Taking a Good Photo

So I'm sick, and no I'm not pregnant, I've got a little cold/flu. And I don't know if it's the "meds" I'm takin' or the fact that I slept most of yesterday, but I am sitting wide awake on my couch at 2:30 am listing to it rain. Now chances are I will pass out on the couch before I finish this post, but this is how it started.  

While laying there in bed I got to thinking about everybodys sweet comments about all my corn photos. First I want to say thank you for all the wonderful comments. Then I started thinking about what makes a good picture and how do you take one.

Now I'm am by no means a professional photographer. But I do love taking photos and looking at photos. But one thing I have learned from all the pictures is that it's not always about having the biggest camera or the best lens, it's sometimes just about being in the right place at the right time. Take this photo for example...

...this photo was taken before I got my new lens and before I knew

 anything about aperture settings and shutter speed. (I still don't know all that much about those setting, but I'm now not afraid to mess with them.)

Photography is sometimes more about being in the right place at the right time rather than the equipment you have.

You see what makes this picture so special and unique is that you have the combine unloadin' on the grain cart 'on the go' and then you have our semi coming down the road right next to them. This was one of those times that I pushed the button and didn't even know what I had till I got home and put it on my computer.

To duplicate this photo would be next to impossible without the entire process revolve around taking the photo.

Ya see we don't have to many fields with an open edge right next to a road like that. They usually have a few trees around them, and luckily at that moment that Calvin was coming down the field AND unloading at the same time, Caleb just happened to be driving down the road in the semi AND I just happened to be there at the field standing on top of my truck pushin' the button down. (Last year I didn't really ever get to sit at the field cause usually as soon as I got there the grain cart was filling me up and I was on my way) 

So I guess what I'm tryin' to say is "don't give up on takin' pictures just because you take more you don't like than what you do like. Find those one's that you just think are awesome and use them to keep pushing you forward.

Here's a few that have done that for me.

This was from corn harvest '09 after readin' my manual to figure out a little how shutter speed works

This is another one from corn harvest '09. I still remember the evening taking this one. I had just got back to the field with an empty truck as the sun was goin' down creating this beautiful color. So I grabbed my camera and ran across the field till to the spot I wanted and waited till the combine drove past.

(FYI: none of these photos have been edited. What you see is what you got strait out of the camera.)

This one was taken with my Canon Rebel Film camera about two years ago, and it's one of my most favorite pictures.

This one was taken with my Kodak digital point and shoot.

Now I'm not putting down digital SLR cameras, cause they are awesome, and I love my camera. I'm just tellin' ya'll that you can still take some amazing pictures even if you don't have a big powerful camera.  Just keep taking pictures. Pay attention to what's in your view finder. If you look at the picture before you take the picture than you are more likely to like the picture later.

Also don't be afraid of getting up close and personal when taking a picture. Some of my favorite 'people' pictures are ones that I have gotten up there a little closer than normal and I loved how they turned out.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't just think you have to have a big fancy camera to take a great picture. So weather you have a digital point and shoot, a film camer or and SLR, just keep taking pictures and lots of them, and have fun with it. If you're not havin' fun, than it work and seriously who wants to do that?

Once again thank you for all your wonderful comments they are so sweet and they have been so encouraging to me.

*this last bit was written the next day after fallin' back to sleep...I'm still not 100% but I feel a lot better than I did yesterday.

Lots of Love,

Janet 

Corn

I have been having a hard time sitting down and writing about our corn harvest. I just haven't been motivated, but I still wanted to share some of my photo's with all ya'll just the same!

I have to warn you that these photos are full of corn. So, if you don't like corn you might not want to look at these pictures.

Pictures of corn falling out of augers.

Some with bins in the background.

Others with parts of the combine in the picture with lots of corn flowing out of it.

Photos of the last little bits of corn falling into the truck.

Even more pictures of the corn tumbling into the back of the trucks.

Corn splashing on the almost full truck.

Bushels and bushels plunging into the trucks.

Pictures of corn on a fully loaded truck, that's now ready to head for town to unload.

I told you I had a few pictures of corn. When I get more motivated I will write ya'll one big farmin' post.

Peace, Love, and Corn,

Janet

When You're in the Field Nothing Else Matters.

This is what our door has looked like for the past week or so.  Our doorknob broke on us in the middle of corn harvest and we didn't have time to mess with it so we just did without. But Caleb is in town as we speak getting a new one so we will have a fully working door soon enough!

We have some family coming in for the weekend, but I promise to have a full corn post next week.

J

Almost Finished!

We are nearing an end of corn harvest only a few more acres that we will hopefully knock them out the first of this next week then I will hopefully have some time to sit down and share some photos and stories about harvest.

My perch on top of my truck. Where most of picture taking takes place.

Picture of....

...corn falling out of augers...

trucks being loaded with corn....

...trucks leaving the field...

...trucks unloading into the bins, and oh so many more!

So with that being said I am gonna sign off for the night and go dream about anything  but corn.

From my perch on top of my grain truck,

JP

Snake Problems....

So to start things out one of my many nicknames, from my ornery brother, growing up was "reptile-amphibian" or "reptile" which ever he was in the mood to say. Well from that little bit of information you might gather that I was a little infatuated with frogs, turtles, toads and any other little critter you might find around ponds, under rocks, in the creek or where ever. I just loved the little guys.

However, back then I wasn't as much of a fan of snakes.  I wasn't scared of them, I just didn't know what to do with them. It wasn't till I got older and learned more about them and how to handle them that I grew to like them more.

Now I don't have a room in my house full of the little creepy crawlies, I just don't have to kill them or run away screaming every time I see one. Usually I chase after it and try and catch it then go and release it somewhere safe and away from harm of the snake haters.

I did have a 'pet' one for a while. Well it was more like one that was hangin' around the house all the time. On several occasions, when Caleb and I were remolding our house, we found a big black rat snake hangin' out inside of it...before you freak out too much a lot of the floors were ripped up at the time and we technically found him under the house. I named him Sysco....and the reason he was hangin' around our house was cause there was plenty of food in supply, cause we had a slight rat problem at that time. There was one time that we actually found Sysco chasin' a nasty little rat. The guys we had helpin' us tried to kill him on a number of occasions but I would not let them.

Now for all of you who are freaking out about the snakes and rats and vow to never come visit...well we no longer have a rat problem thanks to our cat and as for Sysco, I've only seen him once since we moved in and that was out by the barn. So you should be safe, but I can't make any guarantees cause we do live on a farm and in the country so ya never know what might happen around here.

Now for those of you out there who are more like my mother and my sister and are petrified of snakes well you will be happy to know that if you did come and visit, though I can't make guarantees, you most likely won't run in to a snake by my house for one reason alone.....

...because I have a snake killin' machine on my hands. Yes my little Jasper hates the little things. To be honest he hates anything that is smaller than him. 

So Like I said probably won't find any live snakes crawlin' around if ya stopped by, but you migh find a dead one every now and then.

Now back to the corn field I must go.... 

Yours Truly,

Reptile-Amphibian

I Don't Always Do What I'm Told

The other day while in the corn field Caleb was being a little silly and I took a quick set of shots.

When I was done I was told, not to share these photos, but when I looked at the photos I fell in love with them. They were soo much fun and I thought I would share them ya'll, but only if you promise not to tell Caleb.

You Promise?

Ok then, here they are.

What's the lesion we have learned from this?

Never tell me not to post a photo, cause I probably will and if it's on my camera then it's fair game.

Laters,

JP