Summer Photography Workshop (Friday Five Edition)

This past summer I took a 6 week photography workshop.  The workshop was for those who used a DSLR camera and knew how to use the manual settings on them.  The plan was to have minimal classroom time and go out to different parts of the James River most weeks to take photographs.

I took a couple of photography classes in high school and have a fancy (even though it is 10 years old) DSLR camera.  I haven't used it much in the past several years, especially after getting an iPhone, so this was a way to get me out there to use the camera.


The first week was in the classroom going over basics of photography: ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc.  Also what to expect for the rest of the workshop. 

The second week we went to Pony Pasture (where I ran the Pony Pasture 5k).  My favorite pictures from that evening were from me playing with the settings.  This is the same spot, the first was done with a faster shutter speed (water frozen in time) and the second is with a slower shutter speed (the blurred water making it look like cotton candy).

ISO1600 - f/5.6 - 1/400

ISO800 - f/22 - 1/13

The third week we went down to Bell Island and the T-Pott Bridge.

Richmond

 This is one of my favorite from the night.  I love the lines and the focus into the unfocused.

The park area have these odd circles.  I love how the light just comes through the trees.

The fourth week it was a very hot night with a good chance of storms so we had a classroom evening and looked at and discussed the groups pictures.

The fifth week we went down to Rockets Landing.  It was an overcast evening, which made some photos tricky, but it was fun to help each other try and help each other try different settings. 

 Another picture with the lines I love with the in focus to out of focus.

I do love focusing on just the one thing in the picture.

One of the city with some great reflections in the river.

As it got darker, we played with lights streaking.  This is done by having a slower shutter speed, like the river that looks like fog.

The last week we went down to the Flood Wall to do some light painting.  We wandered around and took pictures while we waited for the sun to go down.

This was done with a macro extension on the end of my lens.  I zoomed in to where it gave me the circle framing.

Once it got dark enough, we went down to the water's edge and did some light painting.  Light painting is where you have a slow shutter speed (up to 30 seconds) and have someone move a light to look like it is painted.  You do not see the person moving the light because they are either still or move in enough away from the light that the camera does not pick them up.  The light painting was my favorite week.

This was done with a light stick (like a light saber).  He twirled it in a circle while walking from one side of the photo to the other.

This was done with a light at the end of the string.  He spun it in a circle in front of him and then turned in a circle.

This was done with cage holding something on fire on the end of the string.  He is spinning the string in the air and you can see the sparks flying in the circle.

This was a very fun workshop and I wished we had more weeks to go out to take photos.  While we had a shared Dropbox to post our photos each week, I'd also like to have a few more class sessions to discuss them with the class.  I got some very valuable feedback from them.  The leader of the class has different workshops through the year and I really want to take more.

Have you ever taken a photography class or workshop?  Have you ever done any light painting?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It was a busy week for me.  Not necessarily running, but I did think about it.  lol

Monday started off with Labor Day.  I had the day off so I decided to power wash my deck.  It's been at least six years since I had done anything with it and it really was starting to show!!  It took me forever as it was just ick.  But even though it wasn't perfect when I was finished, it looked a heck of a lot better.

I didn't take a before power washing photo, so this is the best one I could find to show how icky it was.

This is the after power washing and before staining.

Wednesday I planned on getting up and running.  My alarm went off when I was in the deepest sleep ever and I couldn't function, let alone get out of bed.  So I reset my alarm for another hour and went back to sleep.  I tell you I just couldn't wake up at all throughout the day.  I felt like a zombie and couldn't wait for bedtime.

By 9 PM I was dead asleep and an hour later I woke up to go to the bathroom.  This really isn't out of the ordinary, but not a second after I got back into bed I had to go pee again.  I knew right then and there that things felt off and I probably had a UTI (bladder infection).  I've only had one before and from that experience I know it gets bad very fast.  Every time I made it out of the bathroom I had to go right back in.  I knew it was going to be a long night.  I searched for a Doc in a Box (Urgent Care) that was open, but none were after 10 PM, so it's either I suffer and not sleep all night, or head to the ER.  I decided to head to the ER, especially since things were getting worse and all I wanted to do was sleep.

