Vacation Photos...

Just returned from a long overdo vacation.  Not only was it great fun and relaxing, but it was a chance for me to practice many of the photography techniques I read about and wanted to try or have been working on.  I took probably close to 1,000 photos, uploaded 200 to my flickr page, and have about 30-40 I want to share.  So I'll do this in phases and in no particular order.

Sleeping Baby; low-light
Nikon D3100; focal length: 52mm; Shutter Speed: 1/3 sec; F-stop: 5.6; ISO 3200

Spiral Staircase from below; low-light
Nikon D3100; Focal Length: 18.0 mm; Shutter Speed: 1/3 s; f/5.0; ISO: 3200

Leading Lines
Nikon D3100; Focal Length: 45.0mm; Shutter Speed: 1/200s; F/7.1; ISO: 100

Flowers
AUTO MODE: Panasonic DMC-FH20; Focal Length: 5.0mm; Shutter Speed: 1/125s; f/3.3; ISO 160

Flowers
Nikon D3100; Focal Length: 42.0 mm; Shutter Speed: 1/500s; f/5.6; ISO: 200

Flowers, hands
NIKON D3100; Focal Length: 40.0mm; Shutter Speed: 1/1000; f/5.6; ISO: 200

I heart Faces - Water

Nikon D3100; shutter speed: 1/4000s; focal length: 70.0mm; f-stop: f/4.5; ISO: 1600

iheartfaces this week is featuring WATER! Water is such a fun and challenging subject matter. I like the fast shutter speed photos, capturing each individual water droplet coming out of the source (the sprinkler, in this case).

This is Audrey, cooling off in the sprinkler a few weeks ago.

Check out more water shots at iheartfaces.com

iheartfaces.com

Fireworks....

Warning, this post has several photos.


Fireworks are legal in our city.  We are the only city in our region of the bay where fireworks are legal.  These become HUGE fundraisers for nonprofit groups and the city really brings in a lot of money.  People come from all over the region to set off fireworks.  And the residents have a blast.  So instead of going to a professional fireworks show, which I thoroughly enjoy, we (along with our neighbors) hang out at home and watch the at-home displays.  I don't care for setting them off myself, so I just watch.  Our neighbors put on quite the display.  (in past years, cops have been stationed just outside our neighborhood waiting for the illegal fireworks to come out; this year our neighbors toned it down some).


The girls were both asleep, so I took the opportunity to sit outside and take some photos of the fun.  It was a great experience to shoot in low light and need a fast shutter speed.  And to really figure out the proper exposure for something so obnoxiously bright with a black background.  Because the fireworks happen so fast, there isn't much time to figure out the proper exposure.  This is one area where I'm very thankful for a digital camera, because I can see if my exposure is accurate before I shoot 50 pictures over or under exposed.


Some of my neighbors really know how to do it right.  They set up two tall ladders and placed a plank across them and used it as a stand for the fireworks.  It made for some neat angles for shooting pictures.


The following are some of my favorites:

I love how you can see his smile, which expresses the pure joy these kids get out of doing fireworks.  He's getting some great summer memories. 

the street on the following morning

the street on the following morning

As an aside, I'm amused how some of these photos look like space photos when viewed out of context.

Water Droplets - Freezing motion

Playing in the sprinkler last night with my daughter I attempted a fast shutter speed technique to freeze the motion of the water coming from the sprinkler.

With my telephoto lens attached to my Nikon D3100, I took the following.

Focal Length: 195mm; Shutter Speed: 1/4000; F-Stop: f/5.3

Focal Length: 122mm; Shutter Speed: 1/4000; F-Stop: f/4.8 

Focal Length: 75mm; Shutter Speed: 1/4000; F-stop: f/4.5

In order to shoot these photos, I used "Shutter Priority" mode on my camera.  Focusing on the water droplets instead of the car or trees in the background was challenging.  In autofocus I had to first focus on my husband holding the sprinkler and then focus on the water that was at the same distance from me.  Or I had to use manual focus.  Using manual focus was challenging because the water was moving so fast and was so small I couldn't see it very well to tell if it was in focus.

I'm please with these photos, but of course want to do better.

Thoughts for next time

• shoot with the sprinkler on the ground (someone holding it was too chaotic)
• get some sun spots by shooting at sunset and have some backlighting or frontlighting effects
• I'd like to try for a faster shutter speed to stop motion even more.
• Go for a slower shutter speed and make it look like flowing water, not frozen movement