Sweet Shot Tuesday - St. Louis Skyline at Sunset

"St. Louis Skyline at Sunset"

The story behind the shot:

On Sunday my husband Mike and I had a day without the boys. The plan was to go school clothes shopping and just spend some time together. There were no particular plans for "spend some time together," so I made sure to grab my camera and tripod on our way out the door.

The setting sun made for great shadows. 

By mid afternoon, our shopping was finished, and we were checking movie times for the mall cinema. We just missed a movie by 10 minutes, so we scratched that idea. In the car, I googled "things to do in St. Louis" - here we had 7 hours to do something before we had to be home, and neither of us knew what to do.

Most things that came to mind either cost more money than we wanted to spend or were evening activities that wouldn't be finished until late.

So, I talked Mike into just letting me take photos. Photography isn't his "thing," but he knows it is mine and agreed to drive me wherever I chose to go.

My first stop was the Laumeier Sculpture Park. There, we walked around the different sculptures, and I got some new photo letter shots. There were a few new sculptures in the park since we had last been there (about 9 years ago), the most interesting one to me being the large eyeball. But being the middle of the afternoon on a bright, sunshiney day, the harsh light just wasn't the best for great photos of the sculptures.

After the park, we had a nice dinner, waiting for the light.

It's all about the light...

The difference between a great photo and an amazing photo is the light. You can have an extraordinary composition, but if the light isn't right, the photo is a dud.

So we waited...

It was a beautiful evening for fishing on the Missouri River.

...and waited...until the sun set, the sky turned blue, and the lights of the city came on.

The weather was pleasant, and no one bothered us. Being a Sunday evening, the Eads Bridge had low traffic, so shaking was minimal, except for every 10 minutes when the MetroLink rumbled through underneath us (at which times Mike would quickly step as far from the edge of the bridge as possible...just in case).

We observed the riverboat and helicopter tours along the river, the massive barges pushing their loads, and a few St. Louisans stroll past us and over the Mississippi River.

It was a fairly sweet evening.

"Peeking Through" - I thought this one called for a vintage look.

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How it Went: {Workshop} Simple and Sweet Photography Basics

Before our photowalk.

 <---There is my first workshop class! I was thrilled that 20 photographers packed the presentation room at St. Peter's UCC last Thursday!

The skill range was from beginners up to serious amateurs, so I was a little nervous, hoping that I would be able to share at least one new thing for each person.

After my presentation, I answered a few questions, and then we headed outside. The sun was beginning its descent and was lighting up the clouds just beautifully. Our route took us to downtown Washington, pausing to snap photos of gardens and historic brick buildings. The sky was a gorgeous and dramatic background, making it easy for my class to find beautiful compositions.

Dramatic clouds to the east during the sunset.

The sunset was stunning as it lit the sky on fire.

I really enjoyed walking with the class, stopping every little bit to help them find the compositions and settings they had in mind. My favorite was watching as they put to use the knowledge I had just shown them in class.

Understanding and comprehending the relation between aperture and depth of field, as well as how the exposure triangle works, can be intimidating. But I think it "clicked" with some of the attendees.

With the overwhelming response immediately after the workshop from people who had not been able to attend, I am looking at holding the photography basics workshop again. And, I hope to develop a series of workshops that focus on specific subjects, like the moon, fireworks, bokeh, aperture and depth of field, composition, and post processing.

Are you interested in attending a workshop? Please join my mailing list! There is a link to the right ---> at the top of the blog to enter your email address.

Would you like to have one of my fine art prints for yourself? Visit my website www.marcinkdesigns.com to purchase one. Note that even if you don't see it on my website, you can still purchase it - just send me a message at tyann@marcinkdesigns.com. And don't forget to follow me on Facebook!

Self portrait after the workshop. :)

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge {Hey Girl}

For her 15th birthday, our parents set up a surprise birthday party for my little sister. Well, she found out about the party the day before, but she stilled loved the surprise cake! Yes, that is a snapshot of Emily and her friends dressed for the premier of the Hunger Games movie...on the cake. You are never too old for a themed party.

Hey Girl, why don't you hand me your camera so I can get a shot of you and your sis together? {Ryan Gosling says in my dreams.}

my little sister Emily

And the Winner is...

First, more about the art piece...

I am a fan of architecture and the St. Louis Cardinals. One afternoon, a friend and I decided to walk around Downtown St. Louis and capture architectural photographs. And this piece of art emerged from that walk...

The photographs are taken at Busch Stadium and the Eads Bridge, next to the Landing. After searching for the perfect quote to set off the photographs, reading through Jack Buck and others, I decided on the simple, yet poignant, "For the Love of the Game."


The "L" is from the smaller Stan Musial statue outside Busch Stadium.
The "O" is the Cardinal's logo in the wall of the stadium.
The "V" is Eads Bridge just a few blocks from Busch Stadium.
And the "E" is the glove from "Dizzy" Dean's statue.

