Bokeh

I learned a new word today!  "Bokeh."

"In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image..."  (According to Wikipedia.)

Apparently, I've been using this technique for awhile now...

"World Traveler"

I prooobably should have blogged before now about how my good friend Caroline is getting married and about how that meant a trip to London for me.  And how Caroline got her work schedule after I booked my flights and she ended up having to work the first few days I would be here in the UK.  Caroline works for British Airways so that meant she would actually be out of the country.  So then I should have blogged about how that meant a trip for me to Scotland to visit my friend Cat.

Oh well.  I'm horrible at blogging.  What else is new?

So...I'm in the UK!

A few (and very rambly) quick thoughts about my trip:
No body scan!  The airport in DC was super quiet.  It was really peaceful.  I used the bathroom on a plane for the first time today.  Twice.  And it wasn't nearly as horrible as I thought it would be.  It wasn't even gross.  As long as I don't think about all the germs.  Still.  They make my skin crawl.  Not thinking about them.  It wasn't even gross.  Also, I really liked the way the soap smelled.  In an effort to adjust to the time zone I'm in now, I tried really really hard not to sleep on the plane.  It was difficult because I might have gone to bed after 2am Friday night/Saturday morning...  I might have gone to bed at 2:25 in the morning.  And then my alarm to get up might have gone off at 6am.  Maybe.  I did end up sleeping a little because traveling makes me sleepy.  Cars, trains, and planes.  (Oh, my!)  All of them do it.  Anyway, I think I did pretty well for myself.  I didn't even watch a movie!  For the majority of the flight, the buttons on my armrest control thing didn't work but it was okay.  The guy I reported it to was convinced I would get bored and need to watch a "film."  (I'm pretty sure most of the flight crew were from England.  When I said I used the bathroom earlier, I should have said the "loo" because they called it that.  So I can call it that too without sounding like I'm just trying to be cool.  I used the loo on on a plane for the first time today.  Twice.)  I spent most of my time looking out of the window and daydreaming.  There wasn't really anything to look but I'm really good at doing nothing.  I did play on my iPod some.  And there was apple juice.  Heathrow airport has fancy bathrooms.  And it is also huge.  It goes on forever.  And ever.

Okay, enough rambling.  Maybe.

Caroline's mom and dad and youngest sister picked me up at the airport and then her sister kept me company  reeeally early this morning on my way to catch a bus to get to Gatwick airport. We had a really lovely conversation along the way.  =)   I got on another plane and Cat picked me up at the airport in Edinburgh and we got lunch and hiked a small mountain that these crazy Scots call a hill.   Now she is making a traditional roast dinner for us and our friend Fiona and their friend.

So far, so good for this traveler.  =)

If you made it through this entire post then you get a gold star.  An invisible one.  To put on your invisible sticker pad.  =D

It's my favorite season . . .

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower."
    Albert Camus

Composition 101:  Combining Dead Space with the Rule of Thirds is an easy way to make a photo more dramatic and eye-catching.  Be careful not to include too much dead space--the "fill the frame" rule of thumb is still always a good idea.

Butterfly Stalking

Taking a good photo is so satisfying.  And the process of finding a good shot is so...nice.  I don't know how else to describe it!  Hmm...

I'm not always the best at focusing.  Just ask my friends.  ;)  But seriously.  I zone out, I get distracted, I go on tangents.  It's what makes me so charming.  =D  When I'm in "photography mode" it's different though.  My mind sort of slows down.

Today, I had some time to kill and I took myself on a photo safari. (Remind me to write a post about what a photo safari is one day.)  The sun was beginning to set and the lighting was really nice.  I drove by a field and pulled over.  I was going to take pictures of the flowers there, but there were all these butterflies.  So I spent the next several minutes stalking butterflies and trying to take a good shot.  (It didn't quite work out.)  Anyway, as I was following one butterfly, I had a neat thought.  Photography is like butterfly stalking.  At least, it is for me.  Walking slowly, being quiet, looking for little details.  (Okay, this was a lot cooler in my head than it is in writing.  I still wanted to share though.)  I like butterfly stalking.

These might be moths...  I never did learn to tell the difference.  Moths are cool too though.

Little Details.

Composition 101:  Don't be afraid to keep clicking.  Sometimes a shot you haven't purposefully composed will be the winning shot that day.

