Mommy's Camera

My New Blog!

2009-10-28T10:09:00.004-05:00

Welcome to my new blog, Mommy's Camera! This blog is dedicated to all those Mommys with point & shoot cameras who pretend to be professional photographers :) Ok, to be honest, I started this blog because I'm intimidated with most of the other photography blogs out there. I want to learn more about photography but most of the tutorials are way above my head. Plus, most are written by professional or semi-professional photographers who have great cameras to start with. I wanted something for your AVERAGE mom who doesn't have the money to spend on a nice camera or great photo editing software. Speaking of photo editing software, in this blog I will be using Gimp, not Photoshop or Photoshop Elements! Why? Because Gimp is FREE and your AVERAGE mom can afford it! Suposedly Gimp is pretty good photo editing software for being FREE. So far it's above my head and I'm trying to learn that too :) My camera? An embarrassing, 8 year old, 4 mega pixel, Cannon Powershot A80! (See, I really am your average mom with a P&S camera!)
This blog is a work in progress and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to go about it. Bear with me as we learn together. What are you waiting for? Join me as I get out of the auto mode of my camera and learn to be a better photographer!

A small edit: On July 29, 2010 Hubby surprised me with a new camera--a Canon SX20 IS! Read about the surprise here. Don't worry, it's still a Point and Shoot camera, just a much better one than my A80.

Try Something New Tuesday

2010-09-07T13:35:00.000-05:00

It's the first Tuesday of the month and that means it's Try Something New Tuesday! What does that mean? It means, grab your camera or photo editing software and try something new! Anything new: a new camera setting you've never tried, a new subject you've always wanted to photograph, a new texture in photo editing, anything goes as long as you've never tried it before!

Ok, so to be completely honest, I have not exactly tried something new this past week. Between our State Fair (pictures to come later this week), the Labor Day holiday, and helping Hubby with financial stuff for his company, I haven't had a lot of time to try new things with my camera. In all reality though, everything I'm doing with my camera right now is new since it's a new camera with a ton of new features!
This week I'm determined to get a water drop picture. I've always wanted to try it and now here's my chance! It may take me all week to actually catch a water drop but I'm definitely going to try!

Grab your camera or photo editing software this week, try something new, and link up next Tuesday in the Linky! If you want a little more accountabilty to try something new this week, link up today with a post that says what you are determined to try this week. You can grab the Try Something New Tuesday button on my button page (see Grab My Buttons above) if you want (hint, hint, wink, wink...).

Before and After

2010-09-02T10:30:00.000-05:00

I saw these boots sitting next to the fire truck at our block party and thought they would make an interesting picture to play with.

Before or SOOC...

Edited using Photoscape: 1) Cropped 2) Filter > Film Effect > Cinema High 3) Filter >Antique Photo > 04

Not exactly what I had in mind when I took the picture but it will do.

For more Before & After fun click on the button below:

Just For Fun...

2010-08-25T10:14:00.001-05:00

You know you're a mom when...

this brings a huge smile to your face!

This post inspired by:

and Black and White Wednesday by The Long Road to China Click on the button and link to see more fun!

Sweet Shot Tuesday

2010-08-24T10:25:00.001-05:00

I'm entering Sweet Shot Tuesday again this week because, well, I think this shot is sweet!

Action Mode, f 8, 1/1250, ISO 400

This photo was posted with the permission of my neighbor. We had a block party a few nights ago, complete with a dunk tank. This was the best picture of the party.

I had a hard time deciding which picture to post for Sweet Shot Tuesday because I also got a sweet shot of the moon that same night. See yesterday's post for that shot.

