Nurture Self 365

365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Eight

September 7, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: Alfred Stieglitz, camera, CF Card, D800E, Nikon, Nikon D7000, Photography, Shopping | Leave a comment

“Photography is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” Alfred Stieglitz

We had to go back to the camera store today to return the CF card as it turned out not to be the right one for the D800E. We’ll order on e-Bay and get a better price anyway. We also picked up a couple more lenses – one that only works on the D7000 (18-200mm 3.5 VR) that is used and a good deal, as well as a wide angle 16-35mm 1:4 VR that will work on both cameras. I took a few test shots at the front of the store in good light with the D7000 and the 18-200mm 3.5 VR. This display case is full of old film cameras. Kinda cool! My reflection is in the glass . . .

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Seven

September 6, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: autumn garden, D800, D800E, dahlia, dahlia flower, festival, Fine Art, Flower, Garden, nature, Oregon, plants, Shoot, Stock | 3 comments

“You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper.” William Albert Allard

Well . . . today I got out and started shooting with my new Nikon D800! Hubby and I went to a local park just around dinner time, that we haven’t been to in years. It was fun to try out the new lenses on both the D800E and the D7000. The D7000 is a great camera and will continue to be my go-to for portraits and kid shots. The files are more manageable considering I take so many pictures of the little ones. The D800E will be my workhorse for Stock and Fine Art Photography. I’m so excited after seeing the results from the shoot today . . . some really awesome nature shots that will soon be up on my Smug Mug site.

This was taken with the D800E, and the 70-200mm 2.8 VRII.

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Six

September 5, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: absorbing, book, camera, D800, D800E, learning, Nikon, reading, studying, Thom Hogan | Leave a comment

“If I am through learning, I am through.” John Wooden

I’ve downloaded this amazing e-book by Thom Hogan. I browsed the manual that came with my new camera . . . but my goodness – the information presented in the e-book is so thorough, so complete, so overwhelming at times with the technical data he presents . . . but I’m learning so much! It’s actually quite exciting . . . and I can’t get enough of it! I still have not really shot anything with the D800E because I want to make sure the settings in-camera are optimal. But it may take me awhile to absorb all 850 pages of this book! Somehow I’m sure I’ll find a happy balance . . .

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Five

September 4, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: camera, D7000, D800, D800E, Lenses, Nikon, Nikon D7000 | 2 comments

“The camera is much more than a recording apparatus. It is a medium via which messages reach us from another world.” Orson Welles

I truly believe that it isn’t the equipment that makes the artist. A good photographer will create amazing photos no matter what camera is used. However . . . I can’t argue the point that the equipment sure makes a difference in the QUALITY of your photograph. I have been trying to break in to the Stock Photography business for over a year now and have discovered how difficult it is to get a photograph accepted if it is not absolutely tack sharp and clean with no fuzziness at all. I have lenses that we bought with our old FX (film) cameras. At the time we switched to digital, we were so excited that we could use our film lenses on our D100 body. When I got my D7000 in May 2010, I quickly discovered that the old lenses just didn’t quite do the job on this newer technology. We bought a 50mm 1.8 and a 35mm 1.8. The 35mm quickly became my go-to lens for just about everything. Since I was really only doing close up work . . . it was a perfect fit. Still though, I had issues with lack of clarity, tack sharpness and over all quality when it came to Stock. An upgrade was the answer. So . . . we’ve saved our pennies and finally made our purchase today! Yay! I now have a new Nikon D800E, 70-200mm 2.8 VRII, 105mm Macro 2.8 VRII, and a 16-35mm 1:4 VR. For the D7000 we picked up an 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR. We also picked up an ND8 filter. I am now loaded for bear!!!

This shot was taken with the D7000, as I hadn’t even taken the D800E out of the box yet . . . and the look on my face?? Holy #$^%! What do I do now??? Another learning curve . . .

