Self Portrait Week 21: Jo On The Road

I drove my daughter Jodie back to Oregon on Wednesday.
We stopped to take a pic with my selfie stick.

It sort of looks like my unicorn horn is about to pop out of my forehead. The doctor said it wouldn't grow back after the surgery, but once a unicorn -- spreading cheer, keeping Voldemort alive, and pooping rainbows -- always a unicorn.

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Photo Lessons I Learned:

• On a sunny day, find some shade.
• Use the modeling tips you've learned for group shots: friendly contact between subjects; have arms in natural positions but angled away from the body; tilt heads toward each other.
• Ignore the other folks at the rest stop when using a selfie stick.
  It doesn't matter what they think.
• Have as much fun with your daughter as you can in the few precious hours you have together.
• Oh. And don't forget to turn on your phone's Bluetooth.
  And your selfie stick's power button.  [Doh!]

Hood River Bridge

I took Jodie back to Oregon today. I'm spending the night in Hood River. This was my view on my evening walk. A good way to end a travel day.

Self Portrait Week 20: The Baker

This week I made cake for my daughter's wedding.

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Photo Lessons I Learned:

I didn't learn a lot this week, photography-wise. I did need to manipulate the f-stops about +2.5 so that the sunlight in the background would get blown out and the subject would be lighted correctly. Even so, I had to use a fairly high ISO which made the full-size version of this photo a little grainy. In post-processing, I lightened up the face an extra bit, and cloned out a cabinet.

My favorite part of this photo is how the dripping white cake batter lines up so well in the white blown-out window.

Another thing I learned? Three pieces of copier paper can quickly be made into a chef hat.  

Self Portrait Week 19: Basking

I paused to feel the light on my skin

Then stopped to consider who was watching me. (No one)

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Photo Lessons I Learned:

Inspiration hits at the oddest hours. I took this photo late at night when I should have been sleeping. Sometimes you have to dare yourself to get a little uncomfortable. "Hiding" inside a wig and behind a pop of lip color helps. So when photographing people, be a little playful and take some risks.

This photo was taken indoors in a mix of incandescent and fluorescent light: an overhead bedroom light, a small lamp to the right/front of the subject, and another small lamp on a dresser to the back/left of the subject. I was standing in front of a white door. The white balance on the camera was set to incandescent, so I had to fix the colors in editing. For a more timeless look, I converted to black and white.

It was a good thing I learned to click the wired remote shutter button with my toe a couple weeks ago. It came in handy this week.

Self Portrait Week 18: Bed o' Phlox

The phlox in my backyard is in full bloom. So pretty. A floral pillow for me.

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Photo Lessons I Learned:

I bought myself a selfie stick and tried it out for the first time today.

The photo was taken late in the day in the shade where the light wasn't good. The focus is soft. My glasses have too much reflection. But sometimes it's not so much about the "pretty" as about just learning to use the tools.

In editing I flipped the photo upside down ... I like the angle better this way.

Aged to Perfection

My husband and I had dinner at Outback Steak House the other night. This was printed on the coaster.

I thought they were talking about ME!

Cheeky, I know.

Self Portrait Week 17: Purplexd

It's Lilac Bloomsday across the border in Spokane, Washington. The purples are bustin' out all over

and, from what I can see, having a good time doing it!

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Photo Lessons I learned:

This week was another study in tone-on-tone. Makeup, wig, clothing, and accessories were all shades of purple. I tried for some long shots, but once again, it was the close-ups that worked for me. 

I also wanted to see what a portrait would look like if taken with a telephoto lens. I set the camera up about 10 to 12 feet away from the subject and zoomed in. My settings were:

f 5 ... 1/40 sec ... ISO 3200 ... 155mm

I'm still trying to learn how to pull light into a semi-dark room without having to use such a high ISO. I wasn't successful with that this week. I used a key light with umbrella, a back light shining up on the backdrop, window light as fill light with a reflector to the right in this photo. I like the way the light in back gave my hair some rim lighting.

Another thing I learned was how to trip the wired remote with my toe when both hands were busy in the photo!