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I know I haven't been here in sooooooooo long! But I haven't had any time at all! I've had so much hwk!!!!! I thank God that weekend is here.......


Well, today I have something different for you to read!


This post is dedicated to my dear friend Aimerzzz

She has recently been having some problems with an.... inner friend? Ha! The point is that she asked for help to make him feel better, so I thought that it would be awesome to make a picture or something!

I must say, I looooooove Random Reader and I'm his #1 fan! :)
So, this is for you, Random Reader!









hahahaha
once more?
I loooove Random Reader!!!! hahaha


A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be blessed

mshh's Photo-Guide (Part 5 of 5)

“[Praise to God for a Living Hope] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” - 1 Peter 1:3


PRAISE GOD! for our Living Hope!!

-mshh's Guide to Automatic and Program Mode-

However great Automatic (AUTO) and Program (P) modes may be for snapshots, they definitely don't choose the correct aperture in most situations.


If you don't want to shoot at full manual, try starting with Aperture Priority (AV for canon, and AP for nikon).


Automatic mode or programed automatic mode will normally not choose large F numbers, because the camera doesn't think these apertures will allow enough light into the sensor.


If you want to shoot a landscape with a large depth of field, you will have to switch into a manual or semi-manual mode, because if not, your camera is going to choose too small of an F number, and you risk your image being improperly focused, and details you would have liked to be sharp, will not be.


A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be blessed

mshh's Photo-Guide (Part 4 of 5)

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”- Proverbs 27:1


Self-explanatory.
You never know!

-mshh's Guide to 'The Sweet Spot'-

Lenses for your DSLRs most definitely have an aperture "sweet spot," or, an aperture that produces the sharpest possible images. This is usually a couple of F numbers (stops) from your maximum aperture (smallest possible F number).


Simply put, if your lens's maximum (smallest F number) is F/5.6, then your lens's sharpest aperture will probably be between F/8 and F/11.


In most DSLR lenses, if you can, try and avoid the extreme apertures. I know F/32 is there, but definitely try to avoid that.


Also, if you're shooting wildlife and want to use a fast shutter speed, try stopping down (using a larger F number) if you have the light available. You might be surprised how much sharper your telephoto lens is at F/8 than F/5.6.


A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be blessed

mshh's Photo-Guide (Part 3 of 5)

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”-Matthew 5:11-12

Wow! I truly love this verse! I must say it as one of the first things I learned this year (because this is the first year of my life when I began to have an intimate relationship with my heavenly Father!). It has been complicated for many reasons, but the mayor one has always been my family. As a 'catholic' family, we have always known there is Someone greater than us, but that is not yet the true perspective of what He really is.

I had believed in God through all my childhood, but it wasn't sufficient. There were always questions in my mind, in my heart, in me! No one had ever taken the time to explain all this, and that led me to take wrong ways which I sometimes confusingly remember.
This has been the hardest part in my entire life, but it has been the part that I would never change of it. Every bad look or every day without a talk with someone home has been difficult (I won't neglect), but it has been more than perfect in His plan! I wouldn't ever wanted a different way!

I am so uncontrollably amazed about how I feel when I read this verse! It just makes all this time make sense! I love all that He has done, how He has done it! And, most of all, I thank Him for that!!!

What I say to this is... don't try! Instead, declare! believe! Because HE has already given us the victory! Nothing that that horrible and pessimistic enemy does will ever change that!
Let us be seated in heavenly places united with Christ Jesus! (Ef. 2:6)
Let's take what is our's to take, waiting upon His promise! Knowing that we are to be rewarded according to His riches, we shouldn't be discouraged! Trust the only One that can be trusted, and stop hearing what any other person says! Instead, believe! So that you'll later see all that He wants for you! (2Cor. 5:7)

-mshh's Guide to Exposure-

Aperture will also affect your exposure time, making exposure a necessary element to consider when choosing your aperture (F number).


A smaller F number allows the most light into your camera's sensor, therefore needs a fast shutter speed. This is good for action shots, and other times when you need to freeze the moment.


A larger F number allows less light into your camera's sensor, therefore requires a longer shutter speed. This is good for times when you'd like to capture movement, smooth out moving water, or many other instances where a longer exposure time is best.

A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be blessed

mshh's Photo-Guide (Part 2 of 5)

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,”- Philippians 1:9-10



What more to say to this than....

