thelightersidephotos

easy living

2008-05-27T11:58:45Z

There were so many people at this park on Sunday - flocking to soak up the sun, barbeque by the water, rest under the cozy shade of the elms. The air smelled of frozen lemonade and a soft salty breeze and I was just hypnotized by it all. Summer. I'm in love.

living behind the sun

2008-05-23T09:32:17Z

I took this with my very first 35 mm SLR - and truth be told, I had no idea what I was doing. Aperture, shutter speed - all foreign terms to me. I look back at the photos I took and most of them are grainy (high ISO I think was my problem) and some of them completely unfocused. This is one of the ones I love though - reminds of me of summer sunsets, cool drinks on the deck while grilling dinner. This photo is my happy place. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

tall grass

2008-05-22T09:01:35Z

I love to walk, camera in hand, taking shots of ordinary pieces of nature hoping it will seem extraordinary through the lens. I'm always reminded of a song by Brandi Carlile when I wander outside.... 'Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods everything feels just as it should You're part of the life there, you're part of something good if you've ever wandered lonely through the woods'

textured fishing

2008-05-21T09:45:40Z

Sometimes after processing, I like to go back and just pull some random textures into my photos just to see what they'd look like. So far overlay is my favorite blending option on Photoshop but as a total amateur, I'm still learning the tricks. Here's a photo I just found sort of average from my last shoot near the river but once I played around with this texture found on urbandirty.com, I loved it.

into the flicker

2008-05-19T11:09:29Z

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in. ~Leonard Cohen

clear skies

2008-05-16T10:02:33Z

I'm looking forward to bluer skies and warmer days. I'm looking forward to drinks on the beach, swordfish on the grill, toes in the sand. I'm looking forward to summer in all its relaxing glory. Happy Friday!

DOF, reversed

2008-05-15T13:51:40Z

I realize neither picture is great, but I did like the comparision side-by-side. I actually tried layering them and the result was cool but a little too fuzzy to understand what was being done exactly.

run away

2008-05-14T14:35:01Z

I'm still learning the tricks of capturing kids in motion. I love this shot though because only the top of his little cowlick - a recent development as he heads towards age 2 - is in focus. I could take pictures of him all day.

window zen

2008-05-13T11:15:49Z

The only thing that annoys me about this shot is the angle - my camera was resting on something that was slightly tilted and the result was a photo that looked crooked no matter how much rotating and cropping I did. But what makes me proud about this is that there was absolutely no editing done to the image whatsoever....and as an amateur, it is an exciting moment. UPDATED: The amazing Ken helped to straighten this out and I am 100 x happier with the image now. He rocks! Visit him.

strangers

2008-05-12T10:55:40Z

It's hard when you are outside on a beautiful day, watching everyone enjoy the sunshine in a gorgeous park and all you can take pictures of are the birds and the trees. I want to photograph the people - the couple cuddling on a blanket under a tree, the group of students reading in a circle, the elderly couple and their black lab squished together on the wooden bench. But it's hard to photograph strangers without coming across as a) creepy or b) intrusive so I just wait until backs are turned or use my sad little zoom to capture from far away. This couple happened to be sitting next to me and got up just as I had picked up my camera. I think they heard me snap the shot and just smiled at each other.