Me Ra Koh CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop in DC ~ More Photos

A few of my new photography friends from the Me Ra Koh CONFIDENCE workshop in Washington, D.C. are getting together soon, so I revisited some of my photographs I took during workshop.  Five months later, I see the photographs with a new eye.  

 If you have a passion or enthusiastic interest in photography and want to start a business then you have an awesome opportunity to join Me Ra Koh at her Spring 2011 CONFIDENCE workshops in Seattle, Chicago and New York.   I have several friends in the Northwest who could take the Seattle workshop...hint, hint. 

 You will learn.  You will gain confidence. You will cry.  You will laugh...a lot.

 Available now: Early Bird for Spring CONFIDENCE.  

Since the workshop, I have had a blast photographing the kids and my daily life.  I've challenged myself to try new techniques and take risks.   The workshop gave me the confidence to start a photography club in my neighborhood.  The club members host, research and teach a topic our group women with diverse skills and interests.  We will improve our photography skills together and support those who are starting a business.  It's really fun to have local friends who share an interest in photography.  With photography on my mind I look forward to photography field trips, blooming flowers, and little league baseball.  There is so much I want to learn and do with photography. 

  Like my jewelry business, photography is calling me and may lead me to yet unidentified opportunities. 

Me Ra Koh is very open sincere person with a lot of laughter and passion for photography.
 She is a generous with her knowledge and information.

In this photograph Me Ra warmly answers questions from Natasha Soreco of Ponteuf photography with undivided attention.   During the workshop Me Ra and Brian answered our many questions with patience, detail, humor and sincerity. 

One of our baby and mother models pose for our practice group.  It must have been exhausting for them to have our group pose, repose and follow them around for over an hour as we practiced our indoor natural light photography.

 I stepped back and admired this scene with the baby's nonstop smiling at the cameras.

He had stamina.

This photograph makes me laugh.

As I revisit the photos I took, I keep going back to this shot.
 I like this photograph much better now than I did at the time.

At the end of our session you could tell the mother was exhausted and the baby was ready for a nap.   This photograph looks reflective.  I like the shadows on her face and chubbiness of the baby on the balcony as he leans towards the street with new interest of  the passing cars.  

Day 2.  Father and daughter wait for Me Ra to tell the group our assignment on the street with our model families.

This is a just missed shot, but as I look back the blur of the photograph seems to fit her far-off stare.
 I asked her a question and she was thinking of a response.
Many of my shots were out of focus.  I learn now that my 50mm lens did not communicate with my camera properly.  I purchased the wrong lens.  I wish I could retake the class with my new camera.

Too cute and a relief for me.  I was shooting a mother with her toddler and baby.  It wasn't working for me and I stepped away behind a tree to hide my frustration while I reviewed my shots.  One of the other workshop attendees came over and told me not to give up.  She suggested I go over and photograph this lovely young lady who sat much more still than the baby and who was loving all the attention.  Me Ra teased me that I could specialize in 8 year olds since I found the toddler and baby difficult.

Air kiss.
Until later!

Maryland Science Center ~ Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Baltimore's Inner Harbor as seen from the front of the Maryland Science Center.  The building with the pyramid roof is the  National Aquarium (previous post).

In my January meeting of our photography club we were given tips to tilt your camera to add a different look to a photograph.  The tilt in this photo looks great with the geometric sculptures and the shapes of the buildings along the harbor edge.   To be honest, this photo makes me dizzy, but it highlights what I like about Baltimore so much.  Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a visually stimulating location and a lot of fun for the family.

Baltimore is also a very old city.  The vintage editing of this photograph also suggests how I also see the city.
I'd love to get out of tourist areas and photograph the old row houses, urban art and statues.

There is so much history here.

 A must see history location in Baltimore is Fort McHenry. Just around the corner.  The Fort McHenry's visitor center has a great movie about the War of 1812 and the creation of the "The Star Spangled Banner" poem by Francis Scott Key.
 Maybe I'll post about this site in the Spring. 

Dinosaurs!  Run for your life!
My son was a good sport.
 My daughter told me "Mom, you are embarrassing me."
  Me, "What? Why? I'm only taking photos."
 Peering at me over her glasses "Mom, please put your camera away."
How embarrassing am I going to be when she is a tween?

The MSC has a lot of interactive displays.
This computer is in the dinosaur exhibit area and lets the kids
create a colorful dinosaur and email it to a special someone.
My husband in the background was the lucky recipient.

 I metered off my son's face.  I really like how the windows in the background are so bright.

Newton's Alley.
Pull!

She was on the winning side every time, of course.

Newton's Alley.
He worked up a good sweat by cranking the handle to move the marbles through the maze.

Now I'm having fun.
 He looks like the front cover of an album.

Through the fish tank.  

Bed of nails.
 You lay down and then the nails raise you off the platform.  The nails are about half way extended in this photo.

At this point, I decided to put away my camera and interact with my children.  We listed to a presentation about the solar system and went to the planetarium.   About two hours in we decided it was time to eat, so missed the entire third floor, IMAX and special traveling exhibits.  Now we have something new to do when we go back again.

A plug for West Springfield Little League.
Got Ball?

This is a lesson on paying attention to your background.
  I wanted to get a shot of him in front of the harbor line
and I ended up with my son and a lovely street lamp.

So long!

National Aquarium, Baltimore. Fun with fish and more...

National Aquarium is an excellent destination in Baltimore's Inner Harbor during these cold "what should we do today?" kind of days.  Bring your kids or just your DSLR.  

We toured the Australia exhibit, watched a dolphin show, spiraled down the shark tunnel, observed volunteer divers hand feed stingrays, turtles and sharks.  The kids were totally inthralled and I was having a good time taking photos of the vibrant tropical fish.  

The indoor low light was a challenge for me so the aquarium provided a great learning experience.  I had to change my ISO for each exhibit.  When we left the aquarium, I forgot to change my ISO back to sunlight and most of my photos were overexposed.  I was exhausted of thinking so much and switched to my camera to auto.  Shame on me.

We spent about two and a half hours touring.  The same day a family we know spent a couple hours, went to lunch and returned for a few more hours which included an optional IMAX show.  

I could have sat at this tank all day and
photographed these vibrant tropical fish.
They went eye to eye and were interactive with the kids.
My husband gave me the "look" to move on
 and let a new family enjoy the prime viewing spot,
or I would have taken more shots.
The lighting in the tank was exceptional for photography.  

 Tropical fish that seemed very interested in the kids
 and followed their fingers along the tank. 

Bubbles!

Who doesn't love a clown fish.
I think I have that movie memorized.
"Just keep swimming" is one of my life mantras. 

She loved the fish.
It's so hard to get a good shot of
 her face when it's pressed up against the tanks.
In this shot I  like the glow from the tank and her fingers on the glass.

Kiss-y Fish Face. 

Australia exhibit bird.
A beautiful pink, grey and lavender coloring.
 He had his eye on me.

One of two hundred volunteer divers feeding the rescued
 the three finned sea turtle named Calypso.  
Hand fed twice a day.

Dolphin and environmental show.
My son wanted to sit in the splash-zone.
Maybe in the summer, but not in the dead of winter.
He put on a nice pout for the first half of the show.