New Photography Challenges - Engagement Session

As I look back at the years of photos I've taken, I see how the tools of my hobby have changed, I see how the sharing platforms have morphed, and how my abilities have grown. That growth only continues by taking on new challenges, constantly learning and adjusting.

I no longer carry my DSLR with me all the time. I no longer strive to take a photo every day. In reality, I'm less focused on photography and as a result, I feel less creative, but that's OK - it's where I am in today's stage of life. Even though I'm less focused on day to day photography, I still love the feeling of seeing and making an image. I enjoy working with people to create images they will cherish. So I've been taking photos of people via photo sessions. My subjects are long time family friends and sons and daughters of friends. My strategy is to photograph people I know, who have a personal connection to me or my family.

Last month I took on a New Challenge, an Engagement session with Andrew and Alessa



I had never worked with an engaged couple. Sure, I've done the high school prom photos, but these are certainly more intimate and meant to be treasured for years to come. Alessa is a friend of my daughter's, so there's the personal connection. I think I met Alessa once during a campus event (it was at a bar, and no, I don't recall meeting her, but she remembered meeting me).

I asked Alessa to use Pinterest to document and communicate her ideas and preferences for these photos. That was a tremendous help to me and allowed us to execute numerous poses in several locations at the venue, Allerton Park.





Alessa and Andrew were great to work with, even on this chilly fall day. I did learn something for the future - to make sure the subjects have appropriate clothes for the shoot. At one point, it became evident to me that Andrew was really cold and uncomfortable. This transferred to the photos in his stiff body language and forced smile. We adjusted by moving to a sunnier, less windy area and he put on his coat. I tell folks that if they aren't comfortable, that will translate into the photos.

I enjoyed the challenge of photographing this fun couple and if presented with another opportunity, will certainly do it again.

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Horse Wednesday - Playing In The Snow

Taken last week, when we still had snow (and now it's all gone!!)



Cody tried to make a Snow Angel, I think...


My daughter is at her happiest when she's around the horses.


And finally, some late breaking events at the barn - a new foal was born on Monday. This photo was snapped by my daughter's friend, who owns Cody the Quarter Horse.

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Barns Along the Prairie

Yesterday's soccer season kick off tournament required us to take a little drive through the country, along the prairie and through some small towns. I only captured some of the barns I spotted along the way because I wasn't quite prepared with my camera. It was early and the sky was overcast - I didn't think my camera would come in handy until we had passed by some cool scenes.

But here is a small collection of the barns I managed to snap photos of.



Linked to Mosaic Monday.

And what a difference a day makes. Yesterday, we enjoyed a sunny afternoon and the warmest temperatures all month long - almost 50 degF. Right now, we are under a winter (hold on, isn't it Spring?) storm warning - there's at least 6 inches of heavy snow on the ground already and the snow isn't expected to wane until tomorrow morning! The kids are scheduled to go back to school tomorrow, but I'm betting on a snow day....

edited to add - it's official - snow day tomorrow!

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I Said Moo

These two cows normally hang out in what I'll refer to as the North Forty - the farthest pasture area at the stables where we board Caesar. For some reason, they were brought out to one of the inner feeding areas today, so I was able to get closer.

They are seriously mellow animals - they just stand there and chew their cud.


But with those big horns, I'm not going to cause any sort of a ruckus. Or get in the fenced area with them.


Yup, still chewin'


Linked to Simple Things Sunday

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Barns Off the Beaten Path

We were treated to a quintessential fall day last Saturday - bright sun, a bit of wind and downright crisp temperatures. It is Fall, after all [I know, after 80degF on Thursday, 50 degF feels a bit chilly, especially with that northerly wind].

I dropped off my daughter at the horse barn, was listening to the college football game on the radio and decided to venture off my normal route, onto the untraveled (by me, anyways) country roads.

The country roads here are numbered - County Road 1400 North, County Road 1250 East, for example. When these roads cross into the city limits, they are renamed to something more "personable", like Main Street or Washington Ave. Since we live in the city limits, we know the roads from their city names, not their generic county road designation. Not that it really matters - everything is arranged in a grid heading north-south or east-west. So I knew I wouldn't get lost in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere as I turned off my normal route...

And what did I pass by? Some cool barns - barns I've admired from a distance ('cause on the prairie, you can see forever) and barns I'd never seen before. I even ran across a cemetery, but I'm saving that for Halloween....

This barn had a Historic Farm sign at the foot of the driveway. I didn't stop long enough to read it thoroughly, but I think this farm has been in operation for over 100 years.





Growing up, I thought all barns were red. Now I know better - white seems to be the most common around here.


Of course, there is that classic white and red, too:


I'm glad I took that little diversion - a mere 10 minutes on a perfect fall day.

Linked to Barn Charm, of course!

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Mobile Monday - Harvest Time

It's that time of year again - the combines are in the field, grain trucks line up at the elevator, bringing in the harvest. Unfortunately, with this summer's drought, the harvest started early - I started seeing the farmers in the field in August.


The above was edited using Snapseed - not normally what I do, but I like the vintage look here.





While driving on the country roads, you have to be careful when those massive combines hit the road. Slow down and share - you could get squashed!



