"What's the Catch - Do I Not Get Bacon?" - 11/27 - TR started!

[MrsDrewsky]

Congratulations on the air conditioner!

I agree there's nothing better than fresh grown carrots. It's like they buzz in your mouth.

The fireworks pics are awesome.

I LOVE the yellow shoes! They look so fun.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

Oh, I do have a photography question.

Thanks to you I have actually been not shooting on Auto all of the time. I was wondering about the a-dep mode on my Canon Rebel T3. How is this different from the aperture priority mode or just adjusting the aperture while in manual?

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Just seeing the picture of your air conditioner made me feel cool! Congrats!

And great pictures of the fireworks! Such a nice backdrop for the fireworks along the water. Love it.

 

[teekathepony]

Oh man that looks just like what we have on our server room at work. Yeah, I spend A LOT of time in there.

Wow, what gorgeous fireworks photos Wendy!

Congratulations on the airmiles flight. That's great news!

My hubby works in construction (plumber!) so he installs a lot of these heat pump units in commercial buildings, that's where they're more popular. They're super efficient!
Thank you, but I can't take all the credit for the fireworks pics, they put on a fantastic show and it just shows!
I'm very happy about the Airmiles flights, they're not bad flights and I'm just glad we were able to save up enough airmiles in time!

Congratulations on the air conditioner!

I agree there's nothing better than fresh grown carrots. It's like they buzz in your mouth.

The fireworks pics are awesome.

I LOVE the yellow shoes! They look so fun.

Oh thank you! I'm loving the AC, keeping my house so comfy!
Even the smell of really fresh carrots is awesome.
The fireworks show was awesome, I can't take much credit! But thanks!
If I can learn to walk in those shoes (yes, the low heel is even a little too much for me! ) I'll be all set!

Oh, I do have a photography question.

Thanks to you I have actually been not shooting on Auto all of the time. I was wondering about the a-dep mode on my Canon Rebel T3. How is this different from the aperture priority mode or just adjusting the aperture while in manual?

I actually never use A-DEP but here's a really good description of it from a Flickr conversation:
"This function enables you to get several targets in focus, even though they may be at different distances from the camera. Instead of you trying to calculate your depth of field, this setting will do it for you. You just have to place all targets (people, objects) on focal points while composing your shot."

So basically it's good for group shots, as one example. If your scene is a little darker and you aren't sure how small you can make your aperture before you start losing on your exposure, you set the A-DEP for each face and the camera figures out which aperture you're going to need. That's different from Aperture priority because in Av, you choose the Aperture size (A-DEP, camera chooses aperture size) and the camera will adjust the rest accordingly. If you use manual, you might find it hard to tell what's going to be in focus, although you could use a bracketing technique to see just how small your aperture can go before your picture is too dark. I can't say anything about it from experience -- I've actually never used the setting, preferring to manually change my settings. Hmm, I'm not so sure that description helped. I might have to actually try that function!

Just seeing the picture of your air conditioner made me feel cool! Congrats!

And great pictures of the fireworks! Such a nice backdrop for the fireworks along the water. Love it.

Haha thanks! My house feels amazing now!
And thanks again, the fireworks show was a really great show so I can't take all the credit, I just sat there hitting my remote! It was beautiful over the water, they set them off on a sandbar so there was water on either side and viewable from almost 270 degrees around!

 

[geckodani]

I'm caught up! I think.

First off, thoughts and prayers to your cousin. I'll be thinking of him, and I hope the news is good at his appointment.

Your flight time/options. zOMG I don't know how you do it. I was whining because I might have to add 1 stop that would make my trip take 5 hours instead of 3. I just - oy. I'm glad that in the end you were able to find flights that weren't too terrible!

Yay for FD! I'm sorry you are missing Food & Wine, but hey, you still have BOG! Plus a fabulous discount!!!

Edit to add: The shoes! The shoes are fantastic!!!

 

[Lmartheleur]

The fireworks in Dominion were great and your pictures are awesome That's so exciting about booking your flights!! Flights out of here can be a bit of a nightmare but those are great

 

[MEK]

Those fireworks are pretty amazing. The colors are just gorgeous.

