Project 52 and Some Great News...

This week's theme included putting ourselves (the photographer) in the picture - too often we hide behind our cameras!  I had been trying to think of how I'd like to pull that off, when I snapped this picture:

My oldest dog (4 years old, a female named She-Ra {Princess of Power}) has recently been diagnosed with a frightening condition called Evans Syndrome - the short explanation is that her immune system attacks its own red blood cells and platelets.  After two blood transfusions and a ton of ongoing medication, we received word yesterday that her red blood cell level had returned to normal (slightly better than!)!!  This was the picture I sent to my boyfriend to let him know the good news :).


So although this picture didn't really test my photographic skills, and "editing" was merely the push of the "Earlybird" filter in my Instagram app, it is a picture that holds a whole heck of a lot of happiness for me...

A New Lens!

This past Thursday my new lens came in...it's a 50mm f/1.8.  I've read of so many photographers who have a similar lens, and how much they love it, and finally I couldn't take it anymore.

Now, first let me say, I love my zoom (75-300mm).  I use it all the time, because it lets me put some distance between the scary camera and nervous little kiddos, and I have so many options, near and far.  I feel less invasive in family space. Plus, I'm just plain comfortable with it.


That being said, I now know why others love a 50. I can take much closer shots with greater depth-of-field that help blur out the messy background - or create beautifully blended backdrops....and in not-so-ideal lighting conditions (I did that with my zoom, I just had to be so far away!).  And WOW are the pictures crisp.  Today has been the first day that I could really spend playing with the Nifty Fifty, and as you might expect, the dogs were my subjects.  Tomorrow I'm taking pictures of real people :).  Thank goodness they're my friends, because I need time to work with both lenses, to see if I will develop a new favorite!  So although I usually reserve the dog pictures for the Dog Page, they've been upgraded to the main page today...

Lighting in my house is terrible - this picture would not have been possible with my other lenses.

New favorite of this guy....

Again, an indoor shot that my other lenses just didn't allow enough light for...this is where they sit and wait for someone to come in the door :)

And this was my submission for Week 4 of Paint the Moon's Project 52...the theme was "unexpected perspective" and while plenty of people take pictures from above their dogs, I usually don't.  So today I teetered on a stool to get those shots of the dogs looking up, and here's my favorite of one of my girls:

Project 52 - Week 3 + A Baby Bump!

This week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph some friends of mine - they are expecting their first child (a boy!) in early March.  It has been cold and dreary, but we finally found a nice evening to get some shots.  We will be going out for some more shots next week!

The Project 52 themes this week are "everyday tools" and "white/negative space."  My favorite of the couple happens to fit the "white space" theme (ok, they all fit the theme, but as I stated, this was my favorite!):

Project 52 - Week 2

This week's themes are "open" and "responsibility".  I have to admit, I'm doing the girly thing: over-analyzing the heck out of these themes....and this is only week 2!  I feel like I should have some grand, powerful statement to make.  And then I remind myself to keep it simple - my goal is to work on photography, not to stress myself out trying to decide how literal or how metaphorical to make the photo!  All week I've contemplated what I'd like to capture.  There are several submissions by others related to children and the military, which are of course perfectly relevant.  Had my nieces and nephew been in town, they may have been my subjects.  I'm taking pictures of a welcome home ceremony for a unit toward the end of the month, but that's....at the end of the month.  So I finally came upon my amaryllis experiment.  I say experiment, because I do NOT have a green thumb, but I watched my co-worker's amaryllis bloom, and I want one!  (Also, the amaryllis seems easy to commit to, since it blooms once, and then I'm done!)  Furthermore, the plant lends itself to the themes in several literal AND metaphorical ways - score!  


~ I have a responsibility to the plant
~ I have a responsibility to our earth
~ I have a responsibility to keep my dogs away from my experiment - the amaryllis is poisonous to dogs!
~ The bulb finally began to open!
~ I'm being open to trying something new (keeping a plant alive!)
~ I'm constantly working on being open to the change that is life

I think you get the point :)

Project 52 - A Weekly Photo Challenge and...

...a personal challenge to finally kick-start my blog!  I've been waiting for just the right something to come along and inspire my first post, so when I read about Paint the Moon's weekly photo project, I knew I couldn't wait any longer.  I have a photo challenge, as well as a challenge to maintain this blog.  Once a week can't be too overwhelming, right??

This week's themes were "sharing" and/or "natural" - participants can choose one or the other, or combine the theme, or submit something unrelated altogether!  Can't get much easier than that!

As I don't have any children, my dogs are often my subjects...so for week 1 of Project 52, here is 10 week-old Leia sharing a moment with 4 year-old Brutus  :).

Check out more from Annie of Paint the Moon for inspiration, tips, actions and other great information!