Feburary 23rd, 2010

Pictures from the dog park

February 22nd, 2010

Took a break from our rollerblading ride today and had a photo shoot. I took a lot of pictures that I liked today!

Making funny faces


Where is Riley?

"Here I am!"

February 21st, 2010

In a weird way I like this picture. I was practicing in manual mode and after this shot was taken I realized I needed to change the settings. Later when I was looking back at the pictures, I realized I kind of like the way it turned out.

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/250 sec, Aperture: 5.6, Focal Length: 26mm, Flash Used: No

February 20th, 2010

Fun day at the dog park!
Riley found a ball there that he just had to have! He swam after it time and time again... usually he loses interest after a while, but not this one.

Brightened the colors up just a bit in Picasa to bring out the ball.

ISO: 200, Exposure: 1/400 sec, Aperture: 10.0, Focal Length: 55mm, Flash Used: No

Feburary 19th, 2010

Let sleeping dogs lie.
This picture was taken the day I took the mirror shots, although this one is not with a mirror. Riley is not really sleeping in this picture, but I like how he looks so peaceful, like he is sleeping

I know I have been slacking on posting a picture everyday, so on the days I miss I will post a picture from my favorites. But I will continue to post and critique my photos daily, and hopefully meet my goals of;
1. Not having to edit my pictures in Picasa
2. Improve my photos by; learn the settings and features of my camera, develop my skills in indoor photography and taking advantage of natural surroundings.

Feburary 18th, 2010

Rollerblading fun!
Riley's new favorite activity is rollerblading! Today we went to the park to rollerblade since to was a nice day, and he loved it. At one point there was a boardwalk we had to cross and on the way back I decided it was time for a photo shoot. I like how you can see the boardwalk in the background, but wish you could see more of Riley's face. There was no editing in Picasa for this picture.

I must admit, I did fall today while wearing my rollerblades :( but by no fault of Riley's... I wasn't even moving! Now, I have one sore bum.

February 17th, 2010

Time for some glamor shots!

February 16th, 2010

Riley is such a good model :) He just does what he wants and lets me poke around him with the "Big Black Box" that makes noises. This shot I was trying to practice with natural light. I like the way natural light makes pictures looks. Now if only the weather would lighten up I could get some good shots! Maybe this is Mother Natures way of telling me to practice in non-ideal settings... hummm

February 15th, 2010

Went out a while back when it was nice out for once and took some shots. I am trying to be creative and get some unusual angles or perspectives. The has to be one of my favorites. I changed it to sepia tone because I think it gives the picture a bit more simplicity.

February 14th, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!
I absolutely love this picture! I think it captures Riley's personality to a T. Goofy yet focused. Here he is trying to catch a small piece of cardboard I threw in the air but he jumped too high, therefor he is maneuvering mid-jump to get it, sadly he did not catch it.

ISO: 200, Exposure: 1/320 sec, Aperture: 9.0, Focal Length: 18mm, Flash Used: No

February 13th, 2010

A picture other then Riley! Went to Baton Rouge this past weekend and this is a picture of the capital. I really like how the picture shows how bright and blue the sky was, and how green the grass was. I cropped out the street below, as it has trash in it from the parade that just went by.

ISO: 200, Exposure: 1/400 sec, Aperture: 10.0, Focal Length: 26mm, Flash Used: No

February 12th, 2010

I LOVE this picture! I like the color, the framing and how you can see his close-up nose but still see his eye. The funny thing about this shot was it was by accident. We were in the truck and I just held the camera out in front of his face and snapped the shot. I love the detail in the nose! There was no editing in Picasa.

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/320 sec, Aperture: 9.0, Focal Length: 55mm, Flash Used: No

I feel the need to post another picture that I love as well. I took this picture the same time as the first one. Once again it was by accident I got it. He was facing into the sun and I love how it brought out his amber eye color.

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/200 sec, Aperture: 7.1, Focal Length: 55mm, Flash Used: No

February 11th, 2010

This is Sadie, a Golden Retriever/Poodle mix. She is Riley's best friend and they LOVE to wrestle. I think this picture turned out OK. It was taken inside and I don't like how it turned out so yellow. Need more practice....

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/13 sec, Aperture: 5.6, Focal Length: 42mm, Flash Used: No

February 10th, 2010

Played with a mirror today. I thought this shot turned out neat :) I think the B&W makes the picture pop more so than with color, it really brings the focus to Riley's face, I also like how he is looking at me through the mirror. I darkened the shadows a bit in Picasa and also evened out the colors.

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/5 sec, Aperture: 4.2, Focal Length: 26mm, Flash Used: No.

February 9th, 2010

A dog and his shadow.
Went for a walk today and brought my camera along. I was taking some pictures of Riley in the grass when I saw my long shadow and I thought it would be cool if I could capture Riley and his. I really like the way it turned out. I think my next task will be some action shot, inside and outside.

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/1600 sec, Aperture: 5.6, Focal Length: 46mm, Flash Used: No

February 8th, 2010

Practiced close-ups today. These are some of my favorite shots! I love all the little detail, I loved how it turned out. This shot warmed up in Picasa. One day I hope to get a macro lens for my camera so I can get even closer/clearer shots.

ISO: 800, Exposure: 1/10 sec, Aperture: 5.6, Focal Length: 55mm, Flash Used: No

February 7th, 2010

Today was Superbowl Sunday and we went to a friends house to watch the game. While waiting outside for them get home (last minute run to the store) I took some shots of Riley. I saw his reflection in the mirror and thought it would be a cool perspective. I really like the way it turned out!

ISO: 1600, Exposure: 1/100 sec, Aperture: 5.6, Focal Length: 55mm, Flash Used: No

February 6th, 2010

Here, I was trying to practice taking pictures with extreme lighting, a sunbeam. I like the overall picture, I wish you could see Riley's face more... Something I am going to have to practice. The white balance was set to "sunny +1", ISO set to 800 and there was no editing in Picasa.

I am finding it very frustrating trying to figure out which settings to use when, but I figure the knowledge will come with practice. I tend to set high standards for myself.

February 5th, 2010

I have started a blog to track my pictures as I learn the in's and out's of my new camera, a Nikon D40. Most likely, my main subject will be our 2 year old Border Collie, named Riley. I take pretty good pictures outside (in my opinion), my weakness is indoor pictures.

Today I took a picture of Riley laying on his bed. I experimented with the ISO levels and white balance levels. ISO at 800. I like the way I shot this picture, but I was having trouble with the lighting. I used Picasa to darken and warm-up the picture. My goal is to eventually not have to use Picasa to edit my pictures. :)