In Gratitude

by Leigh

In this season of gratitude like many others,  I like to make a list of what I'm thankful for.  There is the obvious, of course....my family, my kids, my friends, a roof over my head, food on the table..

but I'm trying to stretch beyond the easy...go past the words that immediately pop into my head when I think of gratitude.  I want to spend time reflecting on the gifts in my life.  What is this moment right now offering me and how can I show my appreciation for it?  Living a grateful life stretches far beyond the month of November.  It's available every moment of every day in everything that we do.

Living gratefully is something I want to teach my children.  I want it to be second nature to them. But how can I do that if I don't practice what I preach? All of the life principles that my daughter learns at school contribute to a grateful life.  Respect....responsibility.....kindness....compassion....generosity. When we live life to the fullest and in the moment we are recognizing that life is a gift.  According to gratefulness.org "graceful living is supported by daily practices, habit of mind, and behaviors that are learnable and can be translated and applied to many aspects of our lives."  It goes on to say that if we engage in a "basic daily gratefulness practice" our lives will be enriched. 

Challenge yourself daily to stop whatever you are doing and devote your full attention to being still.  Look at what life is offering you right now.  Gratefulness.org suggest asking yourself ones of these questions:

• What am I grateful for right now? or What can I be grateful for right now?
• What opportunity is life presenting me, for which I can be grateful?

"Try to think of each of these things as a gift as opposed to a given.  We can elevate aspects of our lives-especially the most routine and common-by receiving them with the same kind of gratitude that we would receive an unexpected gift, taking nothing for granted."

Not only will an attitude of gratitude change your life for the better, but it will have a ripple effect among those around you.  Go ahead....try it.  What are you waiting for?  

Sharpening my Skills

by Kelly

To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles. ~T.F. Hodge

"I should really use my macro lens more."  That's what I think to myself any time I read one of Terri's posts about her love for macro photography.  But rather than feeling delighted and inspired, shooting with my macro lens often leaves me feeling annoyed and frustrated.  And my frustration is due to the fact that I have a very difficult time getting tack-sharp focus where I want it.

My biggest problem is camera shake.  (Well there is also the spring wind in Oklahoma, but that's probably another blog post for another day.)  Anyway, over the past couple of weeks, I've been forcing myself to practice with my macro lens more (on non-windy days of course).  And, as with any kind of regular practice, I've sort of found my groove if you will.  So today I thought I would share with you some tips that have really helped me with regards to the sharpness in my macro photography.

1. Become a human tripod:  Swinging and swaying are fine when you're listening to music, but they are no help for creating tack-sharp images.  I have a terrible time with this (especially in the morning after having a cup or three of coffee), so I always try to either a) bolster myself against a wall or b) keep one knee and/or elbow anchored on the ground.  It also helps to keep your arms pulled in tight next to your body.
2. Back-Button Focus (BBF):  I have been utilizing this feature for a few years now, and it made a big improvement in the sharpness of my overall photography.  I find that it is even more beneficial in macro photography.  There is a great article at Clicking Moms that explains BBF in further detail, but simply put, BBF separates the shutter and focus functions of your camera. It's ideal for moving subjects which is why it helps me with my macro photography.  Keeping one finger on the BBF, I can press the shutter button whenever my subject comes into focus.
3. Decrease aperture:  Because macro lenses allow you to get so much closer to the subject, shooting with a very wide aperture setting creates an even more shallow DOF than with a wider-angle lens.  By decreasing the aperture size (larger f/stop), more of the subject comes into focus and I find that my camera will lock onto to my focal point and focus more quickly.
4. Increase ISO: Related to aperture, since I know that camera shake is an issue, I find that having a shutter speed of at least 1/125th is crucial.  Often times, that means I will need an ISO setting of 800 - 1600 to properly expose my images.  

Beyond these tips, I find that shooting with a macro lens requires two things that are not always in my wheelhouse in the course of my regular days...stillness and patience.  Thinking about the dinner I need to cook or the laundry that needs to be folded is not conducive to sharp, macro images.  

It turns out that breathing and mindfulness seem to be the very best tools at my disposal.

It's always a good thing to be reminded how much there is to learn...both in photography and in life.

At any rate, if you have any other good tips for getting sharp focus, please share them in the comments.  We so appreciate your feedback!

Until next time, 

Kelly

Feeling a bit Grinchy

by Leigh

What a way to start of December.  It's only the 8th and I feel like I'm already weeks behind.  I lost last week to a nasty virus and that only added to the pressure of the holidays.  I had promised myself that this year I would enjoy the moments, savor the time with friends and family, be joyful…..and here I was sick, tired, worn out, frazzled, anxious, and if I hear my nephew sing Frosty the Snowman one more time I might just scream!  And to top it off I hadn't even taken my kids' photos for our Christmas card and annual photo book that I make for my family.  

