Since I started writing this blog I have become much more particular about my photography and photography in general. As a rule, I use my own pictures on my site – I used some uncredited photos early on and months later was held hostage by a few people who all claimed I used their photo without permission. “That’s my chicken, I took that picture. I can tell because my chicken looks just like that…”

Uh-huh.

So I was super embarrassed and gave them all sorts credit and links … only to receive another email a few hours later from someone else who claimed that was their chicken picture because  “I have a chicken that looks just like that” …

Riiigghttttttt

I have an advanced pedestrians knowledge of photography – I even used to have a darkroom in the house where I processed and developed my own black & white film – but that was before digital cameras came on the scene. I bought a new digital camera in June of last year before I went on a family vacation trip to Paris, France and my pictures have been getting better ever since. I thought I would take a look at some of my favorite pictures from the last year – clicking on any of the photos will take you to the original post.

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What’s better than creepy baby skeletons?  I’ll tell you – creepy baby skeletons whose soulless and vacant orbital sockets seem to follow you as you move around the room (shudder)

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I maintain that if you can’t take a good picture of the Eiffel Tower, you don’t have a camera.

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This is the stairwell within The Galeries de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie Comparée – another super neat space (did I just say super neat?!) What I meant to say is that this entire building is bad ass and it has creepy baby skeletons in it.

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I like this picture of the I.M Pei entrance to the Louvre because (as any good architect could probably guess) there aren’t any people in front of it. Do you know how rare this is? It was like the heavens parted just for me to this picture.

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Speaking of heavens parting – a gaggle of nuns walking through the street at night doesn’t happen in my world too often. This was from my recent trip to Spain and I know everyone in our group was grabbing for their cameras trying to capture this moment.

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Another architect favorite shot – no people. I think I have been drawn to night shots since I got my camera because I had never been able to take them before. Timed exposures at night make for some interesting photos.

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See what I mean? BLAM!  Interesting night photo! This is a photo of Santiago Calatrava’s City of the Arts and Sciences complex. I took this photo at like 3:00 am with a handful of fellow “Reign in Spain” travelers. If I remember correctly, this timed exposure was over 30 seconds long and I didn’t have a tripod. I was laying down with my belly on the ground, and my camera on a makeshift pile of rocks and pebbles. (I also might have been slightly intoxicated…) What can I say – serendipity? Absolutely.

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I took this picture in New York when I was brought up there by Brizo for Fashion Week. I was trying to find the bathroom but instead found this hallway. (No, that doesn’t mean I “used” the hallway, I eventually found the bathroom – but that is another story in itself – click the picture to go to the original post to read about it)

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Also from the Brizo Fashion Week trip. I was touring a building and caught a glimpse of the Chrysler Building through a window with partially opened drapes. Sometimes it’s a total pain to be lugging a camera around all time, but moments like this one make up for it.

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I love this stupid little picture – “Japanese Erasers”. This was the first time I had experimented with the depth of field to create the ‘bokeh’ effect. I am also amused because of where I took this picture – in my bathroom on the counter top. Turns out, if you look through my old posts, my bathroom counter top shows up as the location of many items.

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See? Why hello bathroom counter top … I love you for being white and clean and free of piles of lotion and curling irons (whatever). When I need a good picture of a mechanical robot spider I know exactly where to go.

To the bathroom.

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Nikon D90

So here it is – my camera - the Nikon D90. I did a ridiculous amount of research and read umpteen billion product and users reviews before settling on the D90. It seems to straddle the  line between your straightforward point and shoot camera and one that a professional might choose to make a living. I do love love my camera. I take pictures of buildings -wide vista shots and close-up details – while at the same time, I use this camera for functions at my daughters school. If you are looking for a camera that’s as easy to use as a point and shoot, but one that has the ability to give you some creative control (if you want), this is the camera for you.

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