Before and After

Today you get two pics, lucky lucky:)

Poor little guy, after a week with daddy home cause daddy was sick, he was a bit of a grump when daddy had to go back to work today.  Nothing I did made him happy, not even yogurt...

T1i, 24-70mm f2.8L - pic: 1/100, ISO100, f8 and speedlite 1/4 Manual...why you ask?  yea, speed...I just wanted a pic that looked ok, and I didn't want to spend too much time fiddling with my buttons while he was screaming (see, I'm a good mommy:))

so, off to Publix we went, grabbed some pita and hummus, went to the park and had ourselves a really good time...and even better, he was great for the rest of the day - HOORAY!!

T1i, 50mm f1.4 lens...pic: 1/200 ISO200 f4...I SHOULD have gone to about f8-9 cause it was so hard to get him in focus since he loves swinging high and fast...oh well, I got 11 months to show you how much better I get:)

The Fog

Woke up this morning to quite a sight...the sun was shining, but the fog was so thick in the air that you could barely see the road...it was completely gone within 10 minutes of taking this pict ure, but it was absolutely haunting while it lasted:)

Camera T1i, lens 24-135mm f3.5-5.6...picture: 1/400, ISO200, f5.6

I used a different lens today...this used to be my favorite lens - until I got the L lens, I still love the image stabilization feature cause I can be shaky sometimes...and this keeps the picture from showing my shake!

Nah nah

Today the wonderful happy boy that I've had all week hid far far away and the grump came out full force.  Poor boy, he had so many good days in a row, that it takes a really bad day every once in a while to appreciate fully the good days...not only was he grumpy, but he was getting into everything dangerous that he could possibly get into...he loves climbing on the weight bench (where he has hit his face a million times on hard metal), scissors, climbing on precariously stacked boxes, pulling plugs out of the outlets, tape dispensers, and - of course - pulling things down on top of himself...the funny thing about that is that we are constantly saying "No-no" to all these dangerous things...and so, the little guy officailly has a first word...oh yes...and it is "nah nah"...he just repeats it over and over again as he is doing all the things that he shouldnt be doing - it is so funny (oh but it shouldn't be - oh but it is!), oh my goodness this boy, I love him so!

Anyway... the grump only appears at home (thank goodness)...and so when we did go out for lunch, he was good (he loves being out), and I got a ton of great pics today!

Will have some in the outtakes of the week, but here is one of my favorites...we are at the bagel shop and they have a nice big glass window in front which has great lighting...

Camera T1i, lens 50mm f1.4 - picture: ISO800, 1/100 shutter speed, f2.2...white balance was white fluorescent...a few shadows on the face but I like them...grain isnt too bad at all I dont think:)

Love

Our whole family has been sneezing and dripping and coughing and hacking...and in general not feeling very good at all this week...but, the fog has lifted just a bit...we are all finally feeling better - yeah!!
Today the hubby took the day off (with the cough he had, it was a good idea!) and we all just hung out together...it was so nice!

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...pic: ISO800, 1/100, f3.5...this was taken in Subway as we were ordering sandwiches...I LOVE my boys so much!  Dont know why did this one in black and white...it just looked right to me:)

Here are some outtakes from this week...we did so much in the beginning of the week that I have quite a few...

Right before the roadtrip - is it bad that I took the picture and THEN removed the nailpolish remover from his mouth?

My favorite picture of the trip, at a park in Savannah on Monday...I put up a sunset pic that day because I knew this one would take a bit longer to edit...I did an unusual edit (vintage but ultra contrast-y) on it cause its an odd picture/angle/sun is right there... not my usual, but I still love it!!

