Browse Category: photos

8 weeks flew by

Tonight I had my last photography class and it was pretty neat to see everyone’s work laid out on the table.  We were asked to bring in our best photos from the past 8 weeks so that we could critique, comment, and admire.  It was a lot of fun learning how to better use my camera and the instructor was pretty cool.  He allowed us to ask specific questions about our own cameras and equipment and would sit down and figure stuff out with us.  I even learned some neat tricks for my speedlight today!  They also had an art exhibit that showcased all types of media from photographs, to drawings and paintings, to sculptures.  I’m inspired!  Now that I know how to use my camera in “manual” mode, the sky’s the limit!  Next semester, acrylic painting!  Haha.  A new renegade hobby for me!  Woo Hoo!

a night at the park

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I went to my photog class last night and we covered night photography.  With camera and tripod in hand, I went out to the park next door with my instructor and classmates to practice.  It was cold out there but the little outing was quite fun.  It’s cool to have someone teach you how to REALLY use your camera and how to look at the overall scene to examine the exposure, lighting, and composition of each photo.  I have only one more class left and we’re supposed to go out and shoot stuff and bring it all back for review.  It’s time to go out an waste film!!

Monkey and Dragon Loot the Town

DSC_0960.jpgMarie brought Cole over and we met up with my neighbor Khai and her 14-month-old boy Lance. We went Trick-or-Treating together this evening and what an adventure it was! Our little monkey and dragon went to about six houses and collected quite a loot! Since it was their first Trick-or-Treat outing, there was some confusion at first. Eventually, they figured out that when the door opens, you stick your hand in a bowl and grab as many colorful wrappers as you can. Cole insisted on tearing into one of the chocolate wrappers and got his first taste of chocolate. It sure was tough prying it out of his hands after that. Lance seemed to enjoy his first real Halloween and hanging out with his new friend Cole. They were so adorable in their pudgy-looking outfits. Here are the photos.

pointing the finger

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We had dinner at Pish and Debbie’s house last night and we all stuffed ourselves silly. The topic of conversation was who spilled the beans about Debbie’s pregnancy and who spilled the beans about who spilled the beans. Haha. I got a good strangle from my dearest uncle once everyone was done pointing fingers. It was nice to see everyone together and the food was so yummy. We came home with lots of leftovers to last us the week. Here are the photos.

cheesy, but a learning experience

Brother and I got up early today to be volunteer photographers at Orange County’s Huntington’s Disease Walk for the Cure on the UCI campus. I’d say this was a small event where the volunteers outnumbered the participants. They had a few booths including one where you could pay a dollar for a wet puppy kiss. It was funny to watch the reactions on people’s faces as they were slobbered on by a young lab…suckers. Oh well, it’s all in the name of charity, right? After the race, there was entertainment. It included Hawaiian dancers and then Flamenco dancers. We also had Commander Chuck Street from KIIS-FM arrive in a helicopter and he participated as one of the MCs for the event. Overall, it was a cheesy event for a good cause and I got to practice my photog skills. Good deed for the day, check!

I have a lot to learn.

I went to my photography class tonight and it was quite a learning experience. I shared some of my photos and my instructor critiqued them and gave me some pointers. I love constructive feedback. It’s hard when I’m just taking photos and no one will tell me objectively what works and what doesn’t work. It’s also nice to hear feedback from someone who knows what makes a good photo. I also learned more about exposure and composition, which made me realize that some of my favorite photos can be much better. He also taught me how to use a gray card…sweet. I got one with one of my photography books but never knew how to use it properly.

The assignments have been really fun and helpful yet challenging. It’s harder when things are forced upon me. I’m finding myself to be sort of a selfish photographer…my best shots seem to be of people that are interesting and/or important to me. That’s why I’m wondering about how I’ll do on Saturday with the charity walk. I’ve volunteered to take photos of people I don’t know doing something not very interesting for a cause that I don’t know much about. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

If you’re interested in practicing some skills, here are the assignments given out so far…give it a try:

  • take a photo of something front-lit, side-lit, and back-lit
  • take a photo at the correct exposure, then over-expose 2 f-stops and under-expose 2 f-stops
  • take a photo of the color red (not a red shoe or red flower)…just the color
  • take a photo of motion
  • take a photo using the “Rule of Thirds”…basically, have the object off-center
  • take an entire roll of film of one subject (something interesting to you) and work on your composition/lighting to make the subject more interesting – my subject will be Koa. haha.
  • take an entire roll of one type of thing (walls, car parts, etc.), then rewind the roll and reload the same roll, take the entire roll again of something else (completely different from the first)