Manual Labor

Has it really been 3 weeks since I last posted?  Since then, I have been out practicing with my camera. It was finally time for me to take the big plunge and convince myself that moving that little dial on my camera to Manual mode would provide me with a new challenge that would be good for me.  So I did it.  And I was frustrated for a while, but determined to get past it, promising myself that I could go back to the Auto mode if it still didn't "click" for me after giving it a week.
             
What I found, was that I am lazy about reading and all that information about ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed and trying to figure out how they all relate to each other was almost too much for me.  Yet somehow,  I got past it and found my own unique way of playing with my settings until I was able to capture a picture I was proud of.  And you know, that felt really good.  So I continued.  Below is a shot of the fountain over in Bar Harbor where I became fascinated with the droplets of water. 

Okay, I went a little overboard with my fascination of the water and shot two more of that same fountain. 

I realize these aren't really that interesting, but my need to document it, is so I can look back on them in the future and hopefully see improvement. 

My attempt to capture something in motion  (for practice, just in case I panic when I spot an eagle and want to revert back to Auto mode).

Or just in case we have a really big storm, I need to practice my timing of the crashing waves too. 

I want it all to become second nature to me. 

And someday,  I hope to capture the way the setting sun sometimes fills up the cabin of a lobster boat and makes it look like it's on fire. 

But for now, thanks so much for indulging me with my new found interest.  I have lots to learn and work on, but I can't help but feel a sense of freedom of taking that first step away from relying on my camera's Auto setting.