Flat - The End

I think it's obvious we've fallen flat. What once started (almost a year ago) as a way to challenge ourselves, and each other, has become a burden. Something we "have to get done". That's just not what this place should be.

It's understandable though. Our collective lives have chanced dramatically. Our kids are another year older and need more of our attention. I've lost my husband and my friends lost their friend. You wouldn't think that a years time for a group of mid-thirties people would be so profound. This should be the part of life where the days just sail by. That's simply not true for any member of the 3C1D family. We've all got our own fights right now that simply cannot need more of us.

I thought after losing Scott that I would need this place to regain some of myself. That I would bury myself in my photography and I would once again find solace with my camera. While all of that is true on some level, I find myself with less time, more stress, more distractions. All leading to less creativity.



My photography has grown so much in the last year. I have this blog and my wonderful partners in crime to thank for that. I know there is still more to learn, more to do and more love for photography and I'm certainly going to keep doing all of that. I'll just be doing it when life allows and with less stress.

Thank you to everyone that has ever visited our little place on the web. We've made some great friends along the way.

To my comrades, I love you all. You were my best friends before this and that isn't going to change with it's ending.

Nothing but love.

xoxo,
Brandi

Morning Hike

This morning the boys and I set out to one of my favorite destination, Veterans Acres. It's been seen on these pages before, most specifically when I photographed graffiti rock. Speaking of which, graffiti rock has changed once again. Now it says "I poop" complete with evidence. Yeah, not so cool. But such is the nature of graffiti rock.

We walked all over, checking out the pine forest, walking around the pond and checking out lily pads, and picking every dandelion we found. It was so nice to slow down and move at their pace. Sometimes I can't help but try to move them along a little quicker. After all, my oldest son doesn't do anything fast. But this time, I moved like they chose. And it was awesome.

I took many pictures, but I thought this one might be the best. Once again, I wish I had a polarizing filter. I need to stop whining and just pony up. I have several shots of the boys bent over the water. However, the reflections just aren't doing it. A polarizer would have changed the entire photo. Oh well. Here's what you get instead.

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L at 24.0mm
Shutter 1/250
Aperture f/2.8
ISO 100
Natural Light

I love shooting elevated like this. You almost always immediately de-clutter the background. And when you combine it with a wide aperture, you get a nice fade to blur and a sharp focus on the eyes, assuming your focus is good. Mine is actually a little off on this shot. It may not read that way on the screen but trust me it's off.

Mine connection is pretty obvious. Brandi (and J and Sere) all have shots of their kids. So do I.

***

Moving on, I feel compelled to share my two cents on Melissa's question. I agree with everything Brandi said. I would only add two things. When you are buying a DSLR, it's important to realize that you are buying a commitment. If photography becomes a passion, you will want more lenses, flash heads, and eventually a better body (wait, who doesn't want a better body?!?! :)). So your decision to buy Canon, Nikon, or Sony could have long lasting effects.

Secondly, the latest craze is hi-def video recording. Is this important to you? Will you ever use it? Here is the way I look at it.

Canon is my choice and the reason is simple. For years and years, Canon made the best lenses. And if there is one thing that will impact your photos more than anything else, it's the glass with which you choose to shoot. Were I starting today, I would have to admit that lenses for Nikon have closed the gap. I would even go as far as saying Nikon makes some lenses that are better than the Canon equivalent. The same is also true in reverse. There are still lenses that Canon makes that are better than Nikon. As for Sony, I just don't know enough to speak on the quality of glass they offer. What it boils down to is that at this point, I don't think lenses should be a determinant in buying a system. Whereas handling is something that should absolutely factor into your decision. Get your hands on several models and find a comfortable fit. Brandi's recommended models are great. The Canon equivalent is probably the Rebel T3. For a bit more money you could get the T3i, giving you 50% more pixels (not overly important but nice if you're going to crop) and other upgrades. For crazy in depth reviews check dpreview. They go WAY in depth on most models.

As to my second point, HD video is becoming increasingly popular. I myself haven't play much with it because my dslr just doesn't do it. If that's something you think is really important, I would suggest you check out the Sony line. They have a new technology that allows for light to pass through the reflector in front of the camera's sensor and this allows for continuous focus and live view. It's cutting edge stuff and easily ahead of Nikon or Canon when it comes to usability. Sony is a relative new comer to the dslr world but they are huge and product support has proven the point. I wouldn't be afraid to go the Sony route if indeed it feels right for you.

Okay, I've said enough. Good luck with your shopping and come back again if you have any other questions.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Scott

Happiness

If you're a parent you know there is nothing better than seeing your child enjoying life. Seeing the sheer excitement on their faces just seems to take away all the naughty things they do. If only it could take away the gray hairs too.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 F/2.8 VSII @ 55mm
ISO 200
Shutter Speed 1/2000sec
Aperture f/2.8

This picture was taken around 1pm. The heat of the day being eased by the cool, pool waters. As a photographer I just wished there was a better way to ease the sun's powerful rays. Taking photos at that time of day is awful. What isn't shadowed is blown from the super bright sun.
But happiness can't wait for the sun to settle and I'm not going to miss an opportunity to capture a moment that really matters.


****
Melissa, one of our fantastic followers asked us for a recommendation to an entry level DSLR camera. Melissa being the proud mommy of a 8month old and a 17year old is finding her standard point and shoot just isn't giving her what she needs.

Here's my personal response to Melissa's request for help.
Nikon, Cannon and Sony have great entry level DSLR cameras. Any DSLR will give you the option to continue to grow in photography. Allowing you to change lenses, shoot (and edit) in RAW format, turn the camera on manual and make decisions for yourself, allowing you to decide what type of "mood" your photo should have instead of the camera deciding how to take the best photo.
DSLR cameras also shoot better in low light conditions, have better shutter speeds, memory storage and pixalization. All that said, in the entry level DSLR family I don't think there is too much difference between the larger, name brands that are on the mass market today. Every company has it's strength and weakness. It becomes more about personal preference than anything.
When I moved from a point and shoot to a DSLR, I went with the Nikon D40 (no longer in production). I chose the Nikon over Sony and Cannon for a few reasons. At the time I got a great deal on the D40. We all know finances matter. Another factor in my decision is the way the camera felt in my hands. I had experience with Nikon film cameras and was more adjusted to the grip. Additionally, the menu driven functions just made more sense to me on the Nikon. It seemed like I just knew where everything was.
My advice, go out and play. Hit up the local Best Buy, Costco, Wolf Camera or anywhere else that has display models and try them out. Get them in your hands and see what feels the best to you.
If I were just venturing into the market right now I would most likely get the Nikon D90 or the Nikon D3000. There are lots (LOTS) of great resources on the web for comparisons that are far more intelligent than mine. Do a little research and by all means, if you find yourself struggling between a few, drop us a line. Maybe one of us has used that camera before, or maybe we've heard or read reviews that might sway your decision. We're happy to help.
My comrades might add their own two cents. Listen to them, they're wicked smart.


xoxo,
Brandi

Fried Friday

Nikon D40

1/320

f 9.0

55mm

Natural light

ISO 200

Need that zoom! This was cropped from a much wider shot and it has lost any clarity & crispness.

