A 366 day photo adventure - March 2012

2012.03.01

Another month has begun and with it further challenges. I have watched other people's exquisite photos of candles and interesting pieces, so tonight I decided to do some fiddling along those lines. I had a pretty, but bulky, multi-coloured candle which I placed on a pretty dish which I put on one of my grandmother's old doilies. Around it I let fall two of my fake pearl necklaces and a couple of ribbons. I think the dish was wrong and a clear one would have been better. I also missed the fact that the cut end of the white ribbon was visible in a few of the shots ... and unfortunately the best composition was one of these but it had to go! No room for sentiment in keeping flawed photos. Having said that, I think I could see flaws in every one, but not quite so blatant as the fraying end of a cut ribbon!

f/22, 2.5 sec, ISO 100, 60mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.03.02

It was late when we went for a walk after tea, and although I took the camera, I didn't get many shots, and the I was pretty disappointed in what I did get. I have been ruthless and have only kept three. I do like the light after sunset and this is taken beside the river at Quoiba. I had taken some on Aperture and some on Shutter Priority and turned this to "Program", which on the Nikon does the appropriate aperture and shutter automatically [I don't know what is the difference between Program and Auto.]

f/5.6, 1/500 sec, ISO 100, 60 mm Focal length, Matrix metering,  Program setting

2012.03.03

We went down to the river today hoping to see one of the boats practising for tomorrow's regatta. Instead we found these juvenile Pacific gulls arguing over food! The one who had cracked open the shell fish was definitely trying to get away from the other greedy, lazy one!

f/6.3, 1/640, ISO 500, 300mm focal length, matrix metering, Manual settings

Same settings seconds later

2012.03.04

Today was very busy and when we finally got home it started to sprinkle. For a few minutes, sometime later, the sun came out and the silver lined clouds were spectacular so I grabbed the camera, but they disappeared rapidly. The most interesting feature was the very threatening set of clouds that were coming in from the south. I played around a lot with the aperture, shutter speed and ISO trying to get the balance right for the "feel" of the afternoon. I was also trying to see what would happen when I changed the exposure bias but I couldn't get that correct. Probably best to work through and conquer "manual" before I start on that! This photo shows the most accurate portrayal of the threatening clouds, and sure enough, about five minutes later it pelted down for a short, sharp storm.

f/10, 1/800 sec, ISO 640, 55mm focal length, Matrix metering, Manual  settings

2012.03.05

It was a glorious day and low tide was in the afternoon which meant a trip to Goat Island Reserve at Ulverstone was possible. Armed with camera bag and tripod we scrambled over the jagged rocks and round [or through] the remaining rockpools on our way to the island [it even has a cave!!]. When I was taking this shot, which I liked because of the framing, the intriguing sand patterns and the way it took the eye through to one part of the island, I noticed that on Aperture Priority I could go further than the f/22 that our local Camera House fellow [who also teaches Adult Ed photography classes] says that he takes all his photos where he wants depth of field. Whether it was the brilliant sun, I don't know, but today it went up to f/36 and so I tried it and then did another at f/22. The settings changed the times from 1/15 sec (f/36) to 1/30 sec (f/22). I have no idea why, but there was an almost imperceptible, subtle change of colour with this one, I believe, being the more accurate.

f/36, 1/15 sec, ISO 100, 48 mm focal length,
Matrix metering, Aperture priority, tripod used

2012.03.06
Today, after school, was one of those days! I had so much to do that I made a long list. I tried again to set up a still life - this time with my shoes and scarves - but arrangement is just not my thing! Being so late at night I have got use one of the shots which were taken using the tripod and the remote.

f/22, 4 sec, ISO 800, 26 mm, Matrix, no flash, Aperture priority

2012.03.07

This afternoon I tried a range of settings using the macro lens with various things in the back yard, and then this evening I had some fun with Picasa 3 editing a few. The original, brilliant orange red nerines in the garden, first and then the edited version, which I actually like better!

f/18, 1/80 sec, ISO 100, 60mm focal length, matrix metering,  Manual  settings, 5.13 MB

