Working Aperture Mode

So anyone that owns a camera knows that there are tons of "modes" to shoot from. Once I started taking my class I decided to step away from the "preset" modes and shoot in either M, A, S, or P. For the most part I have been shooting in manual, but for these shots I switched to aperture mode.

We were at my Aunt's house after my cousins bridal shower (26 more days) and they have a giant row of beautiful lilac trees (or are they bushes?) lining the back of their yard. So I got all geeked out and stood back there and just started taking shots in aperture mode. Again I looked liked the crazy lady, but at least it smelled nice back there among the flowers.  Again these are the unedited versions. I also wish these were scratch and sniff, because they smelled wonderful!

Overall I found it great to work in aperture because my other settings could stay the same, and I was able to get consistent results and change my aperture with ease. 

The Zoo: April 2013

Holy cow I am behind. I have been taking photos-like 400 new ones since my last post. The downside-400 photos to go through and "edit". I am still not sure how to edit purposefully, and it is a lot of trial and error that slows down the process. That may be the next class I take.  


In April I went to the zoo with 3/5 of the Julius family, and I took roughly 300 pictures. I'm sure I looked ridiculous. :) I messed around with shutter speed a couple of times so I have stop motion movie of the polar bear, brown bear, and some deer like animals running around in the Plains. I have been focusing on aperture, and I am having a lot of fun problem solving.  Here are some unedited from the zoo. 

These are messing around aperture:

 These photos were taken in the Oceans building, no flash-it is exciting that I am learning how to make it work.

I am hoping to go back in June to get some of the butterflies, and the gardens. I am finally a member of the Indianapolis Zoo, and I plan on getting my money's worth this summer. 

Practice

Here are some shots that I have taken and edited using Photoshop Elements.


The first one is Loki. I love the expression on his face. I hope to be able to get rid of the TV in the background.

In this one, I am pretty proud that I managed to get rid of my foot in corner-I used the cloning tool. I also really like that I achieved the depth of field I was going for (I'm pretty proud that I know what depth of field is, and that I made it happen intentionally). 

 This one is another experiment in using aperture. I cropped this photo and I made it black and white. It was already overcast from the incoming rain/snow.

This picture I was practicing with shutter speed. I was geeked out that I had my Kitchen-Aid Mixer on top speed, and I was still able to get a stop-motion clear photo. I didn't edit this one, but I would have liked to get rid of the shadow. I need more practice in Photoshop Elements.