Maris is home!! For those that have asked to see the flash mob video, I have yet to see it myself. Someone supposedly taped it but we haven't been able to track it down. I will share it if I ever see it!

I have almost reached my 2 year mark on being a blogger. wowser! Not only am I a blogger, but I am a blog follower of many fabulous blogs. I have learned so much from so many gracious photographers who give us insight into their skills through their blog. My photography skills, as a result, have improved {or at least I'd like to think so!}. 

  One of the basic rules in photography is to shoot with the sun over your shoulder. Meaning: don't shoot into the sun. But, lately I have seen some great images {shot by professionals} where they are actually allowing the lens flare into the shot. I think it's kind of beautiful and I wanted to try it myself and take some shots of my flowers just as the sun peaked over the mountain and then again at dusk.

See the beautiful rays of sun that are washing over the flowers? I got down low to the ground, and tipped the camera up just high enough to allow the rays to leak in. The light literally changed every minute as the sun creeped up the sky, so almost every shot was a different look. You can let in as much of the sun as you want and this also dramatically alters the image. It can give a cool vintage vibe to your shots.

The images below were shot at dusk.   

 I haven't tried this with people yet. baby steps. But I have seen some professionals who use this idea and it's so dreamy.

Speaking of photography skills--do you guys know of any great online classes that you would recommend?.