Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and I figured that campus would be mostly deserted, and no one would get mad at me for parking wherever. I was right.
It was only around 25 degrees out, so being able to just park wherever was crucial so I didn't have to get my kids out. I could just hop out and leave my car running. I had planned to maybe take some pictures of buildings, bell towers, whatever. But, nothing really spoke to me. It was a cold day yes, but the snow was dismal and most everything just looked dead and brown. Not too pretty. There was however a pond that was filled with geese and two swans.
So we stopped next to the pond and I got out to chase them. Which turned out to be unnecessary, I guess they are pretty used to people. Then let me walk right up to them, and through them, and beside them. I don't doubt they wouldn't have cared it I actually touched them either. But it made it very easy to take a few pictures.
I'm glad I went up there, I had been wanting to take pictures of the those birds for a little while. But campus is usually too overrun with students glued to their iphones.
I hope it snows or frosts soon, I love taking sparkling white pictures in the winter.
I had no idea until I tried googling my own site, that Arastan was a real name. Or a real word I should say. It means "to decorate or embellish" in Persian. Haha, how appropriate, right? And here I am thinking I'm so clever mixing the names of my boys together, Tristan and Aramis….Arastan.
Apparently, it is also a store in India, a big decorative emporium. Maybe I will have to visit it someday! It certainly makes me feel like my chosen photography name is more legitimate. Besides, ever since I was little girl, I have been fascinated by India, so to find out that is where the store is, is beyond awesome!
I've been wanting a soft box to go with my flash. It helps to, well, soften the flash! Make the lighting less harsh. Because, let's face it, everything looks better in a softer light. It's just hard to make things turn out especially sharp when you don't have enough light on your subject. But, I learned a little trick, and it involves a piece of white paper or a tissue. You hold either one right in front of the flash, and it sort of works the same way. The first picture is with the uncovered flash.
The second picture is with the covered flash. You still get a pretty good quality image, but now my baby doesn't have to squint in the light! It's a pretty good trick! Although, I still would love to actually get a soft box some day!
Outside my kitchen window, there is this super vibrantly colored tree. Once autumn hit, the leaves turned this stunning shade of deep red, and every time I found myself at the sink, I also found myself admiring the tree. I finally decided to go outside and try and get a picture that would do the leaves justice.
That is one thing I will say about Iowa, the fall here is very beautiful with lots and lots of colors. Coming from Utah, it was very dry and arid, there wasn't a whole lot of natural vegetation outside of the city area or deep in the mountain canyons. At first I wasn't too happy coming here, I really missed my mountains. They are far more dramatic to photograph than corn fields. But I am starting to appreciate the subtle beauty of the plains. There are so many giant, majestic trees out here, and while everyone says it's super flat, and I took that literally, there are lovely rolling hills.
In a photography course I have been studying, the instructor says great pictures can come from anywhere and anyone. Its just how you perceive and see the world around you, and then try to capture it in a way no one has thought of before. I understand that this image isn't incredibly dramatic, but I think it does justice to the color I love so much.
Don't you just hate it when you go out, and see something worthy of capturing, and you realize you didn't bring your camera???
Today, after what has seemed like weeks of rain, I finally had the opportunity to go out and do some shopping in town without the kids. The sun was shining, and it was gorgeous out. It would have been the perfect time to pull over and get that shot of the windmills I have been wanting to get. Sadly, I forgot my camera when I was rushing out the door.
Of course, then I started seeing a thousand different things I would have loved to have gotten pictures of, and I kept getting more and more frustrated that I had been so silly.
From now on, my camera goes with me everywhere!!