As above but now 8.94 MB
Picasa 3: Reversed colour, Museum Matte, Border

2012.03.08

I had the camera on Monochrome to shoot some interesting textures in the kitchen tonight. I used many different settings but this one appeals to me ... the mystery of the many layers of the onion!

f/9, 1/20 sec, ISO 2000, 60mm focal length,  matrix metering,  Aperture priority

2012.03.09
After having the evening with friends in Evandale, we stopped to take the lit up church there on the way home. This is the first time I have ever tried lighted buildings other than putting the old camera onto Automatic. I used the tripod and tried the settings shown and i'm fairly happy with the result.

f/11, 6 sec, ISO 100, 40mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture Priority

2012.03.10

After a day spent with heritage farming in the morning and the Oceania Triathlon Championships in the afternoon I have a plethora of images but I really cannot go past the two champions!

f/5.6, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400, 300mm focal length, Matrix metering, Program setting

f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 500, 150 mm focal length, matrix metering,  Shutter priority

2012.03.11

Have you ever been so tired that you do not want to pick up the camera? ... well that was me  today. After sorting all of yesterday's triathlon photos I was exhausted! [I culled nearly 1700 down to 195!]. However, I have set myself a challenge, which, if I don't keep up will fall by the wayside, so late tonight I took this still life snap of some of our tomato varieties, some bottles of home preserved pasta sauce and some tomato jam. [Yes folks, that IS a green variety and they are ripe ... and scrumptious!] I still had my 55-300 lens on and I was just too tired to go and change it. If I had had my macro lens on I possibly would have had a sharper image!

f/22, 5 sec, ISO 640, 170 mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.03.12

As a break from all my cooking today I took the camera outside for just a few minutes. I had the Macro lens on but forgot to change the White balance from 'Auto' to 'Sunny'.

f/16, 1/40 sec, ISO 100, 60mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.03.13

Having taken notice of a friend's image of a flower where she had used an ISO setting of 1000,  I went outside this afternoon and, using that ISO, changed my aperture setting a number of times on various flowers. I really liked the effectiveness of this end-of-the-road rose.

f/18, 1/160 sec, ISO 1000, 60mm focal length, Matrix metering,  Aperture priority

2012.03.14

While Steve went for a run this afternoon along from the beach, i took the camera down to the beach. It was very high tide and I quickly had wet sandals and jeans! I kept the ISO at 1000 and played around with Aperture settings. Most of my shots were of gulls, waves and driftwood, but I also got this dandelion that was growing under the shrubs that line Coles Beach. I used f/22 for a crisp, clear head and a range of other settings too with various final results, but the one that I like most is the milkiness of this head taken with an aperture of 3.2.

f/3.2, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1000, 60 mm Focal length,
Matrix metering, Aperture priority,  Auto white balance

2012.03.15

While eating breakfast this morning, I looked out and noticed that the early morning light was giving a golden glow to the neighbour's container [it is usually an eyesore!!] at our back fence. This contrasted with the green of our gumtree. I grabbed the camera before the grey clouds, which were rapidly building, obliterated the  glorious light. I had the ISO at 100 to start with, but I couldn't hold the camera for the length of time needed. Using the manual exposure program after I had put the ISO up to 500, I set the aperture down to f/9 with a shutter speed of 1/60 sec and this captured the goldeness accurately. The photo is not really a keeper, but for the learning process it was exactly what I needed.

f/9, 1/60 sec, ISO 500, 60 mm focal length
Manual exposure program, White balance: Sunny

2012.03.16
We had an early evening photo shoot together at Bell's Parade and Pig Island, Latrobe. [You've gotta love daylight savings!!] The low sun caught on the dead reed heads, the spider webs, the leaves of the trees and the river ... a delight for the senses at the end of a working week!

f/9, 1/400 sec, ISO 500, Spot metering, Aperture priority, WB: Sunny

2012.03.17
I love reflections on beaches, hence today's photo taken at Buttons Beach East, Ulverstone. I was playing around with "M", making my own decisions about aperture and shutter speed.

f/22, 1/60 sec, ISO 100, 34 mm focal length,
Matrix metering, Manual exposure program, WB: Sunny

