Photography Class - Day 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28

This was the last week of my online photography class. I learned quite a bit from the online lessons. I'm thankful that Willette offered such a wonderful opportunity for people to learn how to use their own cameras. I look forward to other classes they have online and encourage you all to get out and use the camera you own.

I feel like this was the push I needed to really utilize the camera I own and to also pursue getting involved with photography. In the future I plan on taking some courses, and eventually looking into an upgraded camera... SLR perhaps? ;)

Hope you all enjoyed my photos, and stories that go along with them. I surely enjoyed taking them, and sharing with all of you. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm so excited for what the future holds with photography.

Day 21

Hands

I decided to take my little ones hand. His hands are so darn adorable. I took his hand in mine and made the shot. It's hard to believe how fast he is growing. Tomorrow he will be 6 months old. Wow. Anyhow, this class has offered me the knowledge to utilize the camera and I fully intended on taking cool pictures of my lil man. One day I'll look back on these photos and never believe they were ever this small. I'm getting emotional. :)

I used 2.8/ 1/160th SS/ 3200 ISO - Natural light, and no flash.

Day 22

Face

As if I wouldn't have used Jake's face. Duh! He is so darn cute! I could eat him up. I took his picture in the front room after his breakfast. I think if you look close you can see the rice cereal. He is such a happy baby. He makes my heart smile. I thank God for this beautiful boy! 

(I took the hands, face, and what they say all today... hence the same outfit)

I used 2.8/ 1/500th SS/ 3200 ISO - Natural light, and no flash.

Day 23

Facebook

 We were supposed to look at our facebook photos and choose one to post. I chose this photo because this was such a fun day. This was in January of 2008. Grant and I our first trip wine tasting. We went to a winery I had belonged to for years to meet family. I remember when he took this picture. We were on a golf cart heading down to the barrel tasting room that is for members only. So elite... I know. :)

I had such a good time with him. A few months after this photo we got engaged. I love that man... isn't he handsome?

I pretty sure this was on auto with flash on. It was a sunny day out. This photo was taken with my old canon camera.

Day 24

Where

The photo in Day 23 leads perfectly with the photo below. Where we met. Grant and I met in 2004 at a local bar. A bar I would never go into during college. I was out with a girlfriend having dinner and we decided to have a drink after dinner in a bar down the street from our house. It was a random Wednesday night. This VERY tall man came up and talked to me. When I say tall... I mean tall! Grant is 6'8. 

They say you will met "the one" when your not looking... I believe this statement to be true. 

Day 25

When you love them the most

I love him more everyday. It's really hard to pick a time when I love him the most. I decided to pick a time I love to watch him. That time is before his bath at night. I put him in his crib on his newborn lounger while I get his bath ready. He lays on that and watches his mobile. I also turn on Baby Calm dvd for him to watch while I'm preparing him for bed. Tonight he was laughing really hard! He's just so happy. 

I took the first photo with auto and flash on. His room is actually pretty dark, so I thought I had to use auto. To my amaze this is untrue. The last picture is on 2.8 / 3200 ISO, lamp on behind me.

Day 26

Bromance 

 When I got the assignment for Day 26 I laughed. Find a picture of your significant other with his friends. His "Bromance". I looked through a few pictures and I thought the one below was funny! It is Grant with his 2 buddies. Grant is the tall guy in red, Matt (middle) is his best friend from high school, and Josh (right) is Grant's old roommate.

We were at a Lobster festival in Long Beach, CA in 2009. It was a fun day with friends. The guys were being goofy, so I told them to pose for a shot. This is what I got.

Pretty sure this photo was taken on auto with my old canon camera. 

Day 27

What they say

 Jake is talking all the time. Just non stop. He's forming words and figuring out sounds and his voice. It's the cutest thing. I took the pictures below while I was taking his hand shots. He was talking so much... I decided to use the photos below. Mouth open, eyes smiling!

