Easter by the Bay

I know, I know...Easter was sooooo three weeks ago. Originally I wrote three paragraphs explaining exactly why I didn't get around to writing this post sooner. Then I realized all of that content would be better suited for another post.

So, let's focus on Easter. I know it's late. Deal with it. :)

Three weeks ago Brian and I drove the 9 and a half hours back to Green Bay to spend Easter weekend with my in-laws. It was quite relaxing (despite the fact that I was recovering from a wicked bad cold that I caught from Brian...he's too generous with his germs) and a lot of fun. There was much with the Easter egg dying, ham eating and goofing off to be had, and I used the opportunity to practice with my trusty camera.

Kind of random sidenote (for fellow photo geeks): I've been having issues focusing through the viewfinder - I'm not sure if it's because of my contacts or if I just need to adjust to the settings, but it's definitely something I'm working on.

Before dying Easter eggs, Brian and his kid brother (who kept giving me funny looks because my camera was in his face for the majority of the afternoon) played around with a football...and shot each other with Nerf guns.

Ohhhh boys. Gotta love 'em.







I thought this was a cool action shot:





We finally put away the football and Nerf guns and started decorating Easter eggs.



My kid brother-in-law makes some funny faces.

I decided to document it.









What a ham. :)

A photogenic ham, mind you!


Okay, is it just me, or does he totally look like Larry King in this photo?



Gotta have a Packer egg! Ya know, because we were in Green Bay and all...



And this was just funny.



I hope everyone had a great Easter, and stay tuned for a more detailed post on recent happenings in the K. household! As the song goes, there's some big "cha-cha changes" a-comin'....

Playing with Light.

Today I attended a class soley devoted to effectively utilizing light in photography. It definitely helped put things in perspective for me, and will better inform my shots in the future (which means producing far prettier photographs!).

So, as part of my self-imposed homework assignment, I'm going to share some important information about how light influences photography. The three main lighting directions for photographers include:

1. Front, which is used for optimal color and overall brightness.
2. Side, which is used to emphasize depth and texture of the subject.
3. Back, which emphasizes shape. The extreme form of this lighting is a silhouette.

Of course I learned way more than that (including lighting quality and color temperature as well as working with artificial light) but the three points listed above were the main learnings that really struck me. That, and I currently lack the auxillary flash I really want, so I can't practice on anything but natural light for the time being.

Instead of spewing more endless dribble about what I've learned, I'll show you!

Here's a photo taken using front lighting. Notice how the colors pop:




And here's one using side lighting - notice how the texture and shadows of the leaves pop, rather than the color:

And, lastly, this one, which employs back light:

I have another couple of classes coming up, and like a good little photo geek I'm so looking forward to them!