Wordless Wednesday: Frost & a Break

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

I've been a tad un-regular here recently due to my recent surgery and while I'm feeling really well, a couple of health issues around home have found me running to doctors for me and my kids. 

We shall all be fine, but I need a couple of weeks to catch back up and get my photography site up and running, get my logo ready to reveal and do some computer work I've been putting off.....fun, right? 

It'll feel good to get these things done and be back regularly.

I will return the week of January 16th, 2017.

So, before I start doing the behind the scene work, here's a shot of some of the gorgeous frost we had here. 

And follow me on Instagram @MaryFDenman.

I will be over there in my absence here. :) 

Looking forward to a new year and seeing you soon! 

BLOGS I JOIN:

         

Photo Tip Friday: Photography Gift Ideas

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Christmas is fast approaching and you may still be trying to figure out what gifts to give loved ones and friends. 

You can use your photography for gifts and you can give thoughtful gifts to your photographer friends! 

Let's start with some ideas of how to bless others with your photography and use it for gifts!

Wordless Wednesday: Some Serious Weight Loss

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

I don't normally get in front of the camera. I have too much fun being behind it! 

But today, I'm celebrating losing 30 pounds! (13kg)

I'm not through with my weight loss yet, but I'm celebrating how far I've come! 

So the picture on the left is me at my heaviest.

The one on the right? 30 pounds lighter! 

BLOGS I JOIN:

         

JOIN LINKY:

Wordless Wednesday: Gorgeous Moon and Leaves

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

Sign up for emails and receive all posts directly into your inbox. 

Recent Photo Tips: 

Taking Family Photos During the Holidays

Taking Great Inside Holiday and Family Photos

 Monday's Musings:
Photography Can be a Blessing

Upcoming tips will be about using your photography for gifts for loved ones.
 And gifts for photographers. 

Monday's Musings: Photography can be a Blessing

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

There’s a reason about why I love photography as much as I do. 

It’s not just the satisfaction of taking a good shot. That would only be for me.

No, the reason I love photographing people, especially those who hate to have their picture taken, is because of the difference it can make for them. 

Photography can be a blessing to others.

Let me tell you how it started.

Wordless Wednesday: Leaves and Light

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

Sign up for emails and receive all posts directly into your inbox. 

Recent Photo Tips: 

Taking Family Photos During the Holidays

Taking Great Inside Holiday and Family Photos

Upcoming tips will be about using your photography for gifts for loved ones.
 And gifts for photographers. 

We've had a super long fall this year.

 It's almost December and there are still gorgeous leaves on trees. 

It's beautiful, but I'm ready for winter! :)

Photo Tips: Taking Family Photos During the Holidays

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

With family times of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah fast approaching, let's look at photography tips that will help you capture your family in photos. 

While hiring a professional photographer is a great idea, you may not be able to find one at the last minute. 

So, I want to help you think about how to take great family shots when everyone is home to visit! 

Let's get started!

Wordless Wednesday: Supermoon

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

I wish I were a blogger who could get on top of it....I really do. 

I'm so impressed by those who never miss a post! 

But, I'm having surgery today and just didn't get everything done!

So, I will be back on Monday with more photography tips for family shots! 

A recent post: Taking Great Inside Holiday and Family shots

Here's a shot of the supermoon. 

The haze from the fires made it colored but unfortunately, it also made it impossible to get the surface sharp and in focus. Oh well. It was still fun to shoot! 

Have a great weekend! 

Blogs I join:

         

Photo Tip Friday: Taking Great Inside Holiday and Family Shots

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

With Thanksgiving and other family holidays headed our way, I want you to learn how to take great family shots inside your home at holiday events.

Taking pictures inside your home can be a challenge.

Why? Because of low lighting. Without lots of natural lighting flooding in, our photos can be dark, grainy or blurry. That's pretty frustrating. 

But there is hope! 

Once you learn a little about your camera ISO works, you can start shooting inside and be happy with the results. 

Let's get started.

Photo Tip Friday: How to use Your Photos to Create Memes

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Have you ever seen great looking memes online and wished you could create them for your blog? 

Well, today, I'm going to teach you a few things about how to create memes using your own photos. 

We'll cover a couple of different aspects about creating memes. 

One part will be about thinking ahead and learning to frame shots for use as memes. Another part will be about cropping shots you already have to create great memes. 

Let's get started.

Monday's Musings: Autumn is a Second Spring ~Albert Camus

by Mary Denman      Twitter: @MaryDenman    Instagram: @MaryFDenman

I love this quote by Albert Camus. 

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

As a photographer, I must admit that spring and fall are my favorite seasons. I tend to carry my camera with me daily because there's a new view to see in either season. 

This made me think more about why I love spring and fall so much. 

Part of it is the excitement that comes from an ever changing palette of colors that beg to be noticed. 

Photo Tip Friday: Part 2, How to Photograph Ghosts

by Mary Denman    Twitter: @MaryDenman   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Photo 1

Today's tips are part 2 of how to photograph ghosts. Last week, I explained about needing a trip-pod, using a high aperture value, and using a longer exposure. A link to that post will be at the end of today's post. 

This week, I'll show you a couple of other ways to create ghostly pictures for Halloween and how to use long exposures to make people do a double take at your photos!

