Smidgeshots - 1 -Test

So I bought a DSLR - that's Digital Single Lens Reflector - and I've been testing it out. This blog is designed to highlight some of my favourite snaps - or Smidgeshots! - and hopefully track my progress as I go. There are more snaps on my facebook and even more on my imgur and more again on my desktop, but this'll be a one stop shop to see what I've been up to and listen to me ramble for a while. Enjoy!

Fire!

This is a snap I took at the Cronin House, way out in the shticks of Cork. (Hopefully, as the weather improves, whenever that will be, I'll be able to take some nice ones of the countryside out there.) Fire is annoying to capture on camera and it took me a while to get the exposure right. I set the shutter speed to four seconds and balanced the camera on the chair arm, that way reducing the shake (I don't have a tripod yet, which is on my list of things to buy!) What I like most here is how you can really see the flames 'licking.' I've always loved sitting in front of an open fire and watching the flames rise, so I guess it makes sense that I would enjoy taking photos of it just as much.

Shandon Bells.

Shandon is a fairly dodge area of Cork, but it's home nonetheless. Like anywhere, Shandon has its good and bad bits. Here's a snap I took on a frolic around a few night ago. I love the yellow light of the lamps which bathes everything, giving it all an eerie glow. I think I framed the shot nicely with the pillars lining the streets mirrored by the lamps, eventually elevating into the tower itself. This was actually pretty hard to take as there are so many overhead lines criss crossing that got in the way. I had to lie on the ground at one point to get an angle without getting too many of the lines in!

Water!

This one I took when playing with quick shutter speeds. I spent a whole day capturing all things liquid. I even braced the outdoors to get a good one of a drain pipe spilling droplets. However, this is probably my favourite. I love how the water clings to itself - apparently because of the water tension - and I love how the background is slightly blurred, making the pipe and the water all the more prominent. Expect much more of this kind of photography from me in the future, 'till then, adios.