A to Z Beginner's Photography Workshop

overview

Hands on class that will begin with A, teaching all the basics of photography and post processing, all the way through to Z, saving and sharing your work.

"I knew enough to just get by, but now it was like opening a whole new world.

I think a lot of people who know very little about photography are hesitant to take a class in fear of being intimidated or not basic enough. However, I loved the approach you took. 

You presented complicated topics in a simple and easy to understand format, which accomplished two things at the same time: Built onto the knowledge some may have already had but at the same time educated others who are just learning."

- Kyle Quick, New Haven (Quick News Now)

Highlights of the class:

• aperture, shutter speeds, and ISO
• depth-of-field
• composition (i.e. family snapshots, kids sports, landscapes)
• camera settings
• post processing
• saving, storing, and sharing
• 2 photowalks
• constructive critiques
• lunch
• ONLY 12 SEATS AVAILABLE
• BONUS - Light and the Night {workshop}

PRIZES to be drawn just for my students!

• one copy of Photoshop Elements
• swag bags of lovely loot (details will be announced closer to the date, but I promise it will be good!)

"You are extremely knowledgeable, helpful, patient, and so easy to follow. You shared so many important tips/techniques that I hope I can remember all of them!!

You made all of us feel as if the photos we created were the absolute best you had ever seen. You gave us positive feedback as well as things to look for and try to do differently the next time - the best type of constructive criticism."

- Rekke Berges, Washington

What to bring:

• camera
• manual 
• notebook
• pen

Note: Don't forget to fully charge your battery and empty your memory card.

"If you want to learn about the basics of photography, it's a great class to take and well worth the time!"

- Susan Wilson, Washington

NEXT CLASS:

Saturday, September 21, 2013

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Downtown Washington Post Office

Washington, Missouri

Complete 8 hour class + BONUS Light and the Night {workshop}

$129 Early registration

$179 after September 6, 2013

Spring Snowstorm of 2013

It started like any other approaching winter weather - an advisory and then a watch from the National Weather Service.

But this storm would be different...

It's not winter here - it's officially SPRING!

Last week we enjoyed warmer temperatures, and I put away all of our winter coats, hats, and gloves. And then, I had to get them back out for some snow...

The view from my window half way through the day.
Instagram with Inkwell filter.

Not just any snow...but nearly 12 inches of snow!

It sure was pretty, though, watching it fall all day Sunday...piling up into a heavy, pristine white blanket...

Until 4:57 p.m.

That's when the power went out.

And where we live, that means there is no water either.

I can handle the cold house. No problem - layer on the sweatshirts and pile on the blankets. Let's get some McD's for dinner and play UNO by candlelight.

Noah reads to his brothers by flashlight.
Instagram with Inkwell filter.

But only so many toilet flushes remained...

We are new to the well water scene, so it did not even occur to me to fill the bathtubs with water so we can flush the toilets. That would have been pretty smart, huh?

In the morning, the power was still out.

Our house the morning after the snow had fallen.
Instagram with Inkwell filter.

So, we emptied the fridge and buried our milk and cheese. Yep, I had just gone grocery shopping the day before.

Noah buries the frozen food next to the driveway.
Instagram with Inkwell filter.

Thankfully, we live just a mile outside of town, so we hopped into the Tahoe to go visiting.

The Ameren trucks pulled up our road while we were preparing to leave for the day, so I prayed they would have power restored soon. The cause listed on the company website was wire damage.

To the rescue!
Instagram with Inkwell filter.

It took them all day. Literally. Power came back on around 5:30 pm last night, making it just over 24 hours without electricity.

It was one last little sledding hurrah for the winter...I mean, spring...

Did I mention we are on Spring Break this week?

The trees in the first photo? Here they are last year, same weekend:

Last year - March 23, 2012 - spring is here!

Tyann Marcink
documenting life
www.marcinkdesigns.com

Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge {Rain/Water}

It was raining last night - baseballs, that is! With three home runs by the St. Louis Cardinals, the game was full of energy.

When the home runs were hit, you could see the pops of flashes throughout the stadium. However, I think the best shot at the crack of the bat is of the crowd's reaction to the ball flying through the air. I stepped out into the aisle and turned toward the boys to capture their excitement of yet another home run hit by their favorite baseball team.

This photo is for the Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge {Rain/Water}.

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.

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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
Follow Marcink Designs on Twitter

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

Photographic Fine Art Name - SIMPSON

Have you seen your name spelled out around you? Maybe you noticed how the branches of a tree created a W or the way a bench arm curved, it looked like an S.

I see letters...everywhere...literally. And I have taken photographs of these letters in architecture and nature around us. Here is a name I created last week:

Where are all of the letters from? Here is where I found them:

S - the arm of my bench
I - the St. Louis Zoo, in Cat Country
M - the Eads Bridge, Downtown St. Louis
P - the Calvin Theatre, Washington, Missouri
S - the steps of a church near SLU
O - a windmill in a backyard, Union, Missouri
N - the side of a house, Washington, Missouri

The majority of my letters are from the St. Louis, Missouri area. A few are also from our vacation travels.

Would you like your name spelled out? Visit Marcink Designs today to see all my letters and to order one for yourself or for a gift!

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