This is Not a Point and Shoot Camera

Several years ago my brother got an awesome camera for Christmas. One of the Canon DSLR cameras that most people drool over...including me...with all the fancy lens and equipment. And, of course, with his fancy camera he took the most amazing photos.

The next Christmas, my sister got the same amazing camera and her own assortment of fancy lens and equipment. She even took a few classes at a local university to learn how to use it. Again...I am drooling.

Every family holiday and gathering, they would bring their fancy cameras and take the most amazing photos. And I would bring my nice point and shoot camera...it's not the same. Trust me!

For Christmas 2011, my sweet husband bought me an awesome Canon DSLR camera. The camera I have been dreaming of for years! I spent a day while the boys were in school reading the manual and experimenting with the camera and discovered I had no idea what I was doing. And so I did what most people do when they don't understand how to work a camera...I put it on the automatic settings and never took it off.

I was pretty content with my discovery of the automatic settings until we were in Kansas over spring break and my brother mentions that my camera is NOT a point and shoot camera. What?!? That maybe I should try and use the manual settings. Seriously?!? How different can automatic and manual settings be??

So, my brother gave me a lesson. A lesson that lasted maybe five minutes before one of the kids started screaming. But...it was just enough information to get my feet wet and leave me hungry for more. And so began my pledge to always use the manual settings and my quest for photography blogs...because I need more lessons! Be forewarned...photography blogs give great tips, but leave you with the desire for more equipment and software...which of course you NEED!

I think the hardest part of manual settings, for me, is that adjusting for light and speed don't come naturally or quickly for me...yet. I must stop and think about what I am doing and then, sometimes, the moment is gone.

Below are a couple of photos I took using the manual setting on my camera and then processed with Photoshop Elements 10 and Kim Klassen Textures:  Little Things and Storms

This photo of Jackson was taken at the Udall, Kansas park. I have many wonderful memories of this park growing up. My Nana would take my brother and I there often. I took many tennis lessons from her there...and watched many matches between her and her girlfriends. And no trip to the park was complete without returning to Nana's house for a homemade milk shake...little things that are now big things.



The photo below was taken of my very own Wisteria vine on the south side of my house. This is the first year it has bloomed and I wanted to capture the beauty...to bad it can't last all summer!