Finished, For Now

I'm sure everyone has given up on me by now, but I did want to post some thoughts and an explanation for my lack of pictures.  The firs year of Photo Dilettante was very fun, and I learned a lot.  Recently I wanted a creative outlet, and decided that having an assignment, like taking pictures each day and posting one, was what I needed to get that creative fix.  But after a couple of months of doing that, I realized that I wasn't having fun, and I wasn't learning anything.

I do still want to work on my photography, and I feel the need for some kind of assignment, but the one picture a day thing isn't going to do it for me.  After a lot of traveling this spring, Mark and Isaac and I are settling in to a weekly routine, and I'm going to be looking for some time within that routine to dedicate to my photography.  I have some ideas for what I want to do, but I'm going to work on it for a while before I share it.  If possible I'd like to take some kind of a class, but that might not work out because of finances.  So, for now, I'm going to look at the work of other photographers for inspiration, and check some books out of the library.  And, I'm going to take pictures, although I'm not sure how often or of what.

So, I'm sorry to those of you who enjoyed checking for new photos each day or so.  Leave a comment if you'd like to know when I have something new to share.  I'll post something on this blog when I have something to direct you to.

Puzzle

April 10, 2010

On the Road

April 6, 2010

Packing

April 5, 2010

This is something we've been seeing a lot of in our house these days.  This was packing for the second of our five out of town trips between the end of March and the end of May.

Getting Caught Up

I've been doing a lot of traveling in the last  couple of weeks, so I have a lot of catching up to do.  I've been fairly consistent about taking pictures, although some days I have forgotten, and some days I haven't had my camera, so I've had to borrow others' or use Mark's phone camera.  Some of those pictures I don't have yet, so it might be a few days before I can post them.  I've gotten caught up to Easter Sunday, April 4.  Hopefully I'll get the rest done before the end of the week.

Rings

Sunday, April 4

Nikon D40
1/60
f/4.0
ISO 400
20mm

Mark's Home

Saturday, April 3

Mark is showing me pictures of the Marina Bay Sands, the resort he was working at in Singapore.

Nikon D40

1/60s

f/7.1

ISO 200

24.0mm

Toes

Friday, April 2

I was traveling on the 1st and didn't take any pictures.  On Friday the only subject I felt like photographing was Isaac.

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.6
ISO 200
135mm

Concentration

Wednesday, March 31

While in Logan I went to my nephew's track meet and got to watch him throw the discus.  I had to take the pictures through the fence, hence the fuzziness in the corners of the picture.

Nikon D40
1/1000s
f/5.6
ISO 360
75.0mm

Lev's Pawnshop

Tuesday, March 30 Photo 2

Since I was traveling on March 29 I didn't take any pictures, so I'm posting two from Tuesday the 30th.

Nikon D40
1/640s
f/11
ISO 400
18mm

Glass Blower

Tuesday, March 30 Photo 1

While Mark was in Singapore I visited my family in southern Ohio.  My mom and I went to the Ohio Glass Museum in Lancaster, and watched this man make a glass bowl. 

Nikon D40
1/80s
f/5.6
ISO 800
135.0mm

Missing Mark

Sunday, March 28

I set this picture up the night before and used my remote to take a few shots before I got out of bed (well, I did have to get up to use the bathroom, and used that opportunity to turn the remote function back on since it reverts to normal shooting mode after 15 minutes).  This was my first morning after Mark left for Singapore.

Nikon D40

1.3s

f/5.6

ISO 800

20.0mm

Bedtime Story

For a while now I've been wanting to take some self-portraits of daily activities.  Today I finally set up the tripod before putting Isaac to bed, grabbed my little remote and put the camera on the 2-second remote timer setting and snapped several pictures while reading Isaac some new books about Easter that arrived from Aunt Lynne yesterday. I'm quite the multi-tasker. 

Nikon D40
1/15s
f/7.1
ISO 800
28.0mm

A Drink of Water for the Birthday Boy

Friday, March 26, 2010

You can see the reflection of Mark's cactus collection in the picture behind him.

Nikon D40
1/50s
f/4.0
ISO 800
24.0mm

Taking Out the Garbage

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Another late night, last minute picture.

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/4.8
ISO 800
44.0mm

We Were Discussing Something...

