This little number was over on my mother's porch just begging me to take it's picture.

Practice, Practice, Practice

When we first get our cameras we go out and shoot anything ad everything. Which is very good. Then we get to looking at all of the pictures that we have taken and say to ourselves "What was I thinking?". Well don't worry or get discouraged, this is a normal response(I still say it to myself). When we take photos that just don't seem to appear the way we want them to we automatically blame the camera first (trust me I do it all of the time) because we know we didn't shoot something that bad. Then when we're still not satisfied we start making excuses (My finger slipped or I wasn't ready and hit the wrong button). Eventually we bring it all the way back around to maybe it was my fault, well of course it was we just don't really want everyone to know that. So we go out and shoot a few more pictures, this time you've got quite a few that don't look that bad. Basically what I'm trying to get at is the old saying "Practice makes perfect", if you keep practicing you eventually get better and that's all that we really want, right? Now don't get me wrong some pictures that you shoot will come out really good, I'm just saying with a little practice they could be better. And that's all we really want anyway isn't it? So try to at least go out and shoot one picture a day or more analize what you have done and you'll start seeing an improvement. I know that at times you make up excuses not to go and get your camera(because I do) and start shooting photo's so maybe you should try getting a friend or family involved and they can help motivate you.

I took this photo on my very first cruise. I went to Cozumel, Mexico. It was a very pretty place, but I decided to fly instead of taking a cruise on my next vacation. Liked cruise it's just not my thing. This picture was taken early in the morning after we docked, thought it looked real nice.

My Thanks To All Of You And A few Answers

Well I just got off work and decided that I would get online and read what everyone has to say and I want to thank you all for your wonderful comments. They are all a really good ego boosters. And to be real honest that's what I needed. I wanted to answer a question for Teri K. though. She asked me what dslr was, it means a digital single lens reflex and it is a camera that let's a photographer use the same len's for viewing and shooting. Well Teri K. I hope that answers your question if not let me know and I will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have(If I am able, if not I candirect you to where you can find the answer). And as for Nita- getting a Nikon camera is also a good choice. You can get really good photo's from your very own film camera and be able to enhance photo's you take by getting them processed at a local Walmart or Walgreens without having a darkroom right now. After you get them processed scan them to your computer and use whatever photo editing software that you have. When you start doing that then you will start improving on photo editing which alot of people rely on after they're photos are put on there computer. I am not very good with photo editing programs yet because I still prefer original photo's that I take(plus it still all scare's me). If anyone has another comment that you think I should include please let me know I may have left something out.

Twins?

I think this little guy thinks this is his sibling or something. I walked out on the porch to water my plants and boy I sure got a surprise. I knew I had to get a photo, something like that doesn't come around everyday.

Camera Suggestions

I have been asked several times what kind of camera I use and I use a Canon Rebel XTi. There are so many cameras out there to use that you really need to research a camera that you are trying to buy to make sure that you are getting exactly what you need for what your going to use it for. I suggest, if your a beginner, that you get a dslr which is what I use. If you use film in the long run it's going to start getting pretty expensive what with the cost of buying the film and then getting it processed. With a dslr you take the picture and after you can look at it and see if you like it if you don't then you can delete it and take another. But if it was a shot that you can't take again then dont delete it cause you can probably download it to your computer and fix it in whatever photo program you use(we'll talk about that in later posts). The downside of a dslr is that you start to rely on looking at your pics afterward which could be somewhat bothersome if your photographing people that are out in public cause then you are taking a chance of losing your shot all together same with animals. Take as many pics that you can or feel comfortable with before you look in viewfinder and decide which ones that you like best then delete the rest. Like I've said before research your camera before you buy to figure out your needs.

Brightly Colored Fish

This picture was taken about the same time as the picture of the puffer fish in my earlier posts. I just love the colors of the fish.