I used 2.8/ 1/500th SS/ 3200 ISO - Natural light, and no flash.

Day 28

Future

For this assignment we are supposed to take a shot of our future. I took so many shots and then I came upon this picture that Grant took last weekend. He held the camera up and shot us drinking wine, and hanging out with friends. I see my future just exactly as this. Family, friends, wine, and laughter. This is exactly what I'm looking forward to continuing to do for years to come.

I'm lucky. I'm happy. I'm thankful. Cheers to the future.

Photography Class - Day 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20

I was out of town over the weekend, so I didn't get chance to post my photography lessons. But, I promised myself I wouldn't give up. Here are last weeks assignments.

Day 14

Wedding band/Jewelry

Last week I used my wedding band/ring for a lesson, so I decided that this week I would use my "something blue" from my wedding. My mom gave me this beautiful ring. My mom always has the best jewelry and great taste. This is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry she has given me!

I absolutely love this ring. It has so much sentimental value to me as well. Coming from my mom for my wedding day. I decided to use this for my photo.

I took a few pictures of the ring. I put the ring on 3 different surfaces and tried to blur the background. The setting was on Auto with Macro setting on. 

Day 15

Kiss

Last night Grant and I went to a going away party at Javier's to say good bye to some friends. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get that kiss shot. Of course this shot is PG people...It's on my blog! ;)

I used Auto, and the flash was on. We were at a red light so we had to take this quick!

Day 16

Together (Self-portrait)

For this assignment we were supposed to use auto. Just turn the camera around and take the photo of your love one. I decided to use 2 photos. Keep the car theme rolling, and then a picture of my family at sunset (no makeup on the shot... don't judge). 

I love the photo on the bottom the most. Taken at sunset down the street from our home. I love to take walks at the end of the night. It's the family time that I look forward to the most. 

Day 17

Staying in

Grant and I used to go to dinner quite often. I love to cook, but Grant and I also like to dine out. This gets a little tricky when your little one starts the bedtime process around 6:30pm. I guess that's why we go to "linner" more often. Linner is late lunch, and an early dinner combined. Usually when our friends come into town or we go out of town on vacation we like to dine out. However, this time we went out of town things were a little different. Not only does Jake have a bath time... so does Taylor. We all decided instead of going out to eat we would order sushi and bring it back home, so we could do this:

They have the same bath time, so we put them in the bath together! I put Jake in Taylor's bath chair so he wouldn't slip. Taylor is 1 month older than Jake. 

I used Auto setting and flash. This was at night, inside, absolutely no natural light.

Day 18

Going out

Over the weekend Grant and I went to Northern California to visit Grant's best friend and his wife. Since we had Jakey poo we don't go out as much as we used to. Scott and Erin have a beautiful little girl named Taylor (picture in Day 17), so we decided to take the entire families wine tasting!

Grant and I had so much fun. We went to 3 wineries in the Lodi region. I have never been there before so, I was excited to try something different. Yummy Zins for sure!

This picture was supposed to be taken on Auto. It was also supposed to be taken by another person. So, don't judge this photo. It's all about my significant other and I. :)

Day 19

When they're gone

I'm pretty sure this photo is going to get me in trouble. Last weekend we bought Brady a new dog bed and placed it on my side of the bed for Brady to use. Well, after Grant leaves, the dog jumps back in bed with me. It's terrible, I know. How can you resist this face? My cuddly little puppy dog. If you look in the background you will see something else... ha ha.

For this photo I used F2.8, 1/320, ISO 800. I had lots of natural light coming through 2 windows in my bedroom.

Day 20

When they're home

Even when Grant is home, he's working. When grant walks in the door he grabs our bundle of love and holds on to him. No matter what is going on he grabs Jake. Jake's face lights up waiting for him. Even if Grant has a phone call to make or is in the middle of something, he has our son in his lap.

I took this photo on Auto because I took it around sunset and I didn't have enough natural light in the house. Flash was on. 

