The Eastern Shore...Ocean City

After our adventure to Chincoteague, it was time to head back into Maryland and find our lodging in Ocean City and enjoy some some seafood.

We had beautiful weather last weekend.  It was sunny one day and then overcast the next.  Not too hot.

We stayed on 28th street right on the beach and at the start of the Boardwalk

Parasailing was a popular activity

Can you see the gecko?

Early morning workout activities on the Boardwalk

Plenty of play areas on the beach for the kids

A Jolly Roger theme park between the Boardwalk and pier

Watching the Human Slingshot ride at night.  Yes it was pretty spectacular to watch!

Night time photography on the Boardwalk

The water was quite chilly, but not for the young at heart

The Eastern Shore...Chincoteague Island

Hubby and I had the opportunity to head to the Eastern Shore for a few days last week.  Before heading to our final beach destination in Maryland, we took a side trip and ended up at Chincoteague Island.  It was kind of weird that we started in Virginia, drove a few hours in Maryland, and then ended up in Virginia again.

We slowly drove around the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge on the island and parked at their beach.  It was a beautiful day with no humidity and we enjoyed the lovely scenery:

Chincoteague Beach Bunny!

The beach at Chincoteague...peaceful and plenty of room on the beach

Boardwalk through the refuge.  The cloud formation reminds me of eyelashes!

Wanted to stay and watch her paint....

The wild Chincoteague ponies!

More wild ponies!

This was one of those times...I wished I had a bigger zoom lens.  Sigh!

I will be back with more pictures from the Eastern Shore!

Photo Challenge #2 From Last Week

Last week on FaceBook, I published another photo challenge.  The theme was...My Five Senses (smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight).  Here's the results of my photo challenge from last week:

Smell:  fragrant candles for relaxing

It was a challenging theme for everyone and I had little time to get something together (other than the candles above).  I decided to go through my pictures from VBS (+1000 pictures) and see what I could come up with.  I decided to a do a collage that captured the remaining senses:

Touch:  Ted the bear used at VBS

Taste:  Locust treats and the taste test from VBS.  Early b-day cake from work.  It was chocolate cake and it was yummy!

Hearing:  Can you hear the kids at VBS?

Sight:  Beautiful people at VBS and borrowing someone else's glasses

After July's photo challenge is over, I hope to start another one for the month of August and incorporate some photography techniques to keep the challenge more interesting.

Are you interested in joining me?

A Wedding on Friday

I had a chance to take some wedding photos for a dear friend from my church.  I didn't know I would be the primary photographer until the morning of.  I went into work for a few hours and in the back of my mind I was thinking about which lens to use, which flash to bring and do I bring two DSLRs.

I ended up using my Nikon D7000, 18-200mm lens, 40mm micro lens, and my new SB-700 speed light.

Here are some shots using my 40mm micro lens and no flash:

In the Sanctuary with the lights turned up

I was told that the bride didn't like her picture taken.  I was astonished to hear this, but then decided to ignore the comment and do what I do naturally.  Take pictures.  As I was talking to the bride, I noticed she was very at ease with me.  I just picked up my camera and started taking pictures.  As you can see, she didn't seem to mind:

In my travels around the church I caught a quick photo of the rings:

The groom and his attendants were in the Fellowship Hall with other family members and friends.  I casually took their pictures and they decided to ham it up with me:

A photog moment with the children in the wedding party:

The children left their baskets and a Bible on a table and went off the run and play.  I enjoy taking random pictures:

I thought I would take advantage of the Sanctuary lighting and snap this quick picture of the pianist:

The bride was patiently waiting for her moment.  She was so calm and joked with us even when we encountered a snafu:

This picture was taken in a dark hallway.  The light in the background is from a large window.  I increased the exposure (+1.0) to capture the expressions on their faces and the details of her gown.  It came out better than I expected:

Getting ready for the entrance:

In the following photos I ended up attaching my SB-700 and turning on my speed light.  The sanctuary was quite dark with limited lighting in the front platform.

I changed out my lens and went with the 18-200mm and no flash for this shot:

I turned on my flash to capture the last few shots:

I kept snapping away and was able to get this shot as the newly married couple drove off to their reception:

I enjoy taking pictures of weddings.  I find that candids are better than taking formals.  Less stress and everyone (including me) is more relaxed.  That's why you'll see a folded table in the background.  Sometimes, it doesn't help to make people move to get a photo.  Why make them feel uncomfortable?

I always keep a smile on my face as I'm taking pictures.  When I smile, my subject smiles.  A beautiful picture is taken.

Note:  I had a few episodes of hot flashing (that would be me...not my speed light).  I had a few moments where I had to walk away and cool down.  Yes, this would be the second wedding where I've had to deal with this.  It's all about remaining calm and capturing as many beautiful images as you can.

A Weekend With My D7000

After a week with my point and shoot camera, I was back to using my D7k.  I felt a bit out of place as I was so used to using my P7100.  I had to laugh at myself when I tried to zoom in to see the pictures I took and I was looking for the zoom in/out toggle at the front of my DSLR.  Yeah, I had a duh(!) moment.

Saturday morning, Hubby told me to bring my camera and I took some pictures at our church Sabbath service.  I had my 18-200mm lens with me along with my SB-700 flash.  The only time I used my new flash was during a baby dedication that my Hubby was asked to perform.  During the service, I was adjusting the exposure on my camera.  When I had the flash off, I set my exposure to +0.7.  When I put on the SB-700 flash, I had to adjust the exposure back to 0.0.

Children's Story (no flash)

Children's Story (no flash)

Baby Dedication (with flash)

Prayer (no flash)

I enjoyed using my new SB-700 flash.  It is so much easier to make adjustments than on my SB-600.



 

Nurturing the Right Side of My Brain

In my quest to to nurture the right side of my brain with creativity, I took a trip to an art center.  The Workhouse Art Center used to be a reformatory or correctional facility.  Knowing this, I figured I would bring my camera along.  I'm glad I did.  

The Workhouse Art Center

There are several buildings on this campus.  Each building connected to a long corridor like this one:

All the bricks seen in the photos were produced by the prisoners who resided here.  They built their own prison buildings.  

Small gallery:  bricks on the left side of the wall painted white

Many different artists' studios can be found here.  From mixed media to fiber arts to beading and jewelry making.  I enjoyed hanging out in the studios.  I'm getting ideas for my future studio.

Many of the studios looked down right comfy:

The oil paintings here look so realistic...like photos.  

Walking across the lawn

Inside one of the buildings with long hallway galleries and studios

Inside the ceramics building:  several potter's wheels

Here is one of three guard towers that are still standing:  

Guard tower

This is a very unique art center.  I feel like I could spend hours here observing and learning.  I'm looking forward to coming back during a work day to see all the artists in action.