I'm so glad you were able to book your flights and the times look really decent.

Glad you are having great summer weather. Can you believe its already August?

 

[Disney9.9.10]

This update is full of win!! Congrats on getting your A/C installed, and booking flights that you are happy with And like everyone else, I love those fireworks photos!!

 

[disneykiwi]

Crikey (just for you )

everything is working out wonderfully

Love the fireworks pics - they are brilliant.

I also grow my own vegies - all in containers as I have no actual garden area - love the carrots and tomatoes. Tried doing potatoes this year - they were delicious when cooked but its was alot of hard work so am naturally lazy by nature so may not do them again

Love the colour of the shoes - what is the dress colour you are wearing with them?

 

[SAT887]

I can't believe how time is flying! Love your garden!! We have some heirloom tomatoes that will be soon ready to pick, and between our garden and my farmshare I am loaded with veggies this year!! You still have strawberries!? How awesome, we were able to pick our last at the farm around. July 4th... It's blueberry time now . Yay on everything for your Disney trip just falling into place! And one big yay for AC!!

Photography tips..... Maybe fireworks, or what about character meet & greets.... Some composition tips.... Shooting on the safari.... Nighttime shooting......

 

[teekathepony]

I'm caught up! I think.

First off, thoughts and prayers to your cousin. I'll be thinking of him, and I hope the news is good at his appointment.

Your flight time/options. zOMG I don't know how you do it. I was whining because I might have to add 1 stop that would make my trip take 5 hours instead of 3. I just - oy. I'm glad that in the end you were able to find flights that weren't too terrible!

Yay for FD! I'm sorry you are missing Food & Wine, but hey, you still have BOG! Plus a fabulous discount!!!

Edit to add: The shoes! The shoes are fantastic!!!

Yay for catching up!
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for my cousin, I appreciate every one of them. I can't believe he still has almost a week until his appointment.
Ahhh flights. We have learned to suck it up I guess! I get bouts of jealousy over some of the flights I see people posting about here but then I remember that I will get there! Hahaha
Free dining was too good to pass up,and we just don't get much out of the festival so it was really a no brainier. And we still have BOG!!
I love my shoes!

The fireworks in Dominion were great and your pictures are awesome That's so exciting about booking your flights!! Flights out of here can be a bit of a nightmare but those are great

Haha did you get to see them too? Awesome. We were nervous they would be rained out, so glad we went over for them!
I agree, flights out of here suck anyway, so we got some pretty good ones. Though I wish they still had the Sydney to Toronto flight on! That would cut things down a lot!

Those fireworks are pretty amazing. The colors are just gorgeous.

I'm so glad you were able to book your flights and the times look really decent.

Glad you are having great summer weather. Can you believe its already August?

Thanks Mary Ellen! The fireworks were some really amazing colours, a great show indeed!
I'm relatively happy with our flights, it's the best we can do and I'm just glad we got them done!
I really can't believe it's August already, where the heck did July go!?

This update is full of win!! Congrats on getting your A/C installed, and booking flights that you are happy with And like everyone else, I love those fireworks photos!!

Thank you! And thanks, I wish I had some video of the fireworks, it was a brilliant show!

Crikey (just for you )

everything is working out wonderfully

Love the fireworks pics - they are brilliant.

I also grow my own vegies - all in containers as I have no actual garden area - love the carrots and tomatoes. Tried doing potatoes this year - they were delicious when cooked but its was alot of hard work so am naturally lazy by nature so may not do them again

Love the colour of the shoes - what is the dress colour you are wearing with them?

Yay!
Everything is really coming together, especially after last night, we got almost all the details worked out. Such a nice feeling!
Container gardening is so easy, I love it! Hmmm I always wanted to try potatoes but I am also a naturally lazy person so I'm not so sure... Lol
The dress is a dark charcoal grey, with the bright yellow shoes and accessories I think it looks really nice together!

I can't believe how time is flying! Love your garden!! We have some heirloom tomatoes that will be soon ready to pick, and between our garden and my farmshare I am loaded with veggies this year!! You still have strawberries!? How awesome, we were able to pick our last at the farm around. July 4th... It's blueberry time now . Yay on everything for your Disney trip just falling into place! And one big yay for AC!!