 

Happy

The little guy has been so happy this week, it is something I definitely need to document:)

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm, f2.8L - pic: ISO400, 1/200, f7.1...the 7.1 shouldnt have happened, but I had been taking pics of toys all day and this was a very quick snapshot, and he didnt smile big once I adjusted this...could probably have done ISO200 (or even 100) and f3-4...this pic was taken at 5pm with almost no lights on in the house, it was really dark...the Speedlite was set at M 1/1 (very high) and bounced at about a 75 degree angle off the top of the wall...it still looks better than a regular flash, and I'm still learning to say the least:)

The Lizard

Poor little guy was super sweet today, but he had a bit of a rough morning...he was climbing on the metal weight bench as I tried to hover over him and keep him from falling - but he and toppled off anyway...ramming his poor face into the metal where the bars go in...I caught most of his face, but he still has 4 little black and blue marks...my poor little baby...and he was back to climbing in an hour...I think I'm going to have a very fun time with this little boy, and I think he's going to keep me on my toes:)

As for the picture of the day - it deserves an explanation...we are all (baby included) living in a small section of our house right now because it gets heated most efficiently...which means that we arent in the other part of the house as much...so, today, I was in the other part, and I saw this lizard...now, I've seen this lizard about 10 times over the last month that we've been "on the other side" and I dont know how he's surviving over there (or how he is avoiding my cat)...but, he thinks he rules the roost...so here's to him (mind you he just sat there looking at me as I was 2 feet away flashing pictures of him:))

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...picture: ISO400, 1/200, f5.6...I was using the speedlite and have been reading a bit on it and am trying to get better with it...speedlite was on ETTL and bounced off the ceiling...

Sick

When the little guy woke up at 3:30am screaming, I knew it was going to be a rough day - cause I felt horrible...luckily, the hubby came to the rescue and got the little guy back to sleep, and then let me sleep in a little late...but, feeling sick and a lazy rainy day means not that many pictures (I actually tried to get a picture of the rain but my shutter speed wasnt fast enough so you dont see that picture - lesson #19042904389348 learned:)

Anyway, this is the little guy was a very good boy to a sick mama today, this pic is him trying to squeeze himself between the box and the shelves so that he can get to a plug and pull it out of the wall...he really does look so incredibly sweet and innocent no matter what he is doing:)

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L - picture: 1/80 shutter speed (which is about as low as I can go without blurr from shaking) ISO3200 (grain!), f2.8 (can you tell that it was incredibly dark in the house today!?!)...was just trying to get by without using the flash, but with such a high ISO I did get a bit of grain...ran it through noiseware to help balance that out and it helped a lot...

Sunset over Georgia

What an adventure!  800 miles with a 10 month old in two days...he was so so wonderful, poor guy fell asleep the second he hit his crib though, he is worn out and so am I!!

So, I'm being lazy and doing another sunset photo, it isn't as spectacular as yesterday, but I did better with the settings and since we were driving south instead of north, I was able to pull along the side of the interstate along a river, which made for a prettier scene...LOL, I promise that I'll be back to pics of the little guy soon:)

Camera T1i, lens 50mm f1.4 - picture: 1/100, f13 (I learned!), ISO200

Wow, just wow!

Today we went on a road trip - with the little guy - to South Carolina...yes, quite an adventure!

Most of my shots were of the little guy as I tried to entertain him in the backseat of the car, but, as we were just finishing the trip, the little guy was starting to get insanely grumpy, and we were all ready to be finished - I looked behind me and saw a spectacular sight...

I WISH I'd thought about it, or had the scene picked out or where I could shoot it just perfectly silhouetting other things, but I didn't...we pulled off on the side of the Interstate, I took the shot and we kept going...I WISH I'd done this at a much higher depth of field, but I wasn't thinking...but still - WOW!

Camera T1i, lens 50mm f1.4 - pic: f2.5 (grrrrrr...WHY!!!???!) ISO200, 1/250 shutter speed...


Nonetheless, it was quite a sight!

Content...

So, today was going to be a picture of the cat, but the boy won the picture war cause he was too cute, so, the boy it is:)  He was a bit of a grump today, but its a lot easier to manage when daddy is home with us.  One thing that is just so adorable with him is that no matter what kind of mood he is in, if he is in my arms (or daddy's arms) he is completely content - no matter what...

Here we are in the grocery store, and he is content - safe, loved, and secure:)

Camera T1i, lens 50mm f1.4 - picture: 1/125, ISO400, f2.5, white balance was white fluorescent lights...

Sippy!

We had such a great day today, whenever the little guy is in a wonderful mood all day, I'm just glowing by the end of the day...baby laughs are the end all and be all of life <3

Today we went to the school that I worked at before having him (it was a teacher workday) and had lunch with everyone and caught up...I was worried cause K hadnt had a nap, and I had almost no food for him (just Cheerios), but he was so wonderful...he ate some of my burrito, and had some milk and some of my water as well and was just pleasant and fun to be around.  By the time we got home, he went down easily for a nap, slept for 1.5 hours, and then was just so fun the rest of the night...

