Practice makes perfect–I hope soon!

Does practice make perfect? Well, I practice and I’m far from perfect, but I know I have to keep it up. Last week was so busy I didn’t have a chance to take my camera out. I felt like life had been cheating me of my passion. Yes, I’ve gotten that attached to this hobby. But, practice chances are where you make them.

I’ve been in San Jose, California for some R&R and to celebrate my dear friends’ birthdays. As part of my R&R, I took my D7100 and 50 mm lens out for practice, shooting on manual. First I walked around the area where my friends live, and the next day, I walked a nearby lake/park.

How did the practice go? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure. Of course, I’m more critical of my abilities than someone else would be. This prime 50 mm lens is fast, and I guess I’m not used to having a fast lens that lets in more light. My struggle during these last two days was with the exposure. I did work with the settings until I ended up with a good shot, but it was frustrating.

I’m sure if I keep it up, the struggles will get less. So the only thing I can do is practice until perfect comes along–at least good comes along.

Out and about Sacramento with my camera

I’m beginning to take my camera with me whenever I go where I think there may be something to shoot. Now, a trip to the grocery store, well there may be stuff to shoot there too. But, recently I was a trainer for Toastmaster officers down in downtown Sacramento during the lunch hour. So, I brought my camera. I should have brought lunch too.

My Toastmaster and photo buddy Bob and I took the light rail downtown where parking is difficult. While waiting for the training to begin, I practiced on manual, promising my fellow Toastmasters that I would delete the shots–I did. After the training, which was held in a cafeteria without food or vending machine, Bob and I walked to a nearby light rail station hoping to find something to shoot and something to eat. I did have an opportunity to shoot a memorial to slain police officers and a sculpture of a wife and daughter who had lost a husband and father. I also found some Mickey Mouse statues in a museum. We stopped in there to see if the gift shop had any food. We were desperate.

A couple of days later, I was chasing a sunset at Gibson Ranch with a couple of other photographers. The day before the sky was on fire, but I didn’t know it until it was dark out and photographers were posting their spectacular images on the web. Although we didn’t have the cloud cover of the night before, I did get a decent one-cloud shot.

So here are my images of being out and about with my camera.