Factoria Sunset Silhouette: 10.15.11

I had planned to post this much earlier in the evening, but I finally got a car today. I have been car-less for the past couple of weeks after my car died. The same and only car I have had since I was 16. I have been looking for a car for a while and I have to say that I hated most aspects of car shopping, especially sales people who try to tell you what you want. Luckily today I found a salesman and dealership that made me feel comfortable and I got the car that I wanted. I also had a very supportive mom and family along for the ride. I feel very blessed. I can't wait to go take pictures! Is it weird that that was one of the first thoughts I had after buying the car?

As for my photo, I am linking up with a few challenges and for the A Moment in Time Challenge the theme is I Heart. I heart sunsets. There is nothing better than a sunset, except one on the beach. I haven't had the chance to get to the beach in a while, but I have had the chance to witness some pretty incredible sunsets. One just last weekend. I have also been honing my skills at picking the proper settings and getting the best SOOC shot possible. So today I am sharing a SOOC sunset shot. My goal was to capture the great range of color in the sky. I think I did that SOOC. I don't think editing was necessary to communicate the beauty of the sky. What do you think?

Settings: ISO 800, 55mm, ss1/100, f/7.1 (full manual)

"Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." - Oprah Winfrey

Linking up with SOOC Saturday, A Moment in Time, Scenic Sunday and SkyWatch. Please check out the other amazing photos!

  

Shades of Autumn: Yellow 10.15.11

I love Saturdays! Lately I have been spending them photographing and trying out techniques I learn during the week. On a great Saturday of shooting I get in two "sessions." This Saturday was a great Saturday! I spent the morning at a roadside stand and pumpkin patch photographing pumpkins for the Good to Wow Challenge. I then spent the evening at the Tmobile Building in Factoria capturing one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen that is not at the beach. These pictures will be shared throughout the week.

During my great Saturday of shooting I also found quite a few examples of the color of the week for the Shades of Autumn Challenge - yellow. I didn't have too much trouble finding the color yellow. I was very excited when I saw the results of my shooting as I played around a bit with white balance after reading a post by Courtney at Click it Up a Notch and the article she referenced. While I was not ready to go with Kelvin White Balance fully, I did choose a setting other than auto to match the conditions. Most of these were photographed using the Cloudy White Balance setting. They were edited with Adobe Lightroom 3 with just minor adjustments to basic settings and some yellow hue shift to really make the yellow pop. I would love to know what you think!

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/200, f/5.6 (full manual)
Taken at Frager Farm Stand and Pumpkin Patch in Kent, WA

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/100, f/6.3 (full manual)
Taken at Old Fishing Hole in Kent, WA

Settings: ISO 800, 55mm, ss1/40, f/4.0 (full manual on a tripod)
Taken at the Tmobile Building in Factoria

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual)
Taken at the Frager Farm Stand in Kent, WA

"I know the lands are lit, with all the autumn blaze of Goldenrod." - Helen Hunt Jackson

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other yellow shots!