Day 102

Day 102- The Start if a Trip

Today was our first full day in Florida!  I'm on a weeklong trip with a good friend that I've know for over 20 years.  Today we spent the day exploring the area in South Eastern Florida where we are staying.  We used Yelp to find a fun little breakfast place and that is my picture of the day!  They had a lot of fun signs all over the wall of the crazy little breakfast place.  More photos from today below.

Technical Info- ISO 200, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/3200

Day 101

Day 101- Travel Day

Today was a travel day.  I left home at 5:00am Pacific Time and we just arrived at our hotel at 9:30pm Eastern Time.  I took this photo from the airplane.  I think it is somewhere over New Mexico or west Texas.  Unfortunately, for this flight, I did not have the window seat.  I was able to snap this photo when the lucky window seat passenger got up to use the restroom.  I am confident that I could have taken a much more impressive mid-flight photo if I would've had the window seat.  So I will just have to keep planning trips so I get some more photo opportunities!

Technical Information: ISO 100, 18mm,  f/3.5, 1/800

Day 100

Day 100- Day 100!!

Today is the 100th day of my blog!  I've been having a lot of fun and learning a lot about photography and my personal photographic style.  I'm so glad my friends and family have been supporting my "photography challenge" and visiting my blog!  Today's photo is actually three pictures I took and put together.  The "1" is from a home address, the first "0" is from a dart board and the second "0" is from a license plate.  Thanks Mom, for the fun "Day 100" idea!

Day 99

Day 99- Revolving Sushi

Today I had dinner at a delicious revolving sushi bar at the Diamond Jamboree Center.  It was tasty, affordable, and fun.  I loved seeing all the different types of sushi as the went by.  So many options! A photo of some of the sushi I grabbed when you click the link below! 

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/60

Day 98

 Day 98- Sunset Citrus

This evening I walked around Citrus Grove Park in Tustin.  It is a gorgeous park that is a working lemon grove! I love it!  The grove is planted on an easily walkable hill.  From the top of the hill it has beautiful views that on clear days stretch from Mt.Baldy to Catalina Island.  As I was leaving, the setting sun was streaming through the lemon trees. Beautiful!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/1600

Day 97

 Day 97- Feline Friends

I'm currently housesitting for a nice family that has one little white dog and two cats.  I am definitely a dog person and this is my first experience spending an extended amount of time with cats.  I'm loving being able to photograph the cats and their amazing eyes!  I love that the above photo turned out to be such a serious looking portrait.   More cat photos when you click the link below!

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/40

Day 96

Day 96- Some Lit Candles

I'm housesitting this week and loving the opportunity to "shoot" many different things around me!   I walked by the dining room table and loved how the sunlight was illuminating the tops of the candles.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 23mm, f/3.5, 1/100

Day 95

Day 95- Bright Billiards

I realized many of my past posts were blue or "cool" colored so I've been trying to find something "warm" to photograph.  The pizza was nice and warm yesterday and this bright red pool table was perfect today!  

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/100

Day 94

Day 94- Neopolitan Pizza

Today we made some yummy homemade Neopolitan Pizza.  I was going to post the recipe, but I didn't love this pizza so I will continue my search for the perfect homemade pizza recipe.  A traditional Neopolitan pizza is baked in an 800 F wood-fired oven, this is a minor detail I'm still trying to figure out.  A few more photos below.

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/125

Day 93

Day 93- A Different Perspective

This photo was taken at The Camp in Costa Mesa.  This is the exterior wall of a store.  I decided to focus on the little ripples in the metal border, rather than focusing just on what is closest to my lens.  Thanks to good friend Megan for giving me photo ideas when I still was feeling uninspired and still a little sick. :-)

Technical Info- ISO 100, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/2000

Day 92

Day 92- Sick Day

Today I was sick.  Saltines and Sprite were are much as I could handle.  It was a bad day.

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/25

Day 91

Day 91- Beautiful Weeds

My parents fertilized their grass so they are letting their lawn grow for a little while.  These cute little white flowers popped up.  When I was little, my mom and I would pick them and make daisy chains.  I had to get down on my hands and knees to get this shot, but I thought it was fun.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 20mm, f/4, 1/500

Day 90

Day 90- Construction

A common sight in Irvine- this hill is being cleared for more homes.  I drive by this construction site on the way home from work and I took this photo while I was stopped at a red light.  I liked the simplicity and colors of this photo.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/640

Day 89

Day 89- Tilt Shift Trial, Corona del Mar

I am obsessed with tilt shift photography.  Tilt shift photos make the subjects in the pictures look like miniature toys!  Here are some AMAZING examples!.  I don't have all of the equipment needed to do a proper tilt shift photo, so I just did a wide open aperture, leaving only the island in focus.  There are a few other pics from my day in Corona del Mar if you click the link below.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.8, 1/4000

Day 88

Day 88- Donovan Winter McElroy

I had so much fun taking photos of this cute little guy.  He was a really good sport and I was able to take a ton of pictures.  Donovan was born on June 25 and was a preemie, but I can already tell he is going to be a tough and strong little guy! Lots more pics below!