2012.03.18
Having been sick all day today I made myself take a photo tonight because I had promised myself that I would have one a day ... but, I must admit, it was a struggle. I needed the tripod and put this on the food setting which was the easy way out! Hopefully i will be able to do a better job tomorrow!

f/4.5, 1/6 sec, ISO 1600, 30 mm focal length,
Matrix metering, Food setting, WB: auto

2012.03.19

I took this shot late this afternoon so I set the white balance onto auto - there was sun and shade intermingling. I was using my macro lens with a narrow aperture, hence the purple and white anther and stigma of the stamens and pistils, as well as the leaf, being the focus and the filaments of the bottlebrush flower being such a glorious muted red background. I vignetted it on Picasa 3 to block out one extraneous focussed leaf in the top left hand corner that spoiled the  composition. I then gave it a border, also in Picasa.

f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO 400. matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.03.20
I picked my last rose this afternoon [this morning it was still a bud!] and proceeded to explore aperture and metering, using my macro lens. This is on a small aperture which fades the verandah away and on spot metering.

f/2.8, 1/160 sec, ISO 100, Spot metering, Aperture Priority

2012.03.21

A late afternoon/early evening visit to the Bluff Beach and fiddling with all the settings using the manual exposure priority resulted in many duds and a few with which I was happy. I should possibly have clambered back over the rocks and got the tripod from the car and some of them, at a slower speed, may have been better.

f/22, 1/30 sec, ISO 250, Matrix metering, Manual exposure priority

2012.03.22

Tonight I was making Sally Wise's spicy Tomato and chilli relish, a great relish to have as a side for Indian food, or with meats. I decided to try manual exposure with this, as well as use the flash and the resultant colour is far more accurate than when I did it first on the food setting. Taken with my macro lens.

f/13, 1/160 sec, ISO 250,  60mm macro lens,
matrix metering, Manual exposure, WB: Flash

2012.03.23

Wanted to get some photos of some friends of ours before they went back to the mainland. Because there was a 5 month old I shot some in Baby mode, but I also shot some in B&W in Shutter priority. I had my macro lens on as I had been told it was good for portraits

f/2.2, 1/160 sec, ISO 250, Matrix metering,  Shutter priority

2012.03.24

Very boring photos today as most of the day has been spent beginning the autumn clear out of the vegie garden. However, I did take some shots of the golden nugget pumpkins before harvesting them. Maybe I should have joined Steve as he went for a late afternoon photo shoot at Pig Island!

f/22, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, -3 step exposure bias, 60mm focal point
Matrix metering, Manual exposure program, WB: Sun

2012.03.25
We were at Mole Creek for their service this afternoon and afterwards I was able to take a couple of shots of the spectacular scenery there. This is looking towards the Great Western Tiers.

f/22, 1/40 sec, ISO 100, 36mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority, WB: Sunny

2012.03.26

Steve and I spent a lovely couple of hours at Pig island Latrobe this afternoon (and he got an amazing shot of the night heron). I decided to do some shots of the bark of different trees in black and white and then I edited this in Picasa 3 with a slight boost and then gave it a shadow and border.

f/22, 1/5 sec [tripod], ISO 100, 55mm focal length,
Matrix metering, Aperture priority, Picasa 3 editing

2012.03.27

After a very hectic day I spent a little time in the garden late this afternoon trying to use my macro lens. I am still finding depth of field in close work difficult with it, but I am determined [hopefully it won't be too long in coming!].

f/14, 1/20 sec, ISO 800, Shooting mode: Vivid,
Metering: Centre-weighted average, Aperture Priority, WB: Auto

2012.03.28

I tried some portraits of my darling man tonight ... some funny, some serious. I used the macro lens and for most I used the 'rear flash' in flash mode. I forgot to change the white balance! This one, which I edited in Picasa 3 was not with flash.

f/2.8, 1/8 sec, ISO 200, Matrix metering,
Aperture priority, WB: Auto, Edited in Picasa 3

2012.03.29

I had fun trying to take some shots of hundreds and thousands being dropped into the icecream maker this afternoon near the end of the process of making icecream. This was because I was determined to have a couple of entries into the Camera House 100s and 1000s comp this week. I sharpened this a little and added a vignette and a border in Picasa 3.

