February 24 - 55/365

28-135 lens @ 105mm, f/5.6, 1/30, ISO 1600

I believe I mentioned very early into my project that I like bears when I posted a picture of a stuffed bear paw on Day 4. As a result, I have a number of little bear decorations around my house. Not too many so that my husband feels surrounded by teddy bears, but just a few that it adds a little of my personality to the house. Today's photo is a macro shot of a little bear decoration located in our downstairs powder room. How can you not go for bears with such cute little faces like this one? :-)

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February 23 - 54/365

28-135mm lens @ 60mm, f/8.0, 1/50, ISO 200 w/fill flash

Do you remember that post I had about a week ago on photography books, and my lack of one that I felt suited my current needs? Well, I think I found the perfect one for my current skill level and for the direction I'd like to go. The book is by Bryan Peterson and is titled Understanding Photography Field Guide. The subtitle : "How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera." At first, that title made me laugh, as I'm sure you probably snickered or rolled your eyes. I have no doubt that lots of books promise that after you read them, you will be taking amazing and perfect photos. I have no such illusion, or would that be a delusion? Anyways, my goal is to learn how to utilize the available light around me; how to improve my composition; learn some fun and unconventional techniques, shown above; and one of the coolest chapters : how to know when and where to break the rules. I mean, how many teachers tell you to break the rules?

The author of this book talks to you like a friend would - knowledgeable, but not like a textbook or a manual. He describes things and even gives you little exercises. And have you seen the photos inside? Beautiful. Filled with emotion. I can only hope to get there someday. Looking at the photos alone gives me inspiration. It might not be the perfect book for everyone, but so far, I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to broaden their photography skills and gain some additional artistic perspective.

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February 22 - 53/365

28-135mm lens @ 50mm, f/4.5, 1/15, ISO 200

For the first time in what feels like forever, rain fell from the sky this afternoon instead of snow. Little signs that spring is slowly approaching are manifesting themselves, and while there is still some snow on the ground, included in this photo, the bright colors of my umbrella and the rain make me think ahead to spring. Only a few more weeks of winter left!

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February 21 - 52/365

28-135mm lens @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 400

I was feeling a bit lazy today when it came to hunting for a photo, especially since I had spent most of my time today on other, more pressing projects. So I lazily took this photo through my kitchen window of some holly berries that are on a tree branch still drooping from the recent heavy snow and ice.

After uploading the image in the computer tonight, I noticed the image had more "noise" in it than I expected. At first, the perfectionist part of me thought "arrrgh - it's not perfectly clear... it's not usable." And then the part of me that has become more open to new effects in my photos thought "actually... I kind of like the grain. It doesn't really affect the main subject of the photo, the berries, and I like that it gives the image a little extra texture. It's 'perfect'!"

Along this line of thought, I've noticed that sometimes if I look at my photos too quickly after I've taken them, they are more likely to not measure up to the image I still have fresh in my head. If I leave a little time between image capture and editing, I tend to look at my photos with a fresh eye, like today's photo. Does this ever happen to you?

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February 20 - 51/365

28-135mm lens @ 28mm, f/3.5, 1/20, ISO 400

Last night we had a girls only outing at the Pottery Stop in Ellicott City. Stacey, pictured here in red, came up with the idea and was nice enough to arrange everything for all of us. Most of us attending were quite up front about our lack of artistic abilities in the drawing area, so it was a good thing that the store workers were so friendly and helpful! Of course, we still don't know what our final pieces will look like since once you are done painting them, you have to leave them there for a week to be fired and glazed. But everyone's items seemed like they should turn out great! Can't wait to see the finished products next weekend!

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February 19 - 50/365

28-135mm lens @ 65mm, f/5.0, 1/80, ISO 400

Winter snow is still on the ground, and it is still cold outside, which is expected for February. But... the thawing process is well under way, and all the melting snow has left soggy grass and puddles of water everywhere! But that also makes for some cool reflection photo opportunities.

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February 18 - 49/365

28-135mm lens @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 1600 w/fill flash

Our latest favorite "toy" in the house - a new game for the Nintendo Wii! We recently purchased a copy of Super Mario Brothers... actually, it was my Valentine's Day gift. I know that sounds silly, but my husband knew that I really liked the original Mario Brothers game, and since you can play the latest version together at the same time, it would be something fun we could do together. Way more fun than a bunch of flowers. :-) So over the past week, we have been spending our evenings hooked on Mario. Since tonight was quite busy for me, Mark was playing the game solo, and I couldn't resist this shot!

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