My photo of the day is his sippy cup, because he's finally starting to use it and really get the hang of it.  We have just started giving him 4 ounces of milk in the sippy per day, and he is drinking about 2 ounces each day now...Since he has never liked formula (he wont drink it at all unless it is mixed with oatmeal - which is our nightly ritual), its nice to have the option to give him a bit of milk...

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...picture: 1/100, f2.8, ISO200 and ETTL on the Speedlite

And, the week in review is short today cause I'm hearing a long-awaited shower calling my name:)
The  obligatory smiling spaghetti picture from tonight...

Sleepy!

We had a rough night last night, poor little guy was just not able to sleep, and so neither were mommy or daddy...so, I must admit, I didn't take many pictures today...and, I'm looking forward to sleep right now...

So, this is it...little guy went to the gym with me this morning, and as always, he cried too much and they had to call me back to get him...so, we got lunch and had a little picnic together and he enjoyed it - in fact, he ate an entire banana (all by himself!), I guess that filled him up, because on the drive home, he fell asleep, and continued to sleep (in the car seat) for nearly 3 hours...while he was doing that, I just opened all the car windows (it was a gorgeous day today) and sat in the car with him and relaxed...thank goodness after he woke up, he was in a great mood...oh, and yes, he's wearing the same shirt he wore yesterday - it wasnt too dirty:)

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L, picture: 1/200, ISO400, f3.5

If you look closely at his hand, you can see his freckle (everyone thinks its a speck of dirt, but its not)...I think he looks like a little angel when he sleeps:)

Repeat...

Today, once again, I had a totally different image in mind...but, you dont get to see that cause I've been reading and watching a ton of post-processing tutorials, so I wanted to play with that today...poor little guy, he was a bit grumpy again so doing the pictures in the house was just not going to work...luckily, when we went to the park, he cheered up a lot:)

This is the straight out of the camera shot:

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...picture details: ISO200, 1/500 shutter speed, f2.8

This is with my post-processing...I do like how bright and cheerful it turned out...

I did a lot with masks...I did a mask to just highlight the part of the face that wasnt lit already, then I worked a lot on getting the color natural and perfect...I dodge tooled the catchlights in the eyes to make them stand out a bit more...I also did a mask of the orange shirt to make it pop a bit more...I added trees and did a multiply/blur to darken the background a bit...noiseware with a noise reduction at 50%, and sharpening...I like it:)

Becoming...

No, the title was not referring to what I think of myself:)

my title is about the little guy...he is really starting to become who he will be and I absolutely marvel at it...he is stubborn, and independent, but such a mamma's boy...he doesnt smile that easily, but he always wants something new to laugh about...and just because you found something to make him laugh today - dont think that it will work tomorrow, cause you'll have to find something new...

Today he as into everything, and gave me half a heart attack because he has figured out how to climb up (completely up) on my husband's gym...you know with weights and metal bars and all sorts of things that could damage a baby.  He also was very curious about the camera today and wanted to explore the lens so bad that I had to fend him off with my knees (see pic)...originally, my picture as going to be of something else entirely, but I thought that this just really captured the moment today, and since I'm the boss...this is my picture of the day:)

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...picture details (it was all about getting as much light as possible cause I didnt have the Speedlite on the camera - and wasnt in much of a position to go get it): 1/100 shutter speed, ISO3200 (does have grain but not as bad as some of my other ventures down the high ISO road), f2.8...he had a bit of dry skin around his mouth that I should have editted out as I look at it now, but I forgot to...

In the picture above, I did a lot of post-process (still trying to find my style), am playing around with masks a lot...this was the SOOC shot...

it was way yellow - had the white balance at white fluorescent because I had been using tungsten but it was too blue, but this was too yellow)...mask to help the face look more natural, mask to multiply/blur everything but the face, mask to get the hair on the left side less yellow, then noiseware and sharpening (among other things)...

Anyway, hopefully I will look back on this in 2012 and marvel at how far I've come:)

Raining...again...