***

Using the number generator on random.org, I was given the number 11...which is a comment by Diane Schultz. Congratulations, Diane! Email me at tyann@marcinkdesigns.com to claim your prize. Please note that if you do not email me by midnight, April 18th, I will have another comment number randomly chosen.

Thank you, everyone, for playing along and entering the giveaway. I sincerely appreciate your support and comments. Please note that shipping is always FREE on fine art prints, so don't hesitate to grab your own fine art print for yourself...or to give to someone you love.



You can visit my website at www.marcinkdesigns.com.

Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge {Easter/Eggs}

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for an 11x14 fine art print of the St. Louis Cardinals For the Love of the Game in celebration of opening weekend at Busch Stadium! See this post for the details.

---

Our family tradition to decorate Easter eggs:

1. Use crayons to draw squiggles, swirls, pictures, and words.
2. Dip into the PAAS egg colors.
3. Dry off the eggs.

We are so complicated, aren't we? Here is one of the eggs that I decorated. I had first thought to draw just my hubby and I on the egg, but when I accidently drew my head in the wrong place, it became a family drawing...which I actually like better than my original idea. (See our real family photo here.)

The boys colored it orange for me (I had no say in the colors of the eggs since I was snapping pictures), and it went into our arsenal for the big family egg hunt that is then followed by the deviled egg feast.

This photo is for the Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge {Easter/Eggs}.

St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day {PlusCircleSharePinTweet} Giveaway!

Opening day at Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals is tomorrow!!! And on Saturday, the Cardinals will receive their 2011 World Series Championship rings. Congratulations, Cards, it was an amazing series to watch!

To celebrate, I am giving away an 11x14 print of my wildly popular For the Love of the Game in your choice of a red or white background. Here is what you do to win:

Choose the red or white background and post a comment below on which one you want if you are the winner. Easy enough?

For additional entries:

Plus one this post
Circle me on Google+
Circle Marcink Designs on Google+
Share this blog post on Facebook
Like Marcink Designs on Facebook
Pin this post on Pinterest with your choice of the red or white background
Follow my Marcink Designs Pinterest board
Tweet this post
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Blog about this giveaway

Use these buttons for shortcuts or see the sidebar on the right -->

Then, leave a separate comment for each of the things you did. Each comment is an entry into the drawing! Monday morning, April 16th, I will randomly choose a winner from the comments.

Good luck and show your love for the St. Louis Cardinals!

I Heart Faces April Photo Challenge {Happiness}

Score!

Joey just made a soccer goal and was sprinting over to us on the sideline to make sure we saw it. Can you tell he was just a little happy?

My submission for the I Heart Faces Photo Challenge of Happiness.

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

Introduction

I know, it's about time, right? Finally, a blog for Marcink Designs! A place to share more of my beautiful photos and the stories that go with them.

I will also share some before and after shots of my photographs, as well as a tip here and there to help you grow and learn. [Disclaimer: Tips may or may not be about photography.]

So, here, on the left, is me! This photo was taken by the very talented and kind-hearted Slava Bowman when we were on a photowalk in Downtown Washington, Missouri. Just a quick snap in the doorway of Otis Campbell's of me and my Nikon D7000.

I am a serious hobbyist/amateur photographer. I mainly enjoy creating images of landscapes and architecture when I don't have the camera aimed at my three boys and dear husband.

The more I learn about photography, the more I love it. Last month I started a Facebook page for the photographers in my area to connect and share with each other (Franklin County Area Photographers), and I am having a blast getting to know others and being inspired by their photographic creations.

When I am not creating photos or processing them, I am:

• an amazing wife to my wonderful husband
• a marvelous mother of three boys, currently ages 4, 6, and 8 years old [that's what I am told]
• handpainting quilt clips and my line of children's room decor, the Little Elephant Company
• managing our vacation homes in Branson, Missouri
• creating photographic letter family names
• designing websites and graphics for local businesses and other vacation home rentals
• going on photowalks with FCAP
• and building friendships with my delightful friends.

Of course, there is more to me...every woman has some mystery about her. I am sure you will see glimpses of deep inside of me in my posts, photographs, and stories.

Me on my birthday this year with my hubby and boys. I took this shot with my handy wireless remote.

About the photograph below

This is the Waterworks building in Downtown Washington, Missouri. It now houses an antique shop and is nestled between the Missouri River and a set of train tracks. I took this photo after the sun set, as the blue in the sky was deepening. One of my favorite elements of a photograph, besides the blues of blue hour, is the starburst effect on lights. Here there are several - the light over the restroom building, the parking lot lights for the Riverfront Trail, and behind the trees on the right are the lights from the Washington bridge crossing the river.

I shot this while on a photowalk with two new FCAP friends a couple weeks ago. We walked around for nearly 4 hours on a Sunday evening, capturing several hundred photos. When I processed this photo, I first made it black and white then brought the color back into it just a little to give it more of a vintage feel.

Waterworks Antiques, Washington, Missouri