Darn it, they won't let me stand on the baseline to shoot my shots.

Going along with kids sports I give you Maddie again! She's just off the ground like in Sere's shot and very focus as well.

I know it's late but I made it by the hair on my chinny chin chin. pheeww!

Jay'me

Talkless Thursday with Sere

Ooops!! My BIG, HUGE, mistake of totally missing my day yesterday. Time ran away from me and well, no excuses, it just is. I apologize to all! I am putting this picture up for our guests to guess on the connection to Scott's picture, for a chance to have a guest appearance on 3C1D. The connection can be just about anything, let your imaginations run!

If my fellow photographers want to do something else today or put their own picture up, I'm totally okay with that. Don't let my mess up, mess up your day. I just wanted to have something up, just in case.

Make your guesses and have some fun!!

Ready! Set! Go!


Nikon D90
ISO-200
Aperture F/6
Shutter Speed 1/2500 sec.
Lens Tamron 18-200mm @112mm
Natural Lighting, Shutter Priority Mode, RAW

Enjoy!
Sere

Thumbs Up Dude!

My connection is pretty week. Sometimes, it's just going to be. And I'm officially over it! Because of Brandi's black and white conversion, I had a tailor made excuse should I need a bailout connection. So here you go, Ethan playing soccer converted to black and white.

Canon 30D
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Aperture f/5.0
Shutter 1/800
ISO 100
Natural Light

I also chose this shot because I sometimes fall into the trap of trying to get the perfect shot when a shot that is "good enough" is actually more important. I say more important because the corollary for feeling pressured to do it perfect is a tendency to not take the shot at all! Case in point, today was Ethan's last day of soccer for the season and I had yet to shoot a single picture. That's just plain stupid.

I titled this "Thumbs Up Dude" because this is something I do with both of my boys. In this case, Ethan had just kicked the ball and turned to give me the thumbs up. It's just precious and I was lucky enough to capture it on film (uh...I mean digital). Thank God I wasn't fussing around with my camera too much. It's not a perfect technical shot, and yet it's perfect for me.

Never let perfection get in your way!

Scott

Memorial Day

It's a day to honor the men and women that have serve this country. Regardless of rank, classification, job title or other boring detail, every man or woman that now serves or has served in the armed forces should be honored today.
I do find that there is a distinction between Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day. To me, in my heart, the distinction lies with making this day, Memorial Day, a day to honor those that have lost their lives serving this nation.
Maybe I'm right with my thoughts or maybe I'm wrong, but the point is, today is not just about hot dogs, cold beer, lemonade and marking the opening of the pool. So as you're enjoying those things think of the people before us that have given their lives so that we can splash, gossip, and hit home runs today with our family and friends.

Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @34mm
ISO 200
cloudy, foggy overcast
aperture f/2.8


I'm not going to lie, I over exposed this shot. I went out in search of a flag, preferably one that was buried in the fog that blanketed this area yesterday morning. I found a few but nothing was quite what I was going for. Making one last stop, I found a flag in a quiet downtown park surrounded by trees and greenery. I thought "Yes! This will work." Getting out of the car, walking through the park and up to the flag, I found it surrounded by these monument markers. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and then the Gulf War(s) monument.
I was struck. All the other monuments had numerous names, 10 or 20 on them. But, here there were just two names. Two names of two loved ones that had not been forgotten. These tulips were the only flowers placed on any of the monuments.
Gone but certainly not forgotten.

I was so distracted and moved that I really didn't take the best photo. I guess I don't read my histogram really well through tears. Thankfully, shooting in RAW allowed me to recover most of what was lost. I'm still not happy with the composition. Maybe I'll go there again today and make it right.
Whatever you do with this day, take a moment to remember those that have lost their lives. May they all rest in peace.

xoxox,
Brandi

Repeat, Repeat.... Late.

Nikon D40

1/500

f 11

50.mm

Natural light

ISO 200

So, yes, you have seen the sister shot to this "Fuzzy Buzzy Bee". And, Yes, I'm the official blog dumb ass! I've officially disproved any blond theories as I'm a brunette! Thank you blondies. I do have two busy children and too much on my plate, but hell, I'm no more stressed then anyone else in our 3C1D family. We went camping this weekend and someone forgot her camera. ARRRG! I had the opportunity to photograph two wild fawns, hours old while they lay there perfectly still, just inches away with there huge eyes wide open. NOPE NO CAMERA - DUMB ASS!

This shot does follow up very well as it allows us to study those normally blurry beautiful wings.

Today is Memorial Day and I'm sure there's a meaningful shot that will follow shortly. I don't want to hold up my fellow bloggers so please don't hesitate to post when you're ready today.

PLEASE enjoy your day and make it a great one!

Jay'me

Buzzzzy Bee!

We here on 3C1D have had our share of bees on flowers so this is not new subject matter. I enjoy seeing the different viewpoints and angles that each of us does with our shots. So here we go...

Nikon D90
ISO-400
Aperture F/4.5
Shutter 1/500 sec. +1 exposure
18-70mm Nikon @70mm
Natural Lighting/RAW

The challenge with this shot was that I saw this guy buzzing around and wanted to quickly catch him, but I had already set my ISO for a shadowy kind of setting and well I completely forgot to change my ISO for the brighter sunlight. I also should have upped my shutter speed but I didn't think that my lens would give me a wide enough aperture if I had done that. I am so wanting a F/2.8 lens.

I shot in RAW because those of us that don't have macro lenses have to improvise and zoom in as much as possible, plus editing is sooo much easier with RAW as we have commented on before. I also had the way wrong lens for what I was trying to shoot here. I should have had my telephoto lens, but I had brought my other lens for a different purpose so I had to make do.

I think my friend thought I was a little crazy because I'm chasing after this bee muttering to myself and at the bee trying to make it do what I want. Because that works so well haha. It was a good afternoon though of fun. We climbed trees, got muddy, and I got this shot. All in all a good day.

Ohhhh I totally didn't see that there is a aperture connection between Scott's picture and my picture of all having an aperture of F/4.5. Totally not planned on my part, but how cool is that?

Enjoy!
Sere

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

So Brandi unwittingly led me to my happy place - macro photography! Of course if you've check more than one of my posts, you already know that. I'm so happy for B and her new equipment. And her new lens kicks ass.

