Ahh, it’s been a little while since I updated this photography page, hasn’t it?? I think I left off with some failed fireworks. I am working on a regular posting routine over here, and thought I would start by getting you updated on some new camera equipment that I’ve purchased since we last chatted. First this camera strap, which will be followed by posts on my new laptop/camera bag and a new lens. Enjoy!

At long last, only a mere four months after asking for help in choosing a camera strap, I finally bought one. Ironically, the one I ended up buying was not one of the options that I included while begging for opinions. I can be super indecisive like that. After not being able to choose one, I started doing more research and around the same time my friend Kelly bought one of the Black Rapid straps and raved about it. I checked out their site, and coincidentally not long after Digital Photography School did a review of the Black Rapid RS-7 strap. I was really drawn to the sling design and liked the idea of the camera hanging at my hip instead of around my neck, leaving my arms free to move at will.

I went ahead and ordered it and am happy to say that I love it as much as I hoped I would. It’s especially useful in the kitchen – I can sling the camera across my body, letting it hang at my hip, allowing me freedom of movement to plate food, rearrange things, change position, etc. Then in an instance I can pull the camera up and snap a shot. Perfection!

I will say that I am super short (a little less than 5’1) and it took me a little while to get the strap short enough to actually hang at my hip and not halfway down my leg. It’s definitely possible to shorten up the strap considerably, it just takes some patience and you only need to do it once!

So, if you’re in the market for a new camera strap, I give this one two thumbs up, and love the sling orientation. And am so happy and relieved I finally have something secure attached to my camera!

Black Rapid RS-7 Camera Strap on Amazon

This past weekend I took my Chief Culinary Consultant to Saturday’s opening weekend Pirates game as a Valentine’s Day gift. It was a fireworks night (the first of the season!) so I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to try to practice shooting fireworks. Before going to the game, I read a tutorial on Digital Photography School and gathered some tips. Since I wouldn’t be using a tripod or remote release (two primary recommendations), my main takeaways were: (1) Use a slow shutter speed; (2) Use an aperture in the f/8.0 to 16.0 range; and (3) Use a low ISO (recommended was 100).

I ended up only taking a handful of shots because I wanted to actually enjoy watching the fireworks and not be totally worried about photographing them, but I was disappointed in the ones that I took. I didn’t get the “raining” effect of fireworks, you can see a lot of the smoke, and I felt like my timing was definitely off.

I started out with my ISO on 100 and it was way, way too dark so I ended up switching it to auto. I kept my shutter speed at 1/125, which was probably way too fast, and my aperture at f/8.0. Below are the photos…

Would love to hear about any tips or experiences you have regarding fireworks photography!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/125

I have been doing a lot of searching for a camera strap and fell in love with the August Blossoms collection on Etsy. Not only are the designs super cute, but you can wear them across your body AND they have a little pocket for the lens cap (that sealed the deal for me!). The only problem is that I can’t decide which one I want, too many cute choices! I narrowed it down to my five faves and would love for you to weigh in. Which do you like?

Brown Woodland Delight:

Black and White Damask:

Blue and Coral Woodland Bloom:

Gray Stones:

Ivory and Bubblegum Poppies:

If it helps, or even matters (hey, I’m a girl, I think in terms of coordinating accessories!), this is the camera bag that I am getting:

This challenge certainly had my name written all over it! It just so happened that I was already planning to bake this morning, so I seized the opportunity to try some different shots aside from the typical “finished food product” that I take most of the time.

One of the articles that I’ve found really helpful in learning about the different settings on my camera is this photography tutorial put together by Kevin & Amanda: A Quick Guide to Understanding Your DSLR Camera. I’ve referred to it countless times in the last few weeks, and one of the things I wanted to work on today was adjusting the shutter speed to achieve a purposeful motion blur to illustrate speed. And what better subject than my whirling mixer?!

I shot this on manual and started with a super low exposure speed of 10 (the whole picture was blurry since I didn’t use a tripod) and kept bumping it up to see what the shots looked like. I kept the aperture set t 4.0, although I’m not sure if I should have increased it? I ended up liking this shot the best – the mixer bowl is in focus but you can see the speed blur affect I was going for with the mixer blade.

Moon Pies for everyone!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 1000, Aperture f/4.0, Exposure 1/100

This challenge definitely has me yearning for a macro lens! So while the “macro” part of the assignment couldn’t be achieved to its full extent, I enjoyed the close-up. I tried some different shots – plants, things around the house, etc. and in the end my pup’s nose while he was napping won out as my favorite shot. He barely opened his eyes while I was snapping the pictures. Ahhh, to have a dog’s life!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 100, Aperture f/4.0, Exposure 1/500

Today’s Daily Challenge was something that starts with the letter ‘A’. I was out running a couple of errands and grabbed my camera as I walked out the door, hoping that I would spot something really creative or artsy. And then I got into my car after one of my stops and realized there was an Applebee’s across the parking lot. It seemed obvious at that point   This was actually good for me since I don’t have much experience taking photos outside yet. Winter cabin fever + lots of food photos = lack of outdoor shooting experience. I’m hoping with spring right around the corner that will start to change!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 800, Aperture f/4.0, Exposure 1/1250