The Truth makes you free! Know the Truth!!!!
:)

-mshh's Guide to DOF-

Ok, so you may have heard someone about the DOF (something like "Great DOF!!!"). If you know what this means, great! You're not so much of an amateur anymore. If you don't know then, well, don't get scared!


DOF simply stands for Depth of Field. What this is, is the area of the image in focus. Simply put, in most situations, smaller F numbers mean that only a small portion of your image will be sharp (shallow depth of field), while larger F numbers mean that a large portion of your image will be sharp.


In order to achieve the effect some call "bokeh," of a blurry background, you want to use a small F number to separate your focal point from its background.
(For example, photographs of birds and insects, with a blurred out background have a "shallow" depth of field.


On the contrary, there are instances when you'd like most of your image, from the foreground right through the background to be in focus. In these situations, such as a landscape, you want to use a larger F number. This will give you a larger depth of field, and place most of your photographs into focus.

A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be blessed

mshh's Photo-Guide (Part 1 of 5)

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”-Hebrews 10:35-36

Isn't our Daddy God amazing? What a great verse we have here today!

Wow, this is personally.. a BIG deal! You wouldn't imagine what I've been through this year and what this verse, that I had never seen before, means! Let alone the fact that this is a the perfect advice for any photographer!

What happens if you are going to show your artwork for the first time, and you experience a lack of confidence? You'd never get to know or see what it would have been! Using this parabolic example of your first exhibition, you get a 'hint hint' that will get you to even your reward.

Without letting out the fact that everything that you do in His name is greater than anything else, you'll get to know my secret! Don't just grab your camera and click the button! Ask Him for a perspective, let Him show you the best angle at the perfect moment, let Him inspire you (get inspired by, indeed, the greatest Artist of all! Our Creator!). Dedicate your art to Him as everything else! You will see the difference.

Now, rewinding a little to the first sentence, if you take a look you can see that you are not being just rewarded, you are being richly rewarded! With what riches? With your Father's! Because I'll tell you, just in case you did not know, our heavenly Father is rich! And we are His heirs together with Christ Jesus! Amen!

Not ending in this, God says to you that you are to receive your promise after His will! And I'm even more than certain that you will! Because our God, He is a God of promises! Of fulfillment and sufficiency!

I'll tell you, my day has been pretty..let's say, interesting. This verse has really been my day-saving situation!

I don't know what you are going through, but I do know that God knows! And that He cares more than anyone! So much, that He is telling you this today! Hear His sayings, and don't throw that confidence away! Persevere instead, for your rewards and promises await!

I am now to introduce a series of guides entitled: mshh's Photo-Guide.
These are just a little help for starting photographers, aiding in what I felt I needed when I first grabbed my baby (Nikon D40). I hope I may help you at least a little! I will try to post this within a reduced amount of time. Like I said, I'm not a blogging person, but I'll give it a try!
Enjoy!!

-mshh's Guide to Aperture-

I know many of you know everything there is to know about aperture. This is for those of you who don't, because I know you're out there. I am not going to write in many technical terms, I'm going to tray to explain it as easily as I can...so here it goes.


A simple definition of aperture is an opening through which light travels. In photography, this is a very important word. When taking your photographs, aperture can be controlled to decide how much light reaches your camera's sensor.


Just about all DSLRs and higher end point and shoots have an Aperture Priority (AV on Canon cameras, and AP on Nikon cameras) mode. This setting is the easiest way to experiment with aperture. Aperture priority is not a fully automatic mode, as it allows you to choose your aperture (F number), and gives the camera permission to choose your shutter speed, and if you'd like, even your ISO speed.


Picture looking straight up at the sun. If you look at the sun with your eyes wide open, you're going to get a lot of sunlight into your eyes. If you look straight up at the sun, but put your hand over your eyes and only peek out through a small opening through your fingers, you will not get as much sunlight into your eyes.


In photography, your eyes in this scenario would be the camera's sensor, while your hand would be the aperture. Shooting "wide open," or at the smallest possible F number (usually F/2.8 to F/5.6), means your camera is allowing the most possible light into the sensor. When you shoot wide open like this, you are forced to use a faster shutter speed, to compensate for the amount of light you're taking in.


Shooting at a larger F number (larger than F/8 or so), means your camera is allowing less light into the sensor. Here, you will be forced to use a slower shutter speed, to compensate for the lack of light.