For my shot, I just drove over to the Fox River to see what I could see. I had designs on shooting more of a landspace with flowing water blurred in the foreground. Alas, the blessed sun was in full force and there I was without a nuetral density or polarizing filter. Turns out I really needed the polarizer for this shot too. Guess who's shopping tomorrow?

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture f/4.5
Shutter 1/320
ISO 100
Sunlight

The lens I used is Canon's version of the exact same lens Brandi used. They are both just kick ass, hardly take off your camera glass. Ordinarily I would have used my dedicated macro but for the sake of a connection I chose to leave this one in place. Plus, Brandi is absolutely right. You can pretty much do macro with these lenses.

Alright, time for an early bedtime. Get out and enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Scott

WooHooo!!

I had a photo I wanted to use to follow up Sere's picture but with Jay'me going in between us I wasn't sure I would get to. Lucky for me Jay'me gave me something to work with.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8

ISO 200 natural light and a bunch of other settings that I can't extract at the moment.

This is a weed. It was the coolest weed I've ever seen. Instead of being rough, pointy and hurting, it was soft like velvet. While my daughter and I were enjoying some time on a friends 30 acre property I noticed this fuzzy little guy and a few of his friends. I was drawn to him from the beginning but then it rained.
And WooHoo!
The water drops caught in the soft hairs on the surface of plant creating a wonderful texture. I've been so impressed with this lens and it's almost macro capabilities. This picture is straight out of the camera (SOOC). I've done nothing but sharpening it for the web so that when Blogger tanks the quality of the photo it still looks like it does in real life.
Love it!!

xoxo,
Brandi

Everywhere But Right Here...

Nikon D40

1/40

F5.7

52.mm

Natural light

ISO400

We have had our fare share of wet and rain. However; just as soon as the lighting goes away, we get our wellies on, and head out to play in it, it stops. Major disappointment! But it made a cute moment and it ties in with water. This picture actually looks better B&W. The umbrella is teal and when cast on Maddies face, she turned that dreadful ashen grey. You know how pink and green paint don't make a pretty color when mixed? So I was pleased to see B&W I could follow along with!

I hope you're all safe and sound tonight and out of the storms.

Jay'me

Water, Water, Everywhere....

My current photography obsession is water and water droplets. I was having fun with our sprinkler system and a fast shutter speed the other day, experimenting a little. Here is one result of that.

Nikon D2X
ISO-200
Aperture F/3.5
Shutter Speed 1/2500 sec.
Nikon 18-70mm at 45mm
Natural Lighting, Manual

I, unfortunately, do not have any city pictures from Chicago or really any kind of a city. That is kind of sad. I just hardly ever visit a city. I am probably one of the few people from Chicagoland that does not have a picture from "The Bean." I don't even know where it is located in the city. Sorry Scott I am a deprived person. So my only connection to Scott's picture is the black and white part.

School is almost out for my kiddo, so summer break here we come....

Sere

Sweet Home...

Dan is so good at capturing Chicago and providing real insight to the history and breadth of the Windy City. I can't speak for you all but I really enjoy it every time Dan graces these pages.

Seeing his shot I had no choice but to post my version of The Bean. Everyone (and I mean everyone) has a shot of the The Bean. And perhaps mine isn't all that special. But I like it and so here I post!

One of the things I like most is that you have to search just a little bit to find me. All too often it's the shooter that is the subject. My aim (pun intended) was to really let the reflection of the city be the subject and for the impulse to find me become secondary. Did I pull it off?


Canon 30D
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm
Aperture f/13
Shutter 1/160
ISO 100

One of the biggest challenges when shooting in this type of light is achieving the depth of field. When you have so much light, a large aperture is often out of the question simply because you can't achieve a high enough shutter speed combined with the large aperture. For this shot is wasn't a problem because I wanted a large depth of field. However, I ended up seeing exactly every spot of dust my poor little camera sports. And believe me, there are many. Such is the trade-off with a small aperture. So the editing was a bit intensive.

That's it from this wannabe. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and thanks so much Dan for joining us.

Scott

We're Back with Dan

Initially developed in the 1950s, ABLA homes was the third largest Chicago Housing Authority project in terms of area and one of the densest in terms of occupancy. It ranked right up there with the infamous Cabrini-Green Projects in terms of crime and crushing poverty. Four separate developments (whose names create the acronym ABLA) stretched across the near southwest side of Chicago from Halsted to Ashland on the east and west and Roosevelt Road to 15th Street on the north and south. Some buildings were high rises, others row houses, but in either case the complex social forces in play led to a drug and gang war within its borders in the late 1990s. Seriously... a war. As the city contemplated the gentrification of the University Village area by UIC on the east, it developed a plan to renovate the row houses and demolish most of the high rises that had proven to be such a disaster. In partnership with a private development company, the entire area was to be redeveloped into mixed income housing, much of which was to be new construction. Then the recession hit.

The Roosevelt Commons project is still on, but much of the development has been put on hold. There are large tracts of vacant land which the city has seeded with grasses. In most cases, the trees were not chopped down so that I can look out of my condo and see various tracts of land defined by straight lines of trees which had grown up on the fence lines. One of those lines of trees became my picture for today.

My tie in with the Jayme's picture is the use of foreground and background. In this case it is not a son and a tree, but a tree and the skyline of Chicago. The city reinvents itself constantly. What was once ghetto, becomes gentrified. Just as Jayme hopes her son becomes his father and more, I hope that the city will rise above gang warfare and become a more just community.


Nikon D3000
f/13
1/60 s
ISO 800
Focal Length 62 mm

A Post on Why I Can't Post

I have a friend that does something similar. A call to tell me they can't call. It always cracks me up but it also let's me know that they care and they were thinking of me.
So, a post on why I can't post.
I've gone away to my happy place. The place that refills my soul, refreshes my energy and refocuses my attentions. It's wonderful but as I'm finding out, I can't post a picture from my phone can't post a picture from here.
So, its our first official post without a picture. Woohoo! Strike up the band. Get the chorus singing.
My lack of picture is not because I don't have something to share. In fact, I have lots of somethings. 254 somethings to be exact. The weather has been terrific. The sun is still the soft spring light and everything around me a vibrant green. It doesn't get much better for a photographer. I'll be sharing plenty soon enough.

BigDan is joining us again tomorrow! Woohoo! I'm sure he'll do better than my nothingness.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.
Xoxo,
Brandi

Like father Like Son

What's with the tongue?

Nikon D40

1/640

f5.6

55.mm

Manual

Morning light

ISO 400

Look who's all cool with music wired straight to his brain... Preteen is super going to kill me. Wow, he was deaf before. Now I need one of those extend-a-arms so I can tap or whack him when I need his attention. Someone got an ipod and is very happy about it. It's not me.

