My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

The Small Victories.

Today, I am content with the small victories:

1. Annie only woke up once last night.  (She's been having HUGE problems with nightmares for the last few weeks so we've all been working on limited sleep.)

2. I got the kids out the door this morning without raising my voice and they aced the spelling words we were practicing on the way to school.

3. The Haiti fundraiser went sooooooo well (see the post below.)

4. I had chili cooking in the crockpot by 10am.

5. I worked out for the second day in a row.  (Go me!)

6. My (delusional) husband thinks I'm hot.

7. My personal 'to do' list is getting smaller.  (Got my oil changed, dropped off a package at Fedex, scheduled some appointments, etc. and it feels good.)

8. My current group of students are wonderful.  (I always miss my last group of students and I always worry that my next group won't be as fabulous...but somehow, they always are.)

9. My house is clean enough.

10. And I'm finally getting some time to start thinking a little bit more about classes in 2010...

- I'm teaching The Photographers One Day Workshop in Grants Pass, OR at Krop, Paper, Scissors this coming Saturday (Jan. 30th).  541 476 9300.  Several people flying in and lots of gals from my local area - can't wait to see you all!

- I'm teaching photography for a small group in South America with Scrapmap from March 13-24th.  I think there's still 5 spots available if you want to come too!

- I'm also teaching in Greece in September (the 19th-25th along with Ali Edwards and Jenni Bowlin (two gals I've never taught with before, but have always wanted to!)  This trip is with Cocoa Daisy and you can check it out here.

- And I don't do a ton of in store classes anymore and I really miss them so if you're a store owner (or know a store owner) who wants to have me teach the One Day Photographers' Workshop to your customers sometime this year, email me at karen@snapshotsofagoodlife.com and we can gab about all the details!

And one of my little Blog Hog.

Thanks!

You guys are so cool.

Here's how the fundraising for Haiti went...

1. The bidding on The Photographers' Workshop went up to $1200.  (Wow!)  Thanks a ton Donna Nelson for this.  Donna, please email me at karen@snapshotsofagoodlife.com so we can get everything set up.

2. The auction for The Photographers Workshop went up to $1295!  I used a random number generator to select the winning commentor, Joni Schindler!  Joni, please email me at karen@snapshotsofagoodlife.com so we can get you all set up for class! 

Donna Nelson will pick the Haiti relief charity(s) of her choice to donate $1200 to and I have chosen two charities to share $1290 based on recommendations and research:

- Operation Blessing International (Over 99.1% of their donations go directly to humanitarian programs.)

- Medical Teams International (Over 97.3% of their donations go directly to providing medical services to those stricken by disaster, conflict and poverty.)

Thanks a TON to all of you who participated in this!

Giving away a second spot in class...

All bidding is closed now.  I will post the winners here in a few minutes!

Ok, so I realize the bidding on my last post quickly went out of most people's budgets so I am going to give away one more spot in The Photographers' Workshop as a way to help people in Haiti.

Basically, I'm going to keep both drawings open until Tuesday, Jan. 26th at 10am Pacific time.  Here are your two options:

1. On my last post, you just have to outbid the current, highest bidder in the comments section in order to win a spot in The Photographers' Workshop.  Please do not place your bid on this post, you have to place your bid on the post below this one. ETA:  If you are the highest bidder, you can choose the charity (or multiple charities) of your choice and will simply need to provide me with a receipt of your donation.  Please note that there are multiple 'pages' in the comments section and you have to go to the LAST page in order to see what the current highest bid is.

2. On this post, for every dollar you paypal me, (1oo% of the donations will go to a Haitian charity - I just haven't decided on which one yet.) you can enter the drawing to win a spot in The Photographers' Workshop.  (If you've already taken the class and want to take it again or enter for a friend, feel free.)  In order to enter though, you have to leave a message in the comments section of this post.  If you donate $5, you can leave a maximum of 5 comments on this post, which enters you into the drawing 5 times.  If you donate $10, you can leave a maximum of 10 comments on this post, which enters you into the drawing 10 times.  Donate however much, but for every dollar you donate, you have to leave an equal number of comments in order to be entered into the drawing an equal number of times.  To send your donation via Paypal, just go to Paypal and select 'send money' and enter my email address (karen@snapshotsofagoodlife.com) as the recipients email address.  Just make sure you spell that email address correctly or the money will be lost somewhere in Paypal cyberspace.

