Feedback

Friends, every one: it is very helpful and FUN, your positives words and encouragement on my photographs. I love it! But for those of you out there who know a thing or two about photography, I want to invite you to feel free to comment on the teaching site as well, the critical site, the feedback site so I can get better. Let's be honest about our photo's and what we think can improve them. I do realize it's also a matter of taste and art and you can hardly touch that. Still, let me just throw this out there, I am open to he fun and positive comments, but I also appreciate the comments that challenge me. Is anyone else interested in this kind of feedback on her/his photo's? Cause I'd be totally willing to be encouraging but also try and have that critical look that can challenge you (or was that not the point to your Fledging Photographers Jenna? ;)

Funny story

This is a funny story, and this is not a post about picture taking although pictures are included. I just shared it on my personal blog but had to put it up here too.

Last night - Eventful Evening: I have quite an eventful evening. I so want Jady to get pregnant, I just want it to happen one more time. But every time she is in heat, she won't go out further than the yard. I think she is still scared after her accident last year. She is so sad when she's in heat. She wants to be touched, held, and she wants a CAT!! But I keep taking her outside but she doesn't get it. But that all changed as of 30 minutes ago. She is having a great time with a cat RIGHT NOW. And they can't seem to get enough. I was even able to take pictures through the window WITH THE FLASH AND IF DOESN'T EVEN SCARE THEM. So they are still at it. Do you think I can assume she is pregnant right now? I hope so, I have figured out her due date, it's around June 30th!!

This morning - THE CAT: Late last night I took Jady in the house, she was on her way but THE CAT would constantly grab her. It seemed she was done though. I just woke up and thought I would get her to lie with me because she likes that in the morning. But there she was, sitting on the window sill looking at THE CAT. He was calling and calling for her. Pour thing probably set there all night. So out she goes and of THEY went. I bet I won't see them for a while. If I had any doubts about her getting or being pregnant, they are out the door now!

Later this morning - PROOF:

Helloooooo, any one there?

Helloo......??

I am looking for you.......

Here I am......

GREAT!

April Challenge - Favorite Photo

Ok, so I have been working on this post for days. I take part in this month's Challenge, my favorite photo taken in April.

Of course this is a hard pick, very very very hard. Jenna, you are killing me here. One thing is easy, I will pick a picture from my walk on the dike visiting the lambs. It was a great experience, it was a lovely day and beautiful pictures were taken. Ok, so now I have to pick just ONE! I am tempted to pick 2 or 3 even, but it would not be a challenge if I am not to abide by the rules, and I tend to follow the rules. I added an extra rule, I pick a picture I haven't posted before. So finally, after spotting for a longggg time, I am still not convinced this is my favorite, but here is my one picture (man, this was hard):

Nikon D80 - 18-200mm Lens - Taken: Manual / Shutter 1/80 / Aperture 16:0 / @ 95 mm vocal length.

You Capture - Letters

I am finding all sorts of "challenges" out there. You Capture is one of them and I enrolled. I was to capture letters. There are some people that really took very creative pictures in this weeks assignment, for example: Shaespics. I love what she does!

I know often less is more, but I can't seem to pick my favorites yet. (And in case you wonder, these are all taken in my street.)

These are called mushrooms. They are signs for bikers and walkers, to show them how far a certain town is.

Course

I had a great time during the course. It's a good one as well. There were quite some options and I seem to have picked the right one, I even heard some bad comments about a school near me, supposedly they aren't good at all. I see that I know a lot already, but it does help me a great deal. It's a class with 14 students, just one male (we all kept taking his picture during assignments) and there is a big variety in age and experience. The course I am taking is the first semester of the 4 year program and there are 4 that are interested in getting the degree. I have to say, I was shocked when the teacher was telling us that we do get grated and we have to do 2 exams in order to pass this class and get our paper. Even the 4 that want to get the degree were in shock. Well, I will not get worried about it now, even though it's been a longgggg time since I was to study like that. There is quite a bit of theory we're going over as well. I did enjoy the day a lot. I also loved being back in Amsterdam. It makes it a long day for me but it's a great place to take the course. Just to walk around and we were all outside having lunch on a terrace. Soooo nice.

