First Pics With New Tripod

Well, here are some pictures that I took Sunday after effectively putting together the new tripod (nothing like getting a little grease on your hands to make you feel like you've accomplished something).

So below you'll see some still life photos I took using my handy-dandy flashlight (I love that thing - so much fun). And if anyone is wondering how I got some of the pictures red, it is simple. I took a red plastic bag (thank you Circuit City) and put it over the flashlight.

Also, I should note that I am leaving town for Christmas holidays! As usual, the Internet connection there (both sets of parents) is exceptionally slow, but the good news, is once I'm back I'm off work for a whole week, so you'll definitely hear from me then.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Hope it's a safe and happy one.

:) Roon-bop

Christmas Photography

The Digital Photography School has posted 16 tips for Christmas Photography. It has inspired me to make plans for my Christmas photos.

1. I will bring my camera, new tripod, batteries, charger, USB key in case I need to unload at some point.
2. I will REMEMBER to take pictures. Every time I go to a personal event, I usually FORGET to take pictures, because I’m having so much fun. That is not going to happen this year and here’s how:

• I’m going to take pictures early in the event… before other family members arrive, I will take some time to take pictures of the Christmas tree, mom’s cookies, the dogs (because they are so fun to take pictures of), presents under the tree, decorations, etc. Also, because the night time comes so early, I’ll probably have time to get some pictures of Christmas lights outside (assuming it’s not too cold in Ottawa).
• I will have a list of things and moments I want to capture. I haven’t put enough time into this at the moment, but this will include what I have mentioned above, as well as moments of my nephew opening and enjoying his gifts, a picture of dinner (i.e. passing plates, etc). Usually my family doesn’t do much exciting for people photography. We usually just sit around and chat. The women are usually in the kitchen, so I’ll try to squeeze in there. Also, I have heard a rumour that my brother will be bringing Rock Band, which could make some great pictures.

Because my husband and I are visiting at Christmas (we live in Toronto, everyone is in Ottawa), this means lots of events, which leave little time for casual photography, but I’m going to try to squeeze in some time. I’ll be bringing my tripod, and my parent’s house is filled with things. Hopefully I will find something interesting that I can create into a beautiful abstract picture. That is what I’m going to try focusing on this winter. It is much too cold for me to hang out outside… I’m a big baby and I know it. I’d really like to find some time for that.

So, remember to visit the Digital Photography School’s website to check out their 16 tips. There is nothing new here, but a good reminder and in my case, also a good motivator to get my butt in gear!

:) Roon-bop

The Night Sky

Admittedly, I haven't been taking many pictures lately. The last pictures I took were for an assignment - use flash as a highlight. The idea is to have a the background be properly exposed and use the flash to gently light up a person in front of the camera.

My husband was VERY kind and came out with me on a very cold evening. I wanted to get the wicked colour of the winter sky during sunset. Below is the picture I submitted. It's actually of he and I.

It was SO cold that night. I had to take my mittens off to set up and take down the camera. I thought my hands were going to fall off! Because I was incapable of moving them, once the camera was sort of in the bag, I asked Curtis to put away the tripod. He picked it up... and it broke! It wasn't a very nice tripod to begin with, and the legs always collapsed on their own.... but now I have to go out and purchase a new one... and let me tell you: I had no idea how expensive they can be! Whoa!!! But it is essential.

:) Roon-bop

What we did on the last day of class

Today was the last day of class for Photography 3. Overall, I have to say... what a great class! Asif is by far the best teacher I've had to date!

So, in class, we broke up into groups of 3, each with our own assignment to create. Group 1 was portraiture, group 2 was product and groups 3 & 4 were abstract art... to take normal objects and make them beautiful. Team 3 had cardboard boxes, and my team, had a book. When he was first assigning teams and assignments, I had really wanted to be on the portraiture team, because I want to take pictures of people, but I have to say I'm very glad that I got our assignment. I am not a very creative person, but this gave me hope that maybe I could come up with something... perhaps even something that might be able to show up in a gallery some day (which would be wicked!)

Below is what we came up with (some with the help of Asif of course - who really helped us to think outside the box).

