A Beginner's Adventures in Photography

Holiday Card - A Follow-Up

2010-12-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

So as mentioned in my previous post, I participated in Shutterfly's blogger promotion for holiday cards. Ever since I got that wonderful email stating "Exciting news: A bright-orange Shutterfly package is on its way, with unbelievable memories inside," I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my holiday cards.

I was so excited to come home today and find my Shutterfly package waiting for me at the door. I absolutely love these bright orange boxes because they are always filled with something that will instantly make me smile. And the contents of today's package were no different. I LOVE LOVE LOVE our holiday cards! They came out so nice and the quality of the stationary cards is superb.

Getting our photos done was a bit of a mission. With no budget for professional photos, I decided to put our camera's timer function to the test. Before even taking the photos, I had to spend some time getting the camera set at the proper angle and height to capture all of us in the frame. I ended up with the camera set on top of Nicolas' wrapped Christmas gift, which was set on top of our living room end table. To hold the camera steady at the right angle, I propped up the front of it with one of the baby's bibs! My concoction looked like something out of a cartoon. But once that was set up, it was on to the second difficult part of our photo mission..... getting Nicolas to look at the camera. At first, he wouldn't stop looking down at the dog, who was watching the little production taking place in his home. So, we had to put the dog away in one of the bedrooms to remove that distraction...which still didn't work since Nicolas just refused to look in the direction of the camera. To finally get him to look up at the camera, I had to shake one of his toys in front of him and then throw it in the direction of the camera right before the picture was taken. It took several shots, but we finally got one! The individual pictures of Mommy and Daddy with the baby were easy since someone was on the other end of the camera making silly faces and noises.

We actually wanted to include our dog in the photo as well, but we decided that it would be impossible to get the cooperation of both of them. Maybe next year.

I'm so excited to send out our beautiful cards and I have already addressed all the envelopes. After my trip to the post office tomorrow, they will be on their way to other homes, hopefully bringing a smile to the faces of the recipients as the cards brought one to mine.

Christmas Photos!

2010-11-21T03:04:00.003-05:00

Every year, since the year I moved out of my dad's home, I have done a Christmas card to send out to family and friends. I remember my first Christmas cards were handcrafted with a picture of me and Trouble included inside. Then the next year it was a greeting card where you could insert a photo into, so we sent out a photo of my husband and I. The next year I was scrambling around for last minute cards since Christmas caught up with me and our holiday card was just something simple, no pictures. And then I discovered photo cards! Following my wedding in 2008, we used one of the wedding photos for our first official Mr. and Mrs. Christmas card. I had done these cards through Walgreens since there was in-store pickup (I was running last minute and needed cards a week before Christmas, yikes!). To be honest I have no idea what we did last year, but I have a feeling there was no greeting card since my father-in-law's death was still fresh in my mind.

Well now that the holidays are rolling around, and our family of 3 (me, my husband, and our dog) has grown to 4 with the arrival of our son this year. So it's time to think about holiday greeting cards! Although I have done holiday greeting cards before, I feel like this is my first real holiday card. And what better way to put my photography skills to good use. Now I just need to have a little photo session with my son to get the perfect picture.

I have been scouring website after website to find the perfect design for our first family card. I've always loved Shutterfly's holiday collections, but I've always thought about cards ordering cards when it's too late to get something shipped. Not this year! I've been eyeing their cards already and there are some really cute ones. Here are some of my favorites (more can be found at shutterfly.com):

Which one do you like best??? What's even better, Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards for bloggers, woo hoo! So many card options to choose from, I guess it will just depend on what types of photos I get of the little man.

Shutterfly is also great all year long, not just holiday time. I've ordered photo books and prints there many times. Check out all their products: Christmas Cards, Christmas Photo Cards, Desk Calendars, Photo Mugs, Birthday Cards, Holiday Invitations, and more.

Leopold!

2010-10-17T12:26:00.000-04:00

Miami Lakes has a wide collection of ducks roaming the neighborhood lakes, and this particular one we call "Leopold".

See the resemblance?

Bugs Bunny as Leopold in "Long-Haired Hare"

Image courtesy of Cartoonatics

La Bembona

2010-10-09T11:33:00.001-04:00

I took this picture of my niece. It was not even intentional, one of those accidental shots that end up becoming a favorite. She is a fireball of energy, and I thought this photo really brought out her beauty. I'm blowing this up and plan on giving it to her mom as a small gift.

I'm Back!

2010-10-09T11:27:00.000-04:00

Well, sorta.... A lot has happened in the past year and there have been a lot of (good) distractions which have left this blog neglected. Not promising anything just yet, but my goal here is to try to get a couple posts a month. Or at least share on here when I have a photo which I really think needs to be shared.

When You Wish Upon a Star...

