we went to the getty today. i wanted to practice using my new camera. i chose to visit the getty today because it was the last day of a japanese post-war art exhibit. that exhibit was very disappointing because it was so small. also, today they had some festivities for children/families and i didn't go for that obviously but it did make for more reasons to be there today. we watched some taiko performance and there were people walking around riding fantastical creatures. (people walking on stilts but highly decorated to appear like riding an exotic animal that never existed.)

bust of an african woman by henry weekes

we checked out all the galleries and the two gardens. within the galleries, there were so many paintings with dark, dull colors that i was drawn to the paintings that utilized bright colors. you were allowed to photography the permanent collection but not the special exhibits. as i was taking photos, i noticed that a lot of them were crooked. it was thanks to the frame around the photo. it gives a way to measure perspective. i never had that problem with 35mm or with digital cameras that give you a preview. but it has been years since i actually shut one eye to look in a viewfinder. was it me? was it the camera? why do my pictures keep coming out crooked? highly irritating! also, there were quite a few photos not quite in focus due to the low lighting and no-flash rule of museums. i wasn't that motivated to take photos so i was rushing it and not all of them are spot on for level, focus, and brightness. i'm definitely going to have to work on my technique. due to the crooked issue, the one artwork photo i am pleased with is a sculpture so there are no frames to throw off the level.

bees in the garden

in the gardens i experimented with macro photography. i couldn't get that close because i'm using the lens the camera came with, not one especially designed for marco but more of a general purpose lens. there were many active bees and that gave me something to concentrate my photos on.