{Tackling Depth of Field-Day 7}

Continuing on with Day 7:

f/1.6

f/3

f/5

f/8

f/20

Today I played around with my camera in Aperture Priority Mode (AV). Moving the aperture one stop smaller with each shot made the point of focus a little different. The first few pictures, with the aperture at its widest made the background not as noticeable, they eye was drawn to the subject. The smaller the aperture, the more was in focus.

So, if you want a blurry background, you would choose a large aperture, like f/1.6 or f/3
but if you want everything in focus, you would choose a small aperture, like f/20.

Day 4 of Better Photos Series

Day 4 is about ISO, the measurement of how sensitive the camera is to light.

ISO= 100 shutter speed 1/0"6

ISO= 200 shutter speed 1/0"3
both shot in P creative zone

What I learned: the higher the ISO, the shorter the shutter speed
the lower the ISO, the longer the shutter speed and the harder to hold the
camera still that long, therefore-I need a tripod!

31 Days to a Better Photo

As part of my new year's resolution, I've decided to spend the year learning to use my new camera. I've begged for this camera, now that I have it, I don't know what to do with it, go figure! So, I'm starting with Life with My 3 Barbarian's 31 Days to a Better Photo series. I'm posting my pics here so, I can see in diary form my improvement.

So far, I'm on Day 4, I spent the first 2 days reading my manual, which was a lot like reading a vcr manual-clear as mud. But, I know where to find the sections I need to reference and noticed a lot more buttons I didn't know how to use-it's going to be a long road!

Day 3 was about shutter speed, the amount of time the shutter is open.

shutter speed: 1/100 second

shutter speed: 1/30 second
Shot in TV Creative Zone

The longer the shutter speed, the brighter the picture because more light was allowed into the camera.

{Make some good Memories}

We've MOVED! We had one of the best and worst closings ever, but we survived and we're finally beginning to settle in. We've been in the new house a few weeks, we've accomplished a lot, but still have tons to do! While the closing on our previous house was less than ideal (tears were shed, closing was delayed) the closing on our new home could not have been better. We are so grateful everything worked out, we hugged the seller and she said, "Make some good memories, I'm so glad you guys bought the house." We plan to do even better than that-Make some GREAT memories!
P.S. Sneak peaks still to come!

{Before Pics}

Here's a few pics of the "soon to be ours" house. There's a lot we plan to do when it's ours. No. 1 is to scrape the popcorn ceilings.


I really have no clue how to arrange the furniture in here, other than the way the seller currently has it, any ideas are much appreciated...


Here's the Master Bedroom, it is actually bigger than this picture makes it out to be.


The Master bath, however, is not. This may be the tiniest master bath I've seen. There is a shower in the corner, but it's nearly impossible to get a pic including it.


Another bedroom...


The main bathroom...



And finally, the kitchen. That dropped lighting thing in there, will be one of the 2nd things to go.


That's about all there is to see. I hope you stay around to see the afters. It will be a slow process, but we're excited to make it our own. Stay tuned!

{Mon Petit Maison}

Our little house is "on the market" and I can't help but feel a wee bit sappy. It's just seeming to feel real now that it's officially for sale. So, I've been going through some old pics and the new MLS pics...
Come on into our living room. As you can see, this place kind of lacks "a man's touch." I bought this house before we were married, thus most rooms stayed the same, I wasn't so into the bachelor pad furniture.


Our "dining room" is just a small nook, just big enough for a small table. What would you expect from 980 square foot?
And the kitchen built for one...


I say one because this kitchen was rarely used before we were married, dear husband is the cook in our family.


But, that didn't stop me from decorating:)


The secret to a happy marriage? Two separate bathrooms, His and Hers!


This is his-I know it's not very masculine. But, we had one agreement regarding decorating before we were married. Dear Husband gets one room to decorate, the rest are mine!

And Hers:


Remember the room Dear Husband gets to decorate? Here it is...

I have to say, I've snuck a little bit of my picks in here, but this room is far from being finished, so this room is usually not on the tour.


Our bedroom...I told you I was obsessed with all things French! I try to keep all my Paris paraphernalia contained in one room-here it is in all its glory!


That concludes the tour. It didn't take long! Thanks for reminiscing with me, if you'd like to see more detailed pictures, you can view the more in the photo album to the right.

{Hooked on: House Tours}

Okay, maybe more like MLS tours ;) While driving around, I saw this:


Surrounded by houses like this:


I was intrigued by this 1950's home turned chateau. The house was for sale, so I went home and went searching online. It turns out it was renovated by R D Designs. Check out the before:

and after:

Can you believe the transformation? Here's where the house crashing comes in...this house is listed as a 3 bed, 2 bath and a manageable 2,411 square feet. Let's start as you walk into the spacious dining/living room


I love the vaulted ceilings in the living room, I can only imagine how much that opened up the space. And I adore the stacked stone fireplace, I'm not so into the "western" theme, but that's easily changed, oui?



Wouldn't you love to have these hand scraped pine floors throughout?



Let's move onto the kitchen. This is definitely the way to have it all-I like all the different color on the woodwork. I wouldn't be brave enough for all these colors, but maybe a few.


This kitchen has everything I'm in love with right now, the farmhouse sink, the bead board...


I'm definitely not the cook in our family, but I'd enjoy hanging out in here. Onto the Master bedroom:


I envy how the master suite is big enough to pull off the brown ceiling with the blue walls.


And who doesn't dream of a romantic fireplace in the bedroom?



Of course the bathroom is luxurious and modern.



With those sinks that I see us all hating in about 5 years, but they look good now


For those of you counting, that would be the 3rd television in the master suite. Here's the 2nd bathroom:


and the half bath, where did this come from? it wasn't in the listing...


Any ideas what this room is? An office?


And who wouldn't love spending time out here?



Did I mention the pool?



Definitely a major home makeover. I'm sure there are some ideas in there somewhere for my petite chateau!

To see what others are hooked on, visit Hooked on Houses