2009-09-30T19:54:00.001-04:00

What kid doesn't like Disney. Wait, let me rephrase that....what person does not like Disney! When I look back on my childhood, there wasn't an age where a Disney character wasn't a part of my life. I lucked out and found a coupon code for Disney on Ice: Princess Classics, so I bought some tickets to take my little sister. With the discount, our tickets came out to $30 total; to say that was a steal is an understatement. The show was beautiful, and I may have enjoyed it even more than Nicole.

Now I know I have complained about my camera on a few occasions here. But man, did this camera work amazingly for this show. We didn't have the worst seats, but we were still 30 rows back from the action. Looking at the pictures though, you would think we were a lot closer.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse

Unfortunately, where my camera was cooperating, my brain was not. I had batteries in my camera which were running low on power. So I made sure to take a spare set. Bad part is I discovered during the show that those batteries were dead! I could have sworn they were fully charged when I removed them from the charger a few days before. So I didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked. But here is a sampling of the shots I did get. Excuse the lighting on a couple of them. Like I said, we were thirty rows back. Don't think flash makes much of a difference at that distance in a dark arena.

Aladdin aka Prince Ali Ababwa

Aladdin and Princess Jasmine

A whole new world....

Sleeping Beauty: Prince Phillip and Briar-Rose (Princess Aurora)

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream....

Prince Eric and Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

Mulan and Moo Shoo

Belle and her prince (Beauty and the Beast)

Cinderella and Prince Charming at the ball

Missed me?

2009-09-28T18:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes it's been quite a while since my last post. And for those of you following along, you will forgive me when I tell you why. I'll try to keep this short since this is a photo blog after all. On July 11th around 10:00pm I received an unexpected phone call which rocked my world. Without any notice, my father-in-law passed away from a heart attack. Here is the last picture I took of the man, taken on his last birthday February 10, 2009.

My father-in-law was such a beautiful man. Anyone who was fortunate enough to have met him would tell you the same. He was a person who truly went through life looking at the positive side of things. No matter what happened, he always saw the good. He just really enjoyed life with his wife, kids, and grandchildren. I don't think I could say enough good things about him for you to understand how truly special he was. Let's just say that I'm honored to carry his last name. The only other person I would rank above my father-in-law would be my father (and here's hoping God lets me keep him for at least 20 more years). Since that dreadful night, life has felt like such an emotional rollercoaster. As if that tragedy wasn't enough, exactly one month later I found out I was pregnant.... only to miscarry a week later. So yeah, you forgive me now right?

I'm trying to get back into the normal swing of things still, which includes my photography. I hope I can at least get one post in every two weeks. I was able to break out the camera this weekend though, and later this week you will get to see some shots I took at Disney on Ice.

Bubbles!

2009-06-21T19:46:00.004-04:00

What is it with kids and bubbles?

Who am I kidding... if I were Nicole's age, I'd be chasing bubbles too!

A Quirky Place

2009-06-02T19:48:00.004-04:00

Please excuse the photo quality. This was taken with my camera phone. I love Miami Lakes. Along with being a beautiful, family-friendly neighborhood, they have quirky little signs like these. I ran into this at CVS yesterday. Move over handicap and stroller parkers!

Dade County Courthouse

2009-05-26T21:29:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite buildings in Downtown Miami is the Dade County Courthouse. It's a nice touch of history amongst all the new office and condo buildings being built up in Miami. Although I work as a paralegal, I probably have only been in this building once. It was for jury duty the Monday after I graduated from the University of Miami back in December 2004. Maybe one day I'll get lucky and get to experience a trial here.

Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T22:28:00.009-04:00

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post, close to a month. Forgive me! I hope you all had a nice, long Memorial Day weekend. Miami weather can be a bastard sometimes, and this weekend it really let us have it with all the rain. I wanted to try to head out and take some shots of the Downtown Miami skyline or Miami Beach during Hip Hop weekend, but with the crazy weather it didn't happen. Luckily, we had a small window of sunshine today and our small BBQ for two went off without a hitch. I thought I would share some of photos of the delicious food that we had today in celebration of Memorial Day. Lenin grilled up some awesome pork spareribs and I prepared some potatoes, corn, and a "No Bake" cheesecake to complete the meal.

Delicious spareribs on the grill

The grillmaster himself. I have no idea what it is with guys and grilling. They don't like to cook, but somehow LOVE to grill on the barbeque. If you ask me, that's a form a cooking. (Lenin doesn't like taking pictures and probably isn't thrilled with me posting this shot of him, but let's see if he is actually keeping up with my blog to catch this!)

The final products!

Happy Memorial Day to all! Thoughts and prayers go out to all our soldiers serving our country overseas and to the families of those whom we have lost.

Sports Photography Revisited

2009-04-30T20:30:00.005-04:00

I know, I know... I've been slacking. I guess I've just been so caught up doing things around the house, I've kinda put the photography aside. I discovered the world of bargain shopping and coupon clipping, so let's just say my "Holly Housewife" gene has been in overdrive over the past couple weeks.

