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Shimelle (the peppiest, most colorful girl I think I've ever met) has been doing a really cool series on her website and just happened to post one of my shots today.
Thanks for the invite Shimelle.
Also, to answer a question I missed; the blurred areas from this shoot are all related to depth of field. I don't own a tilt-shift lens (though I really, really, really want one).
And one more shot from the other night (since I can't post without a photo)...
The girls watching The Fox and the Child the other night. (The fox was getting chased by a bobcat.)
And finally getting to all those questions that were posted here a couple of weeks back...
1. What lens were you using in the shot of you and Josh on your Anniversary trip? With my 50mm my arm just isn't long enough...
I was using a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens at 24mm. My camera is a full frame camera so it allows me a wider focal length than digital camera's that are not full frame. Digital cameras that are not full frame typically have something called a 1.6 crop factor. I won't go into all the details here but basically what that means to you is that if you put a 50mm lens on a full frame camera, it's still a 50mm lens, but if you put that same 50mm lens on a camera with a 1.6 crop factor, it works as an 80mm lens (because the crop factor of 1.6 multiplied by the 50mm focal length of the lens=80mm).
So I'm guessing your arm isn't abnormally short but that you just need a wider angle lens, particularly if you're shooting with a camera that has a 1.6 crop factor if you want to do that kind of shot. (The vast majority of digital SLRs on the market have a crop factor around f1.6.)
2. How are you liking your nikon?
I like it a lot and am glad I switched but it's been hard adjusting to a new system after shooting Canon for 10 years and I really miss my Canon sometimes.
The main reason I switched from Canon to Nikon (more specifically from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Nikon D700) had to do with the better autofocusing system of the Nikon D700. That doesn't mean that all Nikon's focus better than all Canon's though, it just means that the Nikon D700 focuses better than the Canon 5D Mark II.
The differences between the two camera's is NOT night and day though so I'm not recommending that everyone jump on the Nikon bandwagon.
As with everything in photography, you can't have your cake and eat it too. You ALWAYS have to be willing to give up something in order to gain something and this is true of camera brands also. I wanted to gain a better autofocusing system so I switched to the Nikon D700 but I had to be willing to give up the much larger selection of lenses that Canon offers in doing so. In fact, Nikon doesn't make two of my favorite lenses; the 50mm f1.2 and the 24mm f1.4.
I think I mentioned this before and it's kind of hard to explain, but I feel like I gave up a beautiful camera (the Canon 5D Mark II) for a workhorse of a camera (the Nikon D700).
My friend Tanya shoots Canon and bought most of my gear, including the Canon 5D Mark II though and is loving it.
Overall, a good, but difficult change for me though.
You can read more about my camera recommendations here.
3. Wanting
to know the location of where you shot the prom pictures? they were
stunning. also, what kind of zipper bag do you use when taking pictures
on the beach?
I shot all the prom pictures out in Gold Hill, OR. The stone bridge is right off the Gold Hill exit closest to Grants Pass and the railroad bridge is right off the Gold Hill exit closest to Medford. The swing shots were taken at the elementary school in Gold Hill and the pictures taken in the trees were at the Del Rio Winery in Gold Hill (they gave me permission to shoot there). I was limited on time so I really needed to shoot everything within a 3 mile radius.
The zippered camera bag I just got (and am loving because it's well priced and doesn't scream "camera bag") is this backpack. It's super plain and boring in appearance but I'll take 'functional' over 'cute' any day of the week.
I prefer 'functional' over 'cute' in men also. The fact that Josh Downs is cute is just icing on the cake.
I've used all kinds of zippered bags for my camera though, even $10 bags from Old Navy. My main objective is just to keep my camera protected so if a $10 bag does that, I'll use it.
4. Are you are doing anything different post processing after your BootCamp. Still using the same actions or do you have new favorites? Your colors have a bit of a different feel. Is that the new camera or post processing?
Also what do you like for a bw conversion? Do you do your own or do you like a particular action?
We were using Adobe Lightroom 2 at Bootcamp and the program just overwhelmed me. When I got back from bootcamp, I was so busy with my photography classes and fixing up the new, old house that I unfortunately just went back to my comfort zone with my old editing techniques in Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe CS4 out of habit.
Once I get all these boxes unpacked though and things slow down a bit, I am going to commit myself to using Adobe Lightroom 2 because it really is a phenomenal program that will make my editing life a lot easier. I'll still be using Adobe CS4 too though for actions and a few other editing tricks I love.
I'm always changing my editing recipes a bit, primarily which actions I like. If you've noticed a difference in color though (primarily more yellow/golden tones) it's probably a combination of the new camera (which definitely produces different colors than my Canon), warming things up with my White Balance and also from using one of these two actions:
- A Light From a Star from Josh DeRox's Colorshift Experimental Actions
- Flare Up (Golden) from Totally Rad Actions 2
I don't use any actions at 100% opacity though, in fact, I rarely use any over 40% opacity. These two, I typically use between 10%-30%. I don't use both actions on the same photo though.
