Kelly Heasley’s PhotoBlog – Columbus, Ohio

I thought it would be a good idea to experiment with exposure, manual aperture settings, and trespassing (all of which I will use frequently if I ever become a real photographer). I circled Hoover Reservoir in Westerville at sunset one Saturday, and got a few fun shots out of my adventure. None of them are especially skillful photos, but they each capture a small victory over camera settings and lighting and Photoshop (I have the baby “Elements” version – I’m considering buying Lightroom first to manage my images, and then investing in CS3 later, since Elements is serving my needs pretty well now, and I found a website that claims I can use actions if I tweak Elements a little). Enjoy! Also, sorry many of these are of me. I’m not narcissistic, but when you’re all alone and trying to learn to photograph people, you have to improvise. Enjoy.

I love the colors in this one. I’m still trying to figure out how to make the weed stand out more when I reduce the image size for the web, but I’m not having much luck.

I wanted to try some backlighting, and I got this weird flare-y thing at the top of the frame. Not necessarily a bad thing, just very mysterious.

I just like the long shadows on the grass in this one. Those colors are straight out of the camera. It was a lovely evening.

This one is sooo Bob Ross. Happy little trees. I caught a little of the closer shoreline in the bottom of the frame, and the horizon is just crooked enough to annoy me, but I’m not going to change it. Nobody’s perfect.

Lens flare is hip again. Or at least it’s coming back. Or trying to.

I’m so sad. Garth said this one’s my emo album cover. Funny.

I wish the subject in this one stood out a little more, but I was trying to keep those rocks in the foreground blurred but not unrecognizable, and I think it worked.

I lit this with my car headlights. It’s not really a good picture, but I thought it was funny, so here it is.

This one’s lit with my car headlights, too. Probably my favorite shot of the night, just because I love the depth of field, and because who woulda thunk car lights would work so well? They’re glowy. I like that.

What girl doesn’t love a good makeover? After living in our house for a year, I decided it was time to get rid of the “no cost decorating” we did in our bedroom, and go with something a little more our style. I got some really excellent deals, too. The bed (which is solid wood) was $299 on sale at Value City Furniture. The birch gallery wrap canvas was free from my friend Jeremy who runs a print shop and used my project to test new canvas paper. The little red nightstands were a steal at Ikea for $40/each. And I got the bedspread (which is patchwork corduroy) on clearance at Target for $39. The curtains (which are velveteen), were $30/pair at Overstock.com. We’re eventually going to replace the white dresser with a lovely Craftsman style one, but even with all my bargain shopping, it’s not in the budget right now!

(If you want to see the rest of the house, check out my facebook album.)

Before…..

After…

The rad stained glass lamp my sister got us for Christmas…

Some of my high-class clip-on earrings. Practicing my “macro” for wedding ring shots…

We just got back from a fantastic vacation! My dad, mom, sister, two grandmas, my sister’s best friend, Garth, and I reveled in the magic of Disney World (and snickered a bit when it turned a little cheesy) for a birthday celebration weekend. I got to play around with my new camera and enjoy THE SUN! Needless to say, I did not want to come back to Ohio.

(Note: There are 25 images in this post, so be patient; it might take awhile to load.)

Here is a lovely, dignified series of photos from my husband and sister’s joint birthday party. These images capture my second cousin Jack’s salivating response to the abnormally large cupcake I baked to celebrate the occasion. (Jess, that’s a good baby you made. Excellent work.)

This past Labor Day weekend, Garth and I went to Lake Michigan with friends for a few blissful days of camping, hiking, and laughing. Here are a few of my favorites from the trip!

Awhile back, I got to take some shots of a Columbus band called Exceptional Edward, and they definitely live up to their name! I don’t pretend to be unbaised, though – I’m married to the bass player.

(P.S. Worpress did some weird resizing of these images that’s causing everything to be a bit blurred. I’ll fix it eventually.)

So, why do I have a blog? Here’s the short version…

I want to learn portrait and wedding photography. One of the best ways to do this is to practice. I’ll blog about my adventures and mishaps and hopefully, if I’m entertaining enough to keep you interested, you’ll start to see me make some progress. If you’re a photographer and you’ve got some tips, or even if you’re a regular joe who knows pretty pictures when you see ‘em (or don’t see ‘em), post your comments and let me know what you think!

My goal is to shoot one wedding and three portrait sessions in 2008 (free of charge, of course- who would pay a tenderfoot to take their picture?).

-Kelly (who already feels stupid writing in a public forum, but this is just the first of many hangups she’ll have to get over.)