The last day of the year

Ooh the last day of the year has come around.

I think I will have to look through my pictures when I get back home and see what improvements I have made through the year before I start planning out what I still need to learn and improve.

Books for Christmas

I have got some photography books for Christmas.

I will have to look through them and see if there is anything in them that can help me.

Sadly though as I thought there is no snow. If I would have stayed at home then I would have got the white Christmas that I would lvoe to have but not this year.

At least when I have hopefully moved to Canada then we will have lots of white Christmasses.

Let it snow

The snow arrived yesterday but while that was great there has not been any more. At least it has stayed cold so that what snow that fell is still there and is likely to stay.

It would have been a good opportunity to get lots of shots but sadly so far I have not really had the opportunity to do so (the last few days have been hectic for me)

At least I have been able to get some shots though and some from when it was snowing.

Reducing noise

Right my next mission is to find out how to reduce noise. I do not like using flash but of course I then end up with very noisy photographs when shooting indoors (like at my eldest sons nativity)

These are the best shots that I got of him. I was very fortunate that even though was several rows back I was able to get this shot.

 

Waiting for the snow

I have been told that there is snow due here soon. I am looking forward to it arriving as it will be lovely to photograph. Though it will be better once it has stopped snowing. I would like to get some nice snowflake shots. I think I will have to find out how I can get some.

I will be disappointed that I will not catch any snow this Christmas. I very much doubt that I will get any where we will be going. It is possible but I am not sure if I can remember seeing any snow there. At least next year I will be spending Christmas at home. Though not that I have ever seen any snow at Christmas either and of course it will be Murphy's law that states that we will have a te Christmas while we are away.

I do love taking pictures of frost as well but sadly we have not had much of that either.

I did get this shot recently of a frosty dead wild flower. I am pleased with how it has turned out.

New photography magazine

I went to the shops today and I was able to get the latest copy of Digital Photographer. I really need to subscribe to this so I do not need to rush out to the shops to get it.

It looks like it is going to be interesting this month. There are sections about Interior shots and getting perfect lighting. Even though I do not like using the flash I think it is good to still develop that skill in case I need to use it (there will be times when I will not be able to get away with not using the flash)

The going pro section is about securing sponsorship from manufacturers. That sounds something that would be really helpful for me (though that would be most helpful now as funds are short and there is always stuff that I am going to need) I will take that with me when I go away next week. I am not feeling well enough to read it tonight. Fluffy romance is the only thing that I will reading tonight.

I have been taking some shots of the sky today. I read that it is always good to have a collection of good sky shots for the times when nature does not provide them (darn that pesky nature for holding out on us when we need it, we are photographers...it should make everything perfect for us every time)

I am not sure what is causing it but there are a few specks on my pictures. It is either something on the lens or something on the mirror in the camera. I hope it is not the latter, as I have not needed to clean that yet and I am very nervous about doing it. I am not going to do it without a proper kit though. At least Photoshop will fix any problems that I come across (I love CS4)

Today I managed to get some nice sunset clouds (the sun had already set at not long past 3pm so I missed that as I was collecting the younglings from school)

I think I am going to have to find out how to get low light shots without the noise.

I really love photographing frost. I think it looks so pretty.

Sorting through my magazines

I get a couple of photography magazines a month, but I have got out of the habit of reading them.  I have still been buying them as I know that at some point I know that I will be able to look through and learn something from them.

Today I got all of my copies of Digital photo and Digital photographer that I have got. I sorted through them and took out the useful bits and put them in a folder so that at least I know where they all are and they will be kept in good contition as well.

My challenge of learning something new about Photoshop each day had to be put on hold due to other things that I have had to do first, and times when I have just been too tired. I think the best thing for me to do is to leave this challenge until the New Year when things have hopefully settled down.

Now we are into winter I have decided that I would see what interesting things that I can photograph. It is easy to get into the habit of thinking that Spring, Summer and Autumn are the only seasons to find anything interesting to photograph. But today when walking through the woods I thought the water drops on the dead wild flowers looked really interesting (especially with the spider webs there as well)

More sun shots

When the sun shines that is the time to make the most of it and get as many shots of it as possible.

I do not think I could ever get bored of taking pictures of sunrises, sunsets or the moon. I love looking at them normally. My youngest son was asking this morning why he could only see half of the moon. I briefly told him about the lunar cycles but I will have to show him a lunar chart to help him understand.

I think I will have to find out when the next lunar eclipse is.

I am going to have to give my lenses a good clean soon as I keep having to clone out marks on the pictures. Thankfully as they are only little and are easy to remove. Well easy to remove on the pictures that I have needed to remove them. I thankfully have not come accross anything that is challenging to remove.

Because I was taking shots of the moon I had my bigger lens on. This meant that I was able to get some close up shots of the sun. I used the bush to help break up the brightness of the sun. This also means that we can see the sun's shape.

The moon in the morning:

The morning sun:

 

Just when I think that...

That I will not get a sunrise this morning due to it being overcast the sun suddenly came out.

I was walking back from dropping the younglings off at school and nursery when I noticed that it had come out.

