Here goes my journal of my journey to be a better photographer today than yesterday.

Boy it's really not as easy as I thought it would be!! There is so much to remember when shooting in manual mode - what F_stop should I use, what ISO, shutter speed, what's the lighting like - do I want to use the flash - and then focus!! ACK!!! I'm really trying to get it down, but I just don't know WHAT to do with F-stops, ISO's and shutter speeds on manual. I know what they do - I just don't know which ones produce great pictures, so I'm like the blind leading the blind here!! I am definitely going to take photography lessons or a class at Saddleback....that's for sure. I really need the help.

This is from the first photo shoot that I took with the camera. It's better than anything the ole Kodak took without needing a single bit of touch up in Photoshop!



This was taken on automatic mode - just getting used to the camera. I love the way it turned out! The colors were warm and inviting and the image was crisp and clear. Not all the shots came out this good - there were quite a few blurry manual shots taken that day! LOL!!

I took this shot of Mike when I was practicing close-ups with the camera. I looked into the viewfinder and focused on the little figures and when I took the picture - a beer and my husband appeared!



I was practicing using the depth of field / aperture settings on manual.

Tomorrow should be fun - we're going to Madison for breakfast and my FIL is letting me use his Zoom lens tomorrow!!

I also wanted to share some absolutely YUMMY goods from my sweet friend Miss Jenn! She's designed a beautiful kit called Pomegranate Street! Here's the preview and if you want to buy it - go to http://www.shabbymissjenndesigns.com and pick it up! It's great!!!!!



And here's a layout I did with it:



These pictures were taken at the Beach trying to find a cool Christmas/Beachy pic. I love the way they turned out - but they weren't the perfect picture for our Christmas card - I'll keep snapping!! :-)