Tech Talk Tuesday

First of all, I'm about the least technologically savvy person I know, so it's pretty funny to title this post 'Tech Talk'. Second, this blog is purely my, 'downtime, relax and don't think about winter for a few minutes' diversion, so, when spring comes and I can escape to the great outdoors you will probably never hear from me again....(just kidding... I think!) Third, my photography is a wonderful, artistic hobby for me and my goal is to relax and have fun, because I'll never win any awards with my stuff!

With the above disclaimers out of the way, I'll move on. I get a lot of questions from friends and family about my pictures, i.e. what camera equipment do I use, what settings for a particular shot, (exposure, lens, aperture, etc.), how did I get that effect and so forth. The age of digital cameras has made photographers out of all of us, so I thought it would be fun to have a little photography chat once in a while, but don't worry, nothing toooo technical because I'm not capable of that.

So, ask me questions, either general photography stuff, or about a specific photo, and we'll see where this goes. Either use the comments section of this blog or e-mail me at:
karen@karenlarsenonline.com

I'll also give my suggestions about how, with a little info, anyone can take much better pictures. (Another disclaimer here: if you are well past Photography 101, or you are happy just snapping a few candids with your iphone, or you just like to look at someone else's pretty pictures, scroll past this post.) Sooooo, here we go with my thoughts for today:

Hummm, I think I'll start by telling you the most important thing you should know if you want to take memorable pictures....... and it may not be what you think. Here is what that thing is not:
It's not perfect exposure
It's not perfect lighting
It's not perfect composition
It's not knowing all the general photography 'rules'
And it's certainly not how much fancy equipment you have!

Here's the thing: .......... Oh, look at the time, I'll have to continue this tomorrow!

(Just kidding!)

To take memorable pictures you have to emotionally 'move' the viewer, (and or you the photographer), in some way. When he or she looks at your image, it must evoke a feeling, a mood, a memory. It must make him or her sad, happy, want to cry, laugh, rage, do something, tell someone, etc. You have to tell a story that will be meaningful to your viewers - of course not all of them, only some of them. (World famous photographers, I think, have learned what types of images and stories will move the greatest number of diverse people.) Do you get the idea? Now, that doesn't mean that all useful and important photography must do this. But for me, the type of pictures I'm talking about are the ones we remember most, (the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima, the firefighter carrying the dying child after the Oklahoma City bombing). Those two examples create emotion for most all Americans and we all remember them. Our pictures, yours and mine, will probably only create emotions, memories, stories for a smaller circle, but will be relived again and again by those who come after us. And it doesn't have to be like those dramatic examples. If you capture your child with a particular look or behavior that is uniquely theirs and reminds your family of the special times when they use 'that' look, then you have succeeded. So much better than a 'look at the camera and smile' picture. (Although, once again, classic portraits are important, too, and will always be part of one's photograph collection.)

So the bottom line is......if technologically speaking, you do everything wrong when taking a picture, yet still manage to capture the thing, you will have a wonderful photo. But, if you learn some of the camera basics I mentioned above that the thing is not, you will take a wonderful photo and turn it into a memorable one!
Goal: Create story telling photos that family and friends want to look at over and over again because of the memories and feelings they evoke. (In my humble opinion, your photos should be more interesting and creative than the scrapbooking page they are stuck on. Ouch!)

Scroll down to see two simple examples of the thing in the next post, AND REMEMBER TO ASK ME SOME QUESTIONS SO I KNOW WHERE TO GO WITH THIS.

Engagement

I took lots of classic pix like this one, many they liked and ordered.





























But this is the one they really liked, and I think they ordered a 16 x20. It was an accident! I was changing the card in my camera and they were 'taking a break' from the photo shoot. I looked up to see this tender moment and shot......into the sun, sky blown out, not really a silhouette, all orange, lens flare, bad lighting, bad exposure, etc. But for them I must have caught the thing because this was their favorite. Funny, when I was going thru all the shots before giving them the 'proofs' I had taken this out as a total mistake, then for some reason I must have had a glimpse of the thing because I put it back in at the last minute. I even apologized and said it was a bad shot, but they might like it anyway. Like I said, this was their favorite, and it taught me a good lesson.


Scroll down to see another example.

Another Baby!!!!