Sharing on Barn Charm. Happy Monday!

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Why I Love Instagram

Say what you may about Instagram, but it is the only iPhone app I have stuck with consistently over the past two years. Part of the draw is the simplicity of the app, and I love being able to post photos of my day in real time. I love seeing my friends' daily activities, too.

But the simplicity of the filters and their ability to transform a photo is the main reason I love Instagram. First, the app allows me to take a photo first and then apply one of 18 filters. This is key for me, as I often shoot at a moment's notice and I don't like to be locked into a particular filter effect before snapping the photo. The filters can correct for a myriad of issues, like underexposure for a backlit photo. I like that I am limited to 18 filters - less choices means I choose and post quickly. I've been paralyzed before with some of the apps out there with a gazillion options. Again, I love how simple IG is.

Here's an example of how Instagram transformed a terrible photo I took while riding in the car. I didn't have time to set the exposure lock on the barn and it is completely dark.



After cropping it on IG and applying the Rise Filter, it looks so much better!

Another example, this time using the Walden Filter, which really highlights the sunflare in the photo. [I deleted the original photo, probably because I liked the IG version so much more]


Sometimes the iPhone doesn't get the White balance quite right. This original photo of the evening skies in our backyard is too pink.

In reality, the sky was lit in a weird, yellow orange color - the kind of sky that occurs after a small, but strong, storm front passes through. We got the clouds that evening, but no storm and no rain (which we desperately need).
So I applied the Lord Kelvin filter, which probably saturated the scene a bit too much, but this filter more accurately represented what I was seeing in the sky. Plus, it invokes so much drama.

The Rise, Earlybird, Walden and Hefe filters add warmth while Amaro and Hudson filters add coolness to your photo. Sierra adds a touch of pink, Valencia adds a touch of green. Depending upon your subject, the results are nice.

Which filters do I use the most? Probably Rise, Sierra and Lofi.
Do you use Instagram? What are your favorite filters? If you care to see more of my IG feed, my handle is @shirley319 and you can check it out on Webstagram, too.

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More Scenes from the Stable

My photos often represent where I am physically spending most of my time.
As of late, that would be in the barn / stable where the horses live.

I love finding new things to photograph there - so many interesting things!

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Of the Prairie

I've always wanted to take a picture of that "lone tree in the middle of nowhere". If I had a photography "bucket list", it would be on it. It's hard to find such subjects, even along the flat prairie, but last Saturday, while driving east in unfamiliar territory, I spotted one.

We were headed to my daughter's soccer tournament, and on the way there, I only had access to my iPhone. I was better prepared on the return trip to capture my "Lone Tree".



I guess it's not really alone - the county road runs by it.


Of course, we passed by several barns during our trip. This one caught my eye because of the flag mural on the side.


So one "bucket list" item done, a thousand more to find.

Linked to This or That Thursday and Rural Thursday

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The Beautiful Prairie

There are days when the wind howls and blows across this flat land, the endless gray skies and treeless prairie strain the eyes.

Then we have mornings like this one, which started out foggy but burned off to a sky of spun silk and golden sun.


Instead of taking the main road to work, I headed down a back road which took me past this cool shed / barn.


Both photos were taken with my iPhone4s and adjusted slightly using Photogene2.
Linked to This and That Thursday and Rural Thursday

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Spring on the Prairie

After what seemed like endless rains, the rain clouds have departed, the winds have picked up and those cotton ball clouds of spring now dot the skies.



My favorite barns - I pass by them each weekday, as I drive to and from work.


It's Friday and we're headed out to see Caesar. The horses are loving the nice weather - it means they get to spend their days out in the pasture, eating the grass.

[Unfortunately for me, that means more horse poop to pick up. I am the designated poop scooper. Caesar must have pooped 5 times while we were in the arena today. Sorry if that's TMI - just trying to record our daily lives here....]


Cody still doesn't like having the camera pointed at him. He's always watching me. At least Ricky doesn't care.

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Doorway

Just another barn door, out in the country.

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The Barn

What started out as a cloudy day still ended up with some sun.

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The Barn

I've photographed this barn before, but was lucky to get this shot of it this morning on the way to work, with the sun burning off the mist and fog.



And a vintage version, using Coffeeshop's Butterscotch Vintage Action:


I say lucky because I simply pointed my camera towards the side of the road while I was driving. I keep my eyes on the road, etc. I don't use this "drive by" method very often, but this morning's mist was very ethereal.

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Mosiac Monday - Of the Prairie

Surrounded by the flat prairie landscape, I've come to appreciate the vast openness of the fields, punctuated by an occasional farm or barn. Since I am surrounded by these fields, I've managed to take many pictures of the prairie and the barns:



Spring is just around the corner and these brown fields will soon be dotted with tractors and combines, then with the emergence of little green sprouts. The prairie always changing.

For more mosaics, visit Mary at Little Red House. She hosts Mosaic Monday there.

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Old and New - Vintage Texture

An example of how a texture can change the overall feel of a picture.

The before picture:


With a Golden Hued texture added, Multiply Blending Mode at 70%:

Texture from ShadowHouse Creation's Heavenly Vintage Set

I love Vintage look of the 2nd picture - I think it fits the old look of the barn on the prairie.

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