Photo 52 Project - Week 3 (Clouds) & Week 4 (Nature)

 My long weekend was so busy that I didn't have time to post Week 3, but I did take plenty of pictures!  Most of them were of my nieces, which I won't post publicly, but I did see some amazing clouds during sunset on July 4th.  My picture didn't capture exactly how beautiful the clouds were, but I thought it came out close enough when I considered how unprepared I was.  If I had more time, I probably could have used my tripod and set a slightly longer exposure to catch the color in the clouds more accurately.

This morning I took a class for Canon camera owners.  It was a basics class, and it was to take the user away from the "Basic Zone Modes" (automatic) and use the "Creative Zone Modes" (more manual control.)
We received a really nice workbook and covered most of it.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to the last few chapters, due to time constraints.  The instructors really took their time and wanted to make sure we understood each topic before moving on, so it was understandable.  There's also an intermediate class, and I'm hoping to register for that in the Fall if they offer it.

On the way home I stopped by the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery to test out what I'd learned.  If it seems like I take a lot of pictures there, I do.  We have a membership there, and we take my nieces there quite a bit when it's nice out.  There's a marshy kind of area (I think) that runs along the side, and I saw quite a few of these Herons there.  I took quite a few pictures before I went up to the church in back and took pictures of the swan family in the water there.  I was mostly practicing selecting my auto focus points and playing with Aperture Priority.  It was a whole different experience being up there by myself.

I kind of like nature photography, although it can be frustrating to get a good shot of the subject.  I also had a good unintentional photography session with one of my nieces last weekend.  She's 7 years old, and once you start talking and joking with her, she kind of forgets about the camera and goes about her business.  She also is quite a ham when she's in a good mood.  She's currently the most cooperative one out of the three.  We bought her an archery set from the Disney store for her birthday, so I took some pictures while she practiced in my front yard.

I'm going through my list sort of randomly, so I'll have to study it to figure out what this week's goal will be.