Well, last week was one of my brother's last home games as a Killian volleyball player; so Lenin and I both made the trek down to Kendall to watch. This game was particularly special because during the pre-game warm-ups there was a ceremony for the three seniors that will be gone after this year. We had the whole family there cheering him on!

I took the opportunity to try my hand at sports photography once more. Since I wasn't being commissioned as the team photographer this time around, I concentrated more on shooting my brother throughout the game. He did great once again and Killian won!

I'm a sucker for team huddle photos. Maybe it's because I have spent a lot of my childhood and young adult life in them because of soccer.

A photo with the future superstar...

Smile for the Camera...

2009-04-21T22:13:00.010-04:00

Yeah, I'm back. I was on a mini-break for the past week from my little hobby here. Of course, my first post back is Trouble. We went to Orlando over the weekend to visit some family, which means Trouble got to spend some quality time at his Tia Lupe's house. Sure, he is smiling in this photo, but it's only because he doesn't realize he's getting dumped for a couple of days. He was whining like a little baby as soon as we left. He's very attached to us. But his cute smile was right back as soon as we went to pick him up on Sunday night.

He really is a cute dog.

The Big 5-0!

2009-04-12T22:24:00.012-04:00

Today, my dad turned a young 50 years old. We had a party last night at his house with all the family and friends. It wasn't a huge, fancy party but it was so much fun. Everyone had a blast, even the birthday boy! In the spirit of the milestone age, my dad was decked out in his Hawaiian shirt. You know, Hawaii "Five-O."

This is the cake I ordered for the party. It was so adorable, and SUPER DELICIOUS!

Unfortunately, the little guy didn't make it through the end of the night.

I hope you enjoyed your party, Dad! We are all so lucky to have such a wonderful person as our father. You have always put us first and pushed for us to be the absolute best we can be. I only hope that I can one day be at least half the parent you are. Happy Birthday!

I think I will always be "daddy's little girl."

Dad and all his kids!

Floral Fridays

2009-04-10T08:53:00.007-04:00

I can't decide which one I like best, the regular color-enhanced one or the sepia-toned version. Happy Good Friday all!

Do Not Disturb

2009-04-07T07:00:00.001-04:00

Do you ever wonder what it's like to wake up a basset hound from his beauty sleep? Trouble has so much expression in his face sometimes that I swear he is consciously communicating with me. I was bored so I started snapping some pictures of him as he slept on the couch. He got cranky and shot me this mean, "I'm trying to sleep here" look.

Be There...The Fair!

2009-04-04T18:13:00.007-04:00

Yup, it's that time of year again. Schools are coming up on Spring Break here in South Florida which means only one thing... the Miami Dade County Fair is in full swing. Now exactly 7 years ago, when Lenin and I had just started dating, we tried to go to the fair. Traffic was so horrible that we ended up calling it a night once we had finally hit the intersection of Coral Way and SW 107 Avenue. Last weekend, we decided to give it another shot. We are both HUGE fans of fair-type food. I'm not sure how these people make the food so delicious, but I'm convinced no restaurant in the world could replicate the kind of food found at the fair and make it taste as good. Anything you can imagine can be found at the fair, fried and on a stick!

Lucky for us, the fair gods were smiling down on us since we made it to the fair with hardly any traffic. We did only a handful of rides, but we went there with one purpose...to eat! After the turkey legs, italian sausages, pinchos, arepas, corn on the cob, and cinnamon roll, we were both walking around with a waddle. My inner fatso was in a state of complete bliss. I felt like any food craving that I had experienced over the past year had been completely satisfied. I wish I would have taken more pictures while we were there, but with all the food I just wanted to find a bed to sleep by the end of it all. I seriously think we consumed at least 10,000 calories!

The fair is located at Tamiami Park (by FIU) and is in town until April 12th.

Floral Fridays

2009-04-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sunflowers are my absolute favorite flower of all time! I'll say it over and over again. For my wedding this past November, I had a sunflower bouquet. My kitchen is decorated with sunflower curtains, rug, towels, and even paper towel holder. I wish I could grow a garden of sunflowers. I know they aren't the fanciest flowers, but every time I see them it makes me smile. One sunflower can turn a bad day around for me. Not sure how many of you have seen the movie "The Order" with Heath Ledger. There is a whole conversation about sunflowers which I think perfectly describes their beauty. "I always thought that when God was making beautiful things, He messed up with sunflowers... Well, 'cause they look like - I don't know. They look like crooked teeth around a mouth that's too big, kind of.... But... just when He was about to start over, He realized that's what made them beautiful. They were a brilliant mistake."