f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO 200, macro lens, matrix metering,
Shutter priority, WB: Auto, Picasa 3 editing

2012.03.30

A late afternoon/early evening trip to Hawley allowed me to practise long shutter exposures with running water ... tripod and remote used! I don't have an ND filter which would give an even creamier effect I think.

f/25, 1.3 sec, ISO 100, 55mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture Priority, WB: Auto

2012.03.31

The camera was handy but not with the macro lens on, however I was able to capture this pretty moth/butterfly? as it sun-baked in the late afternoon on the chrysanthemums. 

f/16, 1/160sec, ISO 400, 55mm focal length,
Matrix metering, Aperture priority, WB: Sunny

So ends another month, a quarter of the way through this year of challenge. Already I am wondering what I'll do as the days shorten [Daylight Savings ends tonight as well] and there is the likelihood of some cold, damp days ahead of us through winter ... thinking of, or finding subjects to capture may be difficult. We'll see what the coming month brings!

A 366 day photo adventure - February 2012

2012.02.01
As you read yesterday, I have been spending the day cooking and preserving. I decided tonight I'd take today's shot of the Piccalili relish after it was cooked with the vegetable ingredients. I am not an arranger of anything like flowers etc, so trying to set this us was very difficult. I'd love to be more creative that way. Earlier in the afternoon I had thought of taking the bottles out into the garden and placing the board under them in the zucchini bushes ... maybe I should have! Being set again on the Scene setting, Food, I had no control over the depth of field [at least that I know of] ... I should have used Aperture Priority and set it for a great depth of field, I think.

f/4.5, 1/13 sec, ISO 1600, Matrix metering, Scene setting: Food

2012.02.02

Having spent another day in the kitchen creating a freezer overload, I only got to my camera after sunset but while we were having our wonderful Tassie twilight. I had the macro lens and the tripod as well as the remote for the shutter. I also experimented with the 6 different picture control settings in the shooting menu: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape. Plus I was doing manual focus using live view as I had the tripod very low. I had more failures than not!  Probably for this I needed a higher F stop as one of the outer petals is out of focus [but I must have bumped the dial as it was on manual priority and not aperture anyway ... sigh!]. Monochrome worked better with this than any of the other settings!

f/11, 1/6 sec, ISO 1600, Centre Weighted metering, Manual  Priority

2012.02.03

I went into the garden early this morning with the macro lens as I need so much practice with it and the manual  focusing. I had to use the Action setting as the wind was blowing everything about.

f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 800, Matrix metering, Program setting: Action

2012.02.04

Sometimes photos are more of a record of events than artistic endeavours. Today we went for a long trek through the coastal scrub and when we had slogged [read I had slogged] our way to the top of the sand dunes I knew I would never get up again if I went the long way down to the beach. Although I could see the waves crashing in West Coast style, my sense overcame the desire to photograph them. While I waited for Steve at the top of the dune, battling the wind and the blowing sand, I enjoyed experimenting with different settings on the camera and different angles from which to take a photo. This was on Shutter Priority to capture the grass which was being swayed about erratically and I also used a wide F stop to get the movement of the waves in the distance. I have a tendency to be heavy handed when pushing the shutter and this moves the camera down to the right ... rather noticeable when the horizon is involved.

f/20, 1/125 sec, ISO 250,  Matrix metering,  Shutter Priority

2012.02.05

Today we went to "the Edge of the World", a point where the tannin stained Arthur River meets the pristine Southern Ocean which is often whipped up by the very strong winds known as the Roaring Forties. The wind was strong enough that I could not hold the camera still even when on the speed setting, so I got the tripod and still had to hold onto it! I was thrilled with this shot of both the pristine salt and the tannin stained fresh water meeting.

f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 500, Matrix metering, Program setting: Action

2012.02.06

After the rain of the previous day, we went for a climb up a hill in a very damp rainforest. Even having knocked a leech off previously I just had to kneel down on the forest floor to get close enough to these little fungi which were barely half a centimetre in diameter. I used my macro lens and focused manually and only after I had this on the computer did I see the two yellow fungi that were even smaller! My tripod was a necessity!

