Long Arm Dam - Round Two

This past Sunday, we again took Banjo for a walk at Long Arm Dam, but this time we walked a different part.  The wildlife was a little different as well as the flowers..
    So here are some pictures I came up with - enjoy! 

Long Arm Dam

 Sunday afternoon my dad and I took Banjo for a walk at a place called Long Arm Dam.  It was a nice place to walk with water for Banjo to get into, new doggy friends to meet, and plenty of things for me to take pictures of!      
                         Enjoy!!

Dogwood blossoms and weeds...

  Yesterday I saw that the wild dogwood trees at the edge of our yard had opened, so I quickly ran inside and grabbed my camera.    
Here's what I came up with (along with a few nice looking weeds!!)...

Spring!!!!

I'd have to say Spring and Summer are probably my favorite times of the year to take pictures, and I am soooo looking forward to taking pictures this year with my new camera!!!

     Here are some early flower pics I have gotten so far....

Morning has Broken...

  Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust;
 Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.
                                                                      Psalms 143:8

Almost every morning around seven, I take Banjo for a walk around our yard
(I know that may sound strange, but hey!) and most of the time that's when the
sun rises at our house.  Being outside at that time of day, no matter what time of
the year it is, I always find the air and early bird's singing refreshing, especially
when there is a breathtaking sunrise happening.  I was able to capture a few of
them with my camera!!!  
                                                  Enjoy! :)

Auto Focus vs. Manual Focus

Ever since I got my new camera, I've been reading the manual, fooling with the settings, and reading the manual some more.....  I just recently got books from the library, two of which have been really helpful so far: 

The Magic of Digital Nature Photography  by: Rob Sheppard, and

 Digital Flower Photography by Sue Bishop                         

Okay, so you maybe asking yourself "what does this have to do with the title 'Auto Focus vs. Manual Focus'?"  

Well, the answer is rather simple, after reading these books, I have become better acquainted with my different camera settings. (though I still have plenty to learn!)  Which of course includes my auto and manual focus settings.....

Below are two pictures I took at the same place. The first was taken using auto focus and the second was taken using manual focus.        

                            Though the auto focus focused on the sun and trees more than the snow,
                 I preferred using manual focus to focus the snow and leave the trees and sun blurred.

Okay, so the pros and cons of each.  

In my short experience in both my reading and usage of both focuses, I have found that the pros of auto focus are:

• It's usually easiest to snap quick pictures with.                                                                                    
• It often focuses the right things in the picture.                                                                                      

I have found that the cons of auto focus are:

• On close up objects it is often hard to focus on the right thing.                                                             
• It can feel like you're fighting with your camera, when you see the image that was blurry get sharp, then blurry again, with the camera's attempt to focus the picture for you.                                                   

The pros of Manual Focus in my experience are:

• It's easier to focus on close up objects.                                                                                              
• You can have some fun with what you want focused in the picture and what you want blurred.            

The cons:

• The picture can still turn out blurry if the focus isn't quite right.                                                            

I don't think that there is any right answer for which focus you should use when taking pictures, but it's always good to be looking for ways to be improving your picture taking in the ways you think it needs improved.

Well, anyway, that's my advice.  Do you have a preference in which type of focus you use?

I hope this post was helpful, especially if you're like me and still learning how to use your camera settings. : P 

Snow!!!!!!

About a week ago, we got almost three feet of snow!!  I had some fun trekking through the yard and taking pictures of random snow covered areas.  Here's what I came up with.....

 (Poor Banjo had to hop through the deep snow, unless there was a path we had shoveled for him or he followed behind in our tracks...)

 These two pictures (right and below), I took of my brother's bike

It's amazing how much this picture of snow looks like white sand up close....