Moments by Denisi
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3/5/2019 0 Comments

Bigger on the inside...

There is something so very magical about frosty mornings and when my children were tiny (about five and seven) I happened to find a blog about freezing bubbles, so now every winter we look forward to doing this. After researching this further, I set my alarm for 3 am - yes, you read that right! - because the forecast predicted a temperature of 25 F that night, which sounded perfect for blowing bubbles and freezing them. Yes, I am sane! I decided not to mention any of this to my children as I didn't want them to be disappointed in case it didn't work. I also didn't mention this to my husband because he would have talked me out of getting up at 3am! I'm glad I did get up in the middle of the night though, because it took about ten attempts before I actually managed to successfully freeze one. I definitely froze before any bubbles did! Apparently, there is a knack to doing this and it involves blowing a bubble, laying it down gently and carefully on a frozen surface and waiting for it to freeze. The effect was exactly as I had hoped and a couple of very early mornings later, the forecast predicted another perfect frost. It was a beautiful, yet very cold, clear morning when my two children and I walked to the bus stop, and they were excited but surprised when I took out some bubbles and even more surprised when I told them to wait and watch. Luckily it only took two attempts for the bubbles to freeze and become almost solid. After a few seconds I told them they could touch the bubbles and one of them cracked and another collapsed. Once my children had left for school I decided to take some photographs but those were the days I just left the settings on auto. Still, I did get some really beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, it hasn't been cold enough this year though I did try to freeze some bubbles one recent morning but I didn't have much luck. I ended up just blowing bubbles instead and I soon realized that everything around the bubbles was reflected - and that's how I ended up with this photograph...
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** This photograph is on display at the Wilma W Daniels Gallery, Downtown Wilmington, NC - so happy!
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2/25/2019 0 Comments

"Try to set the night on fire"...

Well not quite. Just some logs of which we now have an abundance thanks to last September's hurricane. Obviously we were very lucky and there was no damage to our home but our backyard was effectively concealed by huge pines downed by Florence and the accompanying tornadoes. My husband cleared the majority of the debris and now he was ready to start burning them. He suggested I take some photographs and I am glad he did as I think the effects are actually really beautiful. I did play around with the colors a little in Adobe Lightroom Classic, which I am also learning to use. 
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I also decided to play with my zoom lens and I set the long exposure to a second and quickly zoomed in and out, and yes, this really is just a metal burn barrel! I love how doing this distorted the movement of light... I actually discovered this by accident as one of children knocked my arm when I was taking a picture and it made me turn the lens by mistake.
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2/18/2019 0 Comments

Luminous...

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In "photometry, luminous energy is the perceived energy of light". For our next assignment we were each given a word to work with and this was mine. I had recently learned how to take long exposure photographs but I hadn't actually put anything I had learned into practice yet. The first photographs I took were experiments and definitely trial and error using flash lights but the results were pretty impressive and exciting! I couldn't wait to get started. ​I had the most fun taking the above pictures, and my children especially couldn't wait to start drawing shapes and writing words with sparklers. I had always wondered how people managed to capture incredible pictures of light in motion. Apparently, drawing with light is thing. I am definitely hooked now and have bought more sparklers! 
For the word 'Luminous' (my daughter's idea) and for the angel wings (my son's idea), I set the exposure for fifteen seconds. Also, writing words is harder than it looks as she had to write backwards! We worked that out pretty quickly :) I also used the Bulb option on my camera which until very recently I had successfully ignored because I hadn't bothered to find out what its purpose is! It basically means that you can carry on taking a photograph for longer than the thirty seconds maximum that most DSLR's allow. The preview screen on my Canon is also a touch screen which made this easier. I turned the dial to Bulb, pressed the screen when I was ready to start and pressed it again to finish. Simple but the effects are incredible. It's also very important to use a tripod when attempting photographs like these. There is no way anyone can hold a camera perfectly still least of all me. My tripod has since come out of hiding and I am not sure how I managed without it. It's always there just waiting...
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1/28/2019 0 Comments

Freezing a moment...

My first assignment was to go on a 'Walkabout' and "expand 'my' senses..." and to simply "listen and see and record". I also had to take a self-portrait which I utterly procrastinated about since I don't like photographs of me at the best of times. Lucky for me there was a lunar eclipse which was a welcome distraction, so I could procrastinate some more before the assignment due date. I don't really remember how I managed to get these two pictures of the moon. To be honest it was very late (and so cold). I don't even own a great zoom lens but somehow the stars were shining on me that night. The first one was easier as I took it when we were driving home at about 8 pm on Saturday, January 19th. My children spotted the rainbow-like circle encasing the bright moon. Then the following night - at nearly 1 am - my husband yelled at me to hurry up and get outside and to bring my camera. I had already started getting ready for bed so I rushed out with just a thin t-shirt and I am surprised my hands stayed steady enough to capture the eclipse! It was definitely worth it though I'm not sure whether I successfully froze a moment in time or if I froze myself, especially as the following morning I decided to walk around our front yard because the frost was so beautiful. I really should learn to dress more appropriately for the weather but I was more worried about losing the moment as the light can change so quickly, so there I was in just a t-shirt again! I spotted these pretty leaves edged in frost, and the last picture is actually of my car. I love frosty mornings. They can make the most unexpected objects beautiful.
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1/7/2019 1 Comment

Life isn't automatic

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 I was so excited to go to my Digital Photography class today. I prepared a little and for the first time ever I took some pictures in manual mode this weekend! Yes it was scary at first and until recently I've completely avoided using the manual settings as I really didn't understand what ISO or f/stop are supposed to be used for. My husband considerately gave me "A Guide to Canon EOS 80D" and I even downloaded the exceptionally huge user manual for my new camera, about a year ago, but it was too overwhelming, so I carried on using the Auto settings and sometimes I was lucky, but life isn't always about luck. It really isn't something we can always hope for or rely upon. Sometimes we have to prepare and make an effort if we are to change our dreams into goals.

​So here I am working on my first assignment. I need to choose somewhere to go on a "Walkabout" and take pictures of anything that sparks an interest. This weekend was beautiful so I took my two children to Smith Creek Park on Saturday and yesterday we decided to go to Airlie Gardens. Both are amazing places to take pictures and there are some perfect backdrops. I also need to take a picture of something that "stops me in my tracks" and thanks to my children this happened frequently, "Mom, come over here! You have to see this. This is the best fungus ever!" Or my daughter would find the perfect place for a portrait, "Mom! Take a picture of me here please". There will probably be many more pictures of my daughter but that's because she loves to be photographed - that wasn't always the case so I am making the most of it. My son is not so keen so if there are any pictures of him it's because I actually managed to persuade him to stay still and smile! I will continue to use the fastest exposure available when I photograph him otherwise he just won't stay still long enough.

All the pictures I've uploaded to my Gallery were taken this weekend using Manual settings (definitely a first) and then I edited using Lightroom. I know it's very early days but let me know what you think. Resisting the urge to use the Auto button was scary at first but I am so glad I did. 
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    It's a start...

    I have never blogged before, but here I am starting a blog mainly because I have to for a Digital Photography class I am taking. At first I felt reluctant because I don't like feeling exposed. Excuse the pun. I love taking photographs, and especially of my children, but do I know what I am doing? No. Not at all but I hope to soon. I know this will be a wonderful and frustrating and despairing and amazing journey and who knows where it may lead. Can't wait!

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