This was a quick candid at a family party and I just happened to be in the right place with my camera pointing the right direction. Her daddy had just made an announcement to everyone that they were going to have a new baby join the family. I just love, love, love this sweet expression. When I look at this photo I will always remember what happened to create this sweet look of anticipation at hearing such exciting news. Much more of a memory than just a 'smile for the camera' moment.


Comments or questions please....or both!

Missing Gavin Monday

Some of my favorite memories of Gavin are watching him eat Cheerios and blueberries for breakfast. I was sitting at the kitchen table this morning and I missed this adorable little face. The day of this picture, I just happened to have my camera handy and Gavin cooperated nicely by color coordinating his outfit with the Cheerios box then giving me several of his 'I'm Mr. Mischevious' looks. I miss you Gavin!

What We Believe

Tiera's Challenge - Sixth Folder, Sixth Picture

Well, this is boring! Of all the zillions of photos I have, this would be the one! (I was going to cheat and use another one, but just couldn't do it.) Anyway, I keep a folder of various patterns to use as backgrounds in photos. This is a photo I took of the walkway up to our front door......well I couldn't just post this, so I thought I'd show you what I might do with this pattern, and a little bit of Photoshop Magic as well. Scroll down......

Original Photo of Vanessa

Original photo taken at the Children's Museum in Omaha. Bad lighting, kids moving, etc.

Final Photo

Final photo with new background, cropped, sharpened, lighting brightened on eyes and teeth. And isn't she a beautiful little girl, with or without my photo magic!

A VALENTINE Heart

One of the roses Jeff gave me for Valentine's Day, with a little fancy lighting and a fun bit of artwork., (put your readers on and look closely!)

If we have sweethearts who are kind, generous, trustworthy, temple worthy, dependable, hard workers, devoted parents, who often sacrifice their needs for the best of the family, then we are rich beyond our wildest dreams! I have and I am.

Happy Valentine's Day, Jeff!

STRANGE OLD LADY

A very weird thing has happened. A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly didn't invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn't there, and the next day she was.

She's very clever. She manages to keep out of sight for the most part; but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her there; and when I look into the mirror directly to check my appearance, suddenly she's hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. It's very disconcerting. I've tried screaming at her to leave but she just screams back, grimacing horribly. She's really rather frightening.

If she's going to hang around, the least she could do is offer to pay rent. But no. Every once in a while I do find a couple of dollar bills on the kitchen counter, or some loose change on my bureau or on the floor, but that certainly isn't enough.

In fact, though I don't like to jump to conclusions, I think she steals money from me regularly. I go to the ATM and withdraw a hundred dollars, and a few days later, it's gone. I certainly don't go through it fast, so I can only conclude that the old lady pilfers it. You'd think she'd spend some of it on wrinkle cream. Heaven knows, she needs it.

And, the money isn't the only thing she's taking. Food seems to disappear at an alarming rate. Especially the good stuff - ice cream, cookies, candy - I just can't keep them in the house. She really has a sweet tooth. She should watch it; she's really putting on the pounds. I think she realizes that, and to make herself feel better, I know she is tampering with my scale so I'll think that I'm gaining weight, too.

For an old lady, she's really quite childish. She also gets into my closets when I'm not home and alters all my clothes. They're getting tighter every day. Another thing, I wish she'd stop messing with my files and the papers on my desk. I can't find a thing any more. This is particularly hard to deal with because I'm extremely neat and organized; but she manages to jumble everything up so nothing is where it's supposed to be. Furthermore, when I program my VCR to tape something important she fiddles with it after I leave the room so it records the wrong channel or shuts off completely.

She finds innumerable, imaginative ways to irritate me. She gets to my newspapers, magazines and mail before me - and blurs all the print; and she's done something sinister with the volume controls on my TV, radio, and phone. Now all I hear are mumbles and whispers. She's also made my stairs steeper, my vacuum cleaner heavier, all my knobs and faucets hard to turn and my bed higher and a real challenge to climb into and out of.

Furthermore, she gets to my groceries as soon as I shelve them and applies super glue to the tops of every jar and bottle so they're just about impossible to open. Is this any way to repay my hospitality? I don't even get any respite at night. More than once her snoring has awakened me. I don't now why she can't do something about that. It's very unattractive.

