Archive for 'Stuff I like'
February, thus far, has been full of snow, ice, slippery roads, and cancelled sessions. I would love to be out there taking pictures but since the weather will not cooperate, I will happily read instead.
I just finished Erwin McManus’s Soul Cravings. Wow. Awesome. Dustin had been pestering me to read this for a year, I didn’t take him seriously because, well, because I’m the reader in the family, so what could he possibly know about good books?
Apparently way more then he lets on.
I read through it quickly, but I will definitely be reading it again at a slower pace. With a highlighter. And a notepad.
I found another great read through a friend’s blog post, she linked to this blog from her’s and without coming off as melodramatic I think this post changed my life. Or at least the way I view life. Powerfully and beautifully written.
Hopefully, the weather will allow this week’s sessions. If not, here are some images from G’s birthday to keep things interesting.
Ada before and after…
I had not been to Chucky Cheese since the 1st grade. I place it somewhere between having my teeth cleaned and taking the SAT’s on the fun meter. G had a blast though, which I keep needing to remind myself was the point.
Pumpkin cake for the third year in a row. This time I put sugar in it to make it slightly more palatable.
Really, can someone tell me what I was thinking when I picked out this fabric? Egads!!
Lucky for me, I have a super-cute, little boy who doesn’t mind looking like a reptilian-snowstorm.
I am very much a novice sewer, but in my defense I have not finished hemming the pants just yet, which explains the gangsta’ look he is sporting.
Yes, here is the proof that I had to bribe him with brownies in order to get these pictures…
As hideous as I think these are, I am quite proud of myself for making them. I mean I made clothes! The world is now my oyster!!
Gavin doesn’t seem to mind their lack of visual appeal. He says he is a dinosaur when he wears them. Just in case I don’t believe him he proves it to me by roaring and crawling about like he has rabies.
Thankfully, Dana over at Made and Rae from Made by Rae are going to help save G from his (mother’s) lack of fashion-sense. They will be dedicating the entire month of February to boy posts called “Celebrate the Boy!”. Stop by their sites to check out tutorials, roundups, and giveaways for boy-related sewing and crafts.
For those of you with girls, there is plenty on their sites to keep you happy, so go check them out!
If your a Mom looking to take better pictures of your kiddos, then have I found a blog for you! Check out Beyond-snapshots for tons of great info on using your camera to take awesome pictures. The blog is managed by two incredibly talented photographers, Rachel Devine and Peta Mazey. Go check out there work and then come back so I can tell you “I told you so”!
Speaking of kids, here are mine!
I originally had no interest in Avatar, which is weird for me because I love any movie where things blow up and/or there are computer-animated creatures. I had thought the movie was based on a video game and therefore would be enjoyed best by 13 year old boys who excel in Warcraft and Runescape and not make a lick of sense to me; non-gamer, old-lady, that I am. When Dustin recommended we arrange for a sitter so we could go see it, I was less then enthusiastic. Then he mentioned it was showing in 3-D and my interest was perked. I mean what is cooler then sitting in those uber-hip black glasses for 2 hours and 40 minutes?
So we watched it and holy smokes, it was amazing. The special effects are WAY beyond anything I have ever seen. It was jaw-dropping. It took four years to make and it is evident that only the best was put into the incredible visual effects.
However the plot was a little over done. It made me think of Dances with Wolves, only with aliens. Same characters, same story. It also reminded me a little of a guy I went on a date with. He was beautiful, however his personality ws arrogant, shallow and dull at best. But did I go on a second date with him? You betcha! He was THAT cute. Like that date of long ago, I would so see this movie again. Just for the visual feast and eye candy alone.
Oh, and no the guy was not my husband, my husband is cute and has a personality too match.
I have seen plenty of lists over the last couple days. Lists of resolutions and things to do. Lists highlighting the best (and the worst) of 2009. Everywhere I look are lists. So, not to be left out I cheated and made today’s post a list. At first I was just going to answer the most asked question I recieve as a photographer (what kind of camera should I buy) but instead…
My list of things that will take your family photos from drab to fab! Ha!
First off, which camera should you buy? Well, first you need to ask yourself if you are looking for a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex, you know a “fancy” camera where you have to look through the viewfinder with one eye), or a point and shoot that you can easily throw in your purse (or man-bag) and take anywhere.
For your SLR I would say the Canon Rebel or Nikon D3000 are great places to start. Although I shoot Canon, it is only because it would be unaffordable for me to shoot with both brands. Get whichever brand makes you happiest.
Now I know very little about POS’s, but if I were to get one, I would get the Canon Powershot SX10 IS. It allows you to zoom and the pictures I have seen taken with this camera have been amazing. For in-depth reviews (much more then my silly opinion) go here.
If you end up with a SLR, please, oh please, do not buy the crapola kit-lens that comes with the camera body. Just get the camera body and use the money you saved to buy the 50 mm 1.8 lens. This will cost you around $100 and give you images that will be so much sharper than the cheapo zoom you get with the kit. For a bit more, purchase the 50mm 1.4, I so adore this lens. It is awesome for low light, and gives super crisp images with beautiful background blur. The drawback to these lenses (to some people, at least) is that they are prime lenses, which means they do not zoom in and out, and are fixed at 50mm, but that’s why God gave us feet, right?!
