Point and Shoot

Ever since I served as the photographer for the West High School newspaper from 1969 to 1971, I have been interested in photography.  In fact, it was an interest in it that prompted me to ask to be the photographer.  One of my college jobs was taking dorm pictures of entire girls' residence halls (thank you my friend, Bill Harten!)

From then until now I have maintained my interest in photography.  It has been limited to looking at and enjoying pictures until now.  My desire to start taking pictures has been rekindled through the gift of a Nikon Coolpix "point-and-shoot" camera given me a few years ago.  The desire has also been heightened by being able to take pictures with my I-Phone at any time and any place (because I usually have it with me all the time).

I asked for and received a camera that I had chosen (thanks, Ann!) this past Christmas.  I wimped out and didn't get a DSLR (digital single lens reflex), but rather, a top-of-the-line, digital "point-and-shoot."  Maybe some day when I am more confident in my abilities....

So since December, I've been taking pictures with my new Nikon V-1.  I took a bunch while my siblings and partners were here for the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's.  But everything that I've read and everything that I hear from real photographers indicates to me that the best way to become a great photographer is to take great numbers of pictures--tens of thousands!  So I am just barely starting out.  BTW, I keep the Coolpix in my car and will sometimes use it if I stumble on to something that inspires me.  And I will occasionally take pics with my I-Phone as well if I am not in my car.

I thought I would be brave an post some of my very preliminary pictures.  I am trying to pay attention to composition, to lighting, to texture, and to depth of field.  There is so much that goes into taking a picture that I don't even know about yet.  But that's okay.  I have to start somewhere, right?  This photographic journey is yet another transition for me.

T

So this is of a Christmas display in a yard just down the street from us.  I liked the creativity.

Lighting was a challenge for this shot of the Parade.  I only had one lens at the time.  I don't know how to filter, and I certainly do not know how to photoshop.  It's a fun picture, however!

 

This was taken during our Big Bear weekend vacation a little over a week ago.  It had snowed about 8-10 inches and the temperature was just starting to warm.  I liked the coloring of the sky in the AM light, the shadows, the overall composition.  If I knew how to photoshop I would have eliminated the wires that were everywhere.  It was taken with my 10-30 regular lens.

More wires.  I liked the purple against the green of the trees, the blue of the sky, and the white of the snow.  Not a great picture--had the wrong lens--but a kind of interesting one.

I s

I saw this more rustic bird feeder and decided to shoot it; didn't have my zoom lens.  I'm sure there is something that could be done with this, maybe even with the composition, but I don't know what or how.















 
Yet more wires.  Thought this was a nice contrast of green and blue and white, with some shadowing.  I did crop this one along with both bird feeders above.

This may be the best picture that I've taken thus far, in terms of composition, depth of field (I'm still getting acquainted with the zoom lens I bought a few weeks ago), lighting (needs to be lightened a bit?), and texture.  Again, I'm sure that this picture could likely be improved with techniques that I am unaware of, but this is an untouched picture, and I'm kind of proud of it!

This is my Prius that stalled on the freeway.  Yes, I have since had repairs done on it, and I am trying to take good care of it (got an synthetic oil change coming up this week or next), but I still like it and the average 46 miles per gallon it gives me, and it is an attractive color.  It looks good in the shade; the color really looks nice.  The picture was taken at a turnout up Angeles Crest Highway about four miles.  I came up to find some flora and fauna to shoot, and this shot was pretty much an afterthought, but hey, tens of thousands, right?

This tree and others were across from the turnout.  I used my telephoto lens on this but it didn't do anything about the background.  Still, the mountains and foliage in the background are kind of nice.  I like the stark nature of this burnt tree and the black and natural colors of the trunk and limbs. 

 

There were lots of these wild yellow flowers everywhere and I shot a dozen or so pictures.  This one I cropped to eliminate any distraction from this one bloom.  I really like the shadows on it and the out-of-focus background.  This was shot with the zoom lens as was the tree above (also was cropped) and the picture below.

This was a tree (flowering plum?) growing in an island in La Canada.  It was too beautiful to not record so I pulled into a nearby parking lot, put on my zoom lens, shot it, and cropped out stuff below.  I like the pink against the blue, the texture/detail, and the subtle shading.

If anybody is a professional photographer out there in the blogosphere, I'd welcome any suggestions.  Otherwise, for everyone else, I hope that you liked my first attempts.