Day 71

Day 71- Retro Pavilion

Today I took a walk around the perimeter of Balboa Island.  I took lots of fun pictures but none of them were that special.  I decided to add some effects to make this photo look like it was a vintage picture.  The Balboa Pavilion has been there for  over 100 years so I thought it was appropriate to add the effects to this photo!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 135mm, f/5, 1/800

Day 70

Day 70- Ye Old Vine

I love how pictures can transport you to a different place.  This photo was taken in out backyard but (I hope) you'd never know it.  I'd like to think this photo feels like it was taken at an old a vineyard in Tuscany or chateau in France.  

Technical Info- ISO 400, 40mm, f/5, 1/60

Day 69

Day 69- A Red Rose

My dad grows beautiful roses.  Most of the roses are pretty and light like the type you would picture growing in an english garden.  This red rose stood out to me.  I zoomed in for a different effect.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 50mm, f/2, 1/500

Day 68

Day 68- Serious Silhouette

I took this picture while the sun was getting low in the sky.  I was actually in the foothills, looking for a picture of the trees and rolling hills that were covered in warm golden sunlight. In the end, I liked this black and white photo best.  I recently bought a new zoom lens and I am loving being able to take shots like these!

Technical Info - ISO 200, 250mm, f/5.6, 1/1000

Day 67

Day 67- Piano Player

Did a longer exposure so the piano keys stood still and the hands appeared blurred.  Wanted to try to show movement in a still picture.

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 45mm, f/5.6, 1/4

Day 66

Day 66 - Bakersfield Pistachios

I just got back from a fun weekend in Bakersfield, CA.  We drove around through miles of oil fields and various crops.  I learned that almost all of the pistachios eaten in the US are grown in the central valley.  Here are some pistachios that are still ripening in a tree.  I also included some more photos of the pistachio trees as well as a few that feature almonds growing.

Technical Info- ISO 300, 55mm, f/7.1, 1/320

Day 65

Day 65- One Point Perspective

This morning I decided to wake up early and go with my fiance to the train station.  He was going to catch the 5:30 train to LA and I wanted to take a sunrise picture.  Unfortunately, it was too cloudy and their was no brilliant sunrise.  I ended up really liking the bright colors of the train station against the slowly brightening sky and i got a few fun shots.  I think this is a nice example of one point perpective. More shots below!!

Technical Info- ISO 1600, 18mm, f/9, 1/25

Day 64

Day 64 - Bottle Chandelier

After work I met some friends at a Mexican restaurant.  They had these cool chandeliers made out of different bottles.  I like this picture because it looks like I purposely did a vignette effect on the photo, but its just the way it turned out on its own.

Technical Info-  ISO 400, 37mm, f/4.5, 1/125

Day 63

Day 63- Shrimp on the Barbie!

Had some tasty grilled shrimp for dinner! I marinated the shrimp in lime juice, tequila, cumin, salt and pepper. Yum!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 50mm, f/3.2, 1/30

Day 62

Day 62 - A Tasty Berry!

My mom is growing blueberries in the backyard. After I took this photo, I picked and ate this plump little berry.  It was delicious! I made some mistakes while taking this picture.  I wasn't paying attention to all my settings and I didn't realize the ISO was at 3200. This ISO is too high and it caused some "digital noise."  I was tempted to reshoot it at a lower ISO and slower shutter speed, but I'm using this as a learning experience. Lesson learned- always be aware of the ISO!!

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/800

Day 61

Day 61- Lounging Lizard

In our front yard we have a little brick wall that gets the nice warm afternoon sun.  There are several lizards that love to hang out on this wall and catch some rays.  This was one of the smaller lizards.  I think he was scared stiff because I was able to get lots of shots of him from a few inches away.

Technical Info- ISO 400, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/1600

Day 60

Day 60- Mountain Flowers

My fiance's parents have a gorgeous yard at their house in Colorado.  Over the course of the weekend I took tons of flower pictures.  Click below for some of my favorites Colorado flower photos!

Technical Info- ISO 400, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/400

Day 59

Day 59- Backyard Buck

I'm spending the weekend in gorgeous Colorado.  We saw the same four deer several times over the weekend.  By the end of the trip they were used to me and my camera and if I moved slowly enough I was able to get just a few yards away from them!

Technical Info- ISO 200, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/125

More deer photos here!!

Day 58

Day 58- DIA

I took this photo at Denver International Airport.  I liked how perfectly the planes were lines up and I liked the bright white planes against the blue sky.  I took this exact photo about 6 months ago at nighttime, but its a much better picture with the pretty colors of the daytime.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/11, 1/160

Day 57

Day 57- Grasshopper

My mom found this grasshopper while watering her plants in the backyard.  He was a big guy!  I hope to get a macro lens to do better "up close" shots of other insects or of flowers.  A macro lens will allow me to pick up much more detail and focus on small objects!

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

Day 56

Day 56- Sitting on a dock in the bay

Met friends today at a restaurant in Newport Beach.  Took this pick at the end of the dock.

