My first photo gig

So most of you know by now that I dabble in photography. I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I am NO professional, but I have DNA connections to the art form as my father was once a professional photographer, so the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree. I have come to love it in my own way, and have a different eye for what I like to see in pictures.

Well, my dearest friend Angie, for whom I have been taking pictures of her little girl for years now, apparently trusted me enough a few months back to offer me a small job to take pictures of her niece for her Quinceañera. Of course I was flattered than she even asked, but it soon turned to shear panic of possibly disapointing her, but she reassured me that they were on a tight budget for this so any pictures I could possibly take would be truly appreciated. Otherwise there would be no pictures. Great! Ok, no pressure, right?!

Wrong!! As time got closer, I'd get sick to my stomach, and honestly thought about chickening out to avoid the possible disaster of ruining some little girls memories. BUT, I knew this was a great chance to get some practice and challenge myself to do something I never thought I'd do. So the Quinceañera was this past Saturday and it turns out that I think I actually did ok, and I'm glad I did it.

Here is where I will take the opportunity to thank another dear friend of mine, Jennifer Counter, who I owe the success of this photo shoot to.  She is a photo wiz and I love her photography , and she was nice enough to let me borrow a 50mm lens and her flash. But more importantly she was gracious enough to look at some of my practice pictures and give me some very practical tips and skills that I could understand. It made ALL the difference in my picture taking and my confidence going in. So Jen, once again...THANK YOU!!

Her tips helped me actually shoot the whole event in Manual mode which that alone was a huge success for me.  Shooting in manual takes practice (and I need more of it for sure) but I found it easier to maneuver lighting situations in this mode.

Instead of posting a long set of  pictures I have this short slide show with a sample of the shots I took throughout the event. My style tends to be abstract and I like catching casual shots of people just having fun. You'll also be able to tell that some of my favorites pictures tends to be shoes. Go figure! ;)



So in 5.5 hours I took well over 1000 pictures and ended up after editing and deleting the ones not worth keeping, there are 775 pictures total! I didn't expect to take this many, but its hard to know when to stop when you're there.

Ultimately I'm happy with what I turned out! They're not perfect but I got some great practice. I'm glad I did it and so was my friend Angie who loved the pictures. It was fun, but definitely a lot of pressure in making sure that I got the shots they wanted and would like. The one thing I have to say is that with digital photography today it is soo much easier to delete and re-shoot as you go along, so I'd like to give props to my dad and those photographers from years past when digital was not being used for professional photography. They were basically shooting blind and trusting in their mad skills that the pictures they shot would actually come out as they expected. Editing was not as easy as it is now either...so cudos to them!!

I hope you enjoy the pictures, and Dad I hope I made you proud!

Happy Foto Friday everybody!!

From my corner to yours...

February Photo A Day Challenge Pictures... (Day 15 - 21)

Ok, so this week was a disaster!! I feel like I'm losing steam...I didn't shoot the themes on the right days, they were a hit and miss, and my strategy of having my pictures planned out...yeah, well not soo much!!

The only thing I did do this week that I hadn't done much of lately, was take the majority of my pics with my SLR. So I got some practice in with that camera and that felt really good.

Otherwise, I am going to share the picture themes as they came to me in random order...

 Technology

 This little gadget of technology is what I have been depending on to complete this photo challenge. It helps me get my pictures from my phone to my computer to this blog. I love it because its compact and it recoils on itself so its easy to keep handy. Technology is amazing!

Long Exposure (320sec)

Ok, so this was one that totally stumped me. So as I am still learning, I really didn't know what a long exposure was until I looked it up, and from the examples I saw I needed a Ferris wheel, a fountain, waterfall or a traffic jam to get a good shot. I had none of those available to me! So I came up with this in my kitchen sink (good grief!!) I honestly would love some constructive criticism on this one, and some tips on how to even set up a "real" long exposure shot. I would appreciate any help...Thank you in advance!!

 Silhouette

Its been kind of gloomy this last week so as soon as the sun came out I tried to take advantage and got this shot. I thought it was actually kind of cool! Reminded me kind of an 80's Band record cover, but its just Danny, Mikey and lil' ol me in the middle.

Something Orange

This was easy!! My hubby gave me this beautiful orange coat for Christmas and I'll admit that at first I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to enjoy it since it looks quite bright. However, orange seems to be in at the moment, and the more I wear it, the more I love it! Its unique and different and I've been able to coordinate a few outfits with it. I can dress it up or down. LOVE IT!!

To nicely organized in here

Everything that was stuffed in here

Something I bought
We went to IKEA this weekend and this is another store I love just stepping into. There are just soo many cool little things you can get for dirt cheap and feel like you've rearranged your life. So one of the things they had this time were these cool blue compartment boxes. It was $3.99 and I didn't even know what I wanted it for, but I just knew I wanted one! Silly I know, but it was so cute! So I quickly remembered that I needed to organize my sewing stuff  which was all shoved in to the little box on the left, and sure enough it was a perfect solution..