What's the saying? the cobbler's son has no shoes? I'm pretty sure that can also apply to the photographer's children have no Christmas card photos!  I rounded up my kids along with my niece and nephew for a photo shoot this past weekend.  It was hurried and stressful from the very start with me yelling "JACK don't slouch!  Stand up straight!  Can you at least fake a smile?!?!?!  James, get back here!!  Stop running away!  Molly & Sarah…no squirrel face and for the last time…NO YOU CANNOT PHOTOBOMB YOUR BROTHERS' PHOTOS!!  I JUST NEED ONE USEABLE PHOTO PLEASE!  So much for advertising my work with this motley crew.  Who's going to hire me when I don't even have a decent photo of my own kids on my card!  Maybe I need to go the funny route and this years card will just be a series of outtakes.

But then while downloading all the photos (and trashing quite a few of them) I came across this gem 

 All the frustrations of the day melted away as I laughed hysterically at the photo.  It perfectly sums up our family dynamic!  My daughter, niece and nephew acting crazy as always while my son expresses his typical teenage angst over the situation. I realized that I was getting myself all worked up over the little details instead of enjoying the moments.  I'm always telling my kids to chill out.  I think I need to take my own advice!

So when it all gets real crazy in December, find those moments in the season that bring you joy.  It helps you slow down, even for a little bit, to remember what this time of year is all about.

On Assignment

by Leigh

I know we talk quite often about being stuck in a rut.  For me, I always seem to be burned out and running on empty when it comes to creativity at the end of the summer.  I miss the good old days of opening my email to find a photo prompt from Tracey Clark and her Picture classes in my inbox.  I remember the feeling of excitement after reading it.  My camera would be my companion for the week as I went about my business…always keeping the prompt in the back of my mind just waiting to find that perfect shot.  It was that weekly focus that kept my creative juices flowing.  And just as fulfilling as finding my perfect shot...was seeing the gallery full of photos from everyone else.  It was a warm and environment and that is where my true love of photography began to grow.

It's been difficult for me to find something similar to those classes that spur the same sort of excitement,   so I decided to start giving myself assignments.  My friend Angie Dornier did a personal project called Jar of Inspiration where each week she drew a different theme out of a jar.  I always thought that was such a genius idea and it's always been in the back of my mind thinking that someday that might be just the thing when I need a creative push. But now for the hard part….coming up with assignments.   For my first one I decided on patterns.  And boy did I hit the jackpot when I visited the Oklahoma City Myriad Botanical Gardens.  Floating on top of the ponds were beautiful water plants like this clover.  Outside in the gardens were Zinnia buds like the one above just waiting to burst open but first they must show off their intricate pattern.

Not only were these ponds perfect for the assignment, but they also happened to be my favorite color! For the first time in a few months I'm finding myself excited about getting out there with my camera.  My Nikon and I are going to get reacquainted with this project. (truth be told…only the first photo was taken with my Nikon.  The others are iPhone.) 

 Are you feeling a little ho-hum these days?   I would love to hear your ideas for other themes.  Maybe some of you would like to go on assignment with me!

The Traveling Lens Project

by Leigh

Have you heard about The Traveling Lens Project?   The LM-10 is the newest Lensbaby made for mobile photography.  Shutter Sisters along with Lensbaby selected 31 photographers from 18 states and 8 countries to try out the lens for a week and learn to see in a new way.  I was thrilled to be selected to participate in this project.  Lensbaby is known for their sweet spot lenses and this one does not disappoint!  The lens attaches magnetically with the help of a little metal ring that affixes to your phone.  Then you use the Lensbaby app to move the sweet spot around, lock your exposure, spot meter, and utilize the rule of thirds grid.  You select what you want in focus while everything else is beautifully blurred out.  You can even shoot video with the LM-10.  

This has been the most fun I've had shooting with my phone in a long time!   With the help of this little lens I was able to see things in a completely new way and felt inspired again as I sought out texture and color.  I thought more about how these elements would blend together.  Even the photo of my little nephew looks soft and sweet with the Lensbaby even though he was seconds away from getting in trouble for washing his sandbox hands in the water feature.  I was already feeling withdrawals when it was time to pass this lens along to the next person so I decided to order one of my very own.  If you are in the market for a new gadget I highly recommend this sweet spot lens!  Be sure and checkout the gallery and #travelinglensproject on Instagram to see some beautiful shots from the other photographers.