Raw(e): Pink

When Sami gave the heads up for this week's Raw(e) challenge, I immediately knew I wanted to submit this photo, which was taken two weekends ago at a family picnic. Until I saw her actual entry post, and her photo is basically the same as mine! But in the end, I kept coming back to it. I like how pink is truly the main focus here. I swear I am not brown nosing the teacher :)
So without further ado, some frilly pink ruffle butt!

SOOC
SS: 1/200, Ap: f/2.8, ISO: 800

For more pink in your life, visit:

Raw(e) {flower} and Simplicity {colour}

I try really hard to only have one topic per post, but there are just so many gosh darn fun photo challenges out there to participate in. Sailor and Co. hosts a weekly photo challenge, entitled raw(e). This week the challenge is SOOC flower shots. Over at Simplicity, she is asking - simply (heehee) - for colour. I thought this met both challenges nicely.

check out both blogs for more entries:

Scavenger Hunt Sunday 1

My photo board hosts a weekly scavenger hunt on Sundays. 5 themes are submitted each week. 4 of the 5 photos must be new that week. This is the not the first time it has been held, but it is my first entry, hence the "1". So these may be a little lame (since 4 of the 5 photos were taken in a 20 minute period) and/or a stretch, but I wanted to participate this week.

1. Shutter Speed

Exposure Time:	1/5
Aperture:	f/14
ISO:	400
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

Cropped and adjusted brightness and colours in curves
This was the POTW challenge for this week as well. It was interesting playing with different shutter speeds to get the effect I wanted. I found that 1/10 was too fast (could see too much of the cars) and anything under 1/5 I couldn't hold the camera still enough (I didn't have my tripod with me). So 1/5 was what I went with! I don't love the composition of this one (the background is distracting to me) but I loved the effect of the blur the best, so I chose it.

2. Patriotism

Exposure Time:	1/1000
Aperture:	f/2.2
ISO:	200
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

This is SOOC. I probably should have opened up the aperture a bit more, but I am so addicted to bokeh, I forget to most of the time.

Since Canada is so spread out and large swatches of land are practically untouched, the railway system is often the only thing that connects this country together. An early government mandate was to connect sea to sea via one long unbroken railway line: CPR or Canadian Pacific Railway was born. It has a checkered past, often built on the backs of immigrant labourers from China who were treated little better then serfs, or worse, slaves and blasting fodder. Regardless, its an important monument to the vast expanse of land Canada covers and its attempts to unify such diverse and sparse scatterings of inhabitants.

3. Creative Crop
(from the archives)

Exposure Time:	1/15
Aperture:	f/5.0
ISO:	400
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

cropped and contrast bumped in GIMP.
The slow SS was a result of the fact that at the time I didn't have a lightscoop for shooting indoors, and I was shooting a backlit subject. However, I like the effect it has, showing the speed of his fingers as he plays. I chose this crop as the background was distracting and I had a bad chop of his head in the original. I wanted the emphasis on his hands and the length of his guitar.

4. Time

Exposure Time:	1/4000
Aperture:	f/2.2
ISO:	400
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

converted to B&W and played with contrast in curves
.
I went with this because our modern conception/reliance of time is largely based on the smooth running of trains and their role in revolutionizing modern industry/capitalism.

5. Flower

Exposure Time:	1/800
Aperture:	f/2.2
ISO:	800
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

Yes, I am aware I should have dropped the ISO. I had just come outside from in and forgot to change my settings :). Slight adjustment to deepen contrast and adjust WB in curves.

And there you go! Our assignment for the coming week includes:

1. National Pride (also the POTW challenge for this week)
2. Sunset
3. Fire
4. Favorite 
5. Sepia or B/W with Selective Colour