Wordless Wednesday: Three Planes

Three planes from the National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C.
June, 2011

 

Photography Update

I took this photo about a month ago, while I was on spring break. A friend and I headed downtown with our cameras and got artsy with our bad selves. Throughout the day I think my photography skills got better. I took a few duds, but a lot of shots I really liked. And that's when it hit me.

To be a better photographer, I need to PRACTICE. Duh. I constantly tell my students that if you want to learn to do something that is hard for you, you need to practice, practice, practice. That if something is hard, then you need to work harder to make it happen for you. And yet, I haven't quite been able to apply these lessons to my own photography.

I think the problem is time. I'm not making time to take the camera out and wander. I'm not making time to complete the MCP photo challenges that I wanted to do. Grad school and work are getting in my way. To top it all off, it's been raining, and really, there are only so many things you can photograph in your home. Especially if you only have two crotchety cats rather than cute babies or something. Maybe I'll get really good at self-portraits.

So I ask you photo people out there: what websites/tutorials/books helped you unleash your inner shutterbug? Help!

Around the House

Kev has class on Thursdays, which means that I spend Thursdays alone with whatever plans I make. This might make me the worst wife ever, but I sort of like the odd weeknight at home alone. Generally, I spend these nights on the couch with the cats and a book, avoiding my to-do lists and alternating between reading and watching my guilty pleasure tv that Kev abhors. (Strange side note: while Kev is a gigantic Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 fan, he will not watch more than 10 seconds of 16 and Pregnant. He says that actually seeing how young the girls are while they are physically pregnant gives him the creeps. I find this odd.)

Today, though, I finally did something I've not been making time for, and played with our new camera. Yes, for Christmas we were lucky enough to receive enough Amazon gift cards to make buying our dream camera. I am ecstatic, and true to my secret love of all things reading and research, spent some copious interweb time looking for some help getting my creative itch scratched. While I want to use my camera a LOT, I just don't think I'm ready for the traditional photo a day, 365 challenge. However, this blog has a great weekly photo challenge, and I figured that I could at least do that.

Or so I thought. Oops. Somehow, we are now on Week 4, and I spent tonight working on Week One's assignment. Big oops. So, while I'm hoping to catch up with the rest of my photo procrastinating this weekend, here are my favorite shots from Week 1's challenge: Around the House.



While I'm not crazy about my iron being in this shot, it does have three of my favorite things about our home in it: our orange curtains, our dining room light fixture, and our arched doorways. When I think about going home, this is one of the mental pictures I have.



This picture makes me laugh really hard because it so perfectly sums up Kev's and my eating habits. Top shelf full of tamales, lean pockets, chocolate and Ben and Jerry's: mine. Bottom shelf full of meat: Kev.



This picture was just born out of curiosity about shooting with no flash out a dark window. To me, it is Chicago. Porches, exposed brick, and kind of a strange finish. I also like the funk factor of my patterned scarf's reflection on the glass.



I love glasses. They just say "good times ahead" to me. Or maybe that's just the liquid I fill these guys with talking.



I'm not brave enough yet to attempt self portraits, but I kind of like the strangeness of my three paned bathroom mirror. It's sort of eerie, no? Definitely the scariest elbow I've seen all day.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am running late for my usual Thursday night Lean Pocket, pajama and pregnant teen Thursdays. TGIT.

The Joys of Photography

Recently, we went to Vegas for our friends' wedding. They had an awesome, low key ceremony that was perfect for the two of them, and as a wedding gift, we borrowed one of Kev's coworkers' fancy shmancy camera so that we could commemorate their big day. Before taking the camera to the Vegas wedding, Kev, his dad, and I headed up to Minnesota to visit Kev's younger siblings at college. I spent an afternoon with the camera and I am now officially addicted. As previously mentioned, I'm trying to become more of a creative, artsy person, and I feel this may help. Unfortunately, the camera is way out of our price range, so I guess I'll just have to post wistfully about how awesome having it was, and then hope somebody reads this and takes pity on me. Preferably somebody with a generous heart, a softness for chatterboxes like myself, and lots of cold, hard cash.

I mean, this camera takes very relaxing pictures of tress:


It also takes pictures of delicious grapes at vineyards:



It can document snazzy fashion choices:


Best of all, it has a multi-frame feature which allows you to take multiple shots with a single push of the button. This option is especially helpful for archiving important moments in sporting events. For example, when Kev's dad out putted Kev in frisbee golf:


That last photo alone should be enough evidence. Have I convinced you that I need this yet?

Photo Extravaganza!

I promise to give more of a scoop about wedding weekend, honeymoon and the like, but since I have to go to 6 pack attack class at the gym to get my rear in gear following a fried food and rum filled 12 days in Puerto Rico, please enjoy a brief sampling of photos instead.

On the left, you can enjoy one of my favorite wedding gifts, courtesy of the Holland sisters. Yes, those are really attractive photos of Kev and I. Yes, we wore them in Puerto Rico.

On the top right, you can see that my new mother-in-law (yes I have one now!) rented us a party trolley. We packed it full of people and champagne, and it was awesome. We even convinced him to do a few extra laps before we all had to go in for the receiving line-much needed.

During the course of getting ready, and choosing my accessories, my mom insisted that I MUST wear heels, as it would give me good posture and "complete the look." The heels lasted until just before the first dance...here's me kicking them off for some outdoor photos before the reception started.


Last but not least, once of my favorites, courtesy of our fabulous photographer, Harold Crane. We look so much more glamorous than we really are. Was all the wedding planning madness worth it? Absolutely.