Light Painting

       One of my new favorite things to do on the camera is Light Paint. Its really easy and super fun, especially if you have some friends to paint with.  All you have to do is set your camera (DSLR) to a long exposure mode, some will have a manual exposure which is even better. The camera needs to be set on a tripod, its pretty much impossible to hold the camera steady enough, unless you want squiggly lines. Last of all, but most important, it has to be dark; but it doesn't have to be pitch black.
       What really is going to make your 'painting' interesting is the light you choose you use. LED lights work best, they give off the most vibrant colors. I found some really great lights at the local party supply store in the party favor section, and in the toy and automotive departments at Walmart, and they are all fairly inexpensive.
        All that is left to do is turn the camera and lights on and start moving. Couple tips: 
~ If you wear dark clothes your even more less likely to be seen by the camera.
~ Experiment with turning lights on and off while you move, this will break up the lines to make more defined shapes. 

Kids are really good at this.

Kid masterpiece.

Sitting in the passenger seat while it was raining at night. This was an auto complex.

My friend moved her legs and arms while wearing balloons with LED light inside them.

Made my sister sit in this position without moving. (Not as easy as you would think.)

Smell the Roses

It's always better to take a break from the labors of life and take time to smell the roses. Which means, I'm not in the mood to do any more homework right now. So here are some more pictures I took while I was in Oregon.  It was at the Portland Rose Garden, it's truly an amazing place.