My trip to the ER wasn't bad.  It was actually fairly quick.  They took a urine sample and I sat in a room playing games on my iPad.  They came back and verified that I did have a UTI and gave me a prescription.  The nice thing is that they tested my sample with the antibiotic that they were going to give me to verify it will work with that medicine.  I asked if their pharmacy was still opened, and of course it wasn't.  But they were nice enough to give me my first dose.  And within an hour I was feeling much better.  I did decide to find a 24 hour pharmacy because the ones near me don't open up till after I'm at work and I didn't want to miss a dose.  The antibiotics did their job and the next day I was feeling much better.

I was planning on maybe running on Friday morning but I can't remember why I didn't.  But I didn't get out there.

Saturday I woke up really early to go for a bike ride.  My riding buddy had been out for like 6 weeks with back pain.  He was back and ready to ride a slow short route.  A few of us headed out for an early ride to watch the sunrise as we rode.  While it was a little chillier then our past rides, it was still a lot of fun.  We ended up getting 33 miles in, which is good for me.


That afternoon I started staining my deck.  I didn't want to do the spindles but when I really looked at them and realized it probably was at least 8 years since I have done them, I realized that I had to stain them too.  I only got the outside of the deck and about a quarter of the inside spindles done.

Sunday I woke up to join my riding buddy again for another 33 mile sunrise ride.  Even though others said they would be there, it was just the two of us.  Which is good as we ride well together.  As the sun was just starting to come up and it was a bit dusky out I saw a deer run across the street in front of us.  It was amazing to see.  A Jeep was heading toward us and all the sudden I saw a second deer jump right in front of the Jeep.  I gasped as I saw it happen and then a loud bang happened.  My riding buddy had not seen the deer, and just heard me gasp and a bang and he thought something happened to me, but he saw the lights on my bike right behind him.  I told him that we would stop at the next intersection as I couldn't bare to see what happened.  I love animals, I love nature, and to see something like that just made me so sick to my stomach.

We continued on with our ride.  I just kept seeing and hearing it over and over in my head.  Heading back we realized that we would have to take the same road.  I kept taking deep breaths and mentally preparing myself for what we might see.  When we came around the curve there was nothing on the road and the Jeep was off on the shoulder.  There wasn't any glass or blood anywhere.  So two things could have happened.  Whoever hit it, took it home for the meat.  Or what I am going to assume happened is that the deer was stunned, but OK, and went off after his friend.

That afternoon I finished up my deck.  The wood was so dry that I felt like I just needed to pour the stain on it.  It took four gallons when it normally only takes 2.  But it was done and I was proud of all the work I put into it.  

Morning after staining, but still a little wet.  May need another coat.

**Edit - I took this second picture after work. It's looking so much better. I don't think I'll need the second coat.

Later that evening my cat's little friend, Duibhe (Doobie), came to visit.  I was hoping that she wouldn't step all over my wet deck, but she did.  And stayed there for awhile.  It doesn't look like she left any paw prints anywhere.

You can sort of see the white area where it is so wet pretty wet.

So that was my busy week.  I'm hoping it's a little calmer next week.  And maybe get a run in.  The races on my calendar are coming up very quickly.

Did you have a good week?  If you had Labor Day off, did you do anything fun?  What was the most traumatic thing that happened to you on a bike ride or run?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Wine and Painting Night (Friday Five Edition)

A couple of weeks ago, some friends and I went to a Wine and Painting Night.  We were looking for a fun girls night and one of my friends suggested it.  She has done it several times and thought we would have fun.  I am not artistic at all, like I can't even do a stick figure.  But I was game to have some fun with friends.  Here are five things about that night.

1. There are several places around here that do a Wine and Painting night.  We chose Spirited Art, which teams up with the wine bar next door.  We had a list of drinks and appetizers that we could order. 

2.  They take us step by step on how to paint the picture.  First we made the blue circle and then added the dark brown circle around.  Then we added the golden circle and the red bottom.  We then blended all the circles together with a golden color.

3.  We then took a break let everything dry.  Then we added the tree and flowers at the bottom of the painting.

4.  I found myself being a perfectionist.  I kept going back to it trying to make it better.  I'm still not 100% happy with it and I'm not sure if I ever will be.

Can you tell which one is mine and which is the original?

5.  I really want to do this again.  While I have no artistic talent, it was a ton of fun!!  I don't think my final painting turned out pretty good.

And we had a great girls night.

Have you ever done a painting night?  Are you artistic at all?  What do you like to on girls night out?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0