10,000 Pictures Later...

And I'm still going strong with my D600.  Yes, I rolled over my camera.  Only 9 months young!  I broke my own record.  My D7000 took a little over 12 months.  My D40 took almost two years.  What does that tell me?  I'm taking more pictures than ever.  I'm pushing my skills, expanding my knowledge, and well...I just enjoy taking pictures.  I take pictures of everything that peak's my interest or creativity.

I naturally see lots of leading lines, colors, textures, contrast, and mood.  I take pictures of things or objects that pop out at me.  I take pictures to document what I'm doing.  It could be a hobby like knitting.  I take pictures of my yarn, my garment, or work in progress to share with my fellow knitters.

I take pictures to document events.  They could be baptisms, baby dedications, plays, musicals, civil war weekends, wine tastings, or sports.

I take pictures of people.  Weddings, senior portraits and class photos.  I'll also include street photography.

I take pictures of buildings.  Old, new, contemporary, traditional, wood, brick, and/or stone.

I take pictures of flowers and plants.  Mostly flowers.  Bright colors stand out.

I take pictures of food.  I'm a foodie!  I take pictures of what I bake and what I like to eat.  I take pictures when hubby and I are dining out on our date night.  He's well aware of the 10 second "photo pause" after our food server delivers our food at our table.  Snap! Snap!  And yes, we do pray before we eat.

I take vacation pictures.  Reminders of "fun in the sun".

So, here's the 10,000 picture taken with my D600:

Can you see the spider?

I was following a bumble bee in our garden.  He got caught in a web and was trying to break free of the web.  Something caught my eye.  A black widow spider came out!  Unfortunately, I didn't have my zoom on my camera.  I did have my 60mm micro lens, but there was no way I was getting too close to spidey.  I'm sure it would have been a Kodak moment to get closer...like within an inch.  I just couldn't do it....

Oh and I guess I do take pictures of bugs and critters.  Just not too close.

A May Wedding...as a Guest

I had an opportunity to attend a wedding as a guest.  It was a neat feeling to be a guest.  A different prospective.  I brought my camera and flash with me to take some candid shots of the beautiful event.

I arrived early to take some outside pictures of the church.

The bride's gown was beautiful!

Here she is being "fanned" by her bridesmaids....

Taking a slow walk down the creaky old stairs....

I happened to be standing on the top landing and she looked up briefly...

Rolling out the rice paper...

As a photographer, I'm always on the look out for a good position or spot to take pictures from.  I have a height disadvantage so being around lots of people always poses a challenge for me as I try to avoid the "back of the head" shots.  

I asked if there were any issues with "flash" photography inside the church.  I was told it was up to the pastor.  I noticed many other guests with their DSLRs.  So I observed what others were doing before I started snapping away.  I figured I wouldn't be the first one to get scolded.  

This church had a rear upper balcony.  A fantastic location where I remained perched during the whole ceremony.  

The foot washings...

The wedding ceremony pictures were all taken from the balcony.  A creative perspective.  I used my flash with the flash head in the front position and thought the pictures came out beautifully.

I really enjoyed using my 24-120mm f/4 lens.  I think it did a great job capturing the special moments.

I did have a sore back after the wedding.  I used the balcony railing as my support (tripod) and so I was standing and leaning forward during the whole ceremony.  I must remember to take quick body stretches in between shots.  Yeah it really stinks to be getting old....

A Wedding Shoot in April

I had an opportunity to shoot a wedding at the end of April.  I used my Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens and received wonderful results.  While I zoomed in and out throughout the ceremony and reception, I kept my aperture at f/4.  That is one of the nice features about this lens.

Here are the results of my wedding shoot:

I brought my Nikkor 85mm lens with me and it ended up staying in my bag the whole time.  That's how well my 24-120mm lens performed.

Part of my wedding process is designing and printing my own CDs and DVDs which is part of the wedding package.  I have an Epson Artisan printer that is my workhorse.  I can print my CDs/DVDs and photos on this printer.  It's been a lifesaver for me.

In case some of you are wondering I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and photographing weddings on the side.

Next up...a wedding in May.  This time I'm the guest!  :-)

Senior Portrait Session

Back in the beginning of March, I had an opportunity to do Senior Portraits for a friend's son.  Normally I prefer to do Senior Portraits in the Spring or Summer before the student's senior year.  Sometimes the Fall season works as well for last minute portraits.  March was a bit cold to be taking pictures outside.  Given it was a last minute request, I couldn't turn it down.

