Friday, January 31, 2014

S'more Fun

Who doesn't love warm gooey marshmallows topped with melted chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers? Since it's been rather chilly out lately, we decided to host a get together and enjoy s'mores around our fire pit.
I took more pictures of us, but those didn't turn out too good. Night photography is something I need to work on. What do you like to do when it's chilly out?

Friday, January 24, 2014

Photo Friday

As you know, I recently got a new camera. One of my many new years resolutions was to learn more about my camera/photography by doing a 365 photo challenge. It's basically where you take a photo a day for an entire year. Sounds simple right? Well, we're only 24 days in, and I'm already falling behind. (I don't know why I continue to make unrealistic goals that I can't keep...I just keep setting myself up for failure, yet I continue to do it.) My problem is that most days I leave before the sun comes up and come home after it's gone down. It's kinda hard to take pics without any light and there is only so much I find interesting inside my own house in the evening. So while I haven't given up on my new years resolution completely, I have accepted that it won't be perfect. It's time for a revision. There are going to just be days that don't get photographed. I'm still going to make an effort to take at lease one photo a day, but at very least, I will take quality photos once a week. I will be sharing some of my favorite pics from the week every Friday. I will be linking up at This Analog Adventure for Photography Friday and Serendipity is Sweet's Friday Photo Journal if you'd like to join in the fun.


This past weekend we planned a trip to see the manatee. In the winter especially, manatee congregate near our local power plant to swim in the warm water the power plant emits. Long ago the power plant build a barrier to keep their warm water from killing the surrounding mangroves. The water still leads to the open ocean, but the barrier keeps it from destroying the coastline. Once the manatee caught wind of this warm water pool, they made themselves at home and have been frolicking in the warm water ever since. You can see below that the water was a toasty 71 degrees in January.
Once the power plant noticed the manatee had made themselves at home in their water, they build a long pier, so that visitors could enjoy the manatee and other wild life. The best part about it is that it's free.
 I don't have a lens with a good zoom, so I couldn't get any good pictures of the manatee, but we saw TONS of them. We also saw fish, sharks and pelicans (my favorite bird). I guess everybody love the warm water.
Can you tell what my "signature" shot is?
I didn't even know I had a signature shot until I put these pictures on the computer and realized that I have tons of the same (a portrait with the subject in the left third of the frame). I will make a conscious effort to try something new next time.

Do you have a signature shot? Have you done anything that's free and fun lately?
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Saturday, January 4, 2014

My New Camera!!!

I cannot explain how surprised I was when I opened THIS Christmas morning. Mr. Wonderful is so good to me. I didn't have much of a Christmas this year. Most of what I wanted was for the house. I definitely did not put a DSLR camera on my list because they are quite pricy and we're on a tight budget. Mr. Wonderful knows me so well though. I have been spending the last few months learning about photo composition and techniques as well as getting to know my point and shoot a little better. I'd mentioned that once I got better I'd like to invest in a DSLR. So guess what he did?? He saved up little by little so he cold get me one. He's also been encouraging me take more pictures and learn about my camera. He truly is the best!