Day 29/30 Black & White

Black and white...When I saw the challenge for today, it got me thinking about color and the absence of it. There is a country song out by Jamey Johnson that is called "In Color".  This song reminded me of when I was little and Daddy would watch those WWII films on TV. I just imagined the whole world in B&W back then, not just photos, but reality. But in this song, he points out that it was all so much more dramatic, amazing and/or terrifying in color. I have attached a video (not the official) of this song and I am proud to say that my very own Uncle Buddy, aka Maurice Edwards is pictured from minutes, 3:26-3:29! 

Shooting in black and white is a bit different from just converting any digital shot from color to black and white. I have to say that I really do love color better. However, Gothenburg is a gray city and it rains a lot. Shooting in black and white seems fitting. 

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/4

Flash: no

Day 28/30 Flowers

I went into town to my favorite little flower shop. It is located in Victorian Passage, which is this cute little passage way that cuts through from one block to the next. There is a wonderful coffee shop, where I love to have a latte, and just across the street is this precious flower shop. It's so English to me. I am in love with moss, as you know, and love the mossy, moldy pots on display. Once we get into our new place, I will be getting some cute flowers for the balcony!

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/4.5

Flash: no

Day 27/30 From a distance.

From a distance...anyone else singing that song now?!! LOL...Anyway, today's challenge was to shoot something from far away. We actually live in Hisingen, which is a large island and part of Gothenburg. I went to the waterfront and aimed at the city center (hardly a skyline)!  I really love how the sky looks in this shot.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm with Wide Angle/Macro lens.

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/8

Flash: no

Day 26/30 Something close-up.

Well, I had fun with this one.  I used my Canon for all of these shots and attached my macro lens. Some of these it's hard to even tell what the picture is. Of course, my favorite shot is of my wedding bands. I just love them, what they stand for and the simplicity of them. Diamonds are particularly hard to photograph, but I think I captured them pretty well.  The other pics are, rust, mortar between bricks, moss, my knuckle, end of a 2x4, and my jeans.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm with Macro lens.

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: no

Day 25/30 Something Pink.

My new hot pink vest... I wear it almost everyday. I just love love this shade of pink. Next to my all time favorite color, red, hot pink is a very close second. It's just the happiest color out there.  I also took a shot with my iphone of these precious pink flowers. Everyone here has them in their little planters next to the front door. So sweet.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/29

Flash: no

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Day 15/30 Silhouette.

Silhouette. Failed mission, but I am posting this anyway. These days, my only readily available subject to photograph is myself. This makes getting a good silhouette that much harder. I have put this off for a week now, and as I started shooting, I knew why. Lighting is everything when it comes to a good silhouette. I decided to try the backlighting using my lights in the bedroom. There are these LED lights in here, so I thought it might be easy to get a shot of my feet blocking the light to get a foot silhouette. Well, accomplishing this not easy, and I did not make a passing grade. I will be revisiting this challenge in the days and weeks to come. Next time, I will try more natural light and Atanas!

As you can see from the pics, the iPhone was able to capture the best silhouette of my feet. It's hardly passing, but it's tons better than I got with the Canon. Bottom line is that I have a lot to learn about the settings and light for the Canon.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/4

Flash: No (hence the blur)

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 1000

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None


This was taken in Lisbon, and it's a good silhouette.

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 80

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Day 23/30 Sun Flare.

Dang it if I didn't wake up this morning to a really cloudy and pretty gross day. That said, I left my Canon at home, because I knew there was no way I was getting flare of any kind today! Ha! I was wrong. At about 6:00 the clouds parted and I was able to get some sun flare with the iPhone.  Man, I wish I had the other camera with me. I guess I learned that I shouldn't leave home without it.  Sun flare...I like this pic. Click on it to make it larger. 

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 80

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Day 22/30 Hands.

Hands. I love A's. Nothing cleaner is this world!


Between yesterday and today's posts, anyone see a theme here?  :) At least he's in graduate school to gain even more knowledge of his love of computers!! Go A! 


There is no comparison today, because I just had the Canon with me.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: No

Day 21/30 Faceless Self Photo

Faceless. After many tries to get the shot without my face, I think I succeeded, but it's just not the same. I think that, in most cases, the face makes the photo. I love people and I love how different each of us are.  A beautiful smile that makes the eyes dance is what makes a body. I love to see and hear people laughing really hard. It's contagious.  All that to say, a body without a face, just isn't much fun. 


I decided to capture, as best I could, what my days look like in Sweden. I am constantly online looking for a job, looking for an apartment, talking to Coley and Parker on Skype, emailing Mama, pinning on Pinterest, nosing on Facebook, and 'window shopping' for our future Swedish apartment. 

amera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 200

Aperture: f/4

Flash: Yes, on camera flash

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 1000

Aperture: f/2.4

Flash: None

Day 20/30 Bokeh.

Bokeh, Bokeh, Bokeh! This is my all time favorite effect that my portrait lens gives. In simple terms, it's the blurring in the background or foreground, of the object in focus.  You will see exactly what it is when you see the comparison between the Canon and the iPhone 4.  Today, we were on the patio peeling more pears and I had my feet propped up on the big box of peppers! My socks and the peppers were screaming for a photo!  I also have a new tab with some of my favorite portraits (some with bokeh) that I have taken. 