I will post the winners of BOTH drawings on Tuesday, January 26th at 10am Pacific time and will also announce the charities this money will go to at that time.

Thanks again.

Do something.

For me, I watch things like what's going on in Haiti, feeling helpless to do anything.  Feeling like I'm just this one person and nothing I can do is going to help on any large scale.

But I think the key to anything is simply doing something, no matter how small or insignificant it may feel.

I've actually been trying to work this philosophy into my everyday life (And believe me, I need it right now.)  If the house is a mess and I'm feeling overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning it, rather than wallowing in it and doing nothing, I'm trying to tackle one thing that's been bugging me.  Last weekend, I tackled my closet.  And it felt so good to have my closet cleaned that I actually felt motivated to tackle the girl's closet too.  And if I'm feeling chubby (And believe me, I'm am chubby right now.) but the thought of hitting the gym is more than I can bare, I'm trying to commit to small changes like switching from a Starbucks chai latte every morning to an unsweetened Passion tea instead and forcing myself to run up the stairs instead of walk up the stairs to get my heart rate up a little.  And though I'm not any skinnier as a result, I feel 'mentally skinnier'...which is always better than feeling 'mentally chubby' no matter what the scale says.

But if my biggest worry is whether I'm having a chai latte or an unsweetened passion tea for breakfast, then I need to step up to the plate to do something for those with much bigger worries, even if what I can do feels small and insignificant in the bigger scheme of things.

God gave me photography and so that feels like the natural thing for me to give back.  So I'm going to give a seat in one of my upcoming Photographers' Workshops (a $395 value) to whoever places the highest bid.

The bidding will start at one dollar.  To add your bid, just leave a post in the comments section with a bid that is higher than the previous bidder.  Please be sure to include your email address in your bid so I'll know how to contact you.

I'll announce the winning bidder Tuesday, Jan. 26th at 10am Pacific time and that bidder will get to pick the charity of their choice to help those in Haiti.

Thanks a ton.

Camera & Lens Recommendations

I have done camera reviews in the past here but since there's been lots of new cameras introduced since I did my last review, I figured it was time to update my recommendations...

I really recommend purchasing a camera you can ‘grow into’ (as opposed to purchasing a camera that you will grow out of.) therefore, I recommend a digital SLR (single lens reflex).  Technically, an SLR camera is a camera that uses the same lens to shoot and view your pictures.  (A mirror inside the camera reflects the image from the lens to the viewfinder.) But you don’t even really need to know that.

More important to you, a digital SLR gives you maximum creative control by allowing you to make manual adjustments, control exposure and use interchange lenses. 

In reviewing the following cameras, I am going to compare only Canon & Nikon cameras in similar price ranges (since these are the two camera brands I have the most experience with), primarily based on what I think are the two most important features in a camera; their focusing systems (the more autofocus points a camera has, particularly ‘cross-sensor’ autofocus points, the more quickly and precisely your camera will focus) and the cameras maximum ISO setting (the higher the number, the more successfully you can shoot in low light situations without a flash). I will not be noting the megapixels on any of these cameras because they’re all over 10 megapixels (and unless you’re enlarging your images to create a wall-sized mural, you don’t need anything over 10 megapixels). I will also only be covering newer model cameras under $3000.

Please don't send me hate mail if I don't recommend your favorite camera and please keep in mind that much of this is simply my opinion.

Nikon D5000 vs. Canon Rebel T1i
You can pick up the Nikon D5000 for $630 (body only). It has eleven autofocus points with one of those being a cross-sensor and its maximum ISO is 6400. This camera also offers video. You can also pick up lesser expensive Nikons; the D60 and D3000 but the D5000 is a much better camera.

