Project 52 -- Foolin' Around

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  Foolin' Around


My photo:

My thoughts:

It was so fun to get these two brothers together this week.  I had to take some photos for my photog class; this week's emphasis was seeing the light.  I took some side-lit and front-lit photos, and I finally asked Jacob (21) and Thomas (almost 16) to pose in front of the sun for a back-lit image.  Of course, these two hammed it up for a while, so I went ahead and captured some silhouette shots.


The setup:

We went to a park near home about half an hour before sunset--such golden light!  I saved the back-lit shots for close to sunset since I was aiming for silhouettes, and not having their facial features show.  The shot above was taken shortly after 7:00pm.  Since I was shooting into the sunlight, I could hand-hold my camera with a fast shutter speed.  I set the f-stop almost wide open (that's where I had set it for the previous portrait shots); had I shut it down, the sun would have made a nice star effect (more on that in another post).


Camera settings:

• ISO 100
• Manual mode
• 50mm portrait lens
• Aperture at f/2.2
• 1/2000 second shutter speed

Brothers and friends

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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P52 Week 13 -- Details

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

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This week's challenge:  Details



My photo:

My thoughts:

I am so totally all over this week's theme!  It has been stated that sometimes I'm too detail-oriented.  I'm so thankful I have a macro lens to capture the little details in life that are sometimes hard to spot with the naked eye.  And I'm thankful that this theme showed up during a particularly warm spring in Chicagoland, when we actually have flowers to take pictures of.  We sometimes have snow on the ground through March and even into April, so woo-hoo for flower pictures this month!


The setup:

Nothing special was needed, except for a beautiful Sunday afternoon and a stop at my parents' home to pick up some items to store in our garage (they're getting ready to put their house on the market).  I spotted my mom's bleeding heart plant blooming away against the side of the house in the shade, which was good considering the harsh middle-of-the-day harsh light.

Since I didn't have my tripod, I bumped up the ISO so I could obtain a good aperture and fast shutter speed.  I definitely didn't want to blur a single detail of these beautiful flowers, especially the condensation inside the little hearts!

No crop was needed (thank you, macro lens!).  I nudged up the contrast and clarity a teensy-weensy, but otherwise, this image is almost sooc (straight out of the camera).


Camera settings:

• ISO 500
• Manual mode
• 100mm macro lens
• Aperture at f/5
• 1/400 second shutter speed

Isn't God's creation magnificent?

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Be Still

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  Be Still



My photo:

My thoughts:

I know, I know.  Ducks?  Yep.  The more I look at this photo, the more it reminds me of the theme be still.  This will require some explanation.  :)

When I planned my jaunt to the Whalon Lake recreation area, I had in mind a serene lake picture with calm water, and maybe even a reflection.  Of course, I knew the word windy didn't quite describe the conditions when I went on Wednesday afternoon.  I wandered around anyway to see what I could capture that would reflect this week's theme.

I took several shots of these black ducks with my telephoto lens.  After I downloaded them, the above image provided an intriguing look at the struggle these ducks had just trying to stay in one spot.  Not only the ripples and waves, but also the almost speckled surface of the water is proof of the strong gusts that buffeted those birds.  Look closely at the bird in the center of the image struggling to stay afloat as a wave breaks around him.  He embodies what I've experienced emotionally this past week or so.  But, as I look at this image, I remember the Lord's reminder that (especially) during times like this, I am to be still.

Cease striving and know that I am God...

Psalm 46:10a NASB

The setup:

No special setup other than really bracing my arms against my body, not breathing, and desperately trying to hold my camera steady in the wind.  I really got blown around out there!  I set a high ISO and a low aperture so I could obtain a fast shutter speed to compensate for all the moving around.  (So much for the stillness of winter before spring!)


Camera settings:

• ISO 500
• Manual mode
• 70-300mm telephoto lens at 300mm
• Aperture at f/5.6
• 1/500 second shutter speed

Can you see the little whitecaps in the image below?  It's a very small man-made lake, so you can imagine the wind it took to create that!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- A Great Leap

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  A Great Leap

A quick note:  After my photography class Thursday night, I was all set download, edit, and upload my images for this week's challenge.  When I walked into the house, I looked into the dining room and saw the computer in pieces--hundreds of them--all over the dining room table.  The new computer components they had ordered arrived late that afternoon; as soon as I left for class, they began the change-out process.  I didn't get a computer back until this afternoon!

My photo:

My thoughts:

For this challenge, I chose the obvious photo--a literal leap.  My son Danny (18) is the acrobat, and would have been happy to jump for me.  However, he had lots of homework to finish for his college classes, so he was unavailable.  Thomas (you may remember him from last week's challenge), was very happy to oblige for this particular challenge.


