Tucker's sense of humor

It seemed like a good morning for some humor, so of course I turned to Tucker...always such a happy guy. :) 

My first published photo!

Despite the fact that everyone who submitted a photo got published, and that it really isn't even that good of a picture, I'm still ridiculously excited about this. I mean, it is the New York Times... :)

Here's the link to the photo, and to the overall project, which is really quite cool.  Enjoy! 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/03/blogs/a-moment-in-time.html#/4bdd9fc3b93af1670300010f

Going for ice cream

One of my favorite iPhone photos.  It was a quick trip to get ice cream on a hot day, and Madison was enjoying the ride.

Evening walk

My view on our evening walk. It's blurry and blown out because of the sun, but I love it. :)

The best of the frisbee shoot

Madison is laying by me, all worn out after graciously* chasing the frisbee all around the yard while I tried to take some pictures.  I got hundreds of pictures (literally) and these are the best of the batch. A few of them have the frisbee floating through the air while she chases it, which I was especially happy about. They're all still a bit dark for my taste, but I love how the sun and shadows were dancing off the yard and Madison.

* In this context, graciously means that Madison was actually bribed with the promise of salmon treats. Amazing what she'll do for food...

Parking lot

I saw this on my way into work this morning...

Levitation

I posted this picture to my class blog as well, but it just has to be shared here. The look on Rudie's face alone is priceless. Ah levitation, I love you so. :)

Bouncy yard

First, let me say Heather, you're fantastic. Now for the pictures...

My shutter speed is only set at 1/30th of a second because I wanted some blur to really describe the motion of the pictures. That and I didn't have a tripod...because if I did, we so would have had frozen levitating pictures!! Next time, next time...

Attempting to capture motion, take two

These pictures are all interesting, and the lighting is definitely better, but they're still not quite what I'm looking for. More practice!

Tail waggin

I love that she's so still, minus the tail, which is blurred...  Good girl Rudie!

Panning for cars...

My first attempt at panning* along with a moving object while photographing (and making sure my camera settings are correct...I'm going to need more hands, or maybe a second brain).  I'm so happy it sorta almost worked!! And I apologize to whomever was driving by - I swear it was homework, I'm not just a crazy person taking pictures of people in cars.

* Panning is when you take a picture of a moving object by panning the camera along with the object while taking the shot. This creates the fabulous effect of keeping the subject in focus while blurring the background (if you're lucky enough to catch the subject in the frame, of course).

Dark sky, white tree

First I complain about Washington, and then I'm struck with one of these amazing moments, where the sky is dark but the sun is shining. I absolutely love that about the weather here. Now if only I could do something about the power lines getting in my way...

Dark motion...

After learning so much about shutter speed, I really wanted to take some pictures of the pups. Unfortunately, we live in Washington, so it was gloomy and rainy. Even at my highest ISO setting and lowest f stop, the pictures were way too dark to be useful. Yet again, I find myself wishing for a new lens... There were a couple of entertaining, though dark photos, so I'm including those.

Nose close up!

Somehow I'm always taking pictures of Tucker's nose...  This time he decided to get up close and personal with the camera lens.  I like how the sun is shining through the photo from the right, and that his eye is still in focus despite the close quarters.

Ocean trail

The way the sand dunes created a trail out to the water wasn't really evident while we were there, but the photo somehow framed it perfectly. The right is a bit blown out by the sun, but otherwise a great picture.

Ocean silhouette

I loved the way the sea grass looked against the sky each night, and finally got a photo I was happy with after many, many shots.

Running with the birds

My other absolute favorite photo. Madison loves to run with the birds when we're at the ocean. Tucker is never quite sure what to think of it all, so he tends to stay behind and watch with me.

Ocean close up

The way the sunset changed the light that was all around us made for some spectacular photos.

Puppy Zen

This is one of my absolute favorite photos...

Ugh, snow!

Apparently it wasn't quite as tasty as he was hoping. :) This is another one where I needed a faster shutter speed, but didn't know it.

Great Horned Owl

This guy has a nest in the woods behind my house and we often hear him late at night. He's beautiful and incredibly large, and not quite sure if he likes being photographed. I need a larger telephoto lens to really capture him in detail. I really like the lines in this picture, and how he's somewhat hidden and yet still in focus.

Tucker's face

Tucker is so much easier to take pictures of because he holds still... :) I love the side shot of his face, staring off in the distance, and I'm amused by the effect the second picture has, elongating his face and focusing on his nose.

Wishing for a macro lens...

I love all the new leaves sprouting this time of year...now if only I could get in closer...

Silhouette

I didn't quite get this right (still had my ISO settings backwards), but I love the overall effect.

Gargoyle

This is a rare indoor gargoyle, very hard to find.

The light was terrible inside, thus the washed out look from my flash. Too bad I didn't know about ISO settings then... I really like the curve of the wall, but I wish the background was blurred so the gargoyle stood out more. Always a learning experience...

Close Up - Madison

More playing with the foreground in focus and the background blurry. I love how much clearer it makes Madison look, when the background isn't in focus. However, when you zoom in, she's a bit fuzzy...must train her to hold still. Or learn about shutter speeds, but that's week 3. :)

Close Up

This is another late evening shot. I love that the foreground is in focus and the background slowly blurs away. This is the first time I did this on purpose!

My first success

These aren't great pictures, but they represent my first real success with aperture and ISO settings. It was sunset, and the trees were lit up orange all around my house, so I grabbed my camera. Somehow I couldn't get the color quite right, so I kept messing with my settings, checking my histograms, and voila! I got the actual color of the tree in the picture. I'm including the first shot and the last shot for comparison. The first shot is ISO 100, f/8 and the final shot is an ISO 800, f/11.

Laughing Pups

This series of pictures describes both of my pups to a tea. Tucker (the red on the ground) rolling around acting like a dork, Madison (the blonde) sitting pretty. I was actually trying to take pictures of just Tucker, but Madison kept edging herself into the frame. :)

Capitol Lake

I thought Capitol Lake would be a great place to practice my newfound skills. Unfortunately, I had my ISO settings way off, so most of the pictures look washed out. Somehow I got ISO and aperture confused, so I kept thinking bigger number, less light for both. Wrong! This is why we practice, practice, practice. And learn Photoshop. :)

Dreaming

I absolutely love this photo. It feels symbolic, the bird trapped on the earth and dreaming of flying. It's all in the perspective...

Pointed

This is from the scavenger hunt from our first class. Not a great photo really, but I appreciate the humor in the idea.