My Photography Rebirth

I got my official start in photography during my senior year of high school.  I took B&W photography as an art elective and the I took a few more B&W photography classes in college as well.  I then took a LONG hiatus from anything but the occasional snapshot because I did not have access to a dark room.  I really wish I could get back into a dark room...I do miss that.

Fast forward a few years and for some reason I decided to buy Photoshop.  I LOVE photoshop...it is the most fascinating program....at least to me.  Playing in photoshop became like a stress reliever but still I only had a point and shoot and an old one at that.  I think the thing was like 4.5 megapixels....blah!!

Fast forward again to the birth of my daughter and the dust being brushed off of my camera and the return of the photag itch.  I longed for a "real" camera but we just couldn't afford one.  So I made due with my old P&S.

 

 

Then I decided to gather up some of my Christmas money and get a new point and shoot.  I was happy with my increase of megapixels but still limited.

Then in June Aaron decided that for my birthday we would take the plunge and get the DSLR I had been longing for.  I almost cried when we spent the money and felt so guilty about it but we knew that we would save in not having to pay to have pictures taken of her.  We saw it as an investment and it was just in time for a Father's Day shoot which was my first "session" with Ava.

Then on New Years Day I had this crazy idea that a 365 blog would be a great way to push myself and to grow.  I have already learned a lot of new things, gotten myself completely out of auto, and tried some new techniques.  I think I'll try to dig out some of my old B&W portfolio pieces to share.  Maybe I'll hunt those down Friday. 

Day Sixty-Two

Home Cookin' and more visitors...

Wednesday's are a little tougher because I have an evening class so I have to make sure we stick to a strict schedule during the day.  I like to make sure Ava gets in a good nap before I go because it makes things go smoother for Aaron,  He gets home around 3:20pm which is when I need to walk out the door.  I don't get back home until after 8:00pm so I also like to make sure dinner is on the stove and ready to eat when I leave.  This normally limits my options to soup or crockpot meals.  Today I decided to make chili but felt like we just had chili a few weeks ago so I used shredded chicken breast instead of ground beef for a change.  I just boiled the breasts in homemade stock before preparing the chili.  Here is a photo of the ingredients.  There is no set recipe...just depends on what is in the pantry.

I don't have a photo of the finished product but it was Oh so yummy and hit the spot after class :)

After I got all of the ingredients in the pot it was time to get Ava down for her nap.  She was pretty tired by this point so it didn't take long.  I love those types of days.  While she napped I figured I would attempt some shots of some more visitors that stopped by.  Today it was geese and these two guys hung out in the yard literally all day.  It's nice and flooded so there are plenty of worms surfacing so the eatins' good. 

I have been spotted....don't think he saw me as a threat since I was inside.

I wish I had used this lens (55-200mm) the other day with the turkey instead of the one I typically use (18-55mm) because I was able to get a much closer shot.  I was too lazy to go downstairs though.  This is still not as close as I would have liked but with the lenses I have I would have had to walk half way across the yard and then they would have left.  Still I am pretty happy with my shots.

The deer have been coming out too late in the evening to catch them but as soon as they start surfacing earlier I will share a photo of them.  I love the local wildlife.