The never ending rain strikes again, luckily it was a lazy holiday weekend, so it was relaxing and nice to just snuggle in...the little guy was grumpy today, but since the hubby was there, it was a lot easier to deal with...

One exciting thing is that he really seems like he is starting to walk again...I thought he was going to walk early, because he could stand forever at 8 months, but then he decided that crawling was just so much easier, so he stopped standing as much...but now he's really try, and its so neat to watch him learn...

Anyway, today's pic is the rain on the hood of my dirty car, I must admit, I wish my car was cleaner just so I could have gotten a prettier picture of the water droplets, there just wasn't that much beading with all the dirt - though, if you look at the expanded image, you can actually see the dirt in the water droplets which is definitely kinda cool:):

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...picture details: f5 (because I didn't want too much blur since I was up so close anyway), ISO200 (to try to get as little grain as possible, 1/160 shutter speed

Here's to a sunny day and a happy boy tomorrow...

BRUNCH!

So, we went back to my favorite brunch place - and this time, I brought my flash card, see - progress:)

It was actually a really nice day, so we ate outside, it was wonderful, and I think the little guy really enjoyed it as well.  At this place, my favorite thing to eat is the all-you-can-eat buffet...and so my picture is my first (of three:)) servings from the brunch buffet -YUM!

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L...as for the picture, 1/250, ISO200, f2.8...I was able to do a high shutter speed and low ISO (less grain) and easily do no flash since we were outside, so the quality of the picture is pretty good...my goal was to have the background blur, but I think my aperture was a bit too high (f-stop too low) cause I wanted a bit more of the plate in focus, perhaps should have done 3.2 or so...anyway, it just give me something to improve on, so that's good...

Post processing, I increased the saturation and contrast, and took down the curves a bit cause it was very slightly over exposed...I do think it looks yummy though:)

Oh, and most exciting - I FINALLY got new batteries for the Speedlite - I got 20, so they should last for a while, unless the little guy needs a lot for his toys!

What a day!

Last week, ebay ended there free any-price listings, and because my husband has a lot of toys that he sells, we put up a TON of auctions during the last day that we could.  This meant that they all ended this week.  Normally I can keep up with packing, but with all of this, I simply couldn't - so, we spent from 8am till 3pm packing boxes...with a whole bunch of little guy-tainment thrown in there to keep us smiling.  I could barely fit in the car when we finally were ready to head to the post office.  But, it is done - thank goodness!

After that, it was a nice relaxing evening as a family...little guy sometimes laughs at the most random things, and the weirdest thing about it is that he will laugh hysterically at it one day, and then we will do it again the next day, and he'll look at us like we have two heads, and not laugh at all.  Today, he decided that it was fun to laugh at a ball rolling back and forth...and even the cat was amused:)

As for the picture...it was evening - around 5:30pm and very cloudy out, and it is very dark in the house.  I should have used the Speedlite, but I'm out of batteries (you'd think by now I would have gotten some, huh?), so to compensate, I used a crazy ISO6400, shutter speed 1/100, f3.2...unfortunately, you can tell, and this picture really does just have way too much grain to be a "good" picture...I used Noiseware but even that couldn't get the details back...I had also gotten a few closeups of him that would have been spectacular, but the grain just ruined all fine detail - lesson learned :(

Must get batteries for the speedlite!

SO COLD!

I'm pretty wimpy when it comes to weather, and today was no exception.  At 10am, it wasn't even 40 degrees!  Because of this, the little guy and I stayed inside for most of the day.  He was actually in a great mood today cause he finally went down for his naps like he should.  Unfortunately, tonight is not going so well...

Anyway, my pic of the day is:

T1i, 50mm f1.4 lens...1/125shutter speed, f3.2, ISO800...no flash...

End of week 2, only 50 more to go...
Random thoughts and outtakes...
I did spend a bit of time looking around the eb for pictures of styles that I like...I'm getting more comfortable with black and white, but I think my favorite is the "color popping" look...which can easily be taken too far...but looks great when it is not...so, this is a bit of my experiment...the first picture is "natural", the second one is high color with a lot of noise reduction (smoothing), and the third is black and white...

I'm a bit torn, cause though I like natural...I kinda like the second one because it does pop out at you a lot more...might try to do more fooling around with post production to get my own style with that...I do like color so much...