DPS Assignment: Shallow Depth of Field

2009-04-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

This week's assignment really had me craving a new camera. Shallow depth of field basically means that only one part of the overall image is in focus while the rest is not. Using shallow depth of field will draw a person's attention to the part of the photo that's in focus. DSLR cameras have special lenses specifically made for these shots, which is why I say I was wishing for a new camera. The group is going a little abstract with next week's assignment, "Wisdom." I'm going to have to really tap into my creativity for that one.

Don't forget to check out the other DPS submissions!

This guy knows how to relax...

2009-03-31T07:00:00.001-04:00

I'm sure it's not just basset hounds, maybe just dogs in general. This hound sleeps in the most awkward positions yet he looks so ridiculously comfortable.

Sports Photography

2009-03-29T15:06:00.016-04:00

Thursday night I tried my hand at sports photography, in this case high school volleyball. My dad had invited me to make the trek down to Coral Reef High School to watch my younger brother play. He is the star for Miami Killian's varsity volleyball team (Sorry, I have to brag some. I'm very proud of him as if he were my son). During my lunch break at work, I brushed up on sports photography tips. The books I have and online forums all suggested I use the highest ISO setting possible, fast shutter speed, and the largest aperture. It was also mentioned that the white balance setting be put at tungsten or fluorescent since indoor gyms tend to give photos a green hue. Unfortunately, at this time, I'm only working with a point and shoot camera with limited settings. But I figured I would give it my best shot.

I came across some challenges during the course of the game. I was informed by my brother's coach that I couldn't use flash photography since the referees would complain that it was a distraction. Anyone who has been in a high school gym knows that the lighting isn't the best, so this had me a little worried. To compensate for the fact that I could not use flash, I had to reduce my shutter speed to 1/100. This provided me with somewhat decent lighting in my shots, but also hindered my ability to get those fast action shots without any blur. A member of the DPS forums suggested that I use a shutter speed of 1/500 and an ISO setting of 2000+ for indoor volleyball, which is clearly something my camera is not capable of. I can achieve a shutter speed as fast as 1/1000, but the highest ISO setting possible on my camera is only 400.

I think my first experiment with sports photography turned out okay. Maybe I'll have better luck with an outdoor sport. Here are some of my favorite shots from Thursday's game. Oh, and Killian ended up winning. My brother (#13) had 27 kills and 11 of the team's 14 digs, what a stud!

These photos, and others not included in this post, are going to be offered for purchase to the players' parents as a team fundraiser. So I guess I not only got my first crack at sports photography, I also got my first commissioned job!

Winner!

2009-03-28T10:29:00.002-04:00

BDPC Mini-Challenge: Portraits. Woo hoo, I'm on a roll this week!

Floral Fridays

2009-03-27T07:00:00.001-04:00

I know, I know...another hibiscus. But hey, I'm in Florida; what do you expect!

Miami Agriculture & Cattle Show, Part 2

2009-03-26T07:00:00.007-04:00

Here is the continuation to my post earlier this week on the Miami International Agriculture & Cattle Show held over the weekend at Tropical Park.

Trouble the "Sous Chef"

2009-03-24T07:00:00.020-04:00

Image courtesy of Lucy Dog Design

Hardly! Every time I'm in the kitchen making something, Trouble is always nearby. Lenin calls him my sous chef. Problem is, he's not much help in the kitchen like the basset hound pictured above. He looks more like this when he's on the job.

I'll admit I'm kind of a messy cook/baker so there is a good chance of something hitting the floor while I'm working in there. Sunday night we had a nice weekend-style dinner, chicken salad sandwiches. Lenin loves these sandwiches and it's an easy way to use up that leftover chicken in the fridge. Of course, Trouble assumed the position, patiently waiting for some food to fall on the floor. What makes me laugh about him playing "sous chef" is that he doesn't cry, begging for a little taste; it's that he just hangs out quietly. The second I look at him, his tail starts wagging uncontrollably. I can see it in his eyes, "Is she going to throw me some food?" I look away, his tail calms down, and he goes back to quietly hanging out....until I make eye contact again. But then I look his way once more, and he gives me these sad looks.

How can I resist that cutie! He sat there waiting on me for 30 minutes and his patience paid off since he got a little piece of chicken. Funny thing is that when a small piece of celery fell to the floor, he sniffed it and just left it there. Guess he's not a veggie kind of guy.

On another note, if you have a chance check out the super cute doggie art by Lucy Dog Design. Her specialty is poodles, but there is art of all different breeds including the image of the Sous Chef above.

DPS Assignment - Vivid

2009-03-23T22:46:00.006-04:00

I missed the previous DPS weekly assignment, which was "Portrait of a Person." I wish I would have gone to that agricultural show a week ago because I could have submitted one of the shots from that collection. Well, the newest assignment was "Vivid." Photos were to have a nice, bright color that would draw attention to the subject in the photo or be the subject of the photo. Either way, the color was the important key.

