341 Days Later...

Wow.

I pulled up my blog today and sat shocked at what I saw: the date of my latest post: April 23, 2011. This realization triggered some genuine feelings of self-loathing. I have abandoned my blog completely for almost a year.

By the way, I see that you all have really missed me. Thanks for that.

Regardless, I determined that I would certainly not let a full year lapse without a scintillating commentary or visual exhibition to entertain you all, my faithful followers.

Because I do not have an actual topic to blog about today and because I am so happy that it's springtime and because Tulip Time is a month away (someone really should inform the tulips which are coming up now) and because I can smell the fresh, gooey stroopwafels that make right the world, I thought I would simply share with you some of my favorite spring photographs.

Aren't run-on sentences fun? I think so.

a butterfly having an afternoon snack...

a gorgeous thunderhead billowing toward the heavens...

a nest holding the promise of new life...

the little miracles...

flowers small yet full of splendor...

adventurous babies...

life bursting forth from death...

sweet, luscious smells of spring.

Shoot for the Moon...(photos)

Several weeks ago, I blogged about the "Supermoon" and that I planned on getting some awesome photos that night. But as weather would have it, not only did I fail at getting those photos, I did not even get to see the giant full moon. Central Iowa was covered by thick clouds that night and for several nights after that. I was very disappointed.

The following photos were taken one week ago on April 16 which was during the next lunar cycle. I figured the moon was just one size smaller than the "Supermoon" and would only continue getting smaller, so I'd give it a try. The thing was, the moon was not fully-full. It was the night before the full moon, but I didn't want to miss my chance on the possibility that it could be too cloudy the next night (and it was). It's not like I was going for prize-winners here--this was a learning experience for me.

So when I got home that night (around 9:30 probably) I bundled up a little more (because it had been a very cold spring day--most of which I spent sitting at my garage sale. brrrr!),

grabbed my tripod,

swapped in my telephoto lens,

and pocketed notes on camera settings for lunar photos (taken when I first blogged about photographing "Supermoon").

I set up my tripod on the side of our dead-end gravel road and said my prayers that Derrick would see me when he came home in the other car.

I experimented with a few different shutter speeds and compositions. Since it was a clear night, I wasn't able to try composing the moon with clouds, but that's ok. Have a look:

You can see to the bottom left of the moon where it was not completely full. However, I think I can actually see more definition of the landscape there--neat.

200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/125 | F/11



200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/125 | F/11





200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/160 | F/11




200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/100 | F/11

  It was so peaceful...but it was cold.



200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/80 | F/11

 So I didn't stay out more than 10-15 minutes.



200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/200 | F/11



 Goodnight Moon.



200 mm | Shutter Speed 1/125 | F/11





Shoot for the Moon...

...even if you miss, you'll land among stars.

Gosh, ain't that a sweet sentiment?

Guess what! I just heard that today the moon will be the closest to the earth that it's been in 18 years or so, which means it will be really big. And tonight is the full moon, so weather permitting, it will be really bright. Click here to read a more scientific explanation:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382247,00.asp

Photographers everywhere are gearing up to "shoot the moon" (nice, right?) tonight, and I'm going to try moon photography for the very first time. This is your heads up.

Dear Nikon,

As I've said, photography is my passion; it has been since I was in fourth grade or so when I started experimenting with photography for 4-H projects. That's why I was so excited to finally get my first DSLR last summer. I'd been saving money and researching cameras for months, and I eventually went out and bought a Nikon D5000 just before our summer vacation to Colorado. I want to quickly tell you why I chose this camera and what I love about it.

Simple Tips for Sweet Subjects

One of my favorite subjects to photograph is children. Who can say if it's simply because I've gained more experience with child subjects in the last couple years? Or because I've been working as a nanny for a while? Or because I love a near impossible challenge like getting two toddlers in one frame with zero tears? Whether you're a professional photographer, a hobbyist, or a parent, you know getting a decent picture of a young child is indeed challenging, if not maddening. Now, baby-babies are somewhat of an exception because they're immobile, but one of the first things I learned about photographing children is patience. I usually need to take 20 pictures to get one decent photo, 50 pictures to get one good photo, and 80-100 pictures to get one great photo. For instance, I took weeks of pictures to get 12 good ones to display at my senior art show in college. There may be two or three that I consider great, but I've learned a lot since then. (I was a graphic design major and never took a single photography class in college because I wanted to keep photography a hobby that I could enjoy, but I really wanted to do photography for my senior show, so I went with Digital Black and White Child Photography.)

Here are the photos I displayed in my senior show:

Aren't they beautiful kids? I got to be a nanny to the babies (in case you didn't notice, there are three!) The other kids are a few of my cousins, who were willing, cooperative, lovely models--and I was very thankful.

I'm not writing this blog just to show off...hehe. I want to share some tips and tricks that I've learned about photographing children. In the last year I've been fortunate that a couple of my cousins asked me to photograph their kids, and I was chasing TWINS for over a year (more victims from my days as a nanny).

The Force of Advertising

All right. I'm back and I'm sorry for neglecting to blog since November. I've had a busy couple months with the holidays, traveling, moving, settling, and job hunting. But enough with the excuses.

Five days ago when you were parked in front of the TV were you watching the Super Bowl? Or were you watching the commercials?

I was watching my plate overflowing with chips, dips and meat on toothpicks.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the game and the commercials too. According to Trilix's Super Poll 2011, http://www.superpolliowa.com/
the viewers' favorite Super Bowl commercial was "Volkswagen: The Force" with 46% of the votes. Go to the website to see the rest of the results.

Every Rose Has it's Thorns

Today I want to ask for your help. Since I've been actively job hunting and anticipating upcoming interviews, I'm trying to prepare for those interviews as best I can. One of the typical questions that interviewers like to ask is, "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Today I'll focus on weakness. It's a fair question but I dread the fact that I have to tell them why they might not want to hire me. I am flawed, and I might not be your most qualified candidate, but I don't want you to find out until after you hire me!

Just kidding. Sort of.

Ok, so I've read that the trick is to identify a weakness but then turn it into a strength--or at least put a positive spin on it. I'm wondering what is my "best" weakness for this question. What do you think?

Note to future employers: I don't want to spoil the surprise for you, so just stop reading. Thanks.