Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This has been a whirlwind week of activities with the kids out of school, lots of projects needing attention, and 21 people for Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know what made me think that I would have lots of photo opportunities on Thanksgiving because when one is the hostess over a great feast, there just isn't much of a chance to stop and pick up the camera...however, the following day we had some friends come over for an air boat ride. Russ brought his old Pentax film camera to try some shots. (The pop of red under his chin is the ear protector worn to muffle the sound of the huge fan that propels the air boat.)

1/250, f5.0, ISO 400

I was intrigued with the color and shape of this water lily and how the water

droplets clung to the leaves as it began to rain. Another time it would be fun to see if a raindrop could be captured just as it landed on the leaf!

1/250, f5.6, ISO 400

We don't always have such calm conditions during a ride, but the water was as smooth as glass and made for a perfect mirror image on this tree lined canal.

1/400, f4.0, ISO 400

Thanks again, Brooke, for opening my understanding of how to use my camera in manual mode. It opens a whole new world and I feel like an infant taking those first unsteady steps. Just like anything worth doing well, becoming a photographer will take diligence and practice in order to master exposure, composition, the use of light, and bring them all together into beautiful, creative photographs. I'm glad that I still have a lot to learn. After all, Helmut Newton said, "The first 10,000 shots are the worst." That gives me plenty of chances to find my own style! Next week I'm off to Utah to try my new found knowledge out on my grandchildren - Yippee!!