Good afternoon! Thought I’d hop over to give a little update. Notice I said “little”.

Regarding my class this semester:

• I am so excited with all the new things I’m learning.
• I was a bit overwhelmed in class Monday.
• Still overwhelmed today, but new things are beginning to sink in.
• The thought crossed my mind again that this class is way over my head.
• The thought crossed my mind that I’m thankful for such a deep learning experience.
• And the thought crossed my mind that I can’t imagine photography minus this class.

Feeling blessed, overwhelmed and excited to have the privilege of learning.

Shot this rose as it was drinking in the last bit of sunshine today.

Have a lovely evening!

Blessings – Debbie

I started off this beautiful day with a nice little photo shoot in the backyard. The fork was my inspiration.

I messed a bit with the dials and waited for the sun to rise a little more.

I love the color of morning when the sun splashes light around.

Soon it was time to pack the camera and take it to the shop for a cleaning.

I’ve had a little concern with some new found specs on the images within the last few days. Turns out, my sensor really needed a good cleaning.

But there came that fork in the road and the path was not pretty. It’s when I learned they needed my sidekick camera all afternoon. Turns out they were really swamped.

It was a sad thing.

And I took a nap after lunch to help pass the time. Actually, I really needed a good nap.

Now that my batteries are charged and my camera is clean, no doubt we’ll be partners in crime again soon.

Blessings – Debbie

When a girl gets a new lens, all she wants to do is play! But first things first, she must go to class first.

So after class, I took my new 105mm 2.8 lens out for a little stroll, just the two of us.

This shot of ground covering and all that amazing color had me at hello!

Nothing stopped me from getting right down on the ground.

There was a clear ground + flora + lens = bond, happing right there on the spot.

This little branch (from a sweet-gum tree) has the most amazing little buds forming. It was pretty cool to get behind the lens to see the detail as it’s very hard to make this out with the naked eye.

A fun shot playing with the settings to see what I could come up with.

I did not change the color of this deep magenta shot below. There were a sea of these flowers all in bloom. My goal was to focus on the little pedals just in front of me and to blur out the rest. I think it turned out to almost give a painterly feel.

This last shot was an old antique contraption of sorts in my neighbors yard. I thought it would be fun to shoot the wheel on an angle. And to give the prime focus on that bolt out front.

Overall, I’d say my little stroll not only turned out to be fun, but to view the world around me with a fresh set of eyes aka the new lens was quite refreshing.

I’m smitten with that lens, totally SMITTEN!

Blessings – Debbie

I get so excited when each weekend rolls around. It could have to do with the house getting a straightening, cleaning bottles whirling, the dust rag swinging, laundry swishing and home sweet home beaming.

But truth be told, while I like all the above, I really look forward to spending 48 hours with the hubs. It’s what makes my world go around.

In honor of this being Happy Friday, I thought I would share a little more from yesterday.

The shot below came to life by getting up close with that fireplace. This shot was taken from the backside looking out to this magnificent view. What I find exciting with this shot, are those deep dark clouds with rays of light squeezing thru.

While I find this shot exciting, it won’t be used for the assignment. However, I may go back another day and play with my camera settings to bring the foreground into focus. And nail the exposure in the foreground.

Another shot from the property was this shell of a tree that once stood strong. I love how it is all hollowed out with such strong growth surrounding it.

This assignment calls for another 40 shots. And 2 of those 40 will be museum matted for critique in class.

So over the next few weeks, I hope to be sharing shots with foreground and background in mind.

With that, I’m off to finish what I was up to = preparing home sweet home for the weekend.

Blessings – Debbie

We received our next assignment, it’s all about Foreground and Background. I’m pretty excited as I knew just the place where I wanted to shoot for this assignment.

While I’ve traveled by many a time, I have yet to capture it on camera. That is, before today.

And I was so excited to shoot today. For me, it was all about the weather. I love how I got in just after the storm. Dark clouds hung heavy in the sky while the sun began to peak thru the clouds.

I shot this image every way you can imagine. And then I thought I think I’ve exhausted this for now.

But an hour or so after shooting this once upon a time happy home. I stepped back.

And it was then when I grew to love the composition even more.

I was nearly on my ear as I was as close to the ground as I could get.

And I knew all was right with the world.

One more shot – where young children once played in the front yard.

Who knows, I may have to make another appearance as I can’t seem to get the joy from that experience out of my mind.

Blessings – Debbie

After a nice long three-day weekend with the hubs, I decided to pick up my camera and continue taking shots that had to do with the assignment that is due this Wednesday. While my assignment is complete, it never hurts to explore more possibilities.

And since today is a school holiday (Presidents’ Day) it was nice sleeping in an extra hour and taking things a bit slower than my usual Monday morning.

And with that, I started off the day with my camera, even before the hubs left for work.

I think I caught the sentimental bug a long time ago. While just a young gal in my very early 20’s, (21 ish) I picked up this old “memories” book at an antique book store in Darien, CT.

It seemed the right thing to do.

After all, it was a keepsake of Bernice. The pages are filled with beautiful well wishes from the mid to late 1880’s. I wish I could find the closest family member to pass this beautiful book to. For now, it’s in good hands.

The little jot up the center of this page reads – Ber remember “small particles of dust” – I wonder what special meaning that has between these two girls.

I thought it was interesting taking a few shots in the shadows of foliage outdoors.

While reading such beautiful well wishes for this girl, I’m reminded how life is fragile, short and special. And that planting seeds of kindness are sure to reap something special.

Another idea was to shoot one of my favorite dolls. I’ve always been a nut about dolls. These days, my favorite dolls are the porcelain dolls we picked up in Asia many years ago.

It was a lot of fun capturing these images in the early morning light streaming thru the window.

Yi Sun-shin – April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598 – Yi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imilin war in the Josen Dynasty.

We picked up this carving during our stay in South Korea to “remember” with them.

 Never forget…

May the memories we make last a lifetime and may we not forget to pass them down to the next generation.

Blessings – Debbie

That’s what I like!

I’m not one to learn by hearing, although it helps to hear it first, then go thru the actual motions.

So in class the last couple of weeks, I found myself struggling. I even told the hubs that I would be happy with a B in this class. And I meant it. While I’ve given all I can give, this class has really kicked things up a notch. And the more he kicks things up, I worry that I’m not absorbing enough to do all the requirements for this assignment.

But finally, today, we got to work on our projects. We finally got to go thru the motions of all that he’s been teaching the last couple of weeks.

And all I can say is this. I did not have a lightbulb moment, folks, I had the full fireworks grand finale!

By no means have I “arrived”, I’m just trying to say – now that I’m going thru the motions of the different actions we need to perform, I finally feel like I’m “in the ballpark”. And that, my friends is such a great feeling.

Cheers for today, as it has truly been my cup of tea.

And I spent all afternoon (at home) repeating the motions we went thru in class. So much so that I completely lost track of time.

And did not get around to checking my e-mail until 6 pm.

And felt really bad that my sick buddy e-mailed me earlier today and I didn’t get back to her until just now.

Crazy things happen when one gets absorbed in the things they love.

I look forward to losing myself more often this semester. I’m looking forward to great things happening, more fireworks sort of moments, the joy of learning and hopefully another A this year.

Blessings – Debbie