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Terrible, hand-held picture that I took late at night because I had forgotten to take any pictures that day.  I can't remember what we were talking about.

Nikon D40
1/8s
f/3.5
ISO 800
18.0mm

Labyrinth Necklace

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I love labyrinths.  There is one at Ursuline College that I have used several times.  The first time I did it there was a card provided that described what a labyrinth is.  On the card was a quote from St. Augustine: "The best way to still your mind is to move your body."  Walking through a labyrinth while meditating on a prayer or scripture verse is a great way to still my mind enough to hear from God.

I have two labyrinths: this necklace given to me by my friend, Becca, and a "finger labyrinth" given to me by my friend Katharine. That one came with a stylus that you can use to trace the path.  Even that can help bring focus to my mind which always seems to be going a million miles a minute.

Konica Minolta DiMage Z6
1/5s
f/3.2
ISO 160
10.3mm

Mark's New Plant

Monday, March 22, 2010

Nikon D40
1/3s
f/5.6
ISO 800

Signs of Spring

 Sunday, March 21, 2010


Nikon D40
1/2000s
f/5.6
ISO 200
80.0mm

Marquee

Saturday, March 20, 2010

One might think I had actually gone to see a movie, but, alas, I did not.  I had run out to the store after putting to Isaac to bed last Saturday night, and since I hadn't taken any pictures yet that day I took my camera along. 

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.3
ISO200
62.0mm

Friends

Friday, March 19, 2010

I've been trying to post at least every couple of days (seems to work better than every day in this season), but when I tried to get on Blogger a couple of days ago, it wasn't working.  There was some problem with AT&T and Blogger, but that appears to be fixed now.  So, I'll try to get all caught up to today.

I'm going out of town tomorrow for a few days, so don't know when I'll be able to post again.

Nikon D40
1/640s
f/5.6
ISO 200
90.0mm

Sunset Out Our Office Window

Nikon D40
1/125s
f/4.5
ISO 200
18.0mm

St. Patrick's Day Parade

My friend Adriane and I braved the crowds of excited (and sometimes intoxicated) Irish and wanna-be Irish at Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day Parade this afternoon.  We each were pushing  a stroller, which made navigating the sea of people a little tricky, but we were successful.  I took lots of pictures.  It was helpful to have Adriane there to help look after Isaac while I was shooting, but I still didn't have the freedom I would have if I didn't have Isaac with me.  I'm trying to figure out how to get a few hours a week of picture taking completely by myself.

Nikon D40
1/100s
f/9
ISO 200 (I remembered to check, finally, after two days of ISO 1600)
95.0mm

Cranberry Almond Quinoa

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.6
ISO 1600
58.0mm

Mark's Books

Monday, March 15, 2010

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.6
ISO 1600
38.0mm

Dining Room

Sunday, March 14 2010

Nikon D40
1.0s
f/5.6
ISO 400
105.00mm

Cities and Knights

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Nikon D40
1/25s
f/5.3
ISO 1600
58.0mm

Rehearsal

Friday, March 12, 2010

I got to sit in on a rehearsal for Inlet Dance Theatre Friday.  It was a different kind of photography than I've been doing lately, and I learned from it.  I hope to have another opportunity to take pictures like this.

Nikon D40
1/100s
f/8.0
ISO 1600
52.0mm

Elmer Brown Mural

I stopped by the ICA to say hi to Mark this afternoon, and took a few quick pictures (a few quick pictures seems to be all I can manage these days--but I have been making some effort to take my camera whenever I go anywhere, which has been good).

This is a mural by Elmer Brown, a WPA artist.  I took the picture at an angle, so the perspective is off--it looks like things are kind of squished together.

Nikon D40
1/50s
f/5.3
ISO 1600
62.0mm

Buffing

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.6
ISO 200
31.0mm

The Goetsches!

We had a wonderful time with our good friends the Goetsches tonight, who were visiting from Chicago.   C, on the right, is my Thursday Girl from my first year of Photo Dilettante.  She's grown up a lot since then!

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.6
ISO 200
20.0mm

Birds on the Ice

Nikon D40
1/640s
f/11.0
ISO 200
135.0mm

Spring is Coming!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Nikon D40
1/125s
f/5.6
ISO 200
135.0mm

Dinner Party

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Our friends had a "Stone Soup" party Saturday night.  I brought my camera but forgot I had it until it was time to go, so I went through the house and took a few quick pictures.  Thanks for a fun night, Doc and Anne!

