D80/D90/D5000 part 1 workshop at Henry's

Hey hey hey!!
Ok so I went to the Henry's workshop today for the basic introduction to my cam and its menu system and other stuff that for the most part I had already figured out on my own.  It was good to get confirmation that I was doing things right and that I was using the fastest methods to do stuff. 


My instructor Mark was great.  For the first 30 mins it was just him and I so he tailored the conversation and information to my speed of thinking. (i'm not really one that needs to go over things more than once heh) and didn't over explain trivial things.  He left me plenty of opportunity to ask questions and I did.  Then the other "student" (not sure what to really call us besides maybe attendee's which just sounds ridiculous) arrived.. late and unapologetic.  He was also extremely annoying and would interrupt every 10 seconds (no i'm not exaggerating) and when he was supposed to be paying attention he'd be fiddling with something and just say "uh huh  and yeah" alot.. then would ask Mark to a) repeat what he just said and then go off on a tangent that would have nothing to do with what was being discussed.  I swear to god I was ready to kill him within the first 15 mins of him being there.. and AND it was a 3hr workshop.. AHHHHHHHHH


Anyway Mark seemed to have the patience of a saint and would only smirk at me when he noticed me roll my eyes and groan whenever the dude would open his mouth.  It was fairly amusing if it weren't causing me to get a headache.    I want to do the Part 2 section of the workshop but quite honestly... i think if i show up and dude is there i'll turn around and ask to go back at a later date.  


Tomorrow should be interesting though.  I'm going to Riverdale Farm with my friend Michelle and her daughter Olivia. 


"Riverdale Farm is a 3 hectare (7.5 acres) municipally operated farm in the heart of Cabbagetown, an urban neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada." - Wikipedia



I've never been to Riverdale before but it was recommended to me by one of the doctors I work with so we shall see.  I'm going to try my hand at architectural shots and portraits (should get some nice ones of Michelle and Olivia together).


I'll post tomorrow to let you all know how it goes.


until next time..
Jenn

Adobe Lightroom and the Toronto Zoo....

Welcome back,  

So I’ve been fairly busy since the last post.   Working lots of hours hasn’t left me a lot of time to do what I really wanted to do which was go shoot something.. anything.   I did use my evenings, when I wasn’t too tired, to download and teach myself Adobe Light Room 3, which just came out in beta form. 

Now, since not everyone that reads this (helllllloooo.. is there anyone out there?!) knows, I do have a background in Adobe products.  I was trained, many many moons ago, on Photoshop, and illustrator.   I sort of kept up to date with Photoshop but I’ve not touched Illustrator in about 10 yrs now.   
So for learning Light Room, although it is a rather complex program I found that I was able to pick up the basics pretty darn quickly.  I watched a bunch of video tutorials and read some blogs but mostly I just fiddled with the software and figured it out as I went along.   

“Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 software is essential for today's digital photography workflow. Now you can quickly import, process, manage, and showcase your images — from one shot to an entire shoot.” – www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom

 I gotta say.. I AM SUPER LOVING THIS PROGRAM!  It’s easy to use once you get the hang of it.  And its awesome for organizing your pictures into collections and even which of the pics you like and which you don’t can be catalogued so you can just view those later on for final processing.  It’s the old darkroom in digital form.  It’s absolutely amazing.  I can’t say enough about this program haha.

So finally after chomping at the bit to get out with my camera, I finally was able to go out on Monday Nov. 9/09 to the Toronto Zoo.  The weather was awesome. (seriously.. ..I took my coat off for most of the day) Cloudy so the lighting was amazing, and the animals were super cooperative.    We even managed to catch the Lion Feeding Time.   Gosh, those lions were gorgeous.  I was completely taken in by the male’s eyes.  They were creepy, yet outstanding.

 

The polar bears (one of my faves) were a tad disappointing for only one reason.. they apparently rolled in the mud earlier that day and were so dirty they looked like giant brown bears :p   Silly fuzzy teddybears :P

Besides the lions, the Olive Baboons and the Grizzly Bears were the stars of the show.  First time I’ve seen the bears at the zoo do more than sleep.  Lol.  They were up and about playing in water, walking around, they even got into a bit of a Bear Scuffle.  (I sure as hell wasn’t going to go in and break up the fight though.. no sir not me :P)

Anyway photos from that kick ass excursion are posted on my flickr acct.   Come take a peek. <3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/empy08/sets/72157622786080406/

Until next time....

Jenn M.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog. I’m going to be using this site to document my foray into the world of digital photography.

I recently bought a Nikon D5000 camera with 2 lenses, a standard 18 -55mm and a 70-200mm. Right now I currently borrow my step-dads Speedlight SB-600. But I’ll be buying one of my own soon. (hint hint xmas is coming.. hint hint!!)

So far I’ve just been messing with the camera, getting a feel for its different settings, what one setting does verses another one. I’ve also been trying to get used to using the tripod. Have to admit though, it is rather cumbersome. Might just be the type I have or the lack of a strap to carry it on my back while I wander around. I’m sure I’ll either get used to it or buy a new one in the New Year.

I’m going to be signing up for a course on my camera at Henry’s school of imaging for the 14^th of November. I’ll let everyone know how that goes. J It’s not a super fancy course. I think it’s mostly a “how-to” kind of thing that explains the menus and some basic photography standards.

I have a Flickr account that has all my photos on it. (www.flickr.com/photos/empy08) Well not all, just the ones I deemed somewhat decent. The best out of each set etc. I’ve gone to the beach that is near where I live, been to a wedding where I met a new friend and photographer that has already given me some great hints and tips and websites to check out, took pictures of my dad’s new Harley Davidson Motorcycle (I like the way the sun caused the highlights on the black paint in a lot of the shots), spent an afternoon at Mount Pleasant Cemetary looking for old sculptures and other interesting things to shoot (it was Halloween after all), and me showing off my camera to my technogramps (we went to graphic school together. He’s pretty damn amazing! Love you Gramps)

I’m not sure what kind of photography I want to really get into. I love nature and animals so that will definitely be on the table. I want to take lots of courses and learn the trade. I’m like a sponge and just can’t wait to know more about this subject. I guess as I discover more the more I can decide. Candid portraits are awesome tooJ.

All this from the girl that hates having her photo taken, got to love being behind the camera. Really, you do!

Until next time,

Jenn M.