Walking Wednesdays

Ok so obviously today is not Wednesday...I got a bit antsy and am doing this entry a day ahead of schedule.  Since I'm starting theme days (Project Sunday) I decided to add Walking Wednesday to the week.  Every Wednesday I am going to walk through Highland Park and report on new things that are in bloom (very exciting for me, the park is so beautiful!).  I figure this will be easy enough since March-Spetmeber there is always something new blooming.

So to be honest, today my goal was to run outside for an hour.  I thought that this wouldn't be too difficult since I've reached my goal of running for an hour on the treadmill at the gym.  Not the case, my friends.  I ran for 20 (ok 10-15) minutes and was in more pain then I have ever been on the treadmill.  AND I got my new sneaks all muddy b/c I had to take the shortcut home (pathetic)!  This didn't put me in the best mood...so I grabbed my Nikon and walked to the park.

The first thing I noticed were the smells!  It smelled like spring - fresh air, warm sunshine and some delicious smelling flower was somewhere...Down the path a ways I came across my first sign of spring

Squirrels are everywhere!!  So are the robins, unfortunately my camera doesn't have a great zoom so the photos weren't great.  I also saw a chipmunk but he was too quick for me!  As I mosied down the path I came across the second sign of spring

The tulips and some other little white flowers are popping up! And they are everywhere - can't wait for them to bloom. Next I passed the Japanese Maples, nothing much going on there until fall; and then came to my favorite section - the magnolias.  Right now the new fuzzy buds are hanging out just waiting to bloom in a few months. The lighting was beautiful the way it lit up the fuzz - here are a few shots

SO beautiful...I think I was mesmerized by the light for 15 mins or so before I pulled myself away. I can't wait until these bloom, I'll be sure to post photos.  As I dragged myself away from the magnolias I noticed this weird smell...and I mean STINK-Y.  I couldn't put my finger on it until all of a sudden I remembered "Which Hazel!" I turned to my left and there it was...the Which Hazel tree was in bloom!  PHEW what a smell for such a beautiful tree.  The funny thing is that Which Hazel blooms in yellow, orange and red.  The yellow tree reeks (rotting garbage) while the orange and red smell really goood (sweet)!

I can't get enough of those colors!  Then I came across something that made me a bit sad, as well as thankful in the same though...

Such a thoughtful thing to do. This was off the normal path and one of the few benches that haven't been graffitied on (don't get me started).

I think it's safe to say Goodbye Winter!!

Project Sunday

So I have dedicated Sunday's to be my "Project Sunday".  It's perfect - I spend all day focusing on 1 or 2 photography projects, whether it's just getting to know more about the camera, coming up and working on a new project I have in mind, or updating my blog/portolio...the day is mine to experiment with!

Today I decided that I needed to do all of the above (because focusing on 1 thing is too difficult!).  I have really wanted to play around with water and fire.  (To be honest I had forgotten that I had wanted to do these types of shots until I heard the "drip, drip, drop" coming from the kitchen.  Once again I hadn't switched off the water all the way!)  Another goal of mine was to do this without having my camera on Auto - it needed to be in Shutter or Manual Priority modes.  This way I could really see how the camera works and get the practice I needed.

First Project - Water drops from the faucet (Shutter Priority).  

I started out by setting my camera up on Shutter Priority.  I've been waiting for spring so I can catch runners, kids and dogs running around in the parks, but though hey! water works just fine for the time being.  The first several shots I swore I was hitting the shutter button at the exact moment the water drops were falling...not so much.  I had to first focus on the actual facuet, shift my lens down so that it would catch the drop mid-fall, and then snap the photo just before the drop was released from the faucet head.  Also a factor - I had the shutter speed set at 1/200 ...too quick! I slowed it down to 1/100...still not getting what I was looking for...finally after about 30 mins I found the perfect speed - 1/60.  I realize I have no sense of how quick tenths and hundreths of seconds actually are...I'll have to keep a notebook for subjects and their best shutter speeds.

