Lightning

Another one of my favorite & definitely a challenge to photograph is one of the unpredictable forces of nature & one of the greatest light shows to watch from a distance is lightning.
I say it is a challenge because it is a test of patience of not really knowing where the the next will strike.One of these days if there really is a lightning storm during the day out here in the high desert & I'm not working I would love to just sit and watch the storm and create memories of beauty & power.

I've been asked by a few people on how I take my lighting shots I'm glad to help people anyway, shape, or form.

Tips:

1. Manual: This is good for a lot of reason such as setting your shutter/aperture/focus. Using this you are able to pick a long shutter time and for aperture I would suggest a fairly wide unless you are including something in the foreground this will be no problem. Manual focus can be a bit tricky in the dark, but I found the best way is to manual focus on the sky & just leave it there or focus it around the cloud from where the storm is comeing from. That way you camera's focus doesn't go hunting for a focual point each shot.
2. A Tripod: A steady shot is important for lighting since most of the time storms happen at night
3. Long shutter speeds: Since lightning is unpredictable this can be very helpful. Have fun with trying different long shutter speeds any where from from 15second to bulb. Its helps to have a cable release, but if you don't have one I would be very careful when you push the button cause any movement will show up in the photo.
4. ISO: I would say around 100 to 200
5. Being Patient: Not only is the an everyday thing not just for photography. Don’t sweat it. There will always be some that you will miss since anyone can miss a strike in the blink of eye, but as I said before it really is the greatest light show to watch. So just sit back & enjoy.

Sunsets

One of my favorite things to photograph is sunsets so I thought I would share at some of my favorite ones.

Dragon Tattoo

 

I'm currently working on a dragon tattoo for a friend of mine. The only request he asked for was simply black and white. I immediately thought of a yin and yang kind of dragon. The left wing is white and the right is black, the tail is white and the head is black and the body is gradient feel between the two colors. (I'm not the greatest at hands)

Belly dance at the Renaissance

Yay!!!! one of my favorite times of the year is coming in April - May The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire. My nerdy side show when I talk about it :) It also happens to be one of things that pushes me to get into shape & dancing is a really good workout.

Here are some photos of last years bellydance side show they had there.

So for last month photography Challenge it was for the day of self portrait so I pulled out my outfit drove towards the river bottom and just had fun dancing in the sand.

Sketchbook - Ninja Girl

Just a ninja girl I drew for my husband's birthday this upcoming weekend. I'd like to start sharing more of my drawings here even if they're mostly unfinished doodles. Sometime when I work late that normally is when the creative side of me comes out & down on paper.

The Original

The color version (I'm aware that the eye is a little different I've never been good at eyes)