More from the trip to the Dallas Arboretum…
This woman had her serious camera out and was well prepared for taking photos. Her attention made me stop and look at the koi.
I suspect that she took much better pictures of them than I did :-).
Do you remember when photos were printed on paper, from film that had to be developed by someone that was not you? Opening the package of prints was always a surprise — often not a happy one. On my best days, 1 print out of 10 might be good. The rest never did match my memory of the moment.
Fast forward to now. Digital photography has advanced to the point that we take pictures all day long. The results are immediately available and we can see if the picture is good, or not. But here’s a question: Do you apply a critical eye to your photos? Are you taking the best photo that you could?
Three years ago I signed up for Ricky Tims’ 52-Week Photo Challenge Class. I had no idea how much I didn’t know! The dials and buttons on the camera are no longer a mystery. I’ve quit relying on autofocus!
I’ve learned to pay more attention to the image before I actually take the photo. What needs to be in the photo, and what does not? Every photo gives you the chance to play with light, color, and scale — and the relationships between them. Happily, the same rules of design apply to quilting!
Much of the class is about image editing. Ricky teaches how to use both Lightroom and Photoshop, both of which are powerful editing tools. I had never used Lightroom and now can’t image working on photos without it.
After I finished the 52-week class, I signed up for the Critique class. Even when I’m busy, I do my best to take my weekly photo. Maybe that’s why it feels like a gift! Taking time to do something that makes you happy is the best gift you can give yourself.
Ricky is starting his 4th 52-Week Photo Class. If it sounds good to you, click here and sign up. You will be glad you did!
Here are a few of my photos…
Taken near the Hudson River, NYC. This was a quick photo, lightly edited.
My granddaughter offerred to help out by posing for my Wonderland photo assignment which was very nice.
For the Mirror Mirror challenge.
I do like round things, including Ferris wheels. It was easy to see the structure of this one at the State Fair in Boise when it was lit by the sunlight.
When the sun went down and the lights came on, the Ferris wheel was lovely.
We walked past it several times and each time I took pictures.
My selfies are getting better. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
We went on a snorkel tour on boat with Octopus Diving. The fish were pretty, the water was warm, and the Dramamine kept me from getting motion sickness. All good.
We snorkeled out by that rocky island. 
When I wasn’t snorkeling, I was visiting with Captain Kyle who is 27, has lived all over the world, and who can put all he owns in a small duffle bag. His life sounds really interesting, probably because it is so different from my own life. Just thinking about how to live that way and still quilt was enough to make my head hurt.
Shadow selfie…
I’ll sign off with these two beach photos. St. Maarten was wonderful, and the vacation shared with friends made it even better!
There were lots of photo ops. In fact, I could turn into one of those people who makes little forward progress because they are too busy taking pictures. That used to drive me crazy with other people, so I try not to overdo it.
Sometimes I like to play with filters or other editing options. (Camera+ has some really great built-in editing features.) There is never only one perfect choice so it’s hard to know when to stop..
This photo in color is not nearly as good…
The same is true with this photo. In black and white is looks very retro.
There was one wall with a broken glass bottle ridge along its top that looked like dangerous flowers.
It was more interesting in black and white.
AKA St Maarten, is an island in the Caribbean that is split between the Netherlands and France. We stayed on the Dutch side, at Dawn Beach. By ‘we’, I mean Julie, Wayne, Steve, and me.
We were in an lovely condo and could look out from the living room onto the balcony, over the next building to the ocean. I’m not sure why, but I really liked the view through the doors to the balcony.
This was our view…
Even the cloudy days were beautiful…
In case you are wondering, I took all of these photos with my iPhone using the Camera+ app.
We walked on the beach…
I’ll post more photos from our trip over the next few days. It’s nice to re-visit the ocean!
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