Sweet Dreams - welcome back Amanda

Evening all! A special night here. Our good friend Amanda is back as a guest. You might remember her previous visits This or this. We love some Amanda. She's a tried and true e-friend to 3C1D.

Before I have her wow you yet again. I need to announce the winner for last weeks slightly different Wordless Wednesday.

Big Dan, you the lucky man, random.org says so. Well, first it said Scott was but I made it try again. :)
My thought in the tie in was love. Sere's hearts and Jay'me doing her labor of love. It was weak but I threw the post together in 5 minutes. Cut me some slack.

Now that that is out of the way. I'll allow you to enjoy what Amanda has to offer. You'll notice she has a new camera and she's really rocking it.

Hold your breath....




Taken with:
Canon Rebel 300D
35-80mm lens at 80mm
1/40
f/5.6
ISO 800
Edited With Photoshop CS3

I have always wondered what he dreams about. I watch him sleep and
wonder. It's pretty crazy to think he is almost 1 year old. I read
Seres' post and immediately thought of M sleeping. I thought I would
share my favorite thing to do. I have MILLIONS of pictures of him
sleeping, but this one might be my favorite. I love the lighting
though the focus could be better. Hope you enjoy looking at M as much
as I do and thanks again for sharing guys!

Oh my! I want to lose my senses and have another baby. So sweet, so innocent, so perfect.
Go check out Amanda's work on her blog

See you soon!

xoxo,
Brandi

Dream a Little Dream

Ahhh my "happy place", it can be sooo many different places. I love my family to pieces, but I'm a natural born wanderer. Different sites and places intrique and excite me, I love the adventure of it. The open road calls me. I used to escape by driving, sometimes I would drive a half a days drive away or more, just because. That's a little harder to do now, but I still feel the need to get away from it all every so often, it helps to clear my head. Thank God I have a wonderful husband who, though he may not always get it, understands my need for it and accepts it. He even joins me from time to time.

Typically my "happy place" includes beautiful scenary, a National Park or state park if possible, lots of hiking, a lack of buildings, and lots of nature. I can do without the people as well sometimes :). Sometimes it includes my family, sometimes just myself, depends upon my mood. One thing is for sure though, I always have my camera handy when I do escape to my "happy place". The photo below includes just about everything I require.


Nikon D2x
ISO-400
Aperture F/6.3
Shutter 1/45 sec.
18-70mm lens at 28mm
Natural Lighting

This was taken at the Grand Canyon (beautiful scenary and a National Park) on our road trip down to Arizona, where we did lots of hiking. My family was with me and we were also visiting family. The park was not overly busy so we were able to enjoy it without wall to wall people. My dream is to hit all 5o states at some point in my life and attempt to capture it with my camera. My secondary dream is to hit all the National Parks. Some dreams are simple, some are more, ah, grand? What do you dream about and does it have something to do with your own "happy place"?

Sere

My Happy Place

This week has loosely been about things that make us happy. Scott's flower, Jay'me painting, Sere's sweethearts.
This edition of Friday Faces is all about my happy place and the people that put a smile on my face everyday and keep me from loosing my mind.

Meet Kim, the local barista at my Starbucks. She is one of many fantastic people that happily make me my grande non-fat, no-whip cinnamon dolce every morning.

Kim, my coffee and a drive-thru... nothing makes me happier.

Nikon d40 kit lens
ISO 400
aperture f/4.5
shutter speed 1/400

The only real challenge in this shot was getting the photo quickly. The 830am coffee crowd would lynch me if I took too long.

Thanks Kim for being such a great sport. See you tomorrow.


Wordless Wednesday is still open click here to enter this weeks contest. I'll be announcing the winner on Monday when I share Amanda's most recent guest photo.

Have a terrific weekend. May it be filled with happiness.

xoxox,
Brandi

Drops of Water

Jay'me's painting/Brandi's photo gave me a chance to shoot flowers, something I really enjoy doing. Normally this time of year I would scoff at the idea. After all, it's a bit more authentic when you can actually get outside and shoot flowers as they grow. Here's the thing. Round these parts it's winter. Furthermore, the sun has been completely MIA. I mean, has it taken a liking to a different planet? WHAT THE HELL!!! So I thought maybe shooting a flower might give me a little jolt of synthetic sunshine and turn my frown upside down. I still miss the sun, but it did help staring through the lens at this extraordinary flower.


