the best gift EVER

I GOT MY 5D, I GOT MY 5D, I GOT MY 5D Mark II!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband surprised me for Christmas. I have no idea how he even got one as they are backordered! I had asked for it, but it was so much money I never thought I would get this so soon!!!!

I've been playing around, but PS3 is not updated for the RAW from the 5D and it won't let me convert to JPG's! Grrrr, I think Canon and Adobe are up to something for sure. So now I have to plunk down $200 for the PS upgrade.

Hopefully I'll make up for all this spending with clients this year! Starting business plan and website this month - it's getting official! In the meantime, here is a preview of a possible new logo. Still working on it, but like where my friend is headed with it.

Snow Day

Sometimes you have to not worry about the photography and just capture the fun going on in your life.
J saw snow for the first time today. It was pretty amazing. He probably would have liked it much more if he didn't HATE his snowsuit!!
I didn't get a clear shot of him screaming about 1 minute later - that would blackmail sometime around age 16...

Had a mini session with my cousin and his wife for their (very late) holiday card. I know they will go with a more traditional one, but this was my favorite...
I've been so crazy with getting all this stuff out to people I haven't taken any shots all week before today. It was nice to get out behind my camera for a few minutes. It was REALLY cold though!

christmas craziness!

Oh boy, I've been nuts over here! I've been decorating, baking, shopping, partying, and editing!! All those -ings make me a very tired girl.
We had a birthday party for my best friend's son this saturday - his first and little J's first birthday party. It was a blast! M had a Sesame Street theme and I made cookies - I am NOT a baker, but I think these came out pretty good and they tasted great! The kids loved theme so I was thrilled.

p.s. - you can see I'm no product photographer!!! LOL.

Isabelle

This is Isabelle, who I had the pleasure of working with yesterday. She is six going on 30, and I just fell in love with her. Isa's brother Max wasn't into the picture taking so much and she was so patient while her mother tried to wrangle him for me.
Her nickname is Birdie and I thought this pic kind of summed that up!

MCP ACTIONS AND BLOG CONTEST

So I'm adding this to *fingers crossed* win a new blog from MCP Actions and Into the Darkroom. I picked the images, but I didn't have time to really pick out images that fit into the board.
That being said MCP is AMAZING and I use their actions constantly, especially Eye Doctor which kicks A**!! The magic board above is really cool too, I might have to invest in it...

Boys will be boys

Well, had an *interesting* shoot yesterday. Two brothers, 4 and 6 who DID NOT want their picture taken. My friend's sons - I think it was actually harder to get them to listen b/c they knew me! Running away, not sitting, not standing, sticking out tongues and bugging out eyes. Yikes! Got a few shots, but I was so flustered I had my ss at 60 for the first 20 shots and I blew a bunch that might have worked so I am SO mad at myself. It's not a mistake I make anymore so I was a bit disappointed that I didn't set up right.
Here's one that worked, but the majority were horrible! Back to the drawing board...
Can't decide if I like bw or color better...

Ying & Yang

oops, I did take some pictures this week and apparently I forgot. It's been that kind of week... Here's little J - not the best picture but there is something cool about it I like...

what to do

Ugh, haven't had a chance to pick up the camera this week for more than a few shots. I did some more editing on my Austin trip, so I'll post some of those - but really I need to get on the ball!

I was so excited to see comments from some of my Austin photog buddies, thanks for checking in girls!

Got a (non-photography) job offer today. I am so torn if I should pursue the photography career or go back to making good money with the fashion business. It's hard to walk away from the money, but I don't feel like my heart is in it. The strangest thing - as I'm thinking of what to do I feel like someone has been sending me signs all day. Even Elmo was about cameras today! It's so hard to decide!

deep in the heart (work of heart, that is) of Texas...

Hi y'all!
I'm saying y'all because I just got back from a great trip to Austin, Texas from a photography workshop with Skye Hardwick. (WAY amazing child photographer!!)

It was an amazing experience, especially getting to meet so many people with the same interest as me. My friends at home have NO interest in talking shop with me (they don't even know what photoshop is!) so it was really cool to be able to be a photo geek for a weekend.

I'll post some more later - this little girl was my favorite. She told me we looked alike which made me feel like I connected with her (especially because she wasn't much of a talker) and I took it as a HUGE compliment as she is so stinking gorgeous.

Holiday already??? Yikes!

I have done a few photoshoots for friends' holiday cards and haven't been thrilled with the results. Glad no one is paying me yet!
Today's photo was my friend's vision. She wanted selective color on the red scarves. The photo quality isn't great (I had a HARD time with the little girl!! She was EVERYWHERE and all she wanted to do was eat pretzels!) but the image is cute anyway. Next year will be so much better!!

Bummed

I'm having a bad photography day. I am getting so nervous for Skye Hardwick's workshop I want to throw up!! I am soooo behind all the other photographers attending. In a moment of what I thought was shining wisdom I decided to take this workshop for trial by fire - to get better quicker by surrounding myself with pros. Now I feel like I am taking this step WAY too soon. I am really cramming in shots for the next two weeks before I leave for Austin. I MUST get better before I go. Not only do I not want to embarress myself, I want to get the most out of it that I can.

Ugh, my stomach.

Took this of little J this morning. I am working on black and white today.

(double click to see enlarged) And do not steal or you will be shot, burned at the stake, then tarred and feathered. Actually, that would be tarred and feathered then burned at the stake. You get the picture)

Today Daddy is away so I had all morning to torture Jack with my camera! (insert evil Halloween laugh here) Honestly, the poor thing is such a sport and really must think that Mommy has this thing completely attached to her eye at certain parts of the day. This pic is sort of him getting ready to tell me to just quit it... well, if he could talk anyway.

This week I'm working on getting tack sharp eyes. I have been starting to what looks like overexpose on my meter - it seems to get me much better exposure! I had this little AH-HA moment when reading on ILP noteworthy section - the camera reads to 18% grey - which I knew. However, most caucasian skins are lighter than that, so some cameras might be better to compensate for that while metering. Genious!!! A little light bulb went off. I just couldn't understand why it was underexposed when all my little lines were lined up and I was spot metering off the face. Now I get it!!! YAY!!!

Every day

So I've decided that I must take a photo a day. Whether it stinks or is great, I need to keep working at my craft. Gosh, that sounds corny when written out!
I've also decided to put my blog on my siggie at ILP and Creative mentoring. Otherwise I'll get too lazy about posting.
I had a horrible sitting with my son the other day. The weather was perfect, his outfit was perfect, the setting was perfect - and I blew it!! I was only able to take a few shots before he got really cranky - unfortunately not enough time for me to get ready. Where's a photo assistant when you need one?!!! Yeah, pretty far away from that! ;)
Took this of Jack early in the morning. He loves playing by the window, which is just perfect for me to practice!

A Start

So I'm starting this photography thing and I'm freaking out a bit. How can I leave a successful career in the fashion industry to pursue something I barely know? I'm trying to tell myself I didn't know a bit about fashion when I started either, but, I was just a kid and didn't know better. That's one of the curses of getting older and wiser - you're smart enough to get scared.

So here I am. New mom, beginner photographer. Trying all these things at 35 years old. A second career out of a constant obsession. If I don't try now, I'll never know.

I am definitely a work in progress!!