The setup:

All this shot required was decent weather and our patio table.  Oh, and a very jumpy teenager.  :)

I wanted to freeze Thomas' action (as opposed to blur), so I set the ISO as high as Ellie could be set, and then set the aperture wide, but not too wide.  When I was ready for the multi-exposure shot, I set the focus on the edge of the table, then hollered to Thomas to run and jump.  I chose the above shot from the third jump series.  Below you can see the entire series of shots.


Camera settings:

• ISO 1600
• Manual mode
• 50mm portrait lens
• Aperture at f2.5
• 1/640 second shutter speed

End note--my husband just walked past, saw the photos, and exclaimed, "He did that over a glass table?  You guys were insane."


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Cabin Fever

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  Cabin Fever


My photo:

My thoughts:

After family devotions on Wednesday night, my husband started ordering our guys to "clean up this mess!"  He was flabbergasted when I stopped him.  After all, I'm the organized, neat, and tidy one in the family.  Unbeknownst to him, I already had this photo in my mind.


The setup:

Although I envisioned both Thomas (my 15yo, above) and his brother Danny (18 and loves to make the goofiest faces imaginable for the camera) in my image, Thomas would work in a pinch.  Danny was too busy that morning writing a short essay in Spanish.  I cajoled Thomas into sitting down on the floor in the middle of the mess, and I stood on the computer desk chair to snap the image.  The above is the first picture I took, and I chose it because it didn't get any better than that.  I had wanted him to make a pull-your-hair-out-while-screaming face, but he was not in a good mood (see the picture below).  Of course, not being in a good mood was good for the theme!

Note--nothing else in the photo was staged; the clutter (mostly three guys' school stuff) appears as it actually lay from the night before.  Half an hour after I took the shots, my living room was back to its beautiful, tidy self.


Camera settings:

• ISO 1600
• Manual mode
• 17-85mm lens at 17mm
• Aperture at f4
• 1/50 second shutter speed

Because the photo was just what I envisioned, post-edit was simple and quick.  This week's image was all about composition--what I was actually going to shoot--not changing the image significantly with editing.  In Lightroom3, I increased the contrast, brightened the image a tiny bit, and added some grain, which I think works well with both high ISO and lots of busy-ness in an image.

 Toldja he wasn't in a good mood!

Don't worry; he's partially "faking" the above.  He soon became his sweet self (breakfast helped).  I mean--how many 15-year-olds give their moms random hugs throughout the day?  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- True Love

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  True Love


My photo:

My thoughts:

I'm posting this super late due to my travels, though I took this photo within the Project 52 time frame guidelines.  :)

I flew to Georgia to shoot a two-day mother/daughter event last week, but mostly I flew out to visit my sister, whose family hosts the event.  We believe in the work they're doing through SECHDF (check out their website and their blog) for homeschooling families in the southeastern U.S., and want to support them in whatever way we can.  So, I save my pennies and fly out each year to help out in whatever way I can.  This year, I had the privilege of shooting two days' worth of candid images, and "formal" mother/daughter(s) portraits, which become 5x7s for each family.  Isn't that a neat gift for the attendees?


The setup:

I set up my "studio" in the library of the church where the event took place.  There was a window on the north wall, and this provided me with some good natural light.  I didn't have to use my flash (I'd rather do whatever it takes to shoot natural light before settling on flash).  Yay!  One mom and her five daughters (!) came in to have their portrait done.  The littlest girl--I'll call her Miss H--did not want to be there.  You should've seen the frown on her face.  She didn't know me, however; I love little children.  And I like a challenge.

They all took off their name tags, and I went to work charming a little three-year-old girl into smiling.  We played the I'm-going-to-try-to-guess-your-name game, with great success.  She finally sat with the rest of her family and I got a good picture:

Upon surviving her ordeal, Miss H decided I was pretty fun, and she set about climbing up onto the portrait stool and goofing off.  The next oldest sister also climbed on up, and they proceeded to goof off together.  I reset my camera settings and shot away, and got an adorable shot of them back to back.  Then, Miss H turned and gave her sister a hug (another totally adorable shot), and then, wouldn't you guess it--a kiss!  They were so sweet together, and I could tell that they have already shared lots of love in their short-so-far lives.  Although the theme True Love primarily evokes my relationship with my husband, and my relationship with my Jesus, these two little girls embodied True Love for me last week.


Camera settings:

• ISO 640
• Manual mode
• 50mm portrait lens
• Aperture at f6.3
• 1/60 second shutter speed

(Thanks for letting me share late!)

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Shadows

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52.

