Not Quite Ripe 5/52

This week's photo is a bunch of bananas we picked up at the grocery store today. Not quite ripe, just the way we like them. I thought they made an interesting subject through the lens of my 50mm f1.8 lens.

Homemade 4/52

Strawberries are in season, so this past week I decided to make my first attempt at homemade jam. I was supprised by how well it went and that all of my jars sealed on the first attempt.

Jam is deceivingly simple: fruit, sugar, pectin and a little water boiled up into deliciousness. If I were to do this again though, I might add more pectin than 1 packet as the jam is a little thinner than I was expecting.

And of course when I had completed the canning process, I had to snap a picture. I just love mason jars!

Blue Mountain 3/52

On the way back from North Carolina, hubby and I took a detour to drive a section of the beautiful Blue Mountain Parkway in Virginia. Although it made our drive back long, it was well worth it for the stunning views!

Relaxing 2/52

Despite being on vacation last week, I took very few photographs and did not blog at all. We visited friends in North Carolina last weekend and I snapped this one of their dog, relaxing while we all enjoyed catching up.

52 Weeks in Photographs: My Morning Ritual 1/52

I love the idea of the 365 days in photographs that I have seen on many blogs as a way to improve your photography skills and look for creative subjects. Perhaps my photo foray to Tyler Arboretum this weekend has inspired me. However, I know that a photograph every day is just not feasible for me. On my days off this is not a problem, but I work 12+ hour shifts and on those days it is tough to muster enough energy to feed myself, let alone find a suitable photography subject.

It then dawned on me that I might have an alternative that would serve the same purpose, but not be quite as time consuming and demanding.

What if I did one photograph per week? This would give me flexibility to shoot on my days off, but still give me the benefits of improving my skills.

So here is the first of what I hope will be a year in pictures.

I thought I would start off with one of my favorite times of day: my morning cup of coffee. I love coffee, and having a cup in the morning is in my opinion the best part of the day. I love the smell, the taste, the caffeine. I am both a coffee snob and a coffee junkie. I prefer freshly ground whole bean, and luckily have a machine that does all the steps for me (grind, brew). But given a tight spot, I will drink almost any coffee.

Spring Photo Foray

Yesterday was the Spring Photo Foray at Tyler Arboretum. I thought I would share a few of my photos with you. It was nice to be out with others who linger to get a good shot. The hubby doesn't appreciate it in the same way.

Its often hard to believe such a beautiful place is right around the corner!

Adventure in Lititz

My friend and bridesmaid, Katie, came to visit this past weekend, and to say the least, we had a bit of an adventure.

On Friday, we went downtown and walked around. We passed by Independence Hall and went to the Liberty Museum.

This was one of the pieces of artwork at the museum.

On Monday we drove to Hershey, PA and then drove around an area called Lititz, PA so that Katie and her brother could see where their family was from.

Shortly after taking this picture, we heard an awful screeching noise coming from the back of my brand new, less than 1 month old car. After pulling over and trying to discern the problem, I decided to take advantage of our AAA membership and had the car towed. Unfortunately, the tow truck couldn't take all three of us, which left us stranded with no car in the middle of nowhere. With hubby in class, we were looking at a nice long stay at the Sunoco Station in the middle of nowhere! Luckily, I made a few phone calls, and a friend was able to come and retrieve us. In the meantime, we settled in for some dinner at he picnic table in the parking lot.

It turns out that there was a pebble stuck in my brake between the rotor and the backplate, and a screw in my tire. Seems I would have had a flat if I kept driving anyway!

I am in Love!

With my new camera lens. Here are some test shots. Bell Sleeve Jacket. A frog holder for my tape measure and other accessories. And last, but definitely not least, a little cheer me up I picked up from the yarn store yesterday.....Selbuvotter!

Love the lens, and I have only had it 4 hours!

On the subject of photography

A collage of some of my favorite photos that I have taken. A large number of them were on my honeymoon in Alaska.

I shoot with a Nikon D80. Love it. Still a novice. Perhaps someday I will take photos like Brooklyn Tweed. Every time I go to his blog, I am wowed!

Yarn Photography (and a sneak peak)

So the days when I have schoolwork to do are the days that I always come up with some crafty project that must be worked on immediately lest the idea leave me forever.

Yesterday, I ordered a brand new lens for my camera. A Nikkon 50mm f 1.8 lens. It hasn't even arrived, and I am already getting excited about using it. It should be great for portraits, low light photography and you guessed it....yarn and knitting photography.

In anticipation of the lens arrival, I was researching tricks for photographing yarn and came across a tutorial for creating a light box. Basically this is box that disperses light to create a softer picture with less harse shadows. You can buy these (for a lot of $$$), but I decided that by making my own the worst that happened was to waste a perfectly good Cardboard box. And perhaps the opportunity to stop using my ugly carpet as a backdrop!

These photos are a few of my first test shots. I need to pick up some poster board to make the box more useful, as right now it is two pieces of paper taped together which does have a seam that is visible with larger objects. In addition, I also will make a reflector of tin foil and a leftover box piece to help get rid of more shadows. Also, the box I made is pretty small, so I might be making a larger one in the near future. It takes all of 20 minutes to make.

I really need to get photoshop, but for now, a little editing in Picasa, and here they are.

You might notice that one of the photos shows a WIP, my Jaywalker socks I am about to turn the heel on the second sock, and with a little train knitting time tommorrow, they should be finished soon!

Once I get my new lens, I will post some more photos to show it off.

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My first posting

Hi my name is Rachel. This whole blogging thing is new to me and this is my first posting. I don't really know what this blog is going to look like, but we will see in time. I hope that this blog will serve many purposes including a place for me to put my poetry, running, reading, and life thoughts. So here goes....