March 27, 2012

I am HandiCapable!

My eye disease, my handicap makes taking pictures harder for me but I will never let that stop me from doing what I love to do.

However I do get a little discouraged because I know that if I could see better than I could set the controls my camera which would make it easier to get the pictures that I am trying to get. I am very lucky to have my boyfriend Justin in my life. He will help me in low light situations and set my camera for me. Thanks Justin!

Right now I leave my camera on automatic with no flash. I take many pictures at once and then sort through them when I download them to my computer. It is usually over 1,000 pictures every time.

Sometimes it can also be  disappointing because I had thought certain pictures were clear when I took them and they seemed clear on my camera screen but they weren't. It is kinda like destroying a picture you really liked. There is only so much I can do in Photo shop to make a picture look clearer and sometimes I just have to let them go. And oh boy that gets hard for me sometimes.

Although it can be frustrating, the happiness I feel from getting the pictures that I wanted over rules all of that frustration. If you have good eye sight then I think that you should cherish it but if you do not, still cherish it. I cherish the fact that I can take pictures and can look at them afterwards. I may not be able to see the small details or the clarity as well as most but I can still see what I was trying to capture.

I would like to be open about my condition and to become more confident in my skills. But to also realize that somethings are going to be frustrating and that is OK. I have to focus on the positive, happy aspects of things in order to achieve my dreams. So I am happy to have my eyes the way they are because If I didn't, I would not be where I am today, happy.

The grass doesn't always have to be greener on the other side. It can be  the perfect shade for you if you make it be.


January 19, 2012

Creative Captions

Some of my favorite pictures are the ones that tell a story. I love how facial expressions can show a mood, the way clothes display personality and how a background shares where someone has been. Adding a creative caption can be a fun and easy way to say something in your photos.


There is a small animal sanctuary not to far away from where we live that my family and I love to visit. It is an enchanting place where the animals can roam along side you. There are also small barns that the sheep and other barn yard animals call home. Visitors can walk right up to these barns and take a look in. One day I looked into one and there stood a sheep staring at me from behind an old wooden wall. It seemed shy but still very interested in me as I was them, so I took its photograph. In the picture you can only see only half of there face from behind the wall almost like they are peeping out at you. That sheep was being bashful that day so I added the caption, Baaashful.

My daughter Lily likes to get into things that she is not supposed to sometimes like our computer paper drawer. I don't know why but she has a great time pulling paper out of it and throwing in on the floor. I took a picture of her one day as I caught her in the act. I later added a caption to the piece of paper that she was holding in the photo that read, "Dear Lily, Please stay out of this drawer. Love, Mommy". I centered the script so it would look like the text was already written on the paper. I think that her shocked expression shows that Lily knew that she was doing something wrong. How is it that a kid can look so adorable doing something that they are not suppose to be?

My family and I travel into Boston occasionally and I love to look at the city from out of our cars window. I especially love the night time there because it is lit up like a Christmas tree. I like to set my camera on the window sill with the window rolled down and take pictures. I took a picture of myself one day looking in the side mirror. You can see me and my camera in the photo. I added the caption, “Drive by Shooting” to it.


This brings me to my last picture idea. I absolutely love my camera. I had used a small point and shoot camera my entire life until a little over a year ago. I purchased my Nikon D9 and I love the performance of it. I also think that it is the best camera I could have chosen that makes it possible for me to get clear pictures even with my eye condition. I took a picture of myself with my beloved camera in my bathroom mirror as I pointed at the strap that said Nikon on it. I later added the Caption, “I Love My”. Under that text you can see me pointing at the Nikon logo.

I love my Nikon D90!

If you are not sure as to how to add scrip to your photos there are some great FREE photo editing programs out there. Picasa is a good one to look into but if you’re willing to invest money on a better quality photo editor I would suggest looking into Photoshop.