One Busy Summer & Fall

I hadn't realized that it had been months since I last "blogged"!

Field of Flowers at Paul Ruster Park, Indianapolis, IN

Last May & June, two of my nieces were married. I was one of three photographers for the June wedding. That was fun & interesting being a "shadow" for the day. I enjoyed talking to photographer John during break times. It's a bit sad that he lives on the east coast & I live in the Midwest, because I would enjoy talking more about photography with him AND I always learn something from others' experiences.

I continue to enjoy Lightroom V3. How did I ever "edit" without it! And I love my New York Institute of Photography (NYIP) "Professional Photography" course. I have completed two Units & have started my third Unit. I have gotten good grades on my two unit tests. On the photo assignment critiques, I've done well. I always get nervous (I don't know why). I guess it's the nature of taking tests! My Student Adviser is kind & very, very good at explaining to me how to improve the techniques I am trying to learn (I receive an audio file of his critique). When I get a "very good" or a "great" it means a lot!

Submitted for my Unit Two assignment: Cumberland River & top of Falls, seen thru the trees

One thing I enjoy that has nothing to do with the course, but with how my Adviser says my name! With his east coast accent, he says my name like I remember my Nana did & Grandpa does, who lived in New Hampshire! Here in the Midwest, my name more often gets pronounced as "Donna."

When I complete my third unit, I will be half-way through the course! But peeking ahead, I see that the assignments get harder!

My husband & I went to Cumberland Falls Resort State Park in Kentucky. I had picked up a flier at one of the rest stops one time & saw the info about this park. If you are there during a full moon & the conditions are right, you can see a "moon bow." Well, we decided to go for a few days. Before we left, I researched about how to take long exposure shots & learned where all the settings were on my camera. And we prayed for the right conditions & the Lord Jesus blessed! I got a few good photos of the moon bow. (With the long exposure, the colors of the bow can be detected on the camera, but to the naked eye, it was a bright white, misty bow.)

Moon bow - Cumberland Falls

The park is beautiful. The Cumberland Falls are pretty. One morning, we went to the falls & I got some beautiful rainbow photos. I had so many photos it was hard to pick just a couple to edit & post online!

Rainbow: Cumberland Falls

My other photo project was a bit last minute - taking some photos of my niece. She graduates from High School next spring. Her mother's brother is a professional photographer & usually does all the senior photos of his nieces & nephews, so I didn't think that I would be taking any of my niece. Then a few days before they were to come & visit, her mother asked me to take some. Of course, I wanted to. And my niece & I have always gotten along.

Brianna

Apart from the weather, I was able to get a few great photos of Brianna. I will even use one of those photos for part of my Unit Three photo assignment. My niece is a beautiful girl inside & out, but not until I started editing her photos did I really see that she is all grown up! We went over to my landlord's farm & used some of the old buildings as back drops. My only problem was not having an assistant to hold the shade umbrella & reflector - it was very windy with gusts up to 30 miles an hour - it got to be quite comical at times! We had fun!

I still have a lot of photos to edit - some for my assignments for Unit Three, or just for fun, & experimenting. I'd also like to try the suggestions my NYIP Student Adviser gave me for improving. With cold weather coming, it will be harder to be outside, so I hope to take all the nice days I can & get out with my camera. I'll share links to those when I complete the editing - hopefully soon!

Hog Barn on the Schramm Farm - in HDR (to be in a future gallery)

Blessings to you all!

To view the galleries that these photos are part of, please use these links:
Field of Flowers: http://drmrsy.smugmug.com/Nature/Field-of-Flowers/18141283_sWnrc3
Cumberland Falls: http://drmrsy.smugmug.com/Vacation/Cumberland-Falls-KY/19355805_XF3V8p
Brianna's galleries: http://drmrsy.smugmug.com/Portraits/Brianna-Senior-Photos/19590829_hCStPt
http://drmrsy.smugmug.com/Portraits/Briannas-Fun-Photos/19589487_WwcxHC