self portrait

Self portraits are both fun and tough to do.  It's great to practice getting the lighting right in different situations.  I'm probably my most patient and critical subject.  I was so happy today when I realized that I had done all of the settings correctly just by sight.   Then when I checked it with my light meter, everything was correct.   Yeah!  So, I'm happy to keep taking up the gauntlet of photography!

playing

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I'm having fun playing with a new editing program. 

Frames

Frames simply make a photo more fun!

big ship

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Another new trick up my sleeve....

playing with photos

This was a blah, blah, blah kind of photo until I added a little pizazz with the reflection.    I love learning new techniques!

What I really meant was...

What I really meant was that, sure, it would have been nice to have a macro lens ready to capture that dragon fly.  Even so, wasn't it great that the dragon fly stayed so still for me?   My hiking friend was pretty darn patient, too.

 I went for a hike along the Coastal Trail at Mt. Tam today.   I have this idea that I need better lenses, better cameras, and more money for traveling to get awesome shots.  You know, today was just a very nice day.

Ride, Sally, Ride....

My styrofoam head is named Sally because that's the name of the store from where she came.   Sally helps me with lighting correctly.  I noticed that she is looking a little beat up this morning.   I put her in with my lighting gear to get her off my guest room night stand (which was a little too creepy for me).  Art or goin' off the deep end?

This photo was taken last summer right before the 4th of July.   I needed practice shooting fireworks, and, as it turned out, the show beforehand was pretty fun to capture.   A friend reminded me about this photo  today.   Thanks to Steve, Larry and Mimi for a fun evening!

Learning to Fly

Wow, I am learning to fly on my own! Here I am blogging about the joys and challenges of becoming a real photographer and entrepreneur. I love photographing high school seniors, families, anniversaries, and winery events.

Learning to Fly

This snowy egret is just learning to fly. Look at his fluffy feathers on top of his head. So cute. I stayed at this nesting site for 4 hours~totally mesmerized by the beauty. You just knew when the moms would be flying in because the babies would squawk like crazy!

This lake is on the east side of the Tioga Pass just before the entrance to Yosemite. I'd never seen this much snow during the summer months. The clouds were amazing.