Losing Landscape For Modern Convienience

I was taking the picture of the flower below with all of the road workers watching me and one of the workers came up to me and asked me why I was taking a picture of the flower. I stood up and looked at him for a moment and just told him simply that it wasn't going to be there tomarrow so I was taking it's pictue so that I could remember that where the road that they were putting in used to be a beautiful hillside. He just looked at me and told me he was sorry that he was just doing his job. After that conversation it got me to thinking about how much of our beautiful land was getting destroyed so that we could have the conveinience of driving a little faster to get to where we want to go. It's a shame that we dont stop to smell the flowers anymore. We're always in a hurry to get somewhere that we don't think about what we're doing to the environment. If it doesnt directly involve us then we really don't pay attention. Which is a shame because one day it won't be there. Maybe something like that is happening near you, so why don't you go out and take a picture of it or video. You'll be able to tell your kid's later you know where that store or road is... this is what it used to look like. Go on give it a try it couldnt hurt and you may get a really good picture that you want to share.

So Lonely

A lonely flower beside the highway where a bunch of construction workers were getting ready to widen the highway therefore demolishing this poor little flower.

This was actually a color photo but I decided it would look good in sepia. I think I made a good choice.

To Flush Or Not To Flush

I recently recieved a comment on my Egret photograph. Which I was very greatful to recieve because they sent me to a very informative web site www.moosepeterson.com . I think this person that responded to my photo had concerns about me flushing the egret out in order to get it's photograph. Well after reviewing th website that they sent me to I have to say that there was no nest involved and I knew the surroundings very well. So the bird was in no danger at all. But I do appreciate the comment and I intend to keep going to the website to make sure that I use proper procedure before going out to take anymore wildlife pictures. I would like to suggest this website also for any other new photographers wishing to capture a great wildlife photo opp. Thank you once again anonymous I would have never known about the website.

Viewbug Review

Another good site if your starting out is www.viewbug.com. On this site there are contests that you can win cash prizes and check out other photographers to get an idea for your next shot. The only down side to this site is that you have to earn so many points before you can really get into the special invitation areas, but if you keep at it every day then after awhile it stars paying off. As for getting a critic on this site basically all you get is "Good job" or "Nice pic" and that's because people are trying to get their points up to get to these other special levels. So I wouldn't get my hopes up about getting a real response about a pic. Other than that it is a nice place to start.

This was my first couples photograph. When I first looked at pic on computer it was so dark, so I had to go into one of my programs and lighten it up and I then turned it to B/W.

I took this pic one morning down the road from my house at a campsite. I had to honk my horn and finally act like I was coming for it before it took flight.

DPS Review

I suggest to anyone that is serious about learning photography that you check out a site that I give two thumbs up to. Go to http://www.digital-photography-school.com/. From what I can tell they are a very informative site. You can get advise about the kind of photography that your into all the way to getting your photos critiqued. I myself make sure that I vist the site at least once a day(sometimes more). It is a large community of photographers that have something to say or show. Like I said at least visit the site and then come to your own conclusion. Give me some feedback on what you think. If you think that I should visit any sites that you like feel free to let me know.

Something About This Site

I am hoping that everyone is enjoying my photos so far. I know that I enjoyed taking them and being able to share them with you is very rewarding. If you have any new ideas or comments please feel free to let me know and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I will also be reviewing some sites and letting you know my opinion on them. If you have a site that you would like reviewed let me know.

A Day At The Beach

Not So Puffed Up

Photo Ideas? Photo Assignments?

Well I have been surfing the web this morning trying to get some good ideas for photos, and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff that people come up with. Let's just say that I think that we can come up with some pretty good ideas of our own. So let's hear some of your ideas!! If you would like to share some of your pics maybe we'll start some photo assignments to help some of the people get the ball rolling. I know that when you first get a camera the first thing that you do is start taking pictures of everyone around you so how about we all send in some of our funny people pics? Or maybe one of your pet? Well let me know and go from there.

Pretty In Pink