Friday, June 13, 2014

Be Still 52, Day 4

It's the simple things in life that really do bring the greatest joy.  This rose was full of loveliness when it was fresh and fragrant, but it continues in its beauty at the final stages of its life.  I adore the change in color and the change in textures.

Day 4's extra credit exercise was to download and use one of Kim's presets and one of her textures in a photo in a different way which explored wabi-sabi.  I really enjoyed processing this photo and setting up the still for the shot.


Sunday, June 01, 2014

It's the Simple Things...

It's the simple things I am finding to be drawn to these days.   I find the desire to slow down... less hustle bustle and more "stop and smell the roses."  I signed up for KimKlassen's Be Still 52 course, which is focused on still life photography.  It is perfect for slowing down the process and finding joy in the simple things.   I have always been drawn to "simple" or less is more photography, but this course just spoke to me for many reasons and Kim is a wonderful instructor and talented photographer.    Here is just a few shots of recent work inspired by the class.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

A Day of Valentine....


I had a great day using my new camera.  After waiting very patiently, and after much research, I bought a new Cannon D6, the new entry level full frame camera.  NO regrets!  The color is amazing and it just feels good in my hands.  I haven't taken it on a full journey that it deserves, but for now, taking photos of flowers fixed my creative urge.   So, I send to you, flowers for this special Valentine week! 

2B - Day 3


This week in 2B, we worked on camera settings, focus tricks & Lightroom layouts.  Good stuff!  I enjoyed this exercise.  Changing the focal point really does have an impact on your photo.  I took a lot of photos today.  I finally created my template for the class, but after I was done, I went outside and took several photos of Gracie, one of our basset hounds.   I loved focusing on her nose.  The bottom photo is my favorite.  She is such a little ham!



Sunday, February 03, 2013

Beyond Beyond - Week 2

Time continues to fly by...It seems like it was just yesterday the family was gathered and we were enojoying the beginning of the holiday season.  And now, Valentines Day is upon us...sigh...

Here we are at week two in Beyond, Beyond.  For this week, Kim reviewd some camera tips and specifically, aperture settings.   We were to take photos using different aperture settings to see how changing the aperture affected the overall view of the picture.  This is always a good practice excercise.  The depth of field (DOF) has a great effect of the "feel" you are trying to achieve or towhere the eye is directed.  These photos were all taken at an aperture setting of 4.0, which is the lowest aperture setting for the lens I was using (which happens to a new lens on my new camera!).   These are just random shots from my artroom.  These are all SOOC so I could see the performance of my new camera.  The top photo is my favorite, and in the collage as well:




 
My artroom is my "safe" place in my home...my refuge and my retreat! 

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Beyond Beyond and a New Year

My how time flys..I mean REALLY flys.   I set this blog up with the intention of documenting my journey of many facets of my life, but life is full...sometimes too full and not always full of good stuff.  So, once again I make a pact with myself to be good..find BALANCE...Stop and smell the roses, as they say. 

Once again I signed up for Kim Klassen's Beyond, Beyond journey.  I really don't think of it as a class but a year long journey.  If I keep up with the class, I know at the end of the year, I will have been on an incredible creative journey.    So here goes with Week 1.   

The Capture Challenge - for this week's challenge, we were to experiment with shooting a subject, any subject.  We had to photographic it from various angles and points of view.  Only we could not move the subject.  I chose to photograph a succulent plant from the cactus family that has been in bloom for several weeks.  Soon, it will be gone and I will have to wait another year to see this miracle.  It always astounds me when this plant blooms.   Below is a collage of several of the pictures I took.  The center photo is my favorite. 
The blooms are like umbrellas that grow from two large stalks. I have included a photo for better understanding of how it blooms.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Beyond Layers - Day 64

I love a nice quiet weekend.  Dove hunting season opened this weekend, so I am a dove widow.  The bird of peace, but don't fret, we eat all that is brought home and there are plenty more once the season is over.  The quiet afternoon gave me the opportunity to work on another lesson.  This one was about masking.  I love Kim's style of teaching and am looking foward to her next class, Round Trip, which starts soon.  I hope to go out for a photo shoot tomorrow and try new lessons from other online classes I am taking!





Sunday, August 19, 2012

Beyond Layers - Day 60

I have been so behind in this class, but at the same time, I know I am right where I should be.  As I mentioned in my previous post, life just sometimes passes us by...oh too quickly.  But this exercise really spoke to me and I wanted to give it a spin. 

This is another picture I took this morning down that unfamiliar road (which will become VERY familiar to me now!).   I didn't mention that I ended up with about an inch of mud on the bottom of my boots.  But I was determined to make the best of it this morning and I was not disappointed, mud and all.

Here is my "shot" at Day 60, which uses scripted text.  I am usually not partial to yellow, but these wild flowers were just so lovely after the fresh rain!


Always Take a New Road...

Life just passes us by if we let it.  I once had a conversation with a woman from Holland who said to me, "you Americans live to work...we work to live."  That has always stuck with me and sometimes I think it is so true.  I think the answer is somewhere in between because we have to work to make a living, but work doesn't have to be the focus of our lives.  The older I get, the more I realize that balance in life is SO important.  

Yesterday my husband and I took a new road in our area that leads to a new school.  The road has just recently opened and is not completely finished.  So we turned around and on the way back discovered a wonderul old stone building with a windmill.  It had just rained and I didnt' have my camera with me, but I thought about in all night.  This morning I put on some hiking boots and drove back.  I was determined to get a picture of the old building and windmill.  I was so glad I did.  It was like major eye-candy.  The kind that makes your heart stop!  As I began shooting, there were three cows that came down another road curious to see who I was.  Our eyes met and we just stared at one another.  Shoot with your camera!  I think they were waiting for me to take their picture! They didn't move until a few minutes after.  The little one just stole my heart.  I have several pictures from this morning, but I am totally in love with these guys.   It will be a picture in my mind and on my heart all week.