He was out this morning yelling, because he can't hear himself talking, "Mom, watch me! "

I knew I needed a face today and this mornings sun was perfect. I did line myself up with a tree as our back ground to tie us in with Sere's post yesterday. Other than that, I just shot, while he did his his thing.

My kid does the same thing his father does while he's concentrating, Peyton sticks out his tongue. I didn't realize how much until I studied these shots. I can't wait to share these with him, he'll get a kick out of this.

Jay'me

Just Breath....

I've got fifty million thoughts flying through my head all at once this evening and too much left on my "To Do" list for the day. I should have taken more time to just breath and "take in the sights" of the day. So that is where I am left, at this moment. My shot today was reminiscent of my day, a little too quick and rushed.

Nikon D2x
ISO-200
Aperture F/4.5
Shutter 1/160 sec.
18-70mm @55mm

I was rushing out to rescue a puppy that had followed momma out of his house, only problem is, he couldn't find his way back into the house because his eyes are still closed. So he was outside yipping away and momma was going a little crazy because she couldn't get him back in the house. She knew that he shouldn't be where he was. I had been wanting to take quick picture of the litter anyway so I had grabbed my camera and figured I would rescue puppy and take a shot.

I was on my way back into the house when something caught my attention in the pine tree. A toy of my sons was flapping in the breeze so I went to investigate. I looked up into the tree and saw my shot. The angle was the same as with Scott's and well his had a tree and mine has part of a tree. So there you have it.

Hope you all are having a calmer, more relaxed evening then me. Remember to "just breath" and make sure you "take in the sights" of the world, instead of rushing around all the time.

Enjoy!
Sere

Wordless Wednesday with Scott...Again!

Real quick, last WW winner was Big Dan. I was shooting a slice of lemon after it spent the night flavoring Sangria. When I took the slice out I had to shoot it. The colors were amazing. Big Dan, you know the drill! Write us and we'll hook you up!

Moving on...

The poster (that's me) will post a picture and its settings. No other verbiage is allowed. The commenter's (that's you) will guess in the comments section below how my picture associates with yesterdays (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photo there are numerous ties, thus creating no right or wrong answer. Just make a comment below and you will be entered into our drawing to be our next guest photographer.

What if I am not good enough to be a guest photographer?
You are good enough. We love all kinds of photographers! That's what makes this so much fun. We believe that everybody has a unique view of this world and we want to see it through the lens of your camera. Any camera goes, camera phone, point and shoot, film camera that has its photos turned into jpgs., high end professional grade cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!
How does this all work?

The contest will go on until my (Scott's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind my picture and what the connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email us your picture before 10pm on your post day. Usually on a Sunday, but we are flexible. The photo has to be yours, has to tie into the picture from the day before, and 3C1D has to be authorized to use it. Just remember to keep checking back with us to make sure you get the post about who has won.

Only one guess per person. Have fun!

Ready! Set!! Go!!!


Canon 30D
Canon EF 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 with fisheye adapter
Aperture f/7.1
Shutter 1/125
ISO 400
Sunlight

What day is it and what's my name again?

I'm so easily confused these days. Forgive me.

Yesterday Jay'me shared her feelings with us via a photo. Today I'm going to do the same.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @56mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/1600 sec
Aperture f/2.8
natural light

I found this gorgeous rose in the Magic Kingdom. I was instantly drawn to it. The soft, dewy petals, layers upon layers of not quite perfect pieces all held together to form something glorious.
To me it's the imperfections of this rose that make it what it is. If every piece was the same, if there was no "worn" spots this rose just wouldn't have any charm or character.
That's very much how I'm feeling these days. My "worn" spots are what makes me interesting. Like a perfect piece may fall away but it won't leave me ugly.

Dude will be here tomorrow. I can't wait to see what he brings.

Stand in your own beauty.
xoxo,
Brandi

Do You Know What this Represents?

Nikon D40

1/60

f5.6

55.mm

ISO 400

Nope, it's not a crystal ball. Nope, it's not just a neat bubbly mess of ball. This is the heavy ass ball I dropped. Pretty isn't it? As I was shooting it this morning, all I was thinking "I dropped the stinkin ball". I sat up in bed at @ 4:am and said CRAP! Came out to a camera I forgot to charge then plugged in the battery while I put my shot together. What I started yesterday didn't get posted. My daughter has a holy volcanic rock I thought was perfect. It didn't look like much so I knew I was shooting this glass ball and damn it, life kept me busy and my pea sized brain never lead me back to my blogger job.

I was not going to show the edges of this and focus in on the bubbles. Since my epic fail, the subject/title needed a ball.

Yesterday was cold and crapy. This morning seems glorious and sunny. I hope you all stay on track & make it a great day, lord knows that is my only goal today.

I'm going to make my much needed coffee now.

Jay'me

Vinegar and Baking Soda Are Fun!!!

Be forewarned inner science geek is coming out with this post!! I'm sure you all have heard about, or in my case tried the baking soda volcano. If you haven't, you need to, especially with your kids or just by yourself if you're a science geek like I am haha. There's a cool, chemical reaction that happens when the two ingredients meet, something to do with carbon dioxide. Bubbles and foam are produced which is what I attempted to capture with my camera here.

Nikon D2x
ISO-800(oops left over from my fast shutter speed practice the other day)
18mm-200mm f/3.5-6.3
Aperture F/10
Shutter Speed 1/60 sec.
Nikon Speedlight, contrast filter

We've been having trouble with our tub not draining properly. It's been a real pain in the rear to take care of. I tried Liquid Plumber and all that good stuff. My husband was online researching how to fix drains and came across an article talking about using vinegar and baking soda. Ready to try anything, I attempted it. Within the first couple of drops I was in LOVE with the reaction. I immediately had to get my camera to try and capture it.

So there I am bending over the tub with my vinegar in one hand(the baking soda had already been poured down the drain) and my camera in the other. I'd pour a little vinegar in, then try and get my camera up to my face to capture the bubbles. I only had a few seconds to capture them and I knew immediately I was going to have to use a flash. The entire time I was wishing I had a macro lens, yet again, to be able to get closer up.

So there you have my abstract attempt to make something fairly ordinary look kinda cool. Try it! Get that camera out and play around with what you have just laying around your house or yard. See what you come up with.

Enjoy!
Sere

Blogger stinks

Well Kids, the title says it all. Blogger stinks. All the chicks and the dude tried in vein to post a picture yesterday but alas, Blogger had some type of epic meltdown and wouldn't let us on. Boo hiss.

