I'm Learning Something New

I've been taking a photography class on the weekends and it has been pretty interesting. I'm so scared to take my camera places because I don't want it to break but yesterday I braved up and we went to wheeler farm so I could get in some practice on what I've been learning.

These first two pictures aren't posted because they're good but check out the ducks hair-do it's pretty great. Have you seen a baby goat before his horns come in? It looks pretty painful to me.


So the chicken picture looks pretty simple, and to the pros out there that know how to use a camera it is. I was practicing manual focusing. The camera usually will choose what is in front which is the fence so I had to figure out how to get the chicken in focus.
We talked a lot about what makes a picture interesting and one of the things was lines. This is a line of cow bums. Interesting right?
This was my attempt at "filling the frame". I have a hard time determining what picture would look good with a little back ground and what just looks good up close. I think it definitely was the right choice on this picture. And for the record, right after I snapped the shot I told May logs are yucky and don't belong in our mouth.
Doesn't she look so grown up in this picture? Sigh, my baby girl is definitely a little girl now. Anyway we talked about thirds and how a picture is more pleasing to most people if the subject isn't exactly centered. I tried doing this on some pictures of the geese in the water but I don't think they turned out very good. Maybe I just like this one because May is in it.
I'm not really sure what technique I was trying to do here but it is just a darn cute picture.
So there you go. I think a large portion of these classes is fluff and a little bit of a waste of time but in general I noticed when I really tried to apply the things they told us my pictures turned out lots better than if I just snapped them. One day I will be on of those people that can just see a good shot in an instant and not have to think about it, but until then, cheers to a few good pictures of many not so good ones.

Kitchen Happenings

A lot happened in our kitchen the past couple days. For some reason about a month before there is a prospect of moving I get a cleaning bug. I think it's because I think of what we will have to do so we don't get charged and suddenly I look around and realize we've been living in filth. Anyway As I opened the oven to start on it I found this in there much to my surprise. Just the book not the hand or the bubbles. It was a quick picture before she took it out. Anyway, I'm not sure when or why she put the book in. I get really upset with her when she touches the oven so I guess she was sneaking in some oven time while Mama wasn't looking. We will definitely be buying and oven lock. Is the fact that I found the book when I was opening the oven to clean it instead of opening it after it had been preheated to stick something inside coincidence? No way, it's deity. I NEVER clean the oven so suddenly feeling the urge is pretty amazing. Ironicly the book she put in there is called "Wacky Wednesday" and is about all these things being out of place on this wacky day. Maybe we'll have to take away this book if it is going to inspire such ideas.

Yesterday our dishwasher started leaking. Relative to other apartments we've been in and that I've seen our dishwasher was pretty new. In fact it's not even on my list of things I hate about our apartment. Anyway they couldn't fix it so they put in a new one. The outside looks like a dishwaher but the inside is pretty crazy. Hopefully you can smell that new appliance smell through the picture. I thought it was going to take them weeks but I guess here they keep new appliances handy because he had the old one checked out, out and the new one in in a couple hours. P.S. for anyone in the market the dishwasher fix it man was very ruggedly good looking...you know if you're in to that type of thing :)

The last exciting thing that took place in our kitchen is the BEST dinner I have ever cooked. I wouldn't say eating dinner foods is my favorite thing in the world, kind of a have to...lunch and snack foods is a different story. Anyway, I really enjoyed this dinner and it was pretty easy so I thought I would give you the recipe.

Coconut Shrimp:
1 lb shrimp (The bigger they are the less you have to dip)
1/3 cup Corn starch
Some Cayenne pepper (adjust amount to your taste)
Sweetened Coconut
2 eggs

Enough oil to deep fry

Mix Cayenne pepper and Cornstarch in a bowl. Dip shrimp in cornstarch mixure, then egg, then coconut, deep fry in batches.

That's it! I served them with garlic cheese biscuits just mix cheese in with the drop biscuit recipe on the back of the Bisquick box. Melt some butter, mix with garlic and put it over the top when they come out. And a recent favorite at our house "lunchable salad" it's lettuce and mixed with a pack of those mini lunchable things (you know with the chopped ham and the mini crackers). Yum yum.