Enjoy! 

Photography Class - Day 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13

Day 8:

Gifts from the heart

There have been so many gifts my husband has given me. Gifts ranging from pricey to the little gifts he gives me that don't cost anything... like quality time. I thought about so many things and then I looked down and saw my wedding ring. A BIG gift from his heart. In 2008 I got a gift of commitment, love, and faithfulness. This gift held a promise of a marriage and a life together forever. This gift was the beginning of our life together. The band my husband gave me was his great aunts as well. How cool is that? 

Notice the blurred background? YAY for me!

This is actually on Auto... Macro... Natural light... but, flash was on.

Day 9:

Passions and hobbies

Early last year father in law called me and asked if I could be his wedding photographer. At first I was thrilled that he thought I was capable of such ability... and then I realized... I have to do a great job! What the heck did I know about this? I did a little reading and shooting here and there... and... Here are a few photos I took from my Canon G11. 

I'm not a professional nor do I claim to be. But, I would say photography is a passion/hobby to me. I love it! I would love to learn and expand more on this passion... perhaps when Jake is a little older I can go back and take classes at my Alma Mater?

Day 10:

Where they are comfortable

While I was cleaning up around the house I looked over to where my boys were laying and saw them snoozing together. This is my husbands favorite spot on the couch, and Jake's favorite spot to lay on his daddy. I thought this picture was great! My boys. :)

2.8, 1/500, ISO 3200

Day 11: 

Dreams

I'm clearly learning how to adjust my camera properly. Even though I don't have the SLR, I think I'm doing a pretty good job with my trusty G11. 

My dream is to become my own photographer. Don't get me wrong... this momma LOVES to get pictures taken (and anyone that knows me... knows that!). However, I think I'm totally capable of taking pictures of my son and family. I guess my dream is to get an upgraded camera and learn how to use all functions on it.

The picture below is a picture of my G11 in the box. The box isn't in great condition... I aggressively open my Christmas gifts. ;)

2.8 1/125, ISO 800

Day 12:

Eyes

There isn't much to say about this picture... When you look into the eyes of a child there is innocence and peace. He is my everything. I thank God everyday for Jake. He is my angel. I adore him to pieces. I can't go on enough about him. 

2.8, 1/500, ISO 800

Day 13:

Routines

Everyone morning Grant takes Brady out for a walk. He walks the dog before he goes to work. I walk the dog in the afternoon, and then Grant walks the dog again before bed. Usually on Saturday or Sunday  my husband and I take a walk to our local shops and have lunch. It was a beautiful weekend! Sun was shinning and it wasn't very hot out. Just perfect out.

Auto...don't judge ;)

So, I have decided since I'm so darn busy to do a weeks worth of pictures in one blog! I CAN DO THIS!

Photography Class - Day 7

Generations

I'm a little behind because I've been so busy. But, I still have been taking pictures along the way. This post is about generations. 

I took my little Canon G11 and turned off auto for this project.

I wrote down the specs... but, I can't find that paper. I can update my blog with that info when I have the time... but, I at least wanted to post a picture so I'm not to far behind on my blogging and photo assignments. 

I decided to go with father and son. Jake was napping on Grant, and when I looked over Jake had woken up and they were both looking over smiling at me. I had my camera sitting next to me so I took advantage of the moment. Don't they look so much alike? My precious boys.

Hope everyone is enjoying their week! It's almost time for the weekend!! I will post Day 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 this weekend. Probably in one blog. Grant will be home and I can take the time to type it all out. :)

Photography Class - Day 6

WHO THEY LOVE

I think I'm putting too much thought into what I want to photograph so I'm getting behind. It's more about how I use my camera and getting my love ones involved. Well a photo opportunity presented itself last night... I had my camera on auto.... dun dun dun... but, I'm glad I captured this moment.

