Harvard Square night shots

Okay so admittedly these shots didn't come out as good as I had hoped (after all, I'm a newb), but I wanted to post them anyway. I welcome tips on how I can improve these images from any non-newbs! 

In the first two I obviously wanted to capture some movement. They were shot with 1.3 and 2 second exposures. You can see how much less than a second makes a big difference - you can barely see people in the second shot. I think I would be happier with an image somewhere in the middle of the two. 

I was happy with the lighting and composition in this next shot of the street artist but there was a bit of camera shake and there could have been more focus on his face. I suppose I could have used my tripod to prevent the camera shake with the slow shutter but then I would have been the creepy girl with a tripod. 

My awesome camera bag

Back when I got my trusty ibook several years ago (and she's still kickin'!), I had trouble finding a cute, girly laptop bag. Now they're everywhere, but in my freshman year of college a thing called "wifi" didn't really exist (ok so it existed but it was pretty rare). When I first got my DSLR I had the same issue (hey, I know there are bigger problems in life than finding a functional yet cute camera bag but a girl needs to accessorize). Most DSLR bags currently available are boring, black nylon bags. I came across Jo Totes and thought they had a pretty good selection. What I like about these camera bags is that they look like regular purses, and they have separate, padded compartments for lenses and other accessories. 

I heart Boston

If you are ever in Boston a great place to go is the Boston Harbor Walk. I wanted to explore this scenic spot while its still relatively warm at night and since I'm a few T stops away I thought it was a perfect Saturday night activity. There were tons of people walking around and snapping photos. I had my tripod with me and shot this skyline on an 8 second exposure. It can be a pain to lug around a tripod but shots like these make it worth it! A wide angle lens would have given me more flexibility to capture the rest of the skyline and the top of whatever building that is (hey, I'm a Boston newb too).

 

Photo Achieves: Portugal Trip

Since my fancy blog didn't exist last summer, I thought I would post some photos from my trip to Portugal (periodically, I'll be posting some "photo achieves") . In just 7 days we packed in quite a few cities: Albufeira, Vagueira, Aveiro, and Porto. After a long flight and a long car ride to our first destination (Albufeira, a touristy city in the Algarve region), we were exhausted but of course had to stop for some "almoso". The Portuguese like to have large, dinner-sized portion lunches (paired with red wine, of course), always ending with a coffee (they call it coffee anyway, its really espresso...after the trip I started drinking espresso and taking my coffee black).

Mom drinking a café 

View of the ocean from the resort

                                        
After our beach adventures, we headed north to a village called Vagueira where my family has a place and to its closest city, Aveiro. 

Our last destination - Porto, where Port wine is made - was our favorite. We walked around the city and had some amazing Portuguese food. I snapped this photo of the Dom Luis Bridge on a 15 second shutter. I didn't have a tripod with me so had to use a bench, so unfortunately I couldn't avoid the sidewalk in the shot. 

Here goes!

Like many I've always enjoyed taking photos. I even dabbled with a beginner photo class my senior year of college. After the semester, I didn't really have a need for the used 35mm camera I purchased (after all, who gets pictures developed these days?), so I ended up reselling it. After I got rid of it, I always had to borrow my brother's Canon digital SLR anytime I went on vacation or got some inspiration to shoot. Last Christmas, I received my very own Canon Digital Rebel Xsi. Right away I wanted to start shooting. It was a pretty cold, snowy December and the last thing I wanted to do was go outside. Thanks to my cat Tinsley, I had a sleepy subject to work with. (I know, I know...my first photo instructor cautioned not to rely on our pets as subjects, but how could you resist this face?)