Poppies

I've started a camera class, to help acquaint me with the camera I bought last year and the techniques I need to use it properly. While I don't have official homework, I am supposed to be taking pictures while experimenting with different settings. I'm still sorting through the concepts of shutter speed and aperture and how they relate to lighting, motion, and subject when I'm taking pictures. We also covered ISO- which I sort of understood already- and metering, which flew so far over my head that I'm proud to be able to recall the word "metering".

For the next few weeks I'll probably be posting some of the pictures I take. These poppies are from my back "garden" this morning. I don't know how I did as far as technicalities, but I love the blurred poppy in the background and the contrasting colors.

There are many cool old churches around here, one in particular that I'd like to visit with my camera. They all have amazing, crumbly old cemeteries. I'll make a point of going there soon and snapping some pics.

Cheers!

My World In Black and White

(Click on a picture to enlarge)

I Took a Camera On My Walk Today

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The First Hour With My New Camera

It turns out that my most willing subjects were Ian and Zach, and even they were far from enthusiastic as we approached 200 photos. I've learned about 1% of what I need to know to operate my camera at its best - here are examples of my first attempts!

OY!!! I'm Giddy With Excitement!

I got my camera today! I've been researching them- which kind of a silly thing to do since it's all mumbo-jumbo to me anyway- and finally decided on the Canon Rebel XTi. A friend from church convinced me that I didn't need the much more expensive Canon model I had my sights on, and I decided to get this one only after Tim promised I could upgrade if ever it became necessary.

The battery is currently charging, so no pictures have been taken yet. Trust me, you'll have a front row seat view of my new hobby!

Trip To The Seaside

Here are some photos from our family trip to the English seaside yesterday. One of the things I enjoyed most about it was that we were on a peninsula, so despite the fact that we were in east England, we got to watch the sunset!

I loved the cliffs overlooking this part of the beach; like the White Cliffs of Dover with a beautiful red twist:

One of the two crabs Tim caught. This was the bigger of the two.

Before, during and after the sunset:

Wordless Weekend: A Peacock Butterfly Comes To Call

~Reese

My Backyard

As you can see from the picture above, my yard is still unfinished. My landlord has begun working on it, starting first on a patio, then he will move on to putting in grass, a deck, and a play area with gravel or bark dust for the kids. I'm really excited to get a patio; I'm looking forward to breakfasts outside in the summer. I'm sure the boys will appreciate the first fenced yard we've ever had, since they will have the chance to play without me insisting on them standing directly next to an adult or an older kid.

This morning I took a few pictures of some of the plant life springing up in the yard ("garden" as it's called here in England). Among Stinging Nettle (which stung me as I took a picture) and a sprouting blackberry vine, I found these:



Does anyone recognize this next plant? I don't know much about plants, and this one looks really familiar. It's enchanting, whatever it is. I love the way the purple/red leaves fade into green as you follow the stem downward.



~Reese

Reese's Wordless Weekend: Tea Cups

Reese's Wordless Weekend: Pretending to be a Photographer