Look at my little man staring at himself through his mirror! I was cleaning up his toys and heard him laughing... I looked on his play gym and saw him holding the mirror, laughing. He LOVES looking at himself through a mirror. We have mirrors on our closet doors upstairs and he just loves looking at us in it. Even when he's fussy... I can bring him to the mirror and it puts a smile on his face.

Now back to figuring out how to blur the back ground of my photos... stay tuned!

Photography Class - Day 5

LOVE TO HATE

Day 5 we were supposed to catch a loved one doing something that irritates us. I thought about this over and over... what does Grant do that drives me nuts? Then I came downstairs and figured it out! When Grant gets home from work he puts all his items on the dining room table. I'm kind of a neat freak so I go right behind him and put it on the entry way table. I like the dining room table with just my table runner and candles. I do like the fact he brought home that bottle of wine though. I put that into my wine rack! ;)

I used f/4, ISO 100 on this photo. 

I'm having troubles figuring out how to adjust my camera so that my local point is clear and the background is blurry. I hope to figure that out before this month is over. I think that might be my new goal...

I will hurry up and post Day 6 and Day 7 tomorrow. It was a busy weekend over here at the Stone house. Today we had the boys annual football on the beach and then we went to a super bowl party at Grant's best friend Matt's house. 

It's nice seeing all the "old timers" play a little game of footyball at the beach. And now most of us are parents so it's cool seeing how things change from year to year. For example, last year I was about 9 weeks pregnant with Jake! 

Here are some pics:

Photography Class - Day 4

What they wear

Loyal subject: Jake Stone

Wardrobe: Shoes

I took out Jakey poo's shoes and put them on top of his dresser. I decided to add a few of his argyle socks since he wears those quite a bit. 

Photo settings: f/2.8, SS 1/160th, ISO 1600, sunny day in window light.

After I took these pictures I got Jake ready and we went to Bella Terra in Huntington Beach. We met up with my sorority sister/mommy friend and her little one Victoria. We went to lunch and shopped. It was beautiful outside. I took a few pictures on my drive home (out the window). I couldn't resist. I took PCH all the way home from Liz's house. There is something freeing with that drive. Ever since I was 16 years old I would drive down PCH to clear my head. That stays true to this day.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Photography Class - Day 3

Then and Now

I thought about this the entire night... who and what should I do for a then and now. Then this morning I woke up and realized I'm too busy with my 5 month old to scan photos of Grant and I from 2004 or 2007... so, I decided to use another milestone in our relationship. THEN: The birth of our son. NOW: Tonight Grant was downloading itunes on the couch holding Jake, singing country music to him. Something casual. Things we do together just lounging around the house as a family.

THEN (September 1, 2010):
I choose 3. It was too hard to narrow down just one. The moment a man becomes a father. All from the hospital. Precious.

Proud Daddy.

Jake in the hospital - first 24 hours

Getting ready to leave the hospital. Family of 3. :)

NOW (February 3, 2011):

Using photo settings: f/2.8, SS 1/200th, ISO 1600. The photos were taken in a very dim room... NO flash. I can't believe what my camera is able to do. 

Singing and downloading country music

kisses and hugs 

Gosh, this just makes me such a happy mommy. My two boys. My loves. 

Pretty cool what the camera can really do.

Photography Class - Day 2

Today's lesson: How they look.

Today we had to capture our loved one at their best/worst/or both. The true essence/expressions/attitude/posture, etc.

I of course choose Jake. My loyal subject. Brady my cockapoo even jumped in on the picture taking! :)

Here are some pictures using natural light. ISO 800. No flash. I played around with all the settings, used the manual setting, etc. For day 3 I will focus more on what I'm using. Perhaps take out my camera book. I was confused on where my shutter speed was. Anyhow, here are some pictures from today.

Jake was sitting in his bouncy right after breakfast. I wanted to capture his "bed head". He's always smiling and laughing. He's a morning person... just like his mommy!

I had the ISO button turned up too high on this one!

Love and cheers,