first shutterbug - u of m

Eileen and I signed up for a Shutterbug meetup in Ann Arbor. So after staying up til midnight the night before working on the double wedding ring quilt, we headed out the door at 6:45 to meet other camera enthusiasts to take pictures at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.

I watched the news for the weather and it would be in the mid 20's during the morning. Michigan weather had been quite nice the past week and I thought, "it'll be fine." I just grabbed my winter coat - no gloves or hat. Eileen ... was much smarter.

We met Patrick who was an very nice young man with 2 very impressive cameras. "Hey", he said. We'll take some pictures of the Angel building and then move over to the Nickels Arcade. Just set up your tripod and take pictures." So we did. 

Very quickly my hands became purple.

I was soooo cold.

Eileen and I longed for the coffee shop across the street for some hot chocolate and coffee.

Twilight was still in effect as we roamed the campus. I was using my kit lens to get a wider range.

We rounded the corner and I was met with a beautiful sky along with our flag (your welcome Julia!). I popped on my telephoto lens.

After a few more shots, we headed over to the coffee shop, Espresso Royale where we got a muffin and some hot liquids. F.i.n.a.l.l.y .... warmth.

After the feeling returned into my hands and the stinging left when I held the hot cup of coffee, I went outside for a few shots.

Patrick says that the sun rays will begin to hit Nickels Arcade soon and we should gather,....so we did.

The sun began to bounce off the walls of Nickels Arcade and lit up the archway.

I went further inside to get a shot from there. I watched the other photographers and looked at their pictures in their cameras realizing I was lacking in spotting great composition and use of filters. 

Patrick sauntered up and looked at the lens I had just popped on because ... well....it was new. My new Rokinson, 85mm portrait lens. He began to get excited about the lens. "Oh I love Rokinon!", he exclaims. Then paused ..... "oh an 85mm. Portrait lens. Hm." and with that sauntered back away. Kind of felt a little stupid at that moment.

So I grabbed Eileen, huddled within her winter clothing and took a few shots of her.

As the group headed off to another architecture marvel in Ann Arbor - we decided to go home. It was just too cold. The experience was exhilarating and I would totally do it again (in warmer conditions). Matter of fact, I signed up for the next meetup.

We headed home to get ready for the wedding shower.

neewer graduated color lens filter set

Jenny is getting married in July and I get to take the pictures. I thought it might be cool to have some new lens filters. I found these and ordered them. I got them here. They were pretty inexpensive (under $20.00 with shipping) and so far .... I'm really digging them. The lenses seem like they are good quality and all the reviews were positive.

The lenses are graduated so the color on one side and gradually get clear. I got out my camera and started through the pack. They fit my Samsung NX30 perfectly. It was a cool windy day here. Kind of perfect for this kind of thing. The clouds lined up great. Just for me. 

This was the red.

Yellow

Green - thought this was cool. This one the green was on top.

The I rotated the lens so the green on the bottom, making the grass look greener.

Blue

Gray

Pink

Tea

Purple

Orange

I'm sure the pictures I take of her wedding are gonna be amazing! Can wait to try them out some more!

Tiffen ND Filter

I received the SamSung NX30 camera as a Christmas gift from my fabulous husband. So I did what most every new photographer does - watch every you tube video I could find. Of course, I do want to point out that I've always had camera and a flare for taking pictures - but my new equipment aspired me to new heights.

I watched a video on neutral density filters and after looking at many reviews, I settled on a Tiffen ND Filter. It was a little more expensive, but everyone thought it was worth it, so I took the plunge and it arrived a week later.

Once I got the new Tiffen filter, I realized that I had ordered the wrong size for my camera. So after receiving the filter, I had to wait another week before my step up ring appeared at my door.

Yesterday was my birthday and first thing, I grabbed my husband, the tripod, and the camera and headed down to the Mill Pond in Saline to start using the filter. The above shot was one of the betters ones. It was shot at ISO 100, f16 and a 30 second exposure. It was a beautiful sunny day so I had the filter had the max value.

Here a shoot of the same scene with the filter dialed all the way down to the min and a 1/5 sec exposure.

Big difference right? Unbelievable.

Here's another. Shot with the filter dialed up to the max value. ISO 100, F22, and 30 second exposure. See what looks like rocks? Some of those are - but there's a flock of ducks there too.

And here's the shot at 1/200 exposure. Still beautiful scenery but I just love the creaminess that the Tiffen filter gives. Just super cool.

I just walked around and took some shots with the filter dialed down to the min value. I really just love the polarized look it gave the photos.

So far, I'm really happy with the filter and the Tiffen works great with the Samsung NX30. Just remember to order the correct size for the lens you're using.

Samsung NX30 Digital Camera

I wanted a new camera for Christmas and I finally got around to looking at the different ones available. It has been awhile since I looked at the digital camera technology.  

When I started thinking of what was truly important to me in a camera, I came to the conclusion that it was the ability to share my pictures and videos quickly. Share them to social media sites and for my blog. I wanted a nice digital SLR that was SMART.

After reading a bunch of camera reviews, I settled on the Samsung NX30, which is a mirrorless digital camera. The mirrorless technology also makes the camera smaller, so it's easy to just throw it in my bag and go.

If you're looking for me to spout all the technical shooting specifications, then you're going to be disappointed. It has all the bells and whistles of being a good digital camera, but when it arrived - I set out to discover all the sharing capabilities. I knew it was Samsung and the picture quality would be excellent. The HD Video capability is fantastic as well!

I loved the fact that I could easily share my pictures and videos to my smart phone. Right away I was using my smart phone as a view finder for the camera. It was quick and easy to attach to my wireless network and just as easy to log in and share my photos to Facebook. Done and Done.

The one gotcha that I found with sharing was with Picasa, which is the Photos capability through Google. I keep logging in and it was tell my that the username/password was wrong. In my email, I got several notices from Google saying "We recently blocked a sign-in attempt to your Google Account."

After monkeying around, I figured I had to move to the 2 step verification process in my profile's security options and ta-do! It worked! It caused me a little heartburn as every device I had logging into Google was now changing through a 2 step verification process. 

All in all, I love the camera and I'm having fun going through all the shooting features and trying them all out. I also ordered a close up and long range lens - coming soon!.