For more sweet shots, click on the button below:

The Moon and a Little Oops

2010-08-23T10:12:00.000-05:00

I've seen some awesome pictures of the moon taken with a Canon SX 20 IS on Flickr. I couldn't wait to take a try at capturing one of those shots. The other night, the moon decided to cooperate with me and I was able to get the photo I wanted:

Can't remember the mode. I think it was either Night or Program AE. f 5.7, 1/400, ISO 400

It's not a perfect shot. I didn't have a tripod so if you look close, it's slightly blurry. It's also just a hair grainy because I used 80x digital zoom. I could try to clean it up with noise reduction and sharpening but I'm a bit too lazy so this a straight out of the camera shot.

Now for my little oops that I just have to vent...My neighborhood had a block party a few nights ago. I took a ton of pictures and was really excited to upload them into my computer and see how they turned out. I plugged in my memory card to my computer and the pictures were all missing! I freaked out! At the advice of a friend, I Googled the problem and discovered that I had forgot to format my memory card when I put it in my camera. Thank God I was able to download a recovery program and get the majority of the pictures off of my card. I did lose a couple of them though. Lesson learned: format your memory card when you put it in your camera for the first time!

Macro Friday--Glass Stones

2010-08-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

These glass stones were sitting on a friend's table just waiting to be photographed...

Program Mode in Super Macro, 1/6, f2.8, ISO 800

Backlight added and white balance adjusted using Photoscape, Color Curves adjusted to make colors pop using Gimp.

For more Macro Friday Fun, click the button below:

At the request of one of my readers, I will now try to put the camera settings and photo editing info with all of my pictures.

Point of View and Angles in Photography

2010-08-19T15:15:00.002-05:00

One of the biggest mistakes that your average mom photographer does when taking pictures is always shooting straight on. Though a straight shot can be good, sometimes changing your point of view or the angle when shooting can make a good photo, great!

Take this fire hydrant for example. The straight on shot is fine but it's just a boring fire hydrant, nothing special.

Add an angle to your shot and now you've got an interesting picture!

Straight on is fine...

But a change in the point of view makes for a cool photo.

A plain mail box...

Becomes an interesting photo.

When changing your point of view, don't forget that it's not always about the big picture...

Sometimes it's the details that make an interesting shot!

Go around your house or yard and take pictures of ordinary things. Change your point of view or angle and make and ordinary subject, interesting! When you've mastered a change in perspective, try it out on your kids...

Sweet Shot Tuesday

2010-08-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I captured my daughter making shadows of herself as sunlight poured through a patio window. I thought it was a pretty cool shot but I really didn't know what to do with it until I stumbled upon a new meme--Sweet Shot Tuesday!

There you have it, my sweet shot of the week! To see more sweet shots, just click on the button below:

Macro Friday--Cookies

2010-08-13T10:03:00.000-05:00

I'm really enjoying macro photography since I got my new camera. I'm also having a ton of fun participating in Macro Fridays!

These guys were sitting on a plate on my kitchen counter waiting for my daughter to eat them. They were also screaming for me to take a macro picture of them. I just had to see if I could capture their texture!

Macro Friday

2010-06-04T13:11:00.001-05:00

Blogging From Bolivia has this new meme called Macro Friday. I missed her first week last week but am excited to participate this week! What a great way to get out of the normal modes on my camera and shoot in macro! I took a bunch of photos this morning but I'm going to save most of them for a post early next week. Here's my favorite from today:

It's my own camera, set on macro mode, taken into a mirror!

If you want to join in the Macro Friday fun, simply head on over to Blogging From Bolivia and link up!

Try Something New Tuesdays--Macro Photography

2010-06-09T01:24:00.006-05:00

Ok, so I'm a week and one day late on the Try Something New Tuesday post. Blame my husband! He had better things for me to do than blog yesterday and last Tuesday (like look for a new computer which we have not bought yet).

If you are new to Try Something New Tuesdays, it's super easy! Simply grab your camera or photo editing software and try something new--anything! Use a different mode on your camera, a photo editing technique you’ve always wanted to try, a new texture you found, or even something as simple as using a different angle while shooting. Anything goes, as long as it’s something new you’ve done this week. “Failures” are welcome! After all, we’re trying something new!

