Photo Challenge #3 Bold Colors

Yippee, I finally got my Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. I'm not really sure of what I am doing. I guess I should read the manual. Years ago, I had an old Minolta  SLR. Everything about it was manual.
 I remember turning this and changing that to get different aperture settings. And learning about depth of field, shutter speed, manual focusing, different speed of the film you could buy. Certain ISO were for capturing birds in flight or fast moving objects. A tripod and a super slow shutter speed for capturing moonlight.
It's all different, now and I have so much to learn. I've never been a manual reader, so that alone is a challenge.
So it is starting from scratch for me. But not to worry my daughter, Karena has had a DSLR for about a year and she can give me some tips. She takes gorgeous photos. And while I am busy making all kinds of mistakes. I thought I might use one example of her work for this 3rd challenge which is Bold Colors

 The story behind this photo is:
Karena was out shopping one day, this past week, searching for a nice new summer dress. A rack of colorful dresses on black backgrounds caught her eye.
 Perusing through the bright assortment, she found that she wasn't the only one drawn to these somewhat tropical prints.
This unexpected admirer was just hanging around, clinging to the prettiest dress, right there in the middle of the bright lights and concrete floors!

This huge praying mantis looked right into the camera as if to say, "hey bug off this one's mine!"
She had the attendant gently capture her and escort her to the outside.

I have heard that the mantis is a symbol of good luck so I looked it up and this is what I've found.

Praying Mantis Meanings in the Realms of Animal Symbolism

The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external din we've created.

After observing this creature for any length of time you can see why the symbolism of the praying mantis deals with stillness and patience. The mantis takes her time, and lives her life at her own silent pace.

So that is my entry for todays challenge over at Laura Beth's blog A Step in the Journey

P.S. I hope I am not breaking any rules again, featuring my daughter, my teacher. I figured heck, if my tripod can take a picture then my daughter can. Plus I thought this one was really enjoyable, and it's not a contest, it's a challenge and it's all a step in the journey right?

Posting at Photo Challenge # 3 Bold Colors at A Step in the Journey

What makes me Smile

I smile at lots of stuff.

• My granddaughter the most.

• Heading to the beach on one of those glorious summer days in August when the Atlantic is warm.

A Self portrait, Andy Warhol style

I really wanted to participate in the photography challenge over at A Step in the Journey blogspot
My problem being... no decent camera to use, not even a point and shoot, and i certainly don't think any of my iphone pictures is going to qualify.
So I came up with an idea I am hoping is acceptable to the challenge.
The first challenge is a self portrait.
I used photo booth on my mac to take this picture and to create the effects which is called Andy Warhol.

I did order a DSLR and should be getting it in a few days. I am eager to have fun with this new learning experience.
Join in the fun with us at the photo challenge for the next 20 weeks!
A Step in the Journey