Taking pictures with my DSLR for the first time in months

10,553

Here we are! Gearing up for year FOUR of this silly, little, photo blog. I can't wait to get started. It's going to be a challenge. I'm going to push myself. This blog allows me to carve out a piece of each day for time for me to be creative.

I took 10,553 pictures this year. I was surprised that when I totaled up the months, it was only 219 more pictures than I took in 2010. The summer months were HUGE when it came to photography. I had a trip to Carmel and a trip to Denver. I got my iPhone in October, which made photography more accessible for me. I can actually say that since I got my iPhone, I've picked up my DSLR only a handful of times, and I don't think I've even turned on my Point & Shoot, which used to be the camera I used most days. The pictures on my phone are SO clear, and SO easy to take! If you aren't an iPhone person, I would HIGHLY suggest one if you're in the market for a new phone!

Many of my pictures come from the Instagram app, which happens to be free. For the amount that I use it, I think it would be worth paying for! If you scroll down a bit and look along the right-hand side of the blog, you can now see more of my Instagram pictures. This updates every 10 minutes, so you can see them as I'm taking them throughout the day. If YOU are on Instagram, you can click the "Follow Me" link to follow me (duh) in the app. You'll also find my Pinterest "Follow Me" button for those of you that are a part of the Pinterest party. It's fun, isn't it?

The other update for year four is the URL address. I finally decided to purchase my own domain. IT is still run through Google's Blogger, but the website has changed from www.theviewacrosstown.blogspot.com TO www.theviewacrosstown.com. If you go to the old site, it should connect you to my new address ... but you may want to update your favorites or links in your blog rolls just to be safe. You'll also find newly added "share" buttons below each post if you'd like to share one of my pictures with your Twitter or Facebook followers! How cool is that?

I can't wait to continue this project for year four ... I hope you'll join me along my journey!

Learning about shutter speed

Gotta love a quick shutter speed!

Click, click

Eye see you!

Had to include my girl

#ds463 Who are you? Make a self portrait today and show the rest of us what you look like.

Sometimes my favorite photos are created without looking through the lens

GIANT, vintage mirrors are perfect for self portraits

10,334

Here we go! I'm ready for year 3 of my Daily Photo Blog. I can't believe I've successfully completed 2 years of posting a new photo every day! In 2010, I took 10,334 pictures. Many were deleted, but that's part of practicing. Not every picture will be good, and even if they turned out, I may not want to keep them.

It's hard to get out in the winter to shoot pictures. Often, I just go from home to school and back and there isn't much happening to shoot. Clearly, January and February show that. When the weather gets nice, I go outside more. A trip to NYC happened in May, and that was the first month I had ever shot that many pictures. 550+ in just 2 days will do that! I got my new camera in July. I definitely picked up my pace then, because I wanted to practice with all the settings. Then, I can tell that work started to get busy in November, when my numbers went down.

I also started with the Daily Shoot challenges early in the year. 158 of my photos this year followed the challenges they gave. I had to ask Jill or friends on Twitter exactly what some of the challenges meant. I also had to google or look at other photographer's shots to see exactly how to go about my shooting. While those days were hard, that means that I learned something new that day!

I'm excited to start this challenge for the third year. I've set a few personal goals for myself as a photographer for 2011. I think the fact that I'm calling myself a photographer now is a big step. It's not my full-time job, but it's something that I love doing in my free time ... and I MAKE free time to do this! That's the best part!

Thanks for joining me on this journey. I'd like to see more feedback from my readers this year. That is MY challenge for YOU! Is there something else you'd like me to share? More information? Less? Do you like the feedback buttons under the pictures? I recently added the "You Might Also Like..." links to send you to other photos. Do you like or hate that?

I haven't started shooting yet in 2011 ... I better get a move on!

[Update: The new banner shows the 4 digital cameras I've had. I wanted to include cameras from before, but couldn't remember what kind they were. I also picked a new font in the banner which is conveniently called, Oh {Photo} Shoot!]

Bokeh

What is Bokeh?

I got the stink eye for waking her up with my camera!

#ds358 Radiating lines pulls the viewer directly to a center of interest. Take advantage of this in a photo you create today.

REALLY exciting day with lots to document ... can you tell?

Becoming a better photographer, thanks to this sweet face!

Did I tell you how much I LOVE my new camera?

Photo Walk #2 was a success!

I think we should make this a monthly event. Who else wants to join us?

Look forward to more pictures on the other blog soon :)

Wish I could still use it!

#ds155 It's metal Monday! Find a metallic subject today and make an interesting photo.