Usually, Lenin handles the responsibility of walking Trouble in the morning and at night; but for the past week or so, I've taken the hound out for his nightly walks. We have the same routine: leave the house, turn right, to the lamp post, and back home. Each night I passed that bright lamp post thinking it would make a great subject for this assignment, so tonight I finally took my camera out with us on our walk. Now Trouble has been taking his sweet time lately, sniffing every blade of grass his nose comes near. But of course since I took my camera with me, he was all over place. After I few tries, I got the shot I wanted.

Don't forget to check out what the other DPS students submitted for this week's assignment. Next assignment is "Shallow Depth of Field."

I Actually Won!

2009-03-23T17:30:00.004-04:00

I participate in two photography challenges on a somewhat regular basis, the DPS weekly assignments and the flickr group BDPC, Beginner Digital Photography Challenge. The way this flickr group works is challenges are posted and depending on the type of challenge 3-6 photos are submitted. Voting begins and the first person to reach 6 votes wins. I kinda got out of the routine of participating in these challenges because 1) I didn't have any photos which fit the themes chosen, and 2) I simply got discouraged not winning anything. There was a mini challenge I came across last night themed "Bling!". The other two submissions were shots of engagement rings, so I went along with that underlying theme and submitted the following photo of our wedding rings. You may remember it from a previous post on this blog.

Amazingly enough, I won! No, I don't get a prize or anything; but it's still exciting! What winning any of this group's challenges basically means I get to add this photo to the group pool and I get to choose the theme for the next mini challenge, which I cannot participate in since I'm the previous winner. I decided on "Smoke" for the next mini challenge theme. I initially considered "Sleep", probably because I am a bit tired today, but I noticed that was a challenge not too long ago. I hope the participants have fun with my theme.

Miami Agriculture & Cattle Show

2009-03-22T18:26:00.009-04:00

For the past few weeks, I've noticed an advertisement on the Metrorail train for the Miami International Agriculture & Cattle Show. I had never heard of this festival even though this was it's second year in existence. Not that I have much interest in agriculture or cattle, but the festival was free so I decided to check it out this weekend. It had been raining here on and off over the past couple of days but I lucked out with gorgeous weather. The festival was packed! I couldn't believe how many people were at Tropical Park for this thing. But I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing I had, "Why not, it's free." I had a lot of fun. My only regret is that I forgot my cash in another bag and couldn't pig out on the delicious looking food or buy any fruits and veggies. Lenin and I will definitely be checking out this festival next year. We are always looking for an excuse to eat fair-type food. The festival consisted of agricultural product vendors, horse training shows, pony rides, livestock sales, rodeo show, music, and tons of food. If you have a chance next year, I would definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you have children.

To be continued....

Floral Fridays

2009-03-20T07:00:00.002-04:00

This post is dedicated to two special people in Boston, Stephanie and Alex. I can go on forever here how big of a part in my life Stephanie is. As I said in my card to her for my wedding, she is my matron of honor in life. Anyways, they are currently living in Boston since her husband Alex is in medical school. Today they found out that he got accepted into a residency program in Miami, so I'm getting them back. Woo hoo! Congratulations you guys and can't wait to see you again. This is the most tropical thing I had to post in honor of your return to Miami. 65 days and counting.....

Coral Gables, Part 1

2009-03-19T18:28:00.008-04:00

I love the Coral Gables area. If it wasn't so expensive, I would live there. There are so many beautiful, old looking houses and I just love how you drive down the streets with trees hanging over it. It's a nice area just to drive through on a lazy day. When I was in college at the University of Miami, I loved taking the back roads through the neighborhood and looking at the scenery. There are so many pretty sites to see, but this post focuses on two particular areas of Coral Gables which are my favorite sites.

There is a spot located at the corner of SW 57 Ave. and SW 8 St. which is affectionately referred to as the "Coral Gables Ruins." I call it the Coral Gables "fountain." You cannot drive past this spot on a weekend day without seeing a blushing bride, a happily engaged couple, or a beautiful quinceanera having pictures taken there. I even wanted to have my wedding ceremony there at one time, but then realized it might not be so classy having a strip club on the opposite side of 8th Street and parking could also be an issue in this area. Nevertheless, this would have to be my favorite spot in Coral Gables and I think the pictures will make you agree.

Another spot I like is the Granada Boulevard roundabout. I would always use this landmark as a point of reference when driving around in Coral Gables. From this intersection you can access the Biltmore Hotel and Venetian Pools (don't worry, those photos will soon come). I never really paid attention though to how beautiful and detailed it actually is until I pulled over to take this shot. I now realize after saying how beautiful the detailing is, I should get a closer shot for the next time so it can be truly appreciated.

A Lil' Bit of Trouble on a Tuesday

2009-03-17T07:10:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I wish I could be Trouble for the day. That guy really knows how to relax.

