Pumpkinography - yet again...

Halloween weekend begins!

We had a quiet pumpkin carving session at the Cousins place and had a parade with four kids. It was quiet quite fun. Tomorrow will be the trick or treat routine (if it doesn't rain or get too cold)

This year, I was not sure of my carving abilities, what with the right hand being at 25% strength and all, but took a long time and used the "erumbu oora kallum theyum" routine (even an ant can polish a stone by repeatedly walking on it...) and managed a scarecrow and a crow in the background.

The pictures..

The idea was to carve two images and have one create a shadow. The Michael Jackson looking scarecrow on one side and a crow on the other side to get the shadow. The crow side...

The MJ scarecrow with a bird on his hand..

Looks like the standard has been set very high in the previous years. Jr., said "good, but not as good as the spider we did last year"!

(Checked and found that the spider was not last year..Previous pumpkin links from 2005, 2006-1, 2006-2, 2007-1, 2007-2, 2008)

Next year, it is going to be a web full of spiders, on all sides..

.

The new find

The long quest for a unscratched lens was ended on Sunday. Realized earlier this month that my chances of getting a lens would increase 4 fold if I bought a used lens. (No three digit purchases were allowed).

Finally got a 50mm f/1.8 Canon II lens.

The hand instinctively tries to zoom and realizes that there is focus.. focus.. and fantastic sharp focus only!

Takes great shots without flash and great macro shots.

Here are the first few shots with this lens...

I am in love.. more so than ever before!

.

More fun with Sparklers

Saw a photo on the school site where someone wrote I Love You with a flashlight with a dark field in the background.. It was a neat shot!

So, could not resist the idea to write I love U with sparklers in my backyard.

Here are the two tries that came out. The sparkler lasts 18 or so seconds and the shot in self timer mode starts only after a 10 second countdown. Really wish there was an option on the XTi to change timer to 2 seconds!

If you want to try this, go manual mode, try an 8 to 10 second exposure at f20 or a smaller aperture..

Spent a lot of sparklers and then realized that when I wrote I L U , it came out as U L I in the photo. So make sure you practice writing in reverse to get it right on the photograph....

.

Bokeh - the learning continues..

The hand did take a turn for the worse and limited activity for most of the day. After a lot of rest, got up this evening and tried taking photos. Options were restricted to indoor and that meant, the Christmas lights came out!

Like they say in Tamil "Yaam Petra Inbam" ... (the happiness I received, should be passed on, no?)

The camera modification

The setup on the dining table

A few shots which are better efforts than the previous one's posted earlier

Jr. is an amazing model. After getting hit by the flash a few times, she suggested that the picture be of the side of her face. It was a great idea.

Also, a tip. If you happen to try this at home, remember that 1000+ Christmas lights generate a lot of heat, when you pile them up in a heap. You are guaranteed to get your hands burnt if you unplug the lights and try to grab them off the table. It is NOT recommended under any circumstances, especially when you are recovering an already broken hand.

My kids asked me "how can you be so smart and stupid at the same time?"

How? How?

or should I be asking myself "Why?"

.

Very very busy

With work..

Might be a couple of days to get back to Blogger.

Managed a 30 minute break earlier today to do the Photo school assignment, which was titled "collections" and this was my homework submission.

When you are surrounded by princesses, there is no other collection worth presenting, no?

.