I do want to mention that the Nikon D40, D40X, D60, D3000 and D5000 do not have autofocus motors built into them. Because of this, they can only autofocus when used with lenses that have an autofocus motor built into the lens. These types of Nikon lenses are marked with the letters 'AF-S’. You can also use some off-brand lenses such as Sigma and Tamron on these cameras as long as they have an autofocus motor built into the lens.

You can pick up the newest Canon Digital Rebel, the Rebel T1i for $620 (body only). It has nine autofocus points with one of those being a cross-sensor and its maximum ISO is 12,800.  This camera also offers video. Note that you can purchase older model Canon Rebels for less money and while most of these older models have similar autofocusing systems, none of them offer ISO’s any higher than 1600 or video.

I think the Nikon D5000 and the Canon Rebel T1i are pretty comparable cameras. The Rebel has a higher maximum ISO which is nice but Nikons traditionally have better autofocus systems.

Nikon D90 vs. Canon 50D
The Nikon D90 is about $790 (body only). This camera has 11 autofocus points, one of those being a cross-sensor and its maximum ISO is 6400. This camera also offers video. You can also pick up the older Nikon D80 for less money though it does not offer video and has a lower maximum ISO of 3200.

The Canon 50D runs about $940 (body only). It has nine autofocus points with all of them being cross-sensors and its maximum ISO is 12,800. You can also pick up the Canon 40D for less money. It has the same autofocus system but its maximum ISO is only 3200.

Here, I’d go with the 50D because it’s got more cross-sensor autofocus points and a higher maximum ISO.

Nikon D300S vs. Canon 7D
This is where Nikons amazing focusing system really comes in for $1700 (body only). The Nikon D300S has 51 autofocus points (yes, 51!!!!!!!!) with 15 of those being cross-sensors. The maximum ISO in the D300S is 6400. This camera also offers video. You can also pick up the older Nikon D300 (without video) for much cheaper.

The Canon 7D runs about $1700 also (body only). Canon really stepped up their focusing system with this camera with 19 autofocus points, all of them being cross-sensors. This camera offers video and a maximum ISO of 12,800.

Again, Canon has Nikon beat with its maximum ISO but you just can’t beat the focusing system of the Nikon D300S.

Nikon D700 vs. Canon 5D Mark II (full frame cameras)
You can pick up the Nikon D700 (this is the camera I currently shoot with) for about $2400. It has 51 autofocus points with 15 of those being cross-sensors and a maximum ISO of 25,600 (amazing). This is a full frame camera.

The Canon 5D Mark II runs about $2700 (this is the camera I used to have). This camera has 9 autofocus points with one of those being a cross-sensor and 6 assist points. Its maximum ISO is 25,600. This is also a full frame camera.

Again, I’d go with Nikon here due to the much superior autofocus system.

I really, really (really) recommend purchasing your camera body and lenses separately. A lot of cameras come in a kit, (meaning you get the camera body and a lens or two.) Unfortunately, the lenses that come in kits are typically manufactured with cost in mind, not quality.  A lot of salespeople will try to talk you into the kit and they’ll talk your husband into it, too, and then you’ll feel like you have no choice but to purchase the dang kit…but don’t succumb to the pressure. (Just say NO to the kit.)

Which lens to use is a HUGE discussion so I'll just touch on my recommendations briefly...

For indoor and low light shooting, nothing beats a 50mm lens in my opinion.  You can pick up the following 50mm lenses:

- 50mm f1.8 (Canon $100/Nikon $120.  This is a great lens for the price but if you can swing the price of the 50mm f1.4, you'll find that it focuses quicker and sharper and produces better color.)

- 50mm f1.4 (Canon $350/Nikon $300 for the 50mm f1.4D and $430 for the 50mm f1.4G AF-S.  The Nikon 50mm f1.4G AF-S is a MUCH higher quality lens than the 50mm f1.4D and is worth the extra expense.  In addition, the Nikon 50mm f1.4G AF-S has an autofocus motor built into it, making it the ONLY 50mm lens that will autofocus on the Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D3000 and D5000.)

