Tuesday, August 25, 2009

View with Fish

There are moments when watching a rain storm when blue sky appears, yet rain falls incessantly, and the Salt Lake appears as streaks of silver. You have to be quick to catch it. And what with fussing with settings on my camera, I missed the best of it. And of course, there's that lighting problem when shooting into the sun. Out of a couple dozen shots I snapped quickly this is the best I could do. This is looking west out of one of the tall narrow windows that are on either side of my fireplace on the west. I failed to capture the drama of Mother Nature's show, but I was pleased with the shot of the fish which ended up being the focus.

The fish was a gift from my best friend -- friends since the 3rd grade, over 50 years. We found these glass mobiles, made by a local artist, at an art fair at Red Butte Gardens last year, and my generous friend insisted that this would be my Christmas gift. This is one of those things you hang in your house not just as a lovely piece of art, but also as a reminder of a treasured friendship.

The place where I bought my camera offers free lessons on how to use your camera, and I think I'm finally ready to learn.

6 comments:

JBinford-Bell said...

I love this fish. I have been looking for "light catchers" to hang in my studio windows that do not obscure the view. This is perfect.

I think the most important lesson with cameras is the mistakes we make. With film those mistakes got expensive. A National Geographic photographer I knew said he considered himself lucky if he got one keeper out of a roll of 36.

Digital cameras make mistakes really cheap. It just is taking time and notes and lots of pictures and downloading frequently so you remember what the conditions were on that particular day or photo. And hitting the delete button on your computer a lot.

My sister hits delete on her camera as she reviews frequently on photo shoots. I think that little screen is entirely too small to tell anything.

Oh, and another hint is to take it off auto and put it on A or S.

Bekkieann said...

I love this fish, too. It's an unexpected change from the stained glass objects that are abundently available. Having all rounded edges, it doesn't so much glint as as it does glow when the sun hits it.

Michael said...

I love your fish B, so unusual and Im sure it catches the light perfectly for you right now.
As for digi photography......Lady J's comments are to be agreed with.

Bekkieann said...

Yes I do believe she is right. I need to do as her sister does and delete the bad ones as I go -- at least those that obviously are no good. Sometimes when you download and see the picture full size, you are surprised after all. So far, all my good photography is dumb luck. But I am leaving the Auto settings behind and trying some of the others. So much to learn.

Anonymous said...

This fish is gorgeous - i wish i had one. lovely photo of it too

Bekkieann said...

Thank you Meredith. It was made by a local artist. It certainly caught our eye at the art show we attended. I tried to take another picture tonight with the sun shining through the glass. It is so pretty just a little before sunset in that west-facing window. But my pis didn't do it justice. I need those photography lessons.