We attended a potluck picnic with our parents’ friends and their families. It is an annual event with a huge crowd.  This year, there were about 60 something people enjoying good food and friendships. It was a nice opportunity to visit with some of my parents’ friends and hear how they are doing.

We love to eat the variety of food – from the typical grilled hot dogs to Chinese pig feet. There was gourmet fried soft tofu with the Cantonese savory toppings. Somen noodles was good as well as the homemade sushi.  My mom was excited about the small fried corn on the cob bites from Wingstop which she purchased. The homemade lemon bars and almond jello were the perfect ending for a good lunch.

After a delicious lunch and fun conversation, my wife and I decided we should walk around the park area near the picnic tables. We were pleased to take a closer look at the peripheral flowers. We started watching the Bumble Bees go from flower to flower. We got excited watching the Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies fly and occasionally land on the flowers.

We decided to utilize our Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL cameras. I made the decision to purchase these phones since I was impressed with the cameras. I cannot carry my good camera equipment everywhere I go. I wanted a camera on my phone so I could easily take pictures even if I was not prepared to bring my heavy duty equipment. So we decided to shoot photos with our phones to see what is the photo quality of the cameras.

I knew my Canon cameras would surpass the quality of the Pixel 3 camera. But the results still were good from this photo shoot session.

As always the lighting is an essential factor for a good picture. I am trying to teach my wife how to take pictures.

The lesson I am trying to drill in her is to shoot as many pictures as possible. You can never be absolutely sure the quality of the photo in relationship to any movement and lighting on the object. So taking more photos increases your odds of getting the “perfect” photo.

We were trying to take photos with a bee in the flowers or a butterfly in the flowers. But we also took photos just of the flowers alone.

But by shooting an abundance of shots, you will be surprised at the outcome of your pictures.

The Pixel camera is very good. These photos we posted were among the better photos we took.

So what did my wife learn this 4th of July?

• No matter where you are, take a look of your surroundings to discover things you never noticed. We’ve been to this park a number of times for picnics and gatherings. We never took the time to look at the flowers and plants.
• Take lots of pictures. Do not be satisfied with just taking one shot for a picture. Increase your odds to get the perfect picture.
• Learn to recognize the best lighting for a picture.

What did I learn this 4th of July?

• The Pixel 3XL takes good wide angle pictures.
• There are limitations in using the zoom lense feature on the Pixel 3XL. If you zoom in too much, the picture is not as sharp.
• When I was shooting the 4th picture with the red fuzzy bud, I shot lots of photographs. I wanted the camera to focus on the center where the bud was. I noticed the focus was not where I wanted it to be. I realize I could touch the spot where I want to focus. But I was also trying to quickly take pictures. So the focus was not always as precise as I would like.

In conclusion, I still like the photos from the Pixel 3XL. I cannot expect it to act like my Canon DSLR cameras. But it is a good substitute when I do not want to lug my heavy equipment.

What do you think of these Pixel 3XL photos?