Journey to Hialeah

2009-03-14T18:08:00.009-04:00

At the risk of offending past or present Hialeah residents, I would just like to say that Hialeah drives me crazy. Other South Florida drivers may agree with me on that too! This has to be the one city in South Florida, maybe in the whole country, where Mapquest directions don't apply. Maybe it makes sense to people who actually live in the Hialeah area, but I don't understand how streets suddenly become avenues and how one street can be both W 49th Street and NW 103 Street. Lenin told me a story once where he Mapquested some directions to a home in Hialeah. When he arrived at the destination, he was told by the resident that the address he was looking for was actually on the other side of town. Nuts!

I usually take public transportation to get to work; but sometimes I drive in. I avoid the major expressways like the Palmetto and I-95 on the drive home and pass through Hialeah instead. Thank God I only have to use main roads so there is no fear of getting lost. Now, Hialeah is not my favorite city, but there are two sites that I always enjoy on that drive home, the big structure known as the "Entrance to Hialeah" and the Hialeah Water Plant. The entrance is so pretty and I love the old look of the plant.

Nope that's not a painting. That's a shot I took with some editing done. Cool, huh?

Soccer is in my blood

2009-03-12T22:10:00.005-04:00

Soccer was always such a huge part of my life. It helps define who I am. See Exhibit A:

Photo courtesy of Loly Pix Photography

It really is. If there exists a soccer gene, I inherited it from my father. I probably started kicking the ball around the age of 4, maybe even before then but I'm basing this on a picture I have seen of me and my brother running around with a ball. I played on my first team, Domino's Pizza, when I was 5. As a child I experimented with many other activities like cheerleading (eek!), softball, fake ice skating on the slippery kitchen floor...but soccer was always a constant. I have to thank my dad for passing on his love and passion for the game. All of those games and tournament trips really made my childhood special and I hope I can give that to my children one day. (Thanks Dad!) Maybe my kids won't like soccer, but I at least hope they have sports in their lives.

With my recent slacking and the time change throwing me off, I completely forgot the deadline for the weekly DPS, which this week was "Self Portrait." I didn't get to post my submission in time, but I still participated. The assignment explained that the self portrait did not have to necessarily be a full length self portrait or even a shot revealing your face. I chose to incorporate the soccer theme for this assignment. Yeah, I may not play soccer as often as I used to (that's what happens when you become a working adult) and I may only catch a game on TV here and there, but it will always be a part of me.

My Self Portrait

A few other shots I took at a park in Miami Lakes that Lenin and I sometimes kick the ball around at; who knows, maybe with this crummy time change we may get back into it.

Week in Review

2009-03-03T22:59:00.010-05:00

Or maybe this post would be better titled "I stink." This week I really slacked on the photographs for various reasons. One being I just didn't feel motivated this week. I read about photography online and check out various blogs and Flickr pages, and I see all these cool photos that people take. I swear these people must have no full-time job. During the week, I'm really only limited to taking shots of areas in Downtown while on my lunch break; and to be honest, I'm tired of that area and want to move on. Since I usually get home from work by the time it's dark and I have some wifely duties like dinner to attend too, nighttime photography is out. That pretty much only leaves the weekend to get things done. But again, this weekend I just wasn't feeling it. My little sister, Nicole, had her 5th birthday party on Saturday. What a cute party, Strawberry Shortcake theme. I took a some photos, but nothing really "artistic."

If you are wondering about the graininess of the photo, that's due to the higher ISO setting (400). I set the camera to that since I had read that you use higher ISO in lower light. I think next house party I may skip the higher ISO for a shot like this. Don't really care for the grainy people.

So the party was my excuse for not working on any photo challenges or just taking the camera out to explore on Saturday. But that party only lasted 4 hours (6 if you count the time I spent helping set-up). Here is the true culprit for me being a bum....

I read an article in the Miami New Times not long ago about people who I guess you could call "closet geeks." The article basically talked about how your normal looking nurse could secretly be a Star Wars fan who dresses like a Storm Trooper on the weekends. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I fit into that "closet geek" category. That little lady pictured above is Adaia, my level 80 priest in the game World of Warcraft. Now anyone who plays an online role playing game can attest to how much time people unknowingly spend on these games. Well for the past two weeks, Lenin and I (duh, of course he plays; how else did you think I got into this thing!) have been locked up in our house trying to max out our players to the next highest level in the game. You sit down to play this thing and suddenly three hours have gone by. It's sad. I'm hoping that since we have finally reached level 80, I won't be couped up in the house so much; hence, more time (and hopefully more motivation) to go out and take photos.

I did at least get my weekly flower shot while at Nicole's party.

Hopefully, this upcoming week I have more motivation to take photos. What do you do to get motivated? Where do you find that artistic inspiration in normal everyday life?

