Rain + Puddle + Off Camera Flash = This Shot!!

Yea so Photography Class has started back up and I am so stoked about it. Anyway we got to photograph anything we wanted for our first assignment.

Well one of those days it rained and there was a puddle in out front flower bed (which doesn't have any flowers, so would it be a weed bed or dirt bed? Hmm must look into that.). There was also a kind of steady stream of water flowing down from out gutters into that puddle. So I figured what a great time to experiment with off camera flash.

So a little about the setup.

I had my SB-900 about 6 feet to my left and about 5 feet from the subject, no diffuser, with the little white  bounce card pulled out, and last but not least I had the flash head angled at 90 degrees. Now I was about 4 to 5 feet away from the subject, and my camera was pretty much on the ground.

Let me know what you think!!

Inks Lake

Alright!!! I know this post has been a long time coming. Anyway these pics are from our trip to Inks Lake up near Austin, Texas. It is a beautiful place. 

So this was our first night at the state park and the view from out camping spot. These first 3 photos are long exposures, 20 to 30 seconds. 

So the second day we woke up and did our morning devotions and then I tried to get a reflection photo of a camp site across the water from us. I wish the water was more calm but it is what it is. :)

Mom doing her devotions.

Then later that day we went over to the Devil's Waterhole and jumped of the cliff! It was a ton of fun!!!

This is the cliff that we jumped off of. 

Then we went to one of the fishing piers so I could take some pictures.

Day 3 consisted of staying around camp for awhile then we went into Austin to se the Capitol! 

This was just 2 guys walking up the stairs and the light was crazy cool with the old looking stair rail. I really like this one.

The view from the front steps of the capitol.

Then the next day we went back to the Devil's Waterhole and I did some hiking.

The our las day came and after we got all packed up and hit the road we stopped at a scenic spot near the top of a hill and I snapped even more pictures. :) 

Now for some fun random pictures of our trip.
I know the quality of this video is not the greatest but that happened through the upload process and I can't fix it.... :(((

Also check back soon because I have a new post coming. We went to the Houston Fire Fest at the Firefighter Academy in Houston and I got some really cool picture. I will be posting them sometime Thursday. :)

Soft Water

All of these have a 30 second exposure and were taken around or after dark.

Waterfall

These were EXTREMELY hard to take, in order to get the "soft" looking water you have to slow the shutter speed down. Which is hard to use when your shooting free hand.