Canon 30d
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
ISO 200
Shutter Speed 1/4
Aperture f/9.0
A single hot light

I tried about 7 different set-ups with different ideas each time. The truth of the matter is that it is devilishly difficult to balance the light with the water and the flower and maintain focus throughout the shot. You can see that the water droplet loses sharpness at the edge. It seemed necessary to achieve a sharp refraction through the water droplet. I couldn't get both.

To be fair, I chose not to completely close up my aperture because the Sahara Desert rears it's ugly head in the form of a dusty sensor when I do that. Perhaps if I'd just get it cleaned I could have achieved both a sharp refraction and water droplet edge. Or then again, maybe it's not possible. Do any of you know?

Lastly, I wanted to make something of an announcement. I was thinking the other day (dangerous, even on the good days) and I thought it would be a great idea to have a 3C1D outing for us four and any of our small but faithful followers. I checked it out with B and J and they are excited by the idea. Sere I'm confident with be all in as well. What I'm thinking at this point is spring time, and I'm hoping to sort of center it where as many people as possible can join in. So what I want from you readers is a thumbs up or thumbs down on the idea and a general idea of where you be! I can't speak for all of us but I would be willing to travel a bit for the sake of the group. I think it could be a total blast and a great way to strengthen our little community and learn a bunch. So what'd'ya think gang? Are you in?

See y'all later

Scott

For Jay'me

Another non-typical Wordless Wednesday. Jay'me's beautiful daughter Maddie had a routine surgery today and Jay'me is down for the count. I (Brandi) am happy to step in for her. This is photo I took of Jay'me on Monday doing what she does.

A photo of Jay'me for Jay'me. It's just how I roll.

Little different contest today.
Take a moment to wish Maddie well in the comments below and be entered in this weeks guest photographer race. For extra bonus points (which get you nothing but my adoration) guess what I was thinking ties Sere's photo yesterday with my photo for today.

Ready... set... go....

Nikon D40 kit lens
aperture f/4.5 as low as it will go
Shutter speed 1/20 - way to slow
ISO - 800 as high as I dare to go
natural light - horribly tragic natural light


xoxox
Brandi the poet

My Heart Belongs to you

or however those cheesy sayings go. Valentine's Day theme a tad bit early is up for today. But before I get to that I would like to announce our Talkless Thursday (i.e. Wordless Wednesday) winner for this week. Random.org has spoken and decided that Amanda was our winner. So Amanda please email 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com and let us know when you will be able to post your picture! Can't wait to see what you have in store for us.

As for the story behind my picture, I was actually thinking about the wooden beams in both pictures. The wooden dock and the wooden whatever that the chain was on, also the reflection in my shot gives the look of chains as well. You also have the angles of the shots. That picture was from my recent trip up to Bayfield Wisconsin . A beautiful lake town on Lake Superior. We were walking along the harbor looking at all the boats. Each Friday the boats do a "parade of lights" around the harbor where they decorate their boats and "parade" them through the harbor in front of a very rambunctious crowd who claps and whistles to show their appreciation the decorations. Very fun to see if you are ever up in the North Woods of Wisconsin. Oh and Bayfield also has sea caves that ice over in the winter time, something I would LOVE to go and see one day. Now on to my picture for today.


Nikon D90
ISO 200
Aperture F/7.1
Shutter 1/250 sec.
Exposure 1.3 steps (oops didn't realize I had that)
Lens 18-200mm at 200mm
Manual
Two off camera remote flashes, one had on a lightly tinted filter

I would not suggest using your camera to the very top end of its capabilities, I was trying not to do that, but for this picture it turned out okay. When I saw Brandi's shot I kind of groaned, not because of the picture, which is really pretty, but because it was a flower and pink. Two things not very prevalent in my household.

I lugged my camera around all day today trying to find inspiration. Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like you're in a creative void? Today was one of those days, maybe it was the gloomy, cloudy day? Or just my mood, but nothing came to me all day. So what do I do when I get home, but have a snack and I happen to LOVE the candy hearts that are out for V Day. Aha pink!! And kind of romancey just like a flower, now to just be able to get the shot.