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  Shadows


My photo:

My thoughts:

I thought about shadows all week, but was too busy to pick up my camera, and Thursday evening came rushing at me.  I was drained, but pulled Ellie out of her bag and took some shots of chair backs and other shadows cast by the soft indoor light.  Outdoors had been a bust most of the week, since it was cloudy.  So I had to settle.

The setup:

My two youngest guys sympathized with my plight, and they goofed off making hand shadows on the floor.  After several attempts, I chose the above image (pardon the badly-placed watermark!).  Thomas' hand is not actually touching the floor, but it looks like it is.  I thought that was cool.  The shadow was blurry from higher up, so I kept shooting as he moved his hand closer to the floor.  In Lightoom3, I turned the image black and white, pushed up the exposure, and added extra black and shadow to the image for contrast.  Then I added some very coarse grain to the image.

Camera settings:

• ISO 800
• Manual mode
• 50mm portrait lens
• Aperture at f2.8
• 1/40 second shutter speed

One more hand shadow shot (compliments of Danny, my #3):

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Self Portrait

I'm linking up with Darcy for Project 52!

Click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!

This week's challenge:  Self portrait


My photo:

My thoughts:

I checked out this week's theme; ironically, my photo from last week's P-52 Challenge was also a self-portrait.  :)

I had wanted to take a walk in these woods near my home since last Friday when it started snowing.  How cool to get some pics of these snow-covered trees; I had gotten some nice pics in this same location this past autumn.  I brought my 17-85mm lens and my 100mm macro lens along, because you never know what you're going to find.  For my macro photography, I love a very low ISO and sometimes a smaller aperture--depth of field can be tricky with a macro--so I brought my tripod along because I wasn't sure what the light would be like and shutter speed might be low.

Toward the end of my walk--and nearing sundown--I thought to myself, "Self portrait!"  (I even said it aloud--nothing like talking to yourself when you're all alone in the middle of the woods!)


The setup:

I bumped up the ISO for my self portrait so that I could get a decent shutter speed.  I set up my camera and tripod, and found a small tree I could stand next to for focus.  I set my aperture to f6.3 to make sure my face would be in focus in case I was not quite even with the tree.  I set the timer for a 10-second delay and ran back and forth a few times to test out my settings.  I ended up zooming in for more focus on my face.  I felt a little goofy smiling at the camera, all alone in the woods!


Camera Settings:

• Canon 40D
• ISO 500
• Manual mode
• 17-85mm lens at 68mm
• f6.3
• 1/80 sec. shutter speed

Here is the series of photos I ended up keeping:

Nice composition, but the focus is a little off; maybe a closer shot...

 Blah composition, plus where am I looking and what am I smiling at??

 Nice, but my head is tilted the same way as the tree; could I be falling?

 The shot I chose.

I'm feeling really goofy doing this in the middle of the woods!!

 

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- I Dreamed A Dream

I'm linking up with Darcy--(click her Project 52 button above to see what it's all about!


This week's challenge:  I dreamed a dream


My photo:

Reason I chose this photo:

This week's challenge was a...well, it was a challenge!  I'm not a dreamer by nature, though I sure do have dreams.  But to take a picture of one of my dreams--to travel to France, for example--would be impossible because I haven't done it yet.  (That's why it's a dream!)  My 18yo son has done some neat stuff with my camera, but that's his fun, not mine.

Finally, the colder weather inspired me when I saw the empty fireplace and knew that that would be the shot.  Most of what's burning is paper (our wood was wet!), but the scene reflects a typical fireplace scene in my home.  I do love sitting and staring at the flames and letting my mind wander and ponder.  It's one of the few times I actually sit and just be still.  When I dream/think/ponder, it's usually about things I want to do or purchase when/if we can afford it (a trip or even a camera lens!), and I dream for my boys--their futures, wives and families, and such.  Our oldest has autism, and I dream a lot for him.  He's still home with us but we hope and dream that someday he will have a steady job and a fulfilling life.  I feel that my image reflects well my state of mind as I sit and dream.

The setup:

It was dark in our home, which is good because that reflects the feeling I wanted to portray of dreaming.  I used my tripod, since I knew it would be a slow shutter speed.  After several miserable attempts at a shot, I moved the tripod right behind me so I could reach the remote shutter without using the timer.  I also set the ISO high (1600), since I knew I wouldn't mind noise (again, the feeling of dreaming).  The above shot was in the first set of my second attempts.  It ended up being a matter of choosing one with a nice fire--though it is a little bright!  In post edit, I adjusted the white balance, did some other minor tweaking, and vignetted the image more than I usually do--again, to reflect the theme.