So let me summarize a little on what I have learned or what got my attention again (it may be a little tricky for me to explain all this in English):

1. When something or someone is further away that I would like, I tend to use my 18-200 mm lens. Zooming as much as I can. Great feature, or so I thought. When you actually walk closer to the person or object, it causes you to get the feeling you are right there, involved if you wish when you look at the picture. When you use your zoom, it creates more of a distance when looking at the picture.

To prove my point (or the teacher's really)

THE guy, taken with 135 mm. It felt really close to me.

But when I see this one I feel I am actually closer and right there. This ons is taken at 18 mm and just getting as close as I could, trying to get the same image as when I shot with 135 mm. I was up in his face, haha. (Of course with portrets there is a reason not to be in your models face, some one feels way more at ease when you are further away. So this point may be proven better with an object instead of a person.)

Again, taken with 135 mm

And with 18 mm, trying to get a similar composition. (I really thought I was a fan of being able to zoom in with my 200 mm. But now I am excited to have learned to get in closer and what it does to a picture.)

2. It was suggested that we take a couple of days where we will set our lens to a specific distance for those days and see what one can do with it, never touching your lens. So I can set it to 35 mm for a couple of days, 135 mm. I think it may teach me a lot.

3. Shutter speed. I never really worked with pictures where I'd capture movement. In photographing sports I always followed the sportsman and the pictures were always clear and beautiful, a great series even, like you see a movie. But what fun is it to take a photo of a biker on his bike without setting the shutter so that you can actually see him riding his bike? The way I have been taking pictures I made a statue out of my moving biker. So I actually practiced this today on the baseball field. What gets tricky though is, when I set my shutter to a slower speed, more light gets in and so I need to change my Aperture.

I also learn a lot from all the photographers on line and especially the Fledging Photographers. I read comments, I read people's tutorials, I take part in challenges and it helps a great deal. Just to read Jenna's comment on Anna Mae's photo of her family digging in for dinner, it was totally about using Shutter Speed and I was reminded of the photo during class right way. Also Jenna's blog about the Histogram is a great help. I knew of it, just never really paid attention to it during the picture taking. Well, it comes in handy once I start to play with Shutter Speed and there fore my Aperture. So thank to you all for sharing and answering questions and talking and showing, let's keep up the good work and we can all get good.

April Challenge - Favorite Gratis Activity

In the Favorite Gratis Activity Challenge, I have to go with my visits with the sheep and lambs. It's great going to the dike, getting on and just walk among these animals, the babies sometimes just days old. I bring some bread and literally can stay for hours. On top of things, the surroundings are just great: water, happy people (who is not happy around newly born lambs), birds, grass, silence. I have already posted a lot of these pictures and it's also among my April Favorite Photo challenge, but here it is:

Photography course starting tomorrow

I am so excited. My class is starting tomorrow. I will need to be in Amsterdam at 10 am which is totally crazy concerning traffic. Means I will leave at 7 am, but with tea and hot coffee it will be a joyous ride. I never intended to stay up this late, I was ready for bed at 8 pm but work and important phone calls got in the way. So off to bed and on to the course tomorrow, yeah!

Aperture versus Adobe Lightroom?

Aperture or Lightroom..... hmmmm, I have no idea how to decide which editing program to get. It's time to purchase one, unless some one out there can tell me iPhoto will do the trick? I am a Mac user and fan, so there fore it's easy to go for Aperture. But as is with every program, there are pro's and cons. My classes start tomorrow, I will need a good editing program. I know I can try out both programs for free for a month so I will do so. But in the mean time, do any of you have any advise? Can you share your thoughts about Aperture or Lightroom. I have been reading on line as well. But still, all information is welcome.

Tulips

My sister lives abroad and she misses Holland, she also has a rough time with needing to work but a husband who is fighting mayor migraines. I decided to cheer her up. Wen, these are for you!

It was my BIL's birthday yesterday. It's a 2 hour drive to get there. Still, when I got closer and closer to the Northern part of Holland, I couldn't help taking the back roads to come across these flower fields. They were on my list to photograph and now is the season.

Lambs

I often go out for walks to visit the cute little lambs. I have done it 3 times already in the last month. I went across the street for my first shoot. Second I went to a barn after church, where the shepherd put his sheep and lambs in the barn for us to be able to cuddle them. It's wonderful for we actually have shepherds in Holland tending to the heath fields. When you take a walk and meet the shepherd with his sheep and dogs, it's awesome. And lots of lessons can be learned looking at them.

(Look at their umbilical cords)