I'm glad it's back up and running. I've got so much to share both here and on my other blog. My best girl and I (along with my super fab parents) just spent four wonderful, really, REALLY hot days in the glorious Walt Disney World. I'm proud to say that I took just shy of 500 pictures in those four days. My ten pound baby (my camera) was attached to my wrist almost non-stop. It was terrific. I'm happy to share one of them with you tonight.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @62mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/640
Aperture f/2.8
natural light

Scott's picture is incredibly abstract. Even I can't figure out what it is and usually Scott and I share similar brain patterns, especially as it relates to photography. Well, except he's a Cannon guy and I'm a Nikon girl. I forgive him for his misstep. He went to the dark side long before I knew him.
Anyways, here is my most abstract picture from the "Disney motherload". It's a fountain that was sitting just outside the Crystal Palace restaraunt. I got a few moments to wander around and look at Disney though the viewfinder, while we waited for Winnie the Pooh and his friends to join us for breakfast.

Who's been to Disney World and have you eaten at the Crystal Palace? I would love to know. It sure seemed like the entire universe was there while we were.

Sere is up tomorrow and then Jay'me will be wrapping up the week.

Have a wonderful, magical, weekend.

Surprise...Wordless Wednesday with Scott

The poster (that's me) will post a picture and its settings. No other verbiage is allowed. The commenter's (that's you) will guess in the comments section below how my picture associates with yesterdays (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photo there are numerous ties, thus creating no right or wrong answer. Just make a comment below and you will be entered into our drawing to be our next guest photographer.


What if I am not good enough to be a guest photographer?
You are good enough. We love all kinds of photographers! That's what makes this so much fun. We believe that everybody has a unique view of this world and we want to see it through the lens of your camera. Any camera goes, camera phone, point and shoot, film camera that has its photos turned into jpgs., high end professional grade cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!
How does this all work?


The contest will go on until my (Scott's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind my picture and what the connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email us your picture before 10pm on your post day. Usually on a Sunday, but we are flexible. The photo has to be yours, has to tie into the picture from the day before, and 3C1D has to be authorized to use it. Just remember to keep checking back with us to make sure you get the post about who has won.

Only one guess per person. Have fun!

Ready! Set!! Go!!!


Canon 30D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter 1/25
ISO 400
Backlit with Sunlight

It's All About The Kids!!!

With this warm weather we've had the last couple of days, being outside has been our top priority. We are enjoying our sunshine while we have it since rain is potentially on the way. In keeping with the last couple of posts I have also included a shot of my child playing.

Nikon D90
ISO-400
Aperture F/6.3
Shutter Speed 1/1600 sec.
Natural Lighting, Shutter Priority

I had my camera set on shutter priority mode so I could play with my shutter speeds without having to worry about my aperture so much. I was practicing how to get that "stop" action for sports pictures. It was a little bit difficult because of the shadows that played around in my yard, but I liked his expression in this shot. My son loves soccer! He plays it both seasons (spring and fall) and has fun with it.

I would suggest for anybody reading this that has a DSLR and wants to do more with it, but is a little afraid to go completely manual on their camera that you play around in either aperture or shutter priority mode. You set up either your aperture or shutter and the camera will automatically adjust for the other. You will end up way more pleased with your shots then if you stay in Auto, but it is not quite as scary as full manual.

Have Fun!
Sere

Happy Mother's Day from 3C1D!!!

What a freakin' fantastic day! Are y'all outside having a blast? I know we are! And that's how I got this shot:

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter 1/4000
ISO 400
Sunlight

After a morning spent gorging on brunch and sharing our presents for my bride, we all headed out to "Kick Ass Park" (aka Deicke park). It's truly a mansion of a playground, complete with the longest metal slide I've ever seen. Now my youngest son Brandon is a bulldozer of a boy, with very little fear. Ethan (pictured) meanwhile likes to really consider the risks before plunging down a slide. Once he saw Brandon flying down the polished metal, there was no stopping my E-man. Funny what a little sibling rivalry will do.

One thing I noticed as the boys slid over and over was how the metal was acting as a reflector for the sunlight. Normally, you would avoid underlighting like this at all cost, unless you're going for a special effect. But with my boys and the spirit of the day, added to the reflected face of my first born, I just couldn't help snapping off tons of photos.

A little hint for those of you that might try this. Switch over to manual focus and pick a spot on the slide. When the model begins their slide, you will already be prefocused on that spot, allowing for a sharp image. You only get one shot per slide, but atleast you have a decent chance.

Moving on, the latest winner of WW is Kristen! Kristen, if you're reading this, email us at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com and we'll set you up with further instructions. Alright, I'm going outside. It might start raining for another month and I have to stock up on sunlight. Happy Mother's Day to the 3 chicks and to all you readers!

Peace!

Scott

Jay'me is right

"I hope everyone enjoyed some fresh air and sunlight today. I highly recommend taking your shoes off planting you feet in the grass with your face towards the sky and letting your soul stretch towards the sun. The sun will hug you back today! The air will make you feel alive, I swear!"

Jay'me ended her post yesterday with the above statement. In strange coincidence (the universe screaming) my daughter was doing this exact thing while Jay'me was writing about it.



Yesterday was my daughters 4th birthday. Every year on her actual birthday her dad and I would take her to Main Beach, a local beach on a lake. We would play, take pictures and enjoy the beginnings of spring. Taking special time to remember all the special moments that brought our daughter to life.
Kate and I spent the day at the beach as usual. It was her first birthday since her fathers passing. Instead of devoting all of time to thinking about her birthday, we spent most of it remember wonderful thoughts of my husband.

He was with us yesterday. Giving us just enough glorious sun to enjoy our time at the beach.

I'm really glad that I was shooting in raw for this picture. Harsh, changing lighting conditions made this photo really tough. Being able to recover some of the blown (or lost) detail in the sky during editing really makes the photo a success.

I hope your spending the day reaching toward the sky.
Happy Saturday everyone!

Who Knew ?

Maple trees have beautiful bell flowers.

Nikon D40

1/320

F 9.0

55.mm

Natural light

ISO 200

I love Sere's soft angelic towers of blue bells. I however, am feeling blind as bat lately and am loving as much detail as possible. I see in soft mode without my "cheaters" all the time. I'm the girl that may buy a huge magnifying glass to study stuff. I'll be like a sleuth running around checking stuff out. I WANT A MACRO LENS!!! I may never go wide or landscape again. My fellow bloggers may have to slap me straight if I get a macro lens. I'll be photographing mold and grains of sand.

I nabbed this shot in passing as I followed my daughter who was yelling "Take a picture of this mama bird sitting on her eggs!". I got the mama Killdeer shot too!

As for the Maple "Flower"; Isn't it worth clicking on to enlarge? Tinker Belle probably already knows that these are the perfect shade of green and the perfect shape! I cant wait for my fireworks of flowers. We may not have that many but they are worth waiting for! This little bloom reminds me of 4th of July in the sky. And it's the perfect opener for a great show.

I hope everyone enjoyed some fresh air and sunlight today. I highly recommend taking your shoes off planting you feet in the grass with your face towards the sky and letting your soul stretch towards the sun. The sun will hug you back today! The air will make you feel alive, I swear!