As if all this isn't bad enough, she is no longer confining her malevolence to the house. She's now found a way to sneak into my car with me and follow me wherever I go. I see her reflection in store windows as I pass, and she's taken all the fun out of clothes shopping because her penchant for monopolizing mirrors has extended to dressing roons. When I try something on, she dons an idential outfit - which looks ridiculous on her and then stands directly in front of me so I can't see how great it looks on me.

I thought she couldn't get any meaner than that, but yesterday she proved me wrong. She had to nerve to come with me when I went to have some passport pictures taken and she actually stepped in front of the camera just as the shutter clicked. Disaster! I have never seen such a terrible picture. How can I go abroad now? No customs official is ever going to believe that crone scowling from my passport is me!

She's walking on very thin ice. If she keeps this up, I swear, I'll put her in a rest home. On second thought, I shouldn't be too hasty. First I think I'll check with the IRS and see if I can claim her as a dependent.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, JAN.....WELCOME TO THE 'OFFICIALLY' OLD CROWD!!!!!!!

Priorities! Priorities! Priorities!

The following insightful thought is roaming around the internet. I liked it so much that I composed this photo as my reminder. It's my thought for the day:

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Scriptures like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried them around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to get them if we forgot them?
What if we flipped through them several times a day?
What if we used them to receive messages?
What if we treated them like we couldn't live without them?
What if we gave them to kids as gifts?
What if we used them as we traveled?
What if we used them in case of an emergency?
This is something to make you go hmmmm.....where are my Scriptures?
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about dropped calls, or about being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill!

Cotton Candy for the Eye

I love, love, love, the big picture window we put in our bedroom that looks east to Mt. Timpanogos and the Wasatch Range. Most mornings before sunrise I sit in my chair by this window reading my scriptures, and when the room slowly brightens as the sun rises, I usually take a few moments to watch the scene out our window - the horizon begins to change from dark to light, shadows turn into mountains and trees aglow with perfect picture taking morning light, the birds begin flying back and forth through the hollow behind our house and Utah wakes to a new day. On occasion, like yesterday morning, I am rewarded with scenes like this. I quickly grabbed my camera, and after firing off several shots the show was gone, the sky clouded over to a dull gray. Just a few glorious seconds that gave me a beautiful image to remember during my day.

Just You an Me Dad!

Another shot at Tibble Creek Reservoir of what I assume was a Dad & his son ice fishing. They were all alone and looked like they were enjoying the solitude and each other's company. I think one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is to let them know they are important enough to spend time with them.

Beautiful Light

Yesterday I was in Draper and decided to come home over Traverse Mtn. It was just before sunset and when I reached the top and looked east, I saw beautiful puffy clouds hanging over American Fork canyon. I couldn't control the steering wheel and somehow I took a 35 minute detour up the canyon. It was a well spent 35 minutes. This is what I saw at Tibble Creek Reservoir.

Angels Among Us

The photos of children I love best are ones that give me a glimpse of their sweet innocence and also a 'look' that shows their unique personality. This is our angel baby Gavin who was 'Mr. Personality Plus'. (To see more of my favorite children's pix go to www.karenlarsen.smugmug.com and click on the 'New Photos' button in the Nav Bar. For family & friends who do not live nearby, you can see photos of our grandchildren.)

What Kind of Bird am I?

There is a little pond filled with reeds wedged in between the freeway and a mall parking lot. I came out of the mall and saw a flock of these birds resting in the reeds. I had my camera in the car and spent a few minutes watching them. They seemed oblivious to the cars all around them. It was a pretty sight to see these black & orange birds among the brown reeds. Reminds me that there is beauty everywhere if we take time to look.

The Sentinel

This looks like a Halloween photo. This guy was certainly not afraid of me, and cooperated nicely while I snapped away.

Wintry Day In Apline

Saturday was a cold, dreary, wintry day and I needed a break, so I grabbed my camera and challenged myself to find something to photograph. This picture and the two following are what I came up with.

I Told You We Took a Wrong Turn!

These guys were in someone's backyard/pasture. (I bet I'm not the only one wondering what am I doing living here in the snow!)

I'm Outta Here!

Here is a duck on a mission. He was moving as fast as his little webbed feet could take him.