Shot of the Day - Bald Eagle

I work in Iowa City along the Iowa River a couple days a week.  In the winter I think it is one of the best places to see the amazingly gorgeous Bald Eagle in action.  And normally you can see anywhere from 1-15 eagles at a time.  I was able to grab a decent shot of one last week so here is my picture of the day.  I just learned how to make my camera more quite when I need it to be so hopefully I will get some better shots in the coming weeks.

It snowed this week so...

WE WENT SLEDDING!!!!

DMU is closed on Monday for MLK Day and a bunch of the students went to Colorado for a ski trip.  Some of us didn't go but still wanted to enjoy the 8" of snow we received this week.  Scott, Lindsey and I went to Waveland Golf Course today and I think we all had a pretty good time! 

First off we none of us had sleds.  So we spent almost an hour driving to Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and then finally at Target we found some!  We only got 2 because I planned on taking pictures more then sledding.  Below are 23 edited pictures from the trip.  Lindsey helped out and took pictures for me while I tried my hand at it.  As you can see from the pictures I didn't do so hot and fell over a couple times.  This was my first time taking action shots and I think they turned out pretty good!  Enjoy!



To satisfy my need for landscape pictures I took one of the trees.  I can't believe how big they look in this picture since I was standing so far away from them.

Second Outing - Saylorville Lake and Beyond

On my second outing I thought it would be nice to take the camera and a map and see where it took me.  I knew I wanted to head up to Saylorville Lake just north of Des Moines and I really like small towns being from one so I picked Minburn to go and visit and see if I could get any good shots there.  Unfortunately Minburn turned out to be a little bigger then I had hoped and kind of a bummer.  I did however get some good ones at the lake as well as some great barns between here and there. 

The first thing I came upon was a trail right off of the Lincoln Boat Ramp into the Saylorville Lake.  When I drove up I was greeting by this gate.  I was all by myself this day so I pulled up the gate a little unsure if I should go past.

I am very glad I did.  Once past the gate I was led down a snowy trail that was very overgrown with trees.  No one had walked on it since the snow quite a few days before.

Off of the main trail was a smaller animal trail.  With a little help from photoshop I made it look like the sun was shining right down on it when in fact it was no where to be found at that moment.

My last stop at Saylorville was the Lincoln Boat Ramp.  The boat ramp is located right under the bridge where Hwy 415 crosses the lake.  This is probably my favorite picture from the day.  I love how you can see the waterline along the supports.  This area has flooded several times in the last few years so it was neat to see how high it had actually risen in this specific spot. 

Once I was done at the Lincoln Boat Ramp I headed to Jester Park.  I had a feeling most of the park would be closed but decided to check it out.  As I thought it was mostly closed but I was able to take a great picture of one of the gates.  A long time ago I saw a picture of a lock on a barn door and I fell in love with it.  Ever since then I have loved taking pictures of chains and locks. 

After Jester Park it was on to Minburn.  As I mentioned before it was bigger then I thought and didn't have much to photograph so I headed home.  I took the highway south out of Minburn and headed towards Adel and then on to Des Moines.  On my way home I did find 3 barns that I photographed and I am very pleased with the pictures I got.

I've decided this is what I am going to do on the weekends to keep myself busy as my husband studies.  I plan on taking day trips (or at least taking my camera out at least once) every weekend.  Since this post is a week late I already know that the next one involves lots of SNOW!!!

First Outing - Hepburn, IA

Anyone who knows me very well at all knows I grew in a small town in Iowa called Hepburn.  While home for Christmas I decided to take my camera out and walk the streets (all 5 of them) and see what I could find.  For being a very small town (20 or so people live there currently) I was able to take some great pictures.  I had 2 favorites from the day, Christmas Eve.  (All of these I must mentioned had some great work done on them thanks to photoshop!)  The first is of an old barn.  I've seen this barn most of my life and always thought it was just old and rotting.  I now view it differently. 

Another one of my favorites from the day is of a water feature in my parents front yard.  It almost looks as if their umbrella is too small to keep them from getting snowed on.

Here are 4 more shots from the day.  Hope you like them!

My "Photography"

I need a place to share my pictures without having to post everything on Facebook so I came up with this blog.  I purchased a new camera back in December.  I went with a Nikon D3100 and I fell in love with the first snap of a picture.  This camera takes outstanding pictures.  I would like to think I have a little bit to do with the end product but this camera takes pictures I've always dreamed of taking. 

Lately I think everyone thinks just because they can take a picture with a camera they are a photographer.  I, on the other hand, do not consider myself to be a photographer.  I have always loved taking pictures.  The name of my blog comes from a nickname I had in middle school.  A good friend of mines little brother and his friend would always sing "Ashley and her Camera" every time they saw me.  Most of the time I did have a camera so it became very fitting.  I have always loved how you can take something you see every day and turn it into something beautiful hanging on the wall. 

For the last 5 years (ugh I cringe at the thought) I have had a very simple point and shoot Panasonic digital camera.  It was really starting to wear out and I knew it was time.  I had been telling my husband for a couple years now that I was going to get one of those fancy camera where you could manually spin the zoom and cost like $500.  We had talked and talked but I had never done any research.  Finally in December I was done.  I wanted one and I started researching.  I probably spent 2 entire days reading reviews and comparisons on every website I could find.  I finally decided on the Nikon D3100.  With my inexperience in DSLR cameras I don't think it would have matter what I purchased but boy am I glad I purchased the one I did.  I still haven't figured out how to use the camera off normal mode but I am already in LOVE with the pictures and the quality.

The first pictures I took with the camera with pictures of the animals.  I have never been able to get good pictures of them without their eyes looking funny or the picture being blurry from movement.  Here are some of the first pictures I took.  I love that I can see every detail of their faces.  

I have more of a passion for photographing still life.  I love barns and outdoor features.  Could be because they don't move and I can keep taking a picture until I get it right.  I have already done to outings since I got the camera and I am planning on doing lots more.  You will hopefully see new posts after every outing and I'm thinking of doing a picture of the day type post.  I did also purchase Photoshop Elements and have been having fun editing the photos.  I hope you enjoy what's to come!!