Just learnin'

Desert Botanical Gardens Butterfly Exhibit

2009-05-29T15:14:00.004-07:00

Chihuly Exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens

2009-05-27T12:27:00.002-07:00

A rose by any other name . . .

2009-05-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Spring time babies

2009-05-02T13:55:00.001-07:00

Which do you like better?

Daddy's hands

2009-05-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Getting back into the swing of things . . .

2009-04-19T10:57:00.003-07:00

On Hiatus

2009-01-04T16:36:00.003-07:00

Not sure that many of you even check this blog, but as you can tell, it has been a while since I posted. I don't plan on posting any more photos on this blog for a while, at least until after Number 3 is born. Just haven't had the time or energy to take many photos. For obvious reasons, I will not be taking the next session of the photo class either. May not start that again until the fall. But check back in a couple months and hopefully I will have some new photos added. For those who check the family blog, I will let you know on there when I post here again.

*This photo was taken at See Canyon during this past October.

Downtown Phoenix

2008-11-16T16:32:00.002-07:00

Last weeks assignment was Downtown Phoenix. Our downtown is not the same as other downtowns. We have some pretty cool buildings, but not a lot of life. My mom, sister and I were there on a Saturday, mid morning and it was like a ghost town. Except for the many homeless people who make their home there. That being said, I get bored taking photos of architecture. Just not my favorite thing. I was interested in photographing the homeless, but did not have anything to offer them. I didn't feel comfortable just taking their picture, as though they were on display. I ended up with two photos from this shoot and one photo from a different time that I was downtown.

Ghouls and Goblins

2008-11-13T07:26:00.002-07:00

Oops, I forgot to post the pictures from our last class assignment. It was a Halloween assignment - Ghouls and Goblins. Halloween isn't a favorite holiday of mine, so I didn't really get out there and get anything too ghoulish. Instead I took pictures that I had and had fun in photoshop. Some I did more to than others. Enjoy!

2008-10-23T21:18:00.003-07:00

This weeks class project was portrait of an artist - where we emulate the work of an artist. I wasn't as interested in the artist, Liechtenstein, so decided to use my Wild Card and do my own thing. I took a big step and went way out of my comfort zone - photographing myself and not just myself, but my big ole' belly. I am very self conscience and critical of myself, so it is hard for me to portray myself like this. I did get good feed back from my instructor and the rest of the class, so that helped. There are things that I would change and will probably do so. Go back and try other things. I am happy with this, being my first ever photo shoot of myself and in what I consider a vulnerable way. I hope you enjoy.

Showing and stopping motion

2008-10-17T09:02:00.003-07:00

This weeks assignment for class was showing and stopping motion in the same photo. I really didn't get any great shots showing both - mainly because the week went by super fast and before I knew it, it was Tuesday and I had two days to try to get some photos. So, I tried to get some at the zoo water pad - but the ones showing and stopping motion weren't that exciting to look at, no faces or expression visible. So I went with more cute ones of the boys, with some stopped motion. I guess basically I didn't really complete this project. But I did get some cute photos of the boys! I did take in an old photo, the last one, that sort of showed both. But it's just OK too. Anyway, here's what I took to class:

2 more for contentment

2008-10-10T07:59:00.003-07:00

We made it to the zoo one more time before class last night and I thought that maybe the flamingos would exude contentment. Here are two pictures that came close. The last one I used in class and everyone seemed to like it. I also used the sleeping lion and Papa and Aidan walking together- they seemed to be liked as well.

Contentment

2008-10-07T16:39:00.003-07:00

We are starting up our next photography class and our first assignment is one word description - contentment. I haven't had much time to shoot, but did get a few photos. Hopefully I'll be able to shoot some more before Thursday!

2008-09-02T15:57:00.002-07:00

It's been quite a while since I last posted. I've been feeling a bit better lately and have gotten the camera back out. This weekend I had fun shooting an Oriental Lily. The first picture has obviously been played with in photoshop. The others are as is. Nothing too exciting, just thought I would post something. Not even sure if anyone really looks. Enjoy if you do! And please feel free to leave comments, it's how I learn.

Flower power

2008-06-05T16:06:00.005-07:00

I do enjoy taking pics of flowers. I found these at the store and thought they would be fun. On a few shots I tried to my hand with high key.

I would love any thoughts!

My portfolio

2008-06-01T19:15:00.003-07:00

For the last class of this session, we were asked to put together our portfolio. This was probably the hardest project of all for me! I know that we are our own worst critics and I try to remind myself of that. I'm afraid that I will embarrass myself by choosing a photo that I thought was portfolio worthy that really wasn't. SO, I took in several photos and asked for our instructor and our class to be completely honest with me and help me choose photos for my first portfolio. They were all helpful and here are the winners (most of which you have all probably seen):

Scenic Pictures from the cabin

2008-05-12T14:43:00.004-07:00

These pictures were taken during our stay in Munds Park. We had a great weekend and I think I got a few decent shots.

