Bees

"Mistaken for a flower"
HTC One camera phone

I almost didn't draw something today, but I convinced myself that it was worthwhile to try, even if it didn't turn out great.  And it would be okay if it didn't turn out well, because I'm rather tired and am on the eighth day of working twelve days straight.  Yesterday, during a very long and hot twelve hours of being on my feet, there was a bee that would not leave me alone.  (Foolish me, wearing perfume to an outdoor event).  I did have the opportunity to take some photos with my phone, since it was both quite persistent and docile in insisting that I had to be a flower of some sort.  One of the photos came out surprisingly artsy; my phone's camera was having trouble with the bright sunlight, but it yielded a very interesting effect.  Below is the drawing based off of the photo.  Bye the bee, we ought to be concerned about their declining population.  Plant native (or at least non-invasive) flowering plants in your back yard as a start to helping out- I'm planning on getting some veronica to augment my flowerbed.

"Bee the Light"
pen- sketchbook

Dusting off my cameras

Dusted off the D300
digital photograph
Nikon D100

Having a little bit of time off after the holiday rush led to me dusting off the Nikon D300 which I got for Christmas last year and used... once.  It sat staring balefully at me through its lens cover, neglected for nearly an entire year, sending little tingles of guilt through me every time I glanced its way.  Both of my cameras and nearly all of my accompanying equipment are very generous gifts from my dad, who does some amazing bird photography for his own blog.  I originally pilfered his old Pentax film SLR for my photography class at Mason Gross.

One of the most important and lasting lessons from my professor, LaToya Frazier, was trying to take the shot so that little to no editing is required.  This (can sometimes) result in quality photographs, and requires patience; taking many shots as various aperture settings, compositions, and shutter speeds are adjusted; and an understanding of lighting and your subject matter.  Doing all of this with a film camera and developing my own film was both highly stressful and rewarding.  I remember sweating in the dark room, fumbling with rolls of film as I transferred them from the camera to the spool for developing, praying that I didn't wreck a few hours worth of shooting.  I felt like a wizard dodging and burning the photosensitive paper, and putting the paper through its chemical washes.  I also keenly felt the high prices of film and other equipment.  Often, I would not take more than the minimum three shots recommended per composition so that I would not have to buy as much film.

Access to a DSLR and a computer took away a lot of that stress, but also a little bit of the magic, too.  Digital photography is a boon for a hectic schedule, yet even so, my photography dropped off during my long artistic hiatus.  Of course, my battery life was nearly exhausted for my D300, so instead, I got out the D100 while I began charging the lithium batteries, which is a slightly older and heavier model.  I currently have a 77mm telescopic lens on it.  I just stuck around the house for my re-entry into photography, taking advantage of the slanting winter light streaming into my home.

Ficus Leaves
Digital photograph
Nikon D100