I had no idea what I was looking to do for the shot, still life photography has never been my strong suit. I'm more of a portrait and nature/animal photographer and I love travel photography though that would not be my strong suit either. For this shot, I just set up different things and began to shoot away. Nothing very exciting came from the shots at first, but then I thought about zooming in because I find that you can get a drastically different picture by doing that and a different perspective. So what type of photography are you drawn to? What causes you the most difficulty?
Later all!
Sere

Wild Orchid

Well... I got it at the grocery store so it isn't really that wild but it's an orchid. An orchid that is indigenous to Hawaii. Hence, my tie in.


Nikon d40 kit lens @ 48mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/5sec
Aperture f/5.6
manual
kitchen light and supplemental living room light

I should have taken a pull back photo of this little mini photo shoot. I'm heating up the spicy sweet chili that our friend Josh brought over for dinner. I've got cornbread in the oven and I'm cutting up the brownies for dessert. All the while, I've got the tripod sitting in the kitchen, a potted orchid plant sitting on a stool in front of the only white space we have in our house (a door). Miss K, my 3-year old is eating dinner, Josh and my husband are talking in the living room. I'm using my remote to fire off a couple shots. Occasionally, walking past making adjustments and such. I decide there isn't enough light in the kitchen so I grab a lamp out of the living room, walking right past the boys chatting. Pay no attention to the crazy lady with the lamp.

The food was delicious. The photo was well... adequate. I wish I had gotten my potted orchid a little earlier in the day so I had some natural light. I also wish I had a macro lens so I could really have had fun with this beauty. But isn't that the nature of photography? Always wishing you had something more, different, better.... What do you wish you had? What piece of photo equipment, kitchen gadget, book, tool, accessory are you coveting?

xoxox,
Brandi

Pack me up

Brandi here. I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this photo with you all. RJ is our latest winner from last weeks Wordless Wednesday. As usual, this weeks Talkless Thursday (same thing as Wordless Wednesday but a day late because I suck) is still up for last minute entries. Go put your name in the comments section and join us like RJ has.

RJ, the lucky dog, is joining us from Hawaii. Usually an Illinois resident, he's in Hawaii for a little rest and relaxation. I'm not sure what the weather is like there but I can tell you it sure beats the sure cold weather in Illinois and most of the continental United States.

Here's what the sunned, RJ has to say.

Rj here, happy as can be since I'm sitting in the middle of Waikiki. Ahhh...sunshine, blue waters and Mai Tai's of course.

Well I would like to express my gratitude to 3C1D as they inspired me to start up my own blog (http://all5hz.blogspot.com ). Well done and keep all those great pictures coming.

I'm currently using a Canon Eos Rebel Xti. It was given to me as a gift so I figured I'd better learn how to use it. I've got a long way to go but I'm really enjoying getting out and taking pictures of the world that surrounds me.

So how do I tie in to Scott's wonderful picture of Brandon. Well loosely....very loosely!

Let's see, I used "natural light", it was "converted" by use of my HDR program (Photomatrix)

And to play off the Rrrrr....Matey theme, there are ancient stories of how Shaolin Buddhist monks were called upon to battle Japanese pirates raiding the coastline.

So my picture is of the Byodo In Buddhist Temple on the Windward side of Oahu. It's just a beautiful place that is surrounded by ponds with Koi fish and Black Swans. It also sits at the foot of the Ko'olau mountains. I took 3 pictures at different exposures. Then ran them through the HDR program. You can play with the lighting to your liking. I hope you enjoy it and if you get a chance to get out of the freezing Midwest I highly recommend Hawaii.

Mahalo!

Rj



Stunning! Absolutely stunning. If you all would like to donate some money to send me to Hawaii, I would be eternally grateful. Sere and I were on the Big Island a few years back for Sere's wedding. I have spent much time since then wishing I could return. This photo only makes it worse.

Go over to RJ's blog and check out his other photos, they are pretty awesome as well.