  My Shoes or (My Boots rather)

"These boots were made for walkin'..." Oh, Hi!  Lol! Anyway, I usually have a really hard time buying boots because of my darnbigcalves, but having found these, they have become my 'go-to' shoe this winter. Do you have a favorite pair??

Bokeh

Defined as the quality, amount and SHAPE of the blur in out-of-focus areas of an image. Another skill I am glad to have a chance to practice. I got these 2 shots in that I was happy with. Maybe my favorite shots of the week. 

A Faceless Self-Portrait

I'll be honest, I took this about a week ago, but I didn't need to use it, so I'm using it now!

You know what?...This random recap format was a lot more comfortable for me. Not having the pressure of doing the exact daily theme on the exact day felt more natural.  I feel like sometimes the themes just don't work on a specified day, so I think I will keep going this route. I will keep with the list for the week, but as it comes naturally and fluidly for me.

So on to the last week or so of this challenge. How have you been doing?? Let me know.

Thanks for checking in!

From my corner to yours...

February Photo A Day Challenge Pictures... (Day 8 - 14)

Hello all!  Week 2 of this challenge was even a bit more difficult for me as I kept forgetting what my daily theme was, and finding something inspiring to shoot, but I tried my best. 

I did however, find a way to get in an opportunity to use my DSLR camera to take a few shots this weekend, as suggested by a guest comment. So thank you for that!

Day 8- A bad habit (list A) & Your sky (list B)        I am confessing one of my worst habits with this picture and that is that I bite my cuticles to the core!!! It is a gawd-awful habit and I'm totally embarrassed to show this, but maybe it might help me stop it...Maybe! Next to that mess, is the beautiful shot of my sky that day outside of my back door. The interesting thing I noticed was that the palm tree actually looks like a cute little giraffe hanging out! Do you see it?

Day 9- Somebody I Love (list A) & My Daily Routine (list B)

A)This is my hubby, Jerry, and I honestly got lucky enough to get this shot. He is camera shy and he was just back from a long day at work and winding down, so he was gracious enough to give me a sweet smile. Love you Babe!    B) I was not going to put everybody through a picture dump of my daily routine...it was too much even for me. So I am posting the one picture that holds true for me everyday. One of the many things I do in the morning is wash dishes. I HAVE to have the dishes done before I can do anything else, and the thing I love about that is that my Danny (& Mikey sometimes) is usually outside playing already and I just love watching them play outside while I wash dishes.  It just brings me comfort.


Day 10-  A Childhood Memory

I didn't even know I had this picture of myself until a few years ago when it was given to me by one of my best friends, Jessica. I love this picture, and I was in 4th grade so I must have been about 10? I love it. It just brings back soo many warm memories of my Catholic school days...St. Roberts, the uniforms, my friends (you know who you are ;]) Honestly, some of the best times of my life! I also remember how self conscious I was back then, and I just wish i could go back and tell that little girl soo many things about herself and how she was going to turn out to be...JUST FINE!








Day 11- A Close Up  
I had to switch the theme for this day with Day 12, as I forgot what I had to shoot for the day. But since I did take a whole bunch of pictures at my friend, Bethany's wedding shower with my DSLR, I will take the chance to share some of those now.  It was beautiful and very nicely decorated, and I shot every possible detail I could and some are actually closeups.

 



Day 12-Something Blue (List A)-  

Blue is one of my absolutely favorite colors. I just gravitate to it.  

This is one of my favorite blue vases up close. I love that dark tone.

 
Day 13- Me and 13 things in purse. (List A & B)

This theme wasn't hard to combine as I usually have more than just 13 things in my purse. Its usually a mess, but I had just cleaned it out so this picture is showing the minimum of what I usually carry.
I have my usual makeup, receipts hanging out of my wallet, and the RARE sight of a $5 bill hanging around (I rarely have cash on me). I am also loving these decorative flowers I have been finding to add as an accessory to my outfits or in this case my purse.