- 50mm f1.2 (Canon $1500/Nikon does not make this lens.  This is a great lens but is ridiculously priced and is overkill in my opinion for anyone who's not shooting professionally and anyone who is working on a budget.)

The 50mm lens is also a great 'everyday' lens and can be really great for portraiture too (if you're NOT using it on a full frame camera).  If I could only OWN one lens, this would be it.  Keep in mind that this lens does NOT 'zoom'...you are the 'zoom'.  Walk forward to 'zoom in' and walk backwards to 'zoom out.'

If you shoot in a lot of cramped situations though, you might actually like one of these lenses BETTER than the 50mm:

- Canon 28mm f1.8 ($450.  Canon makes more expensive lenses that are similar, like the 24mm f1.4 and the 35mm f1.4 but they're really spendy.)  This lens does not 'zoom.'

- Nikon 35mm f1.8 ($200.  This lens will NOT work correctly on Full Frame cameras like the Nikon D700, Nikon D3, D3x or the D3s.)  This lens does not 'zoom.'

For outdoor, everyday shooting, I recommend a zoom lens like the 24-70mm f2.8.  (Tamron makes a REALLY high quality version of this lens at the most affordable price, the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 for about $450 - this is the ONLY lens I owned for 3+ years and I think it's wonderful.  Canon and Nikon have much more expensive versions of this lens; Canon $1400/Nikon $1800.)

For sports, recitals, theater (and any other subject that is far away from you while shooting), I recommend the 70-200mm f2.8.  (Unfortunately, this is an EXPENSIVE lens and a very HEAVY lens, therefore, you want to put a lot of thought into whether or not this is the right lens for you - maybe even trying it out at a camera shop.  Again, Tamron makes the cheapest version of it, the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 for about $750 and both Canon and Nikon make more expensive versions of this lens that are closer to $1700.)

For portraits, the 50mm lens I mentioned earlier is a great lens (unless you're using it on a Full Frame camera) and so is an 85mm lens (these lenses create some of the most beautiful images you'll ever see).

- 85mm f1.8 (Canon $440/Nikon $450)  This lens does not 'zoom.'

- 85mm f1.4 (Nikon $1230)  This lens does not 'zoom.'

- 85mm f1.2 (Canon $2000)  This lens does not 'zoom.'

And I can't post without a picture...

Took this one a few days before Christmas.  (I'm starting to give up on the notion of ever getting all my Christmas shots edited.)

Little Skye.

Back in October, I did a shoot with Annie for a children's clothing store called, Little Skye.

I'd never done anything like it before and was really nervous because it was so completely different in comparison with how I normally shoot and therefore, totally outside my comfort zone.  But I'm ok with going outside of my comfort zone (when it comes to photography) so I did it and I actually loved it.

And now that the catalog is available, I can post some of the images...

 

 

 

 

 

I took Cali (Ross's girlfriend) with us because I knew it would take two people to keep Annie happy, get her changed and carry everything.  And I ended up having some focusing problems with the only lens I decided to bring (an 85mm f1.4 which is going in for repair soon).  And actually, Courtney Lee was supposed to be in the catalog too but when her clothing arrived, it didn't fit.

But overall, the whole thing went off pretty well.  Well enough in fact, that I'm actually going to do it again.

Can't wait to get my hands on that catalog.

The (quiet) Weekend.

Kind of a quiet weekend around here.

Josh & Ross went snowboarding.  I cleaned out my closet and did lots of laundry.  The kids played.  We went to church.  We rented a movie.  Josh took the Christmas lights down.

Stuff like that.

But I did manage to get a few pictures...

Coley, alphabetizing our movies.  (He's like that.)

 

Courtney Lee working on a present for her little brother, Aiden.  (Courtney has a little brother at her mom's house and today is his first birthday!)

 

Josh acting as line-judge for a tetherball match between Cole & Courtney.  (I'll tell you about the tetherball later.)