Camera Settings:

• Canon 40D
• ISO 1600
• Manual mode
• 17-85mm lens at 24mm
• f4.5
• 1/13 sec. shutter speed

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week 2

Project 2012

Week 2 -- January 8-14

1.  Take pictures
2.  Share at least one--and up to seven!
(Click on the graphic if you're interested in joining us!)

My favorite photos

It's great when you can run outside in January in a jacket and snap some shots of the early morning frost.  The sun kept peeking out from the clouds, and I kept trying to catch it as I found some autumn leaves stuck in the grass.  The below leaf stayed still enough for me to capture it, and the sun also cooperated for several seconds.  I used my 100mm macro lens at f4.5, but in the editing room I wished I had increased the f-stop to obtain more clarity on the crystals along the leaf's edge.  I still like how the frost looks along the veins.
 

[8] Frost on leaf

The bananas we used to make banana cake.

[9] Ripe!

I love washing dishes.  There is a spiritual truth remembered with every dishload of dirty dishes!  I love getting dirty dishes washed, and seeing the shine as I rinse off the soap.  I'm sure if I were a dish I wouldn't like it--I wouldn't like being dirty, either--nor would I like the stinging soap in my eyes.  But once the dish is rinsed (boy, that water is hot!) and placed in the drain, it dries to a nice, clean shine and is pretty to look at again.  Oh, wait, sorry!  I digressed--back to the below photo...

As I was washing dishes this particular evening, I placed the soapy dishes on the counter to my left, then rinsing off several at a time.  I washed and placed the bowl, then washed and stuck the fork in the bowl.  When I looked over, the fork was slowly bobbing up and down, perfectly balanced.  So of course I grabbed my camera!

[10] Perfect balance

Who ever would have guessed that we would be playing Frisbee in the middle of January?!?  I love the setting sun and the sun flare in this shot as my boys throw the Frisbee around.

[11] January Frisbee

Later, as the sun set, I was hoping for a sunset similar to this one.  I was in the same spot, too!  But the clouds disappeared along with the sun, and I was left with a rather mundane sunset.  (All sunsets are beautiful.)  When I turned toward the east, I saw wispy clouds turning purple behind this tree.

[12] Tree silhouette

The day after we played at the park, we got our first measurable snow!  I ran out in it to take a fence row shot.  I used my 100mm macro again, at f8.  I had to set the ISO to 400 to get a halfway decent shutter speed (1/200 sec.) so I could hand-hold my Ellie.

[13] Snow on fence

Aaaaand, the next day, it was back to a typical Chicagoland morning in January, grabbing shovels to dig out the driveway.  Danny single-handedly shoveled the whole thing, too!

[14] Shoveling

I hope you got some good shots this past week.  I can't wait to see them!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Made With Love

This week's challenge:  made with love


My photo:

Banana cake with cream cheese frosting

The reason I chose this photo:

Although I love the artistic side of photography, I'm a logical and literal person.  My thought process went something like this:  What is made with love?  Well, of course the Lord made everything with love.  So that's a nature shot; but I post tons of those already.  Okay, then.  What do I make with love?  Besides a beautiful home (I hope), I make meals, laundry, school schedules...  I make food out of my love for my family, of course.  And this week's shot captures a lot of love.

My son Jacob has been asking me to make this cake.  He noticed those bananas getting overly ripe on the counter.  But I didn't have time.  For three days straight he calmly asked me if I was going to make it.  On the third day, I had a chunk of time so I gave in.  Jacob happily got ingredients out, mashed bananas, helped measure things, grease pans...  I was able to make this cake with his help.  This cake was made with my love for Jacob.  But it was also made with Jacob's love for me.  So it was made with a double dose of love.  :)

If you want the recipe for it, click here.  (It was really good.)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Resolution

I finally found a place for one of my photographic projects this year! 

I will be able to participate in this project throughout the year, without feeling the pressure to take a shot every day.  Project 52 seems to be better suited to what I want to do--focusing on a weekly challenge, and posting one photo each week.  My personal challenge will be to fulfill the assignment, since I usually just take pictures of my everyday life and activities, and don't go out seeking to take a picture representing ___ (fill in the blank).

I still plan on taking photos every week, and posting them here.  Those will be my Project 2012 images, linked from my sidebar.  On to my first Project 52 post!


This week's challenge:  resolution

My photo:

manual mode, 17-85mm lens at 17mm, ISO 400, f8, 1/100 second

The reason I chose this photo:  This image came to me at the end of a short walk I took at the Naperville Riverwalk.  I took the first images of this spectacular sunset braced against a tree trunk and branch, and then I ended up sitting down on the sidewalk and using my knees as a tripod.  I sat there for a while, just drinking in the incredible colors the Lord was painting on the sky.  This year, I am resolved to find the Lord's hand and His beauty in every situation.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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