Nikon D5200 Digital Field Guide

This is your obligatory Texas springtime picture. The state flower of Texas, the bluebonnet, grows wild all over the countryside and blooms in the early spring for a short time. The great thing about photographing bluebonnets in the wild is that the deep blue is very near purple and the green vegetation in the background provides the perfect complementary color to make the flowers pop from the background. I use a wide aperture to create a soft indistinct blur of the background and provide separation. Although the background is out of focus, it's important to keep in mind that the out-of-focus elements have color and therefore should be considered when composing. For this image I composed the flowers so that they loosely form a triangle in accordance to the "odd rule" and the main subject is framed using the "rule of thirds." Taken with a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for 1/2000 @ f/2, ISO 100.

This urban nature shot was taken in downtown Austin. What drew me to photograph this was the dichotomy of two very similar subjects. They are alike in the respect that they are both birds, but there the similarities end: the grackle is a noisy, cacophonous bird, while the dove is known to have a soothing coo. The two birds are also very different in color--the grackle being stark black and harsh, while the colors of the dove are muted and softer. When looking for subjects you don't have to completely rely on visual aspects to get your point across. Pairing two well known, but completely opposite objects can make a psychologically and visually interesting photograph. Taken with a Nikon 300mm f/4 for 1/500 @ f/4, ISO 360.

This moody food shot of an insalata caprese was taken in a dimly lit pizzeria. I love photographing food before I eat because the presentation can be such an art form. This shot includes strong use of complementary colors (red and green) and the subject itself forms a leading line to draw the eye up through the image. When photographing food in low-light I like to use the Auto-ISO feature to speed up the shooting process so that the food appears fresh. Turning on Auto-ISO and setting the minimum shutter speed to Auto allows me to adjust the aperture for different effects while automatically maintaining a fast enough shutter speed to combat blur from camera shake. Taken using a Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G at 32mm for 1/30 @ f/2.8, ISO 3200.