{Photo Corner} Week 12 and 13: The Big Apple

Since I was on vacation in NYC, I didn't get to post pictures. But I took a lot and so here are a few (some taken by me and some by Papa Bear, since I Baby Bear needed a bit of attention, Papa Bear had more control of the camera than I did).

Central Park.





A New York City evening.



Tourists at the museum.



The Empire State Building.





At Times Square.





For more pictures of our trip to the Big Apple, check out Baby Bear's blog.

{Photo Corner} Week 11: Lesson 5 Composition

I am a bit behind on my lessons, but that is fine. I just have to take it all one step at a time. Lesson 5 is on composition and gives 6 tips to help compose a photos:

1. Keep it simple - eliminate distractions
   
2. Apply the rule of thirds
3. Keep an eye on the horizon
4. Frame your subject
5. Fill the frame
6. Try a new perspective

Here are a few of the tips in action. A nice and easy lesson.

Fill the frame.



Keep it simple (and fill the frame).



Rule of thirds.

{Photo Corner} Week 9 and 10: Catching Up

I have fallen way behind on my pictures. I've been so busy with work and life that I haven't had much time to blog. So here I am catching up. I got a new lens for my birthday and have been playing with it.

So to catch up here are photos for week 9 and 10 of my 52 week challenge.







And my favorite picture.



I am enjoying this new lens. It is definitely nicer quality photos from my kit lens.

{Photo Corner} Week 8: Celebrating 36

Yesterday was my birthday. We didn't do much this year to celebrate, just laid low. Papa Bear had class in the evening and I ended up having to work. I usually try to take the day off for my birthday but I was just too busy at work. Besides we are going to New York in 17 days for work and play, so I figured I would take the time off then and Papa Bear and I can celebrate both our birthdays in New York since his birthday is towards the end of March.

Papa Bear watched Baby Bear yesterday and brought her to work to meet me for lunch. It is always nice to see my Baby Bear. I received some really nice messages from friends on facebook and cards from my lola and BFF. It was a mellow and beautiful day.

Papa Bear got me a new lens for my camera, the nifty fifty. I can't wait for it to come and to try it out. From what I hear it is worlds better than the kit lens that I have been using.

I got some gorgeous flowers from my mother-in-law. And here are those beautiful flowers...

{Photo Corner} Week 7: A little behind

I am a little behind with posting pictures. Here of Baby Bear's little friend she made this weekend.



This is Cornelius, he is a sweet pug. I'll hopefully get back to the lessons soon. Life happens and it has been crazy busy.

{Photo Corner} Week 6: Lesson 4 Flash

This week's lesson was on the flash. Basically, when to use a flash and things to consider when you use a flash such as distance and glare. It also covers using your flash outdoors.

The challenge for this lesson required to go outdoors and use a flash. I wasn't able to do the first part of the challenge since it asked that you go out on a gray day. And though it is winter time, in Southern California we had beautiful 70 degree weather this weekend. I love living in So Cal!

The second part of the challenge was to use fill flash to eliminate dark shadows on the face on a bright day. With beautiful weather, this was something I could do!

This picture is without a flash with my favorite model.



Here is another picture of Baby Bear, with the flash this time.



Here is another set. First without a flash:



With the flash:



I never would have thought to use a flash outside during the day (Papa Bear even asked why I had the flash on during the day). Even with only an internal flash, it does make a difference in certain situations. I am having so much fun learning about photography.

{Photo Corner} Week 5: A red retro kitchen

I wasn't able to do lesson 4 because it requires you to go outside and it is generally dark by the time I get home, so I will have to wait until the weekend to do the next lesson. For now I leave you with a few pictures of a kitchen...



Baby Bear's new play kitchen. Isn't it just too cute!



The knobs actually work!



Practicing this white balance thing a little more. I think I might be getting the hang of it. At least I think the coloring in these photos are way better when I use a custom white balance setting. I did try the other pre-sets.

For some pictures of Baby Bear playing with her new kitchen, check out her blog.

{Photo Corner} Week 4: Lesson 3 The Color of Light

I hope to be back on track with my photography lessons. The third lesson was on light and white balance. "White balance is simply a fancy way of setting the color temperature of your image." There are several White Balance settings: cloudy, tungsten, bright sun, and florescent. However, the best way is to use a custom white balance, which forces the camera to set its white balance for the exact lighting situation that you are shooting.

Automatic White Balance (AWB)



Tungsten setting. You don't really see a drastic difference between the two photos.



Custom White Balance. Here is where you see less of a orange cast on the photo.



I really enjoy learning about photography and how to use my manual settings.

{Photo Corner} Week 3: Growing Up

This week I didn't have time to do the 3rd lesson, so instead for my 52 week challenge I took a few pictures on my favorite subject, Baby Bear!





Still learning to take better photos...

{Photo Corner} Week 2: Lesson 2 ISO and Shutter Speed

Lesson 2 is on ISO and Shutter Speed.

ISO, or film speed, is really just a setting to determine how quickly an image will be captured by either the film or digital sensor. The higher the ISO, the quicker the image will be captured and the less light that is required. The lower the ISO, the longer it takes for the image to be captured and the more light you will need.

general rule of thumb:

• 100 - 200 sunny and outdoors
• 400 in the shade, overcast, indoors with good light
• 800 - 1600 indoors, low light conditions, sports or action

Shutter speed is how quickly the shutter, or the little door that opens in front of your film or image sensor, operates. It can range from several seconds (or minutes on the Bulb setting) to 1/1600 of a second or faster.

general rule of thumb:

• use a tripod or flat surface to steady your hand for anything 1/50th or under
• if you are handholding, use a minimum of 1/60th. Hold your breath while taking the photo to reduce camera shake.
• fast moving objects require at least 1/1000 to freeze the action.

My photos from the weekly challenge:

1/80 speed with ISO 1600



1/1000 speed with ISO 1600.



You can see that the action in the second photo is frozen more than first. Pretty cool!

{Photo Corner} Week 1: Lesson 1 - Aperture

One of my goals was to get more creative by learning to use my new DSLR camera in manual.

My camera: Canon Rebel T2i. I love it!

So to challenge myself and help me meet my 2011 goal, I am doing a 52 week challenge in which I take a photo once a week. I had thought about a 365 challenge but didn't think that was very feasible with my lifestyle and schedule to take a photo a day. So 52 weeks it is. For the first 12 weeks, I am doing a 12 week online course with a few friends. Each lesson has several challenges to help you learn each concept.

The first lesson is on aperture or f/stop. The size of the aperture, or f/stop, of a lens determines how much of your photograph is in focus. The f/stop numbers refer to how open or closed the aperture on the lens is. Basically:

• low f/stop = less of your photo will be in focus.
• high f/stop = MORE of your photo will be in focus.

So here are my photos from the weekly challenge using different f/stops.

f/3.5. You can see that the background is blurry in this photo.



f/8. Here you can see that the background has a little more clarity.



f/22. With the larger f/stop you can clearly see the flowers on the window. A great deal more clarity.



It was fun to learn something about taking photos in manual rather than relying on auto. I am excited that I can see the differences among the photos as well. On to the next lesson...