Alright, so I was just cruising along on Deviant Art, clicking random icons and exploring parts of the site that I hadn't seen before. And that's when I discovered...that Deviant Art...has..Chat Rooms....
My Reaction: I think I omitted some sort of high pitched squeal of excitement at the opprotunity to converse with other photographers across the world, yelling "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH" repeatedly at my computer moniter and clapping my hands, giggling in a fashion similar George W. Bush when he sees a monkey with an accordion. Then I blushed liked an idiot for reacting in such a childish manner....
After recovering from my initial elation, I look for photography chat rooms...and VOILA! There I find #iPhotograph...the coolest bunch of Devious Photographers on the site ;)
iPhotograph is a great chat room, mostly because of the creator and moderators....it's become more than just a chatroom...it's a group of regulars that get together for activities like PhotoHunt, Critique Night, and PhotoFridays :D These activities are great for developing photographers.
PhotoHunt- Game
Requires 4 or more players.
The game host chooses one word from the dictionary and the players are given 20 minutes to take a photo that best represents that word, upload it, process it, and post it on Deviant Art.
Critique Night- Constructive Critiques from Peers
Moderators host critique nights weekly, as well as when multiple people ask about a critique hourand a Moderator is willing to host.
Critique Night requires all participants to contribute to the critiquing process so photographers not only learn how to take criticism, but they learn how to give criticism as well. This helps improves one's own skill, as well as give others insight on how to improve.
PhotoFridays- Weekly Challenge
The challenge is to take pictures every Friday, upload them, edit/process, and post them on Deviant Art. Later in the evening, participants post their best photo and other participants offer constructive criticism. This is not ctirique night.
So not only are there fun activities to participate in that will help you grow as a photographer, there are lovely people to talk to :)
(Hi Ashley, Pandinus, Zebra, BlowPop, Weare, Lekompakt, and other iPhotographers!)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Look Who's Back....
Well....After over 2 months of no blog posts...I have a few stories to share....Some funny...some sad...some that piss me off thinking about it.
Story 1: Chris's Birthday
Ok. So this was the first "event" I was asked to shoot. Supposed to be a fun learning experience....right? Eh...it was fun til the end..
Chris is my sister's fiance. He's a douche. All he does is play video games all day and doesn't help out with housework for Heather at all. It's ridiculous.
ANYWAY...I was on the dock taking pictures of everyone having fun swimming in the lake...got some neat pictures to add to my nature and wildlife collections...and all was good. I managed to stay dry and on the dock for about 4 hours. My Sister's douche fiance thought it would be funny to push me in lake...while I was wearing all my clothes.....and holding a camera. An expensive camera....LUCKILY the douche fiance's father grabbed the camera by the strap before it hit the water....after that, I proceeded to take pictures while still floating about in the lake. It was fun ^^
After getting out and going to wring out the only clothes I had (i.e. the wet ones I was wearing) I decided to TRUST my family with my camera...leaving it on table, making sure everyone heard me say "Do Not Touch This While I Am Gone." I'm not even gone for 5 minutes...and I return to the group just so see them passing the camera around, looking at the pictures and deleting the ones they don't like....as well as taking pictures of themsleves.
Oh yeah. I was a little pissed.
It got worse when my mother said, "It's not your place to determine which pictures get deleted and which ones stay. And stop freaking out....I'd understand if you were like some sort of professional photographer....but It's just you...and you're definitely not a pro."
Ouch, right? Yeah....I thought so too.
First of all, as the photographer that they ASKED to shoot the event, I feel that I am entitled to delete/edit whichever photos I decide are "no good." I think that, since I'm the one spending time and damaging my camera by taking pictures at their event, the least they could do is respect the fact that...while I may not be professional (yet), I am still entitled to the same respect as they would give to someone they would have hired.
Secondly, What happened to respecting someone else's property? I asked them not to touch it. Again....while I am not professional...and while it is "just me".....Am I not entitled to at least SOME respect for my belongings?
And Third. Thanks mom. I appreciate your faith in my abilities. I'm so glad you think so highly of me.....
Meh....anyway...the next story is for another time...I need some sleep now...I'll post pictures later :)
Story 1: Chris's Birthday
Ok. So this was the first "event" I was asked to shoot. Supposed to be a fun learning experience....right? Eh...it was fun til the end..
