Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Day 242


Heading right for us, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

We had a little thunder storm this afternoon. Spring is so strange in Idaho. We have had hail, rain, snow and sunshine today. I snapped a quick shot with my iPhone which kind of gave it this blue cast. I thought the end result turned out great.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Day 241


Shining Through, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Once again kept inside today due to wind and my daughter's sudden phobia of it. So I was left to my own devices inside.

Anyone have a guess as to what this is?

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Day 239


Spring Buds, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

The other day this rubber ball suddenly showed up in our yard. Could have been a wind storm that brought it in or a neighbor kid accidentally tossed it over. I purposely used it as a backdrop for my macro shooting today.

As a side note I was planning on shooting some flowers for today's photo and asked my husband to pick them up at the store for me. He forgot....

Friday, March 27, 2009

Day 238


All Smiles For Now, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Ugh the time I have been through today trying to get this photo uploaded. I am currently testing out both Nikon NX2 and Adobe Lightroom 2 in hopes to decide which one I want to purchase. Learning both at the same time is confusing the heck out of me. Now that I have seen what they can do I really don't want to go back to the way I was processing photos before. But trying to learn a new workflow on 2 new programs is getting me flustered. The only thing I like more about NX2 is the touch-up brush, the rest I am starting to prefer Lightroom. Its saving the files that is tripping me up today. Somehow when I saved them and uploaded them to Flickr they looked like horrible drab, muted photos. But when I preview them on my computer they look fine. Anyway to say I am completely flustered at this moment is an understatement. I suppose I could really use a crash course in Lightroom. All I really want to know is how to take an edited file in Lightroom, move it to PS, resize it for the web and save it as a jpeg.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Day 237


Blobs, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Meh...another assignment photo. Man I struggled with this. Bryan Peterson makes it look so simple. This is hair shine product on a piece of glass. Below are foam letters from my daughters bath toys. I had the glass balanced on cups and the letters below. I wanted the individual letters to refract in the liquid but no matter what height I tried I just could not get it. I ran out of time and this is what I ended up with. To make it even more frustrating I could not get the glass clean and free of little lint fibers that showed up all over in this shot.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Day 236


In or Out?, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I unexpectedly found myself with a free afternoon when the Grandparents offered to take my daughter for the night. So I spent the day doing nothing productive and genuinely enjoying my "me time." So needless to say I didn't put any effort into working on my photography today. I literally did not even move from my computer chair to take this shot.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Day 235


Dip right in!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Whenever I run out of ideas or things to shoot I turn to my craft room. In my closet I found this paint palette and decided to bring out the finger paints. My only stipulation was that my daughter had to let me take my photos before she got started. Of course I shot some of her making her masterpieces as well.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Day 234


Boots, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

For todays FGR: In a Chair. I love these boots. I must remember to break them out more often.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Day 233


Storm Clouds, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

A rushed photo today. Some big storm clouds were rolling in just hiding the sun before sunset.

Day 232

Playing around with my new macro lens. I had nothing living in my house to shoot so I turned to my fake lavender arrangement.

Day 231


Abstract Masher, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I'm back! (Didn't know I was gone, did ya?)

My hard drive crashed and died a terrible death a few days ago.

I'm still trying to get caught up with photos and reinstalling everything on my PC. Sadly I lost several months worth of personal photos that weren't on Flickr. The rest I can hopefully re-download from Flickr and my back up DVD's. I will never ever forget back up my stuff again! I now have 2 hard drives and an automatic system. Everyone please remember to back up your files!

This is another class assignment. We had to make a sort of abstract reflection image out of something from the kitchen. I don't even know what the Hell this utensil is called but it never gets used.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Day 230



I forced myself out of the house today to take some shots of something other than the area I live in. Having my daughter with me made it a bit more challenging as she loses patience easily. This is another experiment with the wide angle lens. I accidentally got my shoe and camera strap in this shot and had to clone/crop them out. I just love it when metal objects lose their paint and start to weather. Which is why this is my favorite shot of the day.