 

And Annie, coloring in the living room.  (The kids got those coloring sets for Christmas.)

And if Ross were ever around, I'd take a few pictures of him too.

Oh.....and I can't believe I forgot to mention this....I scrapbooked!  Waiting on a few photos from my lab to finish them up and then I'll post them.

Hope your weekend was great.

iPhone.

Hi, my name is Karen Russell and I normally shoot with a Nikon D700 but when I go 'clubbin' in Vegas, I recommend the iPhone for it's portability, options and incredible image quality...

This is a paid advertisement for Jill's (crappy) iPhone.

Vegas.

Jill (my best friend in the whole-wide-world) and I went to Vegas last weekend.

Our mid-late thirties have been kind of hard for both of us so we decided that we just needed to get away.  Somewhere where we didn't feel like moms.  Somewhere where we didn't feel like women in their mid-late thirties.  Somewhere where we could cut loose a little (but not too much of course.)

And what better place than Vegas?

I met Jill at baggage claim (my flight landed just a few minutes before hers) with two bottles of water in hand and told her that our first order of business was to start hydrating ourselves.  (You know...to prevent hangovers.)

Our second order of business was to drop our bags at the hotel, grab a quick lunch and head straight to the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

Our first order of business at the Richard Petty Driving Experience was the ladies room.  (No one wants to pee their pants while driving 165 miles an hour on the speedway.)

 

Jill getting all suited-up.

I should give up on asking strangers to take pictures for me...

 

Jill went first.  (The helmets totally squish your cheeks together.)

 

She loved it and wanted the driver to go faster.

 

I went next.

I hated it and wanted the driver to slow down because I was getting carsick.

Our next order of business was to go to the mall because while I was sure to pack three pairs of really cute boots for our trip to Vegas...I failed to bring any tennis shoes.

 

And while we were there, we figured we'd try out the oxygen bar to see if it helped with my car sickness.  (It did...and it turned out to be great for hangovers three days in a row too.)

After that, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Evening One in Vegas.

 

I decided not to take my camera but we took this shot before heading out.

We went to see Cirque De Soleil and then went dancing at Coyote Ugly.  (We were smart enough not to dance on the bar though.)

I took this shot when we got back to the hotel at 1:30am.  (I took pictures every night when we made it back to the room.)

We slept in a bit the next day, grabbed Starbucks and then waited for the van from BC Flightlines to pick us up so we could go zip lining.

That's one of our guides, Casey (who happened to spot me taking pictures of him through the bushes.)

 

Casey was a really funny guy.

 

Those are my new tennis shoes.

We were only scared on the first line.  (There were four.)  After that, it was a blast.

 

 

 

That's Jill coming down one of the lines.

The guy on the left is Dave and when he stands in that position, it means you're supposed to get in a position called the Starfish.

If you forget what you're supposed to do though, they have a motto:  "When in doubt, legs out."  (It even says it on the back of Dave's t-shirt.)

That's quite a motto to live by.

I know...bright sun (but I love it anyhow.)

 

On the last run, I had one of the guides take my camera so he could get pictures of Jill and I on the line.  (We started all the way at the top of that hill on the right.)  That's me on the far left and Jill right next to me.

I love this shot; me and my new tennis shoes in the "When in doubt, legs out" position and Jill stopping on the line next to me.

Unbeknownst to me, the guides had taken pictures like this while they had my camera...

That's 'Hot Stuff'.  (He totally reminds me of a mix between my little cousin, Sammy and my other little cousin, Jesse.)

Jill was standing right behind him when I said (to Jill), "Hey Hot Stuff, come on."

He thought I was talking to him though and the name stuck.

If you ever go to Vegas, you HAVE TO go do this and you can even request specific guides.  Request Casey, Carlos (aka Hot Stuff) and Dave - they're the funnest guides ever.

And then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Evening Two in Vegas.  (Jill's really good at the sexy, pouty-lip thing...I don't know how to do anything sexier than fish-lips though.)

