This class is for you.I thought I knew a few thingsabout cameras. I bought my first camera over 30 years ago.

 I’ve been taking pictures for years and worked in the photography field, as a photographer and darkroom technician. So, it came as a bit of a surprise when I purchased my first digital camera and found something that didn’t even look like a camera!  When I turned to the manual, a thick, small thing, with even smaller type I wondered if I could master this new technology.

I did!

And I found it was a lot easier than I first thought. And the features these little cameras offer! You don’t have to have a special lens to capture a butterfly on a flower, or have to take a deep breath and hold it – hoping for a sharp picture.  The advances in photography amaze me! These little cameras have come a long way. And the good news is, they are
getting easier to use. Now, everyone can use a digital camera and get great looking photos. You don’t even have to have a computer to have the photos printed.

In this online course We’ll cover the basics every camera owner needs to know to get the maximum enjoyment from your camera.

Including:

• camera settings
• composition
• moving images from camera to
  computer
• removing red-eye
• storing images on your computer

You’ll learn the tricks and techniques to getting professional photographs from your digital camera.
You’ll understand how to use your camera, including what all those dial and buttons are. No longer will you just click the shutter and hope the camera is set up right! You’ll
be confident that you’ll get a shot worth sharing of your favorite subject – your dream vacation, your children’s birthday party,
graduation day, the wedding party or that wonderful sunset.

Online Course: February 8th 2010
Take this class without leaving the comfort of your home!
Taught by Cindy Shebley
Dial in and watch your computer monitor.
When: Wednesday February 08

Time: 5:30 pm (pacific) to 7:30 pm (pacific)

We’ll open up the phone lines for
questions at the end of the session, so bring your camera, questions
and enthusiasm – and never leave the comfort of you home!

Includes a downloadable PDF file withthe presentation so you can follow along with your camera instead of taking notes.
This class is size is limited so register now!

Use the PayPal button to reserve your seat!Price: $45.00

We went on the last night for this year – but keep an eye out next season. The Bellevue Botanical Garden in lights is a display not to be missed! It was a mild night, and surprisingly crowed – something I didn’t expect. I brought my tripod thinking I’d have plenty of room to set it up ….. not!

But I did manage to find places where I could setup the tripod out of harms way. The problem, there was never a time or place that wasn’t jam packed with people.

The solution; include them in the photograph. I took a series of long exposures aimed more at the wandering crowd and less at the lights. I think this one is my favorite. I love how you see the motion of people moving – and one person lingering to get a closer look at a display.

There are wheelchair ramps – but the tour was as much on dirt trails as on the main paved path, so wheelchair photographers may not have access to the whole display.

This looks like a fantastic event! Anyone want to join me – I’m thinking of attending.

2-days of Digital Photography Education
Join us for this exciting event
This unique event is focused on digital photography education and targets photo enthusiasts of all ages, skill levels and interest. This exciting event will feature over 20 hours of educational seminars taught by the best local and regional photographers and photo educator.
 
The education sessions are divided into three tracks, Hardware and Software, Creative Techniques and Business and Travel.

More information: http://www.navphotoevent.com/?q=node/1

This looks like a fantastic event! Anyone want to join me – I’m thinking of attending.

2-days of Digital Photography Education
Join us for this exciting event
This unique event is focused on digital photography education and targets photo enthusiasts of all ages, skill levels and interest. This exciting event will feature over 20 hours of educational seminars taught by the best local and regional photographers and photo educator.
 
The education sessions are divided into three tracks, Hardware and Software, Creative Techniques and Business and Travel.

More information: http://www.navphotoevent.com/?q=node/1

Christmas Lights at Warm Springs

 This time of year it seems it’s always dark – so you might as well take advantage of it and photograph at night.

I had the chance to do just that last night at The Lights Of Christmas.We originally planned to go on Monday – but the rain was coming down in buckets and I just didn’t feel up to taking my camera out in the rain (or myself for that matter).

Last night was perfect – not especially cold and at certain parts of the evening the fog floated in and around the lights.

Take a tripod and set your camera to about 800 ISO. I took a few photos before settling in on the bracketed exposure parameters I wanted. I set my camera to ’spot meter’ and bracketed exposures at 1 1/2 over and under. I decided to take a monopod instead of a tripod – for safety reasons. It was dark and lots of people and children are milling around, which meant I had to use a very wide open aperture – f/3.5 which gave me a very shallow depth of field and a few shots were very blurred.  (Next year I’ll bring a tripod or invest in one of those monopods with feet for more stability).  I saw another photographer using a tripod and in fact if you look closely you’ll see him in one of my photos – LOL.

I shot in RAW which gave me much more flexibility in post processing.

To find more about the Warm Springs Lights Of Christmas - and do a night photo walk visit their website at: warmbeach.com

Keeping Warm By The Fire

Dress warm. Not exactly wheelchair accessible (several dirt tracks with uneven ground) - but I did notice there were electric carts with folks being given the tour. Call ahead, I think they’ll accommodate your needs.

blue mountain

 For the shot above I used a star filter on my lens instead of waiting to put the effect on in post production editing – the light from the electric car adds an nice effect blended with the wisps of fog.

I think The Bait Shop is my favorite of the series. My only regret is no tripod so that I could create a HRD from this. But with a monopod one simply can not stay still long enough to capture the necessary three consecutive shots.

The Sail Boat - Christmas on The Puget Sound

Who’s taking a picture of whom?

Santa in the mist

 This photo I had the star filter on and combined with the light fog created a great star glow around the deer.

 Despite the Jetty Island fire – the ferry took a record number of picnic parties and bird watchers to the island. A wonder day trip, the ferry takes people to and from the island all summer long – for FREE.

The Jetty Island Ferry only runs for the 8 weeks of summer, ending on Labor Day.

Next year I hope to visit more than once!

More information about Jetty Island can be found here