The Entourage

What a site - seeing the entire bridal party pile out of a limo and walk up to the church. I loved that I was in the right place, at the right time, to get a picture like this.

Wedding favors

The concept of wedding favors is a new one to me. Back in my day, you gave napkins & maybe matches printed with the name of the couple & the wedding date. I know that now, this is one of the many huge decisions a bride has. We got chocolate and a neat photo opp.

We interrupt this blog to bring you the following message...

I had planned to continue posting some of the pictures I took over the weekend. AND - I planned to never repost a picture. Well... I'm straying from my original plan.

As you may know, I've been taking a photography class for the last 6 weeks and each week we have to submit a picture as "homework". This week was the last class and the "final big" homework assignment. I had trouble deciding which picture to submit (as always), but ended up going with a picture I took earlier on (and posted here).

Well, guess what? My photo was voted unanimously by the class and the staff as the best picture of the week! And with it being the "final big assignment", I won $100 gift card! I was so proud and excited - so yes, I think I should get to post it again AND use unnecessary quotes. I've earned that right for at least 24 hours, right?

On a side note, I now have a new macro lens that I can't wait to play with! That extra $100 sure came in handy!

The Wedding

My nephew got married in San Antonio over the weekend and I kept my camera attached to me constantly. This is a picture I took of the bride's bouquet. I love the colors and detail.

For the birds

A few weeks ago when I went walking, I ended up stalking a few birds. One of them got brave enough to go near the water's edge, but kept an eye on me the entire time.

Wood Nymph

This tree seems to have a great sense of humor.

Say hello to my little friend

My dogs were going crazy when I was showering earlier today, so I finally went to investigate. I looked out my back door to find this little guy staring back at me. Apparently, he was helping himself to the birdseed I had put out when it was icy. He was a good model - look at how he posed his tail!

Another view

This a better shot of the pond in the previous picture. The Koi are all hibernating right now.

"You make me smile"

I've had this song by Uncle Cracker stuck in my head lately and I thought it was a perfect title to this post.

This is another shot taken in my late Father-in-Law's back yard. This fountain was his pride and joy.  During the summer, it was always surrounded by lush greenery & colorful flowers. As gorgeous as it was, he always added a touch of his quirkiness - this pagoda being a good example. It was always tasteful and complimented the rest of the garden, but it's another thing that makes me smile when I see it.

I'm also smiling because I made some minor tweaks to the site today. They're subtle enough that my daughter asked "What changed?", but I think it looks better.

Flying High

Last Friday marked the 1 year anniversary that we lost my Father-in-Law. We visited over the weekend and I took a few pictures around the yard - it was his pride & joy.  I liked how this picture turned out (depth of field FINALLY!) and it just reminds me of him and his love for planes. 

Downtown Snow

We got 4-5 inches of snow in our area recently, which is very unheard of here. When the worst of it was coming in, I was at work. I had my camera with me and ran outside to get a few pictures. It was absolutely gorgeous! These pictures don't do it justice - or show the hellish aftermath of trying to get home about an hour later.

No title here

I don't have a whole lot to say about this picture, but I wanted to post it because I liked it. I was losing sunlight pretty quickly, but the sky was so blue in this one area. When I saw the jet streams, I had to take a picture. 

Decisions, decisions

I've narrowed it down to two pictures now, but I'm having trouble decided which one to turn in for my homework assignment. The actual assignment was to take a picture of nature, no people, using the principals we've learned in the last few weeks. I think this is my weakest area - I just like having an animal or person as the subject. Anyway, I thought if I posted both  pictures and came back to them in the morning, maybe it would help me decide. (All comments are most welcome!)

Option 1

Option 2

** update: Class got cancelled due to the weather, but I think I'll take everyone's advice and submit the first picture. We'll resume next week. **

An audience

I went to a local lake today to take some shots for my homework assignment and ended up with an audience... this cute Saint Bernard and his little sidekick, a scruffy terrier mix. I actually think they may have gotten out of  their yard, because both were tagged, but running loose. They never would come too close - if they had, they'd be at my house right now and I'd have some great pictures for a "Found!" poster.

Homework for Week 3

My photography class assignment was to capture depth of field using aperture and I'll admit I'm a bit disappointed in myself.  The snow is partly to blame - I couldn't just get out and go take pictures, but it also contributed to a very lazy weekend. I take credit for that part. When I did get out and try to take a few pictures, I confess that I had a hard time getting it all right... ISO, um OK, got it. Then aperture, but wait... I didn't like the shutter speed, and so on.

I do like this picture of my sweet boy and it does show my use of aperture with the blurry background, but it's not my best work. He's an awfully cute model though, isn't he?