Anyway...here are 2 outtakes that I thought were funny:)  In the first, he is very excited about petting the kitty, though the kitty is much less enthusiastic...in the second, he is a bit sad (not sure why, he had been happy a minute before:)):

Packing!

Because my husband had the car, and our other car has decided to stop working for a bit, it left me and the little guy stuck at home all day.  Too cold to go outside, I got inspired to finally pack the boxes that I should have packed at the beginning of the week (as I said before, my husband runs a little toy business, so I try to get everything packed for him when I'm home).  Now, normally, this isn't an all day task, but with a very active, mischievous, sick (first cold of the new year:( ) and grumpy (a poopy diaper spoiled our only good nap of the day) 10 month old little boy...packing is definitely a challenge!!

So, I present my accomplishment of the day:

Not exactly my most inspired shot, but after doing it - I was a bit wiped out.  Here are the details...camera T1i, lens 50mm f1.4 (cause it was on there)...f3.2, ISO800, shutter speed 1/125 and on-camera flash cause my speedlite batteries are just about dead...

Will try to be spectacular soon:)

Spaghetti!

Today the boy was a grump...it was my fault cause I didnt get his naps in so he had no sleep in the afternoon, but oh boy was it rough...I was counting down the minutes till my husband got home...of course, as soon as he did, my little grump turned into a very happy boy - he loves his daddy so much:)

For dinner, we had spaghetti, and it was K's first time and boy did he enjoy it thoroughly...since I had seen pictures of myself eating spaghetti as a toddler, we took precautions and took his clothes off first...I think that was a smart move:)

As for the picture, my husband was singing very very goofy songs and I barely even had time to get the camera, much less worry about settings and getting the Speedlite...so, it is what it is...but, I love the "moment"...which is what always matters most!

Camera was T1i, lens 50mm f1.4...picture settings: shutter speed 1/125, f2.2 (which is why is one hand is a bit blurry, ISO3200 (it was night time and I didnt want to use much flash)...I used the on camera flash, which I always have on the lowest setting...white balance was tungsten again cause it was night and I was using such a weak flash...

Clean-up was a bath, and then he was out for (hopefully) the night:)

Playgroup!

One of the things I miss the most with being a stay-at-home mom is interaction with adults.  Thankfully, I am lucky enough to have gotten involved in some playgroups with kids his age...this is a time that I look forward to the most each week.  K on the other hand is usually one of the youngest at the playgroup - and is still somewhat overwhelmed with all the kids running around all over the place (though soon enough - that will be him).  Today at playgroup, there were about 10 kids there, and K was just in awe of everything going on:)

As for the picture...I brought my small lens again cause we were at playgroup and I didnt want my big expensive lens getting knocked around.  Camera is T1i, lens is 50mm f1.4...picture was taken indoors with no flash and: f2.5, ISO1600, shutter speed 1/100...

I also wanted to talk a bit about what I had to do to the picture in post processing...since I'm not one who take perfect pictures straight out of the camera, I try to improve my pictures with post-processing...this one needed it...this was the picture straight out of the camera...

As you can see it is dark and grainy cause he is pretty backlit (the big window was above and behind him - not ideal for taking pictures) and I had a high ISO...I lightened it with curves, adjusted the saturation, then played with the colors, I sharpened the eyes, then ran the entire thing through a noiseware program (I think I overdid the noiseware, but I'll correct that next time), then I sharpened the final picture...whew...sometimes it takes a lot to make my photos look good - did I mention that if you need any photoshopping work done, LMK...its my thing:)

And, because I have a black and white filter on this lens, and I'm trying to get better at black and white photography, here is my black and white conversion, which I really really like!

Relaxing...or wanting to...

Today the little guy and I went to the gym for two reasons...
1. I really needed to exercise, I used to run all the time, I did triathlons - even an Ironman...and now, I...ummm...dont...so sometimes, I just need to move the legs a bit...

2. They have this amazing jacuzzi at the gym, and I LOVE hot!  I never went in one while pregnant, and sometimes, I just want to relax in the hot!

The other nice thing about the gym is that they have free childcare...unfortunately, the little guy doesnt often like to be away from me, so I usually go to the gym, and then 15 minutes later, they call me back to get him cause he is so sad...

Today, I had a good 20+ minutes on the treadmill before they came to let me know that he wasn't happy...I ran to the jacuzzi for about 2 minutes (this was the second time in 4 days that I've tried to get to it), snapped my picture (thats a whole 'nother story below), and went to get the little guy.

Wouldn't you know, RIGHT after they came to get me, he calmed down, and he was perfectly happy when I got there...oh well...

He ended up being in a great mood, and we had a good time today...

As for the picture...the jacuzzi is in the changing room area of the gym, so I feel a bit (more than a bit) self conscious about whipping out my camera in a changing room!!  So, I cover the camera with my towel, then go to take the pic - but no, there's someone coming...so, put the camera away...but I have to hurry cause I have to go get the little guy...I do this about 4 times and finally get my super quick snapshot...

No, it is not a great picture, but I just didn't feel like explaining to people why I was taking a picture in the girls changing room, and I had to go get the little guy cause they had already called me back...so, it is what it is, it was a 2 second pic with no retakes:)

Camera is T1i and 50mm f1.4 lens (cause I had it in my bag and didnt want the really big lens)...picture details: f3.2, 1/125 shutter speed, and ISO6400 (no flash and I was in a room that had no windows:))...most important thing was that I had the white balance set at tungsten...I was shooting in jpg for this pic, if I do a "photo shoot" I shoot in RAW, because it is easier to manipulate, but I was just trying to be fast...

For being ISO6400, the pic doesn't have too much noise cause I ran it through a noiseware program that works really well:)

Its the thought that counts...

Today I had a great idea for a picture at my favorite Sunday brunch spot.  I looked up pictures to give me ideas of good posing for the food, then got the little guy ready, got the camera ready, and off we went. 

We got the the restaurant and I set up my picture perfectly...and...NO.CAMERA.CARD. - LOL, epic fail picture edition at its finest...needless to say, this is a great excuse to go back next week...

So, I'm not feeling the most inspired about my picture of the day...
Anyway, my husband has a little toy business and we keep everything on separate shelves for organization and so that we can find things easily.  K seems to think that it is his job to take everything off the shelves.  He was in a really good mood for the most part today, and this is us catching him just getting ready to pull things off the shelf:)

Camera T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8...this was just a snapshot so I didn't think hard about my settings...anyway...details: ISO400, shutter speed 1/125, f6.3 and speedlite was M1/1 (cause I was taking pics of toys last night and hadnt adjusted it)

10 months old!

You know how I said that this blog wouldn't be just pictures of my little guy...yea, well, I'll take pictures of other things eventually:)

Little man is 10 months old today and I can't believe how fast it has gone by!  He is so curious and aware now, it blows me away when I compare it to just a few months ago...I still cant even believe that he is mine!

he had a good day today- he always has a better day when daddy is home...and he FINALLY slept well last night, and tonight, he fell asleep super fast, so I'm hoping that this means good things for the future...

Today was a beautiful day and besides a million errands, we managed to head to the park.  Usually the little guy just sits and watches what is going on - so its easier to take pictures, but not today, today he was crawling everywhere...not the best for picture taking but so much fun...anyway, we also met two 7 month old little boys while we were there...my goodness, I didnt think that he had changed much in the last 3 months...boy was I mistaken...they looked like babies still, and K looks like a little boy now:)

Anyway, for this picture, K "stole" this ball from a little one year old at the park and was smiling at his daddy cause he was having such a good time throwing it, craling after it, picking it up, repeat:

Camera was T1i, lens 24-70mm f2.8L, f3.2 (wanted a bit less blur cause he was moving so fast and I was taking full body pics), ISO200, 1/200 shutter speed...I couldnt have done this pic without my husband,  the trees were pretty bare and he had to create a shadow for me so that the sun wasnt hitting the little guy so directly...he made a great shadow:)

Epic Fail - Baby clothing editor edition

I've been trying to follow a really strict nap schedule for my little one in hopes of getting him on some sort of regulated sleep schedule (did I mention that we have sleeping issues?)...today was epic fail, no nap, lots of screaming and crying - horrible...so, to make me feel better about myself, I present another epic fail - from the baby clothing editors:)

Seriously, what comes after 11AM people/?  Am I the only one?
Ok, I know, in the big scheme of things, its not "epic", but the people who edit words/phrases on baby clothing...they dont have the hardest job...ya know?

Anyway, this was taken at the mall children's play area, aka, the ultimate germ ecosystem.  We went there so I could forget about my nap disaster.  While many people with babies avoid this area, I throw the little guy right in there, and he really loves it.  What I love is the lighting, there is a huge skylight above it (which is why his hair looks so light in the picture) so no need for flash, hooray!  One of these days I'm going to invest in a reflector, but right now he is so young and fast, there is no way that I could keep up with him and use a reflector properly...

One of the big challenges of this picture was getting a picture of my kid only.  Nothing a bit of photoshop cant handle.  Camera T1i, lens24-70mm  f2.8L, f2.8, shutter speed 1/160, ISO400 and white balance was shade.

Well, was going to do the outtakes of the week, but the boy is awake and sad, so that will have to wait till later!

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Ok, it's later...just a few outtakes of the week:)

The outdoors in black and white!

Well, the boy was a grump, so the day didn't go as planned, but we did make it to the park, so, I finally got to take pictures outside, hooray!!

Here is the pic of the day:

This picture has almost everything that I like in a photo...I LOVE closeups, I love the background blur, I love when I have perfect focus on the eyes, and I love the great catchlights in his eyes...much better than yesterday's photo!  The only thing that I wish I'd done differently is been a bit further away from him so that I could have gotten more of his head in the picture...but since he was climbing on me, and it was a fixed lens (no zoom) then, well, there ya go:)

Anyway, I switched it up a bit today, since we were at the park, I didn't feel like dragging around a heavy lens, so, this was the T1i with my 50mm f1.4 lens, with a black and white filter on it...

As far as the picture, I had SUN - HOORAY!!: ISO200 (so almost no fuzziness up close!), shutter speed 1/500, and f2.2...I noticed that if I get below 2.2, then there is too much blur...

You might also notice that this photo is black and white (since I had the filter, I might as well:)) - I am determined to get better at black and white photography, it is so much harder because it is less forgiving than color...if something is a bit too light /dark in color, it doesnt matter, if it is too light/dark in black and white - it looks horrible...

And, stay tuned for the outtakes of the week, coming up tomorrow!!

Boy in a box!

Well, since 2011 began, it has been nothing but miserable, cold, and/or rainy outside.  So, even though my favorite pictures are outdoor and in natural light, you'd never know it by looking on here - cause every one of these pictures is a flash picture taken indoors...I will go outside eventually, I promise:)

Today I barely got a picture taken, my son is not the best at sleeping, and it has gotten progressively worse over time.  We are now attempting to help him learn to sleep better - which means that I'm not getting much sleep...

Anyway, this was taken tonight right before he went to bed.  We had a box of toys, and instead of getting the toys out, he climbed right in:

Not my favorite picture of him by far, but it leaves a ton of room for improvement:)

Camera details: Canon T1i, f2.8L lens...
ISO400, f4.0, 1/100 shutter speed, Speedlite set at 1/4 and bounced off the ceiling...

FOOD!

I think I've figured out the way to get through this thing - all 365 days of it, and that is to take a few early random pics (today I took some of my son sleeping), and then I will always have :something" in case I dont get anything inspired.

Well, I'm sure that you are looking forward in great anticipation to see my son sleeping (specially because of how rare that is - i.e. usually if he is sleeping, he is sleeping on top of me and so there are no pictures of it), but, you will have to wait for that one.

Today, I bring you a picture of food.  I find pictures of food interesting because - at least at most places - the food always looks so mouthwatering in the pictures, and then when they bring it out, it ends up being so disappointing.  Hmmm...maybe I shouldn't be saying that right before showing you a picture of my dinner.

Anyway, I digress...

So, this is a picture of the dinner that I made tonight (and for bonus points, look below for the recipe:)):

It is curried lentils and quinoa, with spinach, Quorn Chicken, and a Tofurkey Italian Sausage in it.
As far as the picture, I've found that any time you take a picture of food, you need more light than in a normal picture, but not too much to completely destroy the details in the food.  I took this picture in the kitchen which has beige walls instead of the white walls that I'm used to bouncing my flash off of - so I had to put the Speedlite at M 1/1 (the highest power).  Shutter speed was 1/100, ISO400 (didn't want much grain since this was a big "details" picture, in retrospect, I could have gone down to a lower shutter speed and ISO and even brought out the tripod to get a better pic - but honestly, I wanted to eat it not take pictures of it:)), and f4.0.  I had the f-stop at 4.0 cause I was closeup and wanted some blur in the background, but didn't want everything but my focus point to be blurred.  I really am pleased with the blur in the picture, I spot-meter focused on the raisin in the center, and those are crispy sharp, and the back of the bowl/background is blur but not too blur - I like!

