Yellowstone :)

My class just took a photography trip to Yellowstone last weekend and it was a blast. I learned tons of things about my roommates Kodak camera and my little Sony digital camera. I never realized how hard it was to get pictures when it's completely sunny out with absolutely no cloud cover. It was so frustrating sometimes. Especially when I put the pictures onto my computer and saw how bleached out and bright they turned out. I was pretty disappointed, but some of them turned out super great. We saw so many animals and went to tons of places I haven't been in Yellowstone. The mountain goats were my favorite animals to take pictures of. They were the most active, and I was so close to them! It was a great experience. These were my favorite :)

Sky Photos

Light is more attractive than dark.

Red is more attractive than yellow.

Breaking the patterns.

Important Paragraph Blog!

If we had to throw away our photography book for class there is one paragraph that would need to be kept. Here is the paragraphs main points and examples of the good rules for photography.
"Establishing visual priorities for a picture elements is based on an intuitive sense that renders theres kinds of conclusions:
1.)Red is more attractive than yellow:

2.) Large draws more attention than small:

3.)Difference draws more attention than conformity:

4.) Jagged lines are more striking than curved ones:

5.) Diagonal lines are more attractive than vertical ones:

6.) Sharpness is more attractive than blur:

and last but not least 7.) light is more attractive than dark:

Natural Formations

I got an email the other day about rock formations that look like real things. Most of the ones I got emailed were man made or fake. I wasn't too impressed with that so I went on the internet and tried to find natural rock formations that were shaped to look like something. I found a site that has 18 of them. Here are some of my favorites and how they got that way.

Moeraki Boulders

These round boulders are found all over New Zealand. They were formed by the coast almost the same way as oysters make a pearl. Instead of a grand of sand it starts with a fossil or wood. Then the sea bunches them up with lime and other minerals and they can grow spherical to about 9 feet in diameter! Nature is pretty amazing.

Dead Man – Sleeping Giant

This resting man lays off the coast of Ireland near the Blasket Islands. This natural rock island has been here for years. The climate around it is almost always low black clouds or gray sky. This man lies here peacefully since he is almost long forgot by tourists. The crashing waves put him to ease every day and night.

Indian Head, Witch’s Face

The Indian head is formed in Colorado. This Indian chief watches over the men and the land in the Rockies. Legend is he watches them tear up the earth and hates it so he is always there watching. The second face is that of a witch on Laguna Beach. The long nose, crazy hair, and distinct chin all show it's clearly a witch.

Some day I would love to travel and take amazing pictures of landmarks and formations such as these.

Exposer

In my first photography class I am learning a ton of new terms. Its hard to learn them all but I'm working on it. I didn't even know some of the terms about exposer existed on my Kodak camera. Plus the camera is not even mine, it's my friends, so that makes it harder to learn.
My photography book says that, "Learning how to make a good exposure is the first step in becoming a photographer." That is the first sentence under the topic of exposure, therefore it must be important. On my camera I can control the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. All three of those are very important to exposure and must be learned to become a better photographer.
As for ISO I can control that fairly easy on my camera. I have to be on the manual (M), S, or P setting then by moving the wheel on the camera can select to change the ISO. The ISO ranges from about 100-400. The ISO setting best for my camera to take most pictures is 100-200 ISO. This will give me the most desired results pertaining to ISO settings.The higher the ISO is less light is needed to make a good exposure.High ISO also means that the picture might be grainy.
Shutter speed is the time period from when the shutter is open to when it is closed. This allows long periods of light to come into the camera or little short periods of light. I don't have as much control over this on my camera. The downside to a long shutter speed, or allowing more light in, is that if there is movement the picture can turn out blurry.
Aperture is how wide a camera lens can open. This has a lot to do with depth of field, which we read about in another chapter. The wider the aperture the less sharp a picture will be.All of these things are important for exposer and learning how to use them to get the right exposure for the picture is also important.

John Alfano

This caught my attention because John Alfano's photos just pop out. No matter what it is of. I love the way he captures all the color. He uses a lot of contrasts in his pictures, even in the black and white photos. I also enjoy how many different kind of pictures he has. I like his close ups and his scenery pictures.

They also intrigue me because I love water photographs. The way it captures light and reflect, the way it flows, and how many different ways people can capture water with cameras amazes me.
John's interest in photography started when he moved in Yosemite National Park. From then on he loved to take pictures. He then moved to Ladakh and learned the Buddhist ways and love taking pictures of the beautiful landscape. After spending years there he moved back to Yosemite and realized, "I could blend art and technology, and more importantly, give expression to my appreciation of the infinite beauty that surrounds us." Photography was his life.

He also ending up putting a book together called Before the Mountain. It contains quotes and Buddhist sayings and all his amazing pictures of the mountains in Ladakh.  He also has a blog here on Blogger under The Color of the Wind. http://thecolorofwind.blogspot.com/

http://www.johnalfano.com/html/photo/detail.cfm?Category=WhatsNew&Subcategory=Berkshire%20Zen

Second Reading

The second reading for class was much more interesting. What I found the most interesting was the winter section. I learned a lot more about gear and how nature works for the benefit of photography. It would be nice to use the snow as a natural light and/or flash. It was neat how all the snow and cold could bring so many unique things to the pictures taken. I think that winter ends up creating more creative photos and has more options than any other time of the year for photographers. It was crazy how much you have to be prepared for the weather. I've been out in the winter all my life in Montana and have never heard of half the stuff the author mentioned to wear. Overall I learned many different things and can't wait to start taking pictures.
~Little Blondie

On the Road Again

The other day I got this e-mail about travel down the right path and it had a great message and also some pictures. The pictures were absolutely amazing. Some of the pictures are stunning, some are just unbelievable. My favorites are all the nature ones. I love the one with the bamboo all around it and the little wooden type fence around it. I think it would be amazing to drive across any of these to get the view and just the wonder of how they are put together.

A couple of the roads I could never imagine even building! such as the one that has the huge wave going right under it. That would be a thrilling drive for sure. I also love the one that has the little shrubs or trees growing over the top of it. Purely amazing.

http://us.mg2.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.gx=1&.rand=4tr3orrt1l7bi