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/4.0
ISO 450
18mm

Diaper Covers

Friday, March 5, 2010

I've been lenient about posting each day, but I have been keeping up with taking pictures each day.  This one is from yesterday.

Nikon D40
1/30s
f/5.6
ISO 200
35.0mm

Vera Bradley

Thursday, March 4, 2010

I got this Vera Bradley purse at a "re-gifting party" after Christmas 2008.  I've never liked the colors at all, but I love the design of the bag.  I recently found the same bag in a different color on ebay, so I'm going to try to sell this one on ebay.  This is one of the pictures I'll post for the item, showing off the official Vera Bradley tag on the inside.

Nikon D40
1/800s
f/5.6
ISO 400
66.0mm

Eucalyptus

Nikon D40
1/320s
f/6.3
ISO 400
135.0mm

I'm Lovin' It

 

We watched a lot of Olympics last week.  I'm ashamed to admit, advertising has had its desired effect.

Nikon D40

1/60s

f/5.6

ISO 400

62.0mm

Random Stuff on our Window Seat

Nikon D40
1/80s
f/5.0
ISO 400
52.0mm

At the Botanical Garden Cafe

 

Nikon D40

1/100s

f/5.6

ISO 800

135.0mm

Boy in a Tree

Saturday, February 27, 2010

 

Nikon D40

1/320s

f/11

ISO 800

100.0mm

Snowy Backyard

I've been feeling under the weather the last couple of days, and am getting caught up on posting.  Although I have been completely unmotivated to take pictures for a few days, I have actually shot a handful of pics each day anyway.  I'm just getting around to posting them.  I'm not really proud of any of them (which is probably why I was in no rush to post them), and I didn't really have fun taking them, but I did it anyway.  I hope to get some motivation in the next few days.

Nikon D40
1/4s
f/3.5
ISO 200
18mm

Handy Man

Thursday, February 25, 2010

 

Nikon D40

1/60s

f/5.0

ISO 200

52.0mm

Sesame Seeds

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Chapatis

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/5.6
ISO 400
95.0mm

Knitted Centipede

 

Another of Isaac's birthday presents--handmade by my friend Carolyn.  I did an educational shoot tonight--I set up my tripod with this shot and tried several different apertures and ISOs, took pictures with and without flash (not sure why--with the tripod there's no need for flash anyway.)

Nikon D40

1/2s

f/5.6

ISO 200

70.0mm

Getting Ready for Bed

Forgot to take pictures today...

Nikon D40
0.8s
f/9.0
ISO 800
18.0mm

Winter Walk

I should have learned this lesson two years ago, but today I forgot to check the ISO before I went out on a nice winter walk with Mark and Isaac. I had been taking pictures inside yesterday, and the ISO was set to 1600--the worst setting for taking pictures outside in the winter on a very bright sunny day. I didn't realize it until the very end of the walk.

I like my camera for the most part, but one thing I really don't like is that it doesn't have a digital display on the top of the camera body to show settings like that. Looking through the viewfinder I can see shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation (and two other things that I don't know what they mean--I'll have to look into that). In order to see the ISO setting you have to press the info button on the back of the camera to display that and lots of other information on the LCD monitor. Now, it's easy to do this, and I really should remember to do it before I start taking pictures, but it would be nice to have all that information more readily available.

Well, since I won't be buying a new camera any time soon, I need to get into the habit of pressing that info button and making sure everything is set the way I want it for the type of pictures I'm taking.

Something else I learned through this mistake is that when I edit my pictures in Picasa, it changes the ISO information on the saved copies of the pictures I take. When I look through my pictures each day, I save a copy of all the potential posts, so I can edit the pictures for posting without changing the original. I save a copy of the RAW data file, and Picasa saves it as a jpeg. When they do this, for some reason I can't fathom, they also change the ISO from whatever it actually was to 250. So, when I provide my photo information I guess I need to go back and look at the original file in order to get all the information right. I wondered why I kept seeing ISO 250 on so many of my pictures...

Nikon D40
1/200s
f/10
66mm
ISO 1600

Blocks

Friday, February 19, 2010

Nikon D40
1/60s
f/4.8
ISO 250
48.0mm (72mm)