After finally delving into the world of SLR cameras, I have been trying to do a lot of reading and learning. I won’t lie – it’s much more complicated than I imagined it would be. I love seeing the resulting pictures, but I definitely still have a ton to learn about aperture, exposure speed, ISO, composition… and the list goes on and on. Not surprisingly, most of my camera practice has come in the form of photographing food, and while it has been great practice, I know that I need to branch out! Much like the motivation behind first starting my food blog (track my progress in the kitchen and try new things!) I am channeling the same motivation for improving my photography and learning as much as I can. So, welcome to my little photography corner of the web!

You’ll see that I already have some stuff posted here, let me explain…

Awhile back I found out about a couple of Flickr groups and photography blogs that post daily and weekly photography challenges. Sometimes the challenge is to photograph a specific type of subject, while sometimes the challenge is to use a specific photography technique. Sort of the photography equivalent to joining Daring Bakers back when I first started my food blog!

I joined the Our Daily Challenge group on Flickr back in January and was really enjoying taking a daily challenge picture each day and learning to be a little more creative. And then… I got lazy about it. No good excuse. Those daily challenges are the posts that you already see here on the photography blog. Take a browse through them and let me know what you think!

My good friend Kelly (from the blog the dSLR newbie) started her photography blog a little over a year ago when she began shooting with an SLR, and she introduced me to the Shutterboo weekly photography challenges. There is an overview on the Shutterboo blog, but all of the action happens on Flickr. I haven’t begun these challenges yet, but would like to start taking part!

And then there is Digital Photography School. Talk about a wealth of photography information! Most times when I visit the site I don’t even know where to start; lots of great information on technique, equipment, processing and editing, and there are forums if you have questions. The site also posts a weekly challenge, as well as a weekly assignment.

Finally, there’s Project 365. This has been around for quite awhile now and the project consists of taking at least one photo a day for an entire year and documenting them.

While I realize that I realistically won’t be able to keep up with every one of these, they are all great tools for me to finally jump in, get my feet wet, and start doing some serious learning when it comes to dSLR photography. I am also looking into taking a local photography class, and need to research the options that are available.

So, much like my food blog in the beginning, I am treating this site as motivation to keep the camera in my hands, learn more, tackle more advanced techniques, watch my progress and, most importantly, share it all with you! And I would definitely love any critiques or advice you have for me along the way!

For this challenge, we needed to photograph anything “topless” (as long as it wasn’t a person!). I decided to share a portion of my lipstick collection. I like the composition, but feel like the photo could stand to be a bit brighter.

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 200, Aperture f/2.8, Exposure 1/60

My desk on a cold winter afternoon, and what gets me through most sleepy afternoons: music and a little caffeine! Still working on lighting in photos – this one is a little dark and drab for my tastes.

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 2500, Aperture f/8.0, Exposure 1/60

Yes, the hockey (and crossword) nut that I am has the NHL version of Scrabble! This photo isn’t as sharp as I would like, still working on camera setting combinations.

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 200, Aperture f/2.0, Exposure 1/60

My favorite leather purse and boots.

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 3200, Aperture f/1.8, Exposure 1/40

My grandma’s hand on her wheelchair.

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 1000, Aperture f/2.2, Exposure 1/60

Pink is a girl’s 2nd best friend!

I took photos of four different subjects for this challenge, and ended up liking this shot the best.

A description of focal point: “A focal point is the part of an image that draws the eye of a viewer to the most important part of the image or the part that you want them to notice.”

And an article on focal points: Using Focal Points in Photography

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 320, Aperture f/2.2, Exposure 1/60

Fresh snow today means a melted mess on the floor!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 640, Aperture f/1.8, Exposure 1/60

My version of organized chaos when it comes to too many cookie cutters and not enough storage options!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 500, Aperture f/1.8, Exposure 1/60

An ornament tree that holds ornaments in memory of my dad. Each Christmas since my dad passed away my aunt hand-decorates a special ornament with my dad’s name and the year, and gives one to all of our family members.

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 200, Aperture f/2.0, Exposure 1/60

Jeans! My closet is organized by color. Yep, I’m a dork!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 1600, Aperture f/2.0, Exposure 1/60

I love my Diet Coke! Full of bubbles

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 200, Aperture f/1.8, Exposure 1/60

Nothing better than jumping your opponent in checkers!

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 800, Aperture f/2.0, Exposure 1/60

I took a (cold) walk in a local park and came across this bridge. Love the perspective and how the rails frame the pathway across the iced-over lake. Want to try some antique processing on it.

A short article on natural framing: http://www.framedreality.com/natural-framing

Camera Settings: Lens 50mm 1.8, ISO 125, Aperture f/5.6, Exposure 1/125

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