I've Got the Shutter Bug

I've discovered that I really like taking pictures. I smile a lot when I'm taking pictures. I'm a grinnin' fool, I tell you. Scoob laughs at me, but he likes to see me smile like that. I caught my reflection the other day while taking photos and I looked so happy. All the way happy deep into my eyes and I thought, "I know that girl. She has a woman's face with lines around the eyes and mouth, but I know that girl."

I kind of get lost in time when I've got my camera out and trying to capture something. It's like I can detach myself and temporarily step outside of life and everyday worries and just enjoy the moment. I'm getting better at gauging whether I should adjust the aperture setting or shutter speed to get the effect I want. I still can't take a good picture of a person worth a damn unless they're totally posing, but I'm working on it. And I think I'm getting better at composition and framing as well. At least that's what people have been telling me lately. And seeing as how it's not just Mom and Scoob telling me, I'm thinking it might actually be true. Could it be that maybe I've finally found a creative outlet?

I was totally jazzed when I was using that tripod to take pictures of Christmas lights. It was cold out that night, and I was shivering because I didn't grab a jacket, and my nose was drippy because I was just getting over being sick, and I loved every second of it. As I folded up the tripod and headed back into the house I thought "I could totally get into this" I was thinking about hiking, taking nature photos; exploring new cities, taking architectural photos; and visiting gardens for botanicals. So yeah, I think I've just added a tripod to my wish list.

Anyhoodle, here are a few more photos from our North Carolina trip:

We saw this flower at the florist stand in A Southern Season and I
couldn't resist. I tried describing Southern Season to someone as part
Sur la Table, part World Market, part Pasta Shop (gourmet foodie
store in Berkeley) but all of it on crack.

Clearly this was taken before I got my hands on a tripod.
I still like it though.

In addition to hosting Christmas Eve dinner,
our friends also had a desert and wine tasting party.

Thankfully, I took pictures of more than I ate.

Sparkly. (I so think that should be spelled sparkley,
but spellcheck disagrees.)

The Duke University chapel.

Stained glass in the chapel.

More stained glass. It takes such a slow shutter speed to get the
colors that it's very difficult to keep in focus without a tripod.

I think this is the Divinity building at Duke University.
I love the contrast of orange-ish stones and blue sky.

This could be more of the Divinity building (it's not labeled on the
campus map), but again with the orange stone and Carolina blue sky.
And the moon!