I vary on the B&W actions I use but my favorites are:
- Boring Old B&W + Antique Tone (at a reduced opacity) from Totally Rad Actions 1
- Kevin Kubota also has a TON of really great B&W actions that I love in his Artistic Tools sets
5. I'm
holding off buying my first SLR camera and lens until I read your input
on lenses! Do you have plans to post your opinion and expertise about
lenses anytime soon?
I really do have plans of post my lens recommenations, it's just a time issue. Will try to get to it soon though.
6. At one time did you mention that you have a treadmill built into your desk? If that was you, did you blog about it?
I do have a treadmill desk (just a treadmill that Josh attached a little cabinet to so I use it as a desk while I'm working). I haven't posted any pictures of it though, but I'll try to soon.
I think I originally saw it on Dateline or some program like that and the guy who had done all the research on it recommended that you just walk at a 1 mph pace.
I didn't have any problems getting used to it but I did go to an atheletic shoe place where they recorded me walking/running on a treadmill in order to figure out if I was a pronator, supinator, etc. (I think that was the terminology) so they'd know what kind of shoe I needed because my feet were killing me after walking on it for several hours I was really good about using it for awhile and had gotten to the point where I was walking/working on it for about 4 hours a day. I've been really lazy lately though and need to get my (oversized) butt back on it.
7. I know tech stats on every picture are way too much to ever ask, but I would just love & beg to ask the aperture, shutter speed, and focal length on this one of the girls together.
- Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 at f2.8, 1/250th of a second, ISO 200.
8. I need a name of a good turquoise/blue paint.
Paint color is such a preference things so hopefully you don't paint your wall one of these colors and hate it...
- I did our bedroom in Valspar Satin Sea Air from Lowe's which is a light blue with a tiny bit of aqua.
- I did part of our dining room in Valspar Satin Beach Blanket from Lowe's which is a light aqua.
9. What are pill bugs????? How about a photo of one?
I just looked outside to see if I could find any pill bugs and couldn't find one (Courtney Lee is the expert pill bug finder but she's still in bed) here's a picture I found online though.
Hope I didn't miss anything.
I took all the kids to Grandma Jo and Grandpa Tom's house the other day to drop Courtney Lee off with them. (They were taking her to California for the weekend.)
Grandpa Tom ended up taking the kids for a spin on the Bobcat so I grabbed my camera.
Annie however, was more interested in strawberries than Bobcats.
Courtney Lee tries to plant one on Cole any chance she gets just to tick him off.
And she was successful.
Grandpa Tom hooked the kids up to the front of the trailer with chains and then pretended they were horses pulling a wagon.
The chain kept pulling Courtney's pants down.
That's the face Courtney makes when she knows she's pushing Coley's buttons.
And that's what happens when Coley gets too rough with his sister.
That's Grandma Jo's new car. (I hope she never paints it though because I'm crazy about the color.)
And that's how much Annie says she loves Grandma Jo.
Chasing the kids.
Trying to get a kiss from Annie.
But she psyched him out and knocked off his hat instead.
She was quite amused with herself (as usual).
And then Annie talked Grandma Jo into getting a juice box for everyone before we left.
I spent most of my day stressed out over my current 'to do' list.
But tonight, Grandma Jo and Great Grandma stopped by just to bring us peaches.
We ate breakfast burritos on the picnic table in the back yard. (Josh and I have perfected the art of the breakfast burrito: eggs, shredded cheese, red bell peppers, avocados and cilantro...I put sweet chili sauce on mine too.)
Annie started dry-heaving when she had to eat a 'no-thank-you-bite' of her avocado.
I screamed because I caught Shelby (our dog) on top of the picnic table drinking everyone's milk and then got cranky when Josh started mimicking me yelling at the dog.
Courtney Lee scored two touch downs in a boys against girls game of football (although I had to knock Cole to the ground both times so she could score).
Annie ran around barefoot wearing a tutu and her underoos.
I pushed the girls on the swing set and tickled them until they were hollering because their ribs hurt.
I didn't get a single box unpacked.
Everyone got a much needed bath. (Coley got his new Lego's stuck in the drain when it was his turn.)
The kids all got to bed about 1 1/2 hours past their bedtime.
I'm listening to all my favorite songs by Randy Travis right now and thinking about how I can't wait to call it a day.
The girls are out of school (the boys finish up tomorrow) so they were home at the new, old house with me yesterday.
Didn't get a whole lot of work done (2 girls at home + 3 hours of sleep for me = 0 productivity).
But I did get some pictures.
Courtney Lee on Cole's scooter (something Coley would never approve of...but what he doesn't know won't hurt him).
