Painting with Flowers





Did I mention I am taking a photography class? I think I did not... well, I am and it is really fun. It is an online class from PPSOP. Last week part of our assignment was making photos where we intentionally move the camera during the exposure. It was so much fun.

One way is to do a little wiggle, jiggle, etc to make a Monet-inspired look like the picture above and these ones:







Another method is turning the camera to make a spinning or spiral effect.







Then there is moving left-right, up-down, or in totally random ways.







Instead of moving the camera, you can change the focal distance using a zoom lens.







You can check out the whole set here.

Experiment - Reverse 50mm



Oh blog, I did not forget you. It is strange, somehow now that I am not "working" my schedule is even busier than when I was. Maybe I am trying to do all the things I have been wishing I could do when had to work instead. I am not sure but I am having lots of fun. Ok, I miss the paycheck part of my old job, but that is it. Working full-time (though pro bono) for The Mommies Network plus photography have given me a sense of purpose and direction I have not had in years.

On the photography front, I have been learning, challenging myself, and experimenting. Last night I was reading a photography book I just bought, Understanding Close-Up Photography, and the author talks about when he first discovered reverse mounting a lens. He used a 50mm and just held it by hand backwards against the camera. I was thinking, "no way!", so I had to try it.



Who would have thought, a macro lens from my $70 50mm portrait lens?!



The amazing thing to me was not just that this worked, but that these pictures came out as good as they did with me holding the lens, using no tripod, and shooting this inside at night with no flash (and pretty crappy lighting in the room as well).



I did adjust the white balance on all but the yellow flowers since the light in the room has a yellow hue that turned the white to a sort of sepia color.



Now I will have to add reversing ring to my ever growing wish list of camera supplies. This is when that old paycheck would come in handy.

The full set is, as always, on my Flickr account.

Red Rock Canyon





Just southwest of Las Vegas (you can see the casino's on the strip it is so close) is Red Rock Canyon. It is what I think of when I imagine Nevada. It gets its name from, you guess it, the red in the rocks and mountains. It is the same red that is all over Valley of Fire.





Red Rock Canyon also has cactus.









Tucked away in the canyon is a waterfall and stream. In the area fed by the stream are wonderful trees with green and yellow leaves. In a place where moisture is abundant, a tree is just part of the scenery. In the desert, that same tree is an oasis of green and life.

Valley of Fire



Just north of Las Vegas is a wonderful state park called Valley of Fire. I had heard my sister talk about it a few times but we never got around to going there until our last trip to visit them. I am kicking myself that we never went sooner, and hoping we will go again.

To say it was amazing would not come close to capturing the feeling as you first are able to see the pink-orange landscape. If I ever wondered what it might be like to stand on Mars, I think I have a good idea now.






The girls had fun climbing around the rocks and inside the caves and holes.







The day ended with a spectacular sunset.

While they look at Geocache treasure...





... I take pictures. It makes a good cover too. I just do not get that excited over the actual cache part of geocaching. I love that it gets us out to new places we have not been before. Here are some pictures I took of the girls while geocaching in Sacramento.

Fun with leaves



One thing I have missed since we moved here is Fall leaves. Most of the trees here are pines, firs, and Eucalyptus. Even the trees that do lose their leaves, like our fruit trees, can't really tell what season it is and when to drop their leaves since the weather is so mild. Our poor plum tree still has half of its leaves and January is nearly over.

So, it came as no surprise to me that the girls though raking the leaves at Grandma's house was great fun.









Even playing in the green-waste bin was fun.





You may notice that Autumn is missing from these pictures. She's gotten too that age where she won't let me take her picture. So, no pictures of Autumn in Autumn this year.

Islay Hill



If I am going to the beach, I love a clear blue sky. Not when I am taking pictures. We took a hike up Islay Hill one rainy day and I was in photographer heaven. The views were amazing and the sky was a wavy ocean of grey.



Just down the other side of the hill we came upon this cross.



The railroad tracks curving through Edna Valley.