All in all I would say that Chris, Eleanor and myself worked really well together. At first I was nervous about it, but each of us brought new ideas to the table. It was nice and I think we were all very pleased with the results.

:) Roon-bop

Painting with light - assignment

I thought that I would share my assignment for Painting with light. I had a lot of fun working on this, but I am afraid that I am not quite creative enough for this biz.

Long story short, the assignment was to take a pic in a pitch black room and use nothing but a flashlight to light it up.

These are what I came up it.

Many people used the flashlight to symbolize fire, which came out really cool. This is all I've got. I like it, but I am always looking to be better... perhaps I am hard on myself, but I can only hope that will drive me to create better pictures.

Big props to my husband, Curtis for being my very patient model... he's such a good husband!

:) Roon-bop

Painting with light

So, I was fooling around the other day, working on my painting with light assignment, and I decided to do some self-portraits. The focus is off on them, because I had nothing to focus on, but I thought I would share any way.

So, to do this, I had my flash at 1/4 power. I had the camera on bulb (using a remote). The flash went off first, and then I went to town with a very small pointer light and made the following.
I've been working on my assignment quite a bit. It's been challenging getting used to the flashlight as a source of light, trying to maintain a good quality of light, etc. I'm very lucky that I have such a patient husband who is willing to sit for me. I will post pictures of that shortly.
In the mean time, enjoy these pictures. Painting with light is tons of fun. I suggest everyone play around with it...

:) Roon-bop

Photoshop Christmas Tutorials

Oh my goodness, I can't even believe my luck!

First I go to the store, because we're out of liquid hand soap, and low and behold, my favourite liquid hand soap is on sale! And there are 5 left. Very lucky me.

This morning, just this very morning, my husband asks me if I can help him create a company Christmas card with Photoshop. I'm a little lost on how I'm going to do it, but I know I'll figure something out. Then I get back from lunch and find this link! 24 Free Photoshop Christmas tutorials... seriously... my mind is blown.

So I thought I would share it, which conveniently enough also places it somewhere I can easily find it when I get home. This is amazing. I took a brief look at them. I wanted to create an ornament and have the company logo in the centre. And there is a tutorial on how to create a Christmas ornament... I mean really I'm a little freaked out by all this.

I hope this is as helpful to you as it should be to me. And thanks to toxel.com and digg.com for posting it.

Happy December First!
:) Roon-bop

Afraid to take pictures

Well, I thought I'd post a short little post to talk about my current fear of taking pictures.

Currently, the snow is falling, and its absolutely gorgeous out. But I'm afraid to take my camera outside. Because of the cold weather, photographers have to be very careful. If the camera goes from hot to cold, or cold to hot too quickly, there can be much damage to the lens. To avoid condensation in the lens, one must gradually get the camera used to the extreme weather. Start by keeping the camera by the front door, then bring it outside (while still in its camera bag) eventually you can take it out and start shooting. The battery will need to be kept warm, so be sure to keep it in your coat pocket until its time to start shooting. A cold battery will only last 2 hours (fully charge) in weather colder than -10/-15 Celsius.

When bringing inside you have to maintain the same care as bringing it out. It needs to slowly acclimatize. If condensation gets in your lens, well... its time to buy a new one. This is my current fear... I live in an apartment, so I don't have a door that leads to the outside world. I will have to hang out in the lobby for a while... The other concerning fact is that apartments tend to be excessively warm. This only add to the extreme temperature differences. I'm sure I'll give it a shot at some point, but I pretty paranoid, so I can guarantee I'll be weird about it... hanging out in the lobby for a couple of hours.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some great winter shots. I shouldn't wait too long, because right now its cold, but soon it'll be COLD. I think I may go out when its snowing one day... cover the camera in Saran wrap and have some fun. I think it'd be great to fool around with shutter speed in the snow. Oh the possibilities.

:) Roon-bop

A link to share with you

I saw this blog today from the Digital Photography School and I wanted to share.

I think it's fabulous that they wrote and posted this.

Thanks!

:) Roon-bop

Other pictures I took for assignment #1

I thought I'd share a couple more pictures I took for my first assignment, but didn't hand in. I tried 3 different locations, so these photos will not be related. I'm particularly found of the tree/chain picture.