Aloha!
Brandi

Sailors

I really liked Jay'me/Craig's photo. I happen to sail a bunch and it immediately brought about feelings from summers past. Originally, I planned on photographing a few things I own that also evoke memories of sailing. Instead, during bath time I had my boys do their best pirate impersonations. The first thing they did was give themselves bubble beards. And then the "Rrrrr Matey" reared its head and I had no choice but to snap away. I took about 60 shots and decided this one of Brandon was my favorite.

Canon 30D
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture f/2.8
Shutter 1/100
ISO 1000
Natural Light

This is a setting where my most expensive lens really shines. The lighting sucks in this bathroom but I didn't want to use flash (read: I was lazy). But because of the incredible optical quality this lens possesses, even when wide open, I was able to get sharp photos with great bokeh. You really can't substitute for good glass.

I shot in color and later converted to black and white. I also blew out some of the highlights and backed off the shadows. Finally, I applied a noise reducer and sharpened before converting to JPEG.

As always thanks for checking in. Tomorrow you will be treated to the photographic art of RJ, our most recent WW winner. Check it out and be sure to tell him hi!

Scott

Faces Friday with Jay'me's brother

While I can't take the credit for taking this photo there is a face in it! Get out your binoculars and squint. When I saw Sere's post I thought of a photo my Brother-in-law had just shared with me. What a fabulous shot. He was watching this guy free climb to the top of the mast to work on his boat. TERRIFYING and DEATH DEFYING ~ let's not pre-dial 911, let's start shooting with the camera phone. As you can see, I think Craig earned today's post and I honor him with my day. The sky and moon just happen to have been perfect. Super shot Craig! This is straight off of his phone, absolutely no adjustments! This guy would probably pay big bucks to have this hanging in his house.





camera phone
1/431
f2.8
3.85mm
ISO 80

Talkless Thursday with Sere

No 3C1D is not starting something new, I just had to come up with some catchy title. Due to some confusion, mostly on my part, I did not post yesterday. So here I am posting on Thursday, but the same rules apply as they do for Wordless Wednesday.

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 pictures associates with yesterday's (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photograph there are numerious ties, thus creating no right or wrong answers. Just make your 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 every person has their own 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 pictures turned into jpgs, high end professional cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!

How does it all work?
The contest will go on until my (Sere's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind the picture and what my connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com your photo 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 photo 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 (and to keep seeing some neat photographs).

Only one guess per person. Have fun!!!

READY! SET! GO!!!!


Nikon D90
Lens 18-70mm @18mm
Aperture F/3.5
Shutter 1.3 secs.
ISO-200
No Flash

Pull it

You all know how much I love machines, gear and such. I'm so glad the trend stayed so I could post my own photo. I had huge ambitions today. Far to lofty for me to actually tackle on a dark, gloomy, Chicago winter day.
I had to box away my lofty goals for today. Tuck them away for the glorious spring time that will be coming soon (hopefully).

As a result, I had to pull something from the achieves today. Good thing I have lots and lots of photos with gear and such in them. I chose this one because I think this chain is beautiful, just like Scott's picture. Call me strange but I've been in love with this photo since the moment I took it.


Nikon d40 kit lens @34mm
shutter speed 1/1250sec
aperture f/4.5
natural light

Here again is that "sweet spot" on my lens. The perfect balance of bokah and crisp depth of field. This picture makes it look like I know what I'm doing. I assure you I do not.

Considering more than half of the United States is covered in snow and ice, I'm wondering what everyone is taking photos of. There is only so long you can stand outside and freeze to death taking a photo of snow covered foliage before the roar of a fire and the need for hot chocolate takes over. Tell me what you're taking photos of. Oh and please chastise me for not getting a Speedlight before the eternal darkness fell upon us.

MmmmKay... Thanks.... Bye....
Brandi

Machines It Is!

Happy Monday all! I hope by now you're all recovering from the holidays. I only say that because I thought I was on my way and then B dropped off a few Irish Car Bomb cupcakes and I've got to start all over with my recovery. Holy buckets are they good! Word to the wise, if Brandi says "can I bring over (fill-in-your-choice-of-baked-good)" just say YES! You will not regret it!

With that out of the way, I'd like to announce the winner from the most recent "Wordless Wednesday" comments. Congratulations to RJ Martin, who, if I'm not mistaken, is a first time commentor! Thanks for stopping by RJ. And drop us a line at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com so we can fill you in on the details of posting.

