i'm guilty

of having tons of excitement for this little group and then totally dropping the ball and losing momentum.  It doesn't help that I was without my camera until just a few weeks ago.  It's fixed now though!

Here's a cool picture i got the other day of one of the many amazing sunsets down here this winter.

Why don't you all share yours!  If you don't have a sunset pic yet - go take one!!

camera's in the shop

(go read Kristen's post first.  Her's is way better than this.  I just thought I'd post something before I put it off yet again.)

I had to send my camera in to get something fixed. It died during Alison's birthday party (15 Dec.). So I've been trying to take better pics with my point and shoot. I'm really bummed I didn't have my other one to take good pictures of our Christmas this year. This one is okay, but the cast is off - it's kind of green.

Anyway, I love Christmas decorations - do you all have pics of yours you want to share?

emailing you the posts

Hey! I just set it up so that you will get an email in your inbox when someone posts.  I know this will help me know when to check for new posts.  Anyone not want to be emailed?  Let me know and I'll take you off.


And since this is a photography blog, here's a picture.

N. Topsail Beach - the Monday before Thanksgiving. It was so nice.

fall images and then some

I'm afraid I missed the best leaf taking days.  I always saw some gorgeous trees and thought to go back, but never made it.  Here are a couple from the tree in my backyard.  (That is now totally naked!)

and these aren't fall related, except that I took them of Maggie last month on the day of her 6 month checkup...

this one I edited (can you tell? j/k, I hope you can!)

and you know what I've decided I really like doing?  Taking pictures of stuff.

There you go Haylee.  It's your fault I overloaded you all with pictures now!  Just kidding, I know I've been negligent.  :)

inspiration

i just found this group on flickr - do you guys use it at all?  Well, this is a newborn photography group and there are some priceless images on there.

can cute pictures of kids count?

I had to share these images with you.  You can see the whole post here.

Granted, they are my cousin's kids, and they are gorgeous, but I loved the lighting and how clear and sharp these pictures are!  And there's some fall colors in them.  Does that count for anything?

hello, my name is Amy

1. Your weapon, I mean, camera of choice.
I have a Nikon D40, Nick bought it for me for Mother's Day when Alison was about 18 months old.  I love it!  That was about 3 years ago.  I wanted a "real" camera for YEARS.  I love it.  But would now like to upgrade to a camera that has the AF motor in the body and not just the lenses.  I just bought an SB-600 flash and I LOVE it.  Not that I really know what I'm doing with it!

2. Your favorite lens.
Because then I would be able to afford the 50mm/f1.4 lens. I like my 55-200mm/f4.5 because I can zoom in for closeup and still get a decent bokeh.  (sorry that was like a continuation of the last answer about upgrading the camera body...)

3. Classes you've taken/how long you've been actively pursuing photography.
I've always loved to take pictures and wanted to take classes in college, but never got around to it until last year.  Funny story - I met a girl at Busch Gardens with my same camera and an awesome camera strap (which I think we should all make!) and we started talking.  Turns out she was LDS and was in the same ward in Raleigh/Durham with Jessica Sprague and she told me all about her online photography class, Oh Shoot.  I loved it and feel like I know a lot more about photography in general and not just shooting in auto.

4. Thoughts on photo editing (Software/programs you use).
I don't edit many of my pictures.  I do stamp them for my blog and I've started tweaking the exposure since my house is so dark and I don't have as much natural light as I would like.

I have Photoshop Elements 8 and iPhoto.  I like them both for certain things.  In Elements I like that you can put text on your photos and have more individual control over settings.  In iPhoto I like the quick menu where you can do sepia, black and white, or boost/fade colors.

I really would love to just take beautiful pictures SOOC that don't need much editing...

Oh!  and I LOVE flickr for photo-sharing!  Do any of you use it? Here's some of my photostream.

5. An idea for the blog's name.
Shoot me in the face, with your camera, that is.  (Just kidding - i don't really have any good ideas).

6. What you would like to learn to do better.
Post-processing and shooting NOT in auto.  :) And lighting.  I think half of good photography is getting good light.

7. A favorite image you've captured. 
This was kind of tough to choose.  I loved the backyard and the birds at my old house and I think this is one of my favorites.

8.  What is your favorite photography blog?
My friend from high school, Charlotte Geary.  She is an amazing wedding photographer and uses natural light in almost all of her photos. (I also like Justin Hackworth - he did my wedding photos.)


*****Oh, and I love Mpix.com for ordering prints.  They use super high quality paper and do color correction if you don't do it yourself.  They are a bit pricier than Target/Walmart/Costco, but the quality is worth it.