Texture!

 

Composition 101:  Texture = Good.

Water dances.

 

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."

                                                  - Loran Eisley 

Composition 101: If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in light!  Capturing that light is oh-so-satisfying.  Pay attention to light when composing a shot.  Get it right and it could mean the difference between a good shot and a great one.

Not In My Timing

When Camp ended and I went back to "just work" I was nervous.  Nervous because in my typical day-to-day life, I spend a lot of time alone.  I spend a lot of time alone and I don't particularly enjoy my job.  Because I don't enjoy being being alone and I don't always enjoy my job, I was not looking forward to Camp ending.  Camp was something to get up for in the morning.  It was something to look forward to during the day.  It meant people to love on and spend time with, a community.

Something that I can't quite seem to get through my thick skull is that God's timing is perfect.  The transition from Camp and work back to just work was not nearly as terrible as I had been expecting.  For the first couple weeks, my friends were still around and Britni and I started a fun new project so I had something to be excited about.  Also, a few other counselors and I organize a youth group for the teens at Camp and we began getting the ball rolling for that.  I got nervous again when friends started going back to school though.  Not all of them went very far, but they all have their own lives at school.  I was in college once--it's your whole world while you're there and that's how it should be.  Knowing this, I did not anticipate feeling great when people went back to their lives at school.

Something I can't quite seem to get through my thick skull is that God's timing is perfect.  During the summer, I volunteered at my church's Sunday school (Promiseland) and right around the time that camp was ending, a girl that I'd met once or twice before was volunteering on the same Sunday I was.  We got to talking, and we both mentioned the fact that we wished there was more of a ministry for college graduates/20 somethings at Cedarbrook.  A few days later I found out she was starting a small group and she wanted me to join.  Around the same time, the Youth Pastor asked me if I would consider helping out during the school year too.  I said heck yeah!  Well, as I began to get nervous about friends going back to school, he asked if I would be able to be a "full timer" and come every Sunday instead of just a "half" coming two Sundays a month.  I have been going to Cedarbrook Community Church for about three years now and I've been wanting to get plugged in more and more.  At first I couldn't seem to get my foot in firmly, and now things just seem to be falling in my lap.  I've since gone to a meeting about Promiseland as well as another special event for people getting involved in ministry at Cedarbrook.  I've met new people at church and I've realized I already know more people than I thought.  Community is great.

I have been really enjoying myself the past couple of weeks getting ready for the start up of the youth group, starting at Promiseland, and anticipating the beginning of the new small group.  God has given me things to keep busy with.  It doesn't matter that I don't particularly like my job because my job is no longer my only purpose.  It is a great feeling.

I am excited and slightly intimidated by the fact that some of the activities God is filling my life with are pretty much directly related to furthering His Kingdom. As followers of Christ, we should be out there, actively spreading His word and love and truth and I've never felt that I have done a very good job of it.  Now it's like I'm really on the front lines.  I feel like He is sort of giving me more responsibility.

Anyway.  God is great and I'm not sure why I can't quite seem to get it through my thick skull that His timing is perfect.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord..."
 Jeremiah 29:11

I'm pretty sick of rain.

I understand the importance of rain. I do.  I promise.  I can't seem to help feeling frustrated about so many straight days of it though.  I am actually surprised that the sky has not run out of water to chuck down around me.

On a lighter note, this made me laugh a little.  The view from behind our office building:

Yeah, there's usually a tiny creek running though there to a drain pipe that you can't even see in the second picture.

Ridiculous and I love it.

This brought me to tears.  Of laughter.  But there were tears.  I love it.  It's just...hilarious.

(Warning:  There are curse words on the page linked above.  Just so you know.  Usually I avoid curse words at all cost, but...  It's very funny and I edit it as I read.)

Wace Cawrs!

As I have mentioned before, I have wonderful, amazing, fantastic friends. I have been so, so blessed by the relationships in my life and God never stops reminding me of that fact.

My most recent reminders have been through my wonderful friend, Britni.  We've known each other for awhile now, but God was biding His time it seems.  He chose this summer to bring us closer and boy am I glad He did!

