First Blog of 2022

January is already a little more than halfway over, but I'm going to make ONE new year's resolution. I'm going to make one blog at the end of each month, unless I have a particular project in mind and successfully finish it during a month.

Last month I began working on long exposures, I've got to say it would be very easy to become addicted and overdue this art.

My first (successful) long exposure image was crazy, it was super windy and I decided to take Dorian to Lincoln State Park, to the lake with a really nice dock. I wanted something solid and pretty large for the foreground, there were moments I thought my tripod was going to blow over (luckily that didn't happen).

 I used a 10 stop ND filter on my super wide 10-18 mm lens, shot at 11mm, F18 with a 20 second exposure, ISO 200.

That evening I wanted to get some more shots using long exposure, and my husband came home just 30 minutes before the sunset so I didn't have to drag Dorian with me (he's a trooper but he does have his limits). The goal location was at the riverfront in Newburgh, I got there late, realized the image I had in mind was impossible due to the rising waters and thought the evening was shot but I got lucky. I found this little spot and spent twenty minutes there playing around with shutter speed.

This one was shot with my 10 stop ND filter on the 10-18mm super wide lens.

Shot at 12mm, F11, 300 seconds or 5 minutes in English. Manual white balance.

Later that month I took Dorian to Hemlock Cliffs, stopping at a favorite location in Hoosier National Forest. There is a spot just off the road, a petite little waterfall I've been to a few times. Dorian was so patient, it helped that he had my phone, but we probably spent about 30 minutes there.

My husband loves this one, it's one of mine too. I just really like the green.

Shot at F9, 16mm with a 1 second exposure, ISO 125. Manual white balance.

Another favorite of mine, a closeup shot of some of the rocks. This one was shot at F9, 18mm with a 4 second exposure, ISO 125. Manual white balance.

This was shot at shot at F9, ISO 125 and probably around 2 seconds. I'll have to dig up the details from my computer.

This is probably the final image I'll share from that morning.

I didn't have another successful shoot that month. To be honest, it's been a rough season...either super overcast or super blue and sunny.

I do have a few images from the colorful season, they'll have their own blog though, once I get them organized and together.

A Fun Afternoon with some Family

Yesterday afternoon I got with one of my sisters, her kids and my brother and his family for a session. My mom had been wanting photos of her grandkids altogether, her youngest being 2 and we haven't had any since before she was born. So we managed to sync our schedules and get together yesterday afternoon.

I got there first and had a chance to do some shooting of Dorian.

My sister got there with her kids shortly after I did, my brother was running late so we ended up having like 40 minutes to do some shots with her kids.

By that point my brother and his brood finally got there and we attempted to shoot some group shots of the kids. I will say that five kids, 5 faces is a lot to work with and definitely a challenge to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time and smiling.

Here are a couple shots of my brother and his family.

I had a lot of fun with everyone, and Dorian did pretty good staying near me and not wandering off which was one of my concerns. 

I'm very pleased with how things went, though there are a few shots/poses I wish I had thought of.

My first Photo Session with the EOS 70D

 Saturday afternoon I was contacted about a possible photo session Sunday afternoon with four children. I was so happy and excited to be able to use this camera so soon. 
Charlene is a good friend of mine, she has been my masseuse for the past 5 years and we have become very good friends. So I was more than happy to shoot a session with four of her grandkids, she picked the place and I had never been there. The Display Garden in Evansville next to the Boyscouts of America building, just off of the Loyd. A beautiful little garden with many flowers, kinds I had never seen before. 
Overall it was a fun shoot, the kids were really sweet and calm which was very surprising.

Here's a couple of the images.

After 11 years, I've upgraded from my Canon T2i to the Canon EOS 70D

 So last week I finally decided to upgrade from the beginner entry level camera I have learned so much from (my Canon T2i) to a entry level professional camera, the Canon EOS 70D. It arrived Friday and has certainly been an interesting experience, I bought the battery grip kit for it which would give it 2 batteries making it last longer. I will mention that I am having some difficulty with that as it sometimes loosens and the camera immediately shuts off which sucks when you're in the middle of a shoot. 
Saturday I played around with practicing with my very patient son who can be a very handsome young man when he is cooperating lol.

I am so lucky and blessed to have him as my son, such a handsome young man.

The EOS 70D is relatively easy to figure out, a lot more bells and whistles than my Canon T2i. I have no doubt that I will most certainly enjoy the next 10 years with this camera as I learn and improve my skills. 

A Weekend in Indy - Only a Few Images

  We went up to Indy for my half marathon, then Sunday we went to the zoo. I got a few images throughout the weekend, but I'm only going to post the ones I am very pleased with. 
   The first few are of the Indianapolis State Building and the monument:

  The others are from the zoo, I hate the windows but I hate the fencing and bars more. Here are a few of my favorites.

Some Cars are Just Sexy........... Period

  I am realizing that I most likely won't get much if any business with people, but right now my time is kind of filled up with a son and running so I am just going to enjoying photography and keep on learning. I've got to two little cruise ins since the Frog Follies and so far I've gotten quite a few images that I really like, and I am playing with the saturation control to make these cars stand out even more.

I don't normally shoot object, let alone vehicles but classics are definitely something totally different, they are sexy and full of power. I could shoot hundreds of these cars without ever getting tired.

Frog Follies 2013

   First time in years since I've been back to the Frog Follies, mainly due to how freaking hot it is but this time I was on a mission. Sadly due to having my mom, my son, Cameron and Jared with me I was kind of rushed through and only saw a fraction of the cars there in the span of the 2 hours but it was hot and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so I am not too unhappy about leaving around noon. Anyways I have about half of the images finished, here are just a few of my favorites:

  I need to do some research so I can actually know what vehicles I am taking photos of, but they were gorgeous and the sun really shined on them.