Gaming pics

Sometimes I like to hang out with Jeff's gaming group. They're the sweetest guys and always welcome me even though I usually end up asleep on the couch partway through the evening. They even let me take pics with my new camera recently, as you can see on this page. :-)



I rarely play games with them; I start fading around 9 or 9:30 pm, and that's often when their games are just beginning, going through until the wee hours of the morning.



Instead, I like to sit on the couch with my laptop or a book, writing or reading or drawing, taking frequent breaks to check on the progress of the games or to chat a bit.



Yesterday was John's birthday (see above), and he brought by some leftover birthday cake from a gathering he had with his family.



Anyway, the occasion was great for getting more practice with my people photography skills since the guys were trapped in an enclosed space and too distracted by gaming to get nervous about my camera (BWAH ha ha!).



I attempted some photos with my Canon 17-85, but found that the images just weren't sharp enough in the low light setting. It was good for taking a wide angle shot of the room, however, like the one at the top of this page.



In contrast, my Sigma 30/1.4 (yes, I'm raving about that lens again) gave sharper images, with better lighting.



I did a lot of experimenting with settings. For the shot of Iain (in the Apple baseball cap near the top of the page), for instance, I pumped up the ISO to 1600. There's some graininess evident, especially when looking at the enlarged photo, but nothing like the graininess in my PowerShot at ISO 400 in similar light conditions.



Another thing I'm loving about my DSLR: how FAST I can take pictures, especially when in "burst" mode, when I can take multiple photos in a row (click click click click) by pressing the button once and holding it down.



Many thanks to Scott for the drive home while Jeff's game was still going strong! That way I got to bed around 1 am instead of 3. :-)


Two reasons to celebrate today: It's my friend Alison's birthday (photo to the right taken on a camping trip), and I also get to see my friend Parki for the first time in a few months! Parki's been on a cross-country motorcycle trip and got home yesterday.



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