Family pictures (sort of...)

In March, I got a new camera, and of course I had to start testing out the new capabilities of the camera and needed willing (or not) models for my efforts. In the last month, I've gotten a lot of pictures of the kids - our four rescued cocker spaniels. Three of them came from Oldies But Goodies Cocker Spaniel Rescue and one from Tired Dog Rescue

Truman

Truman has been with us the longest and is finally enjoying his spot as the senior member of the pack.  We call him our James Cagney because he is the smallest one, but he's the alpha - he's feisty.

He's very protective - especially of Gloria, and he's the one who gets the whole gang barking in the morning when he decides it's breakfast time (never mind what Mommy or Daddy, or the alarm clock say.)

But he doesn't like rain or snow very much.

Jacques

Jacques came to us from Tired Dog Rescue in Mississippi. We call him our southern gentleman. He had one eye removed, and the other is almost blind from glaucoma, so he doesn't go running with the others when they are let out. He is a quieter soul and makes his way around, but not in any rush.

 He's a beautiful boy who loves to sit on a lap (Mommy or Daddy) and get loving and give kisses.

I caught him shaking his ears - and then trying to be cool; like it never happened.

Buddy Bear

Buddy Bear has been with us the least amount of time (by a couple weeks less than Jacques.)  Buddy is funny because he's so mellow that it can be hard to get a picture of him with his eyes open. If he's standing still for more than just a couple of minutes, his eyes stat to droop and he's getting ready for a nap.

He had just gotten a haircut and was outside running around. 

Truman and Buddy Bear checking out some traffic on the street and making sure that the yard was safe.

OK, he's been sitting still for long enough - time for a nap.

Precious

Now let me introduce our Diva. Precious is the lady of the group and she is a DIVA. Along with Truman, she is one of the ones to start the whole pack barking.  She loves, loves, loves racing out the back door and doing circles around the back yard.  Along with her not liking to stand still, her coat makes it a challenge to get good pictures.

Oh Daddy, are you trying to get another picture?

I am definitely her person. When I go to sit in my recliner in the evenings she is jumping into my lap before I'm even sitting down.

So these are the key Rescue elements of my Rescue Garden who are with us now. Their predecessors have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but we'll all be together again in our Father's house.

Shooting the Moon

I've been taking some time lately to practice taking pictures of the moon. I've been reading up on the settings for a camera, and reading the manual for my camera  (I know - SACRILEGE - a man reading the instructions - oh well.)  I started last month when we had the harvest super-moon and I wanted to get some pictures.  I had actually tried for the super-moon before that - but all I got were white circles against a black background.

So, for August I did some research and was able to get some detail in the shots.

Not too bad for my first attempt to do more than just set the camera on automatic and hope for a good shot. I've started manually setting the speed and aperture.

I was able to get out again last week to try a crescent moon. It required different setting because there was a lot less light being reflected.

With the terminator line (where the light ends) it's easier to see more details because of the longer shadows (it's sunrise along that line and the shadows are at their maximum.) These were taken after dark so there is very little color to capture, just the white light of the sun reflected off the moon's surface. These were taken from a tripod so that it would be more stable than me trying to hold the camera. I was also using a 2 second delay to let me push the button and let go so that the camera could be still when the picture was actually taken.

Earlier this week I went out before twilight to get some more pictures of the half moon in a light sky. I had problems because the light sky did not allow the crispness of detail I wanted on the moon's surface.  I ended up using a small aperture to darken the background and sharpen the moon's surface details. Also taken from a tripod with a 2 second delay.

I was able to get details, again with the most right at the terminator line, but I also got more color than the shots after it was dark.  I'm still experimenting with the exposure time and aperture setting, but I'm trying to keep track of what I'm doing so that I can understand the differences in the results. I'm also paying more attention to the image properties before I do any post processing, just trying to learn how the settings create the final image. I'm also getting past the need to take 20 shots to get 2 good ones.