Family

1st Moon Picture attempts

First photo is common error..it's a night shot so you think you need long exposure. Nah, baby, nah. Moon is constantly moving so you need a fast shutter. Good news, you can hand hold the camera.

I first used 15-55 kit lens with my NikonD40 with 1.3 sec shutters on car window ledge & too wide an aperture (4.5)

Then I read to use sunny day rules to shoot just the moon, as it is lit by sun reflection. Best to use 300mm lens but I've only 55-200 mm AV Nikkor lens.

I chickened out some sites suggestion of 250 shutter speeds and went for 125 and 100 w aperture at F8. Next, I shall attempt F11 or F16 and 125. Stay tuned! And if you are reading this on Saturday, look at the moon tonight. Going to be super moon, see link by clicking here. Was gorgeous last night with clouds playing around it. My photos have thin layers of clouds scanning over as I missed the clear sky moment when I was in the grocery.

Some links I found helpful.

http://photography.about.com/od/photographybyoccasion/a/moonshots.htm

http://www.flickr.com/groups/d40slr/discuss/72157601837909125/

Learning Manual Mode w NikonD40

Things are greening up! Sun was out, yay!
Practicing manual mode after yrs of cheating (Auto) is not for sissies, but hell, who knew you could keep the lens on autofocus. Not I. Stewart enjoying HD 3D for cats with squirrels on the patio. Oscar yawned & was bored. Speedy enjoying the sunshine as was I from recliner.

Thing I miss about film camera? There is horrible burn out factor from sunny windows or skies. This drives me NUTS on tv as well but whether you've a cheap P&S or $3000 cam, issue is there. Need to invest in a special filter. But first need to relearn f-stops/shutters in a digital cam. NOT as easy as learning in film....miss the quality of film but need help focusing with my eyes so will take what I can get. Should be interesting week to practice.

Critters, Food & Minutiae

Yesterday morning, I went to put on snow boots to go out in the yard & feed the birds/squirrels. Tough walking on frozen snow and I have to break up ice in the birdbaths, which is no easy feat in this bitter cold. As I put my foot in boot, something was in it. I put my hand in the toe part, nothing. Put boot on again & something in heel. This time I turned boot upside down, only to find this little ping pong ball inside. Stewart loves to play with stuff in small spaces. Amazing he pushed this down a boot though.

Then there was the squirrel wanting food when I was late feeding one bitter cold day. Excuse the horrible picture that's over exposed but it's the first shot I could get. The one I missed, had his paws on the sliding door. Too cute.

Tonight, I made a pizza with pan grilled red bell peppers, pepperoni, Sargento Mozzarella & Prego. Also I cheated on the crust with Martha White Thin Crust, but made it look & brown fabulously as you can see. There's a trick to the mix. Instead of letting dough sit 5 minutes, let it sit 30 minutes in warm spot, on oven as it pre-heats... It's then stretchy and pliable to fit the 15 inch pizza pan we own. I do not pre bake it either, as the directions say, but put it on a stone halfway though backing....oh, the green specks are fresh parsley I had in the house.


Then, there is the Lady of the house who loves fresh water from the faucet or from this Lord Of the Rings glass. I am not into the movies and can tell you nothing except they're VERY LOUD MOVIES ON THE SURROUND SOUND. Sheesh, back in my room, it sounds like thunder for three hours, but I wildly digress!

Anyway, we have four cats between us, mine are boys, my friend and home owner, one of each. She rules the house & sometimes stalks the other cats wench that she is...She was abandoned outside my old apartment 12 yrs ago or so, and I had my house mate take her, as he was my neighbor. She was about 6 or 7 months old and it was Christmas time. I was crying that I had to put her out of the building. I had a cat door mat so somebody in our hallway saw "sucker" at my door but I already had three cats back then. Anyway, she got a home but is half wild in the sense she will not let you touch her unless she is in the mood...I realize, that is a comment some married men may identify with...But she's sweet other times. Rarely lets me pet her but does sleep on the wing back chair in my bedroom now. She needed to be socialized better when first adopted but my friend didn't know and I didn't get to know him well until many months later.


This Flicker tried to fly in my bedroom window last week and scared the Hello out of my cat Stewart...it hung around outside for a long time, darting about. I finally captured it on the suet feeder outside the kitchen window, mid bite..or swallow as the case may be. It was a very dark day and difficult to capture without a flash but I finally did. Skittish bird.


I've a NikonD40 I've used on auto focus settings for 4 years. I've tried the other modes with on luck since I've low vision issues. Before getting this camera and last two roles of film photos all came out blurry so it was time to go digital with an extra zoom lens.

My eyes have improved so I'm going to try a digital camera class close to my home to see if I can be more creative and learn what I am doing. I read on Ken Rockwell's site all about the "P" mode he uses only to get "P"d off. Everything was blurry I tried in my room except for this light bulb. Flash would never pop up and I was left with photos way out of focus. Can't wait for class to start in a couple weeks.

sleepy kitty "making biscuits"

Ice Fest Sculptures & More

Well it was very cold for Ice Fest and it had it's same old problem for me. Ugly back drops for all the sculptures. They are either in front of reflective store fronts or have busy background or wires or bales of straw (!!) So if you are picky about taking pictures without clutter in the background, you are out of luck. So here's a few snap shots and I put in a couple of the neat old buildings in downtown Hamilton, too.

Oh, the baseball player carving is of the late, beloved Joe Nuxhall. The bronze statue in the middle of High Street is Alexander Hamilton.

Bitter Cold, Sun, Snow, River Day

The sun was out, the sky was very blue, the snow was sparkling, so this was my mission. To go along the river to the dam in Hamilton and the overlook. I only took my 55-200mm AV lens. Unfortunately, what looked like sparkling diamonds in the snow to my eyes, got over exposed in the photographs. Still, I embattled the bitter cold of 10 degrees w added chill factor from wind. (fingers were so painful after 10 minutes, even w gloves, it was a long 5 minute walk back to the car & heat!)
Nevertheless, I caught a nice flag shot, some Canadian geese flying, log covered in snow stuck in the boil, and other random shots of snow on steps, rocks & water fountains. The church steeple you see used to be seen from my old apartment bedroom window at night. Still miss that view and the partial view of the Great Miami river. I even took a photo of some electrical wires as reminder they keep us ALL connected on our laptops, home power & such.

These are not fabulous pictures just some I wanted to share with others w/o clogging up the Twitter stream. A celebration of the beauty of sun & snow, amidst the bitter cold. Not to mention my need for an attitude adjustment to snOMG.

Above, ice frosted rocks.

Looking into the boil from above. Mixture of bubbles, ice bits & water.Below is snow and ice covered log stuck in the boil for a long time.

I'd love to have this old drinking fountain. Love the look.

When this photo was taken, looking back at my walk to the car, I honestly thought I had frostbite in my fingers, even with gloves on! Hurt, burning & getting numb.

P.S. IceFest is this weekend in Hamilton but it will be too cold for many. Shame, the ice sculptures are awesome!