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?

My Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G Lens...Results

When I attach this 85mm lens to my D7k, it becomes a 128mm lens.  Basically, it's an FX lens on a DX camera.  I've had to physically take two steps back to get my subject framed correctly in my viewfinder.

This lens does a beautiful job with portraits and general photography.  I've found that I like setting the aperture to f/4 and the results are clear, sharp photos with beautiful bokeh.

July is typically a busy photog month for me.  This week we're having a VBS event at our church.

Initially, it was very hard for me to leave my wide-zoom (18-200mm) lens in my bag and just use a prime lens.  My instinct told me I don't want to miss a shot and you know it's easier to zoom in and out than it is to walk back a couple of steps.  I made do and in a short time, I felt at ease with my prime lens.

I noticed, since there is some distance between my subject(s) and my camera, the kids and adults felt more comfortable and relaxed when I took their picture.  

Taking pictures at this event has allowed me the chance to try out my new flash, new lenses and trying out different features of my D7k.  In the next few weeks, I'll share my findings.  

My VBS Beans are Growing!

I planted the beans last Friday evening, during VBS.  Hubby (the farmer), gave me an empty peat pot.  I added the moist soil and he chose 3 seeds which I stuck in the peat pot.  I added a thin layer of moist soil over it.  Look at my peat pot now.  My beans are growing!  

I guess it helps that hubby has a green thumb and that he happened to have a neat market stall called Farmer's Fields.  

The start of my bean plants sprouting in my peat pot
(70mm, f8, 1/125, ISO 900) 

Besides planting, I also tried my hand at tie-dyeing.  I also got a chance to put together a coin box and then paint it.  Here's the results of my arts 'n craft from last week:

My water colored coin box, peat pot, and my tie-dye sample
(32mm, f5.6, 1/125, ISO 400)

I might have to give a bit more thought to the tie-dyeing experience.  It was fun!

VBS Through My Lens

I got a chance to try out each of my lens this week for VBS.  I used my all purpose 18-200mm, 35mm/f1.8, and 50mm/f1.4 lens.  My favorite turned out to be the 50mm.  I was consistently getting great images and skin tones.  At any given hour, I would go from inside the church sanctuary activities, to an indoor market, to outside for games.  While the 18-200mm worked great for zooming in and out, it didn't do as well in the sanctuary.  Even with flash, it tended to produce grainy pictures.  I'm so spoiled with the 50mm/f1.4 lens.  

Here are a sampling from VBS.  I'll be back to post the picture specifics for each one:  

In the marketplace, painting coin boxes

Huddle time in the Sanctuary

Eunice and Martha at Martha's house

The Dye Shop - where everyone got a chance to create a tie-dye scarf

Huddle time in the Sanctuary

I tell them to "smile" and this is what I get...lol!

Even the adults got to have fun with at the Dye Shop

This is a work of art

Fun with the beach ball

Water balloon toss

A farmer giving a lecture on planting beans

The sanctuary with a wall of stone

Eunice in Mary's house

At the Dye Shop

Busy Photog Week

Last week was a busy week for me. Photography-wise. From Monday through Friday, in the evenings, I headed over to my church to take pictures of our VBS (Vacation Bible School) activities.

Monday started out hot and humid and we had to deal with the rain towards the end of VBS.







Tuesday brought the winds and we had to deal with holding on to the tents. We gave up and dismantled them for safety reasons. We all headed over to the church for indoor activities, but not before the rain drenched some of us.








My DH ran the brick making shop. The kids had a ball mixing the soil, straw and water and placed the mixture in their molds:








Here are additional pictures from the remainder of the week:













All in all, I had a good photography week. Took over 300 pictures between my D5000 and S90 and a few from my iPhone.