Chris is my sister's fiance. He's a douche. All he does is play video games all day and doesn't help out with housework for Heather at all. It's ridiculous.
ANYWAY...I was on the dock taking pictures of everyone having fun swimming in the lake...got some neat pictures to add to my nature and wildlife collections...and all was good. I managed to stay dry and on the dock for about 4 hours. My Sister's douche fiance thought it would be funny to push me in lake...while I was wearing all my clothes.....and holding a camera. An expensive camera....LUCKILY the douche fiance's father grabbed the camera by the strap before it hit the water....after that, I proceeded to take pictures while still floating about in the lake. It was fun ^^
After getting out and going to wring out the only clothes I had (i.e. the wet ones I was wearing) I decided to TRUST my family with my camera...leaving it on table, making sure everyone heard me say "Do Not Touch This While I Am Gone." I'm not even gone for 5 minutes...and I return to the group just so see them passing the camera around, looking at the pictures and deleting the ones they don't like....as well as taking pictures of themsleves.
Oh yeah. I was a little pissed.
It got worse when my mother said, "It's not your place to determine which pictures get deleted and which ones stay. And stop freaking out....I'd understand if you were like some sort of professional photographer....but It's just you...and you're definitely not a pro."
Ouch, right? Yeah....I thought so too.
First of all, as the photographer that they ASKED to shoot the event, I feel that I am entitled to delete/edit whichever photos I decide are "no good." I think that, since I'm the one spending time and damaging my camera by taking pictures at their event, the least they could do is respect the fact that...while I may not be professional (yet), I am still entitled to the same respect as they would give to someone they would have hired.
Secondly, What happened to respecting someone else's property? I asked them not to touch it. Again....while I am not professional...and while it is "just me".....Am I not entitled to at least SOME respect for my belongings?
And Third. Thanks mom. I appreciate your faith in my abilities. I'm so glad you think so highly of me.....
Meh....anyway...the next story is for another time...I need some sleep now...I'll post pictures later :)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Things That Go Bump In the Night
Holy Cow!!
Tonight has been amazing! Unfortunately I have no pictures to show of it, but let me tell you a bit about it.
Nick (my ex bf's current bf) came over at like...7:30pm because he was bored or whatever...honestly, I wasn't really paying attention to the time until I noticed I was a bit tired (I have been doing laundry all night). At 1:00am I suggested he go home...sounds exciting, right?
So he went to go get in his car, then randomly he comes back inside saying something about a big shadow and glowing eyes and freakin out a bit...I told him it was probably a coyote and decided to grab my camera and investigate with him.
At first, I thought he was imagining things...he'd said something about hearing something scream and thought that it may have been a cougar (this amused me, but I was skeptical)...after about 15 minutes, we sat down on some creasote (not sure on the spelling) beams and waited to see if we see or hear anything. I was about ready to call it quits and was a tad disappointed, when we started to hear branches snap and leaves shuffle. I was so excited that I didn't even notice that I was holding my breath until I got light headed xD
So we are sitting there on these beams listening to the twigs snaping and the soft shuffling of the leaves, when we heard the unmistakable sound of a doe bleating. DEER!! (hahaha Nick was scared of a deer)...so we were focusing on the direction of the sound of the deer moving, not really paying attention to the rest of the woods around us...when we heard this blood curdling scream about 10 feet in either direction of us (I swear it was in stereo)...I got goosebumps and froze in my tracks. We stood still for a few minutes and started to breathe easy when we heard the same horrifying scream. I started thinking it may have been an injured rabbit (it sure sounded like it) and then started wondering what was hurting said hypothetical rabbit...and was about to freak out when OUT OF NOWHERE this HUUUUUGE Owl flew about 5 feet from us. It was an amazing sight!! This owl had, at least, a 3.5-4ft wingspan, was about 2 feet in length and was ash grey. It flew past us again and back into the fir tree it was roosting in, screamed again, and moved to a higher branch. When it took off again, it wasn't alone...a slightly smaller owl of the same color was flying with it. After they were out of sight, and after laughing nervously at the fact that we nearly shit ourselves, we turned out attention back to the deer....
Mind you, it's 2:30 am and we have no lights, other than the flashes for my camera...
