Photography Class, Assignment 1

In the first class, we discussed why we were in the class. My main reason for taking the class is to learn how to use my camera fully. I can easily turn it on and use it as an "instamatic". I want to understand words such as "f-stop", "aperture", "balance", etc. The first assingment was to bring in a few pictures that we had taken in the past year. Here's the ones that I shared:


Phoebe was on my lap for this picture. I like how her eyes match the bed spread. We discussed that there was a lot of yellow in the picture. It is probably due to the lower light in the room. I would not want to use a flash to brighten up though as that would have caused her eyes to look weird.

I'm very proud of this picture. MTH and I were walking around Belfast when I saw this interesting juxtaposition. Here were these "new" colorful abstract art pieces in front of the "old" cathedral. But, the cathedral looks much better than the pieces of newer art. The cathedral is clean whereas the art is rusty and dirty. Plus, I was able to fram the cathedral with the art pieces.

In the first class, we had discussed how a lot of times we take "touristy" pictures. Put people in the middle of the frame and have the big castle in the back ground. I wanted to share a picture that we had taken where there an action taking place but that also captured the fact that we were in a different place.

As you can tell by now, I cherry picked the pictures that I shared with the class. I really like this one as well. It's the tower at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland from afar. I like the dots of yellow from the wildflowers that are interspersed in the grass. Also, although there is a huge amount of sky above the tower, I like the clearness of the sky by the noisiness of the grass.

This picture is the only one from my old camera. I took this one from ETK's window. We were watching the Georgia Half Marathon and for some reason, i thought it would be interesting to take a picture looking down. It worked. I like the shadows on the asphalt. The only downside is that this picture would have been so much better with my new camera!

This picture was my try at some abstract art. It is the ceiling in the City Hall of Belfast. I think that the symmetry could be better but MTH was waiting on me when I took the picture.

Finally, furniture for the front room

MTH and I bought some furniture for the front room. It will be delivered on Friday. We also bought another interesting piece for the dining room but I don't have a link for it. The only real item left on the list is a dining room table. We have two possibilities but we're still not sure. We need to make up our mind though to ensure we can it in time for Thanksgiving. Here's what we got:

Butler Ottoman

Club Chair

Rug

MTH saw these sculptures and really wanted to bring them home for the backyard. I think they would be as tall as the electric wires back there.

Dinosaur

Giraffe

Ireland, Day 1

Land in Dublin almost on time.
Head to the car hire counter (i.e. car rental)
Wait in line behind one person for 20 minutes - customer service is not their thing
Finally get car and head to Belfast on the motorway
Decide to stop to see the high crosses in Monasterboice

Make first mistake driving when we leave - drive on the wrong side of the road but no one was coming
Make no more stops on the way to Belfast as jetlag is setting in quickly
Realize as we get closer to Belfast that we only have a map and the address for the hotel, no actual directions
Amazingly, we only miss the street once for the hotel - Belfast is not really that big
Check in to the hotel and head for lunch in the hotel restaurant

MTH ate firecracker chicken (i.e. fried chicken)
Finally, time for our nap - we only slept for 3 hours
Drank a cask beer at The Crown

Took pictures of the Europa Hotel - the most bombed hotel in all of Europe, a church that's also a mall and the Grand Opera House



Asked a local where we should eat - He recommended Irene and Nan's - It turned out to be quite good
Remember to multiply everything on the menu by 2 in order to calculate the real price!
Make a reservation at a fancy restaurant, Deane's, for Day 2
Try to stay out late but it just doesn't happen due to sleep winning

Ireland, Prologue

MTH and I went to Ireland from 8/27-9/3. We had a great time and took 350 pictures with the new camera. I promise I will not share 350 pictures with you but will instead be writing up blog entries by day. I hope you enjoy my updates almost as much as we enjoyed the trip :)

The flight over was uneventful although we did enjoy our business class seats. We used points to upgrade. It made sleeping on the way over much easier. That way I was able to be as rested as possible for my driving.

Phoebe, The Empress of The Fan

I am currently sitting on the bed trying to update my blog. Phoebe is sitting on my lap but also across my arm. Typing is not quite as easy as normal. Somehow, she is the most independent needy cat I've ever known. When we returned home from our 1 1/2 week vacation, I thought she was going to turn herself inside out trying to be close to me. This behavior lasted for a week. Then, she was off to herself again. Now, a few days later, I guess she has missed me just long enough. It really keeps me from getting things done around the house but I have to take advantage of the times that she wants to "hang out".

Miracles Do Happen

MTH got home before me. You may not understand how earth shattering that event is. During the time that we lived together and have been married, I could probably count on my fingers the number of times MTH has beat me home.