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Pet Photos & Photography Tips

The Merfett

So I have a Nikon D3000 that I received as a Christmas/Birthday present from my family a few years ago. I LOVE photography. A good black and white photo makes my soul happy. When we visit museums I’m always drawn to photography over painting.

I’ve never taken a photography class, but I was a film major. I understand how to capture a moving image, so a still shouldn’t be as difficult – in theory, yea? And, there’s no sound. MOS is my friend :)

I’m constantly learning new things about my camera, and I read articles and tutorials all the time to find new things to try. Learning is fun! Nerd alert, hard.

Photoshop and I are still getting acquainted, but I’m slowing gaining more confidence with photo editing.

Here are some photos of the Fur-children that I took yesterday afternoon.

The lighting was near perfect since it was cloudy.

This may be my favorite photo ever of Betsy.

HIIIIIII Betsy.

A few photo tips:

– White Balance. It will make your photos look a zillion times better. It’s not scary, I promise. Just go into the Menu Settings and select White Balance. My camera gives me options for indoor, outdoor, cloudy…

– Get OUT of AUTO. Don’t be intimidated, make your camera work for you. It’s capable of so many wonderful things. Auto focus is like the Top Ramen of Camera Settings. Cheap, easy and super low quality. Don’t do it. You can be a big kid now and shoot Apature.

– Use Natural Light. For comparison shoot a flower vase in Auto, indoors, away from the window. It will almost always default to FLASH. And it will look u.g.l.y. Move out of Auto, place the vase in front of a window with natural light and try again. BAM. You’re a rockstart photographer. When photographers say “the light in here is ah-mazing” they aren’t cray-cray. Well, they still might be…but they know what they’re talking about when it comes to light. We try to mimic “daylight” with indoor lighting and in our homes it will never look the same.

– Practice. Play around with the camera settings, try new things. Take 15 minutes and go outside and practice taking photos of the grass, trees, rocks…I suggest those things because they won’t move and you can shoot them OVER and OVER again playing around with the camera settings.

Family, photo

InstaFriday

The Merfett

life rearranged

Happy Friday! Linking up to share my pics from the week.

I made a run to Trader Joe’s to stock up on some necessities for the week. I don’t shop their normally, but I always like browsing the vino section. This bottle caught my eye, I blame it on my new love for Sugar Skull Art. We enjoyed some of it last night and we’re fans. It helps that it was affordable too!

Betsy loves the doggie bed I made her. It’s an old pillow case stuffed with the filling of an old pillow. This is her “work” bed where she naps while I work at the computer.

I like taking pictures of my dogs? Buddy, or Yellow Dragon as we call him, is not a small dog. He takes up a large amount of space and always seems to find the most inconvenient places to nap…in front of the fridge at dinner time, blocking the front door, behind my office chair. He wasn’t in the way here, just casting a very large shadow I found amusing.

Saturday morning Merfman made me breakfast. I LOVE when he cooks. He’s pro at skillet potatoes and fried eggs. Don’t worry, the sausage is a MorningStar Patty :)

Merfman and I have been working around the house on a few projects. Last Sunday we seeded the lawn in the front yard. It’s been hot this week (90 degrees in October!?) so I’ve been watering it daily to help it grow. No sprouts yet :( The two different colors are because we had different brands of seed – gotta use what ya got!!

I had to make a trip to BevMo for work (wha, my job is special) and I spotted this on the endcap. I don’t eat bacon and I’ve never been to Portland, but EVERYONE tells me how awesome VOODOO Doughnut is. I vow to go there someday and eat a non-meat pastry. I was really tempted to get this ale but refrained. I’d fulfilled my “adult beverage” line item in the budget with the aforementioned vino.

I got a LIBRARY CARD! I’m a adult! I’m currently reading a book about dog training, but I can’t wait to get a billion more books. I LOVE reading and since we’re Living Like No One Else the library is my friend.

My Mother in Law gifted me with the very pretty Mums after I’d mentioned how I’d like to get some for the front yard. A very pretty and happy surprise.

Since I was in the garden planing the Mums I noticed this pretty bloom on my Hibiscus. Makes you want to be in Hawaii, huh?

Wednesday night Merfman had to do a pick up from a film shoot north of where we live. I offered to join him. When we were unloading I noticed the sunset and snapped a photo. I thought the movie trucks made a funny skyline.

Happy Friday! Have a fun weekend :)

Family

#SheReadsTruth

The Merfett

Last week I started doing a new morning devotional. I’d read about it on Peas And Thank You a few weeks ago.

You don’t have to do it in the morning, but I find that it’s a really nice way to start out your day. Before the gym, before work, before chaos ensues and your day starts getting cut into pieces. It’s calming to spend the morning quiet, with some coffee reading in your jammies.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a daily devo, and I really wanted something that focused on women. I’d been browsing Amazon and Target looking for a good devotional book to get me going again. But,since we’re Living Like No One Else I’ve been trying not to buy any new books – it’s a weakness I have.

So, I thought…the internet MUST have something right? I mean there’s an App for everything.

Then, I found She Reads Truth. I love it. It’s just what I wanted and everything I needed.

My favorite part? When you’re done you can Instagram or Twitter your thoughts with #shereadstruth and there’s an entire community of women to share with! I love reading their thoughts and seeing photos of the notes and drawings in their journals. It’s like the largest small group ever :)

Oh, and to curb my book buying issue I’m getting a library card this week :) I’m so excited.