So, I'm taking a photography course...

fanfare apron dress, originally uploaded by littlegirlPearl.

because I got a new camera, a Nikon D80 as a matter of fact, and had absolutely NO idea how to use it. I mean I had some clue, but my pictures were still not where I wanted them. So, as luck would have it, a Nikon Pro is just down the street from me, and he mentioned that he was starting up a beginner's class. Wahoo! Even luckier for me, i was the only one who signed up, so I am getting 6 weeks of one-on-one instruction.

So last week, I was explaining to him that my daughter never sits still, so the majority of the photos were blurry. And of course when I made the shutter speed faster, there wasn't enough light. He replied, "Did you change the ISO?"

Well, duh. Even though I've had a digital point and shoot for quite some time, I don't think this was an option on my camera, so while I was aware this was possible, it just didn't occur to me. This one was taken indoors, on a bright overcast day, at ISO 320. Probably a little overexposed, and my camera as much as told me so, but I was just so excited to get brighter pictures indoors that I left it that way. I think I photoshopped this slightly darker, but I still love the light quality on her face, and I'm loving that expression.

This dress is part of my Spring/Summer '09 line, and uses the colors I love to put her in: deep aqua, magenta, pink, and a dash of red. Every time I have to go to my day job, my mind whirs with everything I have ready to sew. I've been concentrating on cutting, and so I have about 4 garments ready to be sewn. I'm trying to be a bit more efficient and cut two colors out at once. This really cuts down on the workload. Here's to finding snippets of time...