My 2nd Studio Practice Shoot!

I had the pleasure of photographing Amber. Amber is such a beautiful girl, and she made shooting super easy! She is a natural at posing and has a beautiful smile to boot!

Here are the rest of the images from her shoot:

Amber

Getting in some practice - outdoors...

I took Chloe down to the new park in town to get in some practice in bright, overcast conditions. I don't think it was a total misadventure, although I know some would say I could have done much better. And that's probably true. But I am getting better with each shoot I do. So as long as I am progressing forward and not back, then I am happy. :)

I created my own Flash gallery with the help of Lightroom 2 and instructions from my ISP's website. It's nothing really fancy, but it serves the purpose, for now. Here it is with the images from Chloe's shoot:

Chloe in the Park

At the Fair

I took Chloe to the county fair today. Here's a little video of her and her friends going down one of her favorite rides.

Another (mis)Adventure

I'm trying. Really, really trying. I eat, sleep and breathe photography. I am constantly striving to get better. Not sure how it's working out. Sure, if you were to look at my very first image, taken with my first DSLR, which was the Canon Xti, and then compare that image to my latest, you'd probably say I've come far. But being the perfectionist I am (in my mind!), I am always unhappy with my progress. I am someone who ALWAYS thinks that everything I want to do, I should be able to do it 5 minutes ago without ever having learned how. Yep. I'm weird. I'm still having a great deal of problems with post-processing for an appealing image. Skin tones are my nemesis.

Anyway, here's my photo for today. I shot this at 8 p.m. and it was overcast. The rain has been relentless here lately. I'm ready for some sun, so I can search for open shade and still let in beautiful light.

Settings: Nikon D90; 50mm f/1.4D lens; f/2.8; 1/200sec; ISO 320

(Cheerleading?) Pom-Poms

Today was the last day of school for my kids, but we didn't send them today. Instead, Chloe and I set out to Wal-Mart to buy crafting supplies to help keep her from being bored this summer. One of the items we purchased was a Martha Stewart Tissue Paper Pom-Pom Kit. Inside was 5 stacks of tissue paper in different sizes (3 small and 2 large) and 5 strands of floral wire. All you do is make an accordion fold, use the wire to hold it together at the middle, then start pulling the paper away and out toward the center. I got to looking at the ones Chloe and I made and thought they'd make an awesome prop for tomorrow's photo shoot with a 9 year old girl in her prom dress. But Chloe has other ideas. She wants to be a cheerleader. So these became instant cheerleading pom-poms. Guess I better sign her up for gymnastics so she can learn how to do cartwheels. ;)

Chloe on Video!

I recently got a new HD Camcorder. This is the first time I've ever uploaded video to the internet! Thankfully it wasn't too hard! :D

I wanted to show you this video of Chloe trying to do the "Hillbilly Throwdown" from the new Hannah Montanna movie.

Tony

I was looking through 2008's photos, and came across a set I had forgotten about - of a horse my FIL use to have. His name is Tony, and DH affectionately called him "Tony the Pony".

Canon Rebel Xti; f/5.6; ISO 800; SS 1/100 sec.; Focal Length - 100mm; 28-135mm lens

More Photography

These days, I am photographing my DH more than anyone else. He is my most cooperative, not to mention supportive, model. :)
For this photo, I used Michelle Pearson's Color Pop Action #1. :)

And last night, I had DH set up my Savage Port-A-Stand with the 107" wide Savage Seamless Paper in Thunder Gray. The unfortunate part is, he had to cut the width down to 89" in order for it to fit in our kitchen, and that width pushes it. Not much room here in my house for a studio, but I will do my best to make it work. It is my dream after all. :)

Here is a photo I shot of Chloe in front of the setup. I can't wait to get my Calumet 200 2-Light Kit. It has to make things better than this!

Natural Light

I am really working hard, trying to get the hang of using a window as my softbox to diffuse natural light coming through my window. Well, I'm not having very good luck with it as you can see:Canon Xsi - f/2.8 - ss 1/100 - ISO 400 - Reflector to my left

And, as you can see, I am a resident of Color Cast City (population: ME). Look how cold and blue this image is! ACK! Back to the drawing board!

My First Storyboard

Since it seems I'm all about photography these days, I want to show you a small storyboard I did with the photos of Chloe I took on Christmas Day (after receiving my black backdrop!) Please click on the image to view the entire photo. For some reason, Blogger is cutting part of it off. :(

Natural Light (with some fill)

I pretty much stay in the recliner these days, and there is a window right beside where I sit. So, seeing as how bored I am, I grabbed the camera and first asked Chloe to help me out. Well, she only has patience for one or 2 shots, so I asked DH for a moment of his time. And this is what I got:

Taken with my Canon Xsi, 50mm f/1.8 lens, and Speedlite 430EX. Settings were:
ISO - 1600; Speedlite set to +1 2/3 bounced on the window behind me; f/3.5; SS 1/100 sec.

Lots of Stuff To Talk About

(Kit and elements used can be found at www.digitalscrapbookplace.com)

EGADS! I did it again! I fell in another pothole. This is the third time I've hurt my left ankle since May 2006. And this time, the tip of the fibula is broken. Since it is a small break, I didn't need a cast. It looks like, as you can see above, someone has painted my purple bruised foot with mustard. EEEWW. My wonderful and very loving DH has been amazing. He has been doing it ALL! From cooking to cleaning, taking care of the kids and making my Avon deliveries for me. He is such a wonderful guy. I'm so lucky to have him!

