happy Monday!

"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it." ~Author Unknown

I'm taking an on-line class on photography. I'm finding Manual mode to be challenging and my usual subject (my dog Maggie) uncooperative. So I took my weeping Buddha from his usual post and used him for this lesson on Focus Points. I look forward to the feedback (perhaps too much) and feel really happy to have received the comments from the instructor (below). It's nice to know it's not just myself who likes my photographs! (To see more of my photographs, you could go here.)

Class Exerpt
focus
K100D - pentaxAperature: f/5.6Shutter Speed: 1/350ISO : 800Focal Length : 55mm
I put my weeping Buddha on my Dragon's Blood Stonecrop and began taking shots focussing him on the left. It didn't look right, so I put him on the right and decreased the Aperature (the automode wanted f/5.6, 1/350). This could have a sweet quote off to the side, a texture and/or filter applied, and voila! Art.

candice*stringham
[Oct 05, 2009 at 01:01 AM]
Michelle, this is art as is. The focus on the Buddha is perfect, and from an artistic standpoint there are so many ways to interpret this photo: A tree was cut down to be carved into this statue, which is placed back into a natural environment. One can ponder why the Buddha is weeping. Typically when an item is "looking" to the right and is placed on the right, the viewer's eye drifts off the edge of the frame. However, since the Buddha's face is down covered by his hands, the viewer is stopped by the frame and is brought back into the photo. You have a great eye for combining color, texture, and composition in your photos.