It was more challenging getting a shot of it as it had risen but I was able to get a shot of it from behind a bush, so that seemed to soften its glare. I am pleased with the shot I got of it.

 

Feeling inspired

Today for the first time I felt inspired when I was out taking pictures.

I have had some fun experimenting with low light photography. I did not have my tripod so I used a fast shutter speed. This created an interesting effect when I edited it in Photoshop. I think next time I go out I will take a tripod and see what I can get.

These are a couple of the shots that I got today:

 

Confident about mono

I am feeling more confident about my mono work and my landscapes. I think one thing that I can then do would be to sell mono landscapes. Hopefully they could sell as posters, cards and postcards.

I got an amusing shot of my son the other day. He found a scrap of material and he put it over his head. It reminded me of a picture of Lady GaGa I saw not too long ago.

Got some old pictures

Now that my partners computer is not working there is a spare monitor. I was then albe to put the laptop into his monitor. I can now access the stuff that is on the laptop.

It is always interesting looking at old photographs. It is a good way to see where I have improved and see what I did right then. Or maybe to remind me of something that I did then that I no longer do now and that I could start doing again.

It was also reminding me of a time when I did not use RAW. I could not imagine every using JPEG again as I think RAW is awesome but there was a time when I did not know about it. I need to find out how to edit JPEG files so I can also make the most of those pictures as I have found some nice pictures that I took.

It is also nice looking back at the spring and summer months and all the pictures of sunny days and flowers. Sometimes it feels when you are in those months that you have not had much of a spring/summer until you look back on all of the pictures and realize just how many days that we did have.

I wonder what I will have learned by the time next years flowers have some through.

Here is a picture of a Buttercup that I took in May:

Getting organized

I have started getting all of my magazines and stuff that I got from the photography course organized.

I have got most of the magazines in one place and I have got a folder to put the stuff in.

My son was not well a few weeks ago. I got a phone call to go and collect him from school. He lay on the couch and I wrapped him up in a sleeping bag. It was not too long before he fell asleep. He only falls asleep during the day when he is ill.

putting my college stuff together

I have decided that now that my college course has ended that I need to get all of my college work and put them together in a folder.

I have found one bit, so tonight I will be off to search for the rest of the stuff that I was given.

When I was at college on Tuesday I applied to get an ILA (individual learning account) the pack arrived today so I must make sure that I will it out so that I can get the next photography course paid for.

This was a shot that I took of the sunlight coming through the trees:

 

Sleeping beauty

Ok so I am biased but I managed to edited another picture tonight before I go to bed.

Learning to stop being so harsh

Last night was the last night of my photography course. I got a certificate as well.

I learned about layers.

I also learned that I need to stop being so harsh on myself. It really does not matter that others understood quicker how to get the sky transfer before I did. I did it in the end and that is what is most important.

I will be going on the advanced photography course in January. I think it would be good for me to get one it. I would also like to take a Photoshop course to help me with the editing.

I think I will have to look at the Photoshop book tonight once the younglings have gone to bed.

My confidence is beginning to return though. I am beginning to believe that I can become a professional photographer. I am still not sure what I will be doing but I just know that there is something out there that I can do.

I have also started thinking about outdoor portrait photography. I am not sure about children's photography at the moment but I think I will leave an open mind so that I start off doing something with a view of developing the skills at a later point.

I got this shot of the moon tonight. It is a lovely full moon. I am looking forward to getting a bigger lens so that I will not have to crop in so much. I am much happier with the shots that I have been getting. At least I have been able to capture the detail.

I got this shot of the younglings while we were walking to nursery and school. I always like seeing them walking along holding hands and I cannot resist taking shots of them doing so. It is also good experience at taking low light shots.

 

This is a shot that I got of the sun rising this morning. I am going to learn how to make a good job of cloning the line out of it.

 

The frost is here

Today is the first frost that I have seen this Autumn/Winter.

I love taking pictures of frosty mornings as it looks so beautiful.

Yesterday there was a full moon. I thought it looked so fu when I had collected my eldest from school.

 

 

 As we are getting closer to the shorted day the days are a lot shorter. I was able to catch a funky sunset last night as I was walking home from collecting my eldest from school.

Photogrpahy magazine arrived

The latest copy of digital photo has arrived today. It has a supplement with it about Photoshop. I must make sure that I get to read this tonight when the younglings have gone to bed.

Hopefully I will be able to learn how to add some funky effects to my pictures. There is also a section about layers.

Also featured in the magazine is something about low light shots.

I think it is a good month for what I would like to learn.

We have had some really pretty sunrises and sunsets recently. Here is a sunset picture that I got yesterday. I like how you can see the reflection in the puddle on the road.

Motivation

I know that I have got a lot to do and I know that time is always challenging to juggle, but I really need to set some time aside to read through my Photoshop book.

So I think I will have to set myself aside a challenge. For the next week I need to make at least half an hour to sit down and learn something new about Photoshop (especially layers)

Lets see what I can learn in the next week.

I was looking through some of my older pictures and I found this one from last month. I took this when I took the younglings shopping with me. It is easier for me to shop with them in a shopping trolley as at least I do not have to worry about where they are. I thought it would be fun to get a picture of them.