Rose

2008-05-12T14:38:00.002-07:00

21 Day project

2008-05-01T13:35:00.004-07:00

(Explanation at bottom)

Our latest class project is to shoot 1 photo per day, for 21 days. Our topic is minimalism. It's been challenging for me to shoot this way. I am so used to being able to shoot, look at the picture, make adjustments, shoot, etc. This really has been helpful in making me slow down and really think things through. I still make lots of mistakes and still see improvements after the photo has been taken. But I've been good and have only shot each subject once. In regards to minimalism, I've tried to think creatively. Which can be hard when you have limited amounts of time and are usually exhausted. :-)

The Desert in Bloom

2008-04-22T18:09:00.002-07:00

Our latest class project was entitled "The Desert in Bloom". We were supposed to capture plants, native in Arizona, in bloom. I had fun with this project, but shooting flowers is one of my favorite things. Here are some of my favorites. I will take four from this group for our class critique. Enjoy!

Here ya go John

2008-04-09T08:46:00.003-07:00

Per John's wonderful suggestion - I took a minute and converted this photo to black and white. I like it. Instead of simply clicking black and white I completely desaturated the photo and slighlty upped the highlights and sharpness. I don't have photo shop so just did this through iphoto. I haven't really done much in the way of manipulation of photos - yet another aspect I will eventually learn.

Back at it again . . .

2008-04-08T15:39:00.003-07:00

Last Thursday started our second photography class. This is an intermediate class with some people in it who have taken it several times. Plus, I talked a friend from high school, who I haven't seen in a very long time, to take the class with us. (Well, I didn't have to do too much talking, pretty much told him about it and he was all for it) Check out his awesome work too. The only blog link I have on this blog - John Flowers Photography. Anyway, it is going to be a great class. Although I must say that I am definitely a little intimidated by the abilities the other photogs have. I just remind myself that I am still in the beginning stages of learning. I also remind myself that I have very little time to actually get out of the house to take my photos. Which is some times a frustration for me. I basically have to get "the picture" in the time I have alloted for myself. I typically don't have time to go back and reshoot if I don't get it the first time. (Side note, we have one project per week to complete - which for a mom with two little ones isn't much time. Probably not much time for others with jobs either, I don't want to come across like I'm the only one who struggles with this) Anyway, this weeks assignment was to shoot "The Doors", which is art work near Fashion Square, not the band (which would be way cool). One evening Cody and I snuck away while the boys were with the G-parents and here are some of the pictures I took.

Tiny Hands

2008-03-14T21:06:00.002-07:00

Desert Botanical Gardens

2008-03-14T20:57:00.004-07:00

My sister was off this week - no teaching because it's spring break - so she and I headed over to the Desert Botanical Gardens on Wednesday. Our hope was to get some cool pictures of the butterflies as well as anything else we could find. I had a few that I liked, not loved. At any rate, I'll let you decide . . .

A few old, a few new, part 2

2008-03-10T19:38:00.001-07:00

A few old, a few new . . .

2008-03-10T18:10:00.001-07:00

I decided to post a few of my oldie, but goodie photos that I had taken for my last class. Some of the pictures were posted on the family blog and some hadn't been posted at all. I wanted to post them here for those who hadn't seen them. Plus, I had a couple of new photos from the past week. Enjoy!

Capturing Kids

2008-03-07T20:07:00.002-07:00

*If you came from my family blog, you have seen these, but scroll down for other pics you haven't seen.*

I'm not very confident in my ability to shoot people, mainly kids, my kids. Which are my favorite subjects by far. The problem is that I'm still not quick enough in my abilities to capture all the great moments, but I'm working on it. By the time I get my settings right, they are off to the next thing (even if it does only take a second or two to get the setting right). Oh well. At any rate, I get a few cute ones here and there. They played long enough on the slide today so I was able to get some good ones. ( I think . . .)

I LOVE my micro!

2008-03-07T14:52:00.006-07:00

I really love shooting with my micro lens. The detail I can get with it amazes me. I still need more practice with it, but hope to continue getting some cool shots. While I was shooting flowers today (which seems to be a major attraction for me, perhaps because they don't run away like my boys do . . .) I discovered even tinier forms of life. The first shot is what the orange flower look like looking down on them and the second contains the little ants I found. I was just having fun with the hibiscus and didn't even notice the little spider hiding in the petal until right after I took the first shot. It's amazing what you can find and see when you get real close!

(For those who don't know, you can click on the images to enlarge them)

The Zoo

2008-03-02T15:18:00.001-07:00

Last Friday I went to the zoo (with the boys and Aunt Lori) and decided to go back on Saturday (without the boys). I had fun shooting the animals, (that doesn't sound right) er, taking pictures of the animals. Especially the orangutans.

Tulips

2008-03-02T15:11:00.001-07:00

These are shots of the tulips blooming in our backyard.

Welcome!

2008-03-02T15:04:00.002-07:00

Welcome to my world of photography. In the beginning, majority of the photos I will be posting will probably be for my photography class. Some I will have used and some I won't. Like I've said before, I would love any input, ideas, suggestions, etc. I'm excited about learning more and more about photography. Hope you enjoy!