We ended up going to Harrah's comedy club.  Saw Don McMillan who does his entire routine on Powerpoint.  He's an engineer (which Jill and I loved since both of our husbands are engineers) and he's hysterical.

And then we cut a rug all night at the Carnival Court where the bartenders do fancy bartending tricks with fire and stuff.

 

Didn't make it back to the hotel until 3:00am.

When I woke up the next morning at 10:30am (I don't think I've slept in that late since high school) I noticed that my toes felt kinda funny.

That's when I noticed my this...

 

With a matching one on my other pinky too...

Apparently, cute brown boots + dancing till 3:00am + chicks who are too old to dance till 3:00am = abnormally large and painful blisters in odd locations.

 

And this is what our bedside table looked like after Evening Two.

We were too tired to do much of anything on day three.  We had planned on going indoor skydiving but we couldn't muster the energy.  We talked about taking pictures by the old Las Vegas sign but we couldn't muster the motivation.  We even thought about getting tattoos (but couldn't muster the nerve.)

So instead, we headed back to the mall to find cute outfits for Evening Three in Vegas.

 

I love this shot.

Evening Three was a bit of a dud.

We went on a wild goose chase looking for the Prince tribute band we had heard about but never found them.  Eventually, we ended up at a place called Stoney's where apparently the men have never heard the words, "No thanks, I don't want to dance" before.

In fact, three security guards actually had to remove a guy from our table because he wouldn't to leave us alone (either because we were looking insanely hot OR because he was insanely drunk.)

I'm guessing the latter.

 

But even though the night was kind of a dud, we still didn't make it back to the room until 4:00am.  (And I'm pretty impressed with my photography skills after five cranberry & vodkas.)

 

We slept until 11:30am on our last day in Vegas, took showers and then grabbed a cab to the Hash House a go go (thanks for the recommendation Monica) where Jill had the biggest burger I've ever seen and I had the biggest salad I'd ever seen with a side of mac & cheese.

And then we picked up our stuff from the hotel and took a cab back to the airport.

And now we're back in our real worlds again where we are moms and we are in our mid-late thirties and there's laundry and dirty bathrooms and grocery shopping to be done.

But I have to admit that it was pretty nice to come home to a bunch of kids that missed me like crazy and a husband who missed me even more.

Until we meet again Vegas.

She.

1.  The other day she asked me to help her remember something.  I responded by saying, "You're a smart girl Annie, you won't forget that."  To which she replied, "I won't remember...I'm a forgetter."

2. She still doesn't sleep through the night most nights.  (In fact she ended up in bed with me last night because I was too tired to do anything else after getting up with her three times.)

3. She could eat a peanut butter sandwich (no jelly please) for every meal, every day and never grow tired of it.

4. She's got more self-confidence than any little girl I've ever met...the trick will be helping her keep it.

5. The other day, Cole & Courtney said something about Mississippi while we were driving and then Annie started saying, "I love Mississippi and I miss her."  Josh and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about until she said, "Mississippi is a good teacher."  None of the kids have a teacher named Mrs. Sippy but that's what Annie thought they were talking about.

6. She names every doll she owns the same name; Cali (Ross's girlfriend's name).

7. Watching her dance when she hears a song she likes makes me really happy.

8. Anytime Cole or Courtney gets in trouble she tries to intervene saying, "You're hurting Bubba's feelings, Mom."  (She calls Coley, Bubba.)  And while in the moment, I find it really annoying, I have to admit that I like her sticking up for other people.

9. She would prefer to wear a dress every single day and anytime I pull a pair of pants out of the closet she says, "Can't I please have a pretty dress with tights?"  (I am not a girly-girl so I have no idea how I ended up raising two of them.)

10. When my sister was here visiting over Christmas, she showed up at our house one morning and Annie said, "Mommy's Sissy, those boots look soooooo cute with that outfit!"  And I can say with great certainty that she's never heard me utter such a statement...

11. She's going to be four next month (Feb. 13th).

And I'm heading out of town (Vegas with my best friend in the whole-wide-world, Jill...we've been friends for 27 years now.)

Will be back next week!