...it's all about being hopeful.

It's been a while. When I started this blog I said I was going to write in it faithfully everyday. Yeah, right.

Updates.

Good News. Well, besides the ususal of my working, I have been taking an at home photography class from the New York Institute of Photography. I'm only on the Unit one course materials right now and at the end of unit one I have to do a photo project. I have no idea what it consist of but I'm sure it will be fun. I also just registered for class at the new Florida State College, formally Florida Community College. It is now a state college which I think is great. One of my cousins just will be graduating in early August from UCF. YAY SHANNON! A degree in Molecular Biology..wow!

Sad news. I just found out the another one of my cousin's is not doing well at all. She was in Costa Rica for stem cell surgery for her MS and took a turn for the worse. She was on a breathing machine but is breathing on her own now, which is good. She was airlifted to Johns Hopkins in Maryland. I hope she pulls through. My aunt told my mom she needs a miracle.

Other news. I messed up yet again with a friend, an important friend. I'm trying to mend things and hoping to start over again. I can't explain it but I don't know what I'd do if I lost this friendship. It's a strange friendship, but very comfortable. I only have one true good friend that I've never met but it's as though I've known him all of my life. We're like brother and sister. Which is great for me being an only child. Now I have a chance for another friendship and I almost ruin it with my general craziness. I wrote the most crazy email to this person and.....I don't know what happened. I think aliens took over my body or something. Now here I am looking like a complete idiot. Will I ever learn? He says that we'll talk soon. I'm counting on it. :)

Now by this being a photoblog I'm supposed to post a photo..so I guess that's what I'll do. :)

A rose by any other name smells as sweet (or something like that)

I was soooo friggin hungry this afternoon. I rode to Piccadilly with my mom and was eating a salad on the there. I stopped by the grocery on my home this morning and picked up some chicken tenders....Mmmmm. I chopped it up and put it in my salad with some sweet vidiala onion dressing. I settled into the passenger seat and ate as my chauffer(mom) drove to the restaurant to get her dinner. She was talking to her cousin on the phone as she drove. One thing about my mom, when she is talking on the phone, she forgets how to do anything else, including drive. Three times she kept asking me where were we going. WTF! HELLO! PICCADILLY! YOUR DINNER! DUDE, HANG UP THE PHONE!

Much, much later I went to the gym and worked out for about an hour. I had a good workout too. Real good actually. When I got home, I noticed my rose bush had some new blooms on it. I wanted a close up shot and my powershot has a Super Macro feature on it. SWEET!

I go get my camera and take my close up. For a powershot, I think it came out alright.

Whadda you think?

I DID IT!!!

I did it guys. I finally got a decent, a truly decent night shot. It was an adventure though and I'm surprised I didn't ruin my camera in the process. It happened over a period of two days because of the rain....yes, it's still raining here. I am sooo over all this rain. My backyard is flooded, I had a freakin' strange big ass bird out there eating God know what oh, and don't forget the snakes. That's right...snakes, the cat brings them in....dumb cat. Anyway, I'm getting off the subject. I'm so excited about my shots. As I said it took over a period of two days. The first day it rained...not so hard to where I was afraid I'd ruin my camera so I went over to my favorite spot by the river. There is a neat little bed and breakfast place over in Riverside and right behind it a little ways down is a great view of the skyline. Not a perfect view mind you, but good enough. The perfect view would be from the bridge and as I stated in my first post I really didn't want to get hit or arrested for that matter for pulling over in a non-stop place, jumping out and taking pictures. I can see the headlines now. "A Jacksonville woman struck and killed for her love of photography"...yeah, that would suck.

Anyway...I set up my tripod and started to take my photos. Snap. Snap. Snap. I took three shots as the rain started to some down a little harder. I packed my camera and tripod in the car and went to my next destination, under the bridge. I figured I wouldn't get wet under the bridge so off I went. I got there and turned in the parking area. There were a lot of cars there. I thought they belonged to the employees of the company next to the bridge. I drove a little further in and saw a bunch people sitting at tables....eating? Eating, in the rain? WTF are people doing under the bridge, sitting at tables, and eating in the rain.

I left. Went back the next night and got my shots. They weren't too bad I guess, but not great. I wanted to get the effect of the lights under each piling going straight across the water. I don't know....

What I do know is I need some instructions. Yeah, I have books and books and more books but I need more. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. My camera is on auto all the time except for this night thing I attempted. I would like to get out of the auto mode for once. I know one person I can probably talk to, Derek, whose a photographer. He's into portraits and does a damn good job at them. He lives here in Jax which is a plus. I was thinking about the New York Institute of Photography but I was told by another friend and I use that term loosely, that this was probably not the best thing to do. He's a photographer also but I think I burnt my bridges with him. He went cold and distant on me. I can be kind of pushy at times. Something I'm working on.

Next up sunsets, sunrises and the moon. Which means I'll probably have to get a hotel room on the beach one weekend...so not a problem. =)

Later guys....

TammyNicole

Tripods, 35mm's and Trying Not To Get Arrested

So, I was up kinda early today. It's Saturday with a mixture of blue skis and darkening clouds. It's actually kind of pretty.

While I was out last night, since and since I did have my camera with me I decided to try my hand at some night shots...umm...disasterous. This is my very first digital camera, a Canon Powershot S3 IS and I noticed on the bottom that it does have a mount for a tripod..cool, as I happen to have one. I bought it sometime ago when I purchased my very first good quality 35mm, a Canon EOS Rebel GII. I barely know how to use the digtal I have and now I want an upgrade, either another Canon or a Nikon. Anyway, I'm getting of track. I went to dig out my tripod and find the screw in thingy on my 35mm. I retrieved both and fixed it my digital...perfect fit.

I took some shots last night as I said with my digital on the night scene mode. They ALL came out blurred and I figured the answer was my tripod. Jacksonville is really very pretty from the location I was at trying to capture these doomed night shots from so I think I will try again tonight with the tripod and some cramming from my photography books. If I can just get on the bridge at night on foot would be perfect but I really don't want to get hit or worse...arrested. =P

Later guys...

tammynicole

Why go to Starbucks on Friday Nite You Ask.

So.....this is my very first post and I'll keep it short I promise. I'm still trying to get use to Blogger. This shouldn't be as complicated as it is.
Okay, so I was at home today...no particular reason, well there's always a reason for anything we do isn't there but I'm not to go there tonight. I really wasn't in the mood for the corporate world today so I took the day off. I was told something by someone recently that is really making me think hard about my life and want I REALLY want to do with it. It's a big ol world out there just waiting for me to grab a piece of it. I really don't know why I'm where I am now....in all aspects of my life. I should doing what everyone else is. Grabbing my piece of it. So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm in the planning stage. I've set a goal. Time to execute it.

I know the title of this post may be a bit confusing because it doesn't have anything to do with Starbucks. It's the last IM I got from a person I've sorta insinuated myself on and it kinda stuck. He's really a nice guy...very genuine and he's all over the place, literally. I like him a liiiittle more than I should but that's another story. So W, why Starbucks on a Friday Nite? Simple, because I wanted to. =)

Later guys.......

Tammynicole