photography #12

this past week, i was allowed to do a free shoot. mmm, very fun. :)

the goal was to keep working with exposure settings and experiment with some new ideas. i did several shoots, but my favorite was playing around with the lights on the christmas tree. it was so hard to pick just one for my submission, but i decided on the top picture. 

gorgeous ornament

the christmas lights' reflections on an ornament

sparkly light and dainty glass bell

christmas lights- panning

i'm all cought up on the weeks i missed this past month, and i don't have any photography homework due until after new years. but of course, break is just an excuse to have more time to take pictures, right? merry christmas!

photography #11

week 11 was all about exposure... i learned how to use spot metering mode and the zone system and a few other complicated things. the first part of the assignment was to find a white wall and take 5 pictures of that wall in each zone. the top shot is the correct exposure because the white is bright with detail. the others show the different zones and how the zones go from light to dark. the second part of the assignment was a free shoot that was focused on learning how to deal with and get used to the new exposure settings. i was allowed to choose one picture from the free shoot to submit. i picked the bottom photo because i love the pastel colors of the sky and the contrasting silhouette. 

photography #10

wow... it's been too long since i've posted. but it's really been forever since i've shared anything photography related. i didn't have any homework during week 10--thanksgiving, but here are some shots i took just for fun during break.

how could i pick just one of these when she's so cute? :D

my beautiful friend. 

my younger brother and a friend

thanksgiving! 

light 2.

2 Corinthians 4:6 [NIV]

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Ephesians 5:13 [NIV]

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

James 1:17 [NIV]

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

twirling. impressions of life.

you know that sensation you get from spinning... round and round and round--just trying to stay upright.

life is like that. twirling. round and round. it passes in a blur. i fall. and get up again; brushing off dirt, willing myself to move forward. fast and hazy, days and nights flash by as memories while i swirl on. bits of light and color surface, but the world becomes lost from view as mind and body tip-dizzy and scattered. then... collapse. but in the falling, God gives the moments for slow motion. moments for seeing clearly. moments for stopping. moments for light and love and laughter. the constant staying-on-my-feet becomes dim as my Savior lifts me up and twirls me in the dance of a lifetime. 

   

[a shot i took last week of my beautiful friend.]

photography #9

this week we studied about LIGHT! the assignment was to take one picture using light from the side and another picture using light from behind the subject... pretty self explanatory, but a little trickier when using the sun. tip: shoot within an hour or two after sunrise or a few hours before sunset. all of these were taken around 4pm. 

Submission #1

Submission #2

an outfit to share

i've been rather quiet here recently... but i've had an OOTD to share for a while.

NC has been bouncing back and forth from hot and cold. now that it's november, i really want to be wearing cozy sweaters and fluffy autumn scarves, but that's not reality if it's 50 or 60 degrees outside. the art of mixing seasons in clothes is challenging. i discovered a happy church outfit that makes me feel like winter is coming even though it isn't sweltering. : ) a thin scarf and boots. but no leggings. a tee and jean jacket. but no warm sweater. it's all about balance.

jean jacket: j.jill sale 

white t-shirt: target

scarf: gift, i think?

gray skirt: awesome hand-me-down

boots: $20 steal from sears

headband: borrowed from a friend : )

[just so yo know, my mirror is a little warped, and it makes my body look weirdly proportioned.]

photography #8

this week was our 2nd week on aperture.... the 5 shots below are exactly the same- except for their apertures. aperture is the size of the opening in the lens. it controls how much light is let into the frame and the depth of field [how much of the picture is in focus]. the smaller the aperture the bigger the depth of field. but here's the confusing thing, f/stops are the way you measure aperture and the smaller the f/stop the bigger the aperture. it helps to look at the pictures. for the first one, f/5.6 is a small f/stop; it has a small depth of field; and it has a large aperture. the difference between f/5.6 and f/8 isn't that much... the 2nd rung has a little more detail and the background is a bit more destinctive. the difference between f/5.6 and f/22, on the other hand, is huge! 

f/5.6 

f/8

f/11

f/16

f/22

part 2: self-portrait challenge!!! i was only allowed to submit one. which would you have chosen?

whewww... the concepts discussed in class the past few weeks have challenged me, but understanding more about the camera and photography in general is helping my photography grow in new ways. 

photography #7

hello world of shallow and expansive depth of field. hello working with aperture. hello rays of light. hello autumn colors. hello learning new things every week.

submission for shallow depth of field 

submission for expansive depth of field