DPS Weekly Assignment - Rhythm

2009-03-01T22:51:00.002-05:00

This week's DPS assignment was Rhythm. I struggled a little at first with this topic since I didn't really get what the difference was from rhythm and just having motion the photo. I waited until some of the other online "students" posted their rhythm shots, and slowly but surely I came to understand what exactly rhythm was (or at least I think I do). My interpretation was that rhythm is not just things in your photo being in motion, but it was your photo having a flow to it. Your eyes should be able to move through the image smoothly, giving it a kind of motion.

My submission was a shot of a basket I found in my house. I know, I know... I was too lazy to venture out of the house this week. But I think the photo exhibits some rhythm. Not only is the weaving in the basket moving sideways, the pattern also draws your eyes up to the center of the basket which would be the top part of the photo.

Don't forget to check out the other submissions for this week!

Week in Review

2009-02-24T22:28:00.009-05:00

Well another week has gone by and I've tried to get as many pictures as I can. I walked around Downtown again during lunch, but I think I've seen everything there is to see there and take pictures of. I may try to hit up Bayside once more next week. Over the weekend I also ventured out into the Miami Lakes Main Street area and also stopped by Graham Park, where I took my engagement pictures last year. Here are some photos from the past week. Enjoy!

U.S. Federal Courthouse in Downtown Miami. I remember when this thing was being built. I thought it was the coolest looking courthouse I had seen.

To be honest, I have no idea what this old building is. It's located directly across from the American Airlines Arena. I loved its look so I took a couple photos. If anyone knows what this place is, it would be great to find out.

No, that "PERU" hasn't been photoshopped into the picture. If I could give an award for "Random Object of the Week," this would be the winner. I came across this shopping cart at the Riverwalk Metromover station. I found this so funny since my family is Peruvian.

This is the same station where I saw the shopping cart. I was messing with the contrast on the photo and thought this came out pretty cool. I wish it wasn't so cloudy so the sky would have come out bluer.

Graham Park in Miami Lakes. This park is so simple, yet so beautiful. As I mentioned, my engagement pictures were done here. Definitely a nice place for a picnic or to take your dog out to run around.

These little guys were enjoying the beautiful afternoon at Graham Park too!

Main Street Miami Lakes

Lenin and I went to a Greek festival on Saturday and had some amazing food. It was too crowded to be snapping photos but I did take this picture inside the church where the festival was held. I'm always amazed by these colored windows.

Some of the flower shots for the week!

Trouble is always nosy and sticking his big nose where it doesn't belong!

This little farm area is located in Miami Lakes. I hope these guys won't be eaten later on at one of the nearby restaurants!

A plant I came across in Downtown. The leaves had some nice colors.

BDPC - Theme: Wildlife

2009-02-21T18:21:00.002-05:00

Yes, technically cows may not be wildlife; but it's all the wildlife we have here in Miami Lakes. For some reason this town is obsessed with cows! I think it has something to do with Graham Dairy farm being redeveloped into what is now known as the community of Miami Lakes. I think this photo may have also worked for the DPS assignment since the two cows have opposite colors which balance out.

DPS Weekly Assignment - Balance

2009-02-21T18:06:00.002-05:00

"Balance" was the topic of this week's Digital Photography School assignment. I found this assignment a bit more difficult than the previous "Rule of Thirds" one. I never really aimed for balance in pictures I have taken, or at least made a conscious effort to get balance. I ventured out to the Main Street area in Miami Lakes, and got this shot at Shula's Hotel. I could be wrong but I think it exhibits balance. The two contrasting objects (aqua, squatting catcher vs. white, standing batter) seem to share equal space in the photo.

Make sure to check out the other participants' interpretations of balance!

BDPC: Theme - Jewelry

2009-02-21T11:09:00.002-05:00

I came across the Flickr group Beginner Digital Photography Challenge last night. What's great about this group is there seems to be photo challenges opened every few hours! You basically get to submit photos to any of the open challenges and then vote on the winner. The winner then gets to create a new challenge for everyone to participate in. I submitted my previous photo of Bayfront Park for the "Hometown" challenge, and here is my submission for the "Jewelry" challenge. Let's see if I win!

Now back in November, I never got a photo taken with all the rings at my wedding. I forgot to hand the photographer my engagement ring! So here's my attempt to get that shot. I thought the photo of the hair clip was better for the contest. I asked my husband, Lenin, his opinion and he chose the hair clip photo too.

My Books Are In!!

2009-02-20T20:37:00.010-05:00

This is a short post, but I was excited and wanted to share. I had been looking around online for any photography book that was, most importantly, cheap and had some good reviews. Someone on The Nest crafts board recommended Scott Kelby's "The Digital Photography Book" as a good guide for any beginning photographer. I researched it online and it seemed to have a lot of good reviews, so I figured why not. I was able to find a boxed set with free shipping on Buy.com for $26. Here they are!

