Have you missed me?

I got an email and I can’t find it in my stack of other piled up emails asking if I was ok.  I am and it felt good that someone cared.  I have been really busy with my photography business.   I have been doing graduating senior sessions and I love them.  I am using some of my projects I have posted about on my blog.

I have used my suitcases I have painted.

I buy chairs that I don’t have room for because they fit in my car and can be carried to a field.

I have to throw in an Izzy pic for those of you that miss seeing her.  She is sitting on a cool chair I found.

I use my chalk board I made as a prop.

I use my camera skills I started learning when blogging to do cool pics like this.

And this.

So that is what has kept me busy.  I JUST took down my Christmas décor from my porch a week ago.  That is so not like me.  I am itching to do a few things this summer when it slows down a little so maybe I will have something good to show y’all. 

Oh I have also been doing lots of working out and I can finally do a pull up!  I am so proud.  My house looks like crap, but my biceps are getting bigger.  Too bad there are only so many hours in the day. 

Oh one more thing.  Look how I caught Izzy sitting the other day.  Cracks me up.  I love that silly dog.

Self Portrait

A couple of photo groups that I am in on facebook posted a self portrait challenge.  I have tried this before and it was pretty tough.  I have since learned that back button focusing is my friend and makes self portraits way easier or you can just manually focus.  I used a stuffed animal where my head would be and then took a few photos of myself.  There never seems to be a good time to do this.  Even though I woke up early and threw on some clothes and makeup without showering or brushing my hair, I picked today to do my challenge.  I also had cried moments before watching a sad movie.  Despite my lack of effort I thought my photos turned out pretty decent.  I used window light and a reflector. 

Have you tried to do a self portrait?  Did you think it was tough?  If you don’t own a reflector then it should be your next purchase.  They are really cheap and can help you put light on a person or a project and really help you get a better photo.  I used a big one that is really inexpensive from Amazon.  I don’t care for the silver or gold side.  I just use the white. 

Go here to check it out. 

Izzy Poses for a Valentine’s Portrait

I am taking some Valentine photos next week and worked on a prop that I had in mind.  I had Izzy pose while I did a test shot.  I had to share the cuteness. 

New Bar Stools

Last May I painted my bar and it never looked just right.  One reader commented that my bar stools needed to be replaced.  She was right.  I really wanted to get industrial ones.  I even bought a set of 3, but my son really disliked sitting on them because they were uncomfortable.  He spends most of the time sitting on them so I decided to take them back and bought some he wouldn’t’ mind sitting in and I wouldn’t mind looking at.  The seat is a little bigger than I like, but they do look better than the ones that came with the house and have been here since the 70s. 

Here’s the new ones.

I am thinking of painting the dining chairs black (NOT the new bar stools) to break up all the oak chairs. 

Here is a shot of the old bar stools.

What do you think?  Much better?  Should I paint the dining chairs black.

Using the Kelvin Chart for White Balance

Yesterday I kept happening upon information about using the Kelvin setting for white balance while taking photos.  This might be my aha moment.  I am going to try using this method and see if it works as well for me as it seems to for so many other photographers.  Some of the entry level DSLRs will not have this option.  It will look like this under your white balance settings.

Kelvin is the choice on the far right “K”.

After you choose kelvin then you choose your setting by using your scroll wheel.

I did a little experiment using my window as the light source. 

These shots are straight out of camera.  The only change I made was decreasing the temperature of the Kelvin.  I have read that photos can look over or underexposed simply because the white balance is incorrect.  I think the photo that is labeled 3500 looks more underexposed the the rest.  Do you?   The Kelvin chart above was found on pinterest and created by Girl Hearts Camera.  I liked her chart the best. 

If you do not have the choice of Kelvin on your camera and you want some other options let me know and I will make a post about it. 

Happy shooting.

Photo Glass Plate Negatives Added to My Vintage Photography Collection

When my father in law asked if I would like some glass plate negatives he had from his grandma I said heck ya as fast as possible.  My father in law is 82 so these are pretty old.  I photographed all 3 of them, but I am only displaying one in my photo cubby shelf.  I think it makes a nice addition. 

I will always cherish these.  Photography has come a long way! 

The Christmas Tree That Didn’t Last

Yesterday morning I took my real tree down.  Yep I did.  It was stinky for a long time.  We think it was the water so we quit watering it.  It was drying out anyway.  It seemed to continue to dry out super fast and as is it dried it drooped.  It was time for it to go away.  As I pulled off the ornaments the needles and branches flew off the tree like rockets.  My husband was at work so I drug it outside by myself.  I cleaned up the needle mess and put up a tiny little tree in it’s place.  I will definitely use my faux tree with the pre-lit white lights next year and the year after that and the year after that……….