Sunset and dancing

After a few online class "lectures" and finally understanding how to better use my camera and settings, I was eager to head out at sunset and get some practice. I wanted to head over to a bridge that I thought might offer a nice vantage point and took Mary with me to get some practice doing "people" and action shots. The results were great, and I got a chance to try quite a few different camera settings (although I certainly don't remember the specific setting for each photo) and play a little with the light as the sun set. She came up with the poses; I just took the shots.

Jail Break

I took this with my iPhone while I was waiting in downtown Chicago. I loved the way the clouds were just starting to clear and the sky was so blue, with the top of the Willis (aka Sears) Tower just starting to peek through. That "triangle" building is the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal facility that holds both male and female prisoners of all security levels. There is a rooftop exercise yard. The building to the right is the Chicago Board of Trade building.

First Assignment: A Walk in the Woods.

For my first photography class assignment, we were to take photos of a theme or genre that particularly interests us, and simply use the "Automatic" setting on our cameras. I decided to try some landscape/nature type pictures and took a walk through a local park, Knoch Knolls. It's got a nice wooded area and allows for a walk along the DuPage River. I tried to capture some broader, wooded landscape type photographs, as well as some detailed photos of things that caught my eye along the path. These are some of my favorite pictures from that walk. I'm looking forward to going back in a few weeks when the leaves start changing colors.

If you look very carefully, you can see a chipmunk in the log. I tried to get him while he was on top of the log, but he was too quick. I was lucky to get this picture before he went in further.

This is the one I submitted for the class.

I was able to capture another "animal" in action. There's some kind of a snake creature in the lower middle part of the picture. I was able to snap the photo before he hid under the leaves.

Knoch Knolls Nature Center in Naperville, IL

Dogs 09/19/2016

I just started an online photography class, and thought it would be fun to share some photos as I learn more about photography and using my camera. I finally figured out how to use some of the settings on my Nikon D3000, and the photos below are experimenting with the aperture/f-stop setting. Other than spinning the dial a little bit, I wasn't very scientific in my process. Just wanted to compare the "Automatic" setting with setting my own f-stop. And yes... get used to seeing lots of pictures of my dogs.