I’ve missed a couple of days in the photo a day but here is one I took today of my mom’s shop. It used to be an antique store but now it’s mainly storage. I tried some different settings but the coloring was all wrong and it was freezing outside. So I snapped one of auto and here it is. It looks way better than the others. Hopefully tomorrow I will have another picture. Not promising anything as it is really cold weather this week.

Yesterday was a busy day so I grabbed my camera around 9pm and fired off a couple of pictures of the girl’s new doll house. In my haste I didn’t check the focus – hence the reason for the blurry picture.

Today I will take more time. The point of this photo of the day isn’t just to snap a photo but really spend some time each day using my camera. I was so wanting to not miss the first day that I just snapped something without checking it. Lesson learned. Will be more careful and take more time from now on.

I have had my Canon Rebel XTI for a few years and still use it mostly on the automatic setting. My goal for 2010 is to take photos every day and to explore the functions of my camera to the fullest. Last year I had started trying to do the photo-a-day challenge but faltered and could never get going again. This year I hope to have better results.

Each month I am going to try to learn about a new photo technique using my camera and then use the photo of the day as practice. I have played around with the settings before but can never seem to retain what I’ve learned. Hopefully by concentrating on a setting or technique for a whole month that I will gain real knowledge on how to use it.

I hope to spend the next few days making a list of what I want to learn about my camera and photography. The better plan I have, the more likely I am to stick with it.

While looking through the trading cards aisle at Target, I found something that caught my eye. It wasn’t cards but trading figures from The Nightmare Before Christmas – one of my favorite movies. The best part was that each box was labeled, so you know which one you are buying. There was some assembly required. It’s so cute, and I can’t wait to get more of these.

Today I spent some time cleaning Rae’s room and came across this game. It’s called Zimbos and you stack elephants. Rae wanted to play, so I opened the box and let her stack the elephants however she wanted. Here is what she came up with.

I nearly put the camera on the floor to get this shot. It was my favorite I snapped as I just really liked the angle.

While outside today, I kept hearing a woodpecker but couldn’t find him. So I grabbed my camera with the telephoto lens and viola! I was able to spot him. It’s so nice to see the birds again out looking for food. In the morning they are scattered all over the yard. I could really get into bird watching. They are just so fun to observe.

Today we went bowling. It was the first time bowling for Raegan. She was interested until we got to the fifth frame and then she was more interested in the arcade. Imagine that.

I didn’t color correct this picture as these shows were very bright – no need to try to bring out even more color. I was hoping to take a few more pics like this but working with a three-year-old, you take what you can get.

I’ve missed a few days with my photo of the day project. I’ve been busy taking photos for product reviews – one being pistachios. I’ve never eaten pistachios until today and I have to say they are yummy. I think the shape and just the shell always stopped me before from trying them. I used to be a very picky eater. Now I’m just a picky eater. LOL.

It’s Fade again! Today she was actually off the porch and out of her box for most of the day. In fact she spent quite some time perched on her favorite spot – the swing set.

It was a warm and pleasant day. Maybe it will continue. We can hope.

Today’s photo of the day is a miniature from the World of Warcraft minis game. I don’t know what this guy is or his name. This game is something that we want to learn to play. In fact we have bought both a starter and a few booster packs. We have yet to play but maybe we will get to it within the next few weeks.