Photography tips..... Maybe fireworks, or what about character meet & greets.... Some composition tips.... Shooting on the safari.... Nighttime shooting......

I wish we had a farmshare around here! But my little garden is doing pretty good too.
Our strawberry plants never did produce any berries this year, they are new plants but I don't know if I did something wrong or what. The plants are alive and growing... Oh well! Johnny wants a blueberry bush next year.
So happy everything is working out with the trip, last night we got most things nailed down! And I'm loving the AC!
Those are some good ideas, I was thinking composition would be good. If its dead at work today ill have to write something up!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[SAT887]

I know as far as strawberries go, at the farm they plant next years field the year prior.... so maybe next year!

 

[jedijill]

Yay for catching up!
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for my cousin, I appreciate every one of them. I can't believe he still has almost a week until his appointment.
Ahhh flights. We have learned to suck it up I guess! I get bouts of jealousy over some of the flights I see people posting about here but then I remember that I will get there! Hahaha
Free dining was too good to pass up,and we just don't get much out of the festival so it was really a no brainier. And we still have BOG!!
I love my shoes!




Haha did you get to see them too? Awesome. We were nervous they would be rained out, so glad we went over for them!
I agree, flights out of here suck anyway, so we got some pretty good ones. Though I wish they still had the Sydney to Toronto flight on! That would cut things down a lot!





Thanks Mary Ellen! The fireworks were some really amazing colours, a great show indeed!
I'm relatively happy with our flights, it's the best we can do and I'm just glad we got them done!
I really can't believe it's August already, where the heck did July go!?






Thank you! And thanks, I wish I had some video of the fireworks, it was a brilliant show!





Yay!
Everything is really coming together, especially after last night, we got almost all the details worked out. Such a nice feeling!
Container gardening is so easy, I love it! Hmmm I always wanted to try potatoes but I am also a naturally lazy person so I'm not so sure... Lol
The dress is a dark charcoal grey, with the bright yellow shoes and accessories I think it looks really nice together!






I wish we had a farmshare around here! But my little garden is doing pretty good too.
Our strawberry plants never did produce any berries this year, they are new plants but I don't know if I did something wrong or what. The plants are alive and growing... Oh well! Johnny wants a blueberry bush next year.
So happy everything is working out with the trip, last night we got most things nailed down! And I'm loving the AC!
Those are some good ideas, I was thinking composition would be good. If its dead at work today ill have to write something up!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Yep, strawberries take a year to produce...You'll have berries next year!

Jill in CO

 

[khaleesi]

I've been randomly picking trip reports to read and I just love yours! I'm only on page 15, but I'm really enjoying. I think it's awesome that you're doing the photo tips posts!! I only have a point-and-shoot (with really crappy battery life) but it's still really interesting!

So that's my family! These are the critters who make it hard to leave to go to Disney and the main reason I would ever want to come home from there.

I LOVE your furbabies and totally love this comment!!!

And I thought I quoted the post with your husband's "Knock, Knock, Penny" shirt but apparently I didn't. I LOVE that shirt!!!!! I've never seen that one. I have a "Bazinga" one and it's probably my favorite thing to wear!!

Really happy for you that you got the BOG reservation. I'm hoping for the same thing when my ADR window opens up in approximately three weeks! I'm going solo and I'm going in February so I've got my fingers crossed!!

 

[teekathepony]

I know as far as strawberries go, at the farm they plant next years field the year prior.... so maybe next year!

Yep, strawberries take a year to produce...You'll have berries next year!

Jill in CO

Cool! Thank you both, now I don't feel so bad.

I've been randomly picking trip reports to read and I just love yours! I'm only on page 15, but I'm really enjoying. I think it's awesome that you're doing the photo tips posts!! I only have a point-and-shoot (with really crappy battery life) but it's still really interesting!

I LOVE your furbabies and totally love this comment!!!

And I thought I quoted the post with your husband's "Knock, Knock, Penny" shirt but apparently I didn't. I LOVE that shirt!!!!! I've never seen that one. I have a "Bazinga" one and it's probably my favorite thing to wear!!