We crept closer to where the sound of the deer had been coming from and I was tapping the button on my camera to keep the light available when Nick spotted a doe sticking her head up over some brush, looking straight at us. I tried to take a picture, but try as I might, my camera would NOT cooperate with me. Nick, in a moment of sheer brilliance, slid the switch on my flash to "TEST" about 5 inches from my face, illuminating everything around us in a bright, blinding light for a split second, then returning to total darkness. I wanted to punch him in the face, but rather decided that, until I could see again, Nick needed to remain conscious. It took about 10 minutes for me to stop seeing random orange rectangles so that I could walk without relying on him leading me.
After we got back inside, I decided to google a description of the owls we saw. The only owls large enough to fit the discription of the owls we saw (that inhabit the pacific northwest) are Great Horned Owls:
Great Horned Owls are large owls -- Males are about 18 to 25 inches long and have a wingspan between 35-60 inches. They have light gray to dark brown feathery ear tufts (which is how they ended up with the name 'Horned' owl).
They have horizontal breast barring with gray to brown, mottled bodies. Their face has a dark outline with a lighter brown center and sometimes a white bib under the chin. They have sharp, black talons and beaks.
They have large, round gold eyes. Like all owls, their large eyes cannot move. To look up, down or to the side the owls must move their entire heads and are able to turn their necks 180 degrees.
There are some differences in coloring of the Great Horned Owls, depending on where they live. But their ear tufts make them easy to identify.
Females are similar in description, only larger.
So naturally, I'm assuming that the larger owl we saw was a female and the smaller was a male.
Anyway...it's 5am now and I'm going to get some shut-eye.
Thanks for Reading!
p.s. Nick is passed out on the futon in the guest room...I'm gonna go color on him with a sharpie...
Tonight has been amazing! Unfortunately I have no pictures to show of it, but let me tell you a bit about it.
Nick (my ex bf's current bf) came over at like...7:30pm because he was bored or whatever...honestly, I wasn't really paying attention to the time until I noticed I was a bit tired (I have been doing laundry all night). At 1:00am I suggested he go home...sounds exciting, right?
So he went to go get in his car, then randomly he comes back inside saying something about a big shadow and glowing eyes and freakin out a bit...I told him it was probably a coyote and decided to grab my camera and investigate with him.
At first, I thought he was imagining things...he'd said something about hearing something scream and thought that it may have been a cougar (this amused me, but I was skeptical)...after about 15 minutes, we sat down on some creasote (not sure on the spelling) beams and waited to see if we see or hear anything. I was about ready to call it quits and was a tad disappointed, when we started to hear branches snap and leaves shuffle. I was so excited that I didn't even notice that I was holding my breath until I got light headed xD
So we are sitting there on these beams listening to the twigs snaping and the soft shuffling of the leaves, when we heard the unmistakable sound of a doe bleating. DEER!! (hahaha Nick was scared of a deer)...so we were focusing on the direction of the sound of the deer moving, not really paying attention to the rest of the woods around us...when we heard this blood curdling scream about 10 feet in either direction of us (I swear it was in stereo)...I got goosebumps and froze in my tracks. We stood still for a few minutes and started to breathe easy when we heard the same horrifying scream. I started thinking it may have been an injured rabbit (it sure sounded like it) and then started wondering what was hurting said hypothetical rabbit...and was about to freak out when OUT OF NOWHERE this HUUUUUGE Owl flew about 5 feet from us. It was an amazing sight!! This owl had, at least, a 3.5-4ft wingspan, was about 2 feet in length and was ash grey. It flew past us again and back into the fir tree it was roosting in, screamed again, and moved to a higher branch. When it took off again, it wasn't alone...a slightly smaller owl of the same color was flying with it. After they were out of sight, and after laughing nervously at the fact that we nearly shit ourselves, we turned out attention back to the deer....
Mind you, it's 2:30 am and we have no lights, other than the flashes for my camera...
We crept closer to where the sound of the deer had been coming from and I was tapping the button on my camera to keep the light available when Nick spotted a doe sticking her head up over some brush, looking straight at us. I tried to take a picture, but try as I might, my camera would NOT cooperate with me. Nick, in a moment of sheer brilliance, slid the switch on my flash to "TEST" about 5 inches from my face, illuminating everything around us in a bright, blinding light for a split second, then returning to total darkness. I wanted to punch him in the face, but rather decided that, until I could see again, Nick needed to remain conscious. It took about 10 minutes for me to stop seeing random orange rectangles so that I could walk without relying on him leading me.
