Monday, August 8, 2011

Art


Earlier this month I went to my brothers guitar concert. It was down at the WAV theater in Ventura, a nice little place where an art show is accompanied by a concert, and vice versa. Many of the talented artists showcased their work in 5 minute interviews in beween songs, and had a chance to try to sell their work, or even just talk about it. One man had the most interesting face, It was hard to resist photographing it. The straw hat and glasses mixed with the “Santa-like” beard drew the crowd into the poetry he was reading, as he turned the space around him into a descriptive space in the African Serenghetti. Some of his work was rather dark, but it was counterbalanced with lighter touches as well, making for a wonderful combination in his interview. My brother’s guitar was interesting to listen to, its so nice to see how far he has come from a few years ago, where all you would hear blaring out of the garage was AC/DC or Jimi Hendrix played sloppily on the electric guitar. His new style (flamenco/ acoustic) is much nicer in my opinion, and I think it really showcases his talent more so than hardcore rock and roll. Don’t get me wrong- I love rock music, but when playing in a small venue such as the WAV… volume is definitely something to check on, and you can never go wrong with peaceful acoustics. I have included a gallery of images from the concert, feel free to check them out! 

I have realized how absolutely awesome this summer has been so far. We went to Disneyland recently- SO MANY OPPOURTUNITIES FOR PHOTOGRAPHS…. Except for the face that they have all been shot by hundreds of millions of tourists -________________________________________- It was still a lot of fun though. I like partaking in Disney’s Pin Trading, it adds a whole new look to Disneyland, because rather than standing around for my friends and family outside the Tower of Terror (I’m afraid of the drop…… grumble) It allows me to go and find some new and exciting pins for my collection at home. This blog really doesn’t have much to do with Photography this time… yet…


At this concert, I realized that my shots were coming out blurry and dark due to the lack of surrounding lighting, so in order to get shots that work out for you, Be sure to use a higher ISO in your shots. I used an average of ISO 1600 for this concert, and they turned out much better than they would have had I used an ISO 100 or 200. My birthday was later in July, and my mom got me a 75mm-300mm Canon Telephoto lens… for $99 at Target!!!! <3 Such a good deal… on B&H photo, it costs approximately $450 for one new, but at Target you get one for $99. AND IT HAS A WARRANTY! HOW COOL IS THAT? The only downside with this lens is that by getting the lens cheaper, you compromise IS, or Image Stablization. This means that when you shoot at 300mm, you DEFINITELY need a tripod, or a really good friend that wont shake when you perch your elbows on their back. It’s a really great lens, I shot 80% of the concert portraits using it.
That’s all for now, Keep Shooting Shutterbugs! Xoxo, Brenna

Friday, July 15, 2011

The First Blog

Here is the first blog. Whoooohoo!!!


Allow me to talk about myself for a few lines, so you feel comfortable reading my blogs. I am Brenna, A college Student in Southern California. I love photography, and shoot every day, as well as play golf for my university. I have a pretty upbeat sense of humor, and tend to joke around in many of my blog writings.

Off topic. Blogging is the topic. I lied. The topic of the day is gear. Well, specifically the gear I shoot with and why I like it. I shoot Canon, however, If you shoot Nikon, it’s okay, we can still be friends. I use the Canon Rebel T1i, an excellent camera body in Canon’s line. Not only is it affordable, (coming with an 18-55mm lens AND a 55-250mm zoom lens when purchased w/ a bundle) but it is incredibly easy to use for a DSLR. The settings are very straight forward, distinctively stating whether it is shooting in manual or automatic settings, with a large array of sub settings within these categories.

I love this camera. I honestly think that there isn’t much I would change about it, aside from the built in flash. I Hate that. I would love to snap it off my camera, but I like that my camera works, and it keeps the rebel looking sexy. Yes, cameras can be sexy.

The flash that comes on the camera has its ups and downs. I like that it enables you to add light to portraits from whichever angle you are standing in from your subject, but the light it casts is just harsh and is very, very unflattering when used wrongly.

Of all of the lenses offered by Canon, of the ones I have, I tend to use my 55-250mm the most. This lens allows me flexibility with my shooting, without having to carry a ton of gear around with me as I am out doing shoots, because it allows excellent compositions whether you shoot from the 55mm or the 250mm end, or even in between.

I feel that I should keep my blogs under 500 words, because I don’t want you guys to feel like you’re reading a dissertation or a contract on iTunes or anything like that, so I will be posting in a bit!

Keep shooting shutterbugs!!!

Xoxo- Brenna