As for my post, I dug into my archives again, but only because it fit so well. Furthermore, there is little to zero chance I'll get to shoot this magical place again. This is a photo of a privately owned, working steam engine, which is housed in an insulated sheet metal barn. Additionally, there is the most complete working European salon carousal in existence and several other amazing motors and engines. The best part is that this barn is not even the grandest location. The private home next to the barn houses perhaps the most amazing collection of automatic music machines ever assembled. And that still is not the best part! In this house, there is a room that houses the worlds largest stage pipe organ and seating for around 300 people. It's truly astounding. Click here for the website.

I could go on and on about this place. For example, in one room in the basement, Mr. Sanfilippo has a collection of nickelodeons. Once you put your nickel in you are treated to a 1920's version of a strip tease whilst cranking the arm on the side. You should have seen my mother, who was raised strict Catholic and taught by nuns, when she discovered the surprise. Simply priceless.

I had an absolute blast shooting photos of this place and it really was my first experience with digital. My dad allowed me the use of his Nikon D70 and away I went. So here's the photo I choose for today:

Nikon D70
Kit lens
Aperture f/5.0
Shutter 1/60
Pop-up flash used

One of the things I notice now is the difference in color temperature. Were I doing this again, I would use gels with the flash to minimize the difference. What I really like still to this day is the composition. You should have seen me laying down in black tie to shoot this - certainly something I would do again.

The connection is the machine thing but also the slant in composition. Thanks Mamalu for posting. I can't tell you how awesome it is having you all to share with. RJ, plan on next Sunday for your post and drop us a line for details. Have a great week everyone! I'm out!

Scott

Mamalu in the kitchen

It's Sunday and you know what that means....

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER TIME!

Woohoo!!

Mamalu was the winner of Wordless Wednesday two weeks ago. This weeks Wordless Wednesday winner will be announced by Scott tomorrow. Run over and get your name on the list.

Mamalu on joining us...
Thanks for the opportunity. This is great fun, but soooo easy to get carried away! I pulled out a lot of kitchen “machines” (or would they be tools!) to come up with this.

I use a Sony DSC-V1, a 5-year-old 5.2MP point-and-shoot. It was once top of the line in Sony’s “pro-sumer” line, and it has served me well. One day maybe I’ll move up, but for now, I’m happy with it.

Mamalu on the photo...
"Machine? Or tool? I like both, so here’s my gears for today, and I think I’ll use this one right about now! Enjoy!"

Mamalu (aka Mary Lou Griggs)

Cheers to you Mamalu



Mamalu we don't care if you have a camera phone photo from 2001 to share, with subject matter like this, you can join us anytime!

Superstar!

Our poor Jay'me is having a difficult day. She arrived on my (Brandi) doorstep and said "the kids had games, we ran out gas, had to get towed, the gas gauge is broken and I have nothing to post."
I gave her a giant hug and said "I can take care of that."

My darling "Aunt" Mel sent me the below photo and asked me what my professional opinion was. After I got done laughing (it took days) at the idea of me being a professional I told her I loved it. I've been looking for a time to share it will all of you and the time has finally come.

I have no idea what she took the photo with and I know none of her settings. All I know is I love this photo.
You all have probably figured out I like random abstract pieces of steel, gears and such. It's just the way I am.

Jay'me gives the post her seal of approval and yet neither of us can come with a tie-in. We're going to go with red. Sere's sons jacket and the gear are both red-ish. Weak but it works.

Tomorrow night we get another treat MamaLou will be joining us as last weeks Wordless Wednesday winner. There is still time to put your name in the drawing for this weeks winner. Just click here and leave a comment.

That's all from here kids.

xoxo,
Brandi and Jay'me

Friday Faces with Sere

Totally thought my day was tomorrow. Glad I hopped on to see everybodies pictures from the last few days and realized that it was my turn today. We had two Snow Days this week, which is fun, although it extends our school year. We were out playing in the snow, sledding, and letting out "Whitey" to run around and play with. "Whitey," the little fluff ball is going to his new home tomorrow. I also had my son practice taking snow pictures as well, gotta get him interested in photography now right? I can't have my family members cutting off heads in photos and he enjoys it as well. What cuties these guys both are, I had to post the picture I took of the two of them.



Nikon D90
Lens 18-70 at 60mm
Aperture F/5
Shutter Speed 1/400 sec.
ISO-400
No Flash, Natural Lighting

Snow and ice. Lots of snow and ice in my shot and Brandi's and the color red.

Take Care!
Sere

Peek-a-boo

Another outstanding photo from Scott to follow up. I'm a pretty lucky girl, or I guess maybe I'm unlucky because how does one follow up such great photos. This is my quandary.
While I sort out my rather confusing feelings you can go over and enter to win this weeks Wordless Wednesday, all the cool kids are doing it.

While I was thinking about what I should take a photo of I decided that anything snow covered would do. So off I went to the job site I "work" at from time to time. Scott went with a soft and delicate blooming flower and went with the polar opposite. A hard, stark, brick.

Nikon D40 kit lens @ 42mm
shutter speed 1/800
aperture f/5.3
ISO 200
natural light

Another non-macro macro. I was really working on finding the "sweet spot" on my lens. I've been reading that all lenses, even the often poo-pooed kit lens, has a sweet spot. A spot where given the right aperture, the right shutter speed and the right light, the lens will truly shine. I think I figured out today that my "sweet spot" is right around the f/5.3 that this was taken at. My tookis was freezing so my analysis is incomplete but it's a starting position for sure.
So tell me fellow photogs... Do you believe in the sweet spot? Have you found it on your favorite lenses.

xoxox,
Brandi

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
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Aperture f/4.0
Shutter 1/30
Natural Light

& They Go With Shit Kickers

Cannon Rebel XT

1/250

f 13.o

47.mm

ISO 400

natural light

So, I was out doing what I do in my "Muckers".

I was catching snow as it fell and I couldn't get past the melted then re-frozen ice hanging on the horses. There are a few delicate flakes still hanging dangerously close to "Sharkys" warm face.
Yes you do need boots to hang in this crowd and they do love to be inquisitive. They are great models and quite frankly their my friends. Most of the human friends I have that hang out here wear the Cool Carharts Sere has. I don't-YET...
I hope you enjoy this lovely boys eye and his dangling temporary jewel.

Carhartt's Are Cool to Wear....

Sere here to announce our Wordless Wednesday winner! Yay!! Random.org chose Mamalu to be our winner this week. She said "Merry and Bright, molded cartoon figures to bring delight." Loved the rhyming, very catchy. The story behind that picture was that I was taking down our Christmas tree when I saw Mickey, Donald and Pluto all set up by my son on my end table. They immediately caught my attention as possible subjects because of their bright colors. I also wanted to play around with Christmas lights as a backdrop one last time before I let the holiday season go. So there it was, my post and connection to Brandi's toy picture. Bright colors and a whimsical, child-like charm to both.

I am so excited to see what Mamalu has in store for us! Mamalu please email us at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com for your further instructions. Now on to my post for today.

But before I show you my post I have to tell you the story behind this post. I had been waiting all day to see if the snow would start falling so I could practice taking pictures of snow and snowfall and all of that. Well the snow never showed up, at least during the day, so now I am scrambling to try and get a picture of something before my light fades.

I am out doing my dog chores and realize that if I am going to get any shots I need to take them, like now. So I'm out in my chore clothes which are Carhartt's trying to fumble around and get a picture taken. I understand if you don't have any idea what Carthartt's are. Until I moved out to the middle of nowhere, I had no idea what they were either. But around here, they are as commonplace as, well, ipods in the city and suburbs. And soooo very cool to wear. In fact you see people wearing them out on the ski slopes so you know they have to be cool, haha. I am including a couple of shots of what they are under my post. So here is what I got.


