Random Thoughts

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me. - Ayn Rand

I’m not one for making resolutions but I love making a good list!! Here’s some things I’d love to cross off in 2013 (in no particular order):

• Make my new place a warm and inviting home. Have lots of friends over!!
• See Sugarland in concert!
• Complete another ‘Read the Bible in One Year’ plan
• Learn how to use my external camera flash more effectively
• Get a puppy!!
• Continue to eat healthy - no weight loss goal…just want to keep going until my body settles on it’s healthy weight.
• Join a gym!!
• Volunteer at the Puyallup or Sumner Food Bank
• Ride horses
• Shin splints willing…jog a 5K!
• Marry K & T w/o bawling through the whole thing!!! ;)
• Read more books for pleasure and not just for work!
• Keep my focus on what I have and not on what I do not
• Continue to learn and grow…be open to new people and new things!!!
• Go to the Husky’s Bowl Game next year (yes..I’m going out on a limb and claiming the fact that they will be in one!)
• More friend trips!!
• Tattoo?? (seriously thinking about this one…)
• Love people! Love people! Love people! 

Last night I went to a fabulous workshop taught by Seattle PI’s award-winning photographer JoshTrujillo. 

I wanted to jot down my takeaways so that I could refer back to them from time to time. Thanks Josh for sharing all your ideas and encouragement with us!

• You always have your Phone with you. Don’t be afraid to use it! Shoot lots in order to get ‘that’ shot.
• Look for the light first…then wait for the moment.
• NEVER use the flash on a smartphone!
• Using two hands and bracing your elbows in gives better stabilization when you take pics and less motion blur.
• Shoot pics from heights other than eye level. Gives a unique perspective that our eyes don’t see every day.
• Use sunglasses as a glare filter and binoculars as a zoom lens…fun idea!!
• Mount phone to a fully extended monopod. Set timer on phone camera. Lift monopod above head for a unique view/perspective. Great for crowd shots.
• Look for brightest spot in picture and set manual exposure to that.
• Light matters!

Josh used a giant light source to represent the sun/nature light to show how light matters and changes a picture drastically. Look for the light first!

Josh demonstrating how to stabilize your phone for a better/sharper picture.

Josh shared tons of his great mobile shots with us which really helped me as a visual learner. I also enjoyed watching my friend Evonne stalking him throughout his presentation ;). Thanks for the invite Evonne…so glad I went!