the end of summer

I found myself with a few minutes before swim lessons yesterday and decided to play with my camera at the pool. I have been totally inspired by James Nord's photos from pools this summer (here, here, here, and here) that I thought I would play around and try some of my own. Shooting at a public pool can be a little problematic. First, I made sure that no one was in focus in any of the shots. If I found someone that I wanted to shoot, I would have asked permission and all that... but luckily, for what I wanted to do, blurry worked. I was also totally worried about getting my camera wet. I know, I shouldn't have been, but because I have a waterproof camera, I treat my DSLR as if it will melt if water comes near it. It was also weird laying on the ground to get the shots I wanted to with people watching. But all in all, I'm pretty happy with my 5 minute photo project!

Swim Kids

I love taking pictures of my swim lesson kids with my waterproof point and shoot camera. It's a great reward for the kiddies and it lets me practice some of my editing skills, since underwater shots require quite a bit of touching up!

Last summer I used to go underwater and look at the screen to try to get the shots I wanted. This was actually pretty frustrating, because it was really a crap shoot as to if I could get a great shot. I mean, taking pictures of 3 and 4 year olds is hard enough... try doing it underwater!

This year I learned to just set the camera on continuous exposure, submerge it pointed at the kids, and hold down the button! Chances are you'll get a good shot! Sure, I'd put more time and effort in if I was hired to take some underwater portraits, but for snapshots, I think these are pretty darn good!

I still haven't figured out a better way to edit underwater shots than picnik. It's just so easy to paint on effects that really make the shots stand out. I use the "eye bright" effect on goggles and on some of the high lights on the water. Then I burn the mid-tones on the water to make it look shiny! Its also fun to paint a blue tint on the water to make the pool look even bluer!

Sweet Baby James

This is my nephew, James. I took these pictures back in July when I visited him. Let me tell you, it is HARD to take pictures of new babies!! I learned that the lens that I have isn't great for indoor, candid style portraits. I also need a lot more practice asking people to kind of pose a little when I am trying to photograph... It's a learning experience!

I don't need no stinking model

I am still practicing and developing my style, as far as photography goes. Sometimes I am the only one around when inspiration strikes me. That was the case when I took these. I had just finished taking my outfit shots for the day when I still wanted to play with my camera and work on taking some portraits.

I had just read 101 Portrait Photography Tips on Improve Photography and wanted to practice a couple of them. Here are the tips that I had in mind while I was shooting these selfies:

• 7. Over Expose
• 16. When shooting in poor mid-day lighting, have the subject face away from the sun.
• 30. Crank that aperture for full-body portraits. (okay, so I always do this for my Reston Style shots, but I played with it a bit here too!)
• 37. Fill the frame.
• 43. Be yourself and shoot what you love. (I'm kidding here, I was just the only one around during lunch)
• 63. Get a hair light. (though I am not sure I really succeeded in this one, I did try again the next day though! Maybe those will make it up here too...)

shiny things!

While working on photos from Ben and Cat's wedding and the rest of my trip to England, I decided to edit and publish these little gems. Nothing fancy, just something pretty to look at!

my first go at wedding photography, Ben and Cat's wedding

These are just a couple of shots I chose to publish here, as my very first post on this blog. The rest of the photos are on flickr, and I am sure I will be adding to them as I continue to experiment with them.

Cat and Ben's wedding was just wonderful and I really hope they like the photos I got while playing with my camera at the wedding!