Photography

I am currently taking three classes towards my BA. It is a work in progress, and I have to admit it is sometimes a struggle to be "everything"... mom, wife, cook, groceries, laundry, homework, projects, taxi and student...oh, and sleep:)  

I much more enjoyed Le Cordon Bleu classes, and will finish those hands on classes when Eric retires and we return home.  But for now, I find myself planning ahead, and knocking out this BA is part of my plan to own my storefront, to educate myself as much as I can to be a successful businesswoman.

That being said, I had "ONE" elective left that I could take. I choose a photography class. I really thought I wanted to learn the technical basics.

Considering I am drowning in marketing/business management terms/research papers right now, I thought this class would be a creative outlet.

I have one week left in this class, I am not sure I have learned all that I wanted to. It really depends on the Professor you have. My teacher is slightly lacking in creativity and much more technical (my opinion only, I am sure he doesn't feel this way). I am more of a creative person and have always enjoyed taking photos of the kids, trips, etc. Most of our pictures documenting our lives are photos I have taken.

However, as I have always loved taking all those photos on a whim, the technical aspect of taking pictures really has me sighing with extreme boredom. This means setting your camera settings FIRST and then taking the picture. So...professional photographer (technically) I will never be.  Creative photographer, ahem! I much prefer the taking the picture on a whim and adjusting accordingly.

This technical jarga, so totally taking the fun out of it for me!

This week Eric was my model.  I needed to capture a subject, in a portrait setting, light adjusted, etc. Crisp and clean.

This picture so captures Eric's expression of when he "is over something".  In this case, it was being my picture model!

Particularly after he noticed the German neighbor watching...  Hand gesture, eyebrow squint, "OK, lets wrap this up Ronda" being mumbled, SNAP!  Got it! Captured him just as he is:) This expression is classic.

Love... this... guy! 

Below are some of the other photos that turned out well, but in the end I choose this classic above!

Here are some of my other "technical" photos I have maybe not so much enjoyed taking?

Because it has been raining, I originally used Zachary as a portrait earlier in the week. He often comes down stairs , book in hand, wearing glasses (even though he doesn't actually wear glasses). He inherited this "hair" from my Dad, and when my Dad takes off his ball cap, his hair usually looks like this as well.  Zachary was going for the "crazy Einstein look" but the lighting just wasn't working for my project assignment. It is still a hilarious photo.  He often looks crazy like this to get a rise and a good laugh from us all.

Landscape Photo

Focal Length Photo

Really low shutter speed to capture snowball

Slow shutter speed to capture motion

Original selected for gallery work ...even though this was not taken for this class, it is still one of my all time favorite photos that I have taken of Avery, she looks like an angel and captured how special her First Communion was.