While in class actually, Asif (the teacher) critiqued our work. Of those that critiqued was my swing picture (see earlier post). He said the picture would be more compelling if it was on a better angel and there was more of the chain, etc. Which basically means that I submitted the wrong one, lol. Which also means that I need to work on seeing and analyzing what makes a good photo.

:) Roon-bop

Photography III, Assignment 1

So, I thought I would share what I cam up with for my first assignment. We were to take a larger picture, outside & in daylight. Then within that larger picture we were asked to find 5 more interesting shots.

Below is what I came up with.

:) Roon-bop

The Big LAN

Here are a few pictures I took at the LAN. Like I said, this wasn't for photographic purposes, but none the less, here are some photos. It was a great LAN... slow to start, but a great turn out. 8 v 8 with one sub. We played Halo 1 on 360s but it wasn't too bad. There was some lag, especially during slayer, but it wasn't nearly as bad during Capture the Flag, which is basically all we played.

My team may have lost, but it was still a good time had by all. You will be happy to note, that as the sole female in the LAN, I was not required to use the cardboarded bathroom pictured below.

:) Roon-bop

Dogs, dogs, dogs!

Well, actually there are only two dogs in these photos!

Here are some pictures of Dimi and our neighbour Sam. We watched him over the weekend... well not last weekend, the one before that. Halloween weekend! (That's the one).

My weekend in Ottawa was great. I'll get up some pictures from the LAN. Though, admittedly, I wasn't trying to be a photographer at that event, however there are still a couple of pictures I'd like to share.

For now, please enjoy the cuteness of these dogs. And note the smile on Sam (Yorkshire Terrier)'s face... very cute.

:) Roon-bop

Polarizing Filters

For more information on Polarizing filters, see the Digital Photography School's blog here!

:) Roon-bop

Finally some Halloween shots!

So, I am going to Ottawa this weekend. There is a BIG Halo LAN tomorrow... BIG LAN.

As such, you will likely not hear from me, your beloved blogger, because my parents have dial-up and the pain is just too much to bear.

So, here are some pictures I took this Halloween. My brother and his fiancee were in town, so there was lots of fun to be had.

This weekend, I will be working on my first assignment for Photography 3. I am very excited about it. I think I'm going to learn a lot from this exercise.

Oh, and I should mention. It was my birthday Wednesday and my WONDERFUL, AMAZING, SUPERB husband bought me some camera gear (he's so amazing). So, now I have a remote shutter release and a polarized filter! :D Oh the fun to be had. I am bringing them with me this weekend.

:) Roon-bop

p.s. my amazing husband also made me a delicious cake from scratch! He's so sweet.

Congrats America!

On making the right choice!

And a record turn out for voting!

Woo Hoo!

More pictures to come soon.

:) Roon-bop

America Votes!

Well, to all my American visitors: Happy Voting Day.

Earlier this week I watched Slackers Uprising by Michael Moore. It is available as a free upload for US and Canadian citizens. It was okay. Not his best. Though I could be saying that because even as a Canadian I feel bombarded with all this election talk. Heroes wasn't on last night because of an SNL Presidential special. It's all over the Canadian news, radio, and the Internet. Let's hope that its as inescapable to the American people as it is for the Canadian.

Well, vote wisely my American friends... vote wisely.

:) Roon-bop

Seriously, this is allowed?

So, I came across this truck today on my way home from School on St. Clair East. They were doing work in the mall. Seriously... who knew the Canadian Government would permit this title... seriously...

I don't even know what to think of it.

:) Roon-bop

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Well, today is October 31st and that means Halloween. My husband and I weren't going to dress up this year. We were going to hang out with the neighbour's dog, who we're dog-sitting and go to hot yoga, but last night my brother called to let me know he's coming to town, today for a Halloween party and he'd like us to go... so... we're scrambling for costumes. I plan on becoming a mime... because I have black clothing. Curtis, sent me this picture of him of who he intends to dress as. He went and got his head shaved and is now Michael Schofield from Prison Break.

How do you think he looks in this grainy web cam photo?