f/22, 1 sec, ISO 450, Spot metering, 60mm focal point, Aperture priority

2012.02.07

We had a ball today going on the Abt Railway from Queenstown to Strahan. Steve and I were like a pair of kids as we stood at the rear of the train taking photos! I found that if I had it set on Aperture priority I got shots that gave the impression of going through a tunnel but if I wanted tourist bureau type shots like this one I had to use the Action program.

f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 800, Matrix metering, Program setting: Action

2012.02.08

With no sign of the previous days' inclement weather we travelled through Hydro country and stopped for a cuppa above Lake Plimsoll, part of the Anthony Scheme. One could not wish for a better advertisement for the beauty of the South West or the glorious Tasmanian summer weather than this!

f/22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.09

Being another day of preserving, I only got to the camera in the evening. The vegie garden was the only place to go, so I took this, again a record more than anything else as we have never had such an abundance of golden nugget pumpkins as we have on the vine this year. Can you see 8 pumpkins in this frame alone? I also really like the contrast of the orange and the green. I have tried a number of shots in the past days using the Manual exposure program, choosing both the shutter speed and the aperture. Because I have the shooting menu set to Automatic ISO if needed, the camera compensated to the maximum I've allowed.

f/22, 1/60, ISO 6400, matrix metering, Manual exposure program

2012.02.10

As I was cutting up the ingredients, and then placing them in the boiler for cooking, and then bottling, salsa today I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of the red, white and green of the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili and capsicum, so before I added the spices and put it on to boil I experimented with shots using different exposures, different program settings and the scene setting for food. The one I have chosen for tonight is the one for food where the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO is chosen for you. It has really highlighted the vibrant colours although it has picked up the reflection of the kitchen light above.

f/4.2, 1/60 sec, ISO 1100, Matrix metering, Scene setting: Food

2012.02.11

The inaugural Devonport Pub to Club swim was on today, supposedly 2 km down the Mersey River and around the point and through Bass Straight to the Bluff, although it was probably more. The participants had to handle waves in the river today. I had put my 55-300 kit lens on so that I could get some of the action. I used manual priority and chose f/22 for depth of field with very high shutter speeds as it was such a sunny day. I still have my shooting settings with the Auto ISO turned on.

f/22, 1/1000 sec, ISO 2500, focal length 300 mm, Matrix metering, Manual priority

2012.02.12

Another superb summer day with activities happening throughout Devonport gave opportunity to capture different types of images to that which is my norm. I again used the manual setting with an aperture of f/22, but brought the speed down to 1/640 sec. Some of my images on higher shutter speeds had far too dark a sky. This is something I will need to work through to find solutions. Maybe I should take some without having my Auto ISO switched on. I had set the ISO at 500 but this was over-ridden. I don't know what would have happened if the Auto had been turned off ... something else to find out in this learning process. I loved this kite, and I especially like the translucent look of the body as it approached the clouds around its head.

f/22, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600, Focal length 55 mm, Matrix metering, Manual priority

2012.02.13

Yesterday I had found that many of my shots using manual setting of both aperture and shutter speed had far too dark a sky. I put it down to having the ISO sensitivity being set to Auto so tonight I tried both manual and Aperture exposure settings with it set on "off". I think I might have made a wrong assumption ... something else to work through! My sunset shots using Manual and Aperture were mostly okay ... just! I had forgotten my tripod as I'd changed my mind as to where I wanted to go and that took extra time getting there. Although I was able to balance the camera on the wall at Braddon's Lookout it was not as still as it should have been! I put the camera onto the Scene setting: Sunset and took this shot of the Forth Valley.

f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO 400, focal length 98 mm, Matrix metering, Scene setting: Sunset

2012.02.14

It's Valentines Day so I decided to have some fun with our wedding certificate and rings. I used the macro lens, the tripod and us crawling around the floor trying to get our hands in too ... that didn't work so the rings came off ... after 38 years Steve needed soap to do so. I'm not artistic but I finally got our rings in good focus [manual focus] and after uploading I used Picnik to put a fancy Valentines border. By using this program the size of the photo diminishes but this is just for computer fun, not for printing. This really does get me out of my comfort zone as I am not creative with arrangements etc ... give me the God created environment to work with any day!

