in a house full of boys.....: my hobby

A little more than a year ago, my husband gave me and iPhone as an early Christmas gift. After swearing I would never give into the hype, I was eating my words. My phone quickly filled with apps that I used daily, ok hourly. YouVersion, Words with Friends, Angry Birds, and other fun apps filled my time. In January 2011, I downloaded Instagram, and that is where my love of photography blossomed.

I would have never guessed that I would enjoy photography like am now. It pushes me to be creative in ways that my normal day to day life would have never presented. Taking pictures is more than just taking a snapshot of a pretty scene or a special time with the boys. It is finding the beauty in my everyday surroundings and capturing all the moments in my life. My iPhone became my only camera. I love iPhoneography very much. It is amazing what you can do with the camera and a handful of apps. Below is a collection of my favorite 16 shots of 2011. I have also created a tag on Instagram of all my favorite shots. They can be viewed here.

Midway through last year, I began wanting something more. Upgrading to a DSLR was the way to go. In October, I was blessed to receive a Canon T3i. Wow! I still feel I have so much to learn. I have been doing lots of reading and shooting pictures.

Just a few weeks ago, I began my first photography class.

I learned about this class on Instagram when a friend posted her homework. Looking into it, I discovered it was being taught by Little Fashion Diary. I was thrilled to be able to participate and really feel I am learning so much about photography, my camera's functions and how to use my editing software. Here are my pictures I've taken for my class so far.

Week One: An example of what we thought to be a "good" picture.