Photography 101

We have our first homework assignment in class. It is all about composition. Composititon is what you decide to leave in your picture and leave out. So, I set out to do just that. On Monday, it was a gorgeous day. The fall leaves are seen throughout the town and there is this wonderful sunlight. Here in Juneau, you really appreciate this. So, the kids all know, when it's sunny out, we have to go do something! (Trey informs me of this all the time.)

So, the kids really wanted to go to the park, but I wanted to take them somewhere I could take pictures with good fall backdrops. Who do you think won this battle? ..well, I'm a little meaner than most moms, lets put it that way.

But, low and behold, I found the perfect spot. A valley, of trees intertwined with moss and lillypads.

There were even frogs and water skippers in the pools of water.

This picture is actually an example of "merging" photos (2 objects in one photo). This is something you want to avoid because you don't really know what to focus on. Looking at a picture should be easy, this picture has a little more to it with the shadow of the tree.
Believe me when I say this, the kids did have a good time. It used their exploratory abilities. Besides that, the trees were small enough to climb. And it sure was pretty...

I loved how the reflection was coming off of the ponds.The water was like a mirror, And it almost had a feel that you weren't in Juneau, you were somewhere like an African safari.

One of the things I had a hard time figuring out was called "framing" the picture. So, I thought this was a little cheesy but hey, it is kinda cute anyways. I pulled out some picture frames I had in the trunk of the car and used them in my photos.


Here the kids are throwing rocks in the water, trying to kill the water skippers.

Morgan taking a break. And then she thought this stick was pretty cool.

This last picture I was trying to follow the rule of 3rds, where you divide the picture up into 3 segments. I know it has a lot of sky, but I wanted to portray how big the sky was and how the trees are trying to reach up to them. I don't know if you see it, but I thought it was pretty cool.

And this picture probably breaks rules. Sometimes, that's ok. The kids are looking at the frogs and I thought, in this picture the shadows are perfect.