This was pretty much my summer:

SILLY!  So silly!  I love it.  Britni is the perfect blend of silly and serious (to borrow words from the girl herself) (though not about herself) and I have experienced SO much growth through our friendship.  It has been amazing.  I can't wait for more silly times and more fantastic conversations.  =)

The Best Part

The best part about Balloon Animals is their noses.  =)

I take way too many pictures of flowers.

But flowers are easy.  And pretty.

"What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails, and puppy dog tails.
That's what little boys are made of!"

Water Water Everywhere

Droplets are fun to take pictures of.

Composition 1o1: KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN.

Sometimes . . .

. . . interesting shots happen by accident.

And by sometimes, I mean mostly.

Joy is . . .

. . . a good roll in the dirt right after your mom gives you a bath.

I'm pretty much a nerd.

I got to go to the zoo with Camp today!! AND it was the first time I've really been able to walk around with my new toy camera (at the zoo). I was in GEEK HEAVEN. (At least my geek heaven.) Lucky for me, the person I was with was Britni and she is very understanding of my nerdom and so I was able to let it out in all it's geeky glory. [Side note: Britni is amazing. True story.]

I think I got some pretty good shots in if I do say so myself. =)

Love is . . .

. . . a cuddly baby who sleeps in your arms.

Little Feet

Composition 101: When doing portrait shots, faces are not the only thing worth looking at.

I love this little boy. So, so much.

Buzz

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly,
but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.”
- Mary Kay Ash

Teamwork

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Candid

Composition 101: Use natural light to your advantage whenever possible.

Love is . . .

...ten beautiful girls who laugh at your jokes and want to be silly with you.

Joy.

Tired eyes. Sunburnt face. Joy-filled heart. The first day of Camp.

Soulful

"The eyes have one language everywhere."
-George Herbert

Almost A Picture-a-Day...

Camp = late nights. Forgive me. (Plus I don't like any of the pictures I took on Wednesday. ;p ) To make up for it, here are two of my favorites from Thursday:

Tuesday Tweaks

In which I share a picture that I edited or, "tweaked."

This is one of my favorite little models, my cousin Carter. Isn't he the cutest?

Before:

After:

I did this one on picnik.com I think. I'm a big fan of free. ;) I used the sharpen tool to get rid of some of the blurriness and I used the boost effect to brighten the colors up. Most pictures, especially ones of kids, look great with just a touch from this effect. It increases the saturation of the colors and works well with pictures of kids because it makes things just a bit brighter. (Some progams actually have a saturation tool. It's almost exactly the same thing, I promise.)

Composition 101: When taking pictures of kids, just keep snapping!

Macro Monday!

Yes, I know most every other day of the week is a macro day. But! I did warn you! I LOVE macro shots!

This little guy flew right in to my shot and became my new subject. He was a little ham! Okay, really he did not care AT ALL that I was even there. I finally just stopped and walked away because I had so many shots of him.

Composition 101: Patience and persistence always pay off.

Boy Cat

Boy Cat decided to be my model this evening! And by "decided to be my model" I mean I stuck my camera in his face over and over and even when he literally turned his back on me I kept at it until I was satisfied. =) He loved it.

CAMP!

Okay okay, I know I missed a post yesterday. But I did take pictures! I was just too tired when I got home to post them. And for good reason: Camp is starting!! This year I'm not working at camp full time which makes me a bit sad, but they're letting me help out a ton which is great.

A taste of how this summer is going to play out:

I can't wait. =D

Take Time to Notice

It's amazing the things you can see when you take the time to notice them.

I think I interrupted his dinner.

Composition 101: OPEN. YOUR. EYES.

Throwback Thursday

I took this back in February. It's one of my favorites because it turned out better than the idea I had of it in my mind. I set up a little "studio" of white printer paper under a desk light thing and put my little Olympus on the super macro setting. There were a few imperfections in the picture so I edited them out and I also brightened the color up a bit.

Compsition 101: Lighting is important. Take LOTS of pictures at different times of day and under lots of different lighting conditions to get a feel for what works. (I'm still working on this one myself!)

. . . Wednesday Wonderings?

Why is it that I only* ever see dudes driving around in those tiny smart cars?

Composition 101: Sometimes getting "the" shot can put you in some awkward situations. Get over yourself.

*After I had planned this post out and taken the picture I saw a woman driving a smart car!