f/22, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, 60 mm focal length, Matrix metering, Flash, Manual priority

2012.02.15

I was up early so that I could do some cooking and bottling before school. I went outside at first light to pick more tomatoes and I looked up to see wispy pink/orange clouds. Naturally I grabbed the camera which still had the macro lens on it, but couldn't change it in case I woke Steve up. I was struggling with the aperture and shutter speed in the dawn light so chose to put it onto the "program" setting which adjusts to the appropriate settings quickly [this is different from the "Auto" setting]. The different movements within these clouds appealed to me.

f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO 100, Focal length 60 mm, Matrix metering, Program setting

2012.02.16

We had visitors from interstate staying with us, and being a beautiful summer evening, we took them down to the shores of the Mersey River to show them the great sight of the Spirit of Tasmania leaving Devonport. While walking near the mouth of the river I looked back towards the setting sun to take a series of shots with the depth of colour in the sky, the subtle reflections of light on Bass Strait and the silhouetted trees along the shoreline. I ended up using shutter priority as I was finding the aperture priority very dark, even with making many adjustments. This result is a true reflection of the sky as we saw it.

f/14, 1/100 sec, ISO 100, 32 mm focal length, Matrix metering, shutter priority

2012.02.17

Sometimes a photo just has to tell a story and nothing else. Tonight, while we were having tea, the heavens opened and it poured as if Tassie was in the tropics. I left my tea, grabbed my camera and took some shots from the front and back verandahs. As the rain became heavier I knew that the tripod was the only way to go as I couldn't hold the camera steady enough in the gloom of the cloudburst. The neighbours' guttering spouted like a waterfall, the street was flooded as the storm water could not get away fast enough, and we had a shower running off the back verandah roofing. The colour in this shot is correct as it was just prior to what would have been sunset if we'd had a sunset! The cloud was a sickly pale yellowish, greenish grey. I had changed the ISO to a much higher reading to enable the photo to be taken in the deepening dark.

f/22, 1/13 sec, ISO 1250, 26mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.18

After last night's 58 ml rain I  knew we had to get to the tomatoes first thing this morning before they could be grabbed by the snails! We picked 8 and a half kilo of lovely red tomatoes and before I prepared them for bottling I took a couple of snaps. Being f/22, I needed the tripod as the time was more than I could hold but i had forgotten to change the ISO back after I'd need a high ISO last night because of the  late shooting time. Sometimes the old brain forgets that I am no longer a point and shoot user! The tomatoes that are red with green stripes are a heritage variety [don't remember the name] and they are just like tomatoes were when we were kids ... scrumptious!

f/22, 1/2 sec, ISO 1250, matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.19

This photo of the window in the Don church was taken for a friend today. I took it from inside with the tripod, making sure that I had changed the ISO this time! I tried the white balance on Auto, shade and cloud but the Auto brought out the colour more accurately.

f/22, 1/13 sec, ISO 100, 55mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.20

We had visitors staying. Steve's sister does not like having photos taken and so I began to take some portraits of Steve with her, but concentrating on her. I used the portrait setting on the camera with the macro lens. I am very happy with the way this one came out, very natural.

f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO 800, focal length 60 mm, matrix metering, Portrait setting

2012.02.21

Our apples have started to be ready to eat and this morning I took some close-ups with the macro lens of one that had been picked. It was on the dining table and I took it from various angles. Because the only light was through the kitchen window and I wasn't using the flash, I needed to use the remote shutter release. This afternoon I had some fun playing with the exposure and colour of a couple of the shots. The following are the original and the one I've played around with on Windows Live Photo Gallery.

cropped with exposure and colour adjusted

Original: f/22, 10 sec, ISO 100, 60 mm focal length,
Centre-weighted metering,  no flash, Aperture priority

2012.02.22

Steve found and unwelcome visitor this morning and as he was going to take it outside, he showed me. It was rather pretty, even if it was very, very small. I grabbed the camera and he placed the spider on the kitchen bench where I was preparing breakfast. The shots I took on Aperture priority were okay, the ones on Action when it decided to more around were not!

