The Dog Park: April, Weeks 1 and 2

So, the point of this whole photo of the week practice is to actually get better at photography.  I definitely have my preference as to the types of photos that I take, so this month, I'm branching out with the help of some friends.

This month I'm trying my hand at action shots, and trust me, there is lots of action at the dog park.  I've gone a couple of times with my friend Courtney and her dog Pili.  Pili is a very energetic 6-year-old chocolate lab.  She is my favorite dog ever.  She loves the water, and the dog park very conveniently has a creek running through it.  It is the perfect opportunity for some water shots.

"Fetch!"
Canon SX40 HS
f/5
1/400
ISO 100
3/16/2013
Salt Lake City, UT

"Shake It Out"
Canon SX40 HS
f/3.5
1/500
ISO 100
3/16/13
Salt Lake City, UT
This is a fun shot, but I think it would have turned out better with a faster shutter speed.  Dogs just shake the water off so quickly that even 1/500 of a second is too slow to stop their motion altogether.  At the same time, I kinda like that she's a little blurred.  It does give a sense of motion, not that the action itself doesn't, but you  know what I mean.

I took both of these pictures using a manual setting, which I decided is a little difficult when you need to make quick adjustments.  Lesson number 1 from this: full manual mode is not always the best.  On my trip to the dog park last weekend (pictures from that trip for weeks 3 and 4), I tried a different mode, but even with that, I think that the preset mode for action shots is going to be my best bet for the dog park.  I'll probably go again in the next few weeks.  I'll try it out again and see what happens.

just in case

on the off chance that anyone checks for new pictures mid-week, I'm working on it.  April is really getting away from me, and with the semester winding up, I've been a little preoccupied.  But here's a teaser for what's coming: action shots.

The Back Lot: March, Week 5

"Wood and Webs"
Canon Powershot A4000
f/3
1/60
ISO 250
1/18/2013, 4:25 pm
Provo, Utah

The Back Lot: March, Week 4

Distressed inn sign
Canon Powershot A4000
f/3
1/60
ISO100
1/18/13, 4:31 pm
Provo, UT

The Back Lot: March, Weeks 1, 2, and 3

So I'm playing catch up.  How in the world did it get to be the 3rd Sunday in March?!  I had a hard time deciding what my theme for the month would be, thus the lack of posts the past 2 weeks.  But after looking through my pictures, I decided on one.  What I have to say about one of the pictures, I have to say about them all.  These are all from a single 30 minute outing one day after work.  And I'd like to add that it was a very cold day, probably only in the teens.  I work at a film studio, and like any good film studio, we have a back lot.  The back lot is a portion of the property that has permanent buildings that can be cleaned up and dressed up whenever needed.  There are so many great little details on all of the buildings.  They all have a lot of character, so it's fun to go look back there, and even more fun to take pictures.  I can't wait until it's warm and the trees aren't so dead looking.  The place has a whole different feel in the spring and summer.

detail from a barn
Canon Powershot A4000
f/3
1/60
ISO400
1/15/13, 4:26 pm
Provo, Utah

"Hanging On"
Canon Powershot A4000
f/3.5
1/100
ISO100
1/15/13, 4:16 pm
Provo, Utah

fancy doorknob detail

Canon Powershot A4000
f/3
1/60
ISO160
1/15/13, 4:32 pm
Provo, Utah

The Tropics: February, Week 4

It's the last week of February already!  I can't believe it.  So, here is one last picture from my cruise.  Port 4 was on Grand Cayman.  It was pretty spectacular.  I didn't take a lot of picture that I loved, but this one will suffice for this week.

"Beachfront Property"
Canon SX40 HS
f/4
1/1250
ISO100
1/25/13
George Town, Grand Cayman, BWI

I took this picture from the patio of the restaurant where I ate that afternoon.  The restaurant is named Rackam's, and I'm still drooling over the fish and chips that I ate there.  I would go back just to eat that again.  Anyhow, there is some lucky person that owns the house just out of frame on the right, and they have a pretty good view if you ask me.

Confession: This picture represents a first for me.  It's the first time that I had to remove unwanted elements using Photoshop.  I generally avoid doing that, but the beer ads just didn't do much for this picture.  For a first time, I don't think it looks too bad.

The Tropics: February, Week 3

The next stop on the cruise was Roatan, an island of the coast of Honduras.  It rained for about 95% of the day.  We were lucky enough to be on the ziplines during the only non-rainy minutes of the day.  After arriving back at Mahogany Bay, I whipped out the big camera and started taking pictures.  One thing I love about the tropics is the amazing variety of flowers that I obviously don't get to see at home.  So here's one of the shots I captured on that rainy day on Roatan.

"Raindrops on Ginger"
Canon SX40 HS
f/4
1/320
ISO400
1/24/2013
Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras

Get it? Raindrops on ginger?  Like "Raindrops on roses"?  Yep, the flowers were definitely one of my favorite things about Roatan.  The rain, eh, I could do without, although it really did make for some cool pictures of the flowers.

I did a little research and found that this flower is Alpinia Zerumbet, more commonly known as the shell ginger.  I overheard a lady saying that it is a type of ginger, otherwise I never would have figured it out.  I think it's much prettier before it blooms, but that's just me.  What do you think?