Thursday, February 12, 2009

New Camera...

Last weekend Adam, Chase and I took a road trip to State College to buy a DSLR... thank you Craigslist ;~) It's an entry level Pentax camera which is the brand I used all through college. The previous owner took immaculate care of it and sold it with everything it originally came with... 2 lenses, camera bag, wires, charger, manuals, ect... Also, since I used Pentax in school, I had a really nice lens that is compatible with this camera body. Added bonus!

I thought since I have a degree in photography and spent a good portion of my life taking pictures with an SLR that I would jump right back into the mix and know what I was doing.

Raise your hand if you know where this is going?

Oh boy am I out of the loop! It's a whole new beast and it is definitely going to take some time to get used to. Luckily Adam and I share an interest in photography so I have someone to learn with ;~)

Here are a couple shots of my favorite subject:


First... just look at that smile... I could so eat him up! Second... clearly I have not learned about lighting yet ;~) We are at Little Gym and I think they have fluorescent lighting (anyone for banning that lighting all together, does it ever look good?) I definitely need to work on the tone and achieving a more realistic color.


Seriously... this face is SO beautiful... I could just kiss it all day long... wait... I do kiss it all day long ;~) Here we are at Port City Java waiting for some friends. There was tons of available light so I didn't need to worry about overhead lighting or a flash (the dreaded flash!) I like how true to color this image is.


This is probably my favorite picture so far. We are still in Port City Java but he is facing the window more so his face gets all the available light there is to offer. I love how the light makes the blue in his eyes stand out. Not to mention I love the way he is posed... he loves chewing on his jackets so this is a regular occurrence... and I get a lovely shot of those beautiful baby fingers!

P.S. I know Nancy... the hair... it's a mess but I can't do it... not yet ;~)

7 comments:

SissyKristin said...

State College?!?! Woohoo Penn State-ville! :- ) What BEAUTIFUL pictures (and child)!! Love seeing these.

Evil Twin's Wife said...

Sweet pics! I bought a Canon Rebel XT dSLR a while back and have three lenses already - it's a sickness, I tell ya!

Mandy said...

YAY for your new camera! I know how excited you were. I can't wait to check it out. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever...

And it goes without saying that Chase has the best.hair.ever.

chocolate hug said...

ahhh....(long sigh) I just love natural light! Here's a little cheat tip...if you don't have natural light the orange lighting looks beautiful in B/W. :) So happy to hear you go the camera! I can see already that it gave you a confidence boost!

I kiss my little one all day long too... :)

diana

Anonymous said...

LOL, that's ok, I don't blame you! Have fun with the camera, I bet you'll be back in the swing before too long!!
Luv, Nan :)

Johnnie Avocado said...

Definitely better pics...love 'em

emily ebeling said...

doesn't the DSLR make picture taking more dramatic?? I LOVE it :)
I was going to share the same tip as Diana- try the b/w setting on your camera- it meters the fluorescent lighting beautifully, so it looks more natural. There may also be a fluorescent white balance setting on your camera, but you might still get that orange hue.
And about kissing your child all the time- I have to forgo wearing chapstick as much- baby J was getting a rash on his cheek where I would keep kissing him!