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Four

September 3, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: artist, DNA, spider, spider web, web | Leave a comment

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” Pablo Picasso

I am kind of fascinated by spider webs . . . and the little creatures that create them! Apparently my Granddaughter has inherited the same fascination . . . she found this in the back yard and insisted that I get my camera and take pictures of it. Since my 365 Project allows DNA shots . . . this one counts as that is her in the background. I shot this with my Nikon D7000, 35mm 1.8 with a 12mm macro extension tube.

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Three

September 2, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: data bending, glitch, glitch art | Leave a comment

“Glitch: A sudden instance of malfunctioning or irregularity in an electronic system” World English Dictionary

I first heard about this crazy art medium called Glitch Art on Michael Andrew’s Blog. A couple of the guys in the 365 Forum tried it, and so I had to give it a try myself. It’s actually kind of fun! I’m anxious to do more of it . . . I can see ton’s of potential here!

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty Two

September 1, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: autumn garden, dahlia, dahlia flower, festival, Flower, Garden, Oregon, plants | Leave a comment

“Revered for its beauty, the stunning dahlia flower comes in diverse shapes, sizes and colors. The dahlia blooms for extended periods of time, surpassing most other garden flowers, and many gardening enthusiasts refer to it as the “Queen of the Autumn Garden.” The dahlia’s allure has a far reach: it is San Francisco’s official flower, an official emblem of Mexico, and is considered in Japan to be a sign of good taste.” Michelle Fortunado, eHow Contributor

Canby, Oregon is known as the Dahlia Capital of the World. We were lucky enough to be in town for their annual Dahlia Festival. I have never seen so many Dahlia’s in one place, fields and fields of them! And so many different shapes, colors, sizes . . . absolutely amazing! It actually became a bit overwhelming . . . we spent a couple of hours there in the morning and then went back in the early evening so I could get some pictures in the “golden light”.

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty One

August 31, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: dreaming, Granddaughter, Miley Cyrus, Oregon, pink, pink room, short sale, style, vacation | Leave a comment

“Pink isn’t just a color, it’s an attitude!” Miley Cyrus

So here we are in Portland at our Son’s. They have just moved in to a new home . . . after a very long, drawn out and stressful Short Sale process. It’s their first home . . . so of course we are so very excited for them. My Granddaughter absolutely loves anything pink. I’m actually surprised that she’s wearing blue here . . . and her room is a mess because they’ve not had a chance to unpack everything yet. I had to get this shot in her pink room though . . . and I did over saturate it, and moved the white balance to the pink side as well. One person on my 365 forum said it looks like a bottle of pepto bismol exploded in there! How could I resist though? After all, she told me that she dreams in pink!

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Thirty

August 30, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: Chamber's Bay, Long Weekend, Oregon, Osprey, trip | Leave a comment

“There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share an hour with you, and I can share a joke with you….as on our way we go.”
—Maude V. Preston

We’re headed to Portland for the Long Weekend. One of my fellow 365’ers lives just south of Seattle, and about the halfway point in our trip. I had met up with her back in June when my Grandson flew out from Maryland for the summer. Unfortunately at that time I didn’t get to meet her wonderful puppy Layla, who is the subject of every one of her 365 shots. This time we met down at the waterfront at Chambers Bay for a nice walk and photo shoot. Oh, and we had our Great Nephew with us so he and Layla got lots of exercise! We couldn’t have had a more beautiful day either. The top shot was taken in front of an Osprey next on top of the pier behind us.

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365 Self Portrait Challenge: Day Two Hundred Twenty Nine

August 29, 2012 in ma365, Photo Challenge, Photography, Self-Portrait | Tags: Ben & Jerry's, delicious, Ginger Rogers, ice cream, sublime | 1 comment

“My love for ice cream emerged at an early age–and has never left!” Ginger Rogers

We have theme’s every week during the 365 Challenge. It’s mainly for inspiration . . . and this week’s theme is Ice Cream. I can get inspired by ice cream any day of the week! Ben & Jerry’s is my fav, and anything that combines chocolate and caramel . . . well . . . sublime! What’s your fav??