After we got back inside, I decided to google a description of the owls we saw. The only owls large enough to fit the discription of the owls we saw (that inhabit the pacific northwest) are Great Horned Owls:
Great Horned Owls are large owls -- Males are about 18 to 25 inches long and have a wingspan between 35-60 inches. They have light gray to dark brown feathery ear tufts (which is how they ended up with the name 'Horned' owl).
They have horizontal breast barring with gray to brown, mottled bodies. Their face has a dark outline with a lighter brown center and sometimes a white bib under the chin. They have sharp, black talons and beaks.
They have large, round gold eyes. Like all owls, their large eyes cannot move. To look up, down or to the side the owls must move their entire heads and are able to turn their necks 180 degrees.
There are some differences in coloring of the Great Horned Owls, depending on where they live. But their ear tufts make them easy to identify.
Females are similar in description, only larger.
So naturally, I'm assuming that the larger owl we saw was a female and the smaller was a male.
Anyway...it's 5am now and I'm going to get some shut-eye.
Thanks for Reading!
p.s. Nick is passed out on the futon in the guest room...I'm gonna go color on him with a sharpie...
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sorry about the long break
I'm sorry about the long break....things have been busy and the blog has kinda been put on a back burner...
But I am back!
And I have lots of pictures and stories to tell, and, since I'm having a rather nasty case of insomnia, I will share some :D
Last I wrote, I was having a really hard time figuring out CS4....well...now I only have 7 days left on the free trial and I am realizing life is going to SUCK without it. Sad, huh? And really, I do need the program to continue with my photography....developing the NEF files is completely fantastic...being able to adjust the the levels and vibrance and colour saturation to make the photo look exactly as you intended it to...I'm really sad that I will lose the program and am contemplating making a different email and adobe account to get a new free trial ><
Sad, huh?
Anyway, I've been camping with the dogs and taking some "me" time. The rhododendrons are starting to blossom and I am really excited for that. Rhodies are my favorite wild flower (and the official Washington State Flower, Yay!). Not only do rhododendrons mean awesome flower macros....it means HUMMINGBIRDS! Hummingbirds love red things...and the wild rhodies here vary from a deep purple to fuchsia to bright red...and there is a nice cluster or red rhodies blossoming right up the road.
It's also starting to warm up here....the weather forecast looks rather nice for the rest of the week, so I will be getting more pictures of my Hellish Hounds LOL. They are loving all of the outside time...I think all of the inside time from this past winter drove them a little crazy. Poor Hero is plumb tuckered out from Sammy (my sister) rolling his ball up the hill for him to chase.
On the down side, I seem to have contracted some stomach virus and have not been able to keep much held down for the last three days...Right now I am drinking some tea and trying to get my stomach to settle after this last round of nausea. I WAS in bed...but that was shortlived.
Anyway...Since I am on a wireless Internet card, my internt connection has been a little slow and not very consistent...so getting on Facebook and myspace and whatever other social networking places I have accounts on (I can't even remember them all....sad...) is next to impossible. I have managed to Upload photos onto flickr.com and Deviant Art (Oh My GOD it was an insanely slow process)...
Oh. I accidentally drop-kicked my 18-55mm lens. That was fun.
OH OH OH! I AM GETTING A NEW LENS! ;) its a 70-300mm zoom and I'm also getting a 2x Teleconverter.....so you know what this means? Yup! My THREE lenses just magically turned into SIX! Neat trick eh? I'm also getting some filters! Polarizing filter, UV, and an FL-D. I need to get gradient filters....Sunsets ;).
It's spring time now so I will be spending TONS of time on the canal and will be taking alot of sunrise/sunset photos...and will try my hand at some moon scenes, as the moonrises over the canal are just to die for.
Anyway..I promised pictures...here are a few:
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Apparently...Things Aren't Always Black&White...
LOL Seriously. I decided to play...yes..PLAY...with my camera settings. Call me stupid...but before today, I didn't know my camera had Black & White, Sepia, Negative and some other odd looking settings...so I thought to myself...NEAT!!! PLAYTIME!!!