Really happy for you that you got the BOG reservation. I'm hoping for the same thing when my ADR window opens up in approximately three weeks! I'm going solo and I'm going in February so I've got my fingers crossed!!

Glad to have you on board!
And best of luck with your own BOG ADR

 

[teekathepony]

Hi everyone! Happy Natal day!

I think it might only be Nova Scotia that calls it that. Anyway it's a civic holiday and I'm off today. I had a busy weekend, Johnny is working today, so I'm taking it easy (though my washer and dryer aren't... yikes! Laundry piles up when you're out doing fun things in the summer!)

Saturday and Sunday we did a bit of island touring again. I'll share just a few of my favourite pics (I promise, no overload!)

Saturday after work we went to Louisbourg (town where the fortress is) where they were having their big annual festival.

Went to Louisbourg's Lighthouse Trail:

Yesterday we drove around the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton's scenic drive.

The Bog Trail, a little boardwalk through a bog on top of a mountain. One of our favourite places!

Phew! We were tired last night!

Thursday evening we had a bonfire and Johnny and I sat down and planned out our new itinerary. We thought that almost nothing would change, just take the plans from the first two days we have now dropped and add them onto the end. Nope! Didn't work out that way! That would be too easy!

That wasn't the only thing making it difficult. Remember me saying that we were not going to do the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party this year? Well, I made the mistake of saying out loud "Oh, October is open for the fireworks party." to which Johnny replied, "Oh we'll have to keep a close eye for when November opens!" I was perplexed... "I thought we weren't going this year..." I said. "Oh! I wanted to" Johnny replied. Oh! Couldn't let me know about these things, could you dear?

So my new set of plans are jam packed, including all the original items as well as an additional meal at a new restaurant and the fireworks party. I'm just going to scrap the old day-to-days I was doing and start all over. I should have waited until we had our flights settled in the first place!

Travel Day
Monday, November 11th -

We'll need to be at the Sydney airport (a 40 minute drive from home) about 7:45. They have new rules about needing to check in 90 minutes before your flight. We'll check in and then there's nothing to do but wait until...

9:20am depart Sydney
10:18 arrive in Halifax

Hopefully in Halifax we can grab a quick bite to eat, since we'll have to leave home around 7:00.

11:45 depart Halifax
1:16 arrive in Toronto (2.5hr flight)

In Toronto we have 3.5 hours to wait until our next flight.

But that's ok, we need some time to get through customs and then eat something before we head out on our last (and best) leg...

4:40 depart Toronto
7:31 arrive in Orlando

When we arrive in Orlando we'll catch the Faux-norail

To the ME lines, where we need to find this one for the first time ever!!!

I can't wait to pull up in front of this gorgeous place and call it home for a week:

We're going to check in, our room will surely be ready so late in the day, we will unpack a little and then explore a little of the resort. We might have a little dip in the pool or hot tub, and then it's off for a good night's sleep for the busy upcoming week!


p.s. Guess what happened yesterday???

DOUBLE DIGITS!

 

[teekathepony]

Photography 101
Lesson 7: Rules of Composition

It's been a while since I've done one of these and I wanted to get back to it.

This is going to be a long lesson, packed with an overload of information. I wouldn't expect (or suggest to) you to remember all of this any time soon! But give it a read, if anything in there interests you or sparks something, try to remember that. And maybe once and a while come back and read it again.

Composition: the arrangement/placement of visual elements in your scene.

When I was in painting class, my instructor used to say to us; "Learn the rules first, then you can break them." Photography is a very interesting thing including a very artistic side and a very technical side. Learning the rules leans toward the technical side of things, breaking them to the artistic.

Having said that, here are a few well-known photography "rules". These can help you to compose a better shot, and once you know them, what they do for your scene, and why they work, you can feel to break them in a situation that calls for it.

Rule of Thirds:
Picture a tic-tac-toe grid over your scene -- 2 lines up and down, 2 lines across to make 9 equal segments. The rule of thirds states that a strong composition has important elements either along these lines or at the intersection points. Your camera might even offer the option of a grid overlay on your LCD screen, and many photo editing programs do the same with the crop tool. For example - you should never leave your horizon line in the middle -- better to move it up or down to one of the third lines!