Now I am left up to my own devices. I'm bored. Stiff. And it hasn't been a week yet. UGH. So I spend lots of time with my laptop, doing digital scrapbook layouts. And I have said to many that I now give up walking. Really. It's over-rated. It's like my feet have a magnet device implanted in them that attract potholes. And everytime, I step in one, then my ankle rolls outward. Not fun. At all. It's not been a year yet since my last spill. See this LO below:

(Kit and elements used can be found at www.digitalscrapbookplace.com)

(Butterfly tattoo is just a kit element, placed for decoration and realism.)

In other non-ankle injury news, I got my first items for my portrait studio set up on Wednesday!
I got the Westcott 301 Photo Basics 40-Inch 5-in-1 Reflector, the Savage Seamless Background Paper, 107" wide x 12 yards, Thunder Gray, #2, and the Savage Port-a-Stand Background Support System Extends from 44" to 8'10". The background stand came with a FREE roll of 53" white seamless paper! :) Bad news - I haven't even got to open the packages yet. Yep, because of my ankle.

Next on my list is the AB400 from www.alienbees.com, and the adapter for my camera's hotshoe from Flash Zebra. And of course, some odds and ends, like a great, sturdy light stand for the AB.

Time to go learn how to decorate this blog. So I'll spare you anymore babble. Nite all!

All the Little Chicks w/the Crimson Lips Go "Xsi ROCKS!"

Oh. My. Gosh.

I had a very great friend do a very wonderful thing for me. I was getting ready to list my Canon Digital Rebel Xti on eBay, so that I could purchase the new Canon Digital Rebel Xsi, and was telling her about it. She then replied promptly that she wanted to buy it! So, with a long story made short, she bought me the Canon Xsi, had it shipped directly to me, and in exchange, I shipped her my Xti, and a check made out for the difference. Pretty cool huh? Well, you are probably wondering about this new Xsi and what I think of it. I really must say,
IT TOTALLY ROCKS!
There are new features with the Xsi that the Xti doesn't have. And I have to say, my photos look soooooooooo much better! Wanna see one I took tonight (this is one of my best yet)? Sure you do. Ok, pretend you do! Here it is!

To learn more about the new features seen in the Canon Xsi, go here. (Note: I am not getting paid by Canon for this! I really do LOVE my new Xsi!)

I Think I'm Getting Better!

At least I hope I am! The journey to photographic greatness is a long, difficult road. There is so much to learn and it takes a lot of time. Anyway, here are two photos I took today (out of 286!) at our Veteran's Day Parade.

Bad Blogger

Yep. I said it. I am a bad blogger. A bad, bad, baaaaad blogger. I can barely find the time (and attention span) to keep up my blog. But I am hoping to change that. I hope to get back into learning photography again, as well as post my digital scrapbooking layouts. Also, I have some ideas for Christmas gifts that I will be posting in the near future. :) Stay tuned.

Not a Moth-Not a Butterfly?

I think it's a Mothy Butterfly myself. I'm not sure. Anyway, I had fun chasing this little guy around to get his photo today. Thus, another (mis)Adventure in photography. My post processing skills still leave much to be desired. But I love the macro feature my Canon 28-135mm lens has!

Want to Go on a (mis)Adventure With Me?

Here it is, my purpose for this blog. I have vigorously been trying to learn photography ever since I got my Canon Rebel Xti in December 2007. I have learned a lot, thanks to Jennifer. But I still have much more to learn.

I adore taking photos of my daughter, but her skin always comes out with crazy tones:
Her skin usually ends up very pinkish, or bluish...but never "fleshy." Jen and I were pondering why that happens, although I always use my Target to set the exposure and white balance. Then, it suddenly dawned on Jen to tell me to go look at my camera's menu to see if it is set to Standard, Faithful, Neutral, etc. It was set to Standard, so we both agreed to change it to Neutral. After going outside, setting WB and exposure with the Target...I got this:
Granted, it's not perfect, and I'll never be a great photographer. I am a digital scrapbooker so most of the photos I take go into my scrapbooks. But I sure want to learn as much as I possibly can about photography, and being the best photographer I can.

Hula Moola

I had the pleasure once again to scrap a photo for Jennifer, Photography Moderator at Digital Scrapbook Place. This is a LO about one of her children. She is just too cute, isn't she? I always love it when Jen gives me photos to scrap. It gives me great inspiration, especially when my own daughter gives me that look, as she is just so sick of me and my photography antics. Here is the LO I did for Jen. :)

I'm a Bad Blogger

I created this blog with the best of intentions. Honest! But I seem to put my blog on the back burner to do other things, like be a Mom, Wife and a very addicted digital scrapbooker! I really want to do better in the future and blog consistently. In the meantime, here is a couple photos I took this past weekend. These are my best photos so far, in my opinion, taken with my Canon Rebel Xti, 50mm f/1.8 lens and the Speedlite 430EX.



Here are two layouts that I made with these photos:

Credits:
Ever After Land Page Kit by Nicole Young
DSP Child's Play by Suzanne Walker

Credits:
Warm Summer Day Page Kit by Rene Bross
Cool Summer Night Page Kit by Rene Bross
DSP Maddie Moo by Nicole Young

I'm Here!

I am really happy to have created a blog in which I can share all of my photography adventures with you! I got my Canon Rebel Xti D-SLR in December and have been learning how to use it from an amazing teacher, Jen! :) I will also be placing a widget from Amazon.com with all the things I have purchased and recommend :) So keep an eye out for that! I'll be back soon with my first (mis)Adventure! :)