A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be Blessed

Constructive Criticism

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." - Ephesians 4:29

You wouldn't imagine why this verse simply amazed me when I saw it 20 seconds ago! This same morning, I woke up with the idea of writing here. I thought of a few subjects, but what definitely caught my attention was Constructive Criticism, a misinterpreted form of writing now a day. Decided to write at least something, I checked the 'Verse of the day' section in Biblegateway.com (definitely my favorite page in the entire internet world) and read the verse. An unconscious smile drew itself in me while I finished reading!

Well, Constructive Criticism.

IT DOESN'T HATE YOU! IT IS MADE TO HELP!
People! Being bitter about it... it just makes no sense!
It is a natural impulse for an artist to criticize a work of art! Now, I am not backing up any kind of criticism.
Let's investigate the words...
Constructive - (1)Constructing or tending to construct or improve or promote development. (2)Emphasizing what is laudable or hopeful or to the good.
Criticism - A serious examination and judgment of something.
So, even by the definition we are able to see that there is not such thing as a bad intention while writing a Constructive Critique. It is made for your good!
IF you still don't like it, you should not be closed-minded and you should state clearly that any kind of critique is not well accepted by you. As I said before, it is a natural impulse for artists to critique other work! It is a way to enrich themselves by enriching you!
If you don't like this, then simply avoid places where this is common! For example, don't upload your artwork to pages where everybody knows that are created to sell, inform, learn, and obtain other points of views and.. critiques! (deviantart.com; flicker.com; etc.)

In my opinion, constructive criticism and thought out critiques are absolutely vital for a person to improve as a photographer. I know for myself, I have changed and improved, and the reason for that is mostly critiques and advice from fellow photographers!
We as photographers should feel privileged to actually have our photos looked at, let alone critiqued.
Look for a skill level and a body of knowledge from a good photographer that suits your needs! Feel honored to have someone give you advice!
You will notice your improvement greatly!

A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be Blessed

Beginning

I

Beginning
be-gin-ning
Meaning:
-noun
1. an act or circumstance of entering upon an action or state
2. the point of time or space at which anything begins
3. the first part
4. Often, beginnings. the initial stage or part of anything
5. origin; source; first cause
-adjective
6. just formed
7. first; opening
8. basic or introductory
9. learning the fundamentals
Origin:
1175–1225; ME beginnung, -ing. See BEGIN, -ING ¹
Synonyms:
1. initiation, inauguration, inception.
2. start, commencement, outset, onset, arising, emergence.



First, introductory, basic, opening, origin, first cause...
varied, yet similar meanings.
I think this word is the most appropriate to begin with.
When I hear/read this word, the first and only one I can think of is God.
He is my all in all, and I love Him more than anything and anyone.

The photograph is entitled: "My Favorite Window"
It somewhat uses a smooth depth of field while sharpening the green iris that is highly appreciated in the right. If you take a close look, you can see me taking the photograph, along with the trees and the sky that were behind.
Taken in Copala, a beautiful Mexican town, nearly an hour from Mazatlan, Sinaloa.
After enjoying a wonderful lunch with the family, my brother and I played around as always, enjoying our warm, winter vacations.
This photograph is situated among my favorites due to its sentimental value, and obviously, its interesting containment. It is one of the photographs (if not 'the one') that made me realize how passionate I am for photography.
I find amazing the view through the lens when outstanding sun rays touch my front subject and makes my head embrace a variety of images which are just able to enter because the Greatest Artist there is, puts His desires in my heart. That really is the secret to [mshh photography]'s simple and characterizing shootings. It is His idea, and He gives me all I need to save that very moment in a rectangled image.
Each and every photograph I have made, make, and shall make in the future..
It is all dedicated to my God!
My Jesus, my Savior, my Lord,
my Daddy!!!

Daddy, I thank You for every moment.
Each second I live and every breath I take since the day that I began to see Your presence in my life are things that I would not change. You are Amazing!
["How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" -Psalm 139:17]
I do not feel alone anymore.
["...when I awake, I am still with You." -Psalm 139:18]
You have filled everything in me!
["You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me." -Psalm 139:5]
There are no words, not in even all our languages combined, to express to You how I feel..
but You already know!
["Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord" -Psalm 139:4]
I believe Your promises are all true [Acts 16:31], and that I will see, because I believe.
["For we walk by faith not by sight." -2Cor. 5:7]

I love You, with all I can.

A little about what happens behind my lens...
Be blessed