Inspirational Photography...or Something

So Friday's post featured some of my first attempts at photography, and a very nice woman told me that one of those pictures had served as inspiration for her NaNoWriMo novel. I'm so proud, and I'm preparing what I'm going to say to the newspapers when she wins a nationwide literary prize someday and names me as her inspiration. Feel free to go check it out. I'll wait.


Now that you're back, let me tell you about yesterday's excursion. It had been our intention to go visit the Knight's Ferry covered bridge so that I could take pictures. The Hillbilly indulges me like that. Unfortunately, we didn't know that today was the annual Knights Ferry Salmon Festival. You neither, huh? So when we arrived the streets and park were full of people doing festival-type things. This was not the type of picture I had anticipated taking, so we moved on.

We drove up the road a piece and found a quiet little park along the river. There I practiced working with my camera. Below are a few of my favorites. Interestingly enough, most of them are of The Hillbilly. He usually smiles. I told him to look serious. I think it was hard for him.

So, help me think of captions for them and leave me a comment with your ideas. Or, let me know if you're inspired to write anything for your NaNo Novel. You know, if you're writing about a rugged, manly man. Or a hillbilly.

Hillbilly #1

Hillbilly #2

Hillbilly #3

Hillbilly #4

River

Flower

I had to add this one because it's too weird not seeing him smile.

How I Started Blogging

So here we are on day 5 of NaBloPoMo. I'm glad you're sticking with me here. A lot of you are commenting over on Facebook, and I appreciate it. It's really encouraging to know you're out there. So how did we all get here, anyway? Let's go back in time a couple months, July to be exact.

On July 21, my daughter started blogging at www.nearnormalcy.com. You can read that very first blog post here. I'm not really sure why she started blogging. I'm not sure she ever said. But she looked like she was having fun, and I really enjoyed reading what she was posting. Pretty soon, I discovered that I really liked commenting on her posts.

I enjoyed writing comments so much it made me think about maybe sort of considering the possibility of writing my own blog. But let's be honest here. The deciding factor was when I found out that some people make money this way. Not that I expected to get rich quick (or even ever) by writing a blog, but it seemed like one more stream of income I can add to my retirement fund. I'm also looking into other writing and editing opportunities.

Retirement! I've looked at the numbers. I can retire in 3 years....if I learn to like cat food. If I want to get my full benefit, I've got to stick around for about 10 more years. That's 10. TEN!  My one-year-old grandson could conceivably be in my class someday. Now that ain't right! Something has to be done.

Now, don't misunderstand me. It's not the teaching itself that I want to get away from. Nor is it the insane adolescent shenanigans; I actually kind of like that part. No, it's jumping through the hoops and keeping up with The Swinging Pendulum of Pedagogy. (Like that? I made it up myself.)

So I did what I always do when I want to start something new; I got a book (Blogging All-in-One For Dummies). Because, as we all know, reading about doing something is just as good as actually doing something. Right?

::crickets chirping::

Ummm....okay. Sooo...Anyway, that's about it. My Darling Daughter gave me a little push, and she's been mentoring me right along. She's my biggest fan, which is fair since I'm hers too. She does a really good job of pushing my blog on all her Twitter friends.

You know, she's a good kid. Maybe I should forget about funding my retirement and just move in with her. Yeah. There's something to consider.

My Little Photography Habit

As I mention on my "About Me" page, I'm trying to learn a little about photography. I've got a nice, entry-level DSLR (Canon EOS Rebel T3), some books, Photoshop Elements, and a subscription to Popular Photography. I have talented friends who are willing to help me. One of the things that seems to be lacking is time to get out of the house and take pictures, but once in a while I get out there.

Here are the books I'm using to help me in my endeavors:
Understanding Exposure
Better Photo Basics
Digital Photography Workbook for Dummies
Photoshop Elements Digital Classroom
        
I enjoy taking pictures of nature and children. I'm not very good at photographing children because it's hard to get them to hold still while I'm adjusting my aperture, shutter speed, white balance, etc. I thought I had a solution to the problem, but as it turns out, tranquilized children don't look really good in pictures. I'll keep working on it.

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite shots.

 All of these were taken in June with a borrowed Nikon D200

One of my first efforts. Good model, but I was still trying to figure out blurring the background.

Taken the same day. Cute model. 

The Grand Tetons

Peek-a-boo!

This makes me want to write a story. What story would you write?

The Farmer's Daughters

Missouri---Swinging Bridge

 Well, that's where I started. I'll share more at a later date. When I think you've sufficiently recovered from these. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Just try to break it to me gently.

(Full Disclosure:The books in this post are books I use and recommend. Clicking on the books will take you to Amazon where you can find more information. If you were inclined to buy one of them, I would receive a small contribution to my retirement account. That fact does not influence my recommendation.)