I used my 24-70mm f2.8L lens again, and my T1i...I will say that his being the first time I've taken a picture of something still, I love being able to take my time. Sigh...not really a luxury that taking pics of children allows:)

Ok, now for what you've been waiting for - the recipe (this is for 2 large servings)
A quick note about the recipe - my husband is vegetarian (I'm mostly, but not all the way), so I don't cook meat in the house, so any recipe that I put up is going to be vegetarian:
Takes 15 minutes to prepare.
1/2 cup of lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
1 tsp Everglades Seasoning
1 tsp curry
1/4 tsp Red Pepper seasoning
1 bag baby spinach
1 Quinoa Chicken cutlet
1 Tofurkey Italian Sausage
1 cup Greek Yogurt (dont use the normal yogurt, it doesn't work)
big handful of raisins

Put quinoa and water in a microwave safe dish, microwave for 15 minutes.  During this time, put lentils, Everglades seasoning, curry, red pepper seasoning, Quorn cutlet, Tofurkey sausage, and water in pot on stovetop, boil without a top for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After about 10 minutes, cut up sausage and quorn into bite size pieces (they are soft so I cut them with a spatula), after 15 minutes when most of the water has evaporated off, add spinach, stir and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Plate it with the quinoa first, then the lentils, then yogurt and raisins on top (the yogurt and raisins make it, trust me)...

Enjoy!

EYE see you!

Well, since this is the beginning, and I have no pictures of me on here, I thought it would be a great time to introduce you to me in a picture.  So, here I am:)

This is a combination of three photos, I took all three...one of my eye, one big clear one of my lens, and one of me holding the camera...
I only had about 5 minutes to take the picture (I blame the baby:)), so I'm not the most thrilled with the one of me - but it will have to do, I still think it looks pretty cool put together!

I LOVE PHOTOSHOP!!  If anyone wants photos spliced together/restored/whatever, drop me a line, I think you'll like the results:)

As for the shots themselves, I had to use the flash cause it was dark-ish, and I didnt have any hopes of good enough lighting, ISO400, f4.0 (cause I was worried about blur - its very odd taking the pic of myself in the mirror), ETTL on the speedlight instead of M, and 1/125 shutter speed.  For the eye pic (I took that at around 4pm) I was able to do it with a tungsten white balance filter, ISO1800, 1/100 shutter speed, f2.8 and no flash...

Theme is happy baby again

Ok, I promise, not all of these pictures are going to be of my son:)
But, today's is because we were at a birthday party.
Fun times and copious amount of sugar were had by all...and for the photo of the day...

this is what you would call a "bad" picture (technically speaking).  But, you know, sometimes, if you capture a good moment, then "bad" technically speaking (specially when you are dealing with children AND as long as it isn't too bad) doesn't matter that much...that being said, I like this picture.

In this picture, he is in a play-worm-thing with bright colored fabric all around him so he has a weird pink glow to him, he was moving fast toward me so it isnt quite as sharp as I'd like, there was a big window right next to the worm, so one side is more washed out than the other, and I didnt bring my Speedlite, so I had to use an oncamera flash - yikes!  As far as the camera itself, again, it was my beloved T1i and 24-70mm f2.8L lens.  Shutter speed was 1/100, f2.8 (again - cause I love the shorter depth of field) and 3200ISO and on-camera flash - oh my! 

A word about ISO - I used to be afraid to go over 400ISO because of grain, but I found that I can get a good picture even up to 3200ISO as long as I dont under expose the picture, if I underexpose then grain will ruin it, but if I get a good exposure, then grain will not destroy the picture (I've done this all the way up to 12800ISO) if you run it through noiseware...this was a very handy thing to learn and it lets me shoot without flash a whole lot more than I used to:)