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/250

Day 87

Day 87- My Cooper

This is my baby Cooper!  I take way too many photos of him!  Cooper is a pretty goofy dog.  I like this photo because he looks a little bit more serious and thoughtful than usual.  :-)

Technical Info -ISO 3200, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/250

Day 86

Day 86- Its in the details

Today I had to hang out for awhile at 1901 Newport Blvd.  That building is beautiful!  It's no wonder so many people choose to have their wedding at the Turnip Rose, which is located there.  The photo I posted is of the detailing on a huge beautiful archway. Click the link below for a few more photos!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 27mm, f/5, 1/125

Day 85

Day 85- A Devilish Cupcake

I made some really tasty chocolate cupcakes today!!  Recipe is included if you click the link below!

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 50mm, f/2.2, 1/100

Day 84

Day 84- Orange Blossom

I love orange blossoms.  When I was growing up, Irvine was full of orange groves.  I remember times when the wind would carry the smell of the orange blossoms.  I'm so fond of orange blossoms, that I'm including them in my wedding invitation that I'm currently drawing.  The orange groves are gone from Irvine, but I am always happy to stop and smell a blossom when I see one.

*I have to share- For those of you who love orange blossoms like me, I've been so happy to recently buy some amazing orange blossom perfumes and lotions such as 88 Orange, Pacifica's Nerola Orange Blossom and Clementine Crush from Love and Toast!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 55 mm, f/5.6, 1/400

Day 83

Day 83- Little Buzz

The weather today was beautiful.  I went for a hike in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.  More photos if you click the link below.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 90mm, f/5.6, 1/640

Day 82

Day 82- St.Francis

St.Francis of Assisi-patron saint of nature, the environment, and animals.  For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a statue of St.Francis in our backyard.

Technical Info- ISO 800, 171mm, f/5.6, 1/80

Day 81

Day 81- Storage Space

This is where our underground storage unit is.  When the motion sensor lights fail to turn on, it can be a pretty scary place...  I used a small aperture which led to a larger depth of field.  This meant that more of the hallway would remain in focus.  

Technical Info- ISO 800, 18mm, f/18, 1/5

Day 80

Day 80- Point and Shoot

I spent the evening at the Home Depot Arena watching an LA Galaxy soccer game.  The stadium rules said no cameras with interchangeable lenses, so being the rule follower that I am, I packed away my beautiful DSLR and got out my trusty ol' point and shoot.  At first, it was fun. I played with the settings and had to relearn how to shoot in manual.  I also enjoyed how light it was and easy to throw in my purse.  However, when we got to the stadium, I began to realize all the wonderful things I can do with my DSLR that I cannot do with my point and shoot.  The ISO only went up to 800, so I had a hard time getting enough light in the shots.  Since the shots were dark, I had to keep the shutter open longer, and since the players were running around the field, a longer shutter meant they were blurry.  I also had to rely on the preview LCD screen to meter my shots.  Since the screen isn't perfect many of my shots are over or under exposed.  I also would have likes to change out lenses for wide angle stadium shots and zoom shots of individual players.  In the end, it was a fun challenge.  The game was exciting and we all had a good time.  More shots if you click the link below!

Technical Info- ISO 80, 26mm, f/3.5, 1/80

Day 79

Day 79- Crystal Cove

Can you tell its summer?! The weather has been great and I've been going to the beach as much as possible.  It was a gorgeous day in Crystal Cove and I was able to take a lot of great photos this morning.  For more pics, click the link below!

Technical Info- ISO 100, f/5.6, 18mm, 1/640

Day 78

Day 78 - Posing Parakeet

Although I think a bird in a cage is a little sad, I LOVE its beautiful turquoise color.  He looks like he is proud to pose for me and show off his stuff!

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 41mm, f/5.6, 1/100

Day 77

Day 77- Pine Palm

This is a photo of what I think in a Norfolk Island Pine tree.  Its a weird looking tree that almost looks like a cross between a pine and a palm.  The oddness was what drew me to it.  I loved how the bright green branches had sprouted all over the trunk.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/30

Day 76

Day 76- A Perfect Plumeria

I love plumerias!  My favorite flower from one of my favorite states. I have tried to get plumerias to bloom in many locations and somehow it is now blooming.  The smell is heavenly-Aloha!

Technical Info- ISO 400, 50 mm, f/5.6, 1/250

Day 75

Day 75- Old Glory

Happy Birthday America!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/400

Day 74

Day 74- Party Time

Today we had a big family party.  I took lots of pictures of family members but I completely forgot to look for a "picture of the day."  Early in the day I did use a manual focus technique to get this photo of my wine labels.  My camera is almost alway set an automatic focus.  I shoot in manual and always choose my own settings but I let the camera do the focusing.  The camera automatically wants to focus the item that is closest to the lens.  So it was focusing on the wine bottles, but I wanted the Chardonnay card that I made to be in focus.  So I switched it and manually chose the spot to focus on!

Technical Info- ISO 400, 33mm, f/4.5, 1/500

Day 73

Day 73- A Summer Evening

Today I had dinner with good friends at a restaurant on the bay.  After dinner we took a walk down to the water and onto the pier.  The sun had set and although it was dark, the lighting was beautiful.  From the pier, to dessert, to the ferry ride, I got a bunch of fun pictures.  Click the link below for more!

Technical Info - ISO 3200,  29mm, f/6.3, 1/125

Day 72

Day 72- Delicious Dough

I liked the simplicity of this photo.  I like how the ball of dough has a slight reflection on the cookie sheet and how the dough balls in the background are just the right amount out of focus.  I am ALWAYS looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, so if you have one, please share.  I feel like it is my quest for the holy grail and I still have a lot more searching to do!

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 55mm, f/6.3, 1/25