10 Things

Welcome to 10 things on the 10th! For this post, I'd like to highlight 10 things I hope to accomplish with the rest of my summer. I'm teaching summer school for one more week and I'm taking an online class that lasts until the end of July; So, I already have my top two things that I know I'll accomplish!

1. Finish Summer School with a bang - this summer session has been tough. I'm teaching a group of pre-k students that are definitely not ready for Kindergarten. We are working on how to line up, how to sit for instruction and how to follow directions. One little girl hits students for no apparent reason several times a day. While I have enjoyed working with the age, I will be happy for it to end!

2. Finish my online class with an A! My credential only covers K-12 so in order to work with Early Intervention I needed an added authorization. I found an online university where there are 6 classes I need in order to meet that. The first class started July 5th. It is pretty intense because it's only a month long. I'm glad the first one is during summer when I'm not working full time. I haven't been to school since 2007! We'll see about the A...

3. Go to a Giants game. (Already Scheduled)

4. Go to Disneyland. (Already Scheduled)

5. Go to the beach with Mrs. Stafford.

6. Spend time with my niece and nephew.

7. Attend Scrapbook expo... not scheduled, but it should be!

8. Play trivia at Finnegan's at least once!
Craziness at the Irish pub!
9. Go rafting with the teachers.
This is last year's trip. Super fun!
10. Spend as much time in the hammock eating popsicles as possible.

I'm so excited to have some time off soon. This summer has been a lot warmer than last summer and I can't wait to spend time with friends and family enjoying the beautiful weather!
Did you enjoy this post? Want to see more? Head on over to Shimelle's site for the list of others 10 things!

Depth of Field

Prompt 7 for Shimelle's class was to play around with depth of field. This, I think, is the easiest photography concept to understand. A large depth of field is when everything is in focus. A shallow depth of field is when a small part of the photo is in focus and the rest is out of focus. Easy enough right? Large depth of field - large area in focus, small depth of field - small area in focus. I tend to shoot with a shallow depth of field. This is in part to the fact that I use a zoom lens but, also because I think it puts more focus on the subject. Now, I tend to shoot small objects and people, which work well with a shallow depth of field. I shoot less landscapes, which typically work well with a large depth of field.

I chose two photos to show this concept. They are both of the same thing. It is a centerpiece I made using a Jenni Bowlin kit. I took it outside to shoot in natural light and after several variations, found the wagon sitting next to the fence with grapevines and thought it would be perfect!



The first one shows a narrow depth of field, while the second shows a large depth of field. This was all done by changing the opening of the aperture. The first had a large aperture opening - F2. The second had a small aperture opening - F22. You, of course, can get varying degrees of depth of field by changing the aperture opening. It's why I typically choose to shoot in aperture priority.
Which do you prefer? I like the one with a shallow depth myself but, photography is an art, and art is subjective!

Bokeh

Ah...the lazy days of summer. I am loving having time to actually play with my camera, photoshop and blogging.
Prompt 12 for Shimelle's class is about adding texture to your photos. I had many new experiences with this one: using flikr, playing with layers, adding texture to a photo.

To do this, I first searched flikr for "bokeh texture". Bokeh is that dreamy circles created in the part of the picture that is out of focus. You can create this in the camera or you can add it. I added it over some subtle texture that was already there!

I've never done this before and really wanted to play around, so I did it three times with 3 different textures on the same photo.
This was my first attempt. I used a texture from e.kristina . I covered the whole picture with it then used the darken mode. You not only see it on the right hand side but, in the left corner as well.

For my next attempt, I used a texture from shironekoeuro . This one, I only used on the right side of the photo. I then used the eraser tool and erased the dark part off the banister.

For my last attempt, I used a texture from inspire*dream*create*
I also only used it on the right side of the photo. I had a more difficult time erasing parts I didn't want. I think the colors on this one are more suitable to the photo though.

I'll have to make time to play around with this more. There were a couple of music page textures that I tried to make work with this photo, but they didn't. I'll keep that in mind for future pictures!

I've never given credit to files on flikr before. Will someone please let me know if I did it correctly? Thanks for stopping by!

Not a real girl

Prompt 12 was to add text to a picture. I had purposely left space in my 3 things photo. I have added text to photos before. It's quite simple with Photoshop elements. It was my first time purposely leaving space on a photo when I shot it in order to add text later. I always fill my frame as much as possible. This took actively thinking about the negative space. I like how it turned out.
I'm in an in-between phase right now. I've moved from carrying my ID and keys, to wallet and keys, to finally adding my cell phone, which I frequently forget (much to the chagrin of my friends). I have a purse and I use it most days when I'm working, but it's summer, who wants to lug around a purse??

Prompt 3 - Three is the magic number

The prompt was to choose three objects and photograph them in different ways. I chose the three things I carry almost daily. I sadly carry these things in a purse - this is great because they are all together - but sad because I'm becoming a girl that carries too much stuff!! I purposely left space on the left of the picture to add text in photoshop - a later prompt. I think I like the one with the objects on the green couch.

Prompt 2 - Fifty Zillion Flowers

Assignment 2 was to take pictures of flowers from all different angles...get close up, get far away, shoot from above, shoot from below. I had a lot of fun with this assignment. First, I took the plant outside: I shot from a distance.

Then I pulled out my close-up filter and was able to get the detail on the flower. I love that you can see little dust particles on the petals.

Then I took some pictures inside later in the day. The later lighting changed the color of the flowers. I was also able to shoot so the light coming from the window shows through the petals. The flower veins are very cool!


I wouldn't usually think about photographing from behind the flower. But, I think it worked really well with the lighting and thin petals of the plant. What a great assignment. I always love it when I'm able to be pushed to think outside the box!

Shimelle's Class - Prompt 1

The first prompt was to play round with available light. You were supposed to pick and object that represented you and take pictures of the object in different places and at different times. I chose one of our wedding glasses. I found it looked the best near the windows or outside at about 5:30pm or in the morning. Unfortunately, that changes as the seasons change, so I can't rely on knowing that light will be great in my house everyday at that time. You also have to think about weather too!
I really enjoyed this prompt. It was fun seeing how the lighting effected the glass in different rooms, with flash and without, with natural light and with artificial light. I was fun to just play with my camera. It's been awhile since I have had time to do this!
I made this little collage showing some of the different lighting.
The top two pictures were in taken in the kitchen window at about 10:30 AM. The red one was taken in the living room with light coming in from the window. The last one was taken in the hallway using the very dim hallway light and a flash.

Back in the classroom!

I am embarking on my first on-line class adventure. I won a class through Becky Novacek's blog. This is something I haven't done before, but am excited about. I'm hoping it will jumpstart my creativeness, which has been sorely lacking lately. I like that the first assignment has to do with light - what I need the most help with in my photography!

The class is by Shimelle. She does other class revolving around photography and scrapbooking and everyone that has taken her classes just raves about them. Check out her website if you're interested!