Jay'me

Fun with Flowers!

I decided to go opposite of what Scott has with his picture as my connection. Mostly because today was rainy so my camera didn't come out. This shot was taken a few days ago. Scott's picture has these very vibrant and bold colors to it. My picture went opposite with pastel and soft. Although it does have the nice "bokeh"(blur) to it like his does.

Nikon D90
ISO-200 +.7 Exposure Step
Aperture F/7.1
Shutter Speed 1/250 sec.
50mm Nifty Fifty F/1.4D Lens
Manual, Natural Lighting, Filter

I very deliberately overexposed this shot to blow out everything on purpose. I wanted to see how it would turn out and I really enjoyed what it did. It gave it a very ethereal look that I accentuated with a pastel filter. I also lowered the contrast down a tad because I liked what it did to the picture and gave me more of the "look" that I was going for. I had shot this in RAW knowing that I would be playing with it.

I LOVE messing around with flower pictures, you can do so many cool things with them. Filters are great fun to play with in these kinds of shots and I have done that a few times to give them different effects.

Enjoy!
Sere

Wordless Wednesday with Scott

The poster (that's me) will post a picture and its settings. No other verbiage is allowed. The commenter's (that's you) will guess in the comments section below how my picture associates with yesterdays (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photo there are numerous ties, thus creating no right or wrong answer. Just make a comment below and you will be entered into our drawing to be our next guest photographer.

What if I am not good enough to be a guest photographer?

You are good enough. We love all kinds of photographers! That's what makes this so much fun. We believe that everybody has a unique view of this world and we want to see it through the lens of your camera. Any camera goes, camera phone, point and shoot, film camera that has its photos turned into jpgs., high end professional grade cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!

How does this all work?

The contest will go on until my (Scott's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind my picture and what the connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email us your picture before 10pm on your post day. Usually on a Sunday, but we are flexible. The photo has to be yours, has to tie into the picture from the day before, and 3C1D has to be authorized to use it. Just remember to keep checking back with us to make sure you get the post about who has won.

Only one guess per person. Have fun!

Ready! Set!! Go!!!

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter 1/2 Sec
ISO 100
Kitchen lighting

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Everyone looks at everything different. As you all know, I LOVE a good piece of metal. Give me something dirty, rusty, gross and I'm in love. The depth of the imperfections astounds me and I find myself drawn in.
Yesterday Sara captured something classically beautiful. Who doesn't love a beautiful blond haired little girl? Everyone (myself included) is drawn to pictures of beautiful things. But, as my daughter reminded me this morning the things we usually find "ugly" or "offensive" can be beautiful as well.
Our lawn hadn't been mowed yet this season and when my almost four year old opened her blinds this morning she squealed with delight.
"Mommy look at all those beautiful flowers. This whole place is filled with them."

Nikon D300s with Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @66mm
natural light
ISO 200
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter speed 1/2000sec

I don't think a yard filled with dandelions is classically beautiful like Sara's daughter but I do think the flowers serves as an ample tie-in.

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER
Before I announce this weeks winner of Wordless Wednesday (or Talkless Thursday as the case may be) I should share the tie in and the story behind the photo... it's my job.
Click here for the picture.
My tie in was "sleeping like a log". Except my girl wasn't sleeping. She was pretending to sleep Easter morning so I could take a picture of her amidst her "mouse" friends.
The winner this week is... Sharon. Great guess Sharon. You were correct (not that that matters). Contact us at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com and we'll make the necessary arrangements.

Find the beauty around you.
xoxo,
Brandi

Surprise!

We've got a guest photographer today. I want everyone to meet Sara. She was the winner of Scott's wordless Wednesday.
Everyone give Sara a warm 3C1D welcome.

A little from Sara in her words...

I didn't get quite what I was hoping for but one decent shot of the bunch will do, especially when the model grows weary of being the subject of meticulous instructions ("Smell the flower, honey!") and apparently doesn't want to get her knees dirty in the dirt (after picking up trash and planting in the woods at school all afternoon). If it looks to you like my daughter is rolling her eyes at me, I think you might be right. The tie-in is the flower. It's red of course. You can't see it but there are yellow tulips right beside it. Of course, the red is her favorite so I went with it. But she is wearing yellow so the color ties in, too.
The project definitely bred discontent with my current camera. I used a point and shoot, the Canon Powershot (and not even a new one) with a trigger that's retrofitted with a paperclip. I'm hoping a new camera is in my near future. We'll see! Thanks for letting me play today! Sara

Boy we can relate to the unwilling model and the working by sheer will camera. Thanks so much for playing with us Sara. We hope you can join us again soon.
Go on over to Sara's blog and check her out.

Want to play with us too. We promise it's easy. Go here and make a comment. Doesn't need to be anything fancy. Just say pick me and maybe I'll pick you. Tomorrow night the winner will be announced.

xoxo,
Brandi

Did someone say FUZZY ?

Fuzzy Wuzzy waz a Buzzy Busy Bee and boy is he neat!

Macro, Marco, where art thou ?

Moving target ✔ Manual setting ✔ Quick on the draw ✔ Someone happy with herself ✔

Nikon D40

1/500

f 11.0

40.mm

Natural light

ISO 200

The Story:

Picture this, Easter Morning we arrive at the in-laws. Hurriedly (hidden Easter eggs await) I carried all the cards, bags, coats, camera bag, and Mark carried two potted flowers from the kids for Grandma towards their door. No sooner did he step around the side of the car the Fuzzy Wuzzy there was swarming like flies on s**t. I say "STOP!", drop everything and start digging out Nicky Nikon. "Just Hold Still And Let Him Land!" Kids are waiting as if they have to wet their pants or somethings and I'm not giving in! It's my Easter too! Luckily Mark (my hubby) is excited about the shot too. He just stood there and let him pick a flower. I got off four shots before he was gone! Holy crap - this story is over.

Enjoy!

Jay'me

P.S. Thanks for the advice today Scott...

April Sunset

Not a very creative title but please have pity on me. I am going on a little more then 36 hours without sleep so my mind is a little, ah, fuzzy I guess you could say.


Nikon D90
ISO-400
Aperture F/5
Shutter 1/800 sec.
Natural Light, Filter

I played with filters again for a few minutes. This one is a bi-color filter that seemed to bring out the reds and yellows in the sunset. I managed to snap this picture as I was driving into town for my night out. It has to do with sunlight and I have a barn/shed type thing in the picture as well. Haha, we have barns in abundance around here. Some of them I need to take a closer look at because of their fascinating wood texture.

Hope you all are having a good night. I am going to go pass out and sleep for 10 hours I think.

