<photo geek post>

I feel pangs of guilt – I mean to update daily, and I still usually shoot photos daily, but this blog is making me look much more seriously at my photography, which I guess is the point. Learning….

Today’s post is case in point. Don’t get me wrong – I like the shot, yet I feel like there’s more I could have had….

This little fella was having breakfast with me this morning – he gets into my bird feeder, then shakes the seeds down onto this rock where he breaks them and eats breakfast. I get sausage and fried eggs (cast iron skillet of course!) and he has healthy, low-fat seeds…. sorry little man. Yet he’s as welcome to the seed as the birds. I caught him today after work – probably the same guy – as he was hanging out in the sun.

Where I’m faulting myself is technical – this shot almost feels textbook to me. Apply the photographer’s rule of thirds here; painfully on the grid.  Check depth of field – the grass blurs, yet he’s in sharp contrast. And contrast? Yes, I shot this manually – hand set aperture and speed, almost to a fault with the rock behind him turning to blurred white and his coat in contrast.

Technically, I like the shot, yet it’s really too textbook. So here’s my challenge to myself – break the rules. Center subjects. Let light in when I wouldn’t, and see what dances. My next few posts may not look much like the rest, so we’ll call this a learning week. Why not?

</photo geek post>

Breakfast buddy

1/200 f/6.3 ISO 400 250mm