Photo of The Day

Classic Nashville

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Zoom
F-Stop: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/1000 sec
ISO:800
Exposure Bias: -4.0
Focal length: 55mm (35mm = 450mm)
Max aperture: 5
Metering: CWA
Lighting conditions: Dim; after sunset, but with some light in the sky
Photoshop:cropped to 5x7 and set up for web

Assignment: Night Photography, no flash
Hand-held. Under exposed to get the black background.

Post Production, Uploading, Printing

Spent six hours preparing files for uploading to the professional lab that I am testing. The prepping consisted mostly of cropping photos to 5x7 and 8x10. A little bit of color correction on a few items, but the photos really are as I shot them. In part because I'm not yet that skilled in Photoshop! The photo lab comes highly recommended, so I am hoping the photos will turn out well. I am reprinting some photos that I had printed at Wal-mart for comparison, in addition to the photos that I will be giving to drivers this weekend when I ask them to sign model releases. I am hoping they will want to order prints; but I am also hoping that I will get their model release and then be able to use them in my marketing materials, on my website, and also as part of my portfolio for when I have enough to present to a stock photography house. 

Other activities this week includes getting ready to shoot the races on Saturday - the first time with my new camera and longer lens.  Still learning where all the buttons are and what everything does - but I've found the important stuff - aperture and shutter control, and ISO and white balance. 

My favorite car and driver!

Photo of The Day

Nest

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikon AF-S 18-55 mm DX VR Zoom
F-Stop: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/60 sec
ISO:2000
Exposure Bias: +0.3
Focal length: 40 mm
Max aperture: 5
Metering: CWA
Photoshop: Curves adjustment for brightness;
     cropped to 7x5
Props: Taken inside my home made light box with top, slightly back
     lighting and front fill flash bounced off of ceiling of the light box.
     Hand held

Assignment: Product Shot
As you can tell, I am on a Nature streak here, so I decided to extend that to practicing my "product shots."  Now, granted, my homemade light box is not a thing of beauty; however, for the price (free), it is working well.  (I found the instructions here; Thank you, Stobist.)  I didn't have white poster board available, so I used a paper towel for the background "drape."  I could have blurred out the texture in the back ground with Photoshop, but I kind of like it.  What do you think?

Photo of The Day

Female Hairy Woodpecker

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikon AF-S 55-300mm ED VR Zoom
F-Stop: f/6.3
Exposure: 1/320 sec
ISO:400
Exposure Bias: 0.0
Focal length: 300mm (35mm = 450mm)
Max aperture: 5
Metering: CWA
Photoshop: Curves adjustment for color;
     cropped to 5x7

Assignment: Depth of Field Control
The Cardinals and the Blue Birds are getting used to me, and the Robins are down right blase; however, this little woodpecker only stayed long enough for me to fire off 4 quick shots and then she was gone.  I've seen her pecking at the holly tree in the front yard though, so I am hoping she will get used to me... and that she will have babies and bring them to visit.

Photo of The Day

Backyard Wildlife

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikon AF-S 55-300mm ED VR Zoom
F-Stop: f/5/6
Exposure: 1/200 sec
ISO:400
Exposure Bias: -0.3
Focal length: 300mm (35mm = 450mm)
Max aperture: 5
Metering: CWA
Photoshop: Cropping and sizing only

Assignment: Depth of Field Control
Love the natural spotlighting from the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Catch light in the eyes.  Bushy tail.  Apparently I'm going to have a whole collection of squirrel photographs.

Photo of the Day

Backyard Wildlife

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikon AF-S 55-300mm ED VR Zoom
F-Stop: f/5/6
Exposure: 1/500 sec
ISO: 3200
Exposure Bias: -0.3
Focal length: 300mm (35mm = 450mm)
Max aperture: 5
Metering: CWA
Photoshop: Curves adjusted to brighten for printing

Assignment: Depth of Field Control

I think I like this photo because he (she?) appears to be looking at me (ok, he is looking at me). From a technical perspective, I like the back lighting - especially on the tail, the translucence in the ear, and the catch light in the eye.  Also, I think the bushes and weeds in the background are nicely blurred by that wide open aperture. Still, the tuft of grass in the right foreground is annoying, and a faster lens would have let me blur out the shorter grass in the foreground, making this little guy stand out even more.  All in all, I like it.  And even though it is cropped over 50%, the non-web version of this photo will print nicely to about 11x16.

Journal Entry 2013-01-05

Gardening in Middle Tennessee
12:48 pm Nashville

I am so excited - it looks like I may have found some dirt to play in while I am temporarily landless.  Jessica has been visiting and we visited the Oaklands antebellum home.  They have a small garden with plants from the Civil War time period.  Right up my alley.  So looking forward to it, both for the learning and the doing.  So many things to research.  Their master gardener is Connor Moss.  

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How did this entry get here? What are Journal Entries? https://www.thelittlebiddyhenhouse.com/2018/12/combining-blogs.html

Journal Entry 2012-12-07

Gardening in Middle Tennessee

Treasures lost and found. Many things of sentimental and monetary value wer sold half or lost or just tossed along the way as we migrated to what we hope is the Promised Land.  Sometimes I mourned them.  But still, they are only "things."  The important things, for the most part, however, made the treck.  And one of my most prize -my seed collection.  I wonder, did pioneer women long ago clutched tightly to their packets of seeds, training and praying for land to plant them in?  A small handful of bean seeds more precious than gold.  So here is a list of my treasures, hauled 2200 miles from the high desert mountains of rural Nevada.

[Note 2018-12-12: The list is extensive.  Perhaps someday I will transcribe them here, but it contains several hundred entries.]

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How did this entry get here? What are Journal Entries? https://www.thelittlebiddyhenhouse.com/2018/12/combining-blogs.html

Journal Entry 2012-11-29

Gardening in Middle Tennessee.
Thursday. Most of the trees have dropped their leaves. The nights are down in the low 30's & high 20's. The days are lovely, crisp, and while the mornings have been drizzly, the afternoons have been clear. Sounding like perfect weather for spinach under row covers. Missing my garden, but enjoying being a corporate girl. Still, this time of year begs me to buy seeds! What if I buy them and don't have a spring or summer garden, either? Lots of bunnies & skunks here. Pretty much have to cage in everything...Oddly, no snails. Probably due to the late afternoon robin invasion. "That's where I come from, I'm an old Tennessean..."

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How did this entry get here? What are Journal Entries? https://www.thelittlebiddyhenhouse.com/2018/12/combining-blogs.html

Journal Entry 2012-11-23

Gardening in Middle Tennessee.
Weather was lovely for Thanksgiving. Today it is grey and drizzly. The grass and weeds are happy.
Birds are eating about 20% of the food in the feeder each day. So far, I have not seen any evidence of squirrels using them - and we have lots of squirrels in our neighborhood. Lots of cottontails, too.
The indoor mint cuttings didn't fare so well, and I am down to only one now. Some of the basils also culled. Still, the rosemary looks good, and at least 3 of the basils are doing well.

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How did this entry get here? What are Journal Entries? https://www.thelittlebiddyhenhouse.com/2018/12/combining-blogs.html