This post I did last Friday inspired me to get out of the normal modes on my camera and start to see my world in macro. For an entire day, I went around and tried to shoot things in macro. I stayed away from flowers and bugs and things like that because that's what everyone uses macro for. I wanted to do something different. Here's some of my favorite shots....

Ok, I have no clue what happened with the editing on this photo! I edited it last night (in the middle of the night) when I got home from work and I must have been half asleep. Something's off...oh well, you get the point of the picture :)

Try Something New Tuesdays will run from the FIRST Tuesday of the month until the second Tuesday of the month (except this month because I'm a week late). You can join in at any time during the week. Grab the button up top to link back to my blog then link your blog up in the MckLinky below.

Macro Friday--A Lesson on Bees

2010-08-06T11:18:00.003-05:00

I'm excited to join Macro Friday this week and give you a lesson on "bees" all in one! We've got these tree/bushes outside our front door. I have no idea what they are, but they attract all kinds of bees, flies, butterflies, and other flying insects. I grabbed my camera and began to shoot whatever would sit still long enough for me to grab a quick macro shot.

***The photo below is my official Macro Friday photo. The rest are just for fun :)***

When reviewing my photos, I realized that I took pictures of 5 different kinds of "bees"! Me being the curious type (and because of my friend Lindsi's suggestion) I looked up what they were. In doing so, I learned that not all "bees" are bees!

The above is in fact, not a bee at all! It's a Syrphid Fly (otherwise known as a Hover Fly). They mimic wasp coloring to ward off preditors. These are good guys--their larve eat pest insects such as aphids.

Next is your typical honey bee. Mmmm...is there fresh honey somewhere near my house?!?

Then we have the Bald Faced Hornet. It's a close relative of the wasp (see below). These guys are mean. They will sting you repeatedly when trying to defend their nest.

Yep, above is a Bumblebee. There are tons of different kinds of Bumblebees. This one is a Common Eastern Bumblebee. It is only fuzzy on it's top half.

Last is a Yellow Jacket. Contrary to popular mistake, these are not bees. They are wasps. Closely related to the hornet above, these guys are agressive too. They often build their nests underground and are the "bees" that sting you when you mow your lawn.

There you have it, Macro Friday and a lesson on "bees" all in one!

Blurring a Photo Background-Bokeh-Using Gimp Free Software

2010-08-12T11:40:00.001-05:00

In this tutorial I will be teaching you how to blur a photo background, or create bokeh, using Gimp free photo editing software. As most of you know, getting bokeh straight out of the camera with a point and shoot is super hard. Fortunately, creating bokeh with Gimp is super easy!

1) Open your photo with Gimp. Duh!

2) Use the Free Select tool to outline the area you want to keep in focus.

3) File > Copy Visible

4) Layer > New Layer

5) Edit > Paste, Then click on the image to anchor it.

6) Click on the eyeball next to your new layer to turn it off (A) then make sure your background layer is highlighted in gray (B). Then go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur. If you can't see your layer box click on CTRL + L and it should pop up.

7) Make sure your Blur Radius is no less than 30. In this tutorial I used 50. The higher the number, the more blur you get. It's really just a personal preference.

8) Once the photo has been blurred, turn on your new layer by clicking on the place where the eyeball should be (A). Your in focus part should now be on top. Go to Image > Flatten Image (B) and you're done!

Super easy huh! The only (small) downfall is that you get a slight halo around your in focus area. As hard as I tried, I couldn't figure out a way to get rid of it.

If you are a bit picky like me and you have some sharp edges between your in focus area and your out of focus area you can use the Blur tool to help:

Just make sure you have "Blur" clicked and your radius is all the way up to 100.

One of these days, I'll make a tutorial on how to select fine, small areas of photos such as hair. That way you won't have the problem above :)

There you have it! You can have bokeh with a point and shoot camera, you just have to do it with your photo editing software :)

Just Having Fun!

