Capture Life - 09.23.13

Capture Life – Hello Bokeh

Time to get up close & personal and say hello to the beauty of Bokeh!

Defined by Wikipedia as : the blur or the aesthetic quality of blur, in out of focus areas of an image.

Every once in awhile  I get the chance to take a walk in nature and capture the beauty that is around us. Yesterday I set out to capture the “weeds” that grow on our ground; most of which are starting to turn brown as they gear up for Fall. By getting up close and using a large aperture (lowest f-stop number) I am able to create images that almost become abstract or Fine Art like. Okay, well maybe not that amazing, but we can all dream right? 

I love my 50mm 1.4 the best for capturing Bokeh, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be captured with other lenses as well. 

I was lucky enough to have this adorable little bee land at just the right time for this photo: thank you Mr. Bee

Canon 50mm f1.4 1/1328 ISO160

This photo had beautiful light filtering through the trees right behind it creating those beautiful soft circles.

Canon 50mm f1.4 1/1328 ISO160

I got down on the ground for this shot. It was an open shade area to prevent any harsh shadows.

Canon 50mm f1.4 1/400 ISO 160

This photo is possibly my favorite. I was shooting from below the subject so I could get just a hint of sun flare at the top. 

Canon 50mm f1.4 1/8000 ISO200

This last example was shot with a smaller aperture (larger number) f5.6 rather than f1.4 just to show you that even if your lens doesn't go to f1.4 or f1.8 or even f2.8 you can still get this look!

I had to turn this one into black and white. I love the way the entire image becomes about texture. 

Canon 50mm f5.6 1/125 ISO200

And if anyone is wondering. I shoot A LOT of photos. That’s the beauty of digital. Don’t be afraid to keep that button clicking!

Now, let’s get those photos on a page and our memories recorded!

I went very simple with this page and did a tiny image to allow the beautiful tags from the September Tag kit shine. LOVE this kit! Have you gotten yours yet?

Here’s a look at the kit: Go get yours HERE!

I hope you are inspired to get up close and capture the tiny details of nature. 

Now go on … Get out and Capture Life!

Capture Life - Capture the Process + A Giveaway!!!

Capture the Process – Step by Step

Today we are going to talk about capturing the progress of an activity & how to adjust to different lighting situations. Whether it’s your kids building a Lego creation on the living room floor or you dishing up your favorite recipe in the kitchen; each situation presents different lighting challenges. 

Recently my life has been filled with tomatoes, yes tomatoes! LOTS of them. We have spent hours canning, freezing, & doing everything we can think of to use them up!

I wanted to include this process in my Project Life album not only to look back on next year as a reminder to NOT plant so many plants, but also to capture how we are turning our hard work into something we’ll get to enjoy all winter long.

The lighting on this photo is of course natural lighting as it was taking in my garden. I like to shoot in the early evening hours to get that beautiful golden glow of the summer evening and to avoid harsh shadows.

Canon 24-70mm f2.8 1/200 ISO 320

After begging my husband and kids to go out and pick bucket loads of said tomatoes, I had a sea of red on my kitchen table. 

I used my large kitchen window to the right of my subject for this situation. This is my “go to” lighting spot in my house.  Do you have one of those “spots” in your home? If not, find one! It makes shooting images such as this much easier & consistent.

Canon 50mm f3.5 1/400 ISO500

Other than the one window in my  kitchen, I don’t have the best lighting in there leaving my counters & stove top resulting in wonky colors. I typically have to amp up my ISO or use my external flash to bounce off of my ceilings. 

Canon 50mm f3.5 1/100 ISO1000

The next image was captured by standing on a step stool and shooting from above. I wanted it to include not only the salsa cooking on the stove, the old metal funnel that was my grandmothers, but also the mess the process creates!

Again, you’ll notice the very high ISO to get the lighting I wanted.

Canon 50mm f3.5 1/100 ISO3200

Once I finally got the point of having a few cans finished it was dark outside; leaving me with only my one yellow “yucky” color light in my kitchen. This is where I bring out my external flash. 

Canon 24-70mm f2.8 1/32 ISO 3200 with Ext Flash

When using my flash I typically don’t point it directly at the subject. I will point it either straight up to bounce off the ceiling or at slight angle to bounce off of both the ceiling and wall behind. This helps eliminate those harsh shadows as well.

Canon 24-70mm f3.5 1/100 ISO2000 with Ext Flash

Now, let’s get those photos on a page & our memories recorded!

This week I am working on catching up with my Project Life album.

I created a simple 4x6 insert for my page with the tomato plant photo, a variety of the tags from the September Kit (that goes live tomorrow!) as well as a tag from the new Penelope collection.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to not only pick up this wonderful new kit at a discounted price, but to also be inspired by the amazing design team gallery!

I hope today’s post gets you snapping in a whole new light.

Now go on – get out and Capture Life!

We have a special giveaway for you guys today!

We are excited to giveaway a spot in the next Big Picture Class called Picture Everyday! One person will win a spot in this class that starts on September 12th with Tracey Clark. Just leave a comment to be entered to win and we'll draw the winner on September 11th, and post it here on our blog!