I packed light today only bringing the Sigma 10-20mm to get more used to it and get my assignment done for this weeks class.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Day 229


Grit, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Nothing is going my way today except how this photo turned out. I am starting a file of textures for future use and thought this may come in handy later on when I start experimenting with them.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Day 228


Happy St. Patty's Day!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I had no beer in the house but apple juice worked just as well. Shhh! You can't tell anyway!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Day 227


Searching, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

At least I get pretty consistent reactions from my family when I break out the camera. Tika instantly just starts looking to where the flash is going to bounce so she can try to chase it. I was messing around with the wide angle and never got anything better to shoot today so this is probably going to be it. I kind of like the way her face is all rounded out from the distortion of being so close up.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Day 226


5 Second Rule, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

This is another one of my class assignment shots. The key is to use a wide angle lens for an extreme close up. Did I achieve that here? I'm not entirely sure to be honest. Oh well, I think I will wait a few days to try a few more shots before submitting my work.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Day 225.


The good stuff, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

We had my cousin and her husband over for fondue tonight. I've apparently had too much to drink to figure out a good description for this photo.

Day 224

I really wish Spring would hurry up. I am so tired of looking at all the brown, dead outside world. I rushed taking a shot yesterday so this was the best I could do (and I'm a day late uploading it). Some days my 365 shots are going to be crap, even with a new camera.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Day 223


My last shot, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

This is probably going to be one of the last photos I take with the D50. Why? Well lets just call this week: "Spoil myself rotten and stimulate the economy week!" I purchased a D90 today. Ultimately is was a hard choice between it and the D300. Video was actually a huge deciding factor for me. I haven't used our video camera in a long time and I am sure with it being 5 years old it could use an upgrade as well. Why not combine 2 in one? Price was another factor. Costco had a great kit that included 2 VR lenses with some other additional goodies. I was to use the extra money for some things on my wish list.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Day 222


Itty Bitty Pinecone, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Finally got my first weeks lesson completed for my class. This is one of the shots I am submitting. I have a feeling they will say the depth of field is too shallow but I was hand holding and it was the best I could do without the tripod. This is also my very first attempt with my new reversing ring from Nikon. I attached it to my 50mm and suddenly I have a pseudo macro lens!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Day 221


Nothing Fancy Just Ice, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

You will have to bear with me as I work on trying to find numerous interesting subjects to shoot up close. I need 3 for this weeks class assignment. This is simply a melting ice cube on a blue plate.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Day 219


Rub a Dub Dub!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I am working on my first assignment for Bryan Peteron's new online class at Picture Perfect Photography called Understanding Closeup Photography. I was wandering around the house trying to find something to shoot up close and went to the overhead shower head. No that is not a texture, it is a combination of water spots and crap on my sensor. Ugh!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Day 218


My Backyard View, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Another lazy day with no time spent thinking about what my Project365 shot will be tonight. There wasn't a really spectacular sunset this evening and I was too cold to stay out and wait for more. But with a few little changes in white balance and Topaz Adjust I had a pretty decent photo.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Day 217


Think Spring!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Even though it has snowed here the past 2 days I'm thinking Spring has to be coming soon, right?

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Day 216


Wii!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Another yucky day here today so it was a good day to stay in side and play.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Day 215


Stormy View, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

This is the view behind my house. Not much there but a wide open field and an old farm house. Which is why I get such great sunset shots. I didn't take much time for my picture today so I ended up going a little heavy on the filters to make up for the boring shot.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Day 214


Drops, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I keep seeing everyone's awesome water shots so I wanted to give this a go. I first tried this with some other craft liquids and found that plain old water works best. Basically I just dropped some water on the back side of a CD and went at it with my macro lens.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Day 213


Warped, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Short on ideas today and I hadn't played FGR (Flickr group) in awhile so here we go: warped self reflection. Yeah, it's a Monday...

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Day 212


Fortune, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

My cookie left over from Mongolian BBQ yesterday. Didn't have time to set up a shot for it then so I saved it for today. I actually liked the fortune inside the next cookie better but my daughter ate the cookie so I no longer had it to shoot. It said: "Remember this day 3 months from now, good things are coming your way."