Archive for the ‘becoming a photographer’ Category

i’ve recently started trying to take my photo a day using my iphone on days when i don’t have my dslr. because of where i work, i’m unable to bring my camera to work with me, so i can’t get any photos throughout the day…  i’ve recently realized that indeed i can get photos using my iphone.

here’s a photo i took today at the strand near union square, new york city. i pulled it up in photoshop and did a bit of editing - curves and black & white. i took it on my way up the stairs to the photography section :)

i thought i’d also share this because of a discussion posted in one of my flickr groups. the person mentioned camera bag, an app originally for the iphone that is now becoming available for macs. i’ve had camera bag for a bit, and i like it a lot more when i first got it. now, i’m kind of bored with it… and not really using it anymore.

i’ve been debating on getting the app called the best camera, which i first found at this website (which i follow regularly and love love love). looking around, i found a few photos taken with iphones… i also joined a few groups on flickr so i have another place to share my iphone photos (or iphoneography, as some people are calling it).

links to some of the iphone photos i found:

the first kiss

summerset i

a subway photo

and this one was done with the best camera <quantities> of human beings.

on second thought, check out the whole set taken with the best camera

recently a friend and photographer was in new york visiting. while she was here, she set up a few portrait sessions to build her portfolio for new york photos. i was lucky to join her on one of her sessions of this momma-to-be in coney island. i snapped a few photos, nothing super fantastic, but i thought i’d share them anyway. sherese let me use her fish eye lens, which has left me dreaming of owning my own :) maybe someday. check out sherese’s beautiful photos on her photography blog at sweet memories photography. she also has a rocking bridal session she did with the graffiti wall in long island city.

sometimes i think i mess up my settings on my camera so bad that i don’t even know what is going on… and here, trying to capture the movement of a football game going on in the park… i should have stayed in my spot, shooting and changing settings until i got a better image. i feel like this is the only way i will learn what means what as far as my settings go. unfortunately, the fall colors of a bright yellow tree were calling me, willing me in their direction.

i do like the movement in the photo, but i can’t help but wish i could actually capture and freeze the players. maybe my lens doesn’t have the capability… but i’m sure my settings have some bad effect as well. anyone have advice for what settings i can use on my dslr in order to capture movement better?

it’s been over a month ago that i found a polaroid camera at a stoop sale in my neighborhood. not even two weeks later, i also found film to go with it… now one more later, i’ve had my camera loaded and ready to go, but have only shot my first polaroid today. i’ve been unsure how to use the camera, knowing that i wanted each photo taken to count. until today, when i pulled it down and decided to shoot the yellow flowers my husband got me recently.

unfortunately, i’m not as happy with the photo. of course i didn’t expect it to come out perfect the first time i started using it. it’s just that the film is a bit expensive, and i don’t really want to have to afford to pay for mess ups. i think i’ll have to go searching for some tips on shooting with my polaroid before i pull it off the shelf again.

o and if anyone else has any tips for me… please leave them in the comments! i think i was too close to the flowers in this photo or maybe the little switch does make a difference and i shouldn’t have messed with it… hmmm? maybe i just need to research and find out what that switch even is :)

love pop art. love to take photos of pop art. love thursday.

the last time i photographed this love sculpture, i came home and turned up the saturation in colors, made them really pop (go here to see for yourself). this time, i went the other way. love the feel of it.

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in honor of love thursday… here is a little link love of photo things i’ve been lovin’ lately…

**this photo class. the final project is due this weekend. i’ve been holding onto my photos for a couple weeks now, just looking forward to sharing them :) i think you will love them too!

**lens.us.together — have you been over to check it out? it’s a new blog as of last weekend, a collaboration put together by inspiring women who called on others to join (including myself). this is only our first week, and i’ve been loving the posts that have been added. i can’t wait to get out either tomorrow or this weekend to get my photo. gotta have it up by sunday, not sure how i’ll capture where i live…

** ida’s new shop… my favorite day at her blog is always thursday. on thursdays she shares photos she has taken with her yashica camera from the 70’s. she’s taken her photos and turned them into postcards! you must look! how amazing would it be to receive a postcard like hers? ooo and if you go over to her blog, you can check out her giveaway!!!

**a flickr fave… perfect addition to love thursday.

**coney island photos. i was going to save this link for when i share my photos from my trip to coney island last weekend, but i just can’t wait. you must go see them. m. heart captures coney island in the most perfect way… and i love them all, i cannot even find a favorite!

i’m starting to notice how i repeat the same steps as i process photos through. i have a few different styles i’ve been repeating lately. starting to get a feel for how i like to create my photos with processing (at least what i like for now… i’m sure i’ll change my mind again soon… it’s just a part of growing and learning i guess.)

paused to take the ultimate chillin sign, when the sign below caught my eye and made me laugh. one photo leads to another. it always happens. spent the day out in the city, but don’t really have anything great to show for it. i was dragging a little (maybe two days of staying in and using my brain power put towards other work wore me out more than i realized). i was also a little cranky. today was my chance to take photos for the million little pictures gallery entry… but i was stuck being bitter about my coney island photos falling through (blank film = no photos). i was supposed to use disposable camera (and did, the one they sent) but when it didn’t work out, i bought another camera in hopes of trying again and making the september 1 deadline.

but it’s not going to happen. i had an idea, i took the photos, and they came back as nothing. if i’d been more on top of it and hadn’t put it off, maybe it would be a different story. but i have too much going on with work right now, and i decided i wasn’t going to beat myself up and feel disappointed with photos that i didn’t actually want to take. unfortunately, i think i was down in the photo dumps today over it… but at least i captured this sign, which makes me laugh.

my vintage 35 mm canon camera sits on my shelf most days. sometimes, i pull it off and snap a few photos here and there. (sometimes i think i have film in it and snap photos just to find out there is no film…) i’ve actually only gotten two rolls of film developed since i bought the camera last year. i try not to over use it (obviously) since it costs to get film developed… but i think, after seeing the photos on this roll, i need to use it more often. maybe i’ll work towards getting a roll a month developed. i like that the photo store includes the cd of photos. i like the photo store because they added boarders to my 4×6 prints.

there may be nothing quite right about this photo, but i couldn’t pass this moment by without capturing from my hip. i love walking, holding my camera low, aiming (without peeking through the lens), and shooting. i never know what i’m going to get. sometimes it’s deleted immediately. sometimes i hold onto it, glance back at it, think about it. and even though this one isn’t perfect, i knew i loved it.

i love how this photo is mostly blue sky. the lights on the right just take a corner of it… i was looking for more photos like this… i was sure i’ve seen something similar that inspired me recently, but i cannot seem to find any photos right at this moment. do you have any photos like this or similar… where the sky takes up most of it?