Frustration with Auto-Focus

It seems like forever since I have posted on the blog, but it's actually only been 2 and a half weeks.  In the intervening time, I have still been working at trying to get Senior Portraits for my son.

We went back to the garden near the lake near sunset this time.  Here are a couple of the shots I got.

In both of these photos, I see that his shirt is in perfect focus, but when I zoom in to do some minor touch-ups, I find that his eyes are still not focused.  I could have sworn that I auto-focused with the little dot blinking over his eye, but the pictures come back with fuzzy looking eyes!  So frustrating!!!  Of course, the perfectionist in me is still not satisfied!!!

On the bright side, after posting these on facebook, I had a former student call me up and ask me to take her photos.  :)  That should be a lot of fun! 

More later!

Tiffany

Mommy - Take My Picture!!

We love this little bridge at the park.  My issue is this - I want to get the bridge in the shot, but I prefer my portraits to be much more "up close" or cropped in.

Hrm... I will be revisiting this bridge often!

I love just about anything with stonework!

So here - the tree is in focus, but she is not.  *sigh*

I seem to be having focus issues....

That's better

I wonder what she was looking at...

Hope your day is filled with wonder!

Tiffany

Teeter-Totter with the Daughter (hehe... it rhymes!)

UP!

DOWN!

UP!!

DOWN!

(at this point, I noticed the wonderful sun when she is "UP")

Hey!  Look at Mommy!!

Smile!! 

Umm..... Not like that - a REAL smile!!

OK - Nevermind.  Just look normal.

At a Girl!!  :)

Have a great day!!

Tiffany

The Violin Lesson

My youngest is taking violin lessons again this year.  Because her previous teacher retired, she has moved to a Suzuki teacher.  Therefore, she has not only a private lesson every week, but also a group lesson.

I enjoy the view from the back of the room while she fiddles away.  I think to myself, "If I ever get the chance to set up my own studio, I'm going to use a lot of these ideas."

I totally love the way she set up the music room!  :)

I have always loved these clocks.  I want one!  :)

She has these little vases in the windows all around the studio.

I love music too!!!

Mine is the one in the red shirt.

Amen, and Amen! 

Have you practiced today???  :)

Have a great one!

Tiffany

Capturing Butterflies - but NOT

Earlier this past week, I went to a park with my daughter.  The butterflies were out and it was a beautiful time of night. 

So - I tried to capture some of the butterflies.  HA!  That was a big FAIL.  I felt kinda "looser-ish"....

I have a new found respect for wildlife photographers - especially those who can capture flying creatures!

Here are my attempts.

Not that it's a particularly BAD picture, it's just difficult to see the butterfly.

At least it's in focus in this one, but hidden behind a flower....

It flew away.  I think that might be the edge of a wing on the right side.

Again, it moved.  I kinda like all the blur in the picture though.  :)

Finding the butterfly is a little like "Where's Waldo".  I'm not sure it's even there.

So, I will return sometime this next week and try again.  :)

Good luck to any of you who attempt to capture these evasive little beauties. 

Have a great week!
Tiffany

Summer Trip to Worlds of Fun

We went to Worlds of Fun again this year for the girls' birthdays.  Grandma and Grandpa took them and Daddy and I tagged along.

Here are a few shots we got that day.  It was a lot easier with the new lens!

Riding with Daddy

A Friend came with us this time.  They had a blast.

Getting SO tall!

Snoopy!!!  The kids area has really grown!

Grandma and Grandpa

Time to sit down for a bit.... it was a lot of walking!

Picture showing movement!!   Bumper Cars!

On the Carousel

Peek-a-boo!

A Quasi-self-portrait...

Have a great week everyone!

*Hugs*

Tiffany

Sunset Panorama Fail

So I tried to do a big panoramic shot of the most gorgeous sunset the other night....  It was something like this:

Except it was over at least half of the sky.  I tried to do a panoramic, but it ended up looking striped....

As I panned around the sky, I got different exposures...  Point made!  I need to set the shutter speed to be the same all the way around the sky.  The next time I see amazing colors, I'll try it and let you know the results!  :)

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I am also excited to report that the first week of school is completed!  While I'm still behind, I did survive and think this school year shouldn't be too bad.  :)

I hope you have a great rest of the week!

Much Love,
Tiffany

Variations on a Theme

I took this photo from the passenger's seat of the car.  (No, I wasn't driving...)

Original Shot - SOOC

It's sort of "blah", but I knew what I was going after.

Cropped Image

That's a little more like it!  But while I had PS Elements open, I decided to play around a bit.  I really liked the way the clouds were swirling and I wanted to try to bring that out.  Here are a few things I came up with.

Adjusted Color Curves for Backlighting, and Mid-Tone Contrast

Here I really pumped up the Saturation and the Contrast - I love the warm hues

Then I chose "Solarize" in the Color Curves menu.  This was kind of cool!  I like the colors

Hey, what if I combine them into one??

Not too bad!  Maybe not museum quality, but for about 30 minutes of playing around, it's kinda cool.

Have fun out there!  :)

Much Love!

Tiffany

Relaxing - yet busy

I'm not sure if busy is the right word for teachers going back to school.  More like "on hold", or "hurry-up-and-wait"....  You see, we have much to do to prepare for students, but we also have training to attend.  This is how we make sure we are up to date on the latest research, discuss methods that are proven to work (or proven not to!), and how we keep our licenses current.

My wonderful Principal who was introducing our presenter. 

While it is very important, it can also be very frustrating - because in the back of your mind (or in some cases, on the paper in front of you,) is a growing list of things that need to be accomplished before the students arrive!  The longer you sit in training, the longer the list grows...  The longer you sit in training, the less time is left to get everything finished!

However, this week, our training was very good and I truly did enjoy it.  Even so, my own list is growing!!

If you know a teacher who is going back to school, give them support in the next few weeks.  Let them know that you appreciate everything they do for all or our children.  They are training tomorrow!

Much Love,

Tiffany

Buisness Cards

My daughter decided she wanted to get some business cards for baby sitting.  :) 

We decided it would be a good idea if her picture was on the card, so parents could remember which teenager we were talking about.  So, off we went into the yard for some pictures.

I think the vertical turned out better than the horizontal since there's more light on her face.

Enjoy your day! 

Tiffany