So many levels of wrong

I'm posting this one in order to make myself list everything that is wrong with it, in the hopes that that will drill the mistakes in to my head so I won't repeat them.

Too dark: this was caused by me not checking a couple of different settings - one, it was on -1 in whatever that setting is called that allows you to darken or brighten a picture as you take it. Two, I wasn't using my now-regular camera, so I didn't think to check the flash and it went off. Three, my bf used this camera last, and it was still on a program mode that let him preset several settings - to things that were conducive to his needs, not to my mall shot.

Too far away: this could be fixed by a simple crop, or I could have used the zoom that the camera is equipped with. The first solution is an acceptable one, as you can crop things out, but you can't put them in if you never took them.

So a few successes, partial successes, and an epic failure mark the end of this foray in to people photography for me. I'm not sure what's coming up next, but I'll figure something out!

Watching a watcher

I'm sure a philosopher could come up with something very "meta" about this, me watching a man watching a cat. I wonder how long he sat there, because I found it cool but not cold, however he was quite bundled up.

Caught!

 So I'm snapping a couple of shots across the square of these two kids. The one on the right was doing something with her cell, the one on the left seemed to be playing with a loose string on his sleeve, or something equally exciting. then the girl leaned over and...

I got a great shot! Perfect timing, although that was basically a fluke. You can't see his face at all, but when I zoomed in, she's got this little smile... very sweet.

If I were to do it over...I'm not sure what I'd change. It's a bit on an angle, but I think it works - almost makes it look like she's falling in to him. The lighting is good. Bright enough, but no flares. And since I can't move them away from the garbage can, I think this one I'd keep as is.

A little windblown

I don't know what it was about this woman that spoke to me, but the photo still has it.

The screen on my camera decided to give me a gift and start working again, so I was able to take this with the camera hanging around my neck rather than up to my face. That means it's more on the level she was sitting at, rather than looking down at her, and I definitely like that.

If I were to do it again, I would put her to the left of the photo, to capture more of her shadow. The rule of thirds is proving to be one of the hardest things for me to get a hang of! (And I'm trying not to cheat by cropping these photos in to "perfection" - or something like it. Maybe later I'll explore what I can do with photo editing by comparing before and after photos.)

Basking in the sun

What a gorgeous fall day. Hard to believe this kind of mild weather is coming in Alberta, in November. We may as well take advantage of it while we can, photographer and (unknowing) subject alike!

This lady looked so relaxed, so peaceful enjoying the sun. I did take a closer version, but it had more power with the context provided by the building.

If I were to do it over, I would try moving directly in front of her. I'm not certain I would like that better, but I'd like to compare. I would also not put her in the center of the photo, maybe more towards the bottom, bottom-right.

A new series - People!

I asked my friend the other day for some ideas for a theme I could use when I went out to take pictures that lunch. She came up with several great ideas I was tossing around (and will keep for later), and then she gave me one that made my blood run cold.

People.

Normally, I resist taking photos of people, because I'm very afraid that people will think I'm a creepy stalker. I also have a wonderful tendency to catch them with funny looks on their faces, or strange background objects.

Therefore, this seemed like the perfect challenge for me. Something to push me out of my comfort zone. So over the next few days, I hope you enjoy my forays in to stalker-dom, as I try to capture some pictures of people.

The first shot I'm posting is not actually the first one I took. The rest of the person is actually sitting in a little alcove, but from the angle, you can't see that. What you do see is the reflection of his legs, making it look almost like there are just 2 pairs of legs, from the knees down, lying on the floor.

There were tricky lighting issues because of the windows, which was probably good - my instinct had been to go full zoom and stay far away. But the picture was terrible. So it forced me to get closer to a subject who wouldn't even know I was there, and likely wouldn't care (since he is completely unidentifiable.)

If I were to do it over, I would step slightly to the left so as not to cut off the toes in the reflection. And I would try taking the picture from the other end of the hall, by the red planter, for comparison.

In between time

Tomorrow I plan to start a new theme of pictures, but in the mean time, here's a "blast from the past" - a photo I took in Spring 2008.

This was taken in May, and look how extensive the flowers were already! This sight was everywhere, these beautiful flowers climbing up old walls, snaking around windows and doors. Gorgeous.

A different kind of subject for colours

Colours of fall don't only exist outdoors, they also show up in glorious fashion indoors - particularly in the kinds of foods we eat in the fall.

This weekend I made a wonderful chili - but capturing it "on film" was very hard! Daylight was gone, so I tried a variety of ways to transmit those rich colours in to a photograph - red from the tomatoes, beans and red pepper, yellow corn, orange pepper, and black beans. Tasty fall harvest colours!

In the end, this was taken using a manual white balance setting for "tungsten" lights, as that seemed to do the best job of compensating for the lighting. Other attempts turned the whole thing a rather unhealthy red, or else unappetizingly grey. I still don't think I quite got it, and I may try again if I get home while there's still enough natural light.

Fall? Really?

Honestly, this IS a fall picture! I took it on the same day as all the leaves, and even as yesterday's pictures of the scarecrow and pumpkins.

I'm not bothered in the least that this lovely rose didn't quite get the message that fall is here and it's time to stop blooming. Unfortunately, the petals are so pale and it was so bright out, that if I didn't use my body to cast shade on the rose, it was completely whited out. There was a lovely bush in behind it that had turned completely red, that I wanted to contrast it with. However, it wasn't to be!

Images of Fall

These two are from the same house, but they were a little set apart so I did two pictures instead of trying to fit it all in to one.

I'm impressed that I managed to take both pictures on a slight angle - how foolish! I shouldn't be making that kind of mistake any more. I'll blame it on the fact that I was standing in the middle of the road. Overall, not great pictures, but I still like the subject. Cheery and seasonal. Very nice!