Leading Lines
Lines draw your eye in their direction. If you are able to place lines to lead the eye toward your subject (think a winding path with a figure at the end, or a fence that ends with a tree) it will draw the eye naturally to where you want it to go. Straight lines or curvy, as long as they're not distracting, are very helpful image composers! S-curves can be visually appealing too and sort of go along with leading lines.

Viewpoint
Be aware of your viewpoint, that is where you're taking the picture from. Remember that most people take their photos from eye level meaning that if you're looking at something that has likely been photographed before (ahem, everything in WDW) it has also most likely been photographed from the same angle you were going to take. If you can be more aware of where you take it from (i.e. low, shooting high, to the side, shooting wide, very close up, etc.) you could end up with a more interesting shot! Shooting up at something can make it appear more powerful, larger. Shooting from a high angle down on something can make them appear less imposing. This is also where I should mention kids and pets -- you can end up with a much more visually interesting shot if you get down to their eye level to take it.

Background
Be aware of your background! Your eyes do an amazing job of filtering out the most interesting part of a scene, but the camera takes it all in. See if you can get an uncluttered background or if not, make your subject stand out with a shallow depth of field and a blurry background. Sometimes (especially in WDW) the background is important to the story, but just keep in mind what your subject is and make sure to bring the focus to that.

Framing
Using objects around the edges of your image can frame the scene and catch wandering eyes and direct them back to your subject. Things like trees, arches, buildings, etc. can be used at the edges of your picture to not only add to the scene, but focus it as well.

Lead Room
Leave more room in the direction your subject is looking or moving. Despite pictures being static, there is always motion implied -- this technique gives the subject room to move into, a much more pleasing effect. (Though once you learn this rule, you'll notice that purposefully breaking it will lead to a feeling of discomfort in your image -- perfect if that's what you're going for!)

I looked online for some more ideas I was missing and here are a few I found (along with some of my own commentary):

-Be clear on your subject. What story are you trying to tell with the photo? -- I think this is the most important. Think about things before you shoot, rather than simply documenting, try to tell a story.

-Simplify. Simple is best. Remove anything that doesn’t help you tell the story. --Clutter is the death of a good photograph. You'd be amazed at how easy it is to tell a story with very little. Think of Twitter - 140 characters and you can get a whole thought across if you simplify!

-Check for intruders. Is there something popping into the picture from the side? Is there a tree branch, power line, telephone poll, etc., that creeps into the shot and steals attention from the subject? Re-compose and remove it.

-When making portraits, always keep the eyes above the center line in the photo. -- Head in the dead center of a photo is a clear "Snapshot Indicator!

-Add depth by including strong foreground objects in shots where the background is also important.

-Shoot vertically to enhance tall objects or to emphasize height. Shoot horizontally to emphasize width.

Finally, here's another article I really liked:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/04/12/10-rules-of-photo-composition-and-why-they-work/

"Technical mastery opens the door to artistic freedom." -- Learn your camera top to bottom, learn the functions. When those are easy, this stuff will come next!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Beautiful pictures!

Don't you love those matter-of-fact revelations from your loved ones that they wanted to do a certain ADR all along? For me, it's usually DD who does that. It doesn't help that the ones she pulls out of her pocket are CRT or BOG! Oh well, at least you get to do more Disney planning!!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

We just call it the Civic holiday here, and I have to work A lot of places seem to be staying open here this year, no idea why. Your pictures are beautiful though!! I would love to get out there some day.

It really stinks that it takes you so long to fly down to Orlando, but 7:30 isn't too bad of a time to get there. AKL is so amazing, it is going to blow you away! We spent a lot of time at nights down by the Savannah where they have the fire going, it is beautiful and relaxing, and the CMs there were fantastic during our trip.

Double Digits!!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

How I miss the maritimes!Your beautiful pics brought a tear to my eye! I promised Shanleigh that one year we are going to fly in and then rent a car, preferable end of Aug beginning of September (my fav time of year).

I can't believe you're in double digits, so happy for you guys! You are gonna love staying at AKL or Kidani, whichever, you will love it! Think of us when you're there