Next up, Lightroom. Sure Photoshop is an awesome program but let’s be real it is not practical for most people because of the HIGH price tag. Although I use Photoshop for most images that end up on my blog, I use LR for EVERY single image I process. It is so easy to use and so very efficient. If I have 40 images all taken in the same time frame and light, I can process one and then apply those settings to the other 39 images all at once. This frees up time to take more pictures, which makes me very happy! I would even recommend it for those who just want to take pictures of their kids and family. Because everyone has images that are just a bit under exposed…
the difference is pretty obvious, and I am sure by this point you are wondering how you ever survived without it, right?!
But wait! There’s more! You can get creative and use your artsy side to make all sorts of changes (belive me, you can go WAY beyond just changing an image to black and white).
Not sure you want to spend the money on the program? Try it for 30 days with the trial version at Adobe.
So, there you have it. My super short list of things that will help you make great pictures!
Enjoy 2010, make it your year of non-drab pictures!
I am hesitant to make this post. Because, well really who cares what I like? It seems a little presumptuous and vain for me to think anyone would want to read about things that I am interested in (outside of photography, because, I guess this is suppose to be a blog about photography. Ha!), but blogs when you think about it, are just a little bit vain (just a little). Also, when it comes down to it, it is my blog and I can post what I want, right? Right! So with that distorted disclaimer I am going to post some things may help you finish off your (almost) last-minute Christmas shopping.
You can click on any of the pictures to go straight to the product’s web page. I made shopping so easy for you!
A perfect gift for the Green or cheapskate momma. The thing that kept me from cloth diapering G was the initial start up cost. Cloth diapers are scary expensive when comparing them to a box of disposables (which of course, you know, cost more in the long run). Enter the Flip diapering system, I bought this as well as Econobum several weeks ago and so far they have worked great (no leaks), although I haven’t tried them at nights. The covers are awesome and I use them over all my fitted and prefold diapers. I am so glad that the maker of these diapers saw that parents were wanting a cloth diaper that was reusable as well as economical.
Saving the planet, one poopy diaper at a time, not your thing? Maybe you could just read about saving the world (weak tie-in, I know). A friend recommended The Hunger Games to me a couple months ago and I intended to eventually, maybe, if I ever had the time, read it. Finally, she set the book in my hands and said to read it. And I did. For about 6 hours straight. Then I slept several hours, woke up, and finished it. Yeah, my kind of book. Action, adventure, well-rounded characters, and a compelling and smart plot. Ummm, so, SO loved it. I got the audio version at the library for Dustin to listen to on his long commutes and he loved it, which is rare for anything I recommended to him. So if you have a reader on your Christmas list this may be one to try.
I was attempting to Christmas shop today and I heard a Christmas song that I had never heard before. And I liked it, I really, really, liked it. After escaping the madness of the mall, I googled the lyrics and found out the song was by Reliant K and called I Celebrate the Day. Low and behold there was a free download of it offered here. Ha, so you can give that to someone for Christmas and not spend a cent. What a deal.
Lastly we rented the new Star Trek and the animated movie Up (for Gavin of course), and yeah, Holy Smokes, both of these movies had me crying in the first ten movies. Hello?! I swear I am not a crier. I am pretty tough at least I was before kids. Now that I have kids I am much more empathetic and compassionate toward my fellow parents. Although before kids I was the perfect parent. Really, I was good.
Anyway, I digress…
Loved both of these movies. Up was so sweet and had much more of an emotional punch than most kids movies. Star Trek, I have always been a fan of the original series (I can admit that now that I am (somewhat) mature adult) and I loved that they are starting the franchise over with a new cast. Great story, well-cast, and directed by none other then J.J Abrams (creator of Lost and Cloverfield). I am looking forward to the next in the series.
So, I hope this did not bore you to death. And maybe, just maybe, it will help you get a gift for that person that is impossible to shop for (or you could try a gift card, those are always winners with me).
I stumbled across this website the other day and wanted to pass it on to all the Mom’s with cameras (or anyone wanting to learn how to use their camera better).
The site is packed with tips for photographing your children; from basic camera use to post processing techniques. Check out the MomShots site here.
Hope you enjoy it!
I would so marry this blog (that is, of course, only if my husband wasn’t a blog. If he was a blog then I would certainly marry him)! I discovered Dana’s fun little bit of web real estate the other week and I can’t get enough of it. If you like to sew or make things then hop on over to Made and look around. All images are from Dana’s blog (which she kindly granted me permission to use. How cool is she?), click on any of them to go straight to the blog.
Dana has posted a great tutorial teaching you how to turn this man’s shirt…
into this…
or this boring old shirt into this uber cute summer frock…
Not to pick on guy’s shirts. She shows you how to turn a ladies shirt into cute little pants…
or turn kid’s clothes into cuter kid’s clothes…
But wait, there’s more! What about freezer stenciling George Michael on to a bag or shirt?!
So, I am not sure why you are still reading here and not busily pouring over her site and planning out your MC Hammer freezer stenciled pants. Once you are there, be sure to send your congratulations to her for just moving to the best state ever, Texas!