Now after doing a brief review of the two volumes, I will admit these books require you to have some basic knowledge about photography. It's not like a school book where you'll get some definitions of what things like aperture are. What is good about these books though is that you are given the tricks of the trade. It provides excellent tips for anything from shooting flower close-ups to large landscapes to wedding portraits. I may try to research more photography books and use these two as a supplement. Just in the last week of shooting, I have noticed what affects some of the manual features have on a shot; but I think I still loosely grasp things. Once I get through reading these two books, I will post a little review.

If anyone has any suggestions for some books I can check out, let me know! I'm trying to learn photography the cheapest way I can, which means avoiding a formal class for now.

Week in Review

2009-02-18T22:37:00.004-05:00

I spent the past week or so taking my camera to work each day so I could take some shots around Downtown Miami during my lunch break. Hopefully starting this weekend I can head out to different locations in South Florida to get a nice variety going. Here are some of my favorite photos from the past week. Enjoy!

A co-worker's son was getting married over the past weekend, so a group of us at work chipped in for a fancy bottle of champagne for him! It was too fancy to drink.

This structure is located by the Dade County Courthouse (in the background).

This little flower was in an arrangement set-up in the building at work. How pretty!

For those of you familiar with the carousel at Bayside Marketplace. This is probably one of my favorite shots from this past week other than the Trouble one I submitted for the DPS weekly assignment.

The Hotel Intercontinental. Everyone I see this hotel I think about going to Downtown Miami with my family to see the fireworks show and the orange drop for New Year's Eve.

Dade County War Memorial in Bayfront Park. I didn't even know this little memorial existed until I started walking around downtown to take pictures.

The Torch of Friendship, which is dedicated in memory of JFK. The first time I found out about this torch was when I attended the Obama rally in Bicentennial Park in October.

The marina at Bayside Marketplace

This fountain, I guess you could call it a fountain, is located in Bayfront Park.

Bank of America tower. For those of you not familiar with this building, it lights up different colors each night. So when the Miami Heat are playing it's all red. At Christmas time, they put snowflakes on it and light it up in blue. It looks very cool from a distance. I took this shot from one of the Metromover stations.

If anyone has any suggestions of some good locations I should check out, let me know!

DPS Weekly Assignment - Rule of Thirds

2009-02-12T20:41:00.012-05:00

In my effort to practice my photography skills, I've been looking into forums and blogs that offer little contests. This is my first week participating in Digital Photography School's weekly assignments; the theme, "Rule of Thirds." Hopefully, I can keep up with them and submit photos each week. For my subject, I chose the cutest thing I could think of....my bassett hound Trouble. My husband bought Trouble for me when he was just a puppy, and now almost 4 years later he has become our first son. Bassett hounds have to be the most lovable dogs, and as much of a pain as he can be sometimes it's photos like these that keep him around.

Don't forget to check out what the other photographers submitted. I don't think mine is the best, but it's definitely one of the cutest!

Read the Manual

2009-02-10T23:13:00.004-05:00

My husband would give me that "I told you so" laugh if he reads this. With just about every piece of electronic equipment I have bought in the time I have known him, he always tells me the same thing, "Read the manual." He won't even let me use things sometimes until I have done so. Of course, like a stubborn child, I try to just wing it and figure things out as I go along.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I'd been using the "auto" function in my camera, and honestly who needs a manual for that. Last night I sucked it up and read the manual for my camera. I had to research it online because I had no idea what the real manual that came with the camera even looks like, let alone where it is in my house. Yes honey, I hate to admit it but you were right; I should have read this sucker a long time ago. There are so many functions I didn't even realize existed on this camera. I can finally have a good understanding of what all the buttons on the camera do. My next "study" project is to figure out what affects playing with the shutter speed, aperature, and ISO speed have.

First Post!

2009-02-10T13:02:00.001-05:00

Yep, I'm joining the blogging community. About a month ago, I got an itch to become a photographer, or at least to take up photography as a hobby. I've never taken a photography class, and I always used the "auto" setting on my camera; but for some reason, I've gotten the urge to do something different and creative. Who knows, maybe I actually become good at it! I'm starting this blog at the recommendation of my friend Stephanie who has her own baking blog, Confessions of a City Eater. I think she has better photographer skills than me at this point.

Along with my itch came a new obsession for a digital SLR camera, which everyone knows is not cheap. I spent a few weeks reading reviews online, Canon v. Nikkon etc., and "window shopping" for a new camera. With the economy being as bad as it is, I couldn't justify spending $600+ on a beauty like this, 10.1MP Canon EOS Rebel XS:

So at the advice of a post I read on the Digital Photography School blog titled Stop wishing for that Amazing Camera and Appreciate The One You’ve Got, I'm going to suck it up and learn manual mode on my current 6.0MP point-and-shoot camera, Kodak Easy Share Z650:

Now this camera is not bad at all and takes amazing pictures. Hopefully, I can figure out what all these manual settings do so I can get the most out of it.

Well, here it goes. Wish me luck!