Here's a little Photoshop trick. On a new layer of 50% gray over my photo, I created a lens flare by clicking Filter > Render > Lens Flare. I chose about where I wanted the center of the flare in the dialog box. I then set the blend mode of the gray layer to Hard Light, moved and resized the lens flare layer to a position that was pleasing, and erased any part I didn't want.  I used Mindy's Actions to bring out the color.

Morning Mist

This was an early morning shot and difficult to capture because of the extreme contrasts in lighting.  After experimenting with the different settings, I chose f 5.6  1/500  ISO200.  This is the view from our home.  I love the changing seasons as the lake takes on a completely different appearance throughout the year.

One Year Later

Little Nicholas is still not sure what's so great about pumpkins!  I have discovered that it's next to impossible to capture a good shot using manual.  He's always on the move and not the least bit interested in posing.

I finally took the big leap and turned the dial to MANUAL.  I love being able to have more control over my camera and am leaning to feel more comfortable each day.  My confidence can be attributed to the fact that I am taking an online photography class from Christy Vanderwall at Speedscraps.   The class is based on a book by Bryan Peterson called Understanding Exposure.   Her method of teaching is dotting all of i's for me.  For instance, think of lining up 22 glasses.  Using a smaller f/22 aperture you will see all 22 glasses perfectly focused from front to back.  Whereas, if you use a larger f/4 aperture, you will only see the first four glasses clearly with the background blurred.  Now, just how clear is that???