learning to use my new camera

I thought I was doing pretty good with my new camera, and was thinking my pictures had pretty good quality to them. Even when I looked at them on my new lap top, they still looked pretty good. Well, I put them on a regular computer to see the quality, and the things a lap top doesn't expose showed up once I looked at them on a clear screen. They were very cloudy looking, like there was a lot of shaking in the camera. I was very frustrated, because I had taken a lot of great pictures, and now I saw they weren't clear enough to use. I'm not sure if it's something I did, or didn't do, because the camera is new to me, or if its something else. The cool thing is I can see what the set up is to each picture when I look at them online. I just need to figure out what I did or didn't do and try to match it up with the photo's I took.

I really need time to just go out and play with it, one photo at a time, to see if I can make it do what I need, and not what the camera thinks I need. Once I know that, I think it will make a difference in how my photos look.

I've decided after seeing my photos over the last year that I have a lot to learn about taking pictures when there is limited light, shade, shadows, etc, or when the object is moving. My picture quality really drops when those issues come into play. (frown) Anyways, its all a learning process, so I need to find time to learn it. My problem is not having the time. I have so many project I am working on right now, and not one of them is finished. They all seem to have an early start at them, and then I get busy doing something else and I put one aside and start another.....On and On I go, and nothing gets done completely. The only thing I seem to notice is I am always busy, but never have time to do anything... Go figure.

MY NEW FLYER

I have been a work in progress, trying to put stuff together so I can start showing some of my photography. Trying to find time to edit my existing pictures, putting together a flyer, deciding on formats etc....There is just so much to do and no time to do it.

"I think" I finally have a flyer that looks and feels like the right one. It has taken me a while to put it together, but I have been blessed to have Mel (http://pursuingholiness.blogspot.com/) give me her opinion as I move this along. Plus she has been such a blessing by using my photos on her website; what a wonderful way to be able to show my work. Thanks Mel....You're a blessing to all who know you. (If you double click on the picture it should open up and you can view it full size.)

I should have a lap top by the end of the day, as I feel God opened a door for me to have one that's just right for me. A college student put his up for sale on Craig's List because he no longer needs it after graduation, and I was the first to call on it, so I met with him last night to view the laptop and go over the inside to see if its what I need. I could see right away it was going to be just perfect for me, as he is leaving programs in the computer that will benefit my photo work right now, and allow me to do things on my time, which is sometimes late into the night.

Having the right tools will make my job so much easier and faster, and I look forward to seeing what I can do once I get lap top tonight. We are taking a trip to the coast this weekend and I look forward to being able to work on stuff as I have it and not months afterwards.

I purchased a zoom lens at the beginning of the week and paid the cost of overnighting it so that I could have it before we started our travels this weekend. I'm excited to finally get a "real" chance to use my new camera. I've had it for quite some time now, and have only used it a few times. It's a little intimidating learning to use it, but I think once I get going. it will be good. I just need to learn how to use a more advanced model and learn how to operate it "correctly" so that my pictures look better over all.

I have learned so much in the last month or so, while putting together my flyer. There are so many things I don't know how to do on my computer, but I do know that I need to be able to learn how to make certain things work in order to publish, edit, format etc. I put together the whole flyer all by learning how to format the page the right way. Then I had to make changes, and what do you know, more learning. Yesterday I figured out all on my own how to move one "blog" to another one, so that I could re-do this one. It took me a while to think it through, but once I got it, I was very proud of myself. And today....well, I had to figure out how to make my "text document" into a "photo" so I could put it on my web page here. TaDa....see, I made it work all on my own. I didn't know I could use my brain this much and actually feel like I have accomplished so much is such a little amount of time........

I know the main reason I feel so empowered with this whole thing, and that is because it belongs to God, and not me. When He is allowed to control the situation, so much more can happen. By being able to bless Him through my work, He is blessing me, by giving me the tools I need to make it work. I would have never been able to figure this out on my own, and yet, here I am, much further along than I ever could have imagined. "Our God is such an AWESOME God!!

Once I have a few more minutes, I will write about my photos and my flyer, and how both have been tools to open up conversations about God with total strangers. And to think God is using me, the one time shy, head down, scared in my corner lady, to go out and do things I would have never thought possible.

UP AND COMING CHANGES TO MY BLOG

I am moving things, around so if you stop by and things look a little strange, it will only be a temporary thing. Once I get my other blog situated, I will pass the information along. I'm changing this page to work only with my photo's and everything else will be on another blog.

****IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE MY FLYER, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS PAGE AND IT WILL LEAD YOU TO MY PHOTO PAGE******

Thanks for stopping by........God Bless....Kat

ADDING NEW PHOTOS

Recently I have started working on my photo's again. If you happen to come upon my blog, check into my photo site, as I am updating the pictures as I have time. They aren't new ones from this year, just the ones I didn't have time to work on and post from last summer. I took some advice from a person who could be a good reference and decided to start working on cleaning up my site and also adding new things so others could see what I've done. Many people who do photography limit their sites to just a few things, but I want people to be able to get a feel for my pictures and why I do what I do, so there will be a lot of things to look at. I don't want to limit my work to just a few things.....God made the world beautiful in every way, so we should be able to enjoy the beauty for all that it is, not just for an animal, a flower, a scene etc....He gave us beauty all around us, and I want to "learn" how to capture that beauty as I learn how to take better photo's in the future. Check back in as you have time and hopefully I will have found the time to add new pictures.

A NEW CAMERA

I have waited a long time to purchase a new camera, and I finally saw one that fits my budget on E-Bay. I have never purchased anything online before, so that in itself was new for me. And to think that I would purchase my first camera on there, seems almost crazy. But once I saw it and checked it out on other sites, I decided this was a good place for me to start. I will be more excited once it get's delivered to my home and I can see for my self what I actually spent my money on. Being this was my first purchase online, its a little scary for me, and I hope my purchase lives up to my expectations.

The camera I got last year was a gift and I have enjoyed every minute of use with it, but ever since I got it, I have wanted to upgrade. I couldn't take the kind of pictures I really wanted to take, and I am hoping this new one will get me started in that direction. My next project is to find a zoom lenz for it. I have been looking for one already, but its hard to know which one to purchase, so I am taking my time in looking.

I couldn't get the photo to copy here so I am posting a link to the kind of camera I bought.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17316#ModelFeaturesAct

WITH SPRING, GOD BRINGS NEW LIFE

I have always enjoyed spring time, as new life breaks free from the frozen ground, new born animals are in the fields, and the colors are bright and fresh all around us. You can't miss the flowers blooming and the trees starting to bud new leaves, and the moods of the people around us start to change with the warm fresh air and sunshine that comes with the changing seasons.

This year seems to have brought to me a whole new outlook on spring. Before I enjoyed the changing seasons and couldn't wait for spring because I was tired of the cold, grey winters and I desperately wanted to get outside to do new things. But this year I am looking forward to spring for a whole new reason.....Photography!!

I had so much fun learning to use my digital camera last summer, and the photos I took as a beginner in this area were amazing. I have been waiting all winter for the season to be over with so I could get back outside to play with my camera. There are so many things I want to go see and I can't wait to see where God will lead me in regards to taking new pictures. I have never had something I enjoyed so much, and just the excitement of even thinking of doing it makes it harder to wait for spring to officially be here.

I recently put together my first layouts, and once I saw how well they turned out, I want to get some more done. The hard part is there is a lot of work involved in putting just a few layouts together. Even with technology, once you do the printing and adjusting and decide on the layout, find just the right frame and decide again if the layout will work, the time involved is tremendous. It took me almost a month to put together just a couple of displays, and I found out just how expensive it can get, so I don't know how soon it will happen.

I have been going to second hand stores and picking up frames that I think are in decent condition, since right now, I just want to put some together to show, not to sell. Once I see how that part goes, then I will pursue other directions, but for now, I am starting slow.

I have a store where I live that says I can put them up for display, and just put my business cards and an advertisement with them. The store is a furniture store and I think it will work out well for both of us, I just have to find the time and materials to put them together without spending alot of money to do so.

Once I saw the first few layouts, I started thinking of all the thousands of photos I have and just how many of them I could actually use. It's almost overwhelming to think about looking through all of them and then trying to decide on just a couple of them to put together.

It has given me more insight on what I might do this coming spring and summer though, because last year was just a trial period for me. Now I want to put more emphasis on what might really make a good picture for someone else to look at. There still is alot of trial in it, because I still don't know what that may include, but I have a better idea today than I did a year ago.

God has given us such a vast display of His handy work to enjoy, and how do you choose which part of that to share with others. I know what part excites me, and that is anything having to do with the country. I love the green trees, the mountains, the animals, the flowers, I could go on and on. There is so much beauty in this world to see that I often find myself not paying attention to what I am doing or where I am driving, because I am busy looking for that "next new thing" to take a picture of.

It's very distracting, but then it also causes me to stop and look at what God created with His hands for us to enjoy. The sad part is we as a whole are destroying it piece by piece and sometimes the beauty in front of us has to be viewed through all the stuff we've added to it, or through all that we've done to destroy it. It's hard to see it through the eyes of one who wants to only see the beauty....

Aside from my photograpy, God is also allowing this year to be a new season of change for me spiritually. God has taken all the hardships of the last year to mold me and change me, and I am now starting to see the fruit of His Labor in my life. I am seeing myself open up more and I believe that as I start to open up He is going to move me in places I would have never gone before. I'm excited about the changes I am already seeing in myself, and I look forward to what God has planned for me in this "New Season of Life".

MY FIRST DISPLAY