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: No

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 80

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Day 19/30 Something orange.

I set out this afternoon in search for something orange, and truth be told, I was hoping for my favorite orange cat to make an appearance. He must have been laid up on someone's bed today, as he was no where to be found! On the way home, at the last minute, I came across this little bush with the most beautiful orange berries on it. I don't know what it's called, but I am 100% positive that Mama will leave the name if it in the comments. I just think they are fabulous.  The Canon won today. There was just too much shake on the iphone for a clear shot. It was gusty out there today!

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 200

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: Yes, on camera flash

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Day 18/30 My shoes.

Playing catch-up. Seems that keeping up with what to do on what day is the challenge for me!  Well, it was a tennis shoe day! I can't see much of a difference in photos today between the two cameras.  Sometimes it's just like that. The iPhone can hold its own, for the most part.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/8

Flash: None

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 80

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

DAY 16/30 Long Exposure.

Yes, day 15 is missing. I had no subjects to photograph for the silhouette. I will make that one up. Anyway, tonight's objective was to shoot the trams as they pass using long exposure. This is best accomplished at night with low ISO and a slow shutter speed (shutter stays open longer), hence the exposure being 'stretched' out. I am very happy with these photos tonight. It's my first time shooting with long exposure and I love the effects.  I only used the Canon tonight because I can't change the shutter speed on the iPhone.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/6.3

Shutter Speed: 5.0

Flash: No

Day 14/30 Eyes.

I am proceeding on with the challenge from day 14. I have lost a few days due to weather and other things.  I will catch up on the missing days as the weather and other things allow. Today, I was to photograph eyes.  I used both cameras today, and as you can see, there is no contest...the Canon wins out with quality. I am hoping to get a better handle on lighting and ISO settings through this 30 day challenge.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 800 (Too high)

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: yes, on camera

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 1250

Aperture: f/2.4

Flash: None

Day 9/30 Someone you love.

Tonight, I decided to take pictures of the man I love doing what he loves! Yes, soccer is the name of the game! Every time I shoot his soccer games, I am reminded how hard it is (for me, at least) to shoot action, especially indoors.  I brought my little arsenal of equipment to the gym tonight, in hopes of getting the perfect shot. I got some good shots, but the clarity is not quite there.  Needless to say, SI won't be calling me anytime soon.  It's always fun to see Atanas play. He puts his all into each game, just as he does with everything else. I posted a few shots (out of 175), all taken with the Canon.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 200

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: Yes. On-camera flash

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/5.6

Flash: Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 800

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Day 8/30 A bad habit.

Well, it was easy to find what I wanted to photograph, smoking! I hate it with every inch of my being. I know that it's much more than a bad habit for most, that it's an addiction, but I think it's a choice you make and that bad habit quickly turns into a life altering addiction. It's selfish and it effects so many lives, other than the smoker's life. It makes me sad that I have family and friends that are smokers. I have seen first hand, as most of us, what it does to the body...Smoking kills and there is NO DOUBT about it.

I have posted a few pics, two that I took today and a few that I have taken on other occasions.

It's so ugly and super tacky.

Thanks for all the trash. 

"Smoking Kills"

Too bad America doesn't have the balls to put decent sized, real warning labels on cigarettes. 

"Smoking accelerates the aging of your skin" 

Yeah, it ages the hell out of you! 

I am looking for forward to tomorrow!

Day 7/30 Fruit.

I headed out to the market for some great shots of fruit and the market was closing. Dang it. We don't have any fruit at home, other than the fruit on the trees.  Needless to say, I think I got an ok shot of some plums before being packed.  I only had the Canon today, so there is no comparison.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 400

Aperture: f/14

Flash: None

Day 6/30 From a low angle. Nighttime Pears.

I tried something a little different today. I took my photos just as the sun went down. They were taken at 8:20 PM.  The pear tree in the backyard is especially beautiful. It's loaded with pears. The limbs and trunk are covered fabulous moss and lichen! I just love it. It takes a beating in the wind here, but stands ever strong. I think it's really amazing in these pictures. In my opinion, the Canon won tonight. I love that the pears light up too! I just had a better, external flash, so that gave me some flexibility.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 200

Aperture: f/3.5

Flash: Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 1000

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: Yes

Day 5/30 From a high angle. A

I took my camera out today in hopes to get the perfect shot and left my CF card at home! So, Atanas was kind enough to pose for me tonight. Getting a shot from a high angle at home when you are only 5'2" tall, is a little hard. I did the best I could... The Canon won today. I love the contrast. 

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon Stock lens 18mm-55mm

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/4

Flash: On Camera Flash

oops! Soccer shoe in the shot. 

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 640

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Day 4/30 Green. TMM

Green. I took this as the literal form of green. I didn't want to over think this and take a picture of a hybrid car or something corny like that (not that hybrids are corny), that is "green."  I went out to the yard and took a few shots of my favorite things that are green.  Tomatoes, Mint, and Moss.  


I think the Canon won today. I love the bokeh created and the focus on the subject.

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 200

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: None

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: None

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 80

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None

Camera: Canon Rebel Xt

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

ISO: 100

Aperture: f/1.8

Flash: None

Camera: iPhone 4

ISO: 80

Aperture: f/2.8

Flash: None