It took me several shots but here's what I ended up with:

Not the best, but better then I was expecting - great shutter experience too!  As I was taking the first few photos I noticed they were coming out blue...I played around in the camera trying figure it out until I realized that the White Balance was set incorrectly.  I snapped a few shots on the different settings and became more familiar with whole new set of setting options.  A quick switch and I was back in business!  So in this project I was able to learn more about shutter speed as well as timing (drops) and White Balance!

Second Project - Flames (Shutter and Manual)

Well, unfortunately this project didn't go over as well.  I had lit a candle and wanted to catch the flame so that it was sharp and clear...I must have played around with the shutter speed for ages.  No matter what I did I got a somewhat blurry shot.  Nothing came out like I wanted.  To be honest, I got pretty frustrated after about 45 mins and started playing around with the Manual Mode.  I still wasn't able to get the flame to be crisp but I was able to get some good shots by adjusting the Shutter and Aperature levels.  I played around for about an hour and I'm sad to say that this is the only decent flame photo I came out with (only looks cool b/c of the effect)

After I gave up on my flame dream I decided to play around with a few other items in the apartment:

I also took some time to update my portfolio (www.EricaHansford.photoshop.com) and do some planning for future Sunday Projects.  Not bad at all...only 6 more days until my next experiment...DUN DUN DUN! Any suggestions??

Nature Quest

When I first became interested in photography, it was nature that drew me in.  Just taking a walk in a local park, you can see several little "photographs" as you go...naturally I usually feel the need to snap a shot of everything I see.  All the little details that stand out might look like nothing as you walk, but take a photo and it suddenly becomes an important part of the forest (in my eyes at least).   This week and next I'm going be on a quest to find local shops that I can try to sell (TRY being the keyword) my photos in.  I'm not expecting any sales...but it will be fun to give it a shot - can't hurt right?  The nerve wracking part is finding places that will accept my photographs.  I get extremely nervous when showing my photos to others.  It shouldn't matter what others think - if I like it and learned something from taking it, that's all that matters.  Easier said then done.  My hands sweat and my heart races.  I'll work on it : )

If you know of any places that display local art, please let me know!  HighlightImages@gmail.com

Happy Wednesday!
This week I decided to try something new that I've always thought about - photographing foods!  I LOVE cooking and am always in awe of the beautiful photos in cooking magazines...but any time I've taken a few shots here and there I've been dissapointed. 

The perfect opportunity came up at work - Butler/Till is participating in creating a gift basket to the Hunter's Hope Silent Auction.  The theme is "Healthy Living", so I offered to create note cards with photos of healthy foods on them.  The pressure was on!  I've never liked any of my food photos, so this was going to be a challenge.

Saturday morning I headed to Wegmans to pick out some photograph worthy vegetables.  I ended up buying enough to last me 2 weeks!  I took several photos and didn't like what I was seeing - the light was awful! In my little kitchen, on a cloudy day with 1 light the flash demanded to pop up causing a washed out look.  On non-flash mode the shots came out fuzzy due to a longer open shutter time (need to find my tri-pod). I ended up closing the blinds and adding a few additional spotlights on the veggies. We worked together for 2 hours rearranging the veggies in several "poses".  Below are the photos that made it to the cards:

 Cilantro

 Tomatoes

Peas

 

Peppers

 

Finally a few photos (out of 100) that satisfied me for the first real attempt.  I ordered the 5x7 cards from Snapfish and they were delivered a few days later - printed beautifully!  I should have taken photos of the actual cards.  People have been showing an interested in purchasing cards with different themes, so I'm pondering creating more and selling them in my Etsy shop.

Also new - HighlightImages@gmail.com.  Contact me to set up a photo shoot or to buy photo-cards.  Each 5x7 card will be $4, photoshoots vary (Engagements, Senior Photos, Kids (portraits or sports portraits), Family, Prenatal shots, Pets, you name it, I'll do it!).