Thursday, January 6, 2011

Project 2011

Did you see it? Well, did you? That badge to the left. No, not that one, the other one. My bloggy friend Cate, from Moments of Whimsey, has started a fun new blog-hop. Do you have any goals for the new year or resolutions? Would you like support in accomplishing them or staying on track? That's what this blog-hop is about. Click the badge and head over to check out the details.

If you'd like to see the Royal Goals, click here!

I have been taking a lot of pictures and I have to say that I am pretty pleased. And I love, love, love Picnik!!! Still, I have a lot to learn. One of the things I wanted to learn was how to do a bokeh effect. The aperture on my camera won't go below 2.8 so I have not been able to accomplish that. :( Cate, do you have any suggestions?

My favorite photo so far...

Cate suggested the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone. I got it and love the effects! My favorite shot from that so far is this (also edited in Picnik):


Princess and I have yet to start sewing, but it will come. First, I need new glasses (arriving in about 2 weeks).

What are your goals? Why don't you join us for Project 2011??? We'd love to have you!!!

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6 comments:

  1. AlicesonJanuary 6, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    f2.8 should give you some good bokeh. Just make sure that your subject is far enough away from the background you want to blur out. Also make sure the flash is off. Outdoor is the best place to get some great bokeh because most times, the background goes on forever. Also if you have a zoom lens or a zoom feature on your camera that may help too. Basically, you want to isolate your subject as much as possible while looking through the camera.

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  2. SheriJanuary 6, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    I don't know anything about photography but I do know a gorgeous picture when I see one and think both of these are awesome.

    Congratulations on getting started. As far as the sewing goes, I have no doubt you'll pick it up in no time. If you can knit, you can sew...different mediums but mostly the same principle.

    :D

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  3. CateJanuary 6, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    Aliceson has summed it all up well Shady. You can still get bokeh with 2.8 - just get a reasonable distance between the subject and whatever is creating the bokeh effect (if you still have Christmas lights around or candles, these work well.) If shooting at night though, you'll need the flash off and to brace yourself or use a tripod.

    Yay to a great first week of 2011!

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  4. Shady LadyJanuary 6, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    You ladies all rock! Aliceson and Cate, thank you for the bokeh guidance. I wish I had seen this before heading out for the day. I can't wait to give it a go. We had a long day and I woke up WAY too early for some bizarre reason. I'm beat.

    I have a weird question though. How many candles would one need for a good effect?

    Sheri, I'm excited to get started sewing with Princess!! Soon...very soon!

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  5. AlicesonJanuary 7, 2011 at 4:35 AM

    As many as you want, I guess. X-mas trees work really well for this since there are so many lights in one area. In any case, the candles should be about 10-15 ft. behind your subject, flash off, aperture wide open (low f#), focus on the subject.

    For these photos http://sweetfeetphoto.blogspot.com/2010/12/n-family.html I used my 35mm lens, set the ISO to 800 (I was indoors not using the flash therefore the higher ISO), exposed for 1/160 second at f/1.8.

    Most important is to keep your f# as low as possible and tight focus on your subject.

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  6. Shady LadyJanuary 7, 2011 at 4:12 PM

    Wow! Thank you Aliceson!!! I will try setting mine similar to that. I wish I could get my aperture lower than 2.8... :/

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