Cheers!
Sere

You Are The Sunshine of my Life

Brandi's picture of Katie got me thinking about what really matters in my life. It's been easy to get down lately, what with a complete and total lack of sunshine on top of lots of crap life has thrown at me. But I still have my family and my 2 boys, the sunshine of my life.

Canon 30D
Canon 24-70,, f/2.8L set at 35mm
Aperture f/8.0
Shutter 1/125, 1/320, 1/800
ISO 400
Natural Light

This is a shed on my way to work that I've admired for several years. I just love the striated wood and the fact it's on the brink of collapsing at any given moment.

This morning the sun was actually shining and I thought it the perfect moment to stop and see what I could come up with. I took several different shots but this one speaks to me. It's unfortunate I couldn't bring the sun a bit more under control and avoid blowing it out completely. It seems it's a by-product of HDR, which of course I employed here. And then there's the fact it is a great-big, super-bright, burning ball of gas. So maybe that's why it's blown out.

In answer to why I don't have a face, I'll only say that if there is a man on the moon, then there should be a man (or woman) on the sun! I was trying to find this individual and instead got a really cool shed!

Talkless Thursday

Wordless Wednesday got skipped yesterday. Which is fine that left me with Talkless Thursday (thanks Sere for the phrase). It's been a long day around these parts so not having to share works for me right now.
You know the drill.
Rules

The poster (that's me) will post a picture and its settings. No other verbiage is allowed. The commenter's (that's you) will guess in the comments section below how my picture associates with yesterdays (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photo there are numerous ties, thus creating no right or wrong answer. Just make a comment below and you will be entered into our drawing to be our next guest photographer.

What if I am not good enough to be a guest photographer?

You are good enough. We love all kinds of photographers! That's what makes this so much fun. We believe that everybody has a unique view of this world and we want to see it through the lens of your camera. Any camera goes, camera phone, point and shoot, film camera that has its photos turned into jpgs., high end professional grade cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!

How does this all work?

The contest will go on until my (Brandi's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind my picture and what the connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email us your picture before 10pm on your post day. Usually on a Sunday, but we are flexible. The photo has to be yours, has to tie into the picture from the day before, and 3C1D has to be authorized to use it. Just remember to keep checking back with us to make sure you get the post about who has won.

Only one guess per person. Have fun!

Ready! Set!! Go!!!

Fallen log

Nikon D40
Manual
1/800
F5.0
$0.mm
Natural Light
ISO 400


Well Mr. Blog wants to be difficult today and not let me use the normal format.
As long as you can read it I'm happy.
We too have a log and it's this wonderful soft "fuzzy" log behind our house. It's about a 20 foot long piece that fell from a cluster still standing. It is completely covered in new life and has a forrest of sorts grown all over it. Small mushrooms and several types of moss cover it. The log as a whole is worthy of a post itself but it's the up close study that is so intriguing to me. I included a few blades of grass for a size gauge. I was able to get part of the woods this tree once stood with in the back ground. If you're able to enlarge this photo by clicking on it it's worth a closer look. My daughter and I studied this and all it's glory for quite some time, what a treat to try and answer all her questions!
Enjoy.
Jay'me

My Knarly Looking Tree

My son and I were at a park a few days ago and there was this really cool looking log there. I absolutely LOVE funky looking trees, so I tried to capture the knarly looking knobs and humps this log had.

Nikon D2X
Aperture F/9
Shutter Speed 1/640 sec.
ISO-200
Lens 18-70mm at 44mm
Natural Lighting, Aperture Priority, Filter

I turned the picture to black and white, for fun and to connect it to Scott's more, although I suppose log and leaves would have been connection enough. But I do enjoy playing with my filters, so I used a high contrast black and white filter just to kick up the roughness of this log a bit. I may have overdone it, but I like the look.

I had planned on going back to the log to retake some pictures without children running around and screaming, but it rained on me today, so I couldn't get out.

Enjoy!
Sere

Sure it Feels Like Spring!

So I saw Mamalu's guest post and I immediately thought how easy it would be to follow, owing to my penchant for photographing flowers. Piece of cake! But the more I thought about it, the more I thought I should try to do something else. So of course I dipped into the archives for this shot:

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L at 51.0mm
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter 1/500
ISO 100
Natural Light

This unequivocally a photo from last autumn. My connection is that although it's "supposed" to be spring, it feels more like fall. Weak, I know. But I've got about 137 things to do before bedtime tonight and, well, I suck, and this drew the short straw. All the same, I love this photo. It's Ethan looking quite sweet and vulnerable. I did the conversion using Digital Photo Professional and I probably should have used PSE. Maybe I'll give that a try later.

Moving on, I have a little business to tend. My latest WW post was indeed connected by water. I happen to race sailboats (no I don't own it) and I've been dying to somehow work that into photography. It's not easy when you're racing! Anyway, this photo gave me a chance to try out light painting. I set-up the scene in a completely dark room (my basement) and then set the exposure to 10 seconds. While the shutter was open, I illuminated the scene piece by piece using a hand held flash light. It was a ton of fun. You can choose what to spot light just by spend more time with the flashlight on said item. Give it a try!

As for the winning guess, I could say I used random.org, but the truth is that I'm choosing Sara, only because she's never graced these pages. I know Sara - she's a good friend. And we love us some Amanda and Mamalu. But I thought we'd give Sara a shot (pun absolutely intended!). Sara, email us at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com and we'll work it out! Hope you're all having a great week!

Scott

Happy Easter Everyone

I hope you've had a wonderful, indulgent Easter spent with family and friends.

We've got one of our great 3C1D friends with us tonight. I'm sure you all remember MamaLu.
Here's what she's got to say today.


Here's my shot for today. The leaves pick up the green from the grass in Saturday's picture with Scott and Justin. Since today is Easter, and as it's (supposedly) spring, I wanted to depict renewal and rebirth. The daffodils are easy to tie in with that theme. With humans, one type of renewal and rebirth is based on emotions triggered by memories that never die, but lie dormant until a word, a photo, a song, a scent - something - triggers them. These are precious gifts, as are the flowers in spring. Enjoy.
Mamalu




Bring on the spring! From all of us, to all of you, Happy Easter.

Catch

This is a photo from the achieves. Not because I didn't want to or couldn't take a picture today but because the moment I saw Jay'me's picture, I thought of this shot.
Don't ask me why, the only link is the sports, but I knew I had to share this here tonight.


Nikon D40
The rest is a mystery because the exif data is missing from the this picture on my external drive. hmmmm....

This is my late husband Scott, throwing a frisbee to my younger (and much bigger) brother Justin. This was the day Scott got home from a 3 month stay at Rush University Medical Center, August 15, 2008.

It was a happy, wonderful, beautiful day. I hope your Easter is equally as wonderful tomorrow. Mary Lou is going to be joining us again. Can't wait to see what she gives us. It's always a treat.