Technical Info- ISO 200, 30mm, f/8, 1/80

Day 55

Day 55- 1 Month Old

Capri is one month old!!  Here are some fun pics I took of this little beauty!  Click the link below for more pics!

Technical Info- ISO 800, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/100

Day 54

Day 54- Long Exposure Zoom Out

This is my first attempt at doing a long exposure zoom-out technique.  I focused on a flower and as the shutter was open I zoomed out.  It creates kind of a lightspeed effect :-)  I'll post some normal pictures of the flowers without the technique if you click the link below.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm-50mm, f/6.3, 1/6 sec

Day 53

Day 53- Lavender Festival

Today my mom and I went to a Lavender Festival in Cherry Valley, CA.  It was so much fun!  We were able to freely wander around their organic lavender farm. We watched a demonstration of how they create their lavender essential oil and heard about the many types of lavender they grow there.  We also learned how to create lavender sachets and sampled lavender food from their kitchen. We also shopped for some lavender goods.  It was such a fun day and I would highly suggest it to anyone in the area!  This resort was a photographer's heaven - so many beautiful shots.  If we had been there later in the day, without such harsh lighting, I would have been able to get some more great shots!

Technical Info- ISO 100, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/500

Click here for more pics!!!****

Day 52

Day 52 AM Post- The Golden Moth

This morning I was at a fun baby shower with friends.  My friend is having a boy so they had beautiful blue hydrangeas at all the tables.  This little golden moth flew from one table to another, landing on each of the centerpieces.  I was able to get lots of shots from different angles!  He was so cute! I love the contrast of the golden moth on the blue hydrangeas.

Technical Info- ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/320

***Some days I take pictures at events that are so different, I can't decide which one to post.  So I decided on those days I would just post both- an AM post and a PM post!***

Day 52 PM Post- Great Park Carousel

This evening my good friend invited us to an astronomy viewing at the Orange County Great Park.  I love the Great Park and was excited to go! While we walked around I was able to get this fun shot of the carousel.  I didn't have a tripod, so I had the shoot the picture at the highest ISO.  This caused a little digital "noise" and when I smoothed it out while editing, it made the picture almost look like a painting.  I'm happy with the end result :-)

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 18mm, f/5.6, 1/15

Day 51

Day 51- Succulent Shell

I made this little succulent shell as a gift!  Click the link below for more pics and how to make one!

Technical Info- ISO 400, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/500

Day 50

Day 50- Reflections

I can't believe I am on Day 50 of my blog!  I am learning a lot and learning how to find some good in or something to learn from every picture.  Today's picture was originally nothing special.  I took this photo while walking through Fashion Island.  I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to set up a nice shot and ended up with a bunch of pictures that were flawed.  I was able to crop almost all of this picture out to get just this nice little reflection part.  I plan on going back to the Koi pond to get some fun fish pictures and maybe some more reflection pics!

Technical Info- ISO 400, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/1000

Day 49

Day 49- Rose Bouquet

This is the last week of the school year so one of my students brought me this beautiful bouquet.  I love the various colors of the roses and how they looked wrapped in the brown paper. To get this shot, i laid them on a shelf, with the buds facing an open window for a nice soft light.  

Technical Info - ISO 3200, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/25

Day 48

Day 48- Swirling Lights

Today was a super busy day.  I didn't get home until 10:00pm and still didn't have my picture for the day.  I decided to go outside to take a picture of some twinkle lights we have in the backyard.  The shots of the lights were a little boring, so I left the shutter open longer and moved my camera around.  I started out just shifting it, but I liked the way it looked when a swirled it around.

Technical Info- ISO100,  50mm, f/8, 1.3 sec

Day 47

Day 47- Pico de Gallo 

I made this tasty pico de gallo to eat with dinner.  It was so tasty, light, and fresh!  We used jalapenos that my mom grew in the backyard!  Click the link below for a pic of one of our tiny jalapenos that my mom grows in the backyard!  

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 50mm, f/3.5, 1/50

Day 46

Day 46- Crate Labels

I love crate labels.  Not only are they beautiful works of art, but they are also a little glimpse into the past.  I found this display in a tiny park in Old Town Tustin.  Click the link below for several other pictures I took on this beautiful day!

Technical Info ISO 100, 18mm, f/6.3, 1/100

Day 45

Day 45- Starburst Street Lights

Standing in the middle of a rarely used road behind my high school at 9:00pm.  I did a long exposure to lighten the sky.  I also did a small aperture to make the the street lights appear like little star bursts.

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 24mm, f/10, 13sec

Day 44

Day 44- Tractor Tracks

Stopped to take pictures of crops at sunset and my favorite picture of the bunch was of the dirt!

Technical Info- ISO 800, 18mm, f/5, 1/250

Day 43

Day 43- Sunset Ferris Wheel

I took this picture at the Spectrum at sunset.  I loved the colors in the sky and the bright lights on the wheel.

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 18mm, f/22, 1/30

Day 42

Day 42- The Gnome and His Home

We love Garden Gnomes.  This is one of the gnomes on our hill, with his home in the background.  The ground around him is littered with mystical purple jacaranda flowers.

Technical Info- ISO 3200, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/100