Saturday, January 7, 2012

Day 8: A Bad Habit

In the 30 Day Photo Challenge series ...

Kyrie



Anna



This was something like how the conversation went...
Kyrie: What's tomorrow's photo thing?
Me: Let's see. Here it is. "A bad habit."
Kyrie: What's a bad habit?
Me: [explaining what a bad habit is]
Kyrie: I don't think I have any bad habits.
Me: Well, you're picking at your lips right now. That could be considered a bad habit.
Kyrie: Ok, I'll take a picture of that.

As for my bad habit, let's just say I had a lot to choose from. (I even got as far as three different subjects that I was trying out multiple shots for... and that's not counting the ones I won't take a picture of, like my messy bedroom.) Anyhow, my allergies result in a constant accumulation of Kleenex tissues. This is a bad habit mostly because I don't throw them away as promptly as I should. My pockets bulge outward with both clean and used tissues. I think this is quite unattractive, but I have yet to hit on an appropriate solution.* (Although I am working a little on being more prompt about throwing out the used ones.)

This is what I have learned:


  • When I switch to trying a shot with the flash on, I need to remember to turn the iso back down. Or else I end up with a very very white picture.
  • The kids are really amused to see themselves as fuzzy streams of light. (This came about when I was showing Kyrie how some of the manual settings work.)
  • I can get a shot of what the TV is displaying if I shoot in manual mode with the flash off. This is interesting, because I have tried to capture things on the TV before, and the auto-flash always got in the way.
  • When shooting non-glowing stationary objects, the crystal sharpness from the flash can be a real advantage. Also, in this situation, auto mode might still be better than I am... I could get a decent shot of a tin can with pencils in it while still sitting on the couch across the room in auto mode, but I had to spend about 15 minutes trying things out and looking at them on my computer to get comparable results in manual mode - and even then, only when I took close-up shots with the flash on.
  • I have also learned that doing a 30-Day Photo Challenge makes my camera's batteries run out real fast. I had just put a new battery in about the time the challenge began, and it started flashing low-battery yesterday. Accordingly, I decided to immediately purchase a set of rechargeable CRV3s. I anticipate that this will mean I have to frequently reset the date and time on the camera, since the rechargeable batteries probably have shorter life spans than the regular ones, but it will be worth it not to have to spend $8 or so every week on a new battery. The rechargeables should arrive on the 14th... I'm just hoping my current battery lasts that long.



*Unless you count frequently asking God to cure me of my allergies as a "solution".

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