Weekend shots with my Canon EOS Rebel 3ti

I had an amazing weekend. I broke my routine of working and house chores for an impromptu trip to Reno with my little family. When we go to Reno, we always stay with my grandparents.  They have a huge home and are always looking forward to family visits. 

I recently upgraded my camera, and felt this weekend  was a great time to try out my Canon EOS Rebel 3ti. This particular model is a couple years old, but perfect for me.  Its easy to handle and takes beautiful photos.  I have always loved photography.  I took a small course in high school and knew it was something I would love to expand my knowledge in.  I have yet to do so, but after my photo session this weekend, I am going to take a look into classes.  Over the last 10 years I have owned a few different cameras, but haven't made it a regular habit of going out to take pictures. I feel that is going to be changing soon; It was so relaxing and felt good to be behind a camera again. 

As I was taking photos, I knew I was going to want to share a few of them here on my blog. But I am such a worry wart. Feeling like someone may snatch up my amateur photos, I decided to go ahead and add a watermark. Better safe than sorry, right?  So I downloaded GIMP to my computer and went on YouTube to self educate. within 30 mins, I was adding watermarks to the photos I felt were share worthy.  For my watermarks, I decided on the name Java Bean Photography.  Even though the full word isn't capitalized, Java is actually an acronym for my full initials (first, middle, maiden, and marriage). Plus, I love coffee, so it works. I was planning on using GIMP only for watermarks, but I was quite impressed with all the different features this particular software offers.  I am going to be playing around with it some more so I can use it to it's full potential.   

Below are a few pictures out of the many that I captured (I noticed as I was uploading them, I did a lot of side views...sorry in advance).  These are all shot in the backyard and patio of my grandparent's home. Please keep in mind, I have very little knowledge when it comes to lighting, angles, white balance, exposure, etc.  But I love finding the beauty in the ordinary. So as usual when it comes to photography,  I clicked away and hoped for the best. Enjoy. 

I loved the pop of red the bird gives as well as the pop of green the tree in the background gives

during winter, he sits on a small heap of branches, but in spring he will be sitting on branches full of life and leaves

I love the imperfections statues tend to have once they have been around for a while 

I love the crack going along his neck. A little bit morbid, but also a little bit beautiful

I really like the pops of white that she had. I also love the tips of the leaves that made it into this shot

Probably my favorite shot of the day

Again, I am loving the red color

Pussy Willow branches from California, starting to bloom in Reno

I love patterns, sidewalks, bricks, etc.

He was too cute to not take a picture of. Reminds me of Spring and Easter