Week 26: Silhouette

So this was a tough one. To get a good silhouette, you need a bright light source directly behind the subject. To get a good silhouette of a person, the most common way I have heard to do it is at sunrise or sunset. That you place the subject directly between you and a clear shot at the sun. At sunrise or sunset, all three things (photographer, subject, and light-source) are "level".

Now, notice I said you need a clear shot at the sun. Since I live in the woods, I would have to travel to find a spot where I would get a clear shot of the sun at sunrise/sunset. Another good way to get a bright light source would be a campfire. Which we do have those here at the house once and a while. Well, we did not have one this week....

Long story short, I did not get a silhouette of a person. Just didn't work out for me this week. I have done them in the past, but I feel using an older picture for this week would be cheating! I did feel that I should get something for this week. So, I went out in the yard in the afternoon held up a maple leaf, and this is what I got for silhouette.

I must say, it is a simple photograph, but I still like it! I do plan on getting some more silhouettes over the summer, so be on the look-out!

Next week is Black and White.

Lessons 10-12!

OK, so this is the end of my Photographing Nature class. I must say, I loved getting out there and learning more about nature photography. I am sad that the class is over already though! I already took my final exam and have my grade, and A!!!

Ok, so to share what I did for the last lessons. Lesson 10 was all about Marco photography. Macro is technically 1:1. But, the term is also used for any really close-up photographs. I struggled with this one. I love macro photography, but I don't yet have a macro lens. This made it tough for my to get as close as I wanted to. I just could not focus my lens right unless I was further away. But, I kept at it and did get some nice shots!

Lesson 11 was about basic post-processing, or editing. The instructor actually gave us photos to work with, so these were not shot by me. For each one, he told us what he wanted done. I will show you before and afters of my takes. I will also explain what he wanted, and what I did to get there.

 For the leaf, the instructor said to use a healing or cloning tool to get rid of the two big brown spots. I used the healing tool in Photoshop to "fix" three brown spots.

 For this one, there are obvious over-exposed areas. He wanted those areas fixed. I used a selection tool to select the over-exposed trees and water then I lowered the brightness level. I also selected the darker areas (using a mask on the areas I already fixed) and raised the brightness slightly.

For the spider web, we were left to our own devices! He just told us to experiment and have fun. I went through every filter option in my Photoshop. I wanted to make it look out there! I thought the "neon edge" filter did just that!

Our final lesson was about abstract nature photography. He described abstract as "anything beyond concrete realities or specific objects". He also described Abstract photography as "not having the usual subjects and objects". So, I got as creative as I could using my back yard. This is what I came up with:

I know the abstract work could be better, and I will definitely use what I learned about as I continue the path of photography. I must say, I am glad I found this class. It has thought me a lot and inspire me, too!

Week 25: Someone you love

So, I had trouble with this challenge. It is someone you love. But, when I think about people I love, there are more then just one I would want to pick. My first thought was my children. Of course I have three, so I couldn't just choose one. So with the help of my husband, we managed to wrangle the three of them together for my photo this week. FYI, it is near impossible to get all three of them at the same time, never-mind all three looking at the camera! But after about a half hour, we finally gave up. So, here was the best one of many. you will notice my middle one still no looking, but he was the one who won't stay still period, so to even get him in here was a miracle!

And, my husband, my helper, and another Someone I Love. So, it may not be the best picture of him, but I am lucky he even let me take one!!!!

Next week, Silhouette!

Week 24: Sunset

So, I waited until the last minute to get this one. Mainly because I am the one who does the bedtime routine for the kids. By the time I am done, I missed the sunset. Then, there was two days of rain this week too! But I finally went out last night. After the kids were off to bed, I rushed down the street to a farm up on a high hill. I shot a few at the bottom, moved further up the hill, and shot some more. These are the four shots that were my favorites.

Next weeks challenge is Someone you love. I know I will have a lot for that!

Lessons 7, 8, and 9!

Hello, So I have taken a bit longer to get these lessons up then I wanted to, But here I am! Lessons 7, 8, and 9 all involve animals! Lesson 7 was large animals, lesson 8 was small animals, and lesson 9 was birds! I loved lesson 9 especially since I am on a mission to see how many different birds I can capture this year!
For lessons 7 and 8, the instructor went over ways to capture pets, and animals in captivity (i.e. the zoo). I would have loved to get to the zoo last weekend, but it just was not in the cards. I will however, get there over the summer, and will share photos when that time comes! But in the meantime, this is what I did get for these lessons.

