Stopping Time with One Little Click

I don't know much about cameras. Because I was the yearbook sponsor for high school students for 33 years, most people think I know about photography, but I never understood all those f-stops, apertures, or shutter speeds. I haven't even owned a camera for about seven years and really didn't think I needed anything more than my phone camera. However, now that I'm a blogger (or trying to be), my husband decided I needed a real camera.

After researching cameras extensively, we settled on a Canon Rebel T3i EOS 600D.

Please don't ask me what any of those numbers/letters mean because I have no idea. All I know is that I'm totally overwhelmed with all the different settings. I've watched YouTube videos and tutorials over and over, read the manual, read the Canon Rebel T3i for Dummies book, and shot thousands of pictures. I still don't know how I got some of the shots I did, but I think some of them are pretty interesting. Others are obviously the work of an amateur. I don't think it will take you long to figure out which is which. 

Above and below: These two pictures were taken using different light settings. I don't remember what the settings were because I was mainly playing with the different dials and buttons. The next photos get better so don't stop reading the post now.

Above and below: These two pictures are part of a series using the sports setting on the camera. On this setting, the camera takes several pictures in quick succession. Above is my son in the middle of a black flip. Below is my neighbor making a graceful leap into the pool. By the way, she's a ballerina.

Above: I'm getting a little creative/artsy by taking a picture of my daughter who is taking a picture. Below is another artsy shot of a branch of blueberries. This picture was taken on the depth-of-field setting. 

Above and below: Both pictures are of the same daylilly but taken at different angles. I like the off-center composition of the flowers. Which one do you like best? 

Above: This was taken on July 4. Cloee made the heart over and over while the camera slowly captured the shot.  I want to take more fun and cool shots like this one.

Above: I'm not sure I did anything special to get this shot, but it's one of my favorites. I like the light on Cloee's hair, her full attention on catching a fish, and her Uncle Drew watching her in the background. 

Above: I took this shot from the top of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. The trees in the foreground give me an idea of the thousands of trees found on those rolling mountains. 

Learning to use the Canon Rebel T3i is difficult but fun. Digital photography sure is a lot cheaper than using all that 35 mm film, waiting for your pictures to be developed, and then finding out you totally missed the shot. 

Like I said earlier, I have thousands more photos I've taken with my new camera. More of them are far from being professional or actually, far from even being good. I'll keep practicing and learning and hopefully, getting better at it. It's really quite fun.