Day One:
Bowie Baby Mini-Session
Joel recently stumbled upon some forgotten camera equipment I had acquired last Spring. As we sat for an hour fiddling with the gear, I began to feel that trigger-finger itch, so I scheduled a little autumn photo walk with
Kelly. Although I knew I would enjoy it, I had no idea just how good it would feel to exercise my camera again. Tonight, as I sit editing and cropping and reliving the feeling of that cool harvest air blowing through the Evergreens, I have decided on a mini-challenge of doing a photo session once per day for an entire week in keeping with my
Fall challenges. I cannot say they will be good photos, or even that they will be of any other subject matter than Bowie, but I'll share them here for your viewing pleasure.
Feel free to join me. Surely you can take at least one photo per day with that fancy camera on your phone. Put it on your instagram, facebook, or any other way to share it with me.
To Autumn's Changes,
Look at these two opposite-sized pooches! It must be chaos in that house.
Such a magnificent tree and sad pooch waiting for its coffee-saturated master.
Here I am with my 11.5 week old fetus. Note the last button of my coat is in protest. Sigh. So it begins.
When conditions become this extreme, I always seem to think of times in history when electricity, grocery stores, insulated houses, and the internet were not a part of life. I wonder what manner of women I would be faced with those hardships? I'm sure, as with most evolutionary processes, I would adapt and thrive in the environment afforded me, but man - I should would miss perusing
thinkgeek for
nerdy kid's stuff to put on the baby registry. Instead, I would have to go churn butter or chop wood. Now I know
several ladies who seem to still have that pioneer woman spirit in them, but I think that was bred out of me in my easy-living, automobile-centric, fast-food loving, Southern California childhood. But hey, not all is lost. I certainly know my way around a computer, can manage my time like a professional planner, and have a god-given penchant for eye-makeup. It's the 21st century Pioneer-ess. That's me.
One more thing. I had my 80mm lens on the camera for a while (easier to take pictures of family for holidays), and it completely uninspired me to pick up my camera. I recently changed it to the 50mm, and now I am itching to use it more and more. Now all is well.
Come again soon,
Thought I would take a moment and show you the dramatic difference between using my new flash by itself and using it with the Gary Fong Lightsphere
.
My living room is obviously filled with more beautiful light in the left photo, though I have some work to do on the focus and exposure.
Joel came home and found me taking a nap. He started playing with the camera and despite me looking seriously tired, the skin tone on the left photo is much more flattering (and completely unedited). I really think this diffuser makes people look much better than the harsh flash.
Jenn and Olive and Brian came over for dinner. I snapped these to see how it might affect photos of children, and although you can't see Olive's face in the left, you can see the color and skin tone is much more true (especially flattering to Jenn's ridiculously lovely skin).
Last one, I promise. Again, the warmth of skin tone in the left picture is dramatic compared to the right.
I love my new toy.
And just for the hell of it, I will now show off my niece and her cuteness
(and my awesome diffuser)
I'd been wanting. Boy oh boy...do I love it. It creates the depth of field that my other lens just doesn't quite have the unique power to do. It's sooooo perfect for shooting portraits - as it focuses soley on the subject and blurs the background so dramatically, making the person just pop out at you! 
