NH Photo Contest

I heard about this New Hampshire photography contest where you submit a picture of your favorite summer activity and you win a getaway for 4 anywhere in NH. Since I don't have any recent summer activity photos from NH I'll be taking some when I go to visit. New Hampshire is my favorite place to visit and is where I grew up. I try to make sure every year I visit the White Mountains. This contest will give me more inspiration to get out and take pictures. Hopefully I win!

Passion Flower

So, I finally figured out the name of this flower, it is called the Passion Flower or Passiflora. I came across it looking through flickr and there is actually a group for these flowers. I'd say that these are my favorite flowers and I'd love to take more pictures of different kinds. Maybe I'll grow some in my yard. In this shot I was going for a detailed macro shot, unfortunately I only have a compact digital camera. I should bring along a tripod when taking macro shots like these so it will steady the camera and take a more crisp shot.

Bar picture part 2

So I went back to the place where I took the picture of the bar. This time I took the same type of picture with a cigarette added to the ashtray. I think now it's easier to tell what that is in the foreground, and I think it makes it more interesting. I also added a different lightning effect. I need to start becoming aware of my surroundings when I take pictures. This weekend I didn't really do anything outdoors so I didn't take many pictures. It was an unproductive weekend.

The Missing Piece

I went for a walk in the neighborhood the other day and came across puzzle pieces scattered all over the brick road. I thought it looked interesting and I have a fascination with puzzles, so I had to stop and take a picture. It had to be somewhat quick because it was in front of someone's driveway and they were just pulling in. I wish the puzzle piece came out a little sharper.

Fake Photography Contest

So I just read this post on photoethnography.com after blogging about entering into Photography contests. I would probably be one of those amateur suckers that would enter into one of these contests and get scammed. I definitely would watch out for this though and always read the fine print! I did notice though as one blogger mentions in the comments about this post that there are Google ads for Photography contests in the blog, are they legit?

Leaves

I took this picture at a park in Cocoa Beach a few years ago, I forget the name of it. It was a boardwalk through a nature preserve. I'm pretty pleased with how this picture came out, one of my first close up shots with my old Kodak digital camera.

Florida State Parks Photo Contest

I was searching for the Blue Springs State Park, because I hear they have manatees and came across this photography contest. I've been trying to keep my eyes open for photography contests, I think it would be a great thing to look forward to. It'll give me more reason to get out and improve on my photography skills and just get out in general. As well as great exposure if my photo gets picked. This contest is monthly and yearly, the yearly contest prize is for a 2 night stay at a park cabin of your choice through Reserve America. Pretty cool! I love the outdoors. I better get going and take some pictures at a park in FL. I'll post them here for you to see when I take them.

JPG Mag

There is this site called jpgmag.com, it's kind of like a community like flickr where you can upload your photos. Only you can't make comments. JPG Magazine picks three themes per issue, you can upload one photo per theme and members can vote if the photo should be published. Like they say on their site it's for people who love imagemaking without attitude. You don't have to be a professional photographer, nor do you have to get all technical with your descriptions. It's perfect for photographers like me! They also don't want photos that have been overly modified in Photoshop. I've uploaded a few pictures so far, none of them are up for voting yet. But check them out, join up add me as a favorite.

Bar

This was taken when I went out with some friends. A few weeks ago I wanted to take a picture of the bottles behind the bar, but there were too many people at the bar to get just the bottles. This time I had enough space to get them. I set my camera on the bar right in front of an ashtray. I wanted the ashtray to be out of focus and the bottles in focus. I like how the picture came out except I don't think everyone can tell that in the foreground is an ashtray. Maybe if there was a cigarette in there you'd be able to tell. Next time!

Jetty

I took this picture at Sebastian Inlet. There was a person standing to the left, I didn't really want them in the picture so I cropped them out with Photoshop, but you can still see their shadow. I guess I could've used the clone stamp tool, but I'd rather look at my mistakes and next time try to wait until the person is out of the way to take the picture.

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Red Flower

I have no idea what type of flower this is. It was in my neighbors yard, I guess I could just ask but I never see them. I wanted to take a picture of this at a different angle and it came out like this. I didn't know the ant was on there until I uploaded the picture to my computer. I wish I had known it was there, otherwise I would've made it more prominent. Taking photographs in the nature I need to be more aware of these things. Next time. Again I wish I had the option to add a macro lens to my camera.

Fishing Off the Pier

There were tons of people fishing off this pier. I was walking by this fishing pole and quickly snapped a picture before the owner came back. I tried lining up the shot and making an interesting composition as fast as I could.

Hermit Crab

Hermit crab at Sebastian Inlet, FL. I took this picture using the macro function on my camera. I love this function, I really like taking close up pictures. I long to get a digital SLR camera with a nicer macro lens. I always try to bring along my camera wherever I go, I try to make plans to go to a park or be outside over the weekend, the only time I really get to take pictures. This past weekend I was unprepared. I didn't charge the camera battery and was only able to take a few pictures before it died. I need to figure out if there is anyway to view how much battery life is left on my camera.

My Process of Becoming a Great Photographer

I wanted to start this blog to show my process and progress of becoming a great photographer and possibly professional. This venture all started when my boyfriend got me a brand new Canon PowerShot SD600 for Christmas this past year and when I discovered flickr. I always liked to take pictures with disposable cameras and my very first Kodak digital camera I got 5 years ago. I probably joined flickr the beginning of this year, to post pictures of the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Manchester, NH. I did a search on flickr for this house and couldn't find much, so I thought I'd share mine. Then I found the groups on flickr and realized there was a whole community of people sharing photos and making comments. So then I added more pictures, made comments and received comments. This just made me want to learn more.

Well, my interest in photography actually started way before this past Christmas. I've always been interested in art. I have loved drawing and painting ever since I was little and could do those things. Throughout High School and College I focused on fine art and graphic design. I remember the first time I sparked an interest in photography, at my High School they had a dark room but only kids who already knew how to work the dark room could use it. I thought it would be interesting to learn, but put it past me and focused on painting. I also thought that photography seemed a lot easier than hand drawing your subject and that painters were much superior. Was I wrong!

So now here I am with a compact digital camera wanting to learn how to become a great photographer.