Guadalupe River

Comment

Comment by Sheree on March 1, 2011 at 5:49pm

@ Maryrose - Thank you.  I was amazed at how rocky and stumpy this section was!!  The floods from the last couple of years had really taken a toll on it.

@ Dorraine - Thanks!  I have a question: this was shot near the take-out at Gruene; are there other areas of the river that are as pretty and accessible for photography?  I've always wanted to do the float, but never seem to manage it.

Comment by Dorraine Darden on March 1, 2011 at 9:59am

Sheree, I've floated this river twice, and you captured the beauty!

Comment by Maryrose Orlans on February 28, 2011 at 11:38pm

Wonderful!  What a find!

Comment by Sheree on February 28, 2011 at 10:59pm

Thank you both.  I'm a visual learner and I wear bifocals - not exactly the best combo for photography since I've come to depend on other photographers blogs and tutorials for learning (I do still refer to the manual but both are hard to have on hand when you're out with the camera!!) and I have a hard time actually seeing what I'm shooting when I'm out!!

Toby, there's a lot of activity on the river, but mostly "tubing" which makes me think it's a slower river than you'd want for whitewater rafting.  The area where I took this photo is one of the take-outs.  I should think it would make for a beautiful trip even if it wasn't real exciting!

Comment by Toby McConnell on February 28, 2011 at 9:08pm

We all stumble along this path to creativity, but what's great is that the disappointments do lead to learning and, success! I love this pic, Sheree. I would focus my lens just where you did. My DH and I have been whitewater rafting twice. Is the Guadalupe a river that is rafted?

Comment by wiffledust on February 28, 2011 at 8:51pm

it's beautiful, sheree! i'm going to feature this tomorrow morning. i love it when artists reveal things they are embarrassed about that lead to  learning and discovery! it makes me feel so much more at home. that's how i do everything!

Comment by Sheree on February 28, 2011 at 7:55pm

I'm using this album for pictures that come out as I intended them to.  Not an easy thing for me; I'm still learning how to use my camera.

When we got this camera (Sony a350 DSLR) I wanted to get off "auto" and learn how to use it.  I took classes, but it was such a waste of money.  The instructor spent all of our time talking "tech" to the people who had taken every other class he'd taught or were not really novices and therefore didn't belong in the class.  When he wasn't doing that he was showing us all the enlarged copies of photos he took in Africa.  Very little information we could use ("read your manual") and no homework to give us a chance at actually shooting photos he could critique and help with.  So, over a year later the tiles have started to fall into place.  I FINALLY realized (I'm almost embarrassed to admit) how to change Aperature (F-stops) and began to get brave enough to experiment with the settings that aren't entirely camera controlled!!

I'm still struggling with how to pre-determine what might be required to make a good photo (thank goodness for review) and I'm still getting disappointed a LOT.  But digital is very forgiving.  When I'm struggling most, I slip back into auto and take a few snaps to see what the camera wants to do with the light and such, then I use those settings to tweak the shot until I feel like I'm on the right track. 

This was one such shot.