How do you like Photo 1? My son was breathing on the window from the inside of the house and I was outside. He held a flashlight below his face. Pretty cool, huh?

Let's get started with learning how to photograph ghosts.

Wordless Wednesday: October Orange

by Mary Denman    Twitter: @MaryDenman   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

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Recent Photo Tips:
How to Photograph Ghosts, Part 1

Monday's Musings: Look for Beauty in the Mundane

by Mary Denman     Twitter: @MaryDenman    Instagram: @MaryFDenman

For those of you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I had a very rough time in 2013. 

I lost my mother and father-in-law two weeks apart. It took a toll on me. But it's been 3 years now. I've learned a lot during that time and I wanted to let you in on a where am I now. 

First of all, I learned that God could get me through the hardest time of my life. For that, I'm extremely grateful. 

But I've also learned to look for beauty in the midst of the ashes. In the midst of the mundane. 

Beauty doesn't always jump out at us. 

Sometimes we have to be quiet to see it. Sometimes we need to look for it. 

I want to share some of the beauty I've found in the mundane.

Photo Tip Friday: Part 1, How to Photograph Ghosts

by Mary Denman    @MaryDenman

This is not a post about ghost hunting! 

Instead, it's about learning how to photograph a ghost  or how to create a ghostly image in your camera. 

It's a really fun technique with lots of potential. 

What do you need to do this? 

A tripod, or steady surface, some knowledge about the manual function of your camera, and a friend to help you out! Or, you could do it of yourself! 

So today, in part 1, I want to show you how it works. Then next week, we'll go over some more cool techniques that you can try. 

Let's get started. 

Wordless Wednesday: Gorgeous sunlight in the Fall

by Mary Denman    Twitter: @MaryDenman   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

SIGN UP for email and get Monday's Musings, Wordless Wednesday and Friday Photo Tips right in your inbox!

Sorry that I've missed a couple of posts recently. 

Between a migraine and traveling, I got a little off track. 

But I'll be back on Friday with more tips and on Monday, I'll be talking about finding beauty in the mundane. 

Wordless Wednesday: Warm Fall Colors

by Mary Denman    Twitter: @MaryDenman   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

SIGN UP for email and get Monday's Musings, Wordless Wednesday and Friday Photo Tips right in your inbox!

Recent Photo Tips:
Find Interesting Subjects in the Middle of the Ordinary

How to take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 1
How to take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 2

Photo Tip Friday: Find Interesting Subjects in the Midst of the Ordinary

by Mary Denman     Twitter: @MaryDenman    Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Sometimes we have false thinking that if we could just go somewhere gorgeous, we could get fantastic pictures and be a better photographer. 

But really, we can look for beautiful or interesting images all around us. 

So today, I want to show you a part of my yard that's a bit overgrown with weeds. 

Why in the world would I do that?

Because there is interest to be found for the looking. 

Let's get started.

Wordless Wednesday: Fall is Finally in the Air

by Mary Denman    Twitter: @MaryDenman   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

SIGN UP for email and get Monday's Musings, Wordless Wednesday and Friday Photo Tips right in your inbox!

Recent Photo Tips:
How to take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 1
How to take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 2

 Improve your Photography with Reframing


FALL IS FINALLY IN THE AIR!!!

Photo Tip Friday: How to Take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 2

by Mary Denman     Twitter: @MaryDenman    Instagram: @MaryFDenman

As we learned about last week in Part 1 of how to take better shots in difficult conditions, sometimes we have to shoot in challenging lighting conditions. 

Cloud cover, rain and fog present an opportunity to capture some amazing photos, and it's definitely more work. But worth it. 

So what are some things you can do to take better shots? 

Let's get started. 

Wordless Wednesday: Monet's Garden

by Mary Denman    Twitter: @MaryDenman   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

SIGN UP for email and get Monday's Musings, Wordless Wednesday and Friday Photo Tips right in your inbox!

Recent Photo Tips:
How to take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 1
 Improve your Photography with Reframing

Here's Monet's Garden and pond.

Photo Tip Friday: How to take Better Shots in Difficult Conditions, Part 1

by Mary Denman     Twitter: @MaryDenman    Instagram: @MaryFDenman

A large part of improving your photography is learning how to utilize light to best advantage. Whether it's understanding Golden Hour (read part 1 and part 2) or understanding the direction of lighting, the more you can utilize proper lighting, the better your shots will be. 

But here's the thing. 

You can't always shoot under ideal conditions. 

When I was in Paris recently, one day had bright sunlight and the next day was overcast with periods of rain. Since I only had those 2 days in Paris, what was I going to do, be upset and not shoot on the rainy day? Of course not. I just had to alter what I was doing and make the most of it. 

We're going to learn about how to take great shots when you have difficult conditions like an overcast sky, fog, or rain. 

Let's get started. 

Wordless Wednesday: Proud Momma!

by Mary Denman    @MaryDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

SIGN UP for email and get Monday's Musings, Wordless Wednesday and Friday Photo Tips right in your inbox!

Recent Photo Tip: Improve your Photography with Reframing
This Friday will be about taking better shots in bad conditions.

On to Wordless Wednesday!

My daughter just completed her Masters Degree in ABA Therapy. 
She works with children with autism and I'm so proud of the work she does. 
She also worked full time while earning her Masters.
I just can't tell you how proud of her I am!!!!