Hoppy Easter Everyone!

xoxox,
Brandi

Batter... wait for better weather!

Nikon D40
Nifty 50
1/160
f 4.5
50.mm
ISO 400

Thank you Sere for the beautiful still life. That could be that regions next big screen savor.

My shot doesn't have the depth or contrast but it follows along.

Look how green the grass is on the edge of the field. I want that lawn service! Now look at the reflection in the center of the picture - still leafless, naked trees! Summer can't come soon enough for the ball players and their moms dragging them to practice and her FREEZING her butt off while watching and waiting. (Oops, did I say that out loud?) I wanted to go to a field today and make a single track across the clay field and shoot that. First, with my luck, I'd get shot or arrested. Second, someone had already been there to "test" the field.

Today I shot with the Nifty Fifty lens. She gets around and has been lent or borrowed amongst us 3c1d bloggers. I enjoyed playing around with her and hope to do lots more yet.

PLAY BALL! - inside.

Jay'me

Summer Will Be Here.... Eventually!

The sun poked thru the sky for about 2 seconds today. I raced out to enjoy it and get some outside stuff done before the clouds showed up again. Scott's picture had me thinking about practicing my still-life shots again. The connection is in the collections.


Nikon D2X
ISO-400
Aperture F/6.3
Shutter 1/400 sec.
18-70mm @ 55mm.
Manual
Natural Lighting, Filter

Sorry Cubbie Fans, I have been down south for too long. I raided my sons baseball collection for baseball gear so I could practice, although the shirt is mine.

I don't do still-life shots very often, it just isn't my thing really. Like in this shot, all my settings are fine, but I don't have any real "feeling" in the shot. Anyway I will probably continue to practice still-lifes because the challenges of them call to me. But only when I have to!

I played around Photoshop because I enjoy messing around with filters. The filter I used in this shot was the contrast color range filter which helped to make the colors "pop" a bit, giving a little excitement to the shot.

Batters Up!
Sere

Wordless Wednesday with Scott

Rules

The poster (that's me) will post a picture and its settings. No other verbiage is allowed. The commenter's (that's you) will guess in the comments section below how my picture associates with yesterdays (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photo there are numerous ties, thus creating no right or wrong answer. Just make a comment below and you will be entered into our drawing to be our next guest photographer.

What if I am not good enough to be a guest photographer?

You are good enough. We love all kinds of photographers! That's what makes this so much fun. We believe that everybody has a unique view of this world and we want to see it through the lens of your camera. Any camera goes, camera phone, point and shoot, film camera that has its photos turned into jpgs., high end professional grade cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!

How does this all work?

The contest will go on until my (Scott's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind my picture and what the connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email us your picture before 10pm on your post day. Usually on a Sunday, but we are flexible. The photo has to be yours, has to tie into the picture from the day before, and 3C1D has to be authorized to use it. Just remember to keep checking back with us to make sure you get the post about who has won.

Only one guess per person. Have fun!

Ready! Set!! Go!!!

Canon 30D
Canon EF-18-55m f/3.5-5.6 at 21.0mm
Aperture f/9.0
Shutter 10 Seconds
ISO 100
Flashlight - used for light painting.

Chaos

If you're not living in the midwest, Texas, most of the east coast then you're pretty lucky.
In these places (and others I'm sure) we've had some wild weather. Jay'me's snow picture is a great example.
In this part of the world (Chicagoland) we've moved from snow to rain. Lots and lots of rain and to top off this super fabulous drowning, we've got 36 degree temps and whipping winds. Yep, it's February. Oh wait, not it's not.

Anywho....
I had to play in the rain today. Rain and mud. I love it.
Except when it's raining inside. Then it's not so awesome.


Nikon D300s
Nikkor 24-70 f2.8
ISO 2500
Shutter Speed 1/20
Focal length 58mm
Aperture f/2.8

I was really trying to get out of the f/2.8 range with this picture but I was inside shooting in a the center of a partially complete brick building. I pretty much needed every bit of light that I could get. So f/2.8 it is.
A girls got to do what a girls go to do.

Lets see what a boy can do. You're up tomorrow Scott.

xoxo,
Brandi

Snow Pants - REALLY?

Nikon D40

Manual

1/160

f 4.3

31.mm

ISO 400

Under this iciness lay a gorgeous rose like apple blossom trying to develop. As much as I love that my kids were excited to play in the snow before their busses came, I really hope that these blossoms are okay. The tulips are a good 5 inches tall, my husband mowed the lawn yesterday, and I feel ready for yard work (sort of). Yesterday Maddie and Katie played in the sand and made a sand cake. a half hour ago Maddie made a snow snake- NO JOKE!

I'm loving my new camera. I still need a class to improve my skills and up my knowledge.

Below is the swing that will have to wait another day, I almost chose this because of Sere's post. Not really sure why the composition is so opposite and it's not exclusive to America.

I had to post about the weather - sue me.

Jay'me

Nikon D40

manual

1/60

f 4.1

30.mm

natural light

ISO 400

American Pride

My first thought when I saw Scott's picture was to play around with a deck of cards. Not sure why, but his guy reminded me of the jack or king of something. But my plans fell through and I wasn't home enough today to try that thought out. Then we were at church this evening and there was discussion about how far off base America has gotten with different things. I remembered this series of shots that I had taken with the American flag a week or so ago. It made me think about how even with its mess ups I still love this country.

But before I get to my picture I need to take care of Wordless Wednesday. I would love to welcome MamaLou back with us. So if you could contact us 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com and let us know when you would be able to post we would enjoy seeing what you have to show us.

My connection was little ones and faces. I LOVE spring babies! That little guy was about 3 days old when I took that picture. He's about twice the size now that he was then. I have a few flowers that were blooming and I really wanted to get spring baby with spring flowers for the shot. So I took baby away from mom for a few minutes to take a couple of shots and then went back and swapped out one baby for another until I thought I had a shot that I liked. I ended up with a few smushed flowers and some cute puppy pics for my work. Moving on, here is my picture for today.

Nikon D2X

ISO-100

Aperture F/7.1

Shutter Speed 1/500 sec.

Lens 18-70mm at 70mm

No Flash, Natural Lighting, Polarizing Filter

For whatever reason the beautiful red flowers with the flag caught my attention at this little park, in this little town of literally like 50 people near my house. It was a windy day, so the flag was just flapping all over the place, but the sky was just soooo blue. I just had to take some pictures so while all the passerbys watched I was laying on the ground, kneeling, moving my body into some nice contortionists positions to see what shots I could get. It was great fun! My connection to Scott's picture would be a part of the main focus running off the camera. In this case it would be the flag pole.

Now I am ready to shut my phone off and chill with my honey.

Take Care!

Sere