So..While we were working on the car (replacing the brake pads or whatever) I was taking pictures here and there in Black & White....Mostly of Tribute lol. 'We' is Ray and I. Ray is my mother's boyfriend/man-slave/thing.
Lol...Ray told me to disconnect something..I can't remember what it was, but I couldn't reach it..so I did what I normally do when my short ass can't reach something....I hopped up and balanced on my pelvis/hips/whatever and leaned over to reach it...totally freaking forgetting that the car was on a jack...Long story short...My forehead is gonna be bruised and my neck hurts a little. (I'm laughing really hard LOL)
Anyway...after that little adventure, I was excused from my duties as "assistant mechanic" and decided to wash up and come play with my new pictures.
I'm only going to share the one I like the most because the others are either totally freaky, or really yucky looking.
So..While we were working on the car (replacing the brake pads or whatever) I was taking pictures here and there in Black & White....Mostly of Tribute lol. 'We' is Ray and I. Ray is my mother's boyfriend/man-slave/thing.
Lol...Ray told me to disconnect something..I can't remember what it was, but I couldn't reach it..so I did what I normally do when my short ass can't reach something....I hopped up and balanced on my pelvis/hips/whatever and leaned over to reach it...totally freaking forgetting that the car was on a jack...Long story short...My forehead is gonna be bruised and my neck hurts a little. (I'm laughing really hard LOL)
Anyway...after that little adventure, I was excused from my duties as "assistant mechanic" and decided to wash up and come play with my new pictures.
I'm only going to share the one I like the most because the others are either totally freaky, or really yucky looking.
Now...I wasn't liking any of these much. I really didn't intend on sharing them....but I figure I might as well write this down and have it somewhere I will remember it.
I took this into photosp and toyed with the contrast and saturation and shadows and whatnot..and it looked okish like that....but flat and dull...So I added a warming filter and it looks ALOT better. Proud of myself for taking (in my opinion) a pretty decent black&white photo, I showed it to Jose.
He pointed out that one of the most important things to capture on a photo like this, is the subjects eyes (Assuming that the subject does indeed have eyes)...
Well, even though I was just playing around, I should have been paying attention. I was losing light and the sun was behind Tribute (and the trees) and I despise using my flash (I really do hate my flash)....So her eyes are just kinda "there". Not really noticible. Nothing really redeeming about this particular photo. BUT...I have learned from it...and that's what makes it worth posting :D
I guess this means more homework ...this time: Playing with Lighting. YAY!!
Thanks for Reading
Monday, April 27, 2009
Photo Murderer
Ok..once again I have failed to write...I apologized, but I must tell you that blogging is one of the last things on my list of things to do lately....
With my tooth being broken and being unable to eat or drink anything because of the pain, the slightest thing is enough to make me feel faint and dizzy. I gave up on the rum because it was only a temporary solution.
Yesterday...And I do feel bad for José and Herman...I was being taught how to use Adobe Photoshop CS4...
Bear in mind that I haven't really edited a picture before...And Neither one of them have CS4...
First..I couldn't find the program. Then I couldn't find my folder....It seriously took me almost a half an hour to find the folder with my photos in it....then I didn't know what to do...or how to get the picture into the program.
I was, and still am, anxious to learn how to use the program ...and I feel frustrated that I haven't figured it out yet. I was getting literally getting mad to the point of getting dizzy because I didn't understand how to do things. Despite Herman telling me to relax...I continued to fume...And then my nose started bleeding...
After gettng that taken care of...Back to learning the program...
We (me and José) are developing RAW files...so José had to show me how to "develop" the photos.
Let me shed some light on the situation.....José and I live in different countries, so he was teaching me how to do all this in messenger by sending screen shots back and forth...and patiently explaining things ....It was going well..and after an hour of "developing" the photo was playing (killing) with, then it was time to "open the Image". Sweet....
And then my computer shut down.
Yep...Just like that...Crashed...BOOM..dead.
I was so pissed off that it took all of the self control that I have in me to resist the urge to throw my computer.
I wanted to continue learning the program, but I after getting pissed, I started getting lightheaded and decided to call it quits.
So...Today is a new day...and...I can't really feel much pain in my tooth anymore...just throbbing...and I'm going to try and eat something...walk the dogs...and try this again....
WISH ME LUCK
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