Friday, June 29, 2012

Raindrops

I would have to say that one of my favorite things is water. I don't mean like a glass of water with ice, I love the rivers and oceans. They always have so many cool features to them that make the coolest pictures. Ripples, waves, and rapids are like the special effects in the water that make the picture really cool. However, I would say they are some of the hardest pictures to take. It's hard to take a picture and try to fit only what you want but not squish it all in. it's hard to do such a magnificent thing justice by just a picture. You have to add all the little features in it to actually give real effect. The great thing is that they are everywhere. So if you can never find the shot you want with one place just move to the next.

“I want pictures like these. The kind that can capture a moment, make it real, make it last. I need pictures that do more than reflect. I need pictures that are truth.”
― Lisa Magnum

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Rivers and ponds and lakes, oh my!

I would have to say that one of my favorite things is water. I don't mean like a glass of water with ice, I love the rivers and oceans. They always have so many cool features to them that make the coolest pictures. Ripples, waves, and rapids are like the special effects in the water that make the picture really cool. However, I would say they are some of the hardest pictures to take. It's hard to take a picture and try to fit only what you want but not squish it all in. it's hard to do such a magnificent thing justice by just a picture. You have to add all the little features in it to actually give real effect. The great thing is that they are everywhere. So if you can never find the shot you want with one place just move to the next.

“I want pictures like these. The kind that can capture a moment, make it real, make it last. I need pictures that do more than reflect. I need pictures that are truth.”
― Lisa Magnum

Colors

Colors define almost everything we see. They tell the difference between pretty or ugly, dead or alive, and happy or sad. They are everything we see and can sometimes make up the most wonderful things our eyes will ever see. Color is absolutely everywhere and makes every single photo beautiful. More color makes animals prettier, nature more interesting, and photo more worth looking at.

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
― Karl Lagerfeld

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The best time of the year!

If I were to name my favorite time of year, it would be summer. Warm weather and more hours with sun add to a great picture. Summer is the time when flowers are blooming, the grass is green, and kids are at play. The possibilities of things to photograph in the summer are endless. One of my favorites is flower shots. The summer is the best time to take flower pictures. Just barely bloomed and fresh flowers make great pictures. You don't get any of the brown droopiness that comes with the flowers as the season ends and the temperature drops. I'm not saying that fall and winter are bad because I would say those are some of the most popular shots. However, it's hard to find a beautiful flower mid winter that's not buried in snow and dead. Enjoy the summer time and document it with photos. Remember photography isn't easy and just because you might have something amazing doesn't mean it's easier to photograph.

A lot of people think that when you have grand scenery, such as you have in Yosemite, that photography must be easy.
-Galen Rowell

Monday, June 25, 2012

Best of the beach

The beach is an amazing place. Besides all of the fun that comes with it, the beach can provide lots of great shots. There are so many great things at the beach and not many bad. What's better than a shot of the crashing waves or footprints in the sand? I would have to say some of my all time favorite shots are of sunset/sunrise on the beach. If you're not much of a nature photographer a beach setting can be a great background for a family photo. All in all, there is nothing better than the beach. Now remember next time you go to the beach to bring a beach chair, sunscreen, and definitely don't forget your camera.

Buying a Nikon doesn't make you photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner.
- unknown

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Finding the perfect shot.

You may not know it but there so many things around you that can make one of those perfect shots. There are some things that help find that perfect shot. They can turn a boring old picture into a picture hanging in peoples houses all around. One thing in a good shot is the angle. A good angle brings new things into the picture that might make it stand out more than others. It makes it more interesting than just a straight on picture. Try new things until you find that artistic looking angle that you love. Next is finding good lighting. You don't want to much light in your pictures because it can cast bad shadows and make the picture bad. However, you don't want it to be too dark. This makes it harder to distinguish things in the picture and doesn't stand out from other pictures. I got a lot of knowledge from my grandpa about this because he had his own photography studio. He always said the best times to shoot are at about 7 AM and 7 PM in the summers. In other words just by about 1 hour after sun rise and 1 hour before sunset. Also a cloudy day can provide just the right amount of light as long as it's not to dense. Another benefit to the cloudy day light is that the clouds do add a nice touch to nature shots. Odds are you aren't going to get your perfect shot the first take. Sometimes it will take 100 shots before you find the picture you absolutely love. Experiment and try to find what you think is your perfect shot.

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.
-Confucius

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Get out and go for a walk.

As the world becomes more high tech, people forget to get out and go for a walk. Everyone is distracted by their fancy electronics and forget all about the true beauty there is out there. Beauty isn't a new high-score on Doodle Jump or beating a new level on Angry birds, it's rain dripping off a leaf, it's a wave crashing on shore, or just a rusty bridge. These things are so much fun to shoot. They are not going to be there forever and neither are we. Thats what cameras are for. Cameras are made for us to be able to capture the special moments in life.

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.
-Eudora Welty