What can flash do for you?

(My apologies to IBM for the loose steal of their slogan in my header!)

My friends from 2P's might remember my lament before I went to San Diego at the beginning of the month...do I take my external flash or not? I was convinced by some wise ladies to leave it home and I'm glad I did. Fortunately, I shoot with a Rebel XT, which has an on-board flash (unlike some of the higher-end Pro cameras Canon produces), and I did choose to use it a few times. The few times I wanted the flash, however, SO would NOT have been worth schlepping it through the airport and all over SoCal with me!!!

These were taken at the San Diego zoo, late afternoon, in BRIGHT sun. (Ok, we were under a slight canopy, but it was still pretty bright out. I know they're not perfect, but I thought it was a fantastic illustration of what a little fill-flash can do to bring out the details in a shot. (And honestly, it was a snapshot....I wanted to get out of the way of a woman whose kids were waiting very patiently to get their pictures taken with this monkey!!!)

Stuff

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's post. Honestly, the exposure wasn't terribly hard (it might actually just have been a lucky shot)...it was taken at 1/160, f/2.8 @1600ISO. It was actually one of the first shots I took--then I started fiddling with settings and they didn't turnout so well. It also helped that the room was very dark (so I didn't really have to worry about background stuff--it would all be black!) and the light is very bright. (For those who worry about stumbling upon a creepy thing like that in the wee hours of the morn? It actually gives off just enough light so I can see, without me having to turn on a light.)

Now on to some more pics. These were all taken last week, I've just been slow to post.
First, what is it? (Leave a comment with your guess, I'll post the whole photo tomorrow.)


Second, a fall rose bud. (My rose bushes are FULL of blooms--more than I had all summer!)


Finally, a lovely fall pic at the end of my street. (I cheated a bit an upped the saturation because I really wanted to see the colors and these weren't quite at peak yet.)



Thanks for all who check in daily, and for all who leave comments. :)

Photography 101: Light (week 3)

Here's an assignment I posted on 2ps regarding how the camera sees light. We were to try different settings of white balance and here are my results.

Shutter Speed Assignment

12 Weeks to Better Photos (Week 2): I've finally gotten my "homework" done! This week's challenge was to capture moving water with various shutter speeds (idea being that the faster the shutter works, the more it will "freeze" the action, and the slower, the more it will "blur.") I posted them below from fastest to slowest, and you can see it goes from crisp to soft as the shutter speed changes.

I posted on 2Ps, but here's the same pics. Click for bigger images. (You can also visit my gallery and see them here.

Resolutions

This blog was started as a resolution--to become a better photographer. I usually make other resolutions, although the resolve doesn't always follow. I make resolutions at random points during the year, rather than in January. One consistent theme is to get to the gym more. Not because I need to lose weight (although I wouldn't be upset if that was to happen as a result), but because I know it's good for me. But, ya see, there are only so many hours in a day, and today, I had to live vicariously through my pictures. These are brand new sneakers I bought in November that just saw daylight today. Sigh. There's always tomorrow! ;)

Tech info: Rebel XT, 50mm, 1/125, f/1.8, 100 ISO, flash.

Tech info: Rebel XT, 50mm, 1/125, f/1.8, 100 ISO, flash.

And as a special treat, here's an assignment on aperature I did for a class on 2Ps. So much fun! The little snail in front is from a trip to Germany a few years ago and my famous duckie makes another cameo. I took these on my kitchen table (you can even see my toothbrush holder that hasn't been put back in its place after a weekend trip! Talk about sharp! Guess that means I have to clean my table off! lol) Full manual, ISO 100, 1/125, diffused flash, aperature on each pic. CC welcome! (And I even got to make a storyboard with them!!!)

(If you click the pic, it will take you to a super-sized version, where you can really see the differences!)

Thanks again for all the comments. I read them all and I really do appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts!