Exposure

Last night was the first meeting of a digital photography class I'm taking. Our assignment for the coming week is to play around with the settings on our cameras. Today's stormy weather has been an excellent chance to learn how to get a little more out of my camera. Between downpours I've been snapping shots in the backyard, changing the EV and ISO settings, and taking notes as I go. I'm already excited about being nudged out of my Automatic comfort zone. Here's some of my homework from today.

Purple Coneflowers



Daylily



Narrow Leafed Green Milkweed



Daylilies and Reflection at the Edge of the Pond



Another Daylily Variety



For all of these photos I experimented with exposure settings and was pleased to learn that I could make the colors of the flowers "pop" and darken everything around the flower by choosing my own levels. It may be that my mood was influenced by the stormy surroundings, but I especially liked the brooding darkness of this pond photo.



Of course, it would be very informative (and fun even) to practice adjusting settings on sunny days too - if one ever comes round again ...