2010-08-04T21:49:00.000-05:00

Here's some random pictures from the last couple days of playing with my new camera...

Wow! Do I have a lot to learn!

I was just getting into all the cool things my old camera could do...

and now I've got a ton more cool things!

Crazy all the new technology over the past 6-8 years!

When am I going to find the time to learn this camera???

Play, play, play...

experiment, experiment, experiment...

omg, omg, OMG!!!

2010-07-29T21:55:00.001-05:00

Hubby came home from work today with a big smile and a present bag for me. He told me that he appreciated all the work I've put into helping him start his company and trying to teach him how to use his new computer. He's been spending a lot of money on things for his company and he knows that I feel left out. Guess what was in the bag???...

Have you guessed yet???...

Not yet?...

A NEW CAMERA!!!!!!

Here's my new camera vs my old camera. My new camera is still a point and shoot. It's a Super Zoom camera, the Canon SX20 IS. I didn't want a DSLR for reasons I state here. My old camera is a 6-8 year old (I can't remember exactly) Canon A80. When I first bought my old camera, it was one of the best in it's class. Obviously after so long, it is quite outdated.

New vs Old...

The picture on the left was taken with my new camera, the one on the right with my old camera. Notice the clarity in my new camera! No matter how many shots I took with my old camera, I couldn't get the clarity of my new camera! (click on the pictures to enlarge them)

The picture on the left was 1/2 the optical zoom of my new camera, the one on the right is full optical zoom of my old camera! Again, look at the clarity!

The picture on the left is full optical zoom on my new camera, the one on the right is full digital zoom on my old camera. To see the difference between optical and digital zoom click here.

Unfortunately, that's about all the playing I got to do. I had a bunch of stuff to do this evening. I'm only mad at my Hubby for one reason:
He brough home my new camera on a night that I had stuff to do and on a weekend that I work 12 hour shifts Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I don't get to play with my new camera!!

Self Timer Pictures

2010-07-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

This was supose to be my post yesterday. That was before I got my new camera. I figured I should post these quick before I get caught up playing with my new camera and forget that my old camera did take some pretty good pictures.

Just for fun on Thursday I decided to take get out my tripod, set the camera to self timer, and take some pictures of me and the girls together. I don't really have any recent pictures of us. Hubby never takes them so it's up to me to do them by myself. Even when Hubby does (on a very rare occasion) try to take pictures, he doesn't really know how. Remember these?) Here's the best three of my self timer photo shoot:

A little creative cropping and slight color correction...these aren't half bad! They'll definitely add to the limited collection of pictures I have with my girls.

4 Years Ago

2010-07-28T12:42:00.000-05:00

Four years ago...

Now...

Time really does fly..

Happy Birthday Nutty Buddy!

Histograms in Photography

2010-01-04T21:31:00.002-06:00

Did you know that what you see in your viewfinder or on your LCD screen may not be what your camera sees as far as light goes? That's where your camera's histogram comes into play! From what I've seen and read, histograms are largely under-used. So what is a histogram and why do I need to use it?

In simple, mommy terms, a histogram acts like a light meter and allows you to see how the camera sees the exposure of your image.

The further to the left your graph is, the darker your picture will be. The further to the right your graph is, the brighter your picture will be. An ideal exposure has a graph that is centered in the middle. One good thing to know is that when your graph touches one edge or the other, you are loosing data and your photo editing software won't be able to fix it. Try to avoid a high point close to or touching one edge or the other.

Why do we even care about histograms? Here's a prime example:

I took this picture of Nutty on a really sunny day. I could see her perfectly on my LCD screen but the camera saw more light than I did. The picture is obviously overexposed. Looking at my histogram you would have seen a large amount of my graph to the right with a high spike touching the edge.