I decided to add a Christmas theme to this picture with the help of the funky extra seasonal features at Picnik.com

Sunrises

One of the things I love about this time of the year is that I can actually catch a sunrise. In the summer there is pretty much no chance that I can get one.

This was the sunrise that I caught yesterday morning as I was walking the younglings to nursery and school.

I have joined a photography club

 have been going to a photography club with one of my friends dad. I have enjoyed going there so I have joined the club.

They have got their own place with a studio. It is getting renovated at the moment but once it is finished it will be good to get shots taken there that I cannot get taken at home. It will also be good to enter the photography competitions as well and get inspiration from the other members.

Now that the nights are getting longer I am having limited time when to take natural light shots. I decided one late afternoon to get some shots of the street lights. As it has been raining a lot recently I liked the effect of the light reflecting.

What I like to photograph

My teacher asked me the other day what I liked taking picture of. I started thinking of the things that I like taking pictures of. I do like taking color pictures but I have grown to prefer mono pictures. I do enjoy taking pictures of landscapes but I also like macro shots. I do like taking portrait shots of animals but in a natural environment and I remembered that I also like taking pictures of objects that you normally would not notice and making them look interesting.

I took these pictures a couple of months ago when I was at college.

This picture is of a water pipe that leads to a hose that is there to put out fires:

This one is of an emergency chair for people who have difficulty walking.

This is the spring at the back of the pad which wheelchair users would use to open a door.

I just need to plan out how I can work a professional career around what I like taking pictures of. One thing that I could do is take portraits of peoples pets. Though I really could do with learning to drive before I do anything like that.

I could also sell pictures to be made into postcards, cards, posters etc. I think I would need to get an agent if I am going to do this. That would leave me to concentrate on getting more pictures and leave them to do the part of the job that I am not experienced with.

I just need to do my best to stay positive from now on.

Feeling better tonight

 have just got back from my photography course and I am feeling better. Chatting to my teacher helped a lot as well.

I was not sure what to do at the class today but I just had some fun editing some of my older pictures with Picnik and I added a festive theme to a couple of pictures. It was fun and it was nice to just do something silly. I think I need to do that more often.

Looking through older pictures

After asking for some advise about regaining my confidence in my photography I was given some good advise about what I could do.

One of those tips was looking at some of my older pictures and seeing them with new eyes.

I decided to do this today as I have not had much time to edit pictures and I have not even had time to look through the pictures that I have taken. I found some nice shots from the beginning of November. I am struggling to edit one of them as it is losing some of its color when I open it up in Photoshop. I will hopefully work something out but I have found one of my daughter that I like and I was able to edit it.

I am not feeling too bad today. I think if I can manage to get some focus then I think I will be at least half way to getting my confidence back. May the force be with me for doing that.

Walking through the wood with her doll Winter:

 

I like each version for a different reason. I also like that by just changing the effect it can change the feel of a photograph.

Not feeling too good today

I think I need to start looking at what kind of professional photographer I can be. I need to have something to aim toward. At the moment I just feel that I am just wandering aimlessly.

I also feel that I am not making any progress at all and while I am not going backwards I am not going forwards either. But then again ho can I go forward if I do not know where I am going.

I also think I am going to stop going on the forum that I normally post on as there are others who are getting on really well there. I think it is great that they are doing well and I hope that their success continues, but at the moment this is only making me feel like I should also be making progress and having more success than what I have done.

I also think I need to get some structure to what I am doing. I need to set some time aside when I can read the magazines and the books that I have. I have not looked at one of my magazines or books for a while now and that may also be contributing to how I feel. Even if I just get some inspiration then that would be good enough.

Even though I am feeling bad today I have still managed to get a picture edited. Here is it in color and in black and white. It is a step on the other side of the wood that I go through when taking the younglings to nursery and school. When the water was at its highest level it became a natural water feature (the local farmer had put the gravel down to fill the holes in the road)

 

I had a problem with Photoshop

Today when I was editing a picture that I took today when my photoshop shut itself down. I thought at first that it might have been connected to the problems that I am having with my computer but even after a restart it would not open.

I had a look on the Internet and I managed to find a solution to the problem. I was then able to download a programme that fixed it. I am so proud of myself for doing this as I normally wait for my partner to fix my computer problems (I had sent him a text to ask for help but I did not need it in the end)

This was the picture that I was editing at the time. It was taken as post of a photography challenge that I take part in on a Forum that I post on. The theme for this month is self portraits.

Mirror, mirror in the garden...

 

Flood water beginning to go

I was pleased that there was not much rain today as it was not fun walking in it yesterday.

I did manage to get some longer exposure shots with my tripod. I am quite pleased with how they have turned out. I did not manage to get the self portrait that I wanted to do but I can hopefully get that taken tomorrow.

I did get a shot of the sun shining through my favorite tree in the wood at the back of our home.

I have still not had any inspiration about what kind of professional career I will follow so I think I will ask my runes and tarot cards and see if they can offer any help. I think I will also look at what kinds of careers are available as well.

Here are some shots that I got today:







Here is my youngest son with his homemade lightsaber: