lola.. you are driving me crazy.

I've been feeling so frustrated with my photography and the pictures I've been taking lately.

It.is.driving.me.crazy.

My focus seems off on my pictures..so, for example, I'll want the eyes to be in focus and instead the tree in the background is in focus and the eyes are fuzzy. {if I cursed I would probably insert a curse word

here.. just to show how much it is bothering me}

My photography instructor, at the beginning of our class, did say that we would probably

take a lot of bad pictures before we start taking good pictures.

And now that I'm in full manual mode, I agree with her. I think I'm going through

the 'bad picture' phase right now. 

It's so much more work then I ever thought it would be. This photography thing.

But at the same time.. I am truly amazed at what God has shown to me through my camera lens.

I've gained an appreciation for

the very small details,

 for lighting,

shadows {and how much I DON'T like them},

 nature and its infinite beauty..after all, it provides

a beautiful backdrop for pictures.

As much as I'm having a hard time with Lola {my Nikon D5000 camera}, there are times in which the essence of the person is captured in the pictures. I'll look at a picture and I can see the subjects personality just shine through. Some of my favorite pictures don't necessarily follow a photography rule and the settings are off {which is pretty typical of what's going on right now}

But to me they are special.

{one word to describe this child: sassy}

{life is just so hard for this kid. cant'cha tell?}

{I think he's got a secret crush on this little girl}

And then, sometimes I find the most random pictures on my camera.

And my first thought is:

what the what is this??

and then I just gotta laugh.

{this is what happens when I leave Lola unattended..self portraits of my sister}

Because I'm reminded of why I love this photography thing so much.

And that I just need to enjoy it and have fun.

I've got a super fabulous bestie friend that helps me {you are the bestest Sheila, thank you!} and gives me advice, so hopefully soon it will click with me and I'll see some improvement.

{And I'm sure it would help if I was caught up on my photography homework and reading}.

But in the meantime,

I'm just gonna click click away.

And hope I get at least one good shot  :)