As hard as I tried to fix the exposure with my photo editing software, some data was lost for good. If I had looked at my histogram that day I would have known the camera saw more light than I did and I could have adjusted the exposure on my camera to compensate. Histograms are also a good tool if you want to purposefully overexpose or underexpose a photo for an artistic effect.
Please keep in mind however that this is a basic tutorial and it is not always ideal to have your histogram graph in the middle. When shooting lights at night your histogram will automatically shift to the left because it is dark outside. When shooting a sun flare your histogram will automatically shift right because of the bright sun. Remember to keep those things in mind when adjusting your exposure based on your histogram.

Have you ever used a histogram to verify exposure for your photos?

Exposure Compensation

2010-07-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

Exposure compensation tells your camera to override the exposure it sees and allows you to quickly under or over expose a photo. Why would you want to do that? Here's a few reasons:

1) Your camera tends to over or under expose photos in general. If you think your pictures are always a little to bright or a little to dark, you may want to change your exposure compensation by a notch or two.

2) The majority of your photo is brighter or darker than your subject. Another way of stating this is backlit or spotlighted subjects. Your camera takes a general meter of light and exposure based on the majority of the scene. If your subject is brighter or darker than the overall scene, your camera could easily over or under expose your subject.

(I ended up over exposing the background of the second photo just a little too much)

3) A scenic photo with a bright sky over dark land. Because of the contrast, the majority of the time your camera will properly expose the land but the sky will appear white or washed out.

(You'd see more of a contrast if I had gotten more of the sky in the photos)

4) Snow scenes. Snow is white and highly reflective therefore it tends to get over exposed by cameras. Even if you manage to get a scene that's not overly exposed, it may turn out grey instead of white. (More explaination on that below.)

5) Light on light or dark on dark photos. Examples would be shooting a pale yellow flower against a white background or a black cat sitting on a dark blue sofa. Your tones may end up to be on the grey side vs true white/black. (Read on...)

(Sorry for the bad example but it's the only thing I could find in the middle of the night)

Cameras meter the light of the overall scene and try to expose it to a middle grey tone. Huh? Grey is half-way between black and white. In the spectrum of all the colors, grey is in the middle, therefore it's the color your camera uses as a basis for optimal light or exposure. In the candle photo above, the candle without compensation appears grey because the camera exposed the photo to a middle grey instead of white. Exposure compensation takes away some of that grey tone by telling the camera to over expose the photo. Ever had a beautiful snow scene that turned out grey instead of white? That's why.

Having trouble trying to figure out how much exposure compensation to use? Use your histogram! Don't know what a histogram is? Read my histogram tutorial!

In a nutshell, use positive exposure compensation for:

backlit subjects
bright scenes
highly reflective subjects
sky scenes

Use negative exposure compensation for:

spot lighted subjects
subjects against a dark background
low reflective subjects
green or dark foliage scenes

On the other side of the crib again

2010-07-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember my post back in January about spending two days in the hospital with Tottie. Yesterday, I was back on the opposite side of the crib again. This time, thank God, it was only for a half day.

(Above photo taken in the pre-op room)

Tottie had to have an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy because of some bowel issues she's been having. Though it was done at the hospital I work at, with doctors, anesthetists, and nurses that I work with on a near daily basis, it is definitely more difficult when it is your own child and you are on the opposite side of the crib.

I was allowed to go into the operating room with Tottie and held her while they put her to sleep using a mask. Watching your own child's eyes roll back as they fall asleep is heartbreaking! I cried as I left her in the hands of people I trust with my child's life 100%. It was a little comforting that I personally knew everyone in operating the room.

In the hall on the way to the surgical waiting room I ran into my friend Timmy. She works in the PACU (recovery room) and told me she would keep an eye out for Tottie. As it turns out, Tottie ended up to be Timmy's patient! How great to have Tottie wake up in the arms of a good friend of mine!

