Day 29

As I grow and stretch my wings as a photographer I learn new things every day.  What photos I think are amazing today will probably make me cringe in a few months.  I’m my own worst critic, and fight against that every day.  The bar that I set for myself is so high that sometimes I wonder if I will ever reach it.

One thing I do know, I will NEVER stop trying!

This blog is a journal of sorts through a wonderful adventure.  Taking a photo a day for 365{+1} days and sharing it with the world.

As I started my 365{+1} Project I learned of other photography challenges.  I’ve joined several of them, many of which you will see me posting the photos for here.  What I love about the challenges is that they give you a theme, often just one word, that you are to use as an inspiration for a picture.  I have to admit, that coming up with 366 *different* photos kinda terrifies me!  If I wasn’t sharing my project publicly it would be easier!  I could take 366 pictures of the Littles and be VERY happy!  Since it’s not just me looking at my photos, I try very hard to keep each photo fresh and different.

That’s where the photography challenges help!  The themes are often ones that I would never have thought of on my own!

There is ONE project that is near and dear to my heart.

It’s done by the owner of the company I am honored to be a part of – Piggies&Paws.

The project is called Capturing 52 Moments with Piggies&Paws.

The goal of this project is not to just take a picture once a week.  The goal is to capture a moment in time, to freeze it forever.  The winning photograph is chosen not because it’s a technically perfect photo, but because of the story behind the photo and it’s ability to share that story with the viewer.

This is *exactly* what I try to do each and every day!

Capturing 52 Moments with Piggies&Paws is for *all* photographers from professionals down to Mama’s with a camera phone!  You CAN take a beautiful photo that shares a “touch your heart” kind of story with an iPhone!  All you need to do is be aware of those special moments and CAPTURE them!

Capturing moments is what Piggies&Paws is all about.  We take your Loved Ones hand and/or footprints and turn them into knock-your-socks off beautiful pieces of art that you can hang on your wall!

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to click the link above and check out Piggies&Paws 52 Week Project!  Not only can you share your story, look at some *gorgeous* photos, BUT weekly winners get a Winner’s Button to proudly display on their blog {who doesn’t like bragging rights?}.

Monthly winners get something even BETTER!  The best photo of the month will get a Gift Certificate for one Piggies&Paws design!  With hundreds of Copyrighted designs, I don’t know how the winner will be able to choose just one!

Here’s my entry for Week 4.  The theme was ROMANCE.

What do you think?

ROMANCE is when the person you love reaches over and touches you because they can't go one more moment without connecting with you.

Shot with my Canon EOS Rebel XT

Lens 50mm f/1.4

ISO 400

f/3.2

Shutter Speed 1/100

Today’s picture was all about the power of TOUCH.

I wanted to capture a moment with my Hubs that shows our connection.  Hubs is my rock, my soul mate.  We have been through more in our 12 years together than other couples go through in a lifetime.  When my Mama and Daddy passed he was by my side.  When I’ve struggled personally or professionally, he has been there.  No matter what I know my Hubs will be right next to me.

How do you capture that in a photograph??

By focusing on the power of touch.

I set up the shot, adjusted my settings, got Glamor Girl ready to push the shutter button, and sat down next to Hubs.  Knowing that our faces weren’t going to be in the pic relaxed both of us.  No need to worry about smiles or how we look.  I had already explained to him what my goal for the photo was.  All I had to do was lean into him {like I’ve done a thousand times before} and instinctively he reached over with just his fingertips and brushed my skin.  I looked at Glamor Girl and she pushed the shutter button.

{Snap!}

My new favorite picture of the Hubs and I was captured!

Today’s picture is one in which it’s okay {in my opinion} to break the Rule of Thirds.  The focus of the photo is Hubs fingers brushing my skin.  Following the Rule of Thirds I should have had that focal point off-centered which would have looked awkward.  To me symmetry makes this shot.

 

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Day 13

A great way to grow as a photographer is to participate in photography challenges that encourage you to think outside the box and take photos that you might not normally think of.

Today’s photo was inspired by the theme “Up.”

Many people would interpret that as looking up, or jumping up.  Not in this house!   If we hear the word up, we immediately think of Itty Bitty’s all time favorite movie – UP!

In my head I had the perfect picture.  Itty Bitty holding balloons silhouetted against a beautiful blue sky.

Yeah, that didn’t work.

To get a rockin’ silhouette you should go out during sun up or down so that you have the brightest light directly behind your subject.

That and you need the sun to be *showing* not hiding behind clouds!

Today was the first day that the sun came out without a cloud in the sky.  Too bad we were busy during sun up and had plans during sun down.  {sigh}

I’m brave, and willing to take a chance, so we blew up some balloons and went for a walk.  I tried and tried, but a true silhouette picture just wasn’t happening with the sun so high in the sky.

As we got home, I snapped one last picture of Itty Bitty walking up the driveway holding up his balloons to make them glow in the sunlight.

This is it!

Not at *all* what I pictured, but somehow it captures the feeling that I was going for even better!

What do you think?

I love how the sunlight makes the balloons glow!

Shot with my Canon EOS Rebel XT

Lens 50mm f/1.4

ISO 100

f/9.0

Shutter Speed 4000

When shooting a silhouette you need to expose for your background, not your subject.  That’s what causes your subject to look like a shadow.

To get this effect with the sun so high in the sky I dropped my ISO and raised my shutter speed as fast as it could go, hoping to compensate for the ton of sunlight pouring down on us.  Remember, your ISO is how you tell you camera how much light to let into the camera.  With so much light I could set it for the lowest setting – 100.

It was REALLY windy outside, so I upped my shutter speed as high as it would go so that it would freeze the motion of Itty Bitty and the blowing balloons!

To get the really cool “starburst” effect with the sun, I closed my aperture down a bit.  Not too far, or I would have had to up my ISO or shutter speed to compensate.  If my aperture would have been wide open {f/2.0 ish} the sun would have been a big blob of light.

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