Olympus Stylus Tough 3000
Point and Shoot @ 7mm
Aperture F/5
Shutter 1/100 sec.
ISO-64(not sure how it came up with that number)
No Flash, natural lighting

My Nikon was giving me fits about this cold weather so I had to switch to the Olympus, which can handle the cold weather a lot better. But it is a point and shoot with all these scene modes that you can choose, not anything I can set up on my own. But it supposedly had a Macro and Super Macro mode that I tried. It wasn't so macroey, but that's okay it was still fun to use. My connection to S4's is the white light in the background of his shot and my white snow. Now as promised my Carhartt pics. Yep my Carhartt's are almost identical to these, except my pants are black and my coat is more of a brown color then a tan color. Mine even have the cool zipper that runs up my entire leg so you can unzip the pants to get work boots on and off. Totally awesome!

Jay'me is up tomorrow. Enjoy!

.

Guest Who Has Joined Us?

Hey everyone. Scott here posting the latest guest effort from the recent Wordless Wednesday winner. The winner was Scott (no, not me), known alphanumerically as S4. I'm known as S12, just to clear up any confusion...or perhaps to create some. Anyway, here is S4 in his own words:

This is my first time appearing on the blog and I am excited to participate. I have been "playing" around in the world of photography for the past few years.

My tie in to Brandi's photo is that this is a night shot with a light in the distance.



Nikon d40
ISO 200
Shutter Speed 30 seconds
Aperture f/22.0

The only thing I couldn't figure out from the EXIF file was the lens. It's not really pertinent to this shot however, considering the aperture and long shutter length. I'm thinking there was a tripod involved to allow for such small aperture and long exposure. The focus is sharp and the noise is low, both difficult things to accomplish at night. Well done S4 and thanks so much for joining us.

That's all for now folks. Stay tuned for Sere tomorrow and have a great week!

Scott (S12)

Fathers

No I'm not confused (well.. nevermind). It is not Fathers Day nor is it my fathers birthday. They are separated by a few short days in June.
My very loose, connection to Scott's post is fatherhood.
Scott was a father taking a picture of his son and I am a daughter taking a picture of my fathers hands on the steering wheel of the family truckster.
Headed down 218 in Iowa last night, my dad kept us all safe contending with some whipping winds and periods of white out conditions.

Thanks Dad.



Nikon d40 kit lens
ISO 400
shutter speed 1/4sec.
f/3.8

Here's a question to all my fellow photographers out there. What could I have done differently to get better focus? The car is moving, I'm moving, the outside is moving and we're all moving differently. I tried a couple different things but in the end this was a sharp as I could get. Thoughts, ideas???

Hoping you're having a fun weekend. Maybe you're spending some time with your dad too.

xoxo,
Brandi

Friday Faces with E-Man!

There is no question I'm in love with my first born. And when he says "Daddy, am I going to be on the computer again?" it's simply too hard to resist. I took this photo pre-Christmas yet felt it appropriate if only for the bokeh. Sere's photo of the figurines had great color too. So I decided this would work. Then there's the fact that the wrestling meet I was planning on shooting ended up happening without me. Oh well. Next time. Without further adieu, heeeeerrrrreeeeee's E-Man!



Canon 30D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
Shutter 1/160
Aperture f/2.0
ISO 200
Natural Light

For the shot, I had Ethan stand near a window with indirect sunlight (and I think it was cloudy). The biggest challenge was white balance as the light from the window was different from the ambient light in the room. I'm not sure I know the correct answer but I chose to make sure Ethan's skin tone was the best and didn't worry about the background.

Then of course there was the challenge of getting him to smile without moving like a punching balloon. It's a serious problem if the subject is constantly changing the distance from the focal plane. And when shooting with an aperture of f/2.0, you don't have much depth of field to work with. My solution was to give him a spot to plant his feet and he could move anything else. I still got many out of focus shots but I also got many keepers.

Okay, that about does it for me folks. All of you have a great weekend and check us out tomorrow for some Brandi inspiration. I should mention Brandi is traveling and might need a substitute. In that case, you'll get a double dose of me. Whoopieee!!! Peace out y'all!

Scott

Wordless Wednesday with Sere

An unorthodox edit by Brandi
Sorry Sere to step on the top of your post. The announcement for last weeks Wordless Wednesday got forgotten somehow. Our apologies.
Allow me to announce the winner now. Random.org has declared comment 2 as the winner. Scott--aka S4 said... snow in both pics
S4 - Send an email to 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com
Apologies again. We now resume our regularly scheduled Wordless Wednesday.


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 (Sere'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!!!!