All went well, and we were in and out in 4.5 hours. Tottie slept most of the rest of the day. As far as results or anwers go, we don't really have any yet. We have to wait for the biposies and lab work to come back before we get definite (or indefinite) answers. We do however, have some hope that we may have a solution to bowel issues that have been troubling Tottie since essentially birth.

A Little Tug-O-War

2010-07-13T10:16:00.001-05:00

The guys in our neighborhood participated in a Tug-O-War this weekend for our city's celebration days.

And though the guys tried their hardest...

they still lost miserably. (Hubby in the grey) You see, they were only 1 of 2 novice groups in the competition so they had to compete against the "professionals" for a couple of rounds.

I guess there is a Tug-O-War club of America or something like that. They travel all over the world competing in Tug-O-War contests!
Our neighborhood guys...

vs the professionals...notice the boots.

This is why we lost miserably. It's all in the boots! Steel plated so you can dig into the ground and not move.
There you have it...a little lesson in Tug-O-War.

On a side note, I will be doing a lesson in exposure compensation soon because my pictures from this day needed a little work in that area! A bright background vs a dark foreground makes for a difficult time getting the exposure correct!

No Camera, No Internet

2010-07-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

It all started last Wednesday when this little ~~stinker pot~~ innocent child

stole the memory card from my camera and hit it somewhere in the house. I was without my camera for almost an entire week! The worst part was that I missed 4th of July pictures! My Mother-in-Law found the memory card by accident in the corner under Nutty's bed on Monday morning. Yahoo! Time to take some pictures for another blog post!
Yeah....our internet modem fried itself on Monday afternoon. It took until just now for our internet company to replace it. I went almost 3 whole days without real internet! Sure, I was able to connect via my phone but I can't do much on my phone.
I'm now fully back online but I have to work this evening, the kids need lunch, and the house needs cleaning....

4 year old gives 20 mo old first haircut!

2010-06-30T11:07:00.000-05:00

"Mommy aren't we pretty?" Those are the words I heard before I burst into tears...

I was getting ready for work on Monday while the girls played quietly in the play room. Not unusual for them to be quiet. It means they are coloring. At least, that's what it usually means. This time was different...

"Mommy aren't we pretty?"
"What?" I said, not really paying attention.
"Aren't we pretty?"
I turned around and again asked, "what?" as it hadn't quite hit me yet. Before Nutty could answer again, it hit. Nutty had cut her and Tottie's hair!!! Not only had Nutty cut Tottie's hair, Nutty gave Tottie her very first haircut!

This is the best before picture I could find. After all, I wasn't expecting the girls to get a haircut or for Tottie to have her very first haircut.

Neither girl has bangs in the before picture...

Now they've got bangs! (I ended up taking these pictures on Tuesday morning because Hubby had the camera with him and I had to leave for work.)

I walked into the play room and discovered this pile of hair!
"OMG Nutty! What did you do???"
I burst into tears. Partly because I was so angry and partly because I was heartbroken that Nutty gave Tottie her first haircut and not me. I cried, I yelled, I took Nutty's scissors away ~~for life~~, I yelled some more, I cried some more, I sent Nutty to her room...
After a night to calm down and everyone at work telling me it really is funny, I woke and took the girls to the hair salon to fix what Nutty had done.

Not too bad I guess...
Since this was Tottie's first haircut, I took a bunch of pictures of her. She was such a big girl and did GREAT!

A little nervous...

Not so bad...

She's cutting the front!...

Such a big girl!

This last picture was taken into the mirror so It's not the greatest but I think it's super cool because you can see Nutty in the background!

Mom N Me Monday--or Not...

2010-06-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

I was all excited. I didn't put this photo in Friday's post because I was reserving it for the Mom N Me Monday meme by The Peanut Gallery, Exit Here. I went to her blog to link up, and low and behold, last week was the last week for the meme! She's taking the summer off! Good for her, bummer for me. Oh, well, here's my Mom N Me Monday--or Not...picture:

For more pictures from this day, read Mine Vs. His from Friday.