Pipi is our Nanday Conure. A smallish bird that packs a *lot* of punch noise-wise. She’s also adorable and loving. Tonight she finally decided to hold still for a while so I could take her picture. She’s at the tail-end of her molting season, so she’s still a little scruffy.
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January – Caught in the Act
February – Too bad this isn’t an eyeball
March – You can tell by the way he walks…
April – The only time of year cottonwoods are pretty
May – Watch out ball, I’m going to NOM YOU!
June – Finally, it’s flower time!
July – Yellowstone
August – bzzzzzzzzzz…
September – Where the heart is
October – Fall colors
November – Wuv, twu wuv…
December – Lights all a-glow
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There’s been a lot of talk on one of my photography message boards about the Light Scoop. Basic premise is that if you can’t afford an external flash, you can buy this little gadget and increase your indoor picture taking capabilities.
From what I can tell the Pros to the gadget are that: Yes, it does work (but only in certain situations). You can attach it easily to your camera.
Cons: You have to follow very specific directions on your camera for it to work properly. It costs money.
Ok, then, what to do? Spend money on the gadget, or look for other ways to bounce your flash off the ceiling? I chose to follow what others have done and try my own.
My very own light bouncer. An index card covered in foil. Simple, easy, but not remotely elegant. Oh well, I was looking for functional.
How did it work? Awesomely. The following photos were taken in sequence with the same settings (all straight out of the camera): ISO 800, and Aperture f/5.0.
Without flash:
Flash (+2):
Flash (+2) with index card/foil:
Call me a believer in bouncing light. However, I’m not sold on the Light Scoop.
And, because I took other pictures tonight using the thing:
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I caved and gave the dogs their Christmas gift early. Chaos ensued as the little box stuffed with balls made an appearance. I quickly grabbed the camera, turned it on auto (blah) and let it go:
What is this? oooooooooooooo… balls!
mmmph… squeak…….mmmph…. squeak squeak!
Must.resist.temptation.
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It was close though. I’m still torn, but I think I like this edit the best because of the colors. Thanks to everyone who participated!
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Tonight I took a long exposure picture of the full hunter’s moon. Nothing fancy. I set the camera on the rail of my deck and let it go. Here it is straight out of the camera:
Exposure: 30
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 25 mm
ISO Speed: 100
I can’t decide if I like as is, or one of the following edits:
A
or B
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Yes, yes it is.
We were asked this a lot tonight. “We” being a few of my local girls who braved the cold (and I mean COLD) to photograph the lights downtown.
I started off the evening with a cup of coffee at one of my favorite coffeehouses.
Then we ventured forth. My biggest problem with long exposures is that they’re almost always blurry. I’ve remedied that by putting the camera on a tripod and then setting the timer to release the shutter. Even then they still turn out blurry. Most of my pictures tonight didn’t turn out. Ah well, just gives me an excuse to practice more.
One of the restaurants let us go onto their rooftop patio.
Then, when we were feeling like all our limbs had been turned to ice, we went to a decadent chocolate cafe. Mmmmmmm… dark hot chocolate….
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I admit, I started decorating for Christmas early. My excuse is that every year my mother-in-law wants to see our Christmas decorations, and then doesn’t make the trip up. Since she’s coming for Christmas, I thought… eh, why not?
My favorite ornament:
Rejected Christmas card idea (I campaigned really hard for this to be our card!)
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One thing that I love about living in CO is that it can snow overnight and be warm enough the next day to go outside and play.
Squirrel watch:
Snoooooooow!
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First, I hurried my husband to get ready because we were losing light. Then I changed the picture location at the last minute, and then the light was too bright. No one’s fault but my own. My husband was (mostly) understanding.
Anyway, these were the only two pictures that semi-worked out:
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