Nikon D90
Lens Nikon 35-70mm at 62mm
Aperture F/5.6
Shutter 1/25 sec.
ISO 400
No Flash, natural lighting

Playtime

You can practically hear the giddiness in Scott's post yesterday. He's like a big kid playing. All those lights, flashes, playing in water... all fun stuff.
It reminded me of this photo...

Nikon d40 kit lens
ISO 200
shutter speed 1/10
aperture f/20

I had to pull from the archives (shame on me), life has gotten the better of me as of late.
It's been so long that I have no idea what in the free world I was thinking with my settings. There are about 30 shots of this circus train and I remember playing around with some settings trying to yet again learn the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO but *scratches head* an aperture of f/20 with a shutter speed of 1/10 in broad daylight. Hmmm....

Hoping all of you are having a calmer start to 2011. I promise our happy chicks and dude will be stripped of their holiday wear soon.
xoxo,
Brandi

The Texture of Red

I knew I had my chance to show off my favorite plate once I saw Jay'me's post. This is simply a plate that has the most gorgeous color and texture. I've photographed it before and I've photographed it with water. This is the first time it's made the blog:



Canon 30D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Shutter 1/200
Aperture f/9.0
ISO 200
2 external flash heads through a light box

My thinking here was 2-fold. First, there was the red of Jay'me's backdrop. Second was the texture of the red fabric. I couldn't think of a better way to replicate texture than running water frozen in time. My only challenge is getting a quick enough exposure.

In theory, you can use the duration of the light source as surrogate to shutter speed. In fact, it's paramount to do just that. You cannot speed your shutter too much or it outpaces the electrical impulse to the flash head and you get dark images. So you are dependent on very fast flash times. My flash heads apparently aren't quite up to snuff. It's just another of those very specific features that cost very large amounts of money.

What I should have tried next is hot lights - lots of them - and sped up my shutter as much as possible. This would negate the need for quick flash heads and might improve the stop action. Tonight, I'm too tired to think about that (anyone else hate how early it gets dark!?!?). But I had fun with this and I hope you like it. Happy Monday all! I'm out!

Scott

Back To Work-Now say Cheese!

Cannon Rebel XT

1/60

f5.0

44mm

ISO 400

Yes, this looks fun! No, it's not easy! I'm selling Katie and I need photos to send people. This is the product/result of several attempts over two days. I decided I needed help. She just wants to climb on and kiss you then scoot around like a crazy woman.

I have a million white blurry spots with eyeballs I could send people. This puppy just turned 8 weeks old and got her first lesson on how to stand still. We coaxed her with cheese. She is actually a beautiful cream/champagne color. Flash makes her look white.

I will load a few fun candid shot on the overflow flicker account if I can today.

I need to practice photographing an egg against a dark background but then it wouldn't be running and jumping around like her then. Hmmm.

You know when you press the button half way down to set your camera and it's ready to instant shoot? Yah, well through that technique out here. She's too fast for that too!

I feel like I went hunting an elephant with a BB gun.

I love my pups and am proud to share with you the prize of a "good hunt" success!

Wish her well on finding the perfect home. Don't worry I screen people thoroughly.

Now it's Monday Get back to work!

Jay'me

Happy New Year!

Hi Sere here! I am celebrating the New Years with family right now. We are getting ready to eat and play some games. Hope your New Year is equally blessed.


Olympus Stylus Tough
Aperture F/3.5
Shutter Speed 1/2 sec.
ISO 250
No Flash, Straight out of the camera

My husband and I have been lucky the last couple of days to have spent them skiing and since I am not the best on skies I brought my point and shoot, shockproof, freezeproof camera to the slopes to be on the safe side, instead of my regular DSLR camera. My point and shoot definately has it's place in my world, but not necessarily for taking the best pictures, at least at low lighting conditions. Or I can't figure out how to do it the first time using this camera.

I was trying to show the ambiance of where we were in this shot. The champagne for New Years Eve, the fire in the background for warmth and the snow for our skiing adventure. We were in the "chalet" ski lodge for New Years Eve and the picture was facing outward to the hills. My connection to Brandi's shot was the champagne and/or drink.

Now I am off to enjoy family time! Cheers!