So, here are my snow pics. An OK attempt, I guess. I was trying to get some interesting compositions, but didn't get what I was hoping for. The snow is a little underexposed, but not bad.






I like this second one, but it wasn't just right.



This one was better. The snow is a little brighter, and the composition is more interesting. I actually really like this shot.










This one is a shot of the ice over the pond. It could be a little brighter. I thought a nice texture like this would be fun for trying out some textures on other pictures. I will have to try that out and blog about that later. :)

All in all, I think I did OK. I didn't underexpose too much, and I did get a couple of interesting shots. I think the first one is sort of boring, but they get better. I really like the DOF on the third one.

How I am going about my quest....

I have decided to try and give myself different assignments/challenges to try so that I can improve my photos. I have a couple of books that I am excited about, so I will be using suggestions from there as well as random things I come up with or find to try.

Since the whole family has been really sick lately, I haven't been taking many photos. I am hoping to get the camera out a little later and take some pictures of the snow outside. My goal will be to achieve proper exposure for the snow, since the camera's meter will tell me to underexpose due to all the light. I want my snow to be white, not gray. I would also like to get some interesting compositions with both macros and wider shots. So, we'll see how that goes. I'll come back later to post my results.

The Flood

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So, today has been quite the day for residents of Fernley, NV. Apparently, a large hole opened up in the canal that runs through our town and it flooded about 800 homes in the area. Some friends of ours have a house in the midst of it, but the last time I heard, their house wasn't flooded, but everything around them was.

The water is reported to be up to 8 feet deep in some places, but most of the flooding is up to about 3 feet of water. Chris, Zoe and I drove up on the hill to take some pictures. I REALLY wanted to get in closer to the action and get better shots, but we didn't want to get in the way.



I am trying to think about how these could have been better, and the two things that come to mind are: a longer lens, and getting closer! Well, since those weren't options, I am wondering what I could have done to get clearer shots of the action. I think my ISO was bumped up too high...like around 400. I forgot to change it from the last time I was taking pics inside. Oops! That might be why they look a tad blurry. I had it set at f/22 and SS 1/250. So, plenty of room to stop down and get the ISO at 100. I need to put a sticker on my camera to remind me to check the ISO!

The beginning of the quest...

So, here we are at the beginning.

The beginning of what, you might ask? The beginning of my quest for better photos, of course! But, why?

That's an excellent question.

I figured that it would be helpful for me to start keeping track of my progress (or lack thereof, as the case may be) as I attempt to become a better photographer.

My whole interest in photography started long before I thought about actually trying it. I thought about taking a photography course in college, but it was expensive and I wanted to finish my degree.

I didn't do anything about my urge to take pictures, until Zoe came along. My daughter, now 9 months old, is a wonderful inspiration for photographs. She has gotten used to a camera stuck in her face most of the time. Chris, my loving, wonderful husband, refers to the camera as, "mommy's face."

I hadn't ever had the pleasure of trying an SLR (single lens reflex) camera, until I got a digital SLR for my birthday in September. Not wanting to let all those fun settings go to waste, I dove straight into manual mode, meaning that I have full control over all the settings on my camera.

And, here we are now. I am taking good photos, but I would like to go from good to great, and from great to amazing! So, I am going to be working on various things and posting about them here. Feel free to read about my adventures, and join me if you wish!