We met up at the local train station.  I could tell my friend's son was a bit unsure of the portrait session.  I immediately took charge and started to take pictures of him.  After the first ten shots, my friend's son started to relax in front of the lens and started posing for me.

Here's a sample from the photo shoot:

Her son is not an early morning person, so we agreed to meet in the late afternoon.  I spent two hours with my friend and her son taking his portraits at two different local locations.  I used both my 85mm/f1.8 and 24-120mm/f4 lens.  I used my 85mm for the first hour and literally had to "zoom with my feet" to get the right shot.  I used the 24-120mm lens for the second hour and at the second location.  It was a sunny day and I still used my flash for fill-in shots.

He really got into posing for me.  He was a natural at this and made my job easy and fun.  Moments like this is why I enjoy photography.

Guacamole!

Recently, I made a trip to Costco and bought a huge bag of Abuelita stone ground white corn tortilla strips.  I thought they would be good with some nice thick chunky salsa.  Hubby mentioned they would be good with guacamole.  Not a bad idea.  So I bought some avocados and waited for them to get ripe.

Tonight I made guacamole.  I used two avocados, half a lime, chopped sweet onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and garlic salt.  I can handle simple recipes like this one.

I'm always looking for an opportunity to take a few foodie pictures:

100mm, f/4, 1/200, ISO 400 and SB-700

120mm, f/8, 1/200, ISO 400 and SB-700

I'm still testing my 24-120mm f/4 lens.  The more I use it, the more I really like it.  The lens is sharp!

Hubby came home in time to finish the guacamole.  If he was a few minutes late, it would have been gone!

Spring Colors!

I'm so glad that it's Spring!  Looking forward to the many Spring blooms that should be appearing in our gardens over the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating.  I'm still wearing my winter coat most of the day.

So while it's chilly outside, I'm inside comfy and cozy and testing out my Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens.  I'm shooting everything at f/4...zoomed in or zoomed out and everything in between.  I really like what I'm seeing.  While this lens is no match for my Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 prime lens (and it shouldn't be), I'm enjoying the center sharpness and even the lovely bokeh it produces.

Spring colors!

This 24-120mm f/4 lens is a monster.  Okay, it's the biggest lens I have.  It's the heaviest.  Probably uses the largest filter I have ever owned...77mm.  It feels hefty in my hands.  When I have it on my camera, D600, it's beautiful to hold and to handle.  Now, I do notice the extra weight around my neck and I'm using the well padded Crumpler's Industry Disgrace strap.  I have to hold my camera by the lens.  It feels that heavy.

I read a review where the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is heavier than this one.  I can't imagine.

I've put my camera and my monster lens through some tests.  The first thing I noticed is how fast the lens focuses.  It's quick.  At first, it took me by surprise.  Now, I'm happily getting used to it.  The above picture called 'Spring Colors' was taken indoors in natural light.  More like not much light.  I set my camera to aperture of 4 and zoomed all the way out.  Auto ISO came out at 1600.  The focus was fast!  Not like my 24-85mm lens which would have spent seconds "hunting" for some better light.


Here are a few more pictures taken with my monster lens:

I'm a Nikon Nerd!

It's after 5pm and so bright outside!

The heavy limbs reminds me of fingers

In a hurry to get to the other side...as the commuter train is leaving....

In my head, I've decided to stop comparing lenses and use each one to it's fullest potential.  Each of my Nikkor lens has it's own personality.  Gosh darn, I hope I don't start giving each of them nicknames....

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I've been away for so long.  Close to three months?  That's ridiculous!  Sorry about that.  I have a lot of catching up to do.

In January, hubby and I went on an island adventure and visited the Eastern Caribbean.  February brought some minor health issues.  I also signed up for an online class in Design Concepts.  This month, I had an opportunity to take senior portraits for a friend's son.  In the month of April, I have a wedding photo shoot that I'm looking forward to.

I will be back with additional posts.  In the meantime, here are some pictures from our pre-cruise stay in Fort Lauderdale:

Ft Lauderdale beach:  life guard stand

Basketball court right on the beach!

Walking along the main drag near the beach