Large Animals:

 This guy was hanging out with his buddies in my back yard. One nice thing about living in the woods!

 Very friendly Yellow lab. She belongs to a friend of my dad.

 There is the horse stable down the street from me. All my kids love to drive by and wave to all the horses!

Small Animals:

 This cutie belongs to the same lady as the dog shown above!

 My youngest kitty, Harley, not looking to happy with me!

My oldest kitty, Stormy, doing what he does best, being lazy!

Birds:

 Great Comorant

 Female Herring Gull

 Male Mallard Duck

Blackpoll Warbler(?) complete with lunch

I haven't have lesson 10 yet, but the instructor did mention it would be about Macro Photography. I am kind of nervous about that, since I do not have a macro lens, and my lens I do have, don't like to focus to close to something.... I guess I shall see what I can come up with.

Lesson #6

As promised I got my lesson six photos done before class tomorrow. Lesson six was to experiment with telephoto photography. The instructor wanted us to try to get three specific subjects that are best shot with a telephoto lens. These are clouds, stars, and the moon. He gave hints and setting suggestions for these subjects. One thing he did mention about the moon was to keep the shutter speed fast. He said it is common for people to try and slow the shutter down because it is night time. I must admit, I am one of those people. He said that the moon itself is bright (especially when full or near full), and does not require a slow shutter speed. This makes sense! I, unfortunately, have not had the chance to shoot any of these three subject, due to it raining since Friday night!

The good thing is, this was not the specific assignment. The assignment was to take three shots. Each shot once at say 50mm, then again at 200+mm. I did like I did for lesson 5, and just drove around, staying in the car and shooting from inside the car. This is so that I did not destroy my camera! So, here are my three picks.

#1: Taken from the marina I was at for lesson 5. Taken at 55mm.

#1: Same spot at the marina at 300mm.

#2: Duck pond at 55mm

#2: Duck pond at 300mm

#3: Geese in field at 55mm

#3: Goose in field at 300mm.

Well, see you next week for lessons 7 and 8!!!

Week 23: Close-up

So, I had a lot of fun with this weeks challenge. Getting up close gives you a better look at the details of the subject. So, I will not blab much here today, I will show what I have.

Next weeks challenge is Sunset.

Lesson 5: water

I have my two assignments from last week. Assignment 5 was to photograph three bodies of water. They need to capture interest, like the landscape assignment. Anyone can photograph water or a landscape, but the challenge lies in having show meaning, therefore, keeping the interest of the viewer. Assignment 6 is to experiment with zoom or a telephoto lens. This one would be actually 6 photos. The instructor asked to take one shot at say 50mm, then zoom out to the max (for my telephoto lens, that would be 300mm) to capture the same spot, then compare the difference.
So, my class assignments have been difficult to get done this weekend. Not because I find them a challenge, But, because it has been raining since Friday night! And it is suppose to keep raining until Thursday! Rain makes it tough to get outside with my camera, especially since my camera is not water proof! I hate to put things off, and I would really like to get these both done by Wednesday, which is my next class. (Classes are every Wednesday and Friday.)
Anyway, I still ventured out this weekend with the kids. We just drove around near the beach and I just shot from inside the car. Even though I know I could have done better in nicer weather, I got all three of my photos for water. One of the greatest thing about nature, is she is ever changing. I believe that to be a good nature photographer, you have to embrace nature in all her aspects!

So, Here are my water photos, rain and all!

This was taking while driving to the beach. We have a lot of marsh land near the NH seacoast. I had to grab this shot when we saw a whole flock of egrets waiting out the storm.

This was taking just around the corner from the egrets. Here is a small harbor on the southern NH seacoast. We were hanging out watching the boats, when this gull decide to brave flying in the rain. So, that makes photo #2!

We continued driving the seacoast until we crossed over into MA. There is were route 1A (road the follows the coast) goes inland to meet up with route 1. That is due to having to cross the Merrimac river. So here we are, stopped at a boat launch on the shore of the Merrimac. I braved driving out over the water (on ramp) to get a close-up of water. I like this shot because it has a lot of elements. You see the rocks, the edge of the retaining wall, sea-grass, and yes, the rain!

I do have one photo done for assignment 6 so far that was done at this same spot. But, I will post all of them together later!