I plan on bringing my camera tonight, so hopefully I'll get a couple of nice shots. It'll be a late night, which of course isn't the best plan I've had, since my class starts tomorrow at 9 a.m. I've done worse.

:) Roon-bop

Shirley Douglas

As requested (see comment re: Kiefer Sutherland's mother), here are a couple photos I took at the conference of Shirley Douglas and my coworkers.

As my first experience as a semi-professional photographer... well it was lots of fun. I would say that I clearly have much to learn. Once I've taken more classes and know more about lighting and flashes, I would like to act as an assistant for a professional photographer to help hone my skills.

Please enjoy & let me know if you have any suggestions on what I could have done differently.

:) Roon-bop

Class begins November 1

So, with Photography 2 done and out of the way, I'm on to Photography 3. I'm not really sure what to expect with this one, whether its more camera stuff, or continuing with Photoshop.

Class starts this SATURDAY! This will be my first (but not last) Saturday class. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Its from 9 am - noon, which means, no sleeping in on Saturday morning, but being done at noon is better than 1-4. At least I still have much of the day left once I get back home.

Here is the course description:
This course covers both the art of photography and digital image manipulation – two important and extremely useful fields of visual communication in the rapidly expanding digital world. Explore composition, lighting, point of view and subject matter, and examine the technical aspects of cameras and computer interfacing. Expand on skills acquired in PHOT 9038 (Digital Photography II) by manipulating images in Adobe Photoshop.

I suspect that it will be both learning more about the uses of the camera and Photoshop. One thing I have to admit I very much like to get out of classes is the teacher's inside information and experiences as a photographer, that I otherwise would not have known. I like to hear them complain about certain things, or praise others. More than anything, that's what I am looking to get out of this. Any one can pick up a camera, a book, do research on the Internet and figure out how to be an amazing photographer. Through school, I hope to learn from the people and find my way through this crazy career.

:) Roon-bop

Back

Okay, well... admittedly I was gone for a while. I was sick and then I had a conference to run. The good news is that the conference was a booming success! I was even asked by my boss to take some photos. The lucky duck that I am was able to take pictures of Shirley Douglas, who is quite spectacular. She is an actress and activist. The daughter of Tommy Douglas, who was the amazing man who brought universal health care to Canada and mother of Kiefer Sutherland, who spends his time bringing down terrorists as the unkillable and never-wrong Jack Bauer.

She gave a very motivational speech - a long motivational speech. As such, I got to meet her. That was pretty great. She is very photogenic - must be nice. It was a great experience. I almost felt like a pro, so about 5 minutes. We did have a professional photographer for the duration of the conference, but he had another engagement to get to, leaving the door open for me to have some fun.

What did I learn?
1. I am in desperate need of a flash. The difference it would have made is HUGE! In every shot that I took, the background is completely black, which can be a very nice effect, however, not always what you want. The blackness makes the photo very dark and cuts into people's headlines. If I had a good flash, and had bounced it up, the whole area would have been lit up, which in this instance still would have been nice, because the background was a lovely velvet sheet. This would have lit up the people's faces, clothing and hair nicely. The other problem I had with my flash was that because it was pointing directly at the people I was shooting, if they wore glasses you can see the flash in them. This was annoying to try and photoshop out and I wasn't completely successful at it.
2. I should have taken more pictures while Shirley Douglas was speaking with people. One of the best shots I took is of her and the CEO of my organization chatting and laughing. It would have been nice to have more of those.

It was a great time, but it made me very tired (hence the long break in blogging). Now I am rejuvenated and ready for my next project.

:) Roon-bop

Thanksgiving weekend

So, after being crapily sick... I am back with photos.

I spent my Thanksgiving weekend in Ottawa, and I blame Ottawa for getting sick. I had a wonderful time with my family & a quick visit with a couple friends. Thanksgiving is great because:
1) You get to see your family, extended and all
2) Amazing food - stuffing is my absolute favourite... mmm... I could go for some right now.

This year, at my side of the family's T-giving dinner we even got to play Rock Band... which of course, I love and rock at.

So here are a few pictures of my family & 2 of my friends' kid - Brayden.

:) Roon-bop