Macro lens, cropped
f/22, 1/4 sec, ISO 800, 60 mm focal length, Centre-weighted metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.23

I had awful ones tonight! Why? I forgot some basic things! I did not change the shooting setting to 'Portrait', nor did I remember that four adults cannot sit still for the length of time I had the camera set and I forgot to take the White balance off "sunny"!!! I did change from f/22 to f/14 after a while and upped the ISO, but I really am not happy with any of them. Mind you, I left this till really late in the evening which does not help! I used the tripod and the remote. This is the best of a bad lot!

f/14, 1/5 sec, ISO 3200, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.24

After school today we all went out to Hawley Beach as I did not want Jenny and Mike to return to Sydney without seeing this special part of Tassie. One of the things I tried was to get the camera lower that I could get and use Live View to position it ... I was proud of myself that I could actually get the horizon straight, although that is not obvious in this shot.

f/22, 1/40 sec, ISO 100, Focal length 38 mm, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

2012.02.25

After we took Jenny and mike to the airport at Launceston we proceeded to Evandale for their Evandale Village Market and National Penny-farthing Championships. A brilliant day and one where there were many of us who were wandering around with cameras around our necks! It gave me the opportunity to experiment with manual priority as I needed shutter speed for the action taking place, but I also wanted DoF for the 'feel' of the crowd [although in this shot i don't have the huge crowd that was there]. There were electric lines and PA system lines everywhere, but the corner on which I was standing was a tight one for these old bikes to negotiate and it was action I wanted. This shot is during the final of the championship.

f/13, 1/1250 sec, ISO 800, Focal length 55 mm, matrix metering, Manual Priority

2012.02.26

Steve was preaching at Stanley today, so after the church lunch we went walking with our cameras on Godfrey's Beach - going in different directions looking for different things! I have taken many photos of the Nut, but none from down at beach level, so I took a number today. This one has too much sand but seems to me to be aesthetically quite pleasing. I think I really needed a wide angle lens ... I used the widest angle I could make with the kit lens.

f/22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, Focal length 18 mm, Matrix metering, Aperture Priority

2012.02.27

I was chuffed this morning when I had some of my photos developed at Camera House to have Phil, who takes the adult ed classes as well as working there sharing his expertise, critique my images very positively indeed. It was very encouraging! This afternoon I again tried different settings with my macro lens, and again, I have a long way to go! This photo  is cropped to portrait of one I had taken in landscape. It is of one floret of a newly opened nerine.

f/22, 1/50 sec, ISO 100, focal length 60 mm, Matrix metering, Aperture priority, (cropped)

2012.02.28

Well, this is a learning challenge and today I learned something important ... if a human is involved they just might move away from what they are doing and put a ghostly image into your shot if the shutter speed is slow. Our friend was building the new framework for our new oven [the old oven was bigger than the new one] and he was in the space vacated by the old oven. I had the camera on Aperture priority and it had the speed at 10 secs and no sooner did I release the shutter than Jack crawled out. I then did some experiments with different shutter, aperture and ISO settings using the manual priority until I reached the ones I thought best for the continued pictorial diary of the oven installation - hence the 2 photos tonight.

f/22, 10 sec, ISO 100, 18mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

f/9, 1/30 sec, ISO 2500, 18mm focal length, matrix metering, Manual Priority

2012.02.29

Well the last day of the second month has come on my 366 day journey this leap year. Being a school day it was after 6.00 pm that we went down to the rocky end of Coles Beach, our local beach. I had my macro lens on and I took some scenes as well as some interesting seaweed. I was using the tripod and the shutter release. When I arrived home I fiddled with this photo on Windows Live Photo Gallery, having to straighten the horizon a little [water is unforgiving when it comes to horizons!] and I applied the orange filter to give this monochrome effect which I happen to like better, even though I hadn't thought of shooting in B&W when I was down there.

f/22, 1/15sec, ISO 125, 60mm focal length, Matrix metering, Aperture priority

Thus ends my second month of trying to extend my photography; thinking about the way I take photos and practising things that are new to me. I would love some feedback about my photos if you feel so inclined.

Cheers until the new month begins tomorrow!