Day 14- EYES 

I had other plans for this picture but I went ahead and used the only eyes I had access to...my own!
I actually really like the way this came out. I realize how vulnerable I feel when I look at my eyes close up. The wrinkles that are showing up, the bags under my eyes, and the crows feet that I know I have give me such a reality check. However, having said that, I also realize that as much as these are signs of my "aging," they are also telling lines of what my life has been like. They are signs of all the crying I've done through the hard times in my life. They are happy wrinkles of all the laughing I have done, and those that know me know that I am no stranger to laughing out loud at almost anything! And the bags under my eyes are just witness to being the Mom that I am and all that entails including sleepless nights and long hours doing everything I need to do to keep my family running.

~~~~~~~~~~

So this is the end of Week 2, and again I am working hard to keep this going. This week I learned that preparation is probably key to this process. Knowing what picture themes are coming up will help me either get ready or think ahead of what inspirations I may want to look for instead of scrounging or stressing that same day to find what to shoot. So I will have my lists readily available and will try this strategy to see if this works for me.

I hope you enjoyed this week's pics and I will see you next week. Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you all a

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

from my corner to yours...

February Photo A Day Challenge Pictures... (Day 1 - 7)

Ok, so week one is over and I'm not sure that I'm totally happy with what I came up with, but I guess that's why it's called a "challenge," right?

I've noted a few observations from this process already:

•  I am using my iPhone camera a lot more than I expected- Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I love using my Canon SLR camera, and that's where I feel I need my skill building to happen. But of course, its just turning out that my cell phone is soo much more convenient to carry around than the bulky SLR. Its taking nice pictures, but I almost feel like I'm cheating or not taking real pictures. Does it matter what camera I'm using? I will figure this out as I go.

• Instagram-  Speaking of cheating, I am also falling in love with Instagram. I feel like that wonderful little app just makes it that much easier make my simple pictures look sooooo cool and they're all kept in one location. Almost too convenient! But this is what makes this app such an awesome feature too! Ugghh...should I be conflicted about this?  PLEASE ADVISE!

• I'm finding that its not always easy to find something to shoot. Maybe I'm not thinking out of the box enough to make the daily themes speak to me. But that is part of the challenge that I wanted so I will be working harder on that. I've got a few weeks to go and I'm looking at various inspirations.

Ok, so lets get to the pictures...

 I decided that to avoid picture overload I am just going to post my February Photo a Day Challenge pictures weekly so here are they are:

 

2/1- Day 1 of Challenge- Self Portrait

Took this with Instagram on my iPhone, and tried different poses,

but liked the effect I picked on this one.

 2/2- Day 2 of Challenge- Breakfast (unprepared)
I started of taking pictures of the cereal in my bowl as
I was eating and staring at the ingredients themselves,
and I figured I'd look at breakfast this way.

2/3- Day 3 of Challenge- Something you Adore
I love this cross that hangs over my chimney,
but I adore what it obviously signifies through prayer, thanks and reverence. 
God is so good to me. I am truly blessed!

 

(2/4) Day 4- Something Green
I thought I'd try this as a night picture, but these are the hardest to take.

(2/5) Day 5- Something You Wore
It was Superbowl Sunday, and my hubby requested I wear one of his favorite jerseys
for the party we were going to. I wore it with some comfy leggings and my boots.
I didn't end up wearing the flower...too girly for football. ;]

(2/6) Day - Something that makes you smile
 Chocolate (especially Hershey Kisses) will ALWAYS make me smile...
enough said! ;]


 (2/7) Day 7-  I took a chance at both themes for the day

From List #1- A Fruit

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. I love these little apples. 

 From List #2- My Favorite....Group

For those of you who know me well will know that I LOVE The Monkees.

I have loved them since I was 5 years old, and will always have a crush on Davy Jones!

So this was my chance to stick them into this challenge.

So there it is...Week 1 of my February Challenge. I'm looking forward to next week, and again looking to see what I can do different with each theme. I'm really trying to expand my horizon and I hope to take a step towards that. 

I hope you enjoyed your first week's challenge. PLEASE send me some of your pictures and I would be happy to post them here. 

What are your thoughts? How was your first week? Did you have the same observations, or did you have some different ones? Honestly, lets discuss!!  I think this would be great learning information, don't you?? Lets compare our thoughts so write to me or comment below.

Thanks for stopping by and happy picture taking!!

From my corner to yours,

31 day Photo Challenge- February 2012

whitepeachblog.com

I  have been wanting to do one of these for a long time, and I just haven't done it. Soo when I found the following challenges on Pinterest I told myself it was time.

whippycake.com

 



The one on the right says its for January 2012, but I am going to do this for the month of February and it actually works out because it will end with a self portrait on my Birthday, March 2nd.

 Cool!

So as you can tell they are both similar, but I decided I am going to do a combination of both challenges. I feel like I need some practice on the technical side of photography, so the list on the appeals to me for that reason. The one on the right I like because it has more of the fun and abstract aspects of photography which I love. But both are a going to be a challenge either way, and there may be days where I might do both day's challenge photos.

I'm not sure if I'm going to post pictures everyday, if I will post it on Facebook only, or if I will post them here on a weekly basis...but I will be sharing them somehow. We'll see how it goes. I want to have fun doing this, and don't want to stress out if I didn't get to posting it one day or not. As we all know, real life can get in the way, and our time is always limited. Ultimately for me, its about actually completing the challenge.

So I invite you to join me on this photo challenge! Do it all month, do one picture a week, pick the few you like, but I would love to see what you all do too! Email me your pictures and I will share them here!

I'm off to get my camera ready!

Happy picture taking, from my corner to yours...