Woody Wilder, Photo #1, Farmers Market (UPDATE 6/5/13)

The Farmers Market at Maryland offers everything from fruit, such as the apples pictured above, to vegetables and baked goods. May 29, 2013.

Photo Reflection: This is a basic stack of apples. The apple just right of center, which also happens to be the "highest" stacked apple is what I tried to focus on. I think it flirts with the rule of thirds tightly, but I feel it's enough off-center to stand out in this tight shot. On a completely non-photographic note, these apples were delicious. 

Patrons of The Farmers Market at Maryland browse through the selection of fresh produce on Wednesday May 29, 2013 in College Park.

Photo Reflection: The "strawberry photo" continues the theme of shooting fruit. With the strawberries being so close, I really wanted to focus on how they were sitting, while still trying to capture those in the background shopping. My thinking behind this was that the fruit--or vegetables, flowers, and anything the consumers were buying--is the "star of the show" so to speak of the farmers market. Without the produce, there are no consumers. This photo tries to capture that essence as the consumers in the background are out of focus. 

 A truck sits curbside at The Farmers Market at Maryland on Wednesday May 29, 2013 in College Park. 

Photo Reflection: Not all of my photos were geared toward the fruit. In this particular photo I was
trying to show the landscape of the market and get a lasting impression as I walked away. Admittedly, I wasn't trying to separate this photo into thirds, but the sign and truck do separate the photo.


Overall Reflection: Heading to the farmers market, I was quite nervous because, outside of class on Tuesday, I had never used a camera like the one we have--not to mention that I'm not the most social being when it comes to interacting with complete strangers. It took me about five minutes of shooting to feel any sense of comfortability with not only the camera, but the consumers and vendors. Towards the end of my time shooting,  I gained a newfound confidence taking pictures of random strangers in random places.  Twice I ended up on the ground and stood in the road--two places I didn't expect to be at the beginning of the day.

However, there is definitely room for improvement. I didn't pay attention to angles as much as I should have. Also, I seemed to forget the "zoom with your feet" rule. Looking back, I remember only trying to zoom manually on the camera. I'd also like to become more comfortable with the manual focus--I found myself trying to use the auto-focus as a crutch too often. Lastly, I didn't take enough of a variety of pictures--diversity is key.

UPDATED 6/5/2013

The Farmers Market at Maryland is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every  Wednesday  outside of  Cole Fieldhouse  at the University of Maryland.  June 5, 2013. 

Photo: So I went back to the farmers market today to improve on my establishing shot from before. The space is rather tight, and shooting the market longways (like the photo before) always presented problems due to random poles and other various distractions. Shooting from the road left me a picture of the seller's trucks. This left the area behind the market (right up against the fieldhouse) as the best option, in my opinion, to get a decent wide shot.