Annie with my old film camera (I gave it to the girls).
Courtney's favorite pastime is dressing up Annie.
That's Annie picking plums.
And that was breakfast (banana nut bread and fruit smoothies from Starbucks because there's no food at the new, old house).
And that was lunch (grilled cheese, french fries and orange juice from the Yellow Basket because there still wasn't any food at the new, old house).
And then there was singing (lucky me, the girls have a karaoke machine to amplify their voices).
She's so cute I could eat her up for breakfast (especially when there's no food at the new, old house).
That's Annie hiding in the 'dress-up' box that is stored under the girl's bunkbed.
And then Courtney Lee decided that she needed a nap (she needs more sleep than any of the kids) so I made Annie take one too.
They just thought it would be more fun to sleep in Cole's bunkbed than their own.
Coley would never approve of that either...
I spent the whole weekend working at the new, old house.
Josh had Guard Duty all weekend. But about 6pm last night after he got home, we got a wild hair and decided to borrow Josh's Dad's trailer to move into the new, old house a week early.
The kids were crazy-excited (and I was taking pictures of the crazy excitement before we headed over to the old, new house to load our stuff).
That's Annie (who is obviously into dressing herself lately) talking on the broken, old cell phone I gave her. She 'called' Grandma Jo to tell her we were moving.
And that's the kids goofing off on the front porch of the new, old house before we left.
And that's Josh taking all the kids out of the back of the truck (you can see him lifting out Courtney Lee in the background).
They had hid in the truck bed while we were getting ready to leave so we pretended we didn't know they were back there and drove down the road just a bit which is totally taboo and therefore totally fun.
I think I spent half of my life as a kid driving around in the back of a pick-up truck which in retrospect, wasn't all that safe (but it was awfully fun).
And since we didn't have time for a decent dinner, we went through the drive-in at Taco Bell where the kids got thumb-war puppets (which ended up on their toes).
Perhaps I need to bathe Cole more often.
And then the kids played on the back of the trailer while we loaded it up.
Not the best shot in the world but in my defense, I only got to take a couple shots before Josh Downs (who NEVER complains about me taking photos) rhetorically asked, "Are we taking pictures or are we moving?"
So if you were wishing for more photos of our move...you know who to blame.
Josh took the kids fishing at Diamond Lake on Saturday. They left at 5:00 am.
I however, slept in until 7:00 am and spent the rest of the morning working at the new, old house in peace.
Josh had been checking the reports up at Diamond Lake and was all excited because he heard people were limiting out on fish and even throwing back 14 inch trout.
Unfortunately, the fishing gods did not favor Josh Downs Saturday morning. (He didn't catch anything.)
Annie however, caught her very first fish (a Rainbow Trout) with her Dora the Explorer fishing pole.
Josh said she spent the rest of the morning saying "Good job Annie!", but she wasn't interested in holding it because she said it was all 'bleedy'.
Josh BBQ'd it for his dinner.
But when she saw Josh take it off the grill with a pair of tongs, she started hollering "Stop, you're going to hurt him!"
I guess gutting him, cutting his head off and grilling him on the BBQ didn't worry her...she just didn't want the tongs to pinch him.
It was dark and gloomy and stormy around here today (it has been for the last few days) but this was a bright spot in my day...
The girls in my current online photography class (which ends this week) ordered me a cake from a local bakery (A Slice of Heaven).
It's an ongoing joke in all of my photography classes that you can't have your cake and eat it to in the world of photography.
But today, I had my cake and ate it too (washed down with a beer stein of milk).
Thanks gals.
The crazy thing is that the gals from my last online class sent me a gift certificate to the same bakery awhile back.
Thanks to you gals too (I ordered an apricot bavarian 3-layer cake, a marion-berry cheesecake and six orange-cranberry muffins).
My sugar-deprived family thanks you too.
And just to add to the craziness of moving and the final week of my current photography class...
We're mailing out class binders to all the students in the next online class that starts on June 22nd. (That's my mom adding to the mountain of priority mail boxes in my hallway.)
There's a boy in my next class (actually I think there's two unless Larry turns out to be a girl) and one of them emailed me to jokingly request something other than the array of girly, floral fabric I normally wrap my binders with.
Happy to oblige with a very special, manly, moose fabric just for you Mark.
Woke up early Sunday morning at the new, old house and started working.
Then we walked to breakfast.
It was a buffet (and they had magic french toast).
Then we walked home and got back to work. (My husband is a hunk.)
Josh was working on the sprinkler system and it turned out that a valve was open so we ended up with a little wading pool in the backyard.
And then the girls played school while we worked some more.
That's Courtney's 'teacher' face.
And then we had dinner at Josh's parents and the girls played in the hot tub while Josh and I went back to the new, old house to finish up the weekend's work.
Less than two weeks before we move in (and plenty of work left to do). So excited.
