Bell Ladies: photography

Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts

Wednesday

Photographer's Corner: Get Reaquainted with your Camera.

Photography has always held a special place in my heart. There's something so special about a photo. I still prefer a photo over a video. It's a silent art that leaves you to imagine and wonder how it felt to be there at that moment when the photo was taken.
My interest in photography really grew as a freshman in college. I took a few black and white photography classes. Our cameras were required to be manual or have manual setting capabilities. No point and shoot allowed. Not that I don't like or never use the automatic features or point and shoot cameras, I do but it was about understanding the intricacies of the camera and the light in which you were capturing. I miss the days in the dark room which are so hard to come by now. I used a Nikon FG (single lens reflux, SLR) camera I bought of Ebay. I love the way the shutter sounds and this is one thing I miss in my current camera. I like most of the rest of America use primarily my digital camera now. About a year ago I bought a Nikon D60. It is a digital SLR camera with fully manual capabilities and interchangeable lenses. Life has kept me too busy and I've fallen out of practice with my camera. I never took the time to learn all the neat features that my new camera can do. I recently took a trip to San Antonio and thought it would be a good time to get reacquainted with it. I had forgotten how much I loved to take pictures. Each night I'd go back to the hotel and download them onto my laptop and edit them in photoshop elements. It takes a great picture to make a great picture but I assure you that even in the days of film photographers edited their work in the darkroom.

Friday

What camera should I buy?

I like putting pictures on my computer and editing them. Last Christmas, my parents gave me my first digital camera after a long sabbatical from photography. I have just loved having it and it has been so nice! Now, Brandon and I are considering getting another camera to replace his that broke. We'd like to get a really good deal on it like maybe get one from Overstock.com or something. We need the best quality, most pixels, etc. that we can get for no more than $200. So all you photographers out there, point me in the best direction please (no pun intended)! Here's a pretty picture I took at the St. George Utah Temple when Brandon and I were honeymooning and here's how it looks after I edited it. This next part is for my mom, my mother-in-law and all my cute friends who are scared of their computers. This is so easy to do! First say in your mind:
My computer is not the boss of me. It will not get ruined if I press the wrong button. If I happen to press the wrong button, I can always start over and it is no big deal. I am not dumb if I press the wrong button. And anyway, I can sew and cook my way around all those people who press the right button. They have nothing on me so there.
Then point your mouse on the lower-left of your computer screen where it says "Start". Then, choose "Pictures". Then all your picture folders will come up. Choose a picture you'd like to edit. Double-click on it. Then, look at the top of the picture for the 'tool bar' and choose "Fix." Then, on the right-hand side you'll see all your options. Just play around with all the controls and see what happens to your picture. Then, it's so easy to save your new picture: just use the forward arrow key at the bottom (middle) of the picture on the bottom 'tool bar'. Have fun doing this! I love it!

Saturday

Cool Pictures

Look at what a cute kid I was! Seriously! I look at that girl on the couch and think, "when did I lose all the confidence?" I mean, look at the way I'm smiling..."HI!!" I love that. I also love this picture of me as a newborn and my gorgeous mom. Isn't she a fair lady? I mean, really, I'd LOVE to look like that! I think that I see a little of me in Gloria...what do you think? Anyway, these pictures are part of a project that my sister Christine and my mom have been working on. They are gathering a lot of older photos and putting them on the computer. They will use many of them at my Grandpa Stephens 85th Birthday Celebration! I wish so bad I could go! Boo hoo. But I am excited to see more of the pictures. Mom, you should totally put all these on a disk and mail them to me. ;-)