not on automatic

I forced my friend Bethany to let me take pictures of her the other day, without makeup and with no real primping. She was less than thrilled, but let me do it, and several of them turned out very well. She's such a pretty girl and don't you just love those curls?


So, Chickadee, from A Familiar Path is doing a photo series teaching us how to use the different settings on our cameras. This week's challenge was to take photos on any other setting but automatic, so I chose the portrait setting. (We're supposed to say what kind of camera we have: a Nikon D80.) I like the way Bethany is in focus, but the plants behind her are not. If I had used Auto, I think everything would be in focus, but I didn't take shots to test that theory. This was also taken on an overcast day, because it was actually about 12:30 and the sun would have been really drastic at that time of day.


This is my momma. Isn't she beautiful? I mean, come on, that woman is gorgeous! I also used the portrait setting with mom, and I took this picture in her garage, of all places. But it was really sunny overhead and by being in the shade it offered this great light. Love it.

Hope you enjoy these! I am learning how to use my new camera and am loving it. I wondered how I would feel about lugging it around NYC, because it was heavier than your average point and shoot camera. I carried a similar camera around in London and hardly ever hung it around my neck due to the weight, but my solution for NYC was to have Charlie carry the camera and camera bag, and for me to ask for it when I wanted. I carried my purse, with a water bottle. Did you want to know all that? Probably not. But all that to say that I love my new camera and I